MaxHastings described the Falklands War as "a freak of history, almost certainlythe last colonial war that Britain will ever fight." The conflict was complicated by the fact thatit took place at the height of the cold war. The British government, preoccupied with the Soviet Union, had reduced thesize of the Royal Navy, reconfiguring it as a mainly submarine forceconcentrated in the Northern Atlantic. Althoughthis was a territorial dispute, military conflict was far from inevitable. The cause of the war had more to do withdiplomatic misunderstanding and bureaucratic ineptitude thananything else. Almost everyone inBritain was utterly unprepared for this war. The ...
So, I blogged about a week ago about the Mayoral race and since then there have been a number of developments.... Yesterday, Lord Sugar, the Labour Peer, said that Ken Livingstone should not be elected to Mayor of London. https://twitter.com/#!/Lord_Sugar/status/192956606261116928 And, also, yesterday evening on This Week with Andrew Neil, Michael Portillo, the ex-conservative MP ... Read more
In memory of Bert Weedon - the man whose handbook taught the rock n' roll generation to play guitar - here is his version of Spanish Harlem. However I suspect it may not be included in his funeral's order of service...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking part in a site visit to the new West End schools building project - on the site of the former Logie Secondary site at Blackness Road/Glenagnes Road - that will provide the new centres for St Joseph's Primary School, Park Place Nursery School and Park Place Primary School - see right. Progress is good and the schools are scheduled to open on the new site after the October holidays. Apart from the site visit, I had a useful discussion with council officers about road/pupil safety around the area adjacent to the new schools. ...
Filton Airfield is holding a "Fly-In" event tomorrow (Saturday 21 April) from 9.00 am to 4.30 pm. Around 70 planes are expected to fly in and out. During busy periods some aircraft may be seen circling over the M4 Junction 18 while they are waiting to land.
Cornwall Council waste bosses and contractors Cory faced up to disgruntled councillors today to answer questions on the problems of the new waste and recycling contract. We learned about the scale of the problem - and the challenges still ahead. There was still a good deal of spin, but a lot of tempers were soothed as all those at the top started their remarks with an apology for the failings. Those on show included cabinet members Julian German and Steve Double. This in itself sparked a question as it had never been properly explained who was in charge. In the ...
It's only two days before the Bahraini Grand Prix and it looks as if the race will still go ahead despite the obvious turmoil in that country. Although I am generally against governments intervening in organised sports, I can't help but think that everything should be done to persuade teams not to take part. If ever there was an obvious reason to boycott a sporting event, this is it. Quite clearly the Bahraini regime would like to project an image of 'business as usual', and by F1 endorsing the country so emphatically by hosting a race there, the issue of ...
"My husband and I are old enough now to be contemplating our departure to the next world. In keeping with family tradition, we shall have effigies carved to be placed in the family chapel. Although we shall have individual heraldic animals at the head or feet of each effigy (in our case, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier rampant for him, a weeping cloud of budgies for me), we must share an escutcheon which expresses our political allegiance. He is an (horrible) old Tory and I a fervent Liberal. We both hate the Coalition, so what would you advise?" - Barking Old ...
It has emerged that many Cornwall Council services in the East have been grounded because control of fuel tanks at various depots has passed to Cory, the new waste and recycling contractors - and they won't give any fuel to council services. Needless to say this isn't what is meant to be happening! But there is a huge range of frontline officers based at the Windwhistle depot in Bodmin who seem to have been affected by the problem. At today's briefing on the problems of the new waste contract I raised this problem because of an email I had received ...
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert Cambridge's businesses could win up to £20,000 free consultancy advice in a competition to celebrate manufacturing excellence across the UK. MP Julian Huppert has urged the city's manufacturing businesses to get involved and showcase their work. The Manufacturing Excellence 2012 awards are run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Julian said: "This is an excellent opportunity to put Cambridge on the map for manufacturing. "I would encourage all manufacturing businesses to apply not only to win one of these prestigious awards but also to take advantage of the chance to win thousands of pounds worth of ...
Bert Weedon was in that very large category or people who you think are dead, indeed died long ago. Then quite suddenly they die and you find out, too late of course, that they were alive all along. Fans of the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band will remember how he appeared in their great song, "We are normal". The lyric ran: "We are normal and we want our freedom, We are normal and we dig Bert Weedon"
There is pleasant, gentle third leader in today's Guardian: The Victorians associated the sea with melancholy and death. The Edwardians just thought the sea was fun - and the music hall song "I do like to be beside the seaside" summed it all up. The Edwardians, it seems, were right.But I mention chiefly because it was inspired by a press release I wrote in the day job. Thanks to 19th 20th Century History Images for the picture.
A Leicester Mercury headline from January has been drawn to the attention of the judges: Councillor suspended in dispute over lawnmower Later. Sources close to the judges suggest that, had they insisted upon a headline from today, the winner would have been ITV News: Singer Olly Murs nearly misses flight as baked bean spill closes motorway
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL CABINET – MONDAY, 23 APRIL 2012 AT 2.00PM Item 6 MOOR END BUS LINK Report of the Director Environment & Commercial Services Author: Steve Johnson Head of Network Management (Tel: 01707 356469) Executive Member: Stuart Pile, Highways and Transport Local Members: Stephen Holmes, Jan Maddern, Ron Tindall 1. Purpose of Report 1.1 To present to Cabinet a review of the Moor End prohibition of driving enforcement scheme following a recent adjudication decision. 1.2 To seek a decision from Cabinet on whether Penalty Charges which have been received by the Authority should be refunded and, if so, the ...
Last Monday evening as I was walking to the Tube I saw a bit of a commotion on nearby Clapham Common. There was smoke and there was a fire engine. A closer look revealed that the smoke was coming from the mobile snack bar on Windmill Drive. As I cycled past it on the following morning, it was just a tangled mess. By yesterday it had gone completely. This snack bar was something of a local institution. There would usually be a knot of people chatting nearby, with an assortment of vans, lorries, police cars and the occasional ambulance parked ...
My views on Road Safety are fairly well-known. Yesterday, I asked a question about plans to increase the speed limit on Motorways to 80 Mph. Had the Transport Secretary done any work to estimate the implications of increasing ... Continue reading →
I didn't really want to watch this short film about Philip Gould. But enough people told me I should. And while it's incredibly sad, it is also very wonderful. You may not want to watch it either. But you should.
London Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick today spoke and took questions at a breakfast organised by the London Jewish Forum (LJF), in the latest of the LJF's public meetings with the candidates. I was there wearing my Liberal Democrat hat, and also had with me the hat that I wear as a member of the LJF's steering group. I decided to don yet a third hat, that of a citizen journalist, nay citizen cameraman, as it occurred to me that my blackberry telephone not only receives telephone calls and emails, but also has on it a video camera. I ...
But the judgement will not be given for some days or even weeks. Until that point there is no further news that can be given on the case.
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 Can we stop apologising for being in government yet? (65 comments) by Mark Valladares Andrew Wiseman writes: Seeking your views on Conference accreditation (68 comments) by Andrew Wiseman How would you answer the question about the Lib Dems the Indy asks all with an open mind to consider? (39 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: Why are we waiting? (65 comments) by David Allen "Hard to believe she's just 16!" The headline that sums up the morality of ...
You could be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu with this week's by-elections, as two of them have had multiple by-elections in recent years. The by-election in the Spitalfields and Banglatown Ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets took the political headlines following the defeat of Labour's candidate by an Independent aligned to the directly-elected mayor, Lutfur Rahman. This was the second by-election in this ward in 18 months and a second defeat for Labour. The ward is now represented by one Labour councillor, one from Respect and now one Independent. For Liberal Democrats the best result ...
Fri 20th
15:45
European Parliament votes through new agreement on transfer of air passenger data to US authorities
On Thursday, the Parliament voted on a new agreement on the transfer of EU air passengers' personal data to the US authorities. The deal sets legal conditions and covers issues such as storage periods, use, data protection safeguards and administrative and judicial redress, and replaces a provisional deal in place since 2007. The EU-US Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement was adopted with 409 votes in favour, 226 against and 33 abstentions, with two-thirds of the ALDE MEPs taking part voting against due to concerns over data protection safeguards, including rapporteur Sophie in'T Veld (D'66, Netherlands, ALDE), who withdrew her name ...
Amongst all the speculation about who are the Tory MPs that Tim Montgomerie suggests are strongly considering jumping ship and joining UKIP - the most commonly named MPs have been listed by Guido Fawkes and James Mills - it seems to me that the most obvious candidate is being ignored. Zac Goldsmith. And the reason he's being ignored is because most pundits don't live in Ham Common - but if they did, they'd be suggesting Zac too. Because there's a special Ham Common related reason why Zac might be about to leave the Tories. So why do I think Zac ...
My good friend Richard Brent has often complained that my blog has very little Shakespeare content. Despite the domain name, I don't think I've ever blogged about The Big S. For shame! Fear not, my Brentish-Boy, this post is all about Shakespeare. And MySQL.... Ahem... When I first started shkspr.mobi it was intended to be an easy way to get Shakespeare on your phone. At that time, there were no mobile formatted texts of his plays and sonnets, so I had to create them. Finding Shakespeare's works in a suitable format for conversion wasn't too hard – but it meant ...
I've loved Grand Prix racing ever since I can remember. For me, theres nothing like it. Yes, it has occasionally been a predicatable procession of cars, but the on-track battles can be epic. Senna Vs Prost. Mansell Vs Senna Vs Prost. Hill Vs Schumacher. Schumacher Vs Villeneuve. Alonso Vs Räikkönen. Hamilton Vs Massa. Button Vs Vettel Vs Hamilton Vs Nicole Scherzinger. All titanic battles of skill, and human will to win. And it's not just the drivers. Ross Brawn's career across multiple teams shows his leadership qualities. Likewise, Adrian Newey is an undeniable genius of exactly the kind this country ...
I got back from Strasbourg late last night after a very interesting trip. I'll be doing blogposts about the MEPs I interviewed and about my overall impression of the European Parliament but it will take me a while to write them. So, in the mean time, here's my postcard from Strasbourg.
Capitalism is in crisis, or so the enthusiastic chaps of the Occupy movement would have us believe. I find doing so somewhat difficult, as I work in central London, and am positively surrounded by capitalists with flashy cars, sharp suits and a taste for champagne. If this is a crisis, it's difficult to see how it differs from Capitalism Triumphant. However, the truth is that the classic right-wing Atlas Shrugged mode of capitalism is in crisis. The Government has cut corporation tax, is cutting back regulation and has just lowered the 50p income tax rate. This is the bit in ...
Time and events have prevented me from blogging about this over the past couple of days and, to be honest, I've not got much to add to what Caron has said over at Caron's Musings. I too don't believe that the Bahrain Grand Prix should be going ahead at a time when dissent in Bahrain is being ruthlessly put down. I don't believe it's right from the point of view of the safety of the drivers and the dozens of support crew (including, of course, many many Brits) but neither do I believe it's right from a moral and political ...
I have no say how my taxes are spent. I know I get to vote every few years and they indicate in manifesto's which department they'll 'ring fence', 'invest in' or whatever. But even then, how many voters look into the gritty detail on how each and every department or sub-department will use the money? - if it is stated at all. Whether we agree or trust the governments intentions, we accept
Fri 20th
14:01
What do I have in common with Neil Armstrong, Jo Nesbo, Paddy McAloon, Polly Toynbee and Tony Blair?
Not a lot, you might imagine. I've certainly never been to the Moon, or been paid a fortune to write ill-informed nonsense for a national newspaper (some might say I do that for free here..), or written a gruesome bestseller, or started an illegal war. And I certainly was never part of an alternative English rock band. But despite all of that, I still managed to be mentioned in the above illustrious company by Lib Dem President Tim Farron. In a cracking interview in the New Statesman, he praised this humble blog. When asked who his favourite blogger was, he ...
Guido (actually I think it was "Neo Guido" AKA Harry Cole) published a blog post earlier this week which "exposed" Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick's failure to declare income for the tax year 2007/2008. This is in the light of the various shenanigans in the Mayoral contest whereby the main contenders have agreed to publish details of their earnings and tax paid for the last few years in the interests of transparency. To be fair to Guido/NG it was some good research that led to them deducing that Paddick received a tax free lump sum of close to ...
Last night, when switching off BBC1′s Question Time — no, not even Tim Farron's barn-storming showing could tempt me to endure a whole hour — I tweeted: In a perfect world, someone would watch #bbcqt for me & filter out the tedious/partisan/audience/Warsi & leave me with the viewable bits. — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) April 19, 2012 Cue only-slightly-sarcastic replies that the viewable bits would amount to nothing more than the opening credits. So as a Friday afternoon treat, here's what must surely be classified as The Best Opening Credits To Any Television Programme Ever: The South Bank Show. And in ...
Bar Hill Village Sign The meeting started with the traditional Open Forum which (equally traditionally) no-one turned up to. I'm pretty sure that if the three Tesco planning applications which arrived last minute had been on the published agenda then we would have had slightly more local interest! (they are available on the South Cambs planning website, I'll do a detailed post on them later - the Parish Council will be responding as will I as a local resident). I'm not going to go through the agenda point-by-point (that's what the minutes are for), I'll just highlight items I think ...
Compared to rainy London and Paris, spring has definitely arrived in Strasbourg. Aside from the occasional fleeting band of clouds, the skies are bright blue and the temperature wonderfully mild. Strasbourg is a city of wide streets and avenues and buildings which can be either distinctly German or distinctly French in their architecture - a legacy of two thousand years on the border between France and Germany. This legacy, in many ways, defines the city. Most Strasbourgeoise, especially the younger generation, speak French, but most of the older generation still speak the Alsatian dialect of German. The region might be ...
To quote from my election leaflet: Many comments were made during the recent consultation. Changes will now be made to the plan before the 'Final Draft' is produced in the summer. There will then be a final opportunity to make ... Continue reading →
Andrew Selous MP (Conservative) got up at Prime Minister's Questions this week and said this: What does he think about Ken Livingstone, who said that: "I get loads of money, all from different sources, and I give it to an accountant and they manage it"? Is that modern socialism for you? A superb question. But one could be forgiven for being reminded of Yogi Berra's remark: It's déjà vu all over again Tom McNally writes: Why I support reform of the European Court of Human Rights Just a month ago, Nick Clegg said at Prime Minister's Questions: It is worth ...
An early Christmas present was given to budding entrepreneurs when UKIP deputy leader, Paul Nuttall, declared that the EU would force them to pay €25,000 before setting up a small business. "This is totally unnecessary EU interference," he declared. "It ... Continue reading →
The "dictatorial socialist regime" that runs the EU is forcing Britain to monitor the emails and phone calls of every person in the country, according to UKIP's North West chairman, Philip Griffiths. Paranoia is a terrible thing, but before calling ... Continue reading →
According to the UK Independence Party, membership of the EU costs Britain £77 billion net a year. But they put the decimal point in the wrong place. The real figure in 2010/11, according to the Treasury, was £7.7 billion net. ... Continue reading →
Women concerned about faulty breast implants should blame the EU, according to UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall. Once a CE (European Conformity) mark had been awarded the UK authorities were "forbidden" by EU law to carry out further checks, he ... Continue reading →
Garden and farm pesticides accused of leading to the death of bees should be banned, says a North West MEP. Liberal Democrat Chris Davies is calling for the European Commission to take urgent action to restrict the use of neonicotinoid ... Continue reading →
I am a physically disabled Liberal Democrat member living in London and have held a Taxicard for about 5 years now. For those who don't know this, a Taxicard allows Londoners with mobility problems subsidised trips in black taxis within London boroughs. On Good Friday, I asked the London Taxicard service a simple question. It was a question I have asked them several times before: How many trips do I have left? The answer? 52. The next question: When is that up to? Here comes the unpleasant surprise: That's for the whole year. Fifty-two trips a year? That's one trip ...
A website set up as a bit of fun during the local elections has leapt to fame in the past two days, despite not being updated in over 10 months until yesterday. Lib Dems who point showcases, as it says on the tin, photos of all manner of Liberal Democrats pointing at all manner of things, like graffiti, potholes and litter as we are prone to do on leaflets up and down the land. The reason for yesterday's update was the fact that the site was featured on the Daily Politics in an item about our prospects in this year's ...
At long last a consultation on plans to introduce residents parking and new yellow lines in Launceston and the surrounding area will be going to public consultation next week. Together with my colleagues Sasha Gillard-Loft and Adam Paynter, I've been making representations for changes to various highways rules and regulations for a number of months. Because of the cost of making such changes (typically over £3500 for legal work and advertising), groups of requests are stored up until they reach a critical mass for a particular town or area. Among the changes going out to consultation are proposals to introduce ...
A campaign to encourage ready access to water throughout te school day has been going for over a dozen years – Water is Cool in School campaign. Hydrated pupils are healthier, do better in school from better attainment and behaviour. That's typically 6-8 glasses a day. In March 2007 I asked a formal question about how many schools in Southwark adhere to ready water access. I was told 54% of schools provide this measured via the Healthy School Status. What's the current rate? I'll find out.
Fri 20th
10:10
The Coalition and Tuition Fees: history may well be kinder (though that may be too late for the Lib ...
One of the first posts I ever blogged, over 7 years ago, explained my support for tuition fees, and why it would be in the interests of the Lib Dems to to drop their opposition to them. Ironically, given how history panned out, it was because I felt I couldn't honestly stand for election to Parliament while being unable to support a major plank of Lib Dem policy that I decided not to become an MP. After a month of political omnishambles — which has discredited the concept of coalition government as much as it has undermined George Osborne — ...
One Per Cent: Bloated website code drains your smartphone's battery (tags: ) 4thletter! » alan moore (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
That might seem like an odd question to ask, given the level of tension between elements of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats at the moment, but it is becoming apparent that many of the travails experienced by the Government come down to questions of competence and judgement.Theresa May and Abu Qatada, George Osborne and charities, David Cameron and Europe, Eric Pickles and... well, just about everything, really, all of these are signs of an administration without a coherent plan. And, whilst it might seem discourteous to point it out, most of the competence issues seem to arise from ...
Network Rail have repaired the netting under the Gatley Road railway bridge after the Lib Dems contacted them for the work to be done. The netting was damaged, meaning that pigeons have been able to roost under the bridge, with everything that leads to for those of us passing underneath! The netting is now fully repaired so hopefully that particular pigeon problem will stop.
Liberal Democrats know more than anyone else how hard it is to get breathing space to be heard in the increasingly hostile debate about human rights. As long-time defenders of the European Court of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act, we are constantly frustrated by misleading coverage that paints human rights law as on the wrong side of the public - as well as the populist politicians who seize upon it. The previous Labour government have a lot to answer for. Despite passing the Human Rights Act themselves, they spent much of their time in government trashing it, and ...
Fri 20th
09:35Dear Conservative MPs, Re House of Lords reform here's what your manifesto & the Coalition Agree...
It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for Conservative MPs — it appears some of them have only just read their own party's manifesto and the Coalition Agreement they signed up to. That can be the only explanation for the sudden fit of vapours which have apparently afflicted three of their number over the issue of House of Lords reform. So as a reminder to them, and as a service to their Tory colleagues, here's a reminder of the Conservative Party's promise to the people back in 2010 in its manifesto: We will work to build a consensus for ...
@mjturner1975 Yes, £11b is the amount given to charity each year (prob shd have been clearer in my post) in reply to mjturner1975 # @mjturner1975 Here's my source btw: http://t.co/XX9fovI2 in reply to mjturner1975 # RT @shiftinggrounds: 'Charity is a more divisive issue than I'd realised.' http://t.co/GgUiX0VI < Thx for the RT # .@dlknowles Atm, principle is all donors (not just rich) shouldn't be taxed on income they've forgone by giving it away for public benefit. # .@dlknowles Have been surprised by those on the right who want to take money from the 'small platoons' and hand it over to ...
At HS2's recent community forums everyone has expressed concern about the noise, dust, air quality impact not only from the line when built but also from the years of construction. The need for a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment has been agreed, and HS2 have now started the ball rolling, as you can read about online. ...
Liberal Democrats were at pains in the negotiations for the coalition to insist that if nuclear power stations were to be built in the UK that there should be no public subsidy. This position was reiterated by Chris Huhne in a statement to the House of Commons on October 18th 2010 as reported in his article on Lib Dem Voice. So I would like to allay Fiona Hall concerns expressed on Lib Dem Voice yesterday by clarifying that there has been absolutely no change in this position. As Chris Huhne outlined in October 2010 this means that "there will be ...
The idea being perpetuated by the Conservative party that English voters are somehow being disenfranchised by devolution and that a block of Celtic MPs stand in the way of English self-determination has been challenged by a leading academic this morning. The Western Mail says that Professor Jim Gallagher, of Nuffield College, Oxford, has argued that introducing new rules on England-only legislation in the House of Commons would neither "cripple" Labour governments nor result in Conservative "hegemony": In a new report for the IPPR think tank, he writes: "The idea that a Tory-voting England regularly has Labour governments imposed on it ...
Last night, Cambridge City Council roundly defeated the Labour Party motion to cap shared housing in Cambridge. The motion followed speeches from members of the public who had come to the Guildhall to address their concerns about the motions to councillors. They expressed their disquiet at the potential shortage of accommodation which might ensure if Labour restricted the number of shared houses, the unreasonableness of making ordinary families with lodgers register as HMOs, and the desirability of mixed communities. I was first to oppose the motion, and you can read a transcript of my speech on Richard Taylor's site, with ...
Many years ago, when I was a mere 21 years old, I hatched a plan that, had I been able to execute it, would have seen me retiring in a couple of years time. With another birthday fast approaching and with rather more miles on the clock than when I hatched that plan, I'm sat drinking a coffee at an absolutely unearthly hour in a Welcome Break Service Station on my way down to Bracknell, smiling at how naive that hope was. That's not to say that things haven't worked out well. They have. I've very little to complain about ...
Hello, we're a pair of lovely cookies. We're not nasty at all. We're tasty. Cookies being back in the news recently reminds me of just how clever (albeit indavertently in this case) the choice of the name "cookies" was in the technology world. Who can possibly be worried by something named after a scrummy biscuit that frequently features chocolate? Imagine what people's attitudes to cookies would be if they had originally been given a name such as "Online tracking ticket" and we were asked questions like "Do you want to block online tracking tickets?".
[IMG: 20120420-074208.jpg] All, Now that the District Council's former offices in Telegraph Street in Shipston have been sold, a planning application is in. You can see it here, but briefly it asks for change of use to 'Financial & Professional Services.' Please comment to the District Council via the link above, but let me know your views using the form below. Philip
Last night I had the pleasure of attending Sky News' London Mayoral Debate. The setting was on a very high floor in the overwhelmingly huge Heron Tower, the tallest building within the City of London. Being practically skyrocketed up in ... Continue reading →
I am doing 4 days a week (plus an hour to travel there and an hour and a half back) at the Lib Dem regional call centre for the election campaign, plus four days a week at my regular job, plus sewing class and the stuff I need to do for that, plus all the usual house and mothering stuff, plus standing for election myself in my home town. This means I am somewhat busy at the moment (for instance Friday is a shift at the call centre, two and a half hours total bus ride, and 6 hours in ...
Rumours reach LOWA towers that Matthew Elliot - recently of the Tax Payer's Alliance think tank - is about to be installed as David Cameron's left hand man. One can only wonder how the coalition might cope with him given he destroyed what was left of Nick 'miserable little compromise' Clegg's reputation in the AV referendum last year.
