Two Lib Dems have been in the news for the wrong reasons today. First up looking at the case of Baroness Tonge. Do we know that Israel, or any country will exist forever? Simple answer is no we don't. Look at the map of 1980s Europe Who would have thought when Maggie Thatcher came to power that by the time she left power that the Soviet Union would have split into its component parts. That the same would happen to Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, or that Germany would be reunited. In the rest of the World since then Yemen has unified ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal
Wed 29th
23:14

Syria Unity Forum

This evening I was one of the speakers at a solidarity event for the people of Syria organised at the London Muslim Centre at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel. Since the beginning of the uprising last spring, maybe as many as 8,000 people have been slaughtered in Syria by the despotic regime in Damascus, which ...

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

Once in a while, the blogosphere does something new. Something that makes me think: "Why didn't I do that?!", well Charlotte Henry did that today. She's introduced a new service called The Dispatch Box. Charlotte describes this as "a newsletter that will come out every Sunday and contain exclusive stories, analysis, videos, and some gossip too. It will be made up of content exclusive to Dispatch Box readers - a Sunday supplement delivered straight into your email inbox." Well a newsletter isn't anything new, where do I think Charlotte wins? Well the sheer audacity of asking for a subscription fee. ...

Posted by Andrew Emmerson on

I am in a reflective mood as I sit on my train back to our rural idyll, after an evening with my family. Family can drive you crazy if you let it. So I've clearly been quite lucky in that sense, in that I enjoy my family time. What makes it easier is that I have mellowed as I have got older, less prone to the easy certainty of the unexpectedly ill-informed. My father is a genuinely bright person, an achiever in spite of the hurdles placed before him, reaching the rarified heights of his industry despite a relatively late ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

This evening I went to hear former Special Advisor Duncan Brack speak at a Haringey Liberal Democrats Pizza and Politics event. In among the interesting talk and many good questions there was one that really caught my attention. Duncan was asked what he thought the Department of Energy and Climate Change, where he had worked, should pick if it had any extra money to spend. His first preference – more money on commercialising Carbon Capture and Storage. He particularly stressed the role for CCS given the possibility of large new sources of gas such as shale gas becoming available which, ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

This appeal finished today after a month of collecting goodies for our brave troops that are just starting a tour out in Afghanistan. The appeal supported by Tesco Llandudno Junction and my Council colleagues Merfyn Thomas, Graham Rees and Meirion Hughes collected items for The Royal Welsh regiment, items included wet wipes, deodorant shower gel, books, dvd's and writing material, these items are difficult to purchase on the front line. We handed over hundreds of items today and I feel that these items may help boost morale and demonstrate to our brave troops that we are thinking of them. My ...

Posted by Mike Priestley on Mike Priestley
Wed 29th
22:30

Extra day - Extra Street

Hands up who know where Shotleyfield View is in Consett. I've used a bit of extra free-time in this Leap Year to be out and about leafletting in Consett North, and was pleased to leaflet Shotleyfield View for the first time. It's the new development of bungalows built by Durham Aged Minerworkers' Homes Association (DAMHA) off Steel Street in Consett. The other DAMHA accommodation in Consett itself is the very popular Harvey Court development behind the Swimming Baths, and it can only be good for Consett to have this quality provision for some of its older and vulnerable citizens. Taken ...

Posted by Owen Temple on Owen Temple

[IMG: Epping Forest District Council is preparing a planning and design brief for the St John's Road area which will define what could happen in the future. We'd like to know what you think about the draft ideas and your comments will help to shape the final plans. The consultation period runs from Monday 5 March to Monday 26 March 2012. View the exhibition at the District Council offices on the High Street, Epping - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The same exhibition will also be on display in the Parish Church of St John - daily, 9am to ...

Posted by jonwhitehouse on Jon Whitehouse

I wonder if, what with all these allegations about wrong doing from the mundane like Metropolitan Police loaning horses, to News International staff badgering one time child star Charlotte Chuch to perform at Rupert Murdoch's last wedding, dozens of public figures hacked, journalists arrested, police taking bribes or being given jobs, even serious accusations of News of the World putting detectives investigating a murder under surveillence, whether before he leaves these shores for good, it might just be prudent for our police to ask James Murdoch, if he's absolutely sure he doesn't know anything about all this malarkey. Still what ...

Posted by tony flaig bignews on BIGNEWS MARGATE

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the launch event at the City Chambers of the DisabledGo web pages for Dundee. DisabledGo is a superb resource for all residents who want to know more about disabled access in the area and Dundee joins many other parts of the UK already covered. The guide, launched in partnership with the City Council covers over 1,000 venues including cinemas, hotels, parks, leisure centres, council offices, high street stores, restaurants, tourist attractions and so much more. DisabledGo allows people to find out not only whether venues have adapted toilets or parking close by ...

YouGov

I went to a workshop for the Garston Park Art project this evening. This one was with members of Friends of Garston Park and the Garston and District Historical Society to talk about how we would create the images for the artwork around the sports pitches on the park. I was relieved to hear that actual artistic talent was not compulsory! The community artists will help us with stencils etc once we have worked out what we want to depict. Anyway, there are quite a few ways to get involved and we are looking for more groups to take part ...

Posted by Paula Keaveney on Paula Keaveney - Lib Dem Campaigner

This morning I attended a Pro-Lazer event organized by West Midlands Police as part of the United Streets of Birmingham "All out Day". This was a great chance for people to come and have a chat with their local officers as well as to see how things are done. Local residents and myself were given the opportunity to observe police doing speed checks on Tynedale Road, we even got to try out the speed gun to clock the speed of on coming traffic. As part of the event we observed the police pull over several motorists to give verbal warnings ...

Posted by rogerharmer on Roger Harmer

Jericho House Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the latest meeting of the Jericho House Support Group, a regular meeting at which a number of us discuss fundraising and other projects to support this extremely worthwhile facility in the West End Ward, that assists those recovering from alcoholism. We had very positive updates on a number of issues including working with Dundee in Bloom to maintain the Dundee West Church garden in Roseangle, other community work including helping an elderly resident with paint work and Jericho House's fundraising walk across the West Highland Way at the end of March ...

Wed 29th
21:32

Car boot sale scandal

Residents have been contacting Lib Dem councillors to express concern that a company calling itself HB Boot Sales is planning to have a car boot sale every Sunday in Ridgmont Road station car park from Sunday 4 March. Chris White comments: 'This is outrageous. The railway companies own this land and are as usual treating local people with contempt. I cannot see how in a civilised country people should have to put up with a car boot sale outside their front doors for 5 hours on a Sunday.' District Council officers are attempting to get the promoter to see sense ...

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White

Along with The Banana Splits and various old black and white US TV series like Flash Gordon Saturday mornings when I was a kid were about The Monkees. They were funny, got involved in all sorts of japes (yes, we had japes back then) and had great songs too. Originally conceived as a US TV programme about a pop group, riding on the wave of Beatlemania, they started having massive hits before the show had even aired and became one of the most successful pop acts of the late sixties. A couple of years ago my family got me The ...

Posted by Liberal Neil on A Liberal Dose
Wed 29th
21:08

Mental Health Carnival

You can find the February Mental Health Carnival on mrsshortiesmind. The January one was at In a bun dance. I shall be hosting the March carnival here on Liberal England. Carol at Dance Without Sleeping, whose idea the carnival was, explains the thinking behind it: Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed off, I should know. The Mental Health Carnival is a chance to share experiences and learn more about what people go through, plus its great therapy to write about it.So if you have written something about mental health on your blog that you would like to share ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England
Wed 29th
20:51

paw/pour/poor poll

View Poll: #1822924

I was super excited when I heard that Tim Ferriss, author of one of my favorite books 'The Four Hour Work Week', had written a guide book to rapid fat-loss, fitness and becoming superhuman. First of all 'The 4-Hour Body' is a BIG book, weighing in at 570 pages and with chapters like Building the Perfect ...

Posted by James Taylor on James Taylor
Wed 29th
20:29

February Books

Non-fiction 3 (YTD 14) The Hare with Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal The World of Washington Irving, by Van Wyck Brooks My Traitor's Heart, by Rian Malan Fiction (other than sf) 2 (YTD 4) Let The Great World Spin, by Colum McCann The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie SF (other than Who) 7 (YTD 14) Cyber Circus, by Kim Lakin-Smith Osama, by Lavie Tidhar By Light Alone, by Adam Roberts Snuff, by Terry Pratchett The Islanders, by Christopher Priest Year's Best SF 24, ed. Gardner Dozois Embassytown, by China Miéville Doctor Who etc 8 ...

The Liberal Democrats' pre-eminent expert on the Monkees pays tribute to Davy Jones, who died today: Jones was primarily an actor, rather than a singer or songwriter, which is why he doesn't come across especially well in my book, because it focuses on the music. Were I talking about the band as entertainers though, I would have placed Jones at the top of the list.

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England
eUKhost

In the introduction to his Vanished Kingdoms, Norman Davies remarks that ""All states and nations, however great, bloom for a season and are replaced." It's a good thing he is not a Liberal Democrat. Because, though it is hard quite to discover quite what it was that Jenny Tonge said that led the leadership to announce that she would have the whip withdrawn unless she apologised, press reports suggest that it was her statement that "Israel is not going to be there for ever in its present form." The Roman Empire disappeared eventually, so did the Ottoman Empire and I ...

Posted by Jonathan on Liberal England

... or perhaps I'm in the eye of the hurricane. There's lots about to happen over the course of the next few weeks and months. Changes at work mean that it looks as if I'm going to be busier than ever ... but it's nice to be wanted! It's about a week to go before the MITx circuits and electronics course starts. Despite that, there's been no further communication from MIT about my registration or early access to materials ... so I'm assuming that I'll get some kind of email on the start day, which is Monday 5th March, and ...

Wed 29th
19:39

Dear Nick Clegg......

Do you actually believe in freedom of speech? Not, it would appear, from your reported remarks and threats about Jenny Tonge which triggered her resignation. (See for the context among other places) Let us examine the remarks which you call 'wrong and offensive'. They are:- "Beware Israel. Israel is not going to be there for ever in its present form. One day, the United States of America will get sick of giving £70bn a year to Israel to support what I call America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East - that is Israel. One day, the American people are ...

Posted by Gareth on Gareth Epps
Wed 29th
19:27

RIP Davy Jones

Some people have said that in my book on the Monkees I'm a little harsh on Davy Jones. It's entirely possible that I am. But even so, he was capable of some great music, like this: The thing is, Jones was primarily an actor, rather than a singer or songwriter, which is why he doesn't ...

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!

South West MEP Julie Girling is one of 11 MEPs in Burma this week and will today make history by being part of the first official delegation from the European Parliament to meet the Sakharov and Nobel Prize laureate, and famed Burmese democracy and human rights campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi.Ms Suu Kyi (wearing green at the centre of the photo below) is one of the best-known prisoners of conscience

Posted by Andrew on La Treizième Étoile

[IMG: 20120229-190445.jpg] All, I've never been the best of writers and this is a pretty dry subject – but if you live in Shipston and care about its future then give me a few minutes and read this artcle. Stratford District Council is currently consulting on its draft Core Strategy – and you can comment on it up until 5pm on the 30th March. That might have turned a few of you off from reading any further – but trust me, this is important. The Core Strategy sets out the development strategy for the District until 2028. It says how ...

Posted by Philip Vial on Philip Vial

No, I've not lost my marbles or become some closet eugenicist. According to the Telegraph, this is the title of an article in the journal of medical ethics. Here is a flavour of the article. The article, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, says newborn babies are not "actual persons" and do not have a "moral right to life". The academics also argue that parents should be able to have their baby killed if it turns out to be disabled when it is born. I'm not sure if this is some sort of clever anti abortion piece (Read it ...

Posted by Carl Minns on Carl Minns - Thoughts from Hull

My delight at Baroness Tonge's decision to stand by her illiberal principles and abandon the Liberal Democrats is immense Since she is clearly no liberal, why would she want to be a Lib Dem anyway? It is grotesque to contemplate the end of any country (least of all a country whose neighbours regularly call for its genocidal destruction) and Nick Clegg was right to demand that she apologise. You can be a Lib Dem Parliamentarian (representing the corporate body that is my party) OR you can say what she said - you can not do both. Subject to ...

Posted by Matthew Harris on Matthew Harris

It's February 29th! A rare day indeed! I always enjoy Leap Years because in my mind they're associated with the Olympic Games - falling as they do every same 4 years as the summer games which this time around will of course take place in London. But as a fan of classical music, there is an extra reason for my being a fan of this quirky date. On February 29th 1792, Gioachino Rossini was born and he is one of my favourite composers. Today then would've been his 55th birthday but as he was a Leap Day baby - it ...

Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore writes regular columns for local newspapers in his constituency. Here's this week's edition. Scottish Questions and the Referendum My work in Westminster was particularly busy last week with Scottish Questions and a session at the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. Unsurprisingly, the Scottish Government's independence referendum was high on the agenda at both, with numerous questions being raised on the timing, the question and the SNP's plans for an independent Scotland. During Scottish Questions I highlighted the concerns felt by many people across Scotland that the SNP have not spelt out what ...

Posted by Michael Moore MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

This is the extraordinary response to a written question which I received today: Peter Black (South Wales West): How many times did Ministers meet with AWEMA in the six months following each of the reports into AWEMA in 2002 and 2004 and following concerns raised by the then Chair in 2007. (WAQ59851) Jane Hutt: It is not appropriate for me to comment in light of the ongoing Wales Audit Office review into the history of the Welsh Government's support of AWEMA. The lack of transparency and accountability in this matter is being taken to extreme lengths by Government Ministers.

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

The former MP for Richmond Mark, Jenny Tonge, has this afternoon resigned from the Liberal Democrats. The official line appears to be that, having refused to apologise for an insensitive remark about Israel, Baroness Tonge decided to resign the party whip, claiming that her right to an independent view had been undermined. The controversial comments were made in a speech at Middlesex University last Thursday, in which Tonge predicted that Israel "would not last forever" and that the USA would eventually withdraw political and financial support, leaving it to "reap what it had sown". Foolish? Yes. Insensitive? Yes. Racist? Probably. ...

Posted by Andrew on A Scottish Liberal

We're concerned that dog mess seems to have become more of a problem in some areas recently – as we speak to people around Cheadle & Gatley it's one of the concerns that's been regularly raised. In the Cheadle Area (which includes Cheadle, Gatley, Heald Green and parts of Cheadle Hulme) there were 16 complaints about dog mess in January, compared to 3 in December and 6 in November. Please do let us know where you see a problem. Most dog owners are responsible and clear up after their pets – it's the small minority who don't bother that cause ...

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

A quick follow-up to our story, Jenny Tonge resigns... Baroness (Jenny) Tonge has this afternoon resigned the Lib Dem whip after coming under intense pressure following the widespread reporting of remarks she made last week declaring that Israel "will reap what they have sown" once the USA gets "sick of giving £70bn a year to Israel to support what I call America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East". It is by no means the first time Baroness Tonge has landed herself in hot water for her out-spoken views on Israel: She was sacked by then leader Charles Kennedy as the ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice

Well after what seemed to me a bizzarre set of comments on Israel, Jenny Tonge has resigned/been sacked as a Lib Dem Peer. This leaves the new fledgling group Liberal Left with an interesting dilemma. With conference just weeks away Dr Tonge was advertised as a principle speaker for the Liberal Left fringe seen here: One wonders whether as well as having the whip withdrawn today, whether Linda Jack will withdraw the invitation too? We all wait with baited breath. A little bit more research has also pointed me to the fact that not only is Dr Tonge scheduled to ...

Posted by Andrew Emmerson on
Wed 29th
17:34

Jenny Tonge resigns

Baroness Jenny Tonge has resigned from the Liberal Democrats after refusing to apologise over her remarks about Israel. According to Nicolas Watt of the Guardian, this follows Nick Clegg's ultimatum that she should apologise for her remarks or resign. HuffpoUK has the story: Baroness Tonge has resigned the Lib Dem whip in the House of Lords, according to reports, after refusing to apologise for claiming that Israel would not "last forever". The Liberal Democrat peer, who once said she would consider becoming a suicide bomber if she were Palestinian, was roundly criticised for the remarks. According to reports on the ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

First, there was the Orange Book. Then Liberal Democrat Voice published the Tangerine Book. Now, tomorrow, Scottish based Liberal Futures will publish The Little Yellow Book, a collection of essays on Liberalism in Scotland today edited by former MSP and Education Minister Robert Brown and Nigel Lindsay (no relation). It aims to move beyond the Orange Book of 2004, and to articulate a Liberalism of the people that speaks to modern Scotland with a mission to make our country a more equal and buoyant one. Liberal Futures was established last year to promote thought and policy development among Scottish Liberal ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

Ann Widdecombe has called for a referendum on the subject on gay marriage. She believes in doing this because the Coalition for Marriage carried out an opinion poll which showed that 51% of people thought it was unnecessary. This flies in contrast to previous opinion polls.The reason? I suspect it has to do with the loaded nature of the question asking whether they agree or disagree with this statement:Since gay and lesbian couples already have the same rights as married couples available to them under civil partnership, they should not be allowed to redefine marriage for everyone else.So lets look ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal

Last night was the most important night of the year - it is when the Council sets it Council Tax. The night for me and others was very sad, certainly at the beginning of the meeting, as I said a few words in memory of somebody who had passed away over the weekend. I knew the person very well and it is always difficult to be as composed as you would like when talking about someone who is no longer with us, in person. No words seem fully appropriate. In the meeting Ealing Council agreed to freeze its level of ...

Posted by Gary Malcolm on Councillor Gary Malcolm
Wed 29th
16:55

Spending a Penny.

Today was Manchester City Council's nearly-annual LGBT Consultation Day. They didn't have one last year but that was a blip: it's been annual otherwise since about 2006, and the last two or three have been titled "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans" rather than the 80s throwback "Lesbian & Gay". There are many other things I want to say about it, but the first needs a post all of its own I feel. About four such conferences ago, I raised the problem of the loos. There are male and female toilets marked... but an LGBT event in this day and age ...

Posted by Jen on Either / And

Residents of Launceston will know how difficult and dangerous it can be to cross St Thomas Road. For residents living in the Priory part of town you almost feel like you are taking your life into your hands if you try to walk to the town centre. For many years, local residents have campaigned to get a safe crossing and I have put forward the case numerous times to council officers and even persuaded cabinet member Graeme Hicks to come to see the difficulties for himself 18 months ago. We were delighted, therefore, when the council agreed as part of ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

Saturday: It's entirely voluntary and the idea is supposed to be to give young people the experience of holding down a job, of getting up in the morning, of working as part of a team and so on. Just without the experience of GETTING PAID FOR IT. I have listened to the lovely Sarah Teather defending this government scheme, and pointing out that 50% of people who try it out DO go on to get a proper job afterwards. And I've heard that the scheme is terribly popular and that people are desperate to get on it. But with record ...

Thursday: Actually, the superficially-hilarious story of a Hard Labour MP going bananas and head-butting a Conservatory and then punching one of his own whips look like it might be a bit of a tragedy. Mr Eric Joyce, the MP in question, looks like he might have gone off the rails after his wife left him. Or possibly vice versa. Either way, it looks like he could have done with a lot more care and attention from his colleagues before it got to this stage. And let's not forget that WE didn't necessarily handle Charles Kennedy's drinking problem terribly well either. ...

Wed 29th
16:05

Day 4069: Greek Tragedy

Tuesday: The impossible financial situation in Greece rumbled on. On the one fluffy foot, you can UNDERSTAND why the Euro-bankers might want everyone in the Greek Parliament to sign up to the latest rescue plan - with fresh elections on the way, the temptation must be for an opposition party to repudiate the deal and stand on a platform of abandoning the austerity. And they'd probably WIN. The next government will surely be tempted to default, meaning the bankers will lose all the money they're considering loaning to the current government. So OBVIOUSLY they want everyone to be as IMPLICATED ...

Friday: Confusion still seems to abound concerning why we can't just send a man who has been convicted of no crime to a country where they probably obtained the evidence against him by torturing some other people until they were willing to say anything. I'll spell it out for you: BECAUSE IT IS WRONG! I'm sure it won't be long before some MORON comes along saying "what about the human rights of our womens and childrens"... oh, look, here comes the egregious Conservatory idiot Mr Peter Bonehead to say "What about the human rights of all our citizens - our ...

Wednesday: Lady Insider Warsi and definitely-not-a-lady Eric Pickled and man-in-a-frock (or is he a lady?) Mr Lord Canary all rush to the defence of the poor Christians who are being oppressed by a court ruling that no they cannot use the council agenda to COMPEL non-Christians to attend prayers. Shockingly, if they want to talk to their invisible friend they are completely free to do so so long as they do it in their own time and don't make other people join in. In her Valentine to Mr the Pope, Lady Warsi said this was up there with the invasion ...

I read the Metro every morning - I find that it's a good way to pass the time on my commute whilst catching up on the news in a not to heavy way to slowly wake me up. Today though I was angry, as I read a small article that once again is scaremongering over tuition fees. If one in ten medical students have turned to sex work whilst at University then this is a worrying trend that the Universities need to look into to ensure that no student is feeling forced into this position. However not one single student ...

Posted by Radar on iRadar

Valentine's Day I know I'm always on about Mr Bully Balls shooting his mouth off, but this month he really took the biscuit. AGAIN. When the credit rating agency Moody's put Great Britain on a WARNING that we might be downgraded from our Triple-A risk rating if Master Gideon doesn't stick tight to his austerity programme, the Shadow Chancer took to the airwaves to announce this was a sign that Master Gideon should, er, abandon his austerity plan. Basically, Moody's said "take one step closer to Mr Balls' position and we shoot you". Which Mr Balls took as an endorsement. ...

Wednesday: Apparently sending a PRINCE and a BOAT to the Falklands counts as a "dangerous militarisation". At least that is what the President of Argentina is to complain to the United Nations about. Mind you, according to the BBC's then-and-now comparison, it looks like these days the Falklands would stand a better chance of taking Argentina if the islanders invaded them. Fortunately, the Argentinians have Oscar-winning Sean the Sheep on their side. So that's all right then. Accusation Comparison Actor

Wed 29th
16:00

Day 4077: True Fact

Wednesday: From Blogger Pictures It's been a bit heavy going at work this month - that's Daddy Richard's excuse AGAIN. So, sorry to all my readers for another month of light blogging. Here's some of what we missed...

First, there was the Orange Book. Then Liberal Democrat Voice published the Tangerine Book. Now, tomorrow, Scottish based Liberal Futures will publish The Little Yellow Book, a collection of essays on Liberalism in Scotland today edited by former MSP and Education Minister Robert Brown and Nigel Lindsay (no relation). It aims to move beyond the Orange Book of 2004, and to articulate a Liberalism of the people that speaks to modern Scotland with a mission to make our country a more equal and buoyant one. Liberal Futures was established last year to promote thought and policy development among Scottish Liberal ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

On Friday evening I'm heading off to Beckenham (home to the famous Chinese Garage, which is built in a Japanese style and now sells French cars) to be the guest speaker at the local Liberal Democrats' Pizza and Politics evening. Details of the venue and so on are over on FlockTogether. Hope to see a few of this blog's readers there!

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Wed 29th
15:39

Linkblogging For 29/2/12

Just a few links – have not had my brain in the right place for writing for a few days... Lance Parkin is writing a biography of Alan Moore Jonathan Calder on Sarah Teather's ridiculous comments about an 'educated liberal elite' Dean Wesley Smith gives advice on pricing self-published books. Anti-authoritarianism is increasingly being seen ...

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!
Wed 29th
15:23

Conference Planner

If you're going to Federal Spring Conference in Gateshead 9-11 March 2012 then take a look at our ALDC Conference Guide here with quick details of the ALDC and local government fringe programme, and the series of ALDC and ALDC/LGA training events that are taking place on Saturday. Download our guide here (just 2 sides A4, if you want to print out). Highlights include our Public Health Fringe on Saturday lunchtime with Paul Burstow MP (lunch included), a speaker session on Saturday afternoon on local economic growth with speakers from Bedford and Portsmouth, and a series of election campaign training ...

Posted on ALDC

A massive fraud by greedy British fishermen has hugely damaged the country's reputation in Europe for fair dealing, a North West England MEP has claimed. Liberal Democrat Chris Davies, who is leading efforts in the European Parliament to reform the ... Continue reading →

Posted by Richard Marbrow on Chris Davies MEP

And so, the truth is out there. For all the talk of 'rowing back' from the New Strategic Direction, the half-dozen or so councillors who apparently run Suffolk (as opposed to the remainder who mostly do as they're told) are determined to contract out or divest themselves of as much as they can get away with.So, as a council taxpayer and observer of local politics, I am duty bound to consider what the impact of their course of action is.Let's start with an admission though. I'm an agnostic over the question of public versus private sector delivery of services. In ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

In my last post, I looked at the most significant environmental decisions facing the Liberal Democrats here at home in 2012. In this follow up blog, I'll look at what Nick Clegg and his team can do on the global stage to clean up our economies and help curb the emissions driving dangerous shifts in our climate. As Nick Clegg has said, "Because we are leading by example, we can make stronger demands of the international community." International leadership on climate change and the green economy Chris Huhne wrote in his resignation letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, "Climate change ...

Posted by Joss Garman on Liberal Democrat Voice

Like apparently everyone else, when I first heard Chris Huhne had taken the £17000 severance pay after stepping down from the cabinet, I thought this seemed quite wrong. But on reflection - I think he was right to take the money. Here's why. Firstly, Chris is innocent. Certainly in the eyes of the law. and more to the point - in his own eyes. He has consistently said that he is innocent of the charges laid against him from the word go and is sticking with that position. In these circumstances, if he has indeed been wrongly accused, then why ...

Posted by Richard Morris on A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON

This weekend, Scottish Liberal Democrats gather in Inverness for their annual conference. This is the second most important event to take place in the city this year (the most important being my sister's wedding on 8 April). I'm particularly looking forward to it as I was brought up there and the venue, Eden Court Theatre, is within a few minutes' walk of virtually everywhere important to me as a child. The Cathedral where I was christened is next door, my Grandma's round the corner, my primary school a wee bit further down the road. I also get to save on ...

Posted by Caron on Caron's Musings

ED'S JOB - the blog of Chief Executive Edelbertha Spengler Hello again! Isn't it marvellous to see all the flowers coming out? It's Spring!!! When we think of Spring, of course all sorts of things come to mind - lambs, flowers, birds, greenery, summer clothes and spring cleaning. Sometimes we collect loads of stuff we don't really need. For example, a recent check of OCC internet activity showed that some employees were registered with seven or more jobsearch sites! When my old grandma, bless her, died, we found her cupboard stacked with 1,823 empty yoghurt pots, and she didn't even ...

Posted by SibatheHat on Siba The Hat

Sorry to come back to the issue of the stadium again, but it seems that even the fourth floor bunker at County Hall don't know what is going on. Today's Laurence Reed show on Radio Cornwall carried an interview with Kevin Heaney, owner of Truro City FC, where he stated that the club were fully prepared to play their part in the stadium project and were ready to sell their Treyew Road ground to a developer to help finance the it. Yet Cornwall Council insists that TCFC is no longer a partner in the enterprise. At the same time, Cornwall ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

In his recent opinion, in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Browne is not just proving to be an articulate and capable minister, but a potential future leader. Dare I even say, Prime Ministerial. Like Danny Alexander, Jeremy operates in one of the most influential and prestiges offices in the country; this enables him to experience the ...

Posted by danielfurr on Too lib·er·al [adj.]

Timmy doesn't like wind turbines, or, indeed, anything of the other solutions to climate change which are subsidised. This is fair enough; it's entirely coherent for any classical liberal to dislike any prospect of rent-seeking that appears to impose costs on the rest of society. In a post on Forbes yesterday, he endorsed a letter ...

Posted by Adam Bell on Decline of the Logos

This weekend, Scottish Liberal Democrats gather in Inverness for their annual conference. This is the second most important event to take place in the city this year, next to my sister's wedding in the Highland Capital on 8 April. Every Council seat in Scotland is up for election in May so the Conference will be a good launch pad for the campaign. It's also new leader Willie Rennie's first Spring Conference speech, a chance for him to map out where he wants to take the party over the next year and remind us of how the small but strong Liberal ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice
Wed 29th
13:16

ATM Campaign update

Some progress on this campaign! There are still some parts of Liverpool that are effectively cash deserts when it comes to cash machines that don't charge. These are mainly in the North of the City, although there are some other parts that have problems. When you are on a low income, having to pay every time you draw out cash is like a tax on poverty. Anyway, the people from Link (one of the cash machine companies) are now going to come to Liverpool and hopefully do a bit of a tour and meet some people to look at whether ...

Posted by Paula Keaveney on Paula Keaveney - Lib Dem Campaigner
Wed 29th
12:56

How your tax is spent

A colleague of mine at LexisNexis, Mike Truman, has created a spreadsheet that allows you to see where your taxes go. If you click on this link you will get the spreadsheet in Excel format. Simply fill in the tax and national insurance you pay monthly or annually. Mike has also written about why he created the spreadsheet. You can read his post here. I don't normally promote my work activities on this blog but I thought the tax calculator would be of interest.

Posted by Simon Goldie on Simon Goldie

It's budget season and here's a question .... Is it an exaggeration to claim that there is a crisis in our system of democracy? When so many people don't bother to vote and there are communities in the UK which no longer have any faith in the willingness of parliament and local government to address their needs and concerns, to actually represent their interests, then I think not. However, the direction of the coalition government's policy is avowedly towards greater accountability and a stronger role for local people in decisions about local services. The reality is that, despite the rhetoric ...

Posted by Phil Teece on Liberal Democrat Voice

The proposed move to individual electoral registration throws up a number of challenges - but it is also a move that is being done for the right reason, to lessen the chance of our elections being tainted by fraud. A few years ago, I was a commentator for the BBC and others during the Birmingham vote fraud scandal when various councillors and others were convicted of running fraud factories. The move to individual voter registration was one of the results. It means that election officials will gather personal identifiers - signatures and so on - which can be used to ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

With the "Classic" Doctor Who DVD collection hurtling towards completion in next year's fiftieth anniversary year, most of the remaining stories are due out during 2012. There are long-awaited favourites; "missing" stories restored; others it made sense to leave 'til last. I'll probably review several of them in detail later, but here to start with are single-paragraph summaries in which I reveal which are the most exciting (and which the... slightly less exciting) 2012 releases, and predict some as yet-unannounced releases*. Unconvincing Daleks! Unconvincing dinosaurs! The Master at his best! Billy's big hat! Tom's deadly jelly babies! Sylv's hot arse! ...

Posted by Alex Wilcock on Love and Liberty

The Argentinian government threatens the sovereignty of a British overseas territory and, yet, still receives £452 million from Her Majesty's Government. May I ask why? Even the United States is refusing to send aid to Buenos Aires, who [Argentina] are still refusing to pay back £40 billion loans from the economic crisis several years ago. ...

Posted by danielfurr on Too lib·er·al [adj.]

The Prime Minister returned from Brussels on 9 December to celebrations of his "triumph' in exercising Britain's veto. He had prevented revisions to the EU Treaty intended to strengthen the ability of those countries within the Eurozone (they did not ... Continue reading →

Posted by admin on Chris Davies MEP

Charlotte Brontë manuscript found in Belgian museum French homework found in Charleroi (tags: bronte belgium )

.... which is a very interesting question, as unlike other councils, there is no examination of the budget at any point before it arrives at the budget meeting by anyone except the ruling Conservative group, and the officers who have to put it together based on their wishes. The Lib Dems talked about the lack of transparency, about car parking charges -which may or may not be going up, about the rubbish collection changes. But the bit that really seems to have infuriated the Conservatives was us pointing out that not everything was quite as wonderful as they were making ...

Posted by pruebray on Prue Bray

[IMG: LibDem conference] If you are planning to tweet about or from the Liberal Democrat spring conference in NewcastleGateshead*, then the hashtag people will be using is #ldconf. And if you're wondering what a hashtag is... it's just a bit of text that everyone talking about a particular event uses. If we all use the same tag, it means you can easily search and find what other people are saying about the event, even if you are not following them (and even without first having to know who they are). In other words, it's a bit like the difference between ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

I was somewhat surprised to find that the Department of Transport have found £392,000 to do something that I, as a non-driving country dweller, can approve of. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure that the Department of Transport is packed with frightfully well-meaning people, who are none of the worse for thinking that the countryside is improved by putting dual carriageways through it. After all, someone has to suffer so that the denizens of our major conurbations can avoid prolonged exposure to the rural environment. However, I digress. The money has been given to set up Suffolk Community Transport, ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

Going down the road to the Post Office, the supermarket, or just chatting at the school gates are things we take for granted in our everyday life. But they are only really possible because we have a shared language - English – that enables us to communicate what we want effectively. That's not true for everyone, though. And if you speak no, or very little, English, it's not just your social life that's cramped. You can't help the children with their homework, and you'll find it very hard to get a proper job. A high proportion of the people who ...

Posted by Andrew Stunell MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

This weekend, the Welsh Liberal Democrat family will be gathering in Cardiff for our spring conference. This has become a staple part of my diary and this year sees me celebrate my 10th anniversary of attending Liberal Democrat and Welsh Liberal Democrat conferences. So, what's the message? Well, unsurprisingly, we're concentrating on the forthcoming Council elections: our record as Welsh Liberal Democrats in local government across Wales and our vision for the future. It will all begin with the pre-conference rally on the Friday evening where Kirsty Williams will speak alongside current Councillors from across Wales and new candidates. You'll ...

Posted by Mark Cole on Liberal Democrat Voice

In general I like leap years as it means one thing - it's an Olympics year. As a sports fan it is something that gets me excited. Not excited enough to buy tickets mind, I'm spending enough going to cricket matches and music festivals in the summer - but I always enjoy it being on TV. There is something else 'special' about a leap year, on 29 February (today), custom dictates that it is the one day women are "allowed" to pop the question to their significant other. This annoys me for two reasons:Women should never have to be "allowed" ...

Posted by Radar on iRadar

I wanted to publicise the work of the Manchester Lymphoma Association support group, which is holding a meeting on Wednesday the 14th of March at the Christie in Withington. The group is made up of people who are affected by ... Continue reading →

Posted by John Leech MP on John Leech MP

Professor Hamid Ghodse, President, International Narcotics Control Board, United Nations, New York, USA Dear Professor Ghodse, I note with interest your comments that places in the UK like Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester have no go areas because of drugs like ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

Before I was winning chocolate at the weekend, I was campaigning in Croydon and Sutton as part of the excellent Action Day organised by George Kendall and others. It is no secret that the reason Liberal Democrats from across London are now paying rather more attention to Croydon than before is because significant parts of it may be moved into Tom Brake's constituency. It is typical of Tom that in amongst all the heat and rhetoric of the Parliamentary boundary review process, he has been quietly getting on with thinking ahead and acting. Rather than just abstractly debating what his ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice

Second in an occasional series. Part 1 is here. FIVE MANAGEMENT LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE EWOKS 1. Be prepared. The Ewoks, being tiny stone-age teddy bears, were able to defeat an entire legion of Imperial troops partly through a cunning collection of traps, which considering their scale and complexity, must have already been in place prior to the rebel landing party (perhaps the Ewoks were already considering a strike against the Empire). Without the giant tree trunks to crush the Empire's AT-ST walkers, the Ewoks would have been significantly disadvantaged. 2. In fluid and poorly-understood situations, it pays to ...

Posted by sanbikinoraion on FORTRESS FREEDOM

Don't tell me the usual shopping list which begins with increasing the personal allowance. So far in government we have abandoned Keynesian economics, our opposition to nuclear power, our commitment to higher education available on merit not wealth, our historic identification with Beveridge's welfare state and our long-held support for a united Europe but we're still the party that loves

Posted by David on Disgruntled Radical

Silly graph of the day (tags: funny ) Teletext: a look into the future, from the past Who remembers Debbie's Diary then? (tags: nostalgia ) Wind power still gets lower public subsidies than fossil fuel tax breaks Hands up anyone who is surprised? (tags: environment ) New Statesman - Did the Met betray rape victims to avoid bad PR? Also worth reading the comments on this one. (tags: rape ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments

Wed 29th
08:57

Galactic management #1

So, in a shocking revelation, a Forbes staff-writer knows less about Star Wars than I do (nb. this is not necessarily a point in my favour!). Here's my riposte to that article, from a google plus conversation -- with footnotes now hyperlinked... The Emperor was entirely selfish -- he didn't care if the Empire continued after his death (although presumably he wasn't planning on dying!) and from his perspective there was simply no need to consider a power structure to follow him. In fact, as Tim Zahn makes clear in the wonderful Thrawn series of books, the Empire is still ...

Posted by sanbikinoraion on FORTRESS FREEDOM

I see that the metropolitan police, loaned Rebekah Brooks, a horse, such was and maybe still is the relationship between News International and London's finest. Assuming the met accept the principle of equal opportunities, I wonder if I could loan one of those cars they have with blue flashing lights discreetly hidden in the grill. I'll put my own fuel in it, but it would come in handy getting to and fro from work. PS I'll be kinder in future with my comments.

Posted by tony flaig bignews on BIGNEWS MARGATE

MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit, prominent leader of the student revolts which erupted throughout Europe in 1968, came to Kings College London on 28th February to give a talk on where the EU should be headed in these equally turbulent times. Originally ... Continue reading →

Posted by paulhaydon on Eurology

The swift rising of new social network Pinterest is understandably resulting in people falling ravenously on any data for who is using it, how and why. The risk is that a single source of data ends up being widely circulated and taken as gospel, when an alternative analysis tells a very different story. (The failure to put data through a sceptical eye can of course occur with well-established social networks too, as shown by my recent blog post about the Facebook myth). A great case in point at the moment is Pinterest and the Visual.ly infographic comparing Pinterest traffic in ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

This morning's Telegraph carries the extraordinary claim that MPs and peers have been warned that they face "diplomatic repercussions" unless they remove a document detailing aspects of one of Britain's last remaining super-injunctions from the Parliamentary record. They say that Archerfield Partners, a firm of solicitors acting for the ex-wife of an unnamed Asian head of state, has made a series of threats against the joint Parliamentary Committee on Privacy and Injunctions, made up of 26 MPs and peers. The report says that the firm has asked the MPs and peers to take down a submission from the committee's website ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

This was the Kitchen Reader selection for February, chosen by Jules of Stone Soup. It's a mostly-enjoyable memoir of her history with food and the way it has shaped the narrative of her life. I haven't cooked any of the recipes that are included in the book, yet, but they look clear and straightforward; I will probably try the chana masala and some of the salads. In the narrative itself, some of her description of her marriage resonated with me, especially this: "That's how I know we're going to be all right. Because being the person I want to be ...

A lot of feminist bloggers and journalists have commented on the growing marketing campaigns around women proposing on the leap year, 29 February 2012. One of my favourites was by Rosamund Urwin of the Evening Standard. She proclaims; "If we're on the back foot in relationships, we won't help things progress by continuing to stick ...

Posted by Curious on Political Parry

No sooner had the New Statesman posted my suggestion to Nick that he took advantage of the open goal yawning in front of him by doing the kindest thing, killing the Health and Social Care Bill, and positioning himself as the man who saved the NHS, than he did the complete opposite. He sent that letter from himself and Shirley Williams to his Peers and MPs. And I think that letter was a mistake. Firstly, I'm not sure it says good things about Nick's leadership that in order to get the Parliamentary Party he leads on side, he has to ...

Posted by Richard Morris on A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON

The Friends of Arbury Library group is holding its AGM tonight at 7pm in the Arbury Community Centre - please come along if you'd like to contribute! If you can't make it you can visit the Friends of Arbury Library website here; http://friendsofarburylibrary.blogspot.com/

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on King's Hedges

Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader, was interviewed by the BBC's Andrew Neil at the weekend on some of the key issues currently facing the party and the Coalition. These included the Lib Dem push for tax-cuts for the low-paid, maintaining the 50p tax-rate for those earning more than £150,000, and the NHS reform bill. Here's what he had to say: (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.

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice

This week, I've gone for a song by the fabulous Ms Diana Ross. Now, I'm not normally a fan of too much schmaltz or, indeed, torch songs (or not that I admit to) but this is a great song. It's not just a power balled, either, Ms Ross manages to imbue it with tenderness and passion, holding back as well as letting go, controlling the song not letting it control you. Here she is with "When You Tell Me That You Love Me": Andrew

Posted by oneexwidow on the widow's world

Last Tuesday (21st February), BBC Radio 4′s pm programme broadcast a memorable interview. It was part of their 'take a leap' campaign, challenging people to do something extraordiary on 29th February and tell the programme all about it. The interview in question was with Jeffrey (I am merely guessing the spelling) who suffers from a severe anxiety disorder and therefore hasn't managed for four years to take the half hour bus trip from his home to Swansea. (EDIT: the BBC has now put a clip online: listen here, from 2:00) Today, on Wednesday 29th February, he is planning to get ...

Posted by Maria Pretzler on Working Memories