Note 2: Lowest salary - SCP 6= £12,489 (this is the bottom point of Grade 1)Highest salary - £203,934
From the Portsmouth News: THE youngest member of the Dinenage dynasty has turned her back on the Conservative party. With less than a fortnight to go until she stands down as a ward councillor for Milton, Sarah Dinenage has defected to Portsmouth's Lib Dems. The 30-year-old sister of Gosport Tory MP Caroline - and daughter of TV veteran Fred - claimed that bitter divisions within the local Tory party had driven her out. She also said she was following her friend and former campaign manager, Cllr Lee Hunt, who defected in 2009... Miss Dinenage said: 'Portsmouth's Tories have spent a ...
Liberal Youth Spring Conference at Leeds University at the end of March made me extremely proud. Not only was it the best one of our conferences I'd been to, but Liberal Youth is now engaging in serious discussion around Further Education. It's been severely lacking from the youth wing of the Liberal Democrats ever since ...
My re-election campaign received a boost this afternoon when Pensions Minister Steve Webb dropped by to lend a hand. Steve is a genuine big hitter who is respected on all sides of the house. It was great to catch up with him and hear more about how he is reforming pensions. As well as restoring the earnings link for pensions and implementing the largest ever increase in the state pension he is also ensuring that many people, particularly women, who in the past did not qualify for pensions will in the future receive one thanks to the Lib Dems in ...
Earlier today I saw this billboard in the Chorlton Morrisons Car park. I thought it was a bit odd that Transport for London and the Mayor of London are paying for billboards in Chorlton! I asked the Council for any information they had about which Manchester roads will be affected by the London Olympic Games. Having raised it with Council bosses I understand these billboards probably relate to the expected impact of the Olympic football matches being played at Old Trafford. However the Council don't see this impacting on Chorlton in any different way to a normal big football game; ...
"What does Lord Bonkers think of the proposal to supplement the diet of Edinburgh's Ailuropoda melanoleuca?" - Zoologist, Edinburgh I take it that you refer to the scurrilous song about the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and, indeed, Strathspey that is going the rounds. I have no time for That Sort of Thing and there is no truth in the rumour that I have been known to whistle it if I come across Danny Alexander at Westminster. As to Ailuropoda melanoleuca - or the giant panda - I was once sent one by a ...
South Glos Council's capital grants scheme will be open for bids from 30 April, with a deadline of 11 June for applications to be submitted. Voluntary and community groups in South Gloucestershire can apply for help with the cost of capital projects such as buying or enhancing buildings or purchasing new equipment, machinery or vehicles. £125,000 is available to projects that benefit South Gloucestershire residents, with funding mainly available to smaller projects costing no more than £3,000. Successful applicants will be notified of decisions in October 2012. Further information on the scheme is available at www.southglos.gov.uk/communitygrants
The Derwent Valley Partnership has just elected its new (old) chairperson. At the Annual General Meeting John O'Connor, it's original chair, was elected to be chair again. The Area Action Partnerships each have three vice-chairs; one from the public reps (John O'Connor), one from the councillors (Cllr Watts Stelling), and one from the "partners" (Inspector Dave Turner), and one of those three becomes Chair of the whole shooting match. I'm sure everyone at the partnership wishes John well for the coming year. The centre-piece of the evening was a presentation on Parish/Town Councils. We were given a quick run around ...
Jeremy Hunt's coat as the Scots say is 'on a shoogly peg' and the resignation of his special adviser is clearly an exercise in backside covering. And as the enquiry and evidence slowly emerges it will only get worse for Hunt - not better - even if he can muster a robust defence. The vultures have circled and they will get their flesh. The coalition set out to be different - less sleazy and more open than previous governments. The grip of collective responsibility was supposed to be loosened to allow the two parties space to reflect their differences. Well ...
Don't forget Faith, Pride, and Chat, our informal social evening, is taking place on Friday, 27 April at 7 p.m in St George's Church on High Street. More detail....
Some good news for a change when it comes to authoritarian plans to spy on what people are doing on the internet. Today Lib Dem MEPs, and the group they sit in in the European Parliament (the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), announced that they are killing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Because they've done so, there's now a majority in parliament against ACTA, which means that it's as good as dead. This is a good thing because, despite the name, ACTA would have done very little to stop counterfeiting as it wouldn't have included China and other ...
From Monday 30 April 2012 a 60 metre length of Victoria Road will be closed to vehicles between its junctions with Wesley Street and Mason Street (outside the Derwent Centre), Consett. The closure is necessary to enable carriageway resurfacing works which will probably take around five days to complete.
In December 2008 I reported the escape of a beaver from a farm in Devon. Two females who escaped with him were soon recaptured, but Igor got clean away. He was last heard of felling trees beside the Tamar near Gunnislake in Cornwall. So when a beaver was found at Gunnislake last week, it was naturally assumed that Igor had finally been caught. Except, says the Daily Telegraph, that this beaver is a younger, smaller male and therefore cannot be Igor. Which may mean that there may be more beavers living wild in the area and breeding. No doubt the ...
Two insights into the career of our beleaguered (or possibly embattled) Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. A Bloggerheads post from May 2010 reveals that Hunt deleted all his tweets as soon as he was appointed to the Cabinet. Fortunately Tim Ireland had kept an archive of these and reprinted them all in the post. Interestingly, they reveal that Hunt used Twitter chiefly for abusing Nick Clegg. And on the Daily Telegraph site today Iain Martin recalls the evening he saw Jeremy Hunt hiding behind a tree: That night at UCL Jeremy Hunt wanted to be close ...
So, Adam Smith, Jeremy Hunt's 'Special Advisor' (or 'SPAD' as they are known in Westminster) has fallen on his sword following allegations of impropriety against his former boss in the way he handled the takeover bid by News Corporation of BSkyB. The evidence obtained by the ongoing Leveson enquiry shows a huge amount of e-mail traffic between Adam Smith and Frederic Michel who was News Corporation's Director of Public Affairs in Europe during the News Corporation proposed bid for BSkyB. The sheer amount of e-mails between Adam Smith and Frederic Michel alone rings alarm bells. This was supposed to be ...
Among London's various ethnic groups, British Chinese have tended to steer clear of politics in the past, though that is beginning to change. Much of the credit for that must go to the BC (British Chinese) Project and its indefatigable activist Joseph Wu, who uses every opportunity to encourage Chinese in Britain to register to ...
Wed 25th
18:40
Message from the Friends of Longford Park - Centenary Weekend Volunteers Needed! 12-13th May. Can yo...
We are really looking forward to the Longford Park Centenary Weekend but we do need more volunteers to help out! Can you help? Saturday 12th May will be a 1912 Festival Day (1 - 9pm), when we encourage people to dress in Edwardian/ Downtown Abbey costumes! There will be two performance stages with music, dance and song, which reflect the era. There will be craft workshops for kids and a variety of stalls for people to browse and buy. Sunday 13th (1 - 5pm) on we will celebrate the Today's Park, as it is now. There will be a variety ...
The debate over the Health and Social Care Bill was the most divisive since tuition fees, and the most difficult for me as a Lib Dem since the coalition was formed. Labour's bluster over some aspects of it was plain ridiculous. They honed their already ample skills in scare stories and plain lies, but here ...
Chorlton Good Neighbours invites you to an Over 50's Information Morning at Wilbraham St Ninian's Church (Egerton Road South, Chorlton, M21 0XJ) on Thursday 17th May 2012 between 10am - 12noon. The event is completely Free. There will be stalls from Age concern, Care & Repair, Chorlton Good Neighbours, Ring & Ride, Local Falls team & others. Chorlton Good Neighbours are promoting the oppertunities to take advantage of: Energy Efficiency Advice Legal Advice Hand Massage Art Exhibition Benefits AdviceHearing adviceFor more information contact Helen Hibberd on 881 2925 or email goodneighbours@btconnect.com
Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year. Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils' record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said: "While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it's clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax. "Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, ...
This week's entry features the Senegalese musician and would be politician, Youssou N'Dour. I'm not overly acquainted with his work but have always loved this track which reached number 3 in the UK - probably on the strength of it featuring Neneh Cherry. Sadly, it was N'Dour's only hit. Of course, such a statement betrays a Anglo/European/Western view of the world which forgets that there are huge tracts of the world where Chris Brown and Madonna (atop the singles and album charts at the time of writing) are less well known than local/national/regional/continental stars such as N'Dour. Here is Youssou ...
We covered earlier Nick Clegg's reaction to today's shock news that the UK is back in recession — here's an excerpt from his speech today to the Institute of Directors where he urges the banks t play their part, and start lending to businesses: (Also available on the BBC website here.)
North West England Euro-MP Chris Davies is joining his European Liberal colleagues to defeat legislation that could reduce internet freedom. The Lib Dem group in the European Parliament holds the swing 84 votes to ensure that ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) ... Continue reading →
Regular readers will be aware that Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone is currently carrying out a consultation on the issue of allowing civil marriage for same sex couples in England. Last week Party President Tim Farron urged party members to respond positively to the Consultation, saying: We have always stood for individual liberty and the right to choose how we lead our lives. This is why I am member of our party and why I am so proud to be your President. It's why we came into being in the 19th century to protect the rights of religious minorities. ...
FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob, Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision TO: Anton Wilks, Director of Content Simeon Lascelles, Director of Spatial Exploration and Direction Management Hilda Wrass, Director of Cultural Transformation bcc: Neil Balderson, Assistant Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision Colleagues: Thanks for making the really positive meeting where Anton explained how he saw content management developing under his tutelage. I hope Anton won't mind me saying the rest of us found it really fascinating and are excited by the challenges of working together in a totally transformational way. FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob TO: Neil ...
I was delighted to hear that £10.6M will be spent making Peckham Rye station and the immediate area around it something we can all be proud of. I helped ensure this was in the Lib Dem 2010 local election manifesto so it has always been a priority for me and my political group. So its good to know its become a local Labour priority. Roughly half the money will come from Transport for London and half from Southwark Council. Creating a large open square to the front of the station, renovate the station, create a buzzing pleasant day time and ...
Pauline out speaking to residents with the Hackney Lib Dems last night. #LadyPLovesHackney
[IMG: photo courtesy of Jon Fravel www.flickr.com/photos/jfravel] It's time to pull together! - there's only one week to go! Tempers in elections often get frayed. Competing priorities, the frustrations with computer systems and printers combined with activist exhaustion and grotty weather are a recipe for friction. After canvassing, in the next few days try and get your core team together, perhaps at a stuffing party or over a pint and agree your strategy for the final week. To quote somebody else, we're all in this together..... With a week to go your campaign should be peaking and your thoughts should ...
It's not been an easy few weeks for the SNP. Even before yesterday's revelations from Leveson, Alex Salmond was squirming when Willie Rennie confronted him over his close ties to Rupert Murdoch which led to him playing down the phone hacking controversy when writing for the Scottish Sun on Sunday. They've also had to expel one of their MSPs, Bill Walker, who was accused of domestic violence against 3 former wives. Worse, last week's Sunday Herald reports that Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon's office, although not Ms Sturgeon directly, had been told of the allegations a full three years before he ...
Wed 25th
15:24
"Brian Paddick has now been to Hackney on three or four occasions, walked the streets. He's..."
"Brian Paddick has now been to Hackney on three or four occasions, walked the streets. He's walked the walk and talked the talk. He's met and talked with youngsters in Hackney and asked them questions to find out what they want, what is important. Ken was walking around Hackney with a 20-strong team, looking very impressive, but when I asked the youngsters did any of them speak to him, no one spoke to him. Boris still yet to be seen in Hackney. " - Pauline discussing crime and policing on the Guardian's Mayoral Election Liveblog yesterday.
'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. Another in the series of tracks that have inspired Pauline.
If you are coming up to, or just retired, you might be interested in a forthcoming event. A Retirement Seminar will be held at the Scout Hall, Moat Road, East Grinstead on Wednesday 2nd May, 12-2pm. the good news is it's all free! Representatives from local businesses Waughs Solicitors, Sturdy Edwards Financial Advisors and Howard Cundey Estate Agents will be there. They will be providing general information on many aspects of retirement issues such as how best to take pension benefits, how to invest a lump sum of money if you've never had to before, preparing your home for sale, ...
It's not been an easy few weeks for the SNP. Even before yesterday's revelations from Leveson, Alex Salmond was squirming when Willie Rennie confronted him over his close ties to Rupert Murdoch which led to him playing down the phone hacking controversy when writing for the Scottish Sun on Sunday. They've also had to expel one of their MSPs, Bill Walker, who was accused of domestic violence against 3 former wives. Worse, last week's Sunday Herald reports that Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon's office, although not Ms Sturgeon directly, had been told of the allegations a full three years before he ...
Wed 25th
14:27
Gunnersbury Park, Non Waste collection statement - Council's Cabinet meeting last night
Here is a summary of last night's Cabinet meeting in Ealing... Non collection of Waste The meeting started off with the Labour Councillor responsible for waste and recycling, giving a statement (apology) about the weeks of non-collections of household waste and recyclables. Although the contractor's performance has improved, it clearly isn't up to scratch. They have been using lots of temporary staff to collect the waste. We await to see some perfection which we are told should be the norm! Ealing Council is holding a meeting in Early May dedicated to this one subject. We think a proper and public ...
This morning's Independent picks up on an initiative from Nick Clegg to break the deadlock that appears to exist between the banks and businesses regarding finance. They say that the Deputy Prime Minister has accused the banking sector of sitting on its hands over lending as firms continue to complain they cannot access vital finance. He says that the Government plans to drive lending by opening up the financial sector to make it more competitive and diverse: He said: "My message to the banks is this: Yes, of course, get your balance sheets in order. "Meet the new capital requirements. ...
Wed 25th
14:15
No. 10 admits Clegg right to differentiate Lib Dems from Tories/Labour over cosying-up to Murdoch
In today's Prime Minister's Questions, a riled David Cameron appealed across the political divide to the other major conservative party in the Commons, inviting all politicians to accept they'd been guilty of cosying-up to the Murdochs' News International empire. Nick Clegg was having none of it: Clegg mouths 'no we didn't' as Cam said all politicians cosied up to News International. — Craig Woodhouse (@craigawoodhouse) April 25, 2012 It's worth rewinding two years, to April 2010, to recall the prophetic words of reformed Sun editor David Yelland: I doubt if Rupert Murdoch watched the election debate last week. His focus ...
Amanda standing for re-election Liberal Democrat Councillor, Amanda Taylor is standing for re-election in Queen Edith's. Amanda has been in Queen Edith's for nearly twenty years and represented the area on Cambridge City Council since 1994. She lives in Holbrook Road with her husband Ashley, and their eight-year old son, a Morley Memorial pupil. Amanda is best known for her work on transport and housing. Her biggest achievements have been Dunstan Court on Wulfstan Way, which replaced Labour's sub-standard sheltered housing accommodation; and improved bus services, following her campaign for improved reliability. 'When I first came to live here,' says ...
The county council is now busy putting out the lights in St Peter's and Clarence wards after the previous delays. Lights will be going off at midnight any day now.
Wed 25th
13:45
Nick Clegg on the double-dip recession: "our answers are the right ones to repair the damage done"
Nick Clegg spoke this morning to the Institute of Directors, shortly after the announcement that the Office of National Statistics estimates that the economy contracted by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012 — a second quarter of shrinkage that officially means the UK is once again in recession. Here's what he had to say: As you may have heard, the first set of GDP figures for this year have just been released. And so, if I may, I would like to start by addressing what is disappointing news. The ONS's preliminary estimate for Q1 GDP has shown a ...
House of Lords reform is about as exciting to the man on the street as a four hour lecture on gutter-cleaning, but it doesn't half get political people worked up. And I am slightly shame-faced to admit that I am one such person. And the debate about reform has got me hot under my geeky ...
This is a new feature of Highways Management by Cambridgeshire County Council which is being run this year for the first time. The scheme itself is basically that the County Council has created a 55,000 pot for South Cambridgeshire Minor highways work which organisations in South Cambridgeshire can then bid for on the understanding that they must contribute 10% of the overall cost. The entries will then be viewed by a panel of elected County Councillors for the area who will then decide which schemes should get the money based on, well, whatever criteria they want to base their decisions ...
So much about London is about making our TODAYS fast and furious but little is spent on making what we have last - whether that be our transport, our buildings or our environment. London's buses, taxis and vans still mostly run on diesel. This should no longer be the case. Air pollution from traffic causes huge health problems and this must change. Under our Big Switch plan, all of London's buses and taxis, and most commercial vans, will run on electricity by 2020. This is financed primarily through fuel cost savings, so taxi drivers will make big savings too. Brian ...
The opening night was last night, and while I wasn't there (I repeat, I *wasn't there*, this is not a review, I'll be posting my own reviews in July, when I go to Italy to see the tour), a LOT of people are hitting my blog looking for information, so I thought I'd post a ...
Hello! After several months without blogging, I have decided to write a couple of posts, for a couple of reasons. I suspect that this last period of quiet has meant that whatever readership I had has trickled away to nothing, but I hope there's someone out there, and I can do nothing but apologise for ...
Wed 25th
12:53Lord Tyler and Baroness Scott write... We urgently need to reform our bloated second chamber
This week, after 30 interminable meetings and much going round the houses, the Joint Committee on David Cameron and Nick Clegg's Draft House of Lords Reform Bill published its report. Within minutes, a minority group from the Committee, having lost many votes on amendments to the official text, published an "alternative report". It advocates, guess what: more meetings, more discussion, another Commission. You name the delaying tactic, they have thought of it. The reform opponents are also much alive to the success of misleading figures in distorting the public debate on AV last year. If you remember, this simple change ...
Voted (by post) in the London mayoral election yesterday! It's actually the first time I've ever voted for a person before (I've only voted in the referendum) and I'm a bit more chuffed than I should be. I voted Brian #1 as I love his ideas for London buses and he's one of the only candidates that actually talks sense, and Boris #2 as it's looking like it might narrow down to a tight Boris vs Ken finish and I'd rather Ken lost in that event (I'm apathetic towards Boris as a mayor). If posting this picture is illegal, will ...
The denial stage is over. Opponents of Lords reform have woken up to the Government's plans and are mobilising. But the reform plan is far from dead. What's the problem with the House of Lords? It chalks up the odd success in challenging and revising legislation, without challenging the democratic credentials of the Commons. But that doesn't mean "It ain't broke, so don't fix it" – the argument used against regulating the banks more tightly before the financial crisis. The fact is that the Lords is not up to its job and things are getting worse. Appointment to the House ...
Today's Guardian carries a report by Patrick Wintour which shows the frustrations of the News Corporation camp as they tried and failed to develop the same sort of close relationship with Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable as they had with Jeremy Hunt and Alex Salmond. The article outlines several fruitless attempts from senior figures within News Corporation to arrange a meeting with Cable to discuss their proposed takeover of BSkyB. Vince at that time had quasi-judicial responsibility for that decision. My favourite part of the article is the response of Giles Wilkes, Vince's Special Adviser, on being asked "when ...
I've been listening to the Leveson inquiry. A large part of the exchanges seem to go like this: Jay: Turning to page 51. Witness: Which bundle? Jay: 1606. Witness: 1660? Leveson: No, the page after. Jay: Paragraph 7. Witness: I don't have a paragraph 7. Jay: Ah, I have an earlier print out. Leveson: You'll find it in tab 15. Witness: Is this Volume 2? And so on, ad nauseum. Surely there's no reason to have so much paper wastefully printed and then discarded? Why not a single reference electronic document which can be supplied to each participant? Allowing them ...
Just before the 2005 election I was chatting to a local guy from Greenwich. He had recently left running one of this country's leading arts organisations, he had a first class CV involving leadership in the arts over many years, he ran his own business and had tremendous interpersonal skills. As he was also a committed liberal ...
Today's Guardian carries a report by Patrick Wintour which shows the frustrations of the News Corporation camp as they tried and failed to develop the same sort of close relationship with Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable as they had with Jeremy Hunt and Alex Salmond. The article outlines several fruitless attempts from senior figures within News Corporation to arrange a meeting with Cable to discuss their proposed takeover of BSkyB. Vince at that time had quasi-judicial responsibility for that decision. My favourite part of the article is the response of Giles Wilkes, Vince's Special Adviser, on being asked "when ...
It's a bit meh out there right now. The weather is rubbish, I am looking a biblical flood outside my window that has trapped me in Spidey Towers for the 3rd day running and I am starting to lose my mind. Why is like the 80′s again I hear readers asking? Well it's not because New ...
When it comes to disgruntlement I am a mere amateur compared to Ed Reardon. I had the great pleasure of seeing Christopher Douglas perform "An audience with Ed Reardon" at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last summer. I decided I wanted to go to the fringe every summer from then on but I never suspected that I would be appearing myself. Book now for "Retail Therapy" at Greenside venue from
LETTER FROM A DOCTOR! - SOUTHPORT &ORMSKIRK HOSPITALS NHS TRUST I have copied this thread from my colleague Councillor Tony Robertson's Blog as it makes reference to Southport & Ormskirk NHS and Southport General Hospital is in my ward. I find it almost unbelievable that the Sefton's Labour Group would stoop to such underhand and, frankly dirty, tricks. I state almost unbelievable as these tactics are becoming quite common for the labour Group, particularly in Sefton Central. Mike April 24th, 2012 by tonyrobertson | Comment? A couple of days ago I got a call from a resident who was more ...
In contrast to the high profile, and one might say somewhat controversial, initial furore created by the location of the equestrian events in Greenwich Park, the situation at the Woolwich Common site has not had the same publicity. The fact that Woolwich Common is not a Royal Park, but part owned by the MoD and part ...
We got battered last year. So it would only be natural if we were to be a little wary of plunging headlong into another referendum for changing our political system so soon after the public rejected our proposal for AV for the Commons by such a wide margin. There are now rumblings from Conservative MPs and also the Labour leadership that any change to the Lords should be subject to a referendum. Nick Clegg has strongly argued that this is not necessary as all three main parties were committed to reform in their manifestos and it is also in the ...
Prior to the election in May 2010, the Home Office had the sensitive applications Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) process on their website. All content was removed after May 5th, and this information was not replaced. I have just had to undergo a CRB check however, so for others the following information may be useful. This is direct from an email exchange with the CRB. If a Trans person is required to complete a CRB check, CRB offers a confidential checking process in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This gives the Trans person the choice as to whether they ...
The controversy over the Government's plans to legislate for Internet surveillance, the 'Communications Capabilities Development Programme', has exposed a deep division within the Coalition. Into the dispute that has simmered since some details were first leaked earlier this month, David Cameron himself has weighed in to say that the proposals are necessary to stop crime, whereas Tim Farron has threatened to kill it "if we think this is a threat to a free and liberal society". This rumbling outrage surrounding CCDP testifies to the importance of a principled, publicly argued grounding for any kind of intelligence. It is exactly this ...
David McKie's Jabez: The Rise and Fall of a Victorian rogue has been rightly praised, including a Whitebread Biography Award shortlisting, for its fun and lively account based on meticulous research, rescuing a then famous Victorian scandal from the forgotten corners of history. What makes the book such a success is not only its own inherent qualities but also the choice of subject, someone whose actions and personality have been mirrored by many prominent figures since. It is a story of a larger-than-life character, full of affable charm and political success and also with a mean temper, running an apparently ...
Greater Manchester Police have stated that ten children a day are telling them that they are being bullied on Facebook. The real figure will be higher due to unreported cases . Last November the NSPCC reported that 38% of young people ... Continue reading →
Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams has fought the closure of a Barclays and an HSBC branch in his rural Welsh constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire. He says: 'Banks say customers affected can do much of their banking online. But many of my older constituents are either reluctant to use internet banking, or do not have access to the safe, fast broadband they need to do this.' Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats add: "This is not just a problem for mid-Wales. There are parts of the Neath constituency which lack broadband. This means that bank customers in those areas have to ...
Penetrating insight from one commentator:
Outrage, but no surprise. Jeremy Hunt's close relationship with Rupert Murdoch's empire is the subject of widespread disgust, nevertheless, genuine shock is rare. I was once told that each political party specialised in a particular type of scandal: the Conservatives' corruption usually involved sex, e.g. David Mellor's spanking activities while wearing Chelsea Football Club gear, ...
Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP writes a weekly column for local newspapers in his constituency. Here's this week's edition. Scottish Questions Last week was Parliament's first week back after the Easter break and on Wednesday I had one of my regular sessions of Scottish Questions as Secretary of State for Scotland. Question time is an opportunity for the opposition frontbench and backbench MPs to ask the Government questions about policy and any current issues affecting Scotland. Last week's questions were therefore mainly focussed on the March budget and the progress of the Scotland Bill through Holyrood and ...
Wed 25th
08:20Has the mystery of the 'unidentified Lib Dem' asked to lobby Vince about Murdoch been solved?
Amid all the questions floating round yesterday following the extraordinary revelations exposed by the Leveson inquiry, was this intriguing one: who was the 'Lib Dem MP' referred to by Frederic Michel, News Corp's director of public affairs (Europe), lined-up to lobby Vince Cable in favour of the company's takeover of BSkyB? It's a question posed today by Left Foot Forward, but which appears to have been answered yesterday by PoliticsHome.com's Paul Waugh: Mystery solved re Scots Lib Dem in Leveson email? Maybe misprint, not MP but (ex) MSP Jim Tolson. Ex Sky, constit Sky jobs. — Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) April ...
A press release arrives from what me must learn to call Great George Street telling me that last year Conservative and Labour councils closed more than 40 libraries. But for the second year in a row, no Liberal Democrat-controlled council in England and Wales closed any library. Better than that, Liberal Democrat-controlled Cardiff is opening five new libraries and Portsmouth and Bristol are opening new ones too. It's nice to know you are in the right party. And that even in times of austerity, well-run local authorities can make a big difference.
James Murdoch is already under criminal investigation in the United States. His testimony to the Leveson enquiry yesterday suggests that he should face a series of trails in the UK too. That is not particularly surprising. What is surprising is the manner in which he has decided to face his fate. Essentially he has clearly decided to "take as many of the bastards with him" as he can, starting with Jeremy Hunt- who, Murdoch suggested, had stepped well outside the line of good standards and even the law in his relationship with News International. Perhaps Mr. Murdoch thinks that his ...
The Demos think tank report into online monitoring and what should or should not be done is of particular interest as one of the co-authors is Sir David Omand, the man formerly in charge at GCHQ. He and his co-authors offer up six principles for state monitoring of social media: We believe any use of SOCMINT [social media intelligence] by the state - including the CCDP - should be based on the following six principles: principle 1: there must be sufficient, sustainable cause principle 2: there must be integrity of motive principle 3: the methods used must be proportionate and ...
[IMG: 20120425-074749.jpg] All, I've had a look at the objections to the Hornsby Close development posted on the Stratford District Council website. Many of the reasons given for objection to the development will not be taken into consideration by planning officers (or the planning committee) because they are not 'material considerations.' I've done a quick google search (although I've sat on planning committee I'm NOT an expert) and there is a useful list of real grounds on the Government's planning portal website which I reproduce here: "Overlooking/loss of privacy Loss of light or overshadowing Parking Highway safety Traffic Noise Effect ...
Way back in the 1960s when Ian Smith declared UDI for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) British prime minister Harold Wilson tied both hands behind his back by declaring that he would not use force to bring the rebels into line. Nick Clegg seems to have made the same error by his statement, as reported in yesterday's Independent that he will not "go to war" with the Tories over the question of replacing the anachronistic House of Lords with a largely democratically elected Second Chamber. Surely it can never be good tactics in any negotiations to reveal the limits of your determination. ...
Warren Wilson joins Lib Dem Councillors, Susan van de Ven and Tim Stone at the bus stop where the Citi 7 will no longer stop Cambridge student, Warren Wilson, whose sight is failing due to a rare genetic condition, has become the latest victim of Tory county council spending cuts. The Citi 7 bus that takes him to Anglia Ruskin University will no longer call at Duxford leaving 21-year-old Warren stranded at home in Kingsway. A decision by the Conservative-run Cambridgeshire County Council to withdraw the Citi 7 subsidy has led to bus company, Stagecoach terminating the service at Sawston ...
Warren Wilson joins Lib Dem Councillors, Susan van de Ven and Tim Stone at the bus stop where the Citi 7 will no longer stop Cambridge student, Warren Wilson, whose sight is failing due to a rare genetic condition, has become the latest victim of Tory county council spending cuts. The Citi 7 bus that takes him to Anglia Ruskin University will no longer call at Duxford leaving 21-year-old Warren stranded at home in Kingsway. A decision by the Conservative-run Cambridgeshire County Council to withdraw the Citi 7 subsidy has led to bus company, Stagecoach terminating the service at Sawston ...
Earlier this year I posted this on the campaign for equal marriage and earlier this month I posted this picture of the cover of attitude posing the question "Have you heard the one about the Iraq Veteran who can fight for his country but not get married?" Now, a video has been produced in support of the campaign for equal marriage, which takes up the theme of being able to serve one's country but not to marry one's partner. It's called "Homecoming" and you can find more about on the Pink News, here. More seriously, you can find the government's ...
Two Traffic Orders from Dundee City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) 1. THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of carriageway surfacing works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in an eastbound direction in Riverside Drive (from Tesco roundabout to South Marketgait), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Thursday 26 April 2012 for 2 nights (7.00pm to 6.00am). Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Perth Road/ Hawkhill/West Marketgait/South Marketgait. For further ...
Yesterday, along with council officers, local residents and two of my ward colleagues, I attended a walkabout round the Pentland area. We undertake these walkabouts round Pentland (also Logie and the Corso/Abbotsford/Blackness area) twice a year to look at any local issues that need attention. Yesterday there were a number of issues highlighted including : * The poor condition of some of the steps in the internal paths of the estate and going up to some houses - see above right. * The variable quality of grass maintenance in the open plan areas of Pentland. I have written to the ...
See below about news that the Council is considering making a large part of Prestwich subject to a Designated Public Place Order [DPPO] – more commonly known as an "alcohol street drinking bans" Your local Councillors would be interested in knowing your views – and as well please do respond to the official consultation (details below). The effect of the order is to give a Police Officer the power to request an individual to refrain from drinking alcohol in the area; if the individual then refuses to comply with that request an offence is committed. The Police would not have ...
Metrolink will be carrying out work at Heaton Park Metrolink stop outside our normal hours of construction. For safety reasons, this work can only be done while the tram line is closed. Work will take place between 7am and 7pm on Saturday 28 April and Sunday 29 April, 2012. On these dates no trams will run between Bury and Victoria Station. Replacement buses will run from Bury to Piccadilly calling at all stops. All other lines are unaffected by the closure.
