Lib Dem Voice has introduced a tough new comment censorship policy. The unintended consequence has been that loyal Lib Dems who want to robustly defend the party against often obvious political trolls find their comments censored while the original attacks remain. Here's what I tried to post this evening in the comments thread to the interesting op ed Liberal Left have short memories... One of the failures of the self styled left (both within and without the Lib Dems) is an arrogance and certainty that they are the sole keepers of the progressive faith and that only solutions approved by ...
As Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian, declared in Oxford this evening, 2011 was an extraordinary year for his newspaper. It published huge extracts from the Wikileaks files, exposing elements of US Foreign Policy that astonished even longstanding hard-bitten hacks like myself. And later the true extent of illicit practices carried out by journalists from the ...
With musical artists as with authors, there are some that one follows and buys their every work, others who one likes for a while before moving on to other things. So while I loved Al Stewart's Year of the Cat album, its successor Time Passages wasn't nearly as good, and I didn't bother with any of his other releases. And while it seems rather shallow of me, back in the 80s, I was aware that it was a bit uncool to like an artist who wrote peformed songs on historical themes. It overtones of the then much derided Prog Rock. ...
The Manning campaign have finally acknowledged the gender issue (warning, may be triggering for trans-related stuff and for sexual harassment related stuff). They say that as far as they are able to determine, Manning wishes to be referred to as male and as 'Brad' or 'Bradley', but crucially also acknowledge that hir circumstances mean that ...
Birmingham City Council has published a consultation document on the expansion of The Oaklands Primary School. The Council wants to double the capacity of the school from 210 to 420. Demand for places has grown rapidly during recent years due to increasing birth rates. Unless action is taken there will not be enough mainstream school places to meet the needs of this part of Acocks Green. The proposal would see the reception intake double from 30 to 60 children in September 2013 and the school then doubling in size over the following 6 years. Staff and Pupils should be generally ...
We all know the boys from the NYPD Choir were singing "Galway Bay", but who wrote the song? I found out in my lunch hour this week when I came across this blue plaque in Prebend Street, off London Road, in Leicester. And Leicester Chronicler tells us all about Arthur Colahan: Arthur Colahan was born in Enniskillen on August 12th 1884, the eldest son of Nicholas and Lizzie Colahan. He was a boarder at Mungret College in Limerick, and then enrolled at University College Dublin in 1900 where he gained an Arts Degree. He took up medicine and graduated from ...
Unfortunately this year I've not been able to attend our spring conference in Inverness. I'm not thrilled about that because conference to me is a rare opportunity to meet with fellow party activists and contribute to political debate. I was particularly keen to be supporting a topical motion advocating a second question on the ballot form for the independence referendum and would have been able to move it had other events not intervened. And so, in the sense that I'm missing out both socially and in regards supporting a cause I'm deeply passionate about, I could be said to be ...
I ask the question given the quite astonishing stance of the Cambridge University Students Union to try and pull the plug on the Cambridge Union's invitation to former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn to come and speak. So far some 665 members of Cambridge University have signed a petition arguing in favour of the reversal of the golden thread of justice, with a presumption that the accused is guilty until proven innocent: We ask that the Union Society revokes its invitation to DSK. We believe that free speech is about more than inviting rich, white, powerful (in this case allegedly rapist) ...
Boris Johnson boasted about his foreign relatives before the last London elections, claiming "you can't out-ethnic me." But does he secretly wish for less "ethnic" relatives? The mayors' tweet yesterday, wishing the racist historian Dr David Starkey was his uncle, ... Continue reading →
In recent days the Liberal Democrat MEPs Bill Newton Dunn and Graham Watson have both written about meeting the former world champion Garry Kasparov, who is campaigning to get chess included in school curricula across Europe. I don't know about that, but I am a great believer in chess clubs schools, as readers of my recent Guardian article will recall. If you want some practical help in setting one up yourself, the people to contact are Chess in Schools and Communities. I wrote about them in that article and they have kindly put a link to it on their website. ...
Congratulations to Debbie James and The Bookshop, Kibworth, for being named Independent Bookseller of the Year for the Midlands and Wales Region. As The Bookseller says: The newest shop among the regional winners is The Bookshop Kibworth, which owner Debbie James opened in November 2009, with the judges particularly praising its community focus. James called the regional win a "champagne moment". She said: "It's been an extraordinary two years. I have been lucky to have been supported by people from the community from the beginning, who were thrilled to finally have a bookshop in their town."You can read more about ...
Fri 2nd
19:26
Paddick: some Met detectives adopt a "she wants it really" attitude to women alleging rape
The Lib Dems' London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick is interviewed in today's Guardian, and has some strong words for his former employers, the Metropolitan police: Paddick warns that some detectives adopt a "she wants it really" attitude to women alleging rape and sometimes refuse to acknowledge that some types of men, such as licensed cab drivers, can be rapists. The former deputy assistant commissioner is placing the Met's mixed performance on dealing with rape at the heart of his campaign as the Liberal Democrat candidate in May's London mayoral election. Paddick, who told the Leveson inquiry this week that he ...
Almost a clean sweep for the Liberal Democrats this week, winning five out of the six local council by-elections. There were three gains and two holds by the party, and in Castle ward, Cumbria, there was actually a swing towards the Lib Dems, although the party lost the seat to Labour. Notably, Shamblehurst – in Chris Huhne MP's Eastleigh constituency – was held by a wide margin, as Chris Huhne's website reports: The Liberal Democrats have secured an overwhelming vote of confidence from Eastleigh Borough residents in a Hedge End by-election that took place yesterday. Liberal Democrat candidate Richard Effeny ...
Hilarious parody in the Standard of one of those independent candidates who make a big thing of being 'ordinary and not like other politicians' - never, ever trust a politician who makes a pitch on that basis. It is so funny that I almost believed it. The best bit is when the candidate, Siobhan Benita, who is running for London Mayor, talks about having chosen not to go to Oxbridge because the lavatories are inadequate (she went instead to Warwick, which she says "had very nice toilets (sic)". She says: "I visited Oxford and chose not to go to Oxford ...
Wednesday night we had Full Council assembly – budget setting. For some bizarre reason the Labour administration had decided to have a class photo of all the councillors in the council chamber £350+ photographer + £30 per copy for 63 councillors. The irony of such profligate spending at a budget setting meeting where budgets are being cut was lost on everyone except me. So you wont see me in this photo. I didn't attend this pre assembly photo.
The news that Steve Hilton is taking a leave of absence of at least 12 months from No.10 will obviously mean changes of policy, of emphasis and of tactics in Downing Street Operations. The Telegraph has a good review of many of the themes that Hilton championed, few of which will be missed by the Lib Dems. Two appear to have been missed. Firstly, Hilton was the great champion of Behavioural Economics in Downing Street, as exemplified in the book and later the blog 'Nudge' (which is very much worth a visit from time to time). Here's a report from ...
Yes I've done it! I've waded through the Greenwich Masterplans. These are planning documents for four areas of the borough – Charlton Riverside, Peninsula West, Woolwich Town Centre and Eltham Town Centre. They are currently open for consultation until 9am on Friday 9th March, so have your say. A lot of this seems to ...
Here I am, on the train home, reading my copy of the Ipswich Star, only to discover that, on this day in 1988, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party merged. Is it really twenty-four years? Hard to imagine, but there you go. And for those of you youngsters who bemoan our polling numbers right now, you cannot imagine how much worse they were after merger. As Paddy Ashdown often notes, we were at one point within the margin of error of 0%. We survived that. We'll probably survive this too. We liberals are persistent like that...
In a change of schedule by way of remembering Monkee Dave Jones, here's the band with one of my favourites, Pleasant Valley Sunday. Jones has been generally described as their lead singer. But I remember from the original TV shows - as in this clip - Mickey Dolenz mainly taking on that role (assuming miming counts)...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Jenny Tonge resigns Lib Dem whip over controversial "Beware Israel" remarks (44 comments) by Stephen Tall Jenny Tonge resigns (10 comments) by The Voice Is this the most biased opinion poll question ever asked? (23 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: LibsLeft – because it's the Left's turn (51 comments) by Jonathan Hunt NHS bill: Nick Clegg outlines changes aimed at Lib Dems (40 comments) by NewsHound 5 sample LDV Members' Forum threads Baroness Tonge Great book on ...
Nations 44 (+15) Competitors 3089 (+462) Sports 17 (-5) Events 126 (-28) 4 May - 27 July hosted by Paris, France These were the final games to he held under the IOC Presidency of Baron Pierre de Coubertin how having held the role for 29 years stepped aside the year after the second games to come to his home city. There were also the second Olympic Games to be held in France that year, the inaugural Winter Olympics had finished in the Alpine resort of Chamonix just 3 months before the opening of the Summer Games. There were officially at ...
I do a regular e mail bulletin of local news. Its mainly about the Cressington ward but it covers neighbouring areas too as people don't suddenly switch off when they cross an electoral boundary! You can subscribe at this link.
Met Lord Sharkey in Manchester today. We visited members of the Turing Celebration Committee at the University to see what joint work could be done to highlight Turing's life and achievements. Lord Sharkey told me that he had a personal interest in ... Continue reading →
Why the rise in Air Passenger Duty matters to BME communities up and down the UK 'A wicked tax' as many members of my friends and family explain to me when I am helping them find tickets 'going home' to Jamaica or Grenada. Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD) will be holding a fringe event at Spring Conference looking at the effects of the controversial Air Passenger Duty (APD) on BME communities and the economy as a whole. I have real concerns that when the new levy is introduced this April, the party could be seen in a negative light amongst ...
To be fair I have to come back to factions! Since I posted on Liberal Left along comes Liberal Reform to bat for the more economic liberal side of the party. This should all make the forthcoming Spring Conference (which I can't make sob) pretty spicy. Throw in the NHS row with all these new ...
The resurfacing work at the Roseangle car park is nearing completion and, as you can see below from photos I took late yesterday, the newly resurfaced car park is a huge improvement on the old pothole-ridden surface: The City Council's parking staff updated me yesterday afternoon as follows and I'm confident the car park will be re-opened over the weekend and in full use next week : "I carried out a site visit to Roseangle Car Park this morning and I can confirm that good progress is being made with the resurfacing works. I spoke to the Supervisor on site ...
Why? Because they are both the same thing - forcing managers to meet numerical approximations, when they should be struggling for broad improvement. What should we do about it? How about we tax all bonuses, in public, private and voluntary sectors, at 90 per cent.
Recently I corresponded with my friend and Labour activist Emma Burnell who blogs at Scarlet Standard. I was interested in her views on internal party democracy in the light of some recent stirrings on that theme in the blogosphere. Here are our exchanges: Dear Emma I recently read Alex Hilton'srecent piece on LabourList "Losing Faith" which strongly criticised the approach of the LabourParty and given our previous conversations about internal party democracyregarding Lib Dems and Labour, I was interested in your views. As an active member of theLib Dems, one of the things I find most satisfying is knowing that ...
This is Nick Clegg's speech in full delivered to a packed & enthusiastic hall A few minutes ago. Liberals from the Highlands and Islands have always been at the heart of our party. From the late great Jo Grimond and Russell Johnston, great leaders like Bob McLennan, Charles Kennedy and Jim Wallace in Scotland, to our current team at Westminster, Highland and Island voices have shaped who the Liberal Democrats are. In Danny Alexander and Alistair Carmichael, I have Liberals from the Highlands and Islands with me right at the heart of British Government. At Holyrood too Highlanders have made ...
My rebellious friend Jack Cade has been in touch again pointing out that the word Soviet means Council in English and that this is the more accurate word for our local rulers! Harsh I would say although my recent visit to the Council chamber to observe the budget debate contained little debate, a lot of non speaking ...
Tweet Great to see the arrival of an all female political blog in the UK, Left Out. I look forward to reading the posts and to hearing the predictable moaning from the more naive men that assume that women don't need any 'help' to have their voices heard, we live in a meritocracy after all. Ahem.
When my grandfather was in his last week of life I was sitting by his bedside in the local community hospital as he dozed peacefully in a morphine assisted haze. Suddenly, all hell broke loose next door. I stormed into the other room to see a small group of care assistants throwing pillows from one to another and loudly humming the theme tune from Star Trek. "Do you mind?" I said: "there's a man dying in there". An instant spokeswoman apologised unreservedly but went on to point out gently: "It's hard for us too and we have to have a ...
These lamp posts are great! They chime beautifully with the existing street furniture and have been providing a suitably Dickensian feel to late night strolls across Blackheath. To really get into the zone you need fog as well and the sudden looming of a chap in a cape and top hat breathlessly rushing by on his way to the Princess ...
We trust that doctors and nurses will care for us to the best of their ability, and we trust the decisions they make about our treatment are always in our best interest. It is clear that for patients and medical professionals alike, maintaining the integrity of the NHS is essential. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will bring their unique knowledge of the health needs of their patient population to the design and commissioning of health services as part of the proposals contained in the Health and Social Care Bill. We know that CCGs must be transparent and accountable to the public ...
[IMG: A horse] Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. (Oh, and EU leaders sign major new treaty in latest attempt to avoid economic meltdown.) Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. (Oh, and grisly summary execution of 17 in Syria as Russia weakens support for Assad.) Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, ...
Well I can't claim to be a celebrity nor, after the good burghers of Greenwich have spoken twice over the last 5 years, a politician. However very small parts on obscure TV docu-dramas, "straight to the bargain bucket" films and worthy semi-pro fringe theatre (i.e. audience outnumbered by cast) surely give me a remote chance of appearing ...
Liberal Left want to be careful what they wish for. In 1977 Liberal Leader David Steel struck a one-year deal with Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan that the 13 Liberal MPs would support the Labour Government in votes of confidence and supply. [Of those 13, nine are deceased, one is still an MP (Alan Beith) and one is in the Lords (David Steel).] In return a number of Liberal Policies, most notably PR for European elections, would be enacted. After the pact, the Liberals eventually voted for a motion of no confidence that brought down the government. In the subsequent ...
The late Conor Cruise O'Brien used to refer to the sense of liberation he felt once he was no longer involved in party politics. It enabled him express his views freely without being bound by any collective responsibility. On the issues that interested him, such as Northern Ireland and the Middle East conflict, his views were at odds with the political mainstream. As a party politician he was fettered by the need to express the predictable well-meaning banalities that are expected on such topics. As a writer free of party ties he was free to follow the logic of his ...
Stockport Council is warning that, due to a technical issue, emails informing parents and carers of their child's allocated school for September 2012 have been delayed. The Council is working to rectify this as soon as possible, and apologises for any inconvenience caused Emails will be sent as soon as the technical problem is resolved. Information about allocated school places can be obtained prior to receipt of emails by logging back on to the on-line system www.stockport.gov.uk/schooladmissions.
The Fernery and Aviary at Southport's Botanic Gardens have been saved. John Dodd is "chuffed to bits" The decision was taken at the Sefton Council budget meeting on Thursday 1st March. The original Labour budget proposed a £50,000 cut to the Fernery, Aviaryand nursery shop at Botanic Gardens, as well as the Conservatory in HeskethPark. These cuts were reversed as councillors from all parties responded to calls tosave the famous attractions. Local Lib Dem Councillor John Dodd has been vocal in opposition to thethreatened closures. He hailed the result,saying, "I am chuffed to bits. There has been a fantastic grass ...
I was asked to submit this article by the good people at fortress Liberal Democrat Voice earlier this week and though they had to cut it down ever so slighly due to its length, I thought I would re-publish it here in full. "This weekend, the Welsh Liberal Democrat family will be gathering in Cardiff for our spring conference. "For better or for worse, 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. Indeed, by my reckoning, this will be my 37th ...
One of my main pieces of work in Parliament concerns Europe's response to climate change. I am the rapporteur (lead spokesman) responsible for drafting Parliament's response to the Commission's 'roadmap' to a low carbon economy by 2050. It outlines what ... Continue reading →
A few days ago, Nick Clegg's special advisor Richard Reeves sent a bunch of flowers to Conservative MP Nadine Dorries as a tongue-in-cheek way of saying 'thank you' for her comments about the Liberal Democrats. Liberal Democrats like nothing more than hearing Dorries complain about Liberal Democrat influence on the Government. Reeves should be hot-footing it to the florist again after last night's tweet from Nadine Dorries, attacking the Liberal Democrats on the Health & Social Care Bill: "Health Bill was great until the Liberal Democrats mutilated it". An issue as full of technical detail as the Health & Social ...
Value Added Tax has never been terribly popular, or indeed, terribly well understood. According to HMRC, something like 14% of the gross VAT Theoretical Tax Liability (VTTL) goes uncollected, significantly in excess of the proportion of the tax gap overall. If that figure were reduced to the 8% seen across the piece, that would imply extra government income of £4.8 billion, not an amount to be sneezed at. There are some unique features. Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud, where fraudulent traders acquire goods VAT free from EU Member States; charge VAT on their onward sale and then 'disappear' to avoid ...
Click to enlarge Hats off to @timmontgomerie for the spot.
There was a discussion recently on a LinkedIn group on "What makes us human?". This focused on human behaviour traits, good and bad. I'm not usually very literal-minded, but I had trouble with this one. I observe and display all sorts of human behaviour traits and I'm quite comfortable discussing human nature, but "What makes us human?" is either a question about mechanics to whjich the answer is "the instructions in our DNA, or rather a very tiny fraction of those instructions, as most of them could also make us chicken" - or it's inviting a comparison with something. So ...
(originally published in the Camden New Journal) In the first week of October Councillor Tom Neumark resigned from chairing development control planning, where he had done an excellent job, and I wrote at that time to thank him. But he was very little in evidence thereafter, causing me to write to him on December16: "You ...
Fri 2nd
11:25Opinion: Opening up the benefits of renewable energy means considering much more than just the size ...
At present for somebody to benefit from the subsidies offered to small scale renewable energy production they must have three things: 1 - Ownership of a property suitable for producing renewable energy 2 - A substantial amount of capital to invest in installing the technology and 3 - The opportunity to invest this capital for 25 years, with no possibility of early pay back unless they sell their house, in which case it is an open question what return they might receive. Unsurprisingly this leave most people unable to access these benefits, even though many may have something to contribute ...
A rule of good communications is that less is always more. In this clip - courtesy of Lib Dem Voice - Nick Clegg shows how to make a case succinctly and powerfully. More please Nick.
a 1% cut in the council tax cut in councillors allowances boundary commission review of number of councillors and wards early introduction of plastic a cardboard recycling a balanced budget In a statement before the Council meeting Lib Dem Leader Tony Robertson said: "The Liberal Democrat Group recognises the enormous financial pressures that face local residents. Many have seen their income frozen or their jobs under threat. That's why we are calling for a cut of £12 in the level of Council Tax, equivalent to a 1% reduction. After years of council tax rises under Labour, this is a move ...
On (Not) Having A Guardian « Ballastexistenz "When I was nineteen years old, my psychologist told me that I was not a real adult... He also told me that I would never be allowed to make adult decisions." (tags: autism ) Why I Won't Do Business With Amazon | Jason Erik Lundberg "Amazon is the biggest bully on the block, and is able to dictate its unfair terms to the world, and so I will no longer have anything to do with them if I can possibly help it. " (tags: books amazon ) Stratfor Is a Joke and So ...
Further to our post of February 17th, I now learn that Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole has been pressing David Cameron and the Minister for Housing and Local Government in England, Grant Shapps, for action on park homes and has received a sympathetic hearing. Wales should be able to act more expeditiously on this matter than the Whitehall machine, but in any case it has to be stressed that whatever Westminster decides in this area has no effect here. This is a delegated matter. Accordingly, I repeat our support for Peter Black's Park Homes Measure and ...
Fri 2nd
10:47
Cleveland Police Authority rejects Government offer of £960,000 grant to freeze Council Tax th...
I would hardly call the Northern Echo's report of the Cleveland Police Authority precept decision yesterday a fair and balanced report of the meeting. Where is the reference to the £960,000 grant the Authority would have received had it opted for the freeze option? That is the equivalent of a 3% increase in Council Tax. Surely Council Tax payers are entitled to know they are now going to be paying £1,120,000 extra in Council Tax this year when they could have saved that 3.5% increase and received £960,000 in Government grant funding. The concern was that this grant may not ...
A Liberal Democrat party member called Gareth Epps blogged an open letter to Nick Clegg about Baroness Tonge and free speech. I posted a comment including a link to my own blog, and Mr Epps responded with a comment in which he wrote:"I have removed the link to your blog as I will not be held responsible for aiding people to read such nonsense. I can see I will have to tightly moderate further comments."It is interesting to see that Mr Epps' impassioned defence of free speech only extends to nonsense with which he agrees, and not to nonsense ...
This is the update for the month of February 2012, for Sandgate, Cheriton and surrounding areas. PCSO Mark Ball attended Highlands Close in relation to a report of Anti-social behaviour towards a local resident. The group was quickly identified, resulting in Officer Ball speaking with the parents of the young person responsible. On Sunday 12th February PCSO's Vanessa Baber and Mark Ball were given a found wallet which contained money and various cards. The officers used a doctor's number which was found in the wallet to ascertain the owner and his contact details. This resulted in the individual, who lost ...
In just over three hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference gets underway in Inverness. It looks like we've brought the sunshine with us. I'm really thrilled to be welcoming members of my family to see parts of the Conference. The only other time my family and political worlds have mingled was at my 40th birthday party. I decided that I knew so many fabulous people who had never met each other that I didn't want the first time they got together to be at my funeral. That night was a hoot, it has to be said. Before I go any further, ...
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg this week launched a passionate defence of the Coalition's work experience initiatives, arguing that they help prepare jobless young people for employment. This follows the controversy about 'workfare', which some critics have labelled 'slave labour', an attitude Nick condemns here as displaying a "messed up set of priorities": (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.
This will mean the same day, but it may mean a different time of collection. The council wills art at 7 am and finish at 3pm Please let us know if you have any issues
Back by popular request - bacon sandwiches, toast & preserves! This Saturday 3rd March 2012 at The Chichester Memorial Hall, Sandgate from 10.00am until 12.30pm Stalls this week: The Sandgate Bakery - freshly baked bread, pies and biscuits, French cheese Juicy Fruits - fresh fruit and vegetables Izzy's Deli - homemade lasagna, soups, meat and vegetarian pies, pizzas and home cooked ham freshly sliced, English cheese Catherine Jordan Cakes - large and small cakes, seasonal fruit pies and tarts, scones and biscuits Old Hall Farm, Brookland - traditionally reared meat & sausages, rare breed lamb & pork and fresh eggs ...
Serial offender, Edwina Hart has done it again, after reportedly refusuing to allow Welsh Government Officials to give evidence to an Assembly Committee because there will be MPs present. According to the Western Mail officials from the UK Government's department for transport will give evidence at a joint meeting of the Assembly's Enterprise and Business committee and the Westminster Welsh Affairs committee on Thursday but staff working for Labour Business Minister Edwina Hart are expected to stay away. A Welsh Government spokesperson has told the paper that Mrs. Hart will attend a future meeting of the Assembly committee and that ...
The Controversial Case of Typhoid Mary Fascinating stuff (tags: history ) DeConnick and Noto Resurrect Dark Horse's "Ghost" YAY! I'm really excited about this. (tags: comics ) SIGNAL BOOST: Fancy working in comics? Here's a chance to get published. (tags: comics ) Gender and comics: "No more nut-smuggling zeppelins" - Graphic Scotland Interesting stuff on gender panels at comics cons. (tags: comics ) SIGNAL BOOST: Hypatia Special Issue on Feminist Disability Studies ... is looking for submissions, with an 8000 word limit and very high academic standards. (tags: ) Xena and Seven of Nine together in pictures (tags: awesome ) ...
[Note: the title of this post is to be read in the style of a classic 1980s science fiction movie] [warning - this post contains self-indulgent reflection...] I started a new job yesterday (as my handful of Twitter followers will recall) - here are a few thoughts. I spent nine mostly successful and hugely fulfilling years as a research scientist in a world-class academic institute, completing a PhD and a programme of post-doctoral research in a laboratory whose focus is on developing gene therapy for disorders that cause blindness. When my funding came to an end towards the end of ...
Discussion about the Gateshead Spring Conference has mainly focused on the potential row about the NHS Bill, but the Agenda also contains a Constitutional Amendment which could have a huge impact on our ability to work to with either the Tories or Labour after the next election. The Amendment is called "Support for a Government which contains other Political Parties" and can be seen here. This is an update of the "Triple Lock" dating back to 1998 after Paddy was thought to be getting too close to Blair's Labour Party. (Mark Pack has a history of the Triple Lock here.) ...
Breaking: Blow for Coalition as champion of NHS reforms #GreggJevin passes on. Had been in perfect health, too. # **Final day to apply** Paid internship at major grant-making educational charity, Educational Endowment Foundation http://t.co/z3CVQjYg # @stephen_gilbert Wld be vv interested to hear about how schools in Cornwall using PP & measuring its impact, Stephen (prof interest). in reply to stephen_gilbert # Ooh, exciting > JK Rowling's new book: clues suggest a turn to crime fiction http://t.co/bBSLzU6X via @guardian # Shocking but nor surprising > Phone hacking: News International accused of email deletion policy http://t.co/EjZRkS24 via @guardian # @christopherward Ever seen ...
[Originally posted at LSE British Politics and Policy, 01/03/12] Last week on the LSE British Politics and Policy Blog, Will Tanner argued that the government needs to change direction on public service reform. Tanner makes three points that flow from his frustration with progress. Mainly, he claims the government is being too cautious and it is placing an undesirable emphasis upon fostering mutual and not-for-profit alternatives to conventional public provision. Tanner argues that "meaningful" reform needs to be faster and it needs to happen on a larger scale. This point resonates with KPMG's 2010 paper Payment For Success, which sets ...
The internal politics of Nick Clegg's decision to co-author a letter to activists with Baroness Shirley Williams are not hard to understand. Left-wing activists and the professional NHS staff interests amongst the membership would and could still deliver a stinging rebuke to his Leadership through a wrecking motion at Gateshead next week. Judging defeat certain, and no doubt encouraged by threats of resignations, defections and ritual suicide by members of his 'peer-group', he has bravely decided to give in to their demands to present a united front. Charitably we judge he may have been poorly advised. Nick's preference for conflict-avoidance ...
I can't sleep, so I downloaded a book to my kindle app and read it. I did this by searching for free kindle books with high ratings and picking ones that looked vaguely interesting. Then I remembered that I promised Andrew that if I got a new book, I would review it. So I did. This is the book, and here is my review:I'm not going to say that this is the best book I have ever read, but it's better than many. The present tense narrative grated at first, but you soon get used to it, and the story ...
This will only make sense to you if you are familiar with both Bod (old kids' TV show in the UK) and Judge Dredd (old comic character from the UK). As this is MY readership, I expect most of you will get it ;) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The courtyard at Bush House in London was transformed tonight thanks to a very high-tech marquee and a full-on operation by an Events Management team, complete with atmospheric coloured lighting, bars with chilled cabinets full of beers and white wine, and a modern pop music band playing well, but too loud for an event which should ...
[IMG: Jamaica Village] Over the last few weeks Ed, Katherine and I have been encouraging local residents to have their say about the 10 day festival that Haringey Council wants to hold in Finsbury Park during the Olympics. The Council failed to consult properly with residents before signing a deal with the organisers and granting a license, so we decided to ask people what they think. Haringey are how developing their plans for managing the event and invited comments from councillors by the end of February. We've had over 50 comments from local people. The majority are content with occasional ...
