"What can the Lib Dems learn from the NHS debacle?" asks Thinking Liberal. "There were some quite radical elements of official, conference approved policy (like abolishing Strategic Health Authorities), but little awareness amongst members of the implications of official policy. The original Bill was probably quite a well crafted compromise between our official policy and Andrew Lansley's ideas (Paul Burstow certainly thought so). But as soon as the heat was applied, official Lib Dem policy counted for nothing - it had not been engrained on members' and activists' consciences." Jonathan Fryer celebrates multicultural London Liberal Democrats. "Why have allotments become ...
Why I'd like to see a Coalition of the Left, post 2015
These pages are littered with criticism of political parties, why, because no single group have all the answers and in the main most politicians, appreciate debate, however if you ask me, one political group unelected, inflexible always involved will often block the smooth flow of commerce and we the people pay the price, of course I refer to government functionaries, "officers" at local and national level. This weeks headline story in the Gazette, tells of the cancellation of a major windsurfing event and just how intractable and unhelpful this group can be, we refer to them as local government officers ...
Britain is an extremely centralised country. In the USA, Washington is the political capital, but the financial capitals are New York and Chicago. Germany has Berlin and Frankfurt. But in Britain everything is based in London and the South East of England, and regional variation of public-sector pay could make matters worse. At present, national pay scales act as a form of regional policy. The higher standard of living that workers enjoy in the regions counterbalances the fear that you may be out of the swing of the things there, and the result is that some people are happy to ...
It gives my reasons for why I, as a Gay man, support marriage equality and why the bigoted views we've heard from one or two Catholic Bishops and others are demonstrably wrong and, I'd argue, only serve to prove how extreme they are.
(Continuing my policy of reviewing every new book I buy and read, I'm crossposting this to Amazon UK) It's difficult to know how much information to give in a review of Shada, the latest in the BBC's line of Doctor Who prestige hardbacks, because it's aimed at at least three different, though overlapping, audiences – ...
I thoroughly recommend reading this Guardian article by Blaine Harden all the way through. It's he story of Shin In Geun, the only person known to have been born in a North Korean prison camp who has escaped. It certainly makes you appreciate the joys of normal life – particularly, food. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
You may or may not be aware of this but Bar Hill is divided amongst the Parish Councillors each of whom is expected, at least once a quarter, to walk their area making note any highways issues that need to be addressed so they can be passed on to Highways at Cambridgeshire County Council. Following me joining the Parish Council at the beginning of the year (and two people resigning) everything was moved around a bit and I've been allocated both The Spinney and Field View. The slight difference at this time was that Street Lighting is (as you know) ...
With its large Victorian houses and mature trees, Leicester's London Road is one of the most pleasant approaches to a city I know. Readers who know London might find it reminiscent of Hampstead. I have been exploring this part of Leicester today with the help of From Tollgate to Tramshed by Helen Boynton and Derek Seaton, which gives the history of London Road and its buildings from 1860-1920. The house in the picture above, Verecroft, is by no means one of the best houses I saw today, but in its history it is entirely typical of the area. It was ...
After a bit of a slow start at my first Newbury Park Run (on Greenham Common) two weeks ago, this morning I managed a sub-30 minute run. In fact, if Charlie, my dog and running companion, hadn't stop for a poo which he didn't do, I thinkg I would have done my best ever Park Run. Oh well, there's always next time. The Newbury Park Run really is quite superb in many respects. There's ample car parking. The scenery is awesome. It's great To have just one circuit to do – it's much easier for the brain to work out ...
The Highways Agency work to expand the motorway sliproad to three lanes looks to be moving ahead. Trees and bushes have already been cleared away from the banks and work is scheduled to start next Saturday and finish in June. The Lib Dem breakthrough was to link the sliproad changes with improvements to the Kingsway junction. The Highways Agency have always been one of the key blockers to plans to alter the junction, and have stopped previous plans to improve the right turn from Cheadle and Gatley. We ensured that the two plans were linked together, so the expansion of ...
Please keep an eye out fo Biff, a cat who went missing in the Beech Road area of Gatley on March 10th. Biff is an overly friendly cat with a tendency to follow people and jump in vehicles ! She has a purple collar on with name/bell/contact details.
The Friary This afternoon, along with a large gathering of church members, my ward colleagues, local residents and other guests, I attended the official opening of the City Church at its new place of worship, The Friary on Tullideph Road. The Friary closed as a place of worship in 2010, following the decision to close St Francis' Parish Church. There was much sadness at this decision and so it is great to see the Friary coming back into use as a place of worship. The City Church intends to engage with the local community and invite local people to use ...
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Sat 17th
18:30
At the Secularist of the Year today, with the winner Peter Tatchell, and Muriel Turner
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It is said that you should be careful what you wish for, and today, the public sector trade unions are discovering that the saying comes with a further corollary. In the midst of the debate on benefit caps, Labour proposed regional variations in the level of those caps. The logic was obvious - some places are more expensive to live in than others - and undeniable. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true, in that some places are cheaper to live in than others, a conclusion that was quickly seized upon by Iain Duncan-Smith amongst others. And if you apply that ...
...as the old song goes. An email from the Liberal Democrat News brings news of the death of Jennifer Longford at the age of 82. She was the daughter of Frances Stevenson, the lover of David Lloyd George, and most probably of Lloyd George too. The email says that: Jennifer Longford formed a close relationship with Lloyd George, which included discussing the political issues of the day. Historians and writers such as A J P Taylor, Roy Hattersley and Ffion Hague made use of her high intelligence and amazing memory to help them with their books.It also points us to ...
Here's your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate... With leaks pouring out of the Treasury pointing towards the dropping of the 50p tax rate for high-earners above £150k in this week's budget it seems a good time to have a robust debate about its merits. The 50p rate was one of the party's most high profile policies under Charles Kennedy, but was dropped in 2006 with greater emphasis instead placed on taxing wealth not income, as well as pollution taxes. However, in government, we have broadly supported the 50p ...
A number of things hit the headlines this morning as the Margaret Thatcher Foundation reveals papers from 1981. The early morning BBC radio headlines focussed on a meeting between Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch around the time News International acquired: Margaret Thatcher had a secret meeting with Rupert Murdoch at Chequers weeks before his 1981 purchase of the Times newspapers, newly released files show. A note by her press secretary Bernard Ingham says the prime minister thanked Mr Murdoch for "keeping her posted". But the contentious issue of whether to refer the bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission was not ...
The selection by Hackney Liberal Democrats of Pauline Pearce to be their candidate in the forthcoming by-election in Hackney Central is symbolic of the way London Liberal Democrats have transformed themselves in recent years to be an inclusive party that can not only represent the UK's multicultural capital but also reflects its diverse population. Pauline — ...
Given the day that's in it, I though I would list five books about Irish history which I would strongly recommend: 1) William Marshal : court, career, and chivalry in the Angevin Empire, by David Crouch William Marshall (1147-1219) was not in at the start of British rule in Ireland, but he came fairly close: in 1189 he married Isabella de Clare, the daughter of Richard "Strongbow" Earl of Pembroke and grand-daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, the last Gaelic King of Leinster; the last thirty years of his life were spent balancing the demands of running a huge Irish inheritance which ...
The incident scene in Queens road, Newbury has police crime scene tape around it and forensic officers are working inside. When I walked past at 1.30pm there was the Newbury Weekly News photographer outside and a reporter also. A TV cameraman was also wondering around outside. Full report on NewburyToday here. Here are my photos of the incident scene and the flowers outside: [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
There are many aspects of running this site that the LibDemVoice editorial collective actively discuss: which articles to publish and when, which adverts to accept and which to reject — and, most spiritedly, how to define our comments moderation policy. Until two years ago, we didn't really have a policy: basically it was a free-for-all until somebody complained, or a lawyer got in touch. Partly in response to the latter — but more especially in response to reader feedback that the comments threads were too often a no-go zone for all but the most thick-skinned — we started to tighten ...
Yesterday I joined children from Garston C of E School as well as representatives from Rotters Community Composting and others to complete part of our initiative to brighten up part of our area. Last year I got a group together to look at what we could do to improve the bit of Garston by the Cenotaph and the end of Long Lane. We came up with some ideas and started with a community litter pick. I managed to get some planters donated, which were then followed by some soil. We found some money for plants Rotters worked hard to plan ...
Plans are underway now for the next Garston Fun Day (which takes place on Garston Park). The date - 16th June. The time 11 till 2. This is the third of these annual events. The last two were great. There's a meeting in April for groups wanting to be involved. If you group was involved last time you should have had an e mail. If you haven't been involved before but want to, do let me know and I can pass your details on to the organisers.
Cllr Darren Fower is keen to hear local people's views on the idea of re-installing some goal posts to the recreational area located between Warwick Road (Walton) and Church Street (Werrington). Commenting, local LIB DEM ward councillor Darren Fower said: "Several years ago the City Council removed the goal posts, why? I have no idea! "Given its our national sport and the fact that the European Championships take place this year, its a real shame that there is no scope in this well located recreational area, for young people....or whoever for that matter..... to show iff their ball skills ....without ...
So there is a divide between pay in the north and in the south. Out public sector workers nurses and teachers for example find it hard to be able to afford to live in the South East for a start and getting on the property ladder is nearly impossible, so they end up paying higher rents they they would do in a mortgage. As a result some civil service jobs were moved from the South East out to rest of the UK. In one of my previous roles I benefited from this. I was carrying out the back office role ...
Dr Jenny Woods, moving the internet freedoms amendment The Liberal Democrat conference voted unanimously in favour of a motion to uphold and extend British civil liberties in Gateshead last weekend. Delegates also unanimously backed an amendment, moved by Aldes committee member Dr Jenny Woods, aimed specifically at proposals in the Communications Capabilities Development Programme(CCDP), asking the government to guarantee that any state interception of personal communications could only occur with specific and time-limited warrants. In 2008, the Times revealed plans (paywall) by the Labour government to increase state surveillance of electronic communications, via a series of measures under the Intercept ...
The latest in a long line of leaks from Number 11 about the coming week's budget (whatever happened to purdah?) concerns a proposal for regionalised public sector pay. The argument goes that the cost of living is different in different parts of the UK and that jobs in the private sector pay different rates - and therefore that the public sector should too. I'll wait to see the details as and when it is proposed by the Chancellor, but I think that a system of local or regional pay will hit Cornwall hard. First - how will it be assessed? ...
Sat 17th
12:25
LibLink: David Laws and Tim Farron - Budget 2012: Osborne must help the squeezed middle and tax the ...
Rumour a-plenty ahead of George Osborne's third budget. Adding to theose rumours — or, more likely, giving us the inside gen on what's likely to transpire — are the former Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury David Laws and Lib Dem party president Tim Farron in The Guardian. Here's an excerpt: Nick Clegg has made the Liberal Democrat priority very clear - a significant acceleration of planned increases in the starting point for paying income tax. This should be Osborne's centrepiece - easing the pressure on household budgets, after the unprecedented recent squeeze. ... ... whatever decisions Osborne makes ...
Sat 17th
11:23
Men arrested in Thatcham on suspicion of murder - following incident in Newbury last night
From GetReading: Two men have been arrested in Thatcham on suspicion of murder after a 38-year-old man was stabbed last night. Police were called after a man was found seriously injuries in Queen's Road, Newbury, at 10pm. Paramedics attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers had also been called 35 minutes earlier to nearby Boundary Road where a 33-year-old man had also been stabbed. He was taken to hospital and described as being in a critical condition. Two men, aged 22 and 20, were arrested in the Thatcham area on suspicion of murder during the early hours ...
The BBC reports (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17396825) that Lord (Julian) Fellowes, the writer of Downton Abbey, supports Chancellor George Osborne's mooted tax breaks for UK TV drama production. Well of course he does. He's a Conservative, professional politician. He sits in Parliament as a Conservative You cannot sensibly report that a Tory politician supports the Tory Chancellor without mentioning, as an important background detail, that the Tory politician concerned actually IS a Tory politician. It's like if you said that "the historian Tristram Hunt" agrees with Labour's policy on history teaching, without mentioning that Mr Hunt is a Labour MP. I'm sure ...
No real surprises that the Conservatives have decided to drop David Ginley as a local election candidate in Halifax, though it is rather a puzzle as to how he got through to being a candidate again. As the Halifax Courier reports: HALIFAX Conservatives have suspended election candidate David Ginley while they investigate a complaint of possible "unethical" practices... In 1993, Mr Ginley was ordered to do 200 hours of community service and told to pay £35 costs after voting twice in a council election. He claimed that as he paid poll tax on two properties he should be entitled to ...
This morning, there is "Police do not cross" tape across the entrance to a property in Boundary Road, Newbury plus a police car parked across it's entrance. Earlier there was another police car parked in the there also. See picture here on NewburyToday. At around 9.30pm last night there a lot of blue flashing lights in Boundary Road. Anthony Stansfield, the local councillor responsible for public safety, said on Radio Berkshire this morning there is no danger to the public in this situation. HuffPoUK reports: Four men have been arrested after a man was found dying with stab wounds, police ...
Yvette Cooper, shadow Secretary of state for the Home Office and shadow minister for Women and Equalities made a bit of a faux pas yesterday. She wrote an opinion piece for Pink News – which I agree with the ideas behind, even if I'm suspicious of the motives – calling on the government to introduce more marriage equality by allowing same-sex religious marriage. Unfortunately, it seems she's not that well-informed on LGBT issues and neither are whichever Labour HQ staff proofread the piece. Badly informed enough not to know what the T in LGBT stands for in fact. Here's what ...
Yesterday I presented a webinar on 'Elected representatives and community engagement' as part of the Creative Councils programme. You can view it here. Warning - it lasts for 90 minutes, but just looking at the slides alone won't give you a proper idea of the content. The audience largely consisted of council officers so I wanted to explore, from my perspective as a former councillor, some of the differences in motivation and outlook between councillors and officers. Councillors, after all, represent the residents to the Council and they want to get re-elected. Their reasons for supporting good community engagement may ...
Some people have accused me of hypocrisy for standing for the position of elected mayor when I clearly do not believe that such a position should exist. It should be noted, however that all 4 candidates for the mayoralty who ... Continue reading →
Apparently George Osborne is to propose in the budget that MPs representing constituencies in the poorer parts of the country are to have their salaries and benefits cuts to reflect the local economy. In these times of austerity it is a magnificent gesture from the leading public servants in the country.Well done them. PS Just to double check - these proposals that Public Servants from the poorest parts of the country should earn less than those from richer parts do apply to MPs, don't they? Oh. (h/t to @gedrobinson for pointing this out to me)
I guess few watch the Daily Politics show, something Labour will be counting on after this performance from Labour's most experienced front-bencher. You can see the full version HERE which is even better but I have not worked out how to embed BBC videos (even though technically, as a licence payer, I own them)
Nicolae Timofti is the new President of the Republic of Moldova 917 days later! (tags: moldova ) Amnesty statement: Georgia #fb Party finance watchdog running roughshod over human rights.. (tags: georgia ) Hot tips from Evelyn Waugh Dealing with fans and critics. (tags: books )
Once upon a time there was a car show - a reasonably standard magazine format show dispensing consumer advice on the one hand whilst also featuring aspirational super-cars on the other. But all was not well behind the scenes and most of the presenters walked out of the show and (pretty much) straight into a new show on Channel 5, imaginatively entitled 5th Gear. I say "imaginatively titled" as the show from which they had walked out was Top Gear... From the ashes of that show, a new show was born. A new show, also called Top Gear. But this ...
I've been told by a former Party member, who shall remain nameless, that, in order to save the NHS, those of us who remain in the Party should quit. And given the recent losses amongst our ranks, I thought that I should publish a suitably edited version of my reply. If, like me, you've been a Party member for a quarter-century, seen triumph and, mostly, disaster, you tend to stick with it, especially when it's a Party that hasn't got a recent track record of glorious victory. If it were power I was seeking, here in deepest Suffolk it would ...
What would you do if you have a really important set of decisions to make? Decisions that will have a direct impact on the lives of millions of people, on the future of the country and - although of course you are too saintly to think of this - on your own future career prospects. Locking yourself away in secret and deciding all the key decisions on your own before presenting them to the rest of the world as a fait accompli is not the route you will find any management textbook advising you to take. And with good reason, ...
Poor Ed Miliband — an attempt to make a serious speech on youth unemployment was overshadowed yesterday by his failure to be able to distinguish men from women when he took questions. As ITN labelled it in true tabloid fashion, Ed Miliband's triple-fail: 'Is that a man or a woman?' Here's the video: (Available on YouTube here.) Actually the real shame of Ed's fluffed lines distracting from his speech is that it distracts from Labour's latest fluffed policies. Not only is the party re-spending — for the umpteenth time — their bankers' bonus tax, but their so-called 'Real Jobs Guarantee' ...
Why We Have to Go Back to a 40-Hour Work Week to Keep Our Sanity Fantastically clear evidence-baded and well argued article on why long work weeks are bad for both businesses and workers. (tags: work ) Fabulous website on the Equal Marriage Consultation (tags: lgbt ) In praise of geek TV mums 3 Sarah Jane 3 (tags: geekery motherhood ) George Clooney and Martin Luther King III Arrested for Sudan Protest Somebody call Dion: we've found MArtin and Geroge. Just Abraham to go! Seriously, though, impressive stuff from Messers Clooney and King. (tags: protest ) Bully Rating Battle Heads ...
Ed Miliband, speaking at the University of Warwick on 16th March 2012 (which meant I had to dodge the TV vans), called for a £600m programme, which he calls the "Real Jobs Guarantee", to subsidise wages for businesses which take on young people. Here's the article on the Labour party website - in other words, with the full Labour spin intact. A key figure is that it would apparently help at least 100,000 people. Nick Clegg, together with Employment Minister Chris Grayling, sent this letter to employers last month, detailing a £1bn scheme to help half a million young people, ...
I am relatively new to "active" politics, political blogging and although I have voted LD for many years, have only been a member for 15 months. I have never been to conference and hence my ramblings below are very much ... Continue reading →
The link is to what seems a rather extreme response to someone reading a poem. It fits with the banner threshold in Birmingham.
It's the seventeenth day of March so it must be the day we in Ireland usually get off Lent. Yup it is our island's Patronal Festival. So what are we doing for it? Well I'm off to St George's for Matins and the Eucharist. Tomorrow they are hosting a service of Urnaí na Nóna with ...
...in the trailer below. Apart from anything else, he carries around and uses regularly, it appears, a dictaphone. Yes, a tape dictaphone. Not any of the myriad of latest multi-functional gizmos available but one which was last used by the young Barney Rubble. Imagine the scene. Neil is on his way to a black tie evening do. Suddenly a thought occurs. He gets out his neanderthal dictaphone and speaks into it. What nuanced, intellectual thought does this journalistic Leviathan put onto it? Answer: Are the wheels coming off the economy? Does Andrew Neil really need a dictaphone to record 3rd ...
The Lib Dem team have reported the lit bollard at the junction of Broadway and Wilmslow Road, Cheadle. The bollard has (yet again) been knocked over. This time it's been bashed out of shape – when we tried to at least stand it up again it wouldn't go. It may be worthwhile to replace the old style lit bollard with a new one, which are more resistant to crash damage – we will investigate. View Cheadle and Gatley in a larger map
Lembit Opik has suggested that should Nick Clegg lead the party into the 2015 election he will lead it to disaster. I've spent a lot of time dwelling on 2015 and on how we as a party are going to deal with such a difficult election. More importantly is the position of Nick with in the party at this time. Should he be removed now and a new leader put in place? I like Nick, I think he is a fantastic leader and a Liberal from the old school sitting neither on the left or the right - doing what ...
Cambridgeshire County Council's Social and Education Transport Team is looking for more willing drivers to help make a real difference to the lives of many people in the county - and they could receive up to £4,500 a year tax free. The County Council provides a transport service to eligible people who need to attend one of the care centres, day service facilities or education establishments. Community Drivers play a vital role transporting a host of people who would otherwise miss out Drivers are needed in all areas of Cambridgeshire. Volunteers receive 45p a mile for journeys they undertake as ...
Cambridgeshire County Council's Social and Education Transport Team is looking for more willing drivers to help make a real difference to the lives of many people in the county - and they could receive up to £4,500 a year tax free. The County Council provides a transport service to eligible people who need to attend one of the care centres, day service facilities or education establishments. Community Drivers play a vital role transporting a host of people who would otherwise miss out Drivers are needed in all areas of Cambridgeshire. Volunteers receive 45p a mile for journeys they undertake as ...
The great St Albans compost give away The refuse and recycling team at St Albans City & District Council is holding a Great Compost Give Away event on Sunday 25th March. The compost is the product of residents' green recycling efforts and is being organised by the Council, just ahead of the Easter break, to promote composting and green waste recycling. Residents can come and collect their compost, on a first come, first served basis. This is a do-it-yourself event and you will need to bring a shovel and some bags which you will need to fill yourself. The Great ...
I have welcomed news that several roads in the West End Ward including Abbotsford Street, Westgrove Avenue, Colinton Place, Loganlee Terrace and Pentland Crescent are to be resurfaced next month. The condition of these local roads are in poor shape and resurfacing of them to a good standard will be welcomed by local residents. I am continuing to campaign for improvements for several other local roads including Hillcrest Road, which is in an extremely poor condition. I have asked for it to be included in the 2012/13 roads resurfacing programme. The work on Abbotsford Street, Westgrove Avenue, Colinton Place, Loganlee ...
Some weeks ago, I mentioned that residents had complained to me about broken fencing at the Pennycook Lane car park. I raised this with the City Council and was promised repairs. As you can see from this photo of me taken at the car park yesterday, the work has now been carried out.
Yesterday morning I went to the Swansea Remploy factory to talk to the 52 workers whose jobs are threatened by the UK Government decision to close 7 of the 9 factories in Wales. As I toured the factory I was shocked by the process of managed decline that has taken place there over the last five or six years. Although, the announcement of the proposed closure was a shock, it seems that successive Governments have been preparing for it for some time. It was explained to me that essential machinery was not being replaced or updated, that modernisation plans had ...
What people don't fully recognise is how hard it is to take people to the GMC in relation to Family Court proceedings. Congratulations are due to "Miss A" for her efforts on this case.Of course there are many other experts who should also face disciplinary proceedings for the evidence given in the secret courts.I refer people to the song I released in 2008.
Customer: Jennie, you're a Lib Dem, right? Me (warily, fearing a rant about Yellow Tories and butchering the NHS): yes? C: You ever met that Lynne Featherstone? Me (thinking oh cthulhu he's a homophobe oh nooooooooooooooo): Once or twice, yes... C: She's a top bird, she is. Cos of her I can go to my daughter's wedding soon! Cos, you know, she'll finally be able to have one! Cue massive relief on my part and huge grins all round. Also, possibly because of what happened earlier, mum came in and bought me a brandy. Which was nice. [IMG: comment count ...
I was astonished to find that in County Durham it's impossible to discover how many GCSE successes were actual GCSEs, and how many "equivalent" qualifications. I asked the question because there are so many suggestions that schools' GCSE successes are somehow being manipulated by a cynical use of "equivalent" qualifications rather than actual GCSEs. But the answer appears to be that no-one knows, and to get the statistics would require trawling through young people's results at a great cost in staff time because no-one has asked the question before. Funny that. No-one's asked the question, but it hasn't stopped The ...
Proposer: Callum Morton Seconder: Antony Taylor Conference notes 1. Internships are often invaluable opportunities for people, particularly the young, to gain knowledge, skills and experience that enable them to further their careers and develop as individuals. 2. Unpaid internships or work experience are ways for employers to reap the benefits of the young creative minds ...
When is it okay to profit from the sale of artefacts associated with a vile regime from history? Should there be a market for items associated with Hitler and Stalin? What about their henchmen? Or their victims? I'd not really thought about these issues until the last week when it was drawn to my attention ...
