I've just published my latest book, Ideas And Entities. This collects ten of the short stories I've posted here, some of which have already been made available as separate ebooks. As it's relatively short (82 pages), the paperback version is cheaper than normal, at £6 (no hardback for this one), and this week the Kindle ...
Project Rubicon was the name given by News Corp execs to their take over of BSkyB and consequent lobbying of politicians. One can only assume these same News Corp execs were sufficiently unaware of the full historical meaning of the 'Rubicon' and the crossing thereof. Wikipedia dexcribes it thus - The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has survived to refer to any individual or group committing itself irrevocably to a risky or revolutionary course of action, similar to the modern phrase "passing the point of no return".News Corp certainly committed to a risky course of action - one that ironically lead ...
Last night's AGM was in some ways a make or break meeting for FoPP. Having developed from a protest movement into a more mainstream organisation people had to come to terms with the fact that this means fewer members and fewer activities instigated by the group. So what exactly is its role and where is it going? And perhaps more importantly, who is willing to take it there? Nick Smith and
After Lembit Opik (sort of)Sarah TeatherDavid LawsJeremy ThorpeDanny Alexanderyou probably thought my collection of songs about Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs was complete. Not so. Because here is a song about today's hero Vince Cable. There is even another one about him: Vince Cable's Way. Thanks again to @abjtal on Twitter
The numbers of Liberal Democrats feeling any sympathy for Jeremy Hunt this evening are very small indeed. The well-known Murdoch cheerleader appears to have had the lid blown on his abuse of his quasi-judicial role. Vince Cable had his powers reduced after a disgraceful sting operation. Hunt has gone further: his department is umbilically linked to the Murdoch Empire. Liberal Democrats inside and outside Government should be calling for him to be sacked in disgrace, without hesitation or delay. socialise this: [IMG: add 'Hunting Jeremy' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'Hunting Jeremy' a digg] [IMG: add 'Hunting Jeremy' a Stumble Upon] ...
Word reaches Caron's Musings of an intelligent, calm and rational debate at the Lib Dem Federal Conference Committee last night as it discussed whether to accede to the request of Sussex Police to use an accreditation system for those registered for this year's Autumn Conference. A period of silence on the part of Lord Steel would be welcome, says Living on Words Alone (quite rightly). Gareth Epps has given up on Liberal Democrat Voice: "The site's 'comments moderation policy' is drawn out in such a way as to let the moderators do whatever they like, be it to follow through ...
As I indicated last week, I had the pleasure of attending a site visit around the new West End schools building project at Blackness Road/Glenagnes Road, that will become the new home of St Joseph's Primary School and Park Place Nursery and Primary Schools from this autumn. I did not post photos of the internal of the new schools as all participants were specifically asked not to take photographs for health and safety reasons in what is, of course, currently a building site. Given that constituents are keen to see progress, I requested that Robertsons, the contractor, give us publicly ...
In addition to the party priorities set out below, I have my own interests. I would like to see more investment in cycling provision locally, which would mean more than painting a few white lines onto roads. Cycling is a fun activity which can keep us healthy. It is easy to do and can be enjoyed by almost everyone. It also reduces the number of cars on our busy roads, which benefits us all. However, most people see cycling as dangerous and would never dream of getting on a bike. Local authorities can do a lot to encourage people through ...
Citi 5 Bus Stop Sign On Crafts Way (Bar Hill) The key word in the title is "Commercial", these are the services Stagecoach runs without any subsidies from the County Council and so can pretty much change anything it likes to anything it likes at will (with the obvious proviso that the key is to make money, not to provide a service). The following changes are improvements to the existing services; New Route X4 - Eaton Socon - St Neots - Cambourne - Cambridge Combined with route X5 will offer a service to Cambridge every 15 minutes throughout the day. ...
Every authority needs an active opposition and the Lib Dems have a good record in West Oxfordshire. In March, Lib Dem councillors stood up for the Citizens' Advice Bureau when the Tories tried to slash the budget. It was Lib Dems who convinced the Tories that they should look at opening a recycling facility at Greystones to replace Dean Pit. The Liberal Democrats want a better future for everyone in our area, which includes: Enough affordable houses so that the next generation can afford to rent or buy a home locallyRoads and pavements maintained properlyHigher building standards, to reduce fuel ...
Glenys Kinnock, Opposition Spokesperson on Intenational Development, addressing the meeting. On her left, Kirsten Mathieson from Save the Children, who gave a preview of their report on the children still to be reached [IMG: Posted by Picasa]
As you will have gathered from the news over the past 24 hours, the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill finally published its report yesterday[1]. This represents our best opportunity to hold elections for the House of Lords since Parliament first committed itself to holding them over 100 years ago. With the light at the end of the tunnel now in sight, we can't let this opportunity pass; will you write to your MP today and ask them where they stand? Write to your MP Overall, the Joint Committee has endorsed the government's proposal to hold ...
As you will have gathered from the news over the past 24 hours, the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill finally published its report yesterday[1]. This represents our best opportunity to hold elections for the House of Lords since Parliament first committed itself to holding them over 100 years ago. With the light at the end of the tunnel now in sight, we can't let this opportunity pass; will you write to your MP today and ask them where they stand? Write to your MP Overall, the Joint Committee has endorsed the government's proposal to hold ...
Reader's voice: Don't tell me... You've thought of something else you didn't have time to blog about last week. How did you guess? Except that I did blog about it - in September 2009. Back then, I wrote a post disapproving of plans by the Labour government to introduce a national database for dogs. Those who share my increasing weakness for the view that whoever you vote for the government gets in will not be surprised that the very same proposal has re-emerged as a Coalition plan. This time the pretext being used is attacks on postmen rather than the ...
Yesterday saw the last meeting of the City Council take place before next week's council elections. A number of my colleagues who are not seeking re-election gave their final speeches, including my LibDem colleague and sister in law Cllr Helen Dick, who is standing down as councillor for Strathmartine Ward after nine years, given her ill-health through MS. I have huge admiration for how Helen has coped with her illness but continued to be a hugely active councillor for her constituents. Helen & I are pictured (right) at a visit Nicol Stephen (then Scottish LibDem leader) made with us and ...
I am standing for election in West Oxfordshire for the village I have lived in for 10 years. I am a passionate Liberal Democrat, an active local citizen and a keen advocate of local democracy, not to mention a father of two children who go to the local school. I have stood for election in various places but this is the first opportunity I have had to represent my own village, together with the surrounding villages of Hailey, Minster Lovell and Ramsden. Previously I worked for a local authority so I was unable to stand in any elections. However, I ...
This morning saw one of the constabulary's largest ever drugs operations, codenamed Operation Vanguard. Eighteen dawn raids at properties in areas including Sutton, Waterbeach, St Ives, Burwell, Needingworth, Cottenham, Fulbourn, Huntingdon, Milton and Cambridge resulted in 18 arrests. This was the culmination of a long-term investigation into the large scale supply of class A drugs in Cambridgeshire, mainly high purity cocaine. Arrests were also made today by police in Northamptonshire and Hampshire in connection with the same conspiracy. Of the arrests by Cambridgeshire officers, one was made in Chelmsford, Essex, and another at a property in Red Lodge, Bury St ...
This morning saw one of the constabulary's largest ever drugs operations, codenamed Operation Vanguard. Eighteen dawn raids at properties in areas including Sutton, Waterbeach, St Ives, Burwell, Needingworth, Cottenham, Fulbourn, Huntingdon, Milton and Cambridge resulted in 18 arrests. This was the culmination of a long-term investigation into the large scale supply of class A drugs in Cambridgeshire, mainly high purity cocaine. Arrests were also made today by police in Northamptonshire and Hampshire in connection with the same conspiracy. Of the arrests by Cambridgeshire officers, one was made in Chelmsford, Essex, and another at a property in Red Lodge, Bury St ...
[IMG: Lord Chris Rennard] From the letters page: SIR - Many promises in the Conservative manifesto cannot be delivered by David Cameron because the Conservatives won only 307 of the 650 seats in the Commons. Fortunately, they need not compromise on the democratic principles in their manifesto, which said that they would "work to build a consensus for a mainly elected second chamber to replace the current House of Lords". All three main parties made manifesto commitments to reform the House of Lords, and between them they obtained more than 90 per cent of the vote in the general election. ...
Something else I did not get time to write about last week was the news that the Liberal Democrats will not after all be paying interns who work for the party. I say "after all" because Nick Clegg is on record as saying that in future internships would come with "real support to cover costs" in order to "give new people opportunities to participate in that kind of political activity". He also said they would "conform with minimum wage legislation as much as possible". Money is short for the party, of course, but this is not some starry-eyed commitment Nick ...
Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has said that First Minister Alex Salmond has been sullied by James Murdoch's revelations at the Leveson Enquiry. Amongst e-mails filed for the Enquiry to consider, one from Frederic Michel, News International's Director of Public Affairs, about a meeting with Alex Salmond's advisers on 15 June 2010. It's on Page 80 here. So, it seems that not only was Salmond apparently prepared to call Jeremy Hunt to lobby on behalf of News International's takeover of BSkyB, but there seemed to be a bit of a deal in the making about persuading Sky ...
I think it may well be.... [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Just a heads-up that my next book, Ideas And Entities will be out tonight. It's a short book — around 80 pages — and contains ten short stories, all of which have been posted here before. Proper post when it's up.
We are living in a period of near anarchy in local politics, it seems to me that perhaps a new breed of wild eyed, frankly bonkers local politicians are setting the agenda, it makes me think kindly of the time when Sandy Ezekiel and Roger Latchford ruled the Island. I know I was harsh on Labour yesterday and see no reason to be polite today, such is the substance of Clive Hart's leadership. It's worth noting how despite Labour adopting a craven nimby manifesto in last years local election, they failed miserably in the local elections and lack authority. Maybe ...
I am used to rubbish on TV. I watch quite a lot of it; when the brain needs a rest and doesn't want silence, there is a wealth of soothingly meaningless TV to watch on any number of channels. And if you missed anything particularly soporific, you can watch it on +1 or +2 or iplayer or whatever. But on Sunday I had a moment of horror which has rarely if ever been surpassed in all my TV watching history. (I'm a pensioner now, so my TV watching history is quite long.) I don't normally do reality TV. Boring. Relentless ...
Durham's Licensing Committee today gave approval for Red Velvet, the lap dancing club, to continue to operate in Consett. In a hearing which lasted over four hours the committee heard evidence from seven objectors including the police, MP and a local councillor as well as evidence from the applicant, his solicitor, and two employees. After deliberating for around half an hour the committee announced that the licence would be granted, and that they would release their full reasoning later. I was there as an observer, with no right to speak, as only objectors and witnesses for the applicant had the ...
"If you have room for only one fruit tree, do you go for damson or bullace?" - Jim Hartley The fellow goes on to ask which fruit the current of Lib Dem MPs remind me of: "Ming Campbell, something rather old fashioned, but solid: quince? Danny Alexander, orange, bitter & no good in the sun: Seville orange. The great leader is of course bland and yellow and would have to be a banana." I think this is what the young people call 'satire'. The fruit tree I 'go for' is neither the damson nor the bullace but our trusty Rutland ...
Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has said that First Minister Alex Salmond has been sullied by James Murdoch's revelations at the Leveson Enquiry. Amongst e-mails filed for the Enquiry to consider, one from Frederic Michel, News International's Director of Public Affairs, about a meeting with Alex Salmond's advisers on 15 June 2010. It's on Page 80 here. So, it seems that not only was Salmond apparently prepared to call Jeremy Hunt to lobby on behalf of News International's takeover of BSkyB, but there seemed to be a bit of a deal in the making about persuading Sky ...
Postal votes were supposed to be sent out on Friday first class. Some wards (eg St Peter's) were sent out yesterday. Clarence is not being posted until today. This is to say the least a less than satisfactory situation.
Over on my blog at the Jewish Chronicle I have explained the many good reasons why Labour candidate Andrew Dismore does not deserve the tactical votes of Liberal Democrats. Yes, breaking news: I have postal-voted Liberal Democrat in the 2012 GLA elections. Before you all fall into a deep sleep in response to this unexceptional news, here is what I wrote over there:Well, I have voted by post in the 2012 GLA elections. It will not surprise you that I voted Liberal Democrat, given that I am, you know, a Liberal Democrat. Move along. Nothing to see here. Dog ...
Tue 24th
18:00
In my day, 'quasi-judicial' actually meant something. Why Jeremy Hunt should never have been allowed...
The Leveson inquiry has today laid bare the extent of the behind-the-scenes support that culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and Tory leader David Cameron offered the Murdochs ahead of News Corp's attempted takeover of BSkyB. What is in fact astonishing is that Jeremy Hunt was ever allowed near this decision in the first place, given the quasi-judicial nature of the decision-making process. Here's just one snippet from today's evidence as reported by The Guardian: The culture secretary then phoned Michel directly, according to Michel's email, on 15 July 2011 [actually 15 June, 2010 - ST] to say that he had just ...
Tue 24th
17:37
In other news... Michael Brown extradited, unpaid party internships, Jo Swinson for cabinet? & o...
Here's a round-up of stories we haven't had time to cover on the site this past few days... Lib Dem donor Michael Brown to be extradited to UK (BBC News) Convicted fraudster and former Lib Dem donor Michael Brown is facing a hearing in Spain for extradition to the UK. He was flown to Madrid on Saturday to be handed to UK officials after being arrested in the Dominican Republic. In 2008 Brown, who had gone on the run to the Dominican Republic from the UK, was jailed in his absence for seven years for stealing £36m from clients after ...
Resign by 7 October. Apparently. If his manifesto contained in the offical booklet - which arrived this morning - is to be believed... The layout of this looks like it has been done a primary pupil experimenting with desk top publication. You would have thought with all the resources the Labour Party has (not to mention Ken's tax free earnings) they could have got the design right?
Need I really say more? I suppose I must. Vince Cable has long been one of the most liked Lib Dems around. One thing everyone knew about Vince was that he wasn't a huge fan of the Murdoch empire. None of the Lib Dems were. They never tried to curry favour with the empire unlike the other two main parties. Some argue that the only reason they didn't was because the Murdoch's saw the Lib Dems as insignificant but that is pure conjecture. These are the facts: *The Lib Dems never liked the Murdoch's. *The Tories did like the Murdoch's. ...
Tue 24th
15:53I would have sacked Vince Cable for standing up to Murdoch - what Ed Miliband said 16 months ago
[IMG: Ed Miliband The Sun] Jeremy Hunt is in hot water today following the revelations at the Leveson Inquiry of the closeness of his relationship with the Murdochs during their attempted takeover of BSkyB. The culture secretary was handed quasi-judicial responsibility for handling the deal after Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable was snared by the Telegraph declaring war on the Murdoch empire before it became fashionable. According to the Guardian, the Labour party 'is likely to demand an urgent Commons statement from Hunt to set out the nature of his exchanges with News Corp both before and after he ...
No, I'm not talking about Masabi's innovative technology, but of this rather odd bit of advertising found on the back of a train ticket. [IMG: QR Codes on Train Tickets] There's no specific call to action – but there's not much space to play with. Let's give it a scan... [IMG: Train Tickets non-mobile friendly] *sigh* A non-mobile site. With an Adobe Flash plugin in the top right which won't work on any iPhones. Why on Earth do marketing companies insist on pointing phones to non-mobile sites. It really bemuses me. Stations rarely have good signal (too many people leads ...
[IMG: Ed on Upper Tollington] Last week, my colleague Cllr Ed Butcher showed me the new safety signs that he has persuaded the Council to install on a dangerous road bend, where there has been a number of accidents in recent years. Hazard signs have been put up on the bend of Upper Tollington Park, by the junction with Oakfield Road after requests from Ed. In my 6 years as a councillor there have been a good few accidents here with the walled flower bed often being smashed into by vehicles that presumably going too fast to turn. There is ...
The suggestion by the new leader of Plaid Cymru that her party might form a broad alliance with the Labour Party so as to build a "united Welsh alternative" to the Conservatives, is curious, not least for its timing, just over a week before local elections in which the nationalists are facing up to Labour in many seats around Wales. Leanne Wood's suggestion is even more notable for its caveats. It seems that such a pact is dependent on Welsh Labour being prepared to co-operate with Plaid Cymru, put forward progressive policies and ditch tribalism and parochialism. So that is ...
Conservative-controlled Herts Highways, responsible for managing and maintaining Hertfordshire's road network, has today been forced to admit to a major blunder that is likely to cost the county council about £1.26 million. The ill-starred bus lane in Moor End Road, Hemel Hempstead, is a key element in the town's traffic management intended to reduce congestion and keep buses running on time to destinations such as Chesham, Berkhamsted and Tring. After a false start with rising bollards that had to be removed, the council settled on a more conventional bus lane which went live on 25th July 2011. It was enforced ...
by Sharon Bowles on Tuesday, 24 April 2012 at 16:00. Sharon Bowles MEP Last year big multinational companies operating in the developing world avoided paying taxes of approximately $165 billion to host governments. Sharon Bowles MEP, who represents South East England in the European Parliament, has launched a new campaign – 'Own, Up, Pay Up!' – to shed light on the issue and to prevent future financial malpractice among EU multinationals. Hundreds of people have already signed Sharon's petition in support of moves to get tax-dodging multinationals to pay their fair share. Today Sharon took her campaign one step further ...
The way that we travel and the places we live in have a massive impact on our lives, going well beyond what's traditionally considered transport policy. Increased car use is driving up levels of obesity, polluting our cities and leading to more accidents. As London's population grows, the demands on our transport system make it an ever tougher nut to crack. Sustrans wants to see a London, and a country, where everyone is able to get around, to work, school, shops and leisure facilities. Making it easier and safer to walk and cycle for our short everyday journeys is a ...
All, Just a quick note to let people know there will be a meeting of Shipston Town Council's Planning Group on Monday 30th April at 7pm in the new Town Council building (the old Police Station). It will discuss a number of planning applications, but I'm guessing the one most people will be interested in is the proposed development at the end of Hornsby Close. I'm hoping that Linfoot Homes will be giving a presentation. If they are the format of the meeting will be a presentation, the chance for local residents and District Councillors to make any comments they ...
Cllr Stuart Pile, the Tory in charge of roads and transport, has attempted to blame the motorists rather than his own failings in the £1.3 million Moor Lane fiasco. You can listen here.
Liberal Democrats are an oddly reticent bunch when it comes to the European Union, defined more by our opponents than by our own words. We are, by the very nature of being internationalist, in favour of a European idea. But we appear increasingly unsure as to what that might be, so we tend not to talk about it much these days. What that means is that when the question of Europe is raised, UKIP loudly distort the truth, joined by the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservatives, whilst everybody else talks about jobs, education and crime, perhaps mentioning Europe in passing. ...
This morning I had a very positive meeting with officers from Cornwall Council's waste department, environmental health officers, the local housing officer and managers from Cory, the new waste contractors across Cornwall. The aim was to sort out a solution to the problems being faced by residents of Ridgegrove where communal bin collections were downgraded to once a week leading to rubbish strewn across the estate and the appearance of rats. Following my previous intervention, Cory and the council have re-introduced collections twice per week until a long-term solution can be found. Many thanks to them for this. We walked ...
Word reaches my ears of an intelligent, calm and rational debate at Federal Conference Committee last night as they discussed the pros and cons of whether to accede to the request of Sussex Police to use an accreditation system for those registered for this year's Autumn Conference. Don't get me wrong. I am not in favour of accreditation. I think it's wrong and illiberal and my opposition to it is absolute. However, I am pleased to hear that the matter was discussed in passionate but realistic terms, and not using the lazy and destructive arguments (ie terrorists want to kill ...
I have now read the Judgment in the case LB of Islington v Al Alas and Wray [2012] EWHC 865 (Fam) This is a significant case in that it is not just about Vitamin D, but also about SBS. In essence we have a case where a child develops the symptoms of SBS in hospital. The problem with the science here has always been the ethical problems of proving that the triad can be caused by shaking. There
This is Jon Stewart: He is a funny man. He is also an influential man; in 2010 he was ranked as the most influential man in America. This is Jimmy Carr: He is a less funny man. He also is much less influential; 10 O'Clock Live is intended as a British version of Jon Stewart's ...
Yesterday, Unlock Democracy published new research confirming that a majority of the public support government plans to introduce elections to the House of Lords. A poll conducted by YouGov has found that: 69% support a half, majority or wholly elected second chamber. The most popular response was for a fully elected second chamber (33%). Just 5% support a wholly appointed second chamber (don't know: 22%). 45% believe members of the House of Lords should not be allowed to block reform; 32% felt they should (don't know: 17%). 48% supported experts being invited to participate in legislation on an ad hoc ...
Scandalous International Hypocrisy on Sudan Blame the victim, not the perpetrator. As usual. (tags: sudan )
Hornsey & Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone has put up a very good post on her website, about the Rock The House competition. In it she says: The excellent Rock the House competition has come round again, and four local bands have asked me to nominate them. I can only send one band through to the final though and I need your help to decide who that should be. Check out the links that the bands have sent to me, then vote on the poll below. What's so good about this? The local MP is using her own online audiences ...
The method of publishing posts has changed during the pat ten days and I just cant find my way around it. Ideally I'd like to restore the status quo ante, but if that is not possible and we are stuck with this "update" can someone please explain to me: (1) How to get spaces between paragraphs: (2) How to make corrections after a "preview": (3) How to gain access to the statistics. Thanks in anticipation.
Welcome to the latest in our occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – how voters prefer people who earn less rather than more. The findings come from research presenting the details of two fictional candidates to voters and asking them what they thought of each. Details of one of the fictional candidates were then altered to see how that changed the reaction of voters. Here is what voters were initially told about that person: John Burns is 48 years old, and was born and brought up in your area, before going to University to study for a ...
I'm coming a couple of days late to this as the Daily Mail thoughtlessly published their piece whilst I was offline at the weekend, but it's still worth a blog post to clarify the issues. According to an article they've run, (Caution: Daily Mail Link) Doctors are being "forced to carry out sex change ops" under "new guidelines" by the General Medical Council. (GMC) (Edited to add: The GMC guidance is available on their web site. (PDF Link). The relevant piece is the footnote to paragraph 5 on page 3) Firstly, these are very specialised surgeries and you can't just ...
The likely change of President in Paris is now coupled with severe tension in the government in the Netherlands. As in 2005, these two founder members are questioning the long standing consensus in the European Union. Usually, when asked about the future of the Euro, the response from officials and from many national governments is that the solution is "more Europe". This is short hand for creating the common institutions, such as a treasury and a system of fiscal transfers, that were not created when the single currency was first established. The problem about creating such powerful new institutions is ...
Normally when my husband leaves for work in the morning we exchange a few brief words about our plans for the day or some other mundane domestic matters. Party Election Broadcasts don't feature that often in our early morning conversation. Usually because I'm half asleep. This morning Bob was full of the SNP's broadcast for the local elections - and not in a good way. When I watched it for myself, I saw his point. The whole thing is bizarre. I take from it that in that the SNP want to see a Scotland where people take in parcels for ...
Tue 24th
08:57
Hear Nick Hollinghurst's interview about the bus lane fiasco on BBC Three Counties Radio
After the Tories at Herts County Council were forced to repay £1.3 million of wrongly collected fines, Nick Hollinghurst gave an interview yesterday on BBC Three Counties Radio. Listen here.
A formula. Politicians who are weak, plus 'Sir Humphreys' who are strong, equals elective dictatorship. It was Tony Blair who introduced the idea to the British public of politicians who see themselves primarily as spokespeople for the decisions and interests of officials. With Blair and his New Labour concept, it became more obvious that there was a new class of 'professional' career politician – seeing their role primarily as spinning-for-the-state and controlling public opinion. A little-noticed last phrase in a BBC news item last week may be another symptom of a weakening democratic system of elected politicians - those who ...
The best quote I've read in a newspaper for some time is all about one of the three beavers that escaped three years ago from Lifton. Asked whether he could identify a newly captured animal as one of those that escaped, the owener of the conservation facility said: "Beavers are a brown amorphous mess. They're not Britney Spears." h/t GraemeDenianyk Tweet
Saturday saw the publication of the latest crime statistics in Edinburgh. The stats showed a 5% fall in Crime levels. This is to be greatly welcomed and comes on the back of the 21% fall in crime since I took over as Convenor of the Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership. Much of this fall is down to the changes in policing introduced over the last five years, to the very close partnership working between local council officers and police, good information sharing protocols nipping many problems in the bud before they spiral out of control. Two things threaten this. The first ...
I am against Accreditation at conference and I have said as much very publicly. Last night FCC considered the 'accreditation at conference' issue, in the light of the many submissions made to the committee in response to the request for views made on Lib Dem Voice, and I know they also heard views on the day from activists such as Zoe O'Connell and Sarah Brown (who tweeted about it). As various members of FCC have revealed, the opening of conference registration has been postponed while this issue is addressed. Fair play to FCC member Jeremy Hargreaves, who tweeted in response ...
The combination of being in government and of facing a large deficit means the list of tax increases and spending cuts Liberal Democrats have been calling for over many years has been mostly exhausted. Capital gains tax is up, pension tax breaks for the richest has been curbed, the ID cards database is gone and so on. It is good that so many policies are now in place and there are plenty of political battles still to come in the second half of this Parliament, especially over mansion tax. However, it means that the scope for the party to say ...
From Stockport Council Solar panels are helping to power almost 2,000 homes in Stockport and nearly 30 Stockport Council buildings to help the environment and save money. As part of a multi-million pound investment to provide low carbon improvements including solar energy, wood chip fuel, thermal cladding and updated boilers, Stockport is the only Greater Manchester borough to deliver a solar panel programme on this scale. It is estimated that the installations, which began in autumn 2011, cut energy bills by £130 and reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 600kg per home. The residential programme has seen residents living in Stockport ...
Cllr Susan van de Ven (LD, Melbourn) Stagecoach's announcement of changes to its bus services comes in the wake of the county council's timetable for comprehensive withdrawal of bus subsidies. Cllr Susan van de Ven, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, said: "While there is good news for some people there is very bad news for many others. "The additional services announced by Stagecoach are welcome, but reflect just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the transport deficit that plagues rural Cambridgeshire. For those people who are losing services with absolutely no warning, the county council needs to step up ...
Cllr Susan van de Ven (LD, Melbourn) Stagecoach's announcement of changes to its bus services comes in the wake of the county council's timetable for comprehensive withdrawal of bus subsidies. Cllr Susan van de Ven, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, said: "While there is good news for some people there is very bad news for many others. "The additional services announced by Stagecoach are welcome, but reflect just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the transport deficit that plagues rural Cambridgeshire. For those people who are losing services with absolutely no warning, the county council needs to step up ...
The latest in the sporadic series of Tuesday Titters comes from Doc Brown, comedy rapper. I came across this clip whilst browsing You Tube, although I was aware of him - I once heard him do a rap aimed at making The Archers cool! In this piece, taken from Russell Howard's Good News Extra, he takes on that long-standing British obsession: the perfect cup of tea... Enjoy! Andrew
I got home just over an hour ago, finally, but my body has absolutely no idea what time it is right now - it's exhausted, but it's sunny outside.... Needless to say, a blog post will be forthcoming, but not yet. Until then, please enjoy this photo of me post-finish with BOTH of my medals - the official one from the London Marathon and the one carefully crafted by Cadbury and made of chocolate.
Chris's locality budget allocations over the past 3 years are now all available: go to 'Locality Budgets' above to find details.
Newsnight carried a debate this evening between a Conservative MP and Liberal Peer on Lords' reform. One argued for a democratic chamber elected by Single Transferable Vote as promised in his party's manifesto. The other said his party's manifesto was wrong, the primacy of the Commons was vital and said that reform should be limited and evolutionary - carrying on the baby steps started by the Parliament Act in 1911. The former, of course, was the Conservative MP and the latter undemocratic prevaricator was Lord Steel. It is available on i-player here. Lord Steel was MP for Roxburgh South West ...
