The latest of the K25 treats has been unveiled (you can see the previous ones here). Rather than being from the acoustic set at Abbey Roads, this time we get to see a happy and relaxed Kylie rehearsing for one of her Anti-tour shows in Melbourne (and, in a few days, the UK). The opposite of the big budget Arena tours, these are small shows featuring less well known songs;- b-sides, demos and rarities. Designed to have an intimate and noncommercial feel, the gigs sound like absolutely amazing nights. Here is the lady herself singing "I Don't Need Anyone", which ...
We should not let the Bradford West Lib Dem deposit forfeiture pass without recalling this excellent song from the Liberator Songbook. It is sung lustily at most conferences to the tune of 'Waltzing Matilda': Once a floating voter came across a polling booth, Went inside to cast his vote, When he came out, he found he'd voted Liberal. Who'll come a-losing deposits with me? [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
We left the young E. Phillips Oppenheim living at Portland Towers, working unhappily in his father's business and spending his evenings writing stories. A biography on the Good Reads site tells us how his career developed. He went on to manage the business before selling it when he was 40 in 1906. Meanwhile, he had been developing a considerable literary career: He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter ...
I have already touched upon the issue of the declared rules for the internal elections to the Council of Unlock Democracy. At the time, Ros did suggest that I might regret addressing the issue in such a blunt manner and, as usual, she was right.However, constancy to a set of principles is important too, and my friends will know that I've banged on about internal democracy for many years. To me, it is critical to an informed and participatory society. But I have agreed to disagree with most of my fellow Council members, if only to acknowledge the fact that ...
Lib Dem Voice reports the sad news that former Lib Dem head of comms David Walter had lost his battle with cancer. David was not just a national figure, but a stalwart of local politics too - a long term member and deliverer in North Kingston, despite being the consumate professional journalist. The wonderful ITN archive provides hundreds of clips of David in action but this one is particularly relevant. In 1984 Ken Livingstone and two others resigned their seats in protest at the council's abolition. Three by-elections were held which were boycotted by the Tories- but not the other ...
I fully expected that, when coming to write about yesterday's by-election, it would be to defend the inevitable erosion of Lib Dem support, offer congratulations to the victorious Labour candidate, examine the reasons for Respect and UKIP polling moderately well and repeat a few oft-expressed truisms about parties of government and by-elections. I, like so many others, not only expected a Labour victory - I imagined it to be an inevitability. What is even more surprising than George Galloway proving that his inimitable style and cynical tactics can still upset the Labour Party is the scale of his win. I ...
You may recall the furore over the former Haute de la Garenne children's home on Jersey in 2008. The cellar and grounds were excavated amid stories that children had been murdered and buried there. When bodies refused to emerge, the press loss interest and decided that the stories of abuse were without foundation. Yet today came news in the Guardian that: Around 90 people who were sexually and physically abused by their carers in Jersey children's homes will receive compensation of up to £60,000 after the government in St Helier offered an "unreserved apology" to the victims. Announcing the launch ...
Levenshulme Councillor James Hennigan has slammed Manchester City Council over their failure to act over an abandoned building that was set on fire today. The property set on fire was 322 Slade Lane, Levenshulme. Cllr Hennigan said, "This building had been reported ... Continue reading →
Make sure you have your say on South Gloucestershire Council's plans for its services for children and young people. The consultation website says: "We believe we need to shift our emphasis from providing services to everyone towards supporting those who are most in need - and from reacting to problems towards preventing problems from happening" The Council would be looking to partners such as the town and parish councilsand voluntary bodies to take on the running of the youth centres and children's centres. "If organisations do not come forward to take over these centres, it is expected that they will ...
The Joy Formidable, Glastonbury 2011, John Peel stage...
You only have until tomorrow (Saturday 31 March) to have your say on plans by Circadian Trust, who run the South Glos leisure centres, to make changes at Yate and Thornbury Leisure Centres. Under the plans, Yate Bowls Club and other bowlers who currently use Yate would be expected to use Thornbury instead and the bowls hall at Yate would be converted into a home for King Edmund Acrogymnastics Club. Information on the plans and feedback forms are available at both leisure centres and King Edmund Acrogymnastics Club. Alternatively you can respond online. There is a dedicated helpline and email ...
Wessex Connect has announced its intention to discontinue the 482/483 services from Chipping Sodbury via Yate, Frampton Cotterell, Winterbourne and Bradley Stoke to Cribbs Causeway with effect from Sunday 20th May. The Evening Post reports that the company says the services are no longer commercially viable, but South Glos Council is holding talks with the company to see if the services can be reinstated. Meanwhile, some minor changes come into effect from 1st April. South Glos say that the 342/X42 Timetable is being revised to improve reliability and punctuality. Monday to Friday 1805 Service X42 from Bristol, Bus Station to ...
I am on the road this week, and am therefore overdue bookblogging entries for (as of right now) abour half a dozen books. One of those is Savrola, the only novel of future British Prime Minister Winston Specncer Churchill (as opposed to the much better-known-in-his-day American novelist Winston Churchill). Savrola is the story of a liberal revolutionary leader overthrowing a dictatorial ruler; the latter at one point experiments with whipping up popular support by picking a fight with the British, and reflects as follows: "I think," said the President, "that the English Government also have to keep the electorate amused. ...
Liberal Democrat candidates gather Nominations have closed for the council elections. We have some wards with a string of candidates. My own Corstorphine/Murrayfield has 6 - the smallest field of candidates in the city from what I can see. As well as the usual suspects we have a UKIP candidate. I don't see what the council elections have to do with Britain pulling out of Europe but then I never saw the relevance of local elections in determining whether Scotland was independent more so now that we are to have a referendum on the topic. We have a rash of ...
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 098839/FO/2012/S1 38 ...
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 LibLink: Tim Leunig – 'Granny tax' does not go far enough (34 comments) by Paul Walter In defence of Tim Farron: 3 liberal reasons to stick up for him (81 comments) by Stephen Tall Tim Farron MP writes... The ASA and me – a response (41 comments) by Tim Farron MP Has Tim Farron got a prayer against the Advertising Standards Authority? (45 comments) by Mark Valladares Opinion: How democratic are doctor politicians? (62 comments) by Sid ...
For the second time War interrupted the Olympic cycle. The 1940 Games of the XII Olympiad had been awarded to Tokyo and were due to be held from 21 September to 6 October. But they were stripped of the honour at the 1938 IOC congress because of their participation in the 2nd Sino-Japanese War. Helsinki who had been runners up in the original bid process when subsequently awards the games, the new schedule was for them to take part from 20 July to 4 August. Of course the outbreak of an even bigger war led to the IOC cancelling the ...
A visual tale in tweets of a truly transformative night for British politics. Please, enough pasties.
More and more people are using Gatley Station – the 2010/11 figure is up 20,000 (8.4%) compared to the previous year. This is just the latest year of consistent growth with Gatley Station getting busier and busier every year. Other local stations are getting more use too, with Stockport Station having over 3.1 million passengers passing through in 2010/11 (up 7%). Although Stockport has only a little over 10% of the population of Greater Manchester, we have more than one-in-five of the stations and account for more than one-in-five journeys. That makes the recent improvement to our stations all the ...
Fri 30th
16:37
Cabinet (Wirral Council) 29th March 2012 AOB: Pacific Road Arts Centre, Transport Museum & Tramw...
There were two AOB items introduced at the Cabinet meeting on the 29th March 2012. The first was about the future of the Pacific Road Arts Centre/Tramway/Museum and the second was on Compromise Contracts. As the reports aren't on the Council's website links are included below. Pacific Road Arts Centre, Transport Museum and Tramway Birkenhead: ...
The Gurkha Justice campaign, seeking to give those who had served in the British army the right to settle in Britain afterwards, is a classic and heartwarming story of how a small number of people can bring justice and joy to many. For many years Gurkhas and others had raised the injustice of ex-soldiers being told 'thank you for your bravery, now go and live elsewhere'. It was, however, only when Peter Carroll got involved that an effective campaign really started to take shape and then took off after a chance remark from a passing member of the public tipped ...
Having sex is pretty good fun, isn't it? I enjoy it. I dare say you enjoy it. But, tell me, is it really appropriate for me to associate your products with having an erect penis? You see, being a heterosexual male, I'm biologically predisposed to be sexually stimulated by images and videos of women in various states of undress. When I'm sexually stimulated my penis has this tendency to experience a rush of blood, which makes the spongy tissues expand until the whole organ is fairly rigid. I have to say, it's awfully nice. Yes, it's nice to have an ...
The Kingsway junction is never going to meet modern standards. It's one of the busiest junctions in Greater Manchester, built 50 years ago when there was, to say the least, not quite so much traffic on the roads. To bring it up to modern standards, you'd have to knock down at least 17 houses (don't worry – no-one's proposing that!). To really build the junction that you'd want to for the volume of traffic that passes through it, you'd probably want to knock down about 40 houses (no, we're not suggesting that either). We've been working on incremental improvements to ...
Let's forget Bradford West, just for a moment, and assume that it's an out-of-the ordinary and unique constituency, a one-off result for a one off politician, as the BBC's Nick Robinson says. Shouldn't the Liberal Democrats be enjoying a new wave of popularity? After all, our ministers didn't look silly this week over Cornish pasties or the fuel tanker dispute. More seriously, lifting the personal allowance and the higher level of stamp duty for people buying properties over £2m were significant Budget victories for the party. In the first line of the 2010 manifesto the party pledged to raise the ...
I attended a meeting (the first I could attend as only every third meeting was held in public) of the Wirral/LGA Improvement Board. The first I heard about the "public meeting" of the Wirral/LGA Improvement Board was Monday evening at the Council Excellence Committee Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. If you check the calendar of ...
Thursday's by-elections gave us very little to work with, given that we only stood candidates in two of the five principal by-elections that took place. Whilst we understand that local circumstances can often throw up obstacles to a nomination, it is little short of unforgiveable to see candidates in only 40% of possible contests. ALDC's advice remains the same: always, always, always stand a candidate! In the two elections that we actually fought, the results were mixed. Whilst the 13% drop in vote in Wandsworth's Southfields ward looks dramatic, it isn't outside the percentage change we've seen in similar contests, ...
[IMG: bird] I think if my soul was going to be a flying thing it'd be a fruit bat; fat and greedy and sporadically flapping but never really soaring... And I think I'm happier with that than I would be being some skinny elegant bird that everyone admired for her grace but nobody ever really wondered about how she feels. Also, bats are way cooler than birds, TRUFAX, even if birds ARE just dinosaurs with feathers. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Statement by Ron Tindall, Lib Dem spokesperson on Adult Care Services After being alerted to poor customer service by the team in charge of blue badge applications, I have been asking questions at Council meetings and found some even more shocking news. Last Tuesday I was told that the average delay in issuing a replacement or new blue badge so disabled people can park in more accessible locations is now up to two months! Initially the delay was due to a backlog of applications being dealt with by the County Council. The new excuse is that the Department of Transport ...
From Nick Clegg: This is such sad news. I knew David for years and he was widely loved and admired in the party. He was a gentle and patient man with great integrity and an impressive career in journalism. I will always remember him for his great sense of humour at the most difficult or challenging times. He will be hugely missed by all of us in the party and our thoughts are with his family. From Ming Campbell: David Walter was a professional to his fingertips. He was universally respected and admired by his fellow journalists and held in ...
By the time you read this, I'll be in Dunfermline at the funeral of one of the first people I ever met in the local Liberal Democrats. Dave Herbert, Councillor for Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay, passed away last Friday. Dave was a really clever man. He could explain difficult concepts in a way people could understand, but was never patronising about it. He was gentle and kind and worked so hard. Even when his health was getting worse he'd push himself to make sure he did his best for the people he represented. He was wise and calm and was ...
Am getting an error message when I try to comment on your posts about Lisa Harding. This is annoying. I don't know if the comments went through at all, but in case they didn't, I shall reproduce the one I left on the second post here (the one I left on the first post got eaten by the internet, which is probably for the best, given the juvenile level of innuendo I used in it ;)) Anyway, here is what I said:"With regards Lisa; all of this has happened before - SSDD. If it's impossible to debate or reason with ...
FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob, Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision TO: Kelly Pattrick, PA to Kenneth Spotlessnob Kelly: I've taken a brief time out from the Future Outstanding Leaders' Strategic Visioning Brainstorm Event here at Sandbanks to put the finishing touches on my presentation to all TESV employees on the Strategic Realignment Reorganisation in TESV. Could you run your practiced eye over it for any gaps, mistakes or whatever? I've also indicated a number of places where I need a visual on the powerpoint and perhaps you can execute those. WELL, HELLO! I KNOW HOW BUSY ...
Jenny Willott MP talks about her wedding jewellery as part of Platform 51′s campaign to raise awareness of the widespread use of depressants by women. * Mary Reid is one of the Day Editors on Lib Dem Voice.
[IMG: MPs may be needing to learn about new parts of the country] Now that we are well into the consultation periods over the Parliamentary boundary changes, how are the proposals going down with MPs? The answer to that we know thanks to new polling of MPs published by ComRes. A reduction in the number of MPs and a more uniform constituency size means many MPs are facing up to the likelihood of their seat changing or even going, throwing them into a selection contest against neighbouring fellow MPs for the best seat. Therefore, although reducing the number of MPs ...
Lib Dem Voice's ubiquitous co-editor, Mark Pack, has been writing for Total Politics. He says: Performers who make the leap from stage show to the TV very often run into a simple problem: TV eats up material at a fearsome rate. A stage show can be repeated around the country for months with only a few tweaks as events or audience feedback requires it. TV, however, requires completely new material each week. A similar problem has befallen the Liberal Democrats when it comes to policy. In opposition sticking to saying only a few things repeatedly was an advantage; in government ...
Southwark doesn't take a long-term view of its cemeteries and crematoria. Southwark residents pay standard fee but non residents pay significantly more. But many Southwark residents and neighbouring borough residents live close to the border. We should have reciprocal arrangement with neighbouring boroughs to allow use of each others facilities at borough resident costs. This would give more options for Southwark residents to be buried or cremated closer to family etc and vice versa. It would also remove perverse situations where people across the road from a facility get charged significantly more than a family living several miles away but ...
"The most sensational by election victory in history". For once it is difficult to argue with George Galloway's comment on his stunning win over Labour in yesterday's Bradford West by election. But as the dust settles, has anything changed? The Coalition parties did badly in this election, but can be forgiven for having a chuckle. Labour's loss was spectacular, and it has been a tough week for the government. For whatever reason, the media had turned on them over a series quite sensible moves (pensioners' tax allowances, VAT on takeaway food, preparing for a potential strike by tanker drivers), which ...
Performers who make the leap from stage show to the TV very often run into a simple problem: TV eats up material at a fearsome rate. A stage show can be repeated around the country for months with only a few tweaks as events or audience feedback requires it. TV, however, requires completely new material each week. A similar problem has befallen the Liberal Democrats when it comes to policy. In opposition sticking to saying only a few things repeatedly was an advantage; in government the press of events and demands of the civil service machinery requires policy decisions on ...
We've long been keen to get an improved route for cyclists north from Cheadle & Gatley towards Parrs Wood and Manchester. You can go via Northenden or the other side of Cheadle – on Manchester Road – but going along Kingsway means taking your life in your hands or – at best – cycling along pavements which, though normally empty, aren't designed with cyclists in mind. I'm pleased to say that we are now working on a scheme for safe and (reasonably) direct cycling along Kingsway. It won't suit everyone – if every second counts on your commute then this ...
Some very sad news for Kingston Liberal Democrats - and for the wider party. David Walter, who served as Chair of the local party for four years, lost his battle against cancer and died yesterday. David handed over the role to me, with his usual grace and courtesy, at the beginning of last year. Beyond Kingston, he served the Liberal Democrats as Director of Communications, following a career in journalism and television production. I have written a tribute to David on Liberal Democrat Voice - although 'written' only applies to a couple of paragraphs, as most of it was penned ...
All three main party leaders have been busy this week. Ed Milliband was busy leading his MPs through the lobbies in Parliament to try to keep child benefit for those earning more that £1,200 per week, voted to oppose raising the lower tax threshold to over £9,000 and abstained on the plans to cut the upper rate of taxation, despite the sound and fury earlier in the week (it's worth noting that in the 13 years of Labour Government, this 50% rate was in place for precisely 37 days, the new 45% rate is higher than the 40% rate which ...
The Herald this morning reports that the intake of poor pupils to university in Scotland is the lowest in the UK , and we still have the highest drop out rates. I've written the letter below in order to offer a potential explanation: "It comes as no surprise to me that Scotland continues to hold the "UK's worst" status in attracting poor pupils into higher education and keeping them there. A simple examination of the financial support available to Scottish students relative to English ones reveals Scots to be at a striking disadvantage. A Scottish student from a household ...
Well, I've been waiting to write this for a while and the Bradford West By Election result has given me the perfect excuse to post it. Now that Ed Miliband's leadership is once again under the microscope, the debate can start once again about who is best placed to replace him. And, like a Bradford High Street bookie (they closed the books on Galloway winning on Wednesday - they knew...) - I know who the next leader will be. Here is my scientific analysis that will reveal the next leader. Do a Google image search on Ed Miliband: you quickly ...
Last night's shock by-election result in Bradford West was fuelled by a dislike for the major parties. I believe Galloway put across his message well and it helps that he is a well known politician. I was listening to BBC radio 5 Live this morning with Nicky Campbell and a muslim voter in Bradford told ...
The House of Lords Economic Affairs committee's realisation that the quality of overseas aid to developing countries could be improved is not news to those of us who have been engaged in the "aid lobby" for many years. I developed the following "Good Aid" guide some twenty years ago and have used it in teaching and talks ever since. A "Good Aid" Guide 1. Aid by itself will not solve the problems of world poverty, but it can help. Always see aid in the context of trade, debt relief, human rights, the arms trade and other relevant issues. 2. Campaign ...
The political conventional wisdom in Britain is that the current coalition is an aberration. Sooner or later either the Conservatives or more likely, Labour, will be able to govern alone. This will be-it is argued- a return to politics as usual. I think this represents a failure of imagination. I also think it underestimates just how difficult the next decade is going to be. Europe as a whole is already in an economic crisis which is the equal of the hungry 1930s. It is a crisis that represents a sum of failures, financial, economic and political. The fundamental problems- wrong ...
Pasty gate, (no) water gate, pump panic gate, reduction in 50p tax (gate?), kitchen supper gate, "out-of-touch" gate and now the cat that got the cream wins it in Bradford West. As the old saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. But there have been two quite striking things about this week ...
Yesterday, sadly, David Walter lost his battle with cancer and died in the Royal Marsden Hospital. He was widely known in the party, having served as Director of Communications for the Liberal Democrats at Cowley Street. Chris Rennard writes: David was widely respected as a decent, principled and trustworthy person. He was always positive and encouraging to work with as well as being professional and completely loyal to the party that he always supported. He had to be discreet about his party allegiance whilst working for the BBC and ITN and he was greatly respected by both those organisations and ...
Following George Galloway's historic win in the Bradford West by-election yesterday taking 56% of the vote with a 10,000 majority on a pretty high (for a by-election) turnout of 50% Labour still seem stunned. Labour MP Toby Perkins has had a crack at trying to find something else to blame: "I think frankly there wasn't a lot the other parties could do about it. They'd seen him on (Celebrity) Big Brother.They wanted him on their streets and now they've got it..." This is frankly risible. Not just because of how pathetic it seems to be trying to blame a TV ...
Apparently, according to 'Klout', I have influence in three areas. Politics. College (college??). and Liberal Democrats. I'm beginning to suspect Klout may not be all it's cracked up to be...
Religion and the Liberal Democrats - like sex, but without the warmth The honourable Lady Mark tries to pour oil on troubled waters. I fear someone will come along with a flamethrower at some point and set fire to the waves, but the effort is appreciated. (tags: libdemmery religion ) Secret plans for generation of new grammar schools by the back door - Education News - Education - The Independent Not sure what to make of this (tags: education ) We're now governed by the political wing of the wealthy - Commentators - Opinion - The Independent I do worry ...
Animal bloggers are not that unusual. We have the eclectic Pink Dog and the ever wise Elephant for example, who bring joy, randomness and good sense to the internet. However, Ian Liddell-Grainger, Conservative MP for Bridgewater in Somerset, allows an extremely ill-mannered cat to write a blog on his website, as Mark Pack showed us over at Lib Dem Voice yesterday. General rudeness aside, publishing a correspondent's home address without permission and in fact against their express wishes is way out of order. Liberal England points out what a lucky escape we have had - Liddell-Granger could be our King ...
So you've got a bag full of leaflets on one shoulder, either a clipboard or more leaflets in one hand, some "out leaflets" and a phone in the other and then you decide to tweet your loyal actions to your adoring public. Er. Right. Stop and, no wait a minute the sun is obscuring the ...
Here are some inital reflections on George Galloway's stunning by-election win in Bradford West... Devastating for Labour... It is not simply the fact that Labour lost a seat they've held at every election since 1974. It is not simply the fact that they've become the first opposition party since William Hague's Tories at Romsey 12 years ago to lose a by-election. It is not simply the fact that Labour must have thought they'd enjoyed a good fortnight in which the Tories have been given a good pasting. It is not simply the fact that this by-election suggests Labour's current national ...
Following the passing of the Health and Social Care Bill the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) have released their findings relating to competition in the NHS. As an independent research body there should be some weight to their opinions and it is generally positive in relation to competition within the NHS for the following ...
A very fair point >> Redressing the balance between the generations by @ChrisANicholson http://t.co/3aXfNViF # Good news! » RT @BBCLondonOnline Liberal Democrats hold onto marginal seat in a by-election. http://t.co/fQ5dkfDy # @hopisen I'm confused you could have thought it was anything but that before now... in reply to hopisen # True! RT @AndrewSparrow Andrew Mitchell says Lib Dems deserve "a lot of credit" for the budget tax allowance increase http://t.co/aLMr3wBj # I think Lembit thinks the credit crunch was the Tories' fault, Labour blameless. Odd. http://t.co/CROu0ETu #Kindle # @jamesgraham Oh true. But Lembit seems to imply (correctly used!) Tories in ...
The last remains of a U-boat in the Medway A German U-boat (Unterseeboot) lays in the Medway, not waiting for Allied shipping but slowly rusting away and I'm not talking about the Russian Submarine in Rochester. Out towards the mud flats of Kingsnorth lays the remains of one of the Kaiserlice Marine's U-boats decaying slowly in Humble Bee Creak. There is quite some lively debate as to which vessel she is, either U-122 or U-123 or even UB-122 but the original story of how she got there remains the same. Post war the surrendered U-boats were acquired by scrap companies ...
[IMG: 20120330-084952.jpg] All, As a big fan of the local arts (and crafts) scene – as a founder member of Shipston Community Arts – I thought I'd take a bit of a liberty in this post. I'd like to feature Catherine Bradley, who works In decoupage – transforming everyday objects into wonderful gifts. She, like many local artists, sells at arts and crafts fairs and I think local people should support local artists. You can find out more about Shipston Community Arts here – but why not find a craft fair or local arts shop this weekend? As always – ...
I have had some complaints from people living near the police training college on Mather Avenue about parking. It's not illegal parking they are talking about but parking that is causing problems for them and their neighbours. As part of trying to sort this out I am meeting the head of the police training college on Monday next week. If you live in that area and have any incidents you want me to mention, or any suggestions of how the training college can perhaps help make things better, please let me know. I am at paulakeaveney@yahoo.co.uk
Via the Manchester Evening News: Should the NHS be able to make people pay for treatment when they turn up at accident and emergency units with alcohol-related injuries? That novel suggestion is being kicked around by Manchester city council... Coun Glynn Evans [Labour], executive member for adult health and well-being, says: "If you drink irresponsibly, you should pay the price." There's both a policy and a political problem with the idea. The policy one is simply that if turning up drunk risks generating a fine, what will that encourage people to do? To stay away until they sober up. And ...
The Cressington Community First Panel is now set up. That means we will soon be able to start asking local groups to apply for funds. The money is from the Government through something called the Office of Civil Society. The scheme is administered by the Community Development Foundation and here in Cressington it will be run by a panel of local people and a local organisation (in our case the South Liverpool CAB). The Cressington Panel has a separate website (www.cressingtoncommunityfirst.blogspot.com) and we will soon be publishing details of the priorities for funding, how to apply and who we are. ...
Gary Vaynerchuk is someone I admire hugely for his passion for marketing, wine and the possibilities that social media offer to companies and individuals. His latest book 'The Thank You Economy' is a manifesto for the power of authenticity and honesty in marketing and I can easily see how it could be written off as ...
I know I have just written about a question on Question Time but I have to write again about party funding. Anna Soubry, a Conservative MP is under the impression that any donor to a political party may have no influence over that party. I find this incredible. If anyone had funded her personal campaign then there would be no question that she would be influenced. She admits that she would like to meet large donors but if they want to influence her then they would be "sent packing". Anna needs to know that we all influence each other by ...
I went to bed last night not really believing rumours on Twitter that George Galloway had eased out Labour in the Bradford West by-election in a closely fought contest. I wondered allowed if this was Labour talking his chances up in order to look good when they won the seat. Actually not. When the result came through it wasn't close at all. The showman, probably best known for his cringe inducing portrayal of a cat on Celebrity Big Brother, gave Ed Miliband's Labour a bit of a spanking, winning by over 10,000 votes and 56% of the poll Anyone who's ...
This has been a difficult week politically, and not just for the coalition government. The fuss over VAT on takeway warmed-up pasties was perhaps inevitable, though Laoour's attempts to exploit the issue were way over the top, however the current run on petrol is an own-goal that could have been avoided. What were Ministers thinking in urging the public to top-up their tanks? There is not even a strike due at present. It is little wonder that, as the Guardian report, Downing Street and the Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude are under fire from Tories, senior Liberal Democrats and motoring ...
Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed a £1.724 million government cash injection to improve bus services in Cambridgeshire. Transport Spokesperson, Susan van de Ven said the money should improve accessibility and bus journey times. "Cambridgeshire Lib Dems have repeatedly called for more investment in bus interchanges, real time and smart ticketing locally so it is encouraging that the Lib Dems in government have responded in kind," she said. "Cambridgeshire also urgently needs rural bus routes to be developed. The Tory-run Cambridgeshire County Council has made a mistake in deciding to withdraw rather than enhance its support of so many bus routes, ...
There is a lot of talk about using 'common sense' in buying petrol and using 'sensible precautions'. Maybe a sensible precaution is to buy as much petrol as possible, and according to Francis Maude this includes filling up petrol cans and storing them at home. Maybe common sense is to act in a way that may appear as panic. Maybe I need to buy a few of these petrol cans, as who knows what the future holds and it would be sensible to prepare for strike action. Sarah Teather was on Question Time last night and she was repeating this ...
No really. Despite the rush of politicians to recall when they last had a pasty or to be photographed eating one (me? south London, last weekend, Greggs, branch still open, no photo available), the problem is we've not had nearly enough media coverage of the pasty tax proposals. "What?!?! Not enough coverage?!?!", you might well wonder. But bear with me. You see, there are huge chunks of the story missing from the coverage. Of course there's the normal thing with a government consultation on a range of proposals being reported as if they are all absolutely certain to come into ...
Cambridge Liberal Democrats have welcomed a £1.724 million government cash injection to improve bus services in Cambridgeshire. Transport Spokesperson, Susan van de Ven said the money should improve accessibility and bus journey times. "Cambridgeshire Lib Dems have repeatedly called for more investment in bus interchanges, real time and smart ticketing locally so it is encouraging that the Lib Dems in government have responded in kind," she said. "Cambridgeshire also urgently needs rural bus routes to be developed. The Tory-run Cambridgeshire County Council has made a mistake in deciding to withdraw rather than enhance its support of so many bus routes, ...
In a sensational result, George Galloway has won the Bradford West by-election for the Respect party. The former Glasgow and east London MP secured victory with more than half the votes cast, and a majority of more than 10,000. The result will be a body blow for Labour leader Ed Miliband, who had appeared to have the Tories on the defensive in the past 10 days over the 'Granny tax', the resignation of Tory treasurer Peter Cruddas, and so-called #pastygate. But none of these were enough to stop Labour losing a previously safe seat, though they will take some small ...
Last night, I attended a meeting of local people interested in setting up a friends group for Riverside Nature Park. We had great input from the Friends of Barnhill Rock Garden, who explained how they got started and have become a hugely impressive team that has done so much to improve the Barnhill rock garden. On 16th June, the Friends of Riverside Nature Park will be officially established, with the official launch of information plinths at the Nature Park. Taking part during WestFest week, it is great to see the new Friends group getting established, joining other Friends groups in ...
Yesterday, I also attended the latest meeting of the Harris Academy Project Board. The Board was given assurances of progress with Historic Scotland about the project and the planning process will commence later this year. There was a useful discussion about the role of the Scottish Futures Trust, participation by pupils, parents and the wider West End community in the new school design, transport arrangements during the decant from August 2013, and the facilities at the Rockwell decant site that will be home to Harris Academy from 2013-16.
Yesterday, I took part - along with nearly 300 others from local businesses, the education sector, the Chamber of Commerce, the public sector and many others - in the Dundee Economic Summit. See right. Organised by the Dundee Partnership, it was a very positive morning spent discussing the economic future of our city - and all the positive developments in Dundee - including V&A at Dundee and the Waterfront development. I had the opportunity to seek assurances that Dundee Rail Station will be upgraded and redeveloped before the V&A at Dundee opens and was pleased to receive that assurance.
Ok so it wasn't a clash but I did get the chance to speak to Labour MP and Shadow Justice Minister Andy Slaughter at a Q&A at my univeristy, Brunel. Mr Slaughter spent a good 15 minutes talking about how right wing the Coalition was, how huge the Lib Dem U-turns had been so it ...
One of my local councillors - Canbury ward Lib Dem - Tim Dennen - has resigned from the party for personal reasons and now sits as an independent. This is the first change of affiliation in Kingston politics since the Tory civil war of the turn of the century and the first Liberal change of allegience since the 1980s. In another return to the 1980s the Conservatives won the Coombe Vale by-election in December - their first such win since 1987. One of Cllr Dennen's last acts as a Lib Dem councillor was to vote with local Conservatives for tax ...
Midnight; the witching hour... When better to read the much-loved book of one of the best-loved Doctor Who stories? The Doctor visits an archaeological 'dig' near the innocent little village of Devil's End, only to find the local vicar (in truth the MASTER) is summoning up... Guess! Now on DVD too, many fans remember Doctor Who - The Dæmons most fondly from Barry Letts' gorgeous novelisation. I've loved it ever since buying a copy as a boy at (appropriately) a church fête, and these days also on CD, read by the late, great Barry himself. Spoilers follow. But first, religion... ...
