Consett & District Heritage Initiative are at St Pat's this week, 11 till 4.30 including Saturday. Because I had something else on – helping to select the artist for the Consett roundabouts initiative – I only had time for the briefest of looks today, and will certainly be returning for another visit. I understand that numbers were not particularly high today – around 50 visitors plus groups from schools – but those who visited asked a million questions so one of the organisers I spoke to just after the close of play was only just getting round to his lunchtime ...
For two years we've been waiting for David Cameron's first full reshuffle. There have been various mini-shuffles caused by resignations but nothing major yet. There's been spatterings of meaningless rumour of reshuffles for quite some time so who knows whether the current talk is correct or not, but there are some questions to be asked. I think that one of the problems faced by the Cameron administration is that it has a very narrow base of support due to the small political spectrum of its ministers. Most, whether Conservative or Liberal Democrat, MP or Peer, are of the broadly centrist ...
Earlier this evening Barack Obama said: "At a certain point I just concluded, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married "I had hesitated on gay marriage, in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient ... something that would give people hospital visitation rights and other elements we take for granted. And I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people the word marriage was something that evokes powerful traditions, religious beliefs, and so forth. "I have to tell ...
Ah, 1995; The year Rumbelows disappeared, Today (the newspaper) folded, Barings collapsed. The year the MGF was launched and Bridget Jones first appeared in The Independent. When the Conservatives controlled just 8 councils (compared to 155 for Labour and 45 (count 'em!) for the Lib Dems) and John Major resigned in his famous "Back Me or Sack Me" move. The year Frank Bruno won the WBC World Heavy Championship and Stephen Hendry won his 5th World Snooker Championship. It was the year the Bosnian War came to an end and the year the Queen Mum had a hip-replacement whilst the ...
Once again, the siren voices call out for reform of employment law. And without too much surprise, plans to reform the employment tribunal system has been included in today's Queen's Speech. The preamble to the constitution states that we exist to build a fair society. Employment Tribunals on the whole deal with Discrimination cases and unfair dismissal cases. I heard Lorely Burt MP at last year's Lib Dem East of England Regional Conference speaking of vexatious and malicious applications but offered no facts and figures to support this. As the TUC says: "The clue is in the name. Employers already ...
We've just been re-watching the West Wing episode "Stirred", in which the White House team discuss replacing the Vice-President in Bartlet's bid for re-election, and it occurred to me that Joe Biden turns 70 in November; only five of his predecessors held that office at a greater age (Elbridge Gerry, John Nance Garner, George Clinton, Charles Curtis and Alben Barkley, two of who died in office). If he is re-elected and serves until January 2017, he will be older than all of them but Barkley. He may decide not to bother. If so, this will probably be depicted as a ...
I was exploring the west side of Leicester's London Road yesterday, but most of the large Victorian and Edwardian houses have long since vanished. One of these was The Elms - home of J.W. Black, who was the last Liberal MP for Harborough (1923-4). So here is a shot of a building on the east side. The Regency Hotel was originally a pair of houses: Coleshill on the left and The Crest on the right. The Crest was the home of John Denzil Jarvis, who had the misfortune to be one of the four Leicester people who died when the ...
Following the confirmation in today's Queen's Speech that something that might look like the Communications Capability Development Programme is going ahead, a conference call had been (pre-)arranged with the cast of the earlier, somewhat more confrontational call. The main difference this time is that instead of being lead by a handful of Senior Political Advisors, the main speaker was none other than Cambridge's own Dr Julian Huppert MP, who Nick Clegg has publicly deferred to on the issue of Communications Interception. First of all, I shall start with the LibDem Win: As reported by the Guardian today, if the Tories ...
Communications Capability Development Programme (CCDP). You. Shall. Not. Pass.
Earlier this evening I took part in a conference call about government plans for new communications monitoring powers with Julian Huppert MP and one of the party's Westminster advisers. Many thanks to the inestimable Helen Duffett for organising it. In truth, I did not learn a lot more than was in Julian's excellent Liberal Democrat Voice article from this morning. But the tone was a lot less fraught than in the last such call, when the party's powers that be seemed intent on defending the Home Office position. One thing I did learn is that a Home Office briefing on ...
I came across this section in an article recently in one of the many blogs I follow which was discussing the situation with the Labour party in Birmingham which is now the majority party on the council due to their gains in the local elections recently. It struck me as an unethical thing to be ... Read more
The ruling Conservative group on Leicestershire County Council may be regretting its decision to stand by David Parsons. Questions about his expenses continue to flutter around his head like homeless bats. Today's Leicester Mercury details two more - and Liberal Democrat councillors have asked both of them. My old colleague from Harborough DC Simon Galton, now the leader of the Lib Dem group on the county council, has asked the first. He wants to know why Parsons has refused to allow EU officials to pass County Hall auditors the records of payments made to him in connection with his work ...
[IMG: HM Queen at 2012 Opening of Parliament - Some rights reserved by UK Parliament] A bill will be brought forward to reform the composition of the House of Lords. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Wed 9th
19:55
And I would have succeeded if it hadn't been for these pesky Liberal Democrats - David Cameron opens...
I read the Daily Mail every day. It's worth it because in amongst the inaccurate, scaremongering bile, there's quite often a wee gem which shows off the Liberal Democrat influence in the Coalition. Today, it carries an interview with David Cameron in which he tells how these pesky Liberal Democrats have stopped him doing things like getting rid of human rights legislation, eroding people's employment rights and stopping him introducing a tax break for married couples. While some Liberal Democrats may worry about some elements of the Coalition's plans to increase the qualifying period for employment tribunals 2 years, it ...
Zero. Nil. Zilch. What Jesus said about homosexuality.
The planning committee has approved enforcement action at the Fullers Earth site
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert Cambridge MP Julian Huppert has welcomed key legislation on libel reform in the Queen's Speech, which he fought for and which will promote free speech and free up academic and scientific debate. He has also welcomed other Liberal Democrat victories, including tougher regulations on the giant supermarkets, major reform of the House of Lords and moves to break up the banks. But he has again expressed his grave concerns about new powers to allow the police and intelligence services to snoop on texts and emails. "The Lib Dems have achieved key legislation addressing major issues which ...
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert Cambridge MP Julian Huppert has welcomed key legislation on libel reform in the Queen's Speech, which he fought for and which will promote free speech and free up academic and scientific debate. He has also welcomed other Liberal Democrat victories, including tougher regulations on the giant supermarkets, major reform of the House of Lords and moves to break up the banks. But he has again expressed his grave concerns about new powers to allow the police and intelligence services to snoop on texts and emails. "The Lib Dems have achieved key legislation addressing major issues which ...
If like me you are a closet Monty Python fan you'll remember the above still from a sketch where 2 characters slap each other about with we fish. In my warped mind this reminds me of the predicament to be faced by Sefton's new Labour leaders in Bootle. The Labour leadership has decided that overall control of the council means just that. They intend to take overall control of all cabinet positions and all committees. There are 4 Overview & Scrutiny Committees that "do what it says on the tin". Their task is to check and scrutinise the actions and ...
Every week, Michael Moore MP writes a column for local papers in his constituency. Here is this week's edition. Burnmouth Harbour In Berwickshire we have a stunning coastline with a fine fishing industry and some of the best prawn, crab and other catches in the country. Last week I was at Burnmouth Harbour to meet John Aitchison, the harbour master, and John Affleck, a local fisherman, to discuss the current issues facing the industry and particularly in Burnmouth. We met over lunchtime so I was treated to some delicious sandwiches, made from freshly caught crab off the east coast. I ...
Plans for the long-awaited Hemel Hempstead Local General Hospital appear to be moving forward. It appears that papers to be presented to the West Herts Hospital NHS Trust Board refer to plans either to refurbish or rebuild the hospital facilities at the Hillfield Road site in Hemel Hempstead. According to a report in the Hemel Hempstead Gazette the papers refer to "achieving a deliverable outcome within the next two to three years." The meeting will be open to the public and will be held in the Education Centre at Hemel Hempstead Hospital in Hillfield Road at 1.00 pm on 31st ...
Bill Cash, the preeminent Tory Eurosceptic MP for Stone, has an article published on ConservativeHome that places the centenary of the creation of the Conservative and Unionist Party within the context of the Liberal-Conservative coalition of 2012. Coincidentally, today is also Europe Day. Unsurprisingly for the backbencher who likes to see everything to do with Europe in apocalyptic terms, he contends that the pro-growth policies needed in Britain and the EU cannot be achieved without putting an end to legislative burdens and "generating policies that the integrationists in Europe - including the Liberal Democrats - simply refuse to allow." He ...
All, I've had a couple of (to be fair, very reasonable) complaints that you have to download and print the survey to complete it. Well, you can't say I don't listen, I spent most of Monday afternoon and some of Tuesday doing one! I strongly suggest you have a look at all the information over on the Town Council's official website, shipstononline.org, before filling it in (and the link's available there). Anyway, if you've done that and want to go straight to it, click below: Shipston Town Design Statement online survey This is my first time with the software, so ...
Today's Daily Mail:
It's official: Solar Schools is going national! Solar Schools is a groundbreaking project that helps schools to cut carbon, boost budgets and teach pupils (and staff!) about energy and climate change in a whole new way. But how does it work? How much does it cost? And how can my school get involved?! CLICK HERE to find out more! Commenting, local Lib Dem ward councillor, Darren Fower said: "Solar panels can be a great investment, but sadly the upfront cost is prohibitive for most schools. "That's where this scheme comes in. Solar Schools provide online and offline resources, training and ...
Now's the time to have your say on plain packaging for cigarettes. You may remember that back on February 9th I flagged up this issue. You may have seen in the news since then that the government has since set out to consult widely on the issue and you have a chance to vote for plain packaging on the Fresh website http://www.freshne.com/plainpacksform . Please pass this message on amongst your colleagues, friends and family. It is very important to galvanise as much support as possible. This is a great opportunity to hinder the tobacco industry targeting young people with their ...
Wed 9th
17:59Nick Clegg e-mails party members: Queen's Speech has a firm Liberal Democrat stamp on it
Nick Clegg MP sent out this e-mail to party members about the Queen's Speech this afternoon. He is holding an exclusive web chat for party members only at 1:30 pm tomorrow. Places are limited but there is still space available. If you are a party member and want to take part, please e-mail Party Internal Communications Manager and Lib Dem Voice c0-editor Helen Duffett on caronmlindsay - caronmlindsay.hat.gmail.com.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one)&LID=13235&SEID=3247&T=0&FRM=1">on the Liberal Democrats' website. This Queen's Speech has a firm Liberal Democrat stamp on ...
The Cornwall Council spin machine was out in full force at today's cabinet meeting with claims being made that Cory are now collecting more than 99% of waste and recycling*. The trouble is that no one really believes these statistics any more and, even if they are true, it still means that around 5,000 bags a week are being left on Cornwall's kerbs. As it was not a formal matter on the agenda, Tory council leader Alec Robertson said there would be no debate but his own colleague, Independent Neil Burden insisted in relating the catalogue of failures in his ...
Those of you that know me will know that I share my home with a wife and 2 dogs. Both dogs have recently undergone minor surgery and so, today, I am in the dog house looking after a recuperating Sulby (pictured above). Whist keeping one eye on her, the other eye has been sat in front of my computer in an attempt to use my house-bound hours to best effect. Although Claire will not see this as "working", I have been working hard attempting to master tweeting, facebooking and blogging. I now see you easily people can be sucked into ...
Right, time for May's Political Compass. It comes at a particularly lovely (if busy – exams) time, as I've just...well, read. We hit 10,000 page views today on spinelessliberal.wordpress.com – thank you followers, one and all — MorganGD (@SpinelessLib) May 01, 2012 I've also, if I've posted this at the right time, just hit 10,000 ...
With all eyes on Thursday's local elections (see our report on defence rates, over), it is easy to forget that there were thirteen local council by-elections taking place on the same day. The only significant result from a Lib Dem perspective is the successful defence of Hertfordshire's Meriden Tudor ward, where Kareen Mary Hastrick added a little good news to what was another difficult night across the country. Of some national prominence was the Hackney Central by-election, where the 'Hackney Heroine' Pauline Pearce (pictured, second left) made the decision to stand for the Liberal Democrats in the wake of last ...
I have been having a healthy debate with a good mate of mine over the last week or so about who should be in England's 23 to go to the European Championships this summer. Now I don't think either of us have particularly high expectations about England's chances, but that doesn't mean that we wont be supporting them. The debate itself has been kick started by two things - the appointment of Roy Hodgson as England manager and the return(?) to form of Andy Carroll. We both actually are in favour of Roy's appointment. Given that I have no expectations ...
So - how does the Queen's Speech rate for those of us who care about civil liberties? Well, there's some excellent news, and some areas where we need to keep working to get the right result. First, we have fantastic news about libel reform. I am delighted that the Defamation Bill will finally come into being. As Liberal Democrats we have long made the case that our libel laws are out-dated and in desperate need of improvement. Our current system unfairly favours the rich because the cost of lawsuits means ordinary people find it very difficult to defend themselves against ...
Today, the Queen gave her speech opening parliament and describing her governments legislative programme for this session. The good things in the speech from a Lib Dem perspective are: Green Investment Bank Banking Reform Bringing Fair Trade to domestic UK products so Supermarkets don't give a bad deal to British Farmers Reforming the electricity market ...
David Cameron himself is saying that the Lib Dems are holding him back from being as Tory as he wants to be. He says that the Lib Dems are curbing him. However everyone thinks that the Lib Dems are helping him run the most right-wing government in history. Either Cameron is more right wing that Thatcher on acid or maybe that rhetoric is just lazy media and political bluster. Here is the top of the Daily Mail today: [IMG: Daily Mail David Cameron] Daily Mail 9/2/12 If Lib Dems don't use this in Focuses over the next couple of years ...
From Stephen Williams's blog: Twenty years ago today [7 May] I was a candidate, nervously awaiting the outcome of my first electoral contest ... My campaign in 1992 would have been recognisable to candidates from previous decades. Our volunteers delivered two leaflets and knocked on every door in the ward. The leaflet text was composed on a typewriter and the black and white photographs were turned into dots for printing by a photo bureau. The canvass cards for door knocking were made by me and my agent (Sean Emmett, cllr for Lockleaze since 2000) spending two evenings cutting up the ...
Comparing the European economy to that of the US reminds me of Aesop's fable of the race between the tortoise and the hare. The US's flexible labour and product markets, and decisive interventions in time of crisis, give it the ease of the hare. To US politicians you only have to mention Europe to conjure up a picture of stagnant, over taxed and socialist economies. But the tortoise wins the race in the fable. And indeed, if you look beyond crude GDP growth statistics the race looks close, depending on the precise time frames and so on. GDP per head ...
...is surely a good thing? The news coverage seems to imply that it is a sign of strains in the government that it is 'only' proposing 19 new pieces of legislation - compared with 40+ in the halcyon days of Blair and Brown. I would far rather have my government doing less, better, than a stream of showy legislative diorrhea designed to impress the media that the government is strong and in control. Hopefully with a more considered legislative process MPs will have the time to get to grips with idiotic proposals such as internet snooping.
Liberal Democrats have been looking at the first year's progress of the Suffolk County Council funded social enterprise 'Suffolk Circle', and are not impressed.Last year, the Conservatives handed over £680,000, without consultation by SCC's Cabinet to this 'pay for friendship' group, in the midst of some pretty painful cuts to local services.And, after a year of operation, and expenditure of £350,000, it has managed to attract 362 members - all of whom pay to be members and pay for most of their activities - including getting 'help' from 'good neighbours' at twice the price of minimum wage. That represents nearly ...
It's Europe Day! Today is a day to celebrate everything Europe has done for us – from unity and peace to the single market. The date itself is somewhat contentious. May 9th is the date of the Schuman declaration of 1950, widely held to be the inauguration of the European Union. The Council of Europe ...
Well, quite...
Now that he has announced that he will not seek election again, Ken Livingstone seems to be concentrating on reshaping the Labour Party. The Telegraph reports that he has criticised Labour leader Ed Milliband for "carrying the discredited old Blairite wing with him". In an intervention that may not entirely be welcomed by the Labour leader, Ken said: "For 30 years, Britain has taken a wrong turning. Inequality of wealth has doubled. We were told if we deregulated, if we liberated the banks, the whole economy would rise and there would be a trickle-down effect. "Sadly, Tony Blair bought into ...
How to get a photo to appear next to your comments You may have noticed that next to some people's comments is a small picture of themselves, such as: If you want a picture to appear next to your comments you need to do two things. Visit Gravatar.com, create an account and upload a picture. Post a comment, giving the same email address as the one you've used on Gravatar. How to show you are a party member when commenting The option to put a photo next to your comment is open to everyone. In addition, if you're a party ...
There's actually some good stuff in the Queen's speech today - thanks, I have to say, to the Lib Dem involvement in the Coalition. For several years Vince Cable has been saying that the retail and investment arms of banks should be separated from each other. The kind of banking services that individuals and small businesses use should be protected from the risks associated with high level gambling. It won't prevent people taking risks, if they wish, through the investment sector but the consequences will fall solely on the investors. At last we have promised legislation to bring that about. ...
I enjoyed my appearance on BBC London radio's Dotun Adebayo show last Sunday, talking about the outcome of the London and local elections with fellow guests Richard Serunjogi (left), who supported Ken Livingstone, and Sylbourne Sydial (second left), a Conservative ... Continue reading →
As expected, plans to gather more personal information than ever before collected on free British citizens were announced in the Queen's Speech. Let the legislative battle commence! The nonsensical idea that the concern was a central database has been scotched. The next stage is to get past the details of technical implementation, to argue the principle at stake. There's any number of ways to look at the problem. Here's one way: considering how people communicated before the digital revolution, to how we've started to communicate after. Before The Royal Mail was founded in 1516. For almost five centuries, it has ...
So, the Crown has headed back to the Tower, the Queen has left he building and all the pomp and ceremonial of the State Opening of Parliament is over for another year. It always strikes me that it must take ages to get everyone in their finery and yet the whole thing is over in less than an hour.There is much to cheer Liberal Democrats in the planned measures.Lords ReformGreen Investment BankLibel ReformGiving shareholders a vote on directors' remunerationFlexible parental leave - the measure Nick Clegg's championed to give families the choices that work for them by allowing parents to ...
So, the Crown has headed back to the Tower, the Queen has left he building and all the pomp and ceremonial of the State Opening of Parliament is over for another year. It always strikes me that it must take ages to get everyone in their finery and yet the whole thing is over in less than an hour. There is much to cheer Liberal Democrats in the planned measures. Lords Reform Green Investment Bank Libel Reform Giving shareholders a vote on directors' remuneration Flexible parental leave – the measure Nick Clegg's championed to give families the choices that work ...
A tale of two Oakeshotts (Robert and Mathew) and how together their impact would be stronger....... What about the workers? I found myself demanding of the radio last week. The shareholders revolt over top pay was the topic under discussion. Now the problem I have with shareholders-a problem shared with most Liberals for the last hundred years-is that their interests are solely getting the biggest return on their capital. They are here today and gone tomorrow-or even quicker than that if the shares are bought and sold on line in the twinkling of an eye. Liberal have always argued that ...
From the Queen's Speech today, there will be "measures to maintain the ability of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to access vital communications data under strict safeguards to protect the public, subject to scrutiny of draft clauses". More information has been released by the Home Office, which I've included below, (Edited to add: This isn't a draft bill, it's just vague background notes on what they might like) but it's not particularly helpful: It just refers to "an updated framework for the collection, retention and acquisition of communications data". Which, frankly, could mean anything from minor fiddles with the ...
The local elections are over and it is right that I congratulate Sheila Newman on her reelection as Councillor for the Chorlton ward. Sheila was the clear choice of the electorate and as a democrat I accept the decision of the people. I wish her well. in Manchester, for the second year running, the Liberal Democrats suffered the loss of many hard working and dedicated Councillors. Decent, honourable people who fought to make life better for the people they represented, and have paid a heavy price for their party's involvement in a Government that is making unpopular decisions. Clearly, Manchester ...
Parish Cllr Andy Pellew Following a request the County Council have agreed that some urgent repair work will be carried out to fix some of the surface damage to The Spinney (where the surface has worn away to the extent that the foundations are exposed). I originally reported the issue on the independent FixMyStreet website (see here) and have been updating it as/when the County Council have provided updates. If there is an issue in your street please remember to report it - don't assume someone else will. The County Council can only fix the issues it's aware of! When ...
Today is Europe Day. The Treaty of Rome, the EU's founding treaty was signed 55 years ago; post war Europe sought a new strategy to end old enmities and forge shared prosperity through economic growth. However one measures the achievements of those goals, the conclusion has to be the European Union has delivered on both counts. For those of us who believe in the EU's objectives and feel that Britain should be leading in Europe, these are turbulent times. Restoring faith in a political structure which may appear removed from the citizen, and rebuilding an economic framework which has been ...
From a Liberal Democrat perspective: Sensible that economic growth put first but good that constitutional reform in the three priorities with which the Queen started the speech: "Economic growth, justice and constitutional reform". Banking reform going ahead – major Liberal Democrat demand now will become law. Ditto for Green Investment Bank (which has actually started operation) and changes to rules over directors' pay. Good that Steve Webb's work on reforming pensions to make them simpler and fairer has got a slot in the legislative agenda. (Despite their very different places on the political spectrum, he and Iain Duncan Smith have ...
1964 Team GB sprinter Sir Menzies Campbell has met 2012 Team GB hopeful Tremayne Gilling as Universities Week gets into full stride. The 'team mates' 50 years apart share an almost identical 100m sprint time, with Sir Menzies' 1967 speed of 10.2 seconds just 0.05 of a second faster than Tremayne's current personal best of 10.25 seconds. Sir Menzies, Chancellor of St Andrew's University and University of Glasgow graduate, held the British record for the 100m sprint from 1967 to 1974. Today Tremayne, Middlesex University product design student, got top tips from Sir Menzies ahead of competing this weekend at ...
Wanted: a Marshall plan #fb Pacific islands threatened by climate change. (tags: eu climatechange ) Washington Briefing: Strategic Exhaustion on the Potomac Sobering stuff from Jan Techau - particularly on the threat of political unrest. (tags: uspolitics ) Dave Morris: The Familiar Other: My Meeting With the First Dalek A story from 1964. (tags: doctorwho ) YouTube - The Muppets: Ode To Joy For Europe Day. (tags: video eu )
"It's ideology, stupid." – a subtext to the Queen's Speech On Five Live a bond trader says that austerity isn't working and the government should be more expansionary. In Wake Up to Money a fund manger says that austerity has been overdone and it's time for countries like Germany and Britain to borrow more. Yet on Tuesday's Today programme, David Laws continued to advocate austerity. It is more and more apparent that 'economics' is being used to serve the ideology of a smaller State, damning the idea that the State should have different responsibilities at different times, especially when the ...
Let us celebrate the CIA advances in infiltration, but don't be confused by the headlines implying there was a bomb plot. It has transpired that rather than there being a wide ranging bombing plan on airlines, the CIA agent Persuaded "AQAP that he wanted to blow up himself and a US-bound aircraft." So the CIA ...
For many years Adrian Slade has interviewed prominent Liberal Democrats. To mark his recent decision to make his archive of the interview recordings available to researchers and other interested parties, Lib Dem Voice is running a selection of his write-ups of interviews from over the years. The latest is with broadcaster, writer and twice Liberal candidate Sir Ludovic Kennedy from 2003. In the 1959 general election just 2,000 votes separated Ludovic Kennedy from becoming Liberal MP for Rochdale, and possibly a future party leader. The party he joined in 1956 had all but heard its death knell at the previous ...
Vince Cable has produced a dreadful piece in the Daily Telegraph pandering to their eurosceptic readers. He rails at European legislation which he characterises as over-regulation and micro-management. He is disingenuous and wrong about the origins of EU laws, the character of them and their substance. He fails to mention the way that European legislation is produced, based on treaties
With the recent wet weather, the once parched landscape has become alive with the sound of flowing water, a reminder that this part of Suffolk is not as flat as one might think. Hopefully, the rain will ease a bit, but the importance of keeping drainage ditches clear of obstruction has been emphasised in case anyone has forgotten. Creeting St Peter has not gone unaffected. The road to Creeting St Mary flooded just beyond the small bridge that links the parishes, and the drainage ditch that runs along Creeting Lane as it winds its way towards the A1120 and Stowupland ...
'Cyberbullying on social media forced me out of teaching' Ugh. (tags: ) PoliticsHome 2011/2012 Awards Nominations now open (tags: ) Chris Mooney - Is your brain right-wing? | New Humanist Interesting, but uncomfortable. (tags: ) The Truth About the Fisher Space Pen (tags: ) 'Losing yourself' in a fictional character can affect your real life (tags: ) FactCheck: The legal risks of Cameron's alcohol strategy | The FactCheck Blog (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
I spend a lot of time defending Nick Clegg and our role in the coalition. I still think we are doing the right thing and I still have the utmost respect for him, however statements like this don't help: "I actually think we have a moral duty to the next generation to wipe the slate clean for them. We have set out a plan - it lasts about six or seven years - to wipe the slate clean to rid people of that deadweight of debt that has built up over time." The problem is of course, that the above ...
After the crash at the finish on Monday we head to Verona for the Team Time Trial today. The big focus will be on three of the riders. First of course there is Taylor Phinney who managed to cross the line on Monday and although it looked worse than it turned out only required three stitches on his ankle as there was no breaks. But his team BMC may have to lose the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) if they have to nurse him to the line there is only nine seconds over Geraint Thomas of Team Sky one of the ...
Labour supporters all over the country are celebrating their return to winning ways and non more so that the ever increasingly annoying paper the Guardian such as in this article but the reality is more that they won so convincingly because our voters just didn't turn up. In many areas the number of people voting ...
None of these links were placed here by small grey aliens from Zeta Reticuli. That must be true, the Men In Black told me so. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen – Flying Rodent imagines an Orwellian version of the Scottish Premier League. Facebook Social Readers Are All Collapsing – Oh, please let them go away. Clicking on an interesting-looking link only to discover a screen demanding you sign up to share your reading habits before you're allowed to read it is bloody annoying. Walking is political – An extract from Will ...
[IMG: The Parkland Walk] Over the last few weeks a number of people have contacted me concerned that someone is living on the Parkland Walk in Stroud Green. Local residents were concerned the person has mental health problems and is damaging the nature area by pulling up bushes and plants. Obviously, its completely unacceptable for someone to being living on the Walk – particularly if their behaviour is distressing residents and park users and causing damaging. Even more worrying is that someone in a vulnerable state could be living in this way on our doorstep. Since being alerted to this ...
Writing in today's Financial Times, David Laws sets out his key priorities for the Coalition, discussing what needs to happen in the economy to ensure growth is achieved alongside deficit reduction. He writes about how crucial it is for the Government to get it right on the economy. The coalition still has the potential to be one of the great reforming governments of the postwar era. The changes we are making in education, welfare and pensions are radical and right. The country will judge us over our full term and not on the basis of a turbulent few weeks of ...
....do not do so for a measure which is of equal irrelevance to the electorate, yet looks even more self-serving. I am talking about the speculation that the Government is preparing a 'Plan B', in the plausible eventuality of Lords reform stalling. It is right at this time that growing the economy is the absolute priority of Government, though wrong to listen to misleading siren voices arguing for the scrapping of all employment protection in the process. The danger is that an endless squabble about Lords reform will leak Parliamentary time which Lib Dems should put to better use. If ...
From all the debate and angst within the Tory party over the issue of House of Lords reform you'd imagine the plan to inject an element of democracy into the UK parliament had been foisted on David Cameron by sneakily obsessive Liberal Democrats. Yet the reality is somewhat different. The Coalition Government's pledge to overhaul the revising chamber (after Labour's successive, botched failures) built on Tory promises to the electorate over a decade or more — recognising perhaps that such reform is in fact in their own interests. Here's what the Tory manifesto said as far back as 2001: In ...
What a strange title for a blog post you are thinking (yes, I am arrogant enough to assume I know your thoughts by the way). Surely it was a triumphant day for the Labour opposition in the local elections last Thursday and the Conservative and Lib Dem parties are licking their wounds? Well that depends how you look at it. Yes, the Conservative party's share of the vote was only 31%. And the Lib Dems did as poorly as last year during the local elections and only ended up with 16% of the vote. Labour got 38% and are very ...
Yesterday I did a double appearance on the BBC News Channel which, I hope, to the outside world appeared normal, calm and on time. Behind the scenes, however, things didn't quite go to plan... It started off with one minicab arriving to pick me up in the wrong borough. The second turned up in the right borough and was promisingly driving towards me as I stood on the pavement waiting its arrival. Alas, it then carried on straight past me and round the corner, resulting in a brief West End farce moment as I headed off after it round the ...
Wed 9th
08:09
The Daily Mail front page that could serve as the Lib Dems' next general election poster
Okay, so we should probably say something positive as well — but, still, it's quite a handy reminder of how important the Lib Dems are to the UK's government right now: Posts Related to The Daily Mail front page that could serve as the Lib Dems' next general election posterTories' new poster revealed, their failed strategy exposedMark Pack posed the intriguing question this morning on LDV, So, what is the Conservative Party strategy now? I would only question Mark's use of ... Daily Mail slowly catching up with realities of coalition governmentTo mock the Daily Mail is, however satisfying and ...
It was worrying to read Jonathan Calder's "unsolicited advice" to Nick Clegg a while back. Apparently on a conference call regarding the CCDP Snoopers' Charter there was a political advisor, of whom Jonathan says, "How shall I phrase this? – I am not wholly convinced that this person can be relied upon to offer Nick the best political advice on a consistent basis." Well, I don't know who this advisor is or what advice they were giving. While fighting an election, I didn't want to say anything (not that many people read my blog; it's just good discipline). But if ...
Following the Local Election result on Thursday, Stockport's Liberal Democrats successfully defended 9 seats, lost 2 seats and gained 1 seat from the Conservatives. This means they have 28 seats and, although they remain the largest single political Group, the Council remains in No Overall Control. One of the seats lost was that of Cllr Dave Goddard, Leader of the Council. Cllr Goddard will remain Leader of the Council until the Annual Meeting on 22nd May. On Friday the Liberal Democrat Group met to elect officers for the year ahead and to agree how to approach negotiations with other parties. ...
From Political Wire: "I feel so relieved to be at the stage I'm at in my life right now. Because you know if I want to wear my glasses I'm wearing my glasses. If I want to wear my hair back I'm pulling my hair back. You know at some point it's just not something that deserves a lot of time and attention." – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in an interview with CNN, on a photograph of her "without makeup, except lipstick, wearing thick rimmed glasses during a recent news conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh." [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet ...
Yesterday, I took the opportunity to take a look at the completed road surfaces in Abbotsford Street (east end), Pentland Crescent, Loganlee Terrace and Colinton Place that were recently subject to improvements. They look a lot better but I have fed back to the City Engineer and Tayside Contracts that the contractor must return to undertake some 'snagging' works - for example, where a parked vehicle meant a patch of road was missed. Abbotsford Street Colinton Place
Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One is a difficult album to assess from this distance. Artistically, it's a clear step down from Arthur, but at the same time it sparked a short-lived commercial resurgence for the band, at least in the singles chart, providing the Kinks with their last two UK top ten ...
Tonight's meeting about why Ealing Council and its contractor, Enterprise, had a full public gallery (not the norm). I handed in a large petition from residents all across Ealing who were totally annoyed that the service the Council provides, was not for many weeks in April. I reported that one road had not had its waste collected for three weeks. It was only collected when I contacted the Council's CEO - he then arranged for the waste to be collected the next day, a Sunday! It should not have taken the CEO to be involved. My party demanded that both ...
Tuesday: Whenever I hear "exploding underpants"* it's hard not to think of Bojo the Clown, whose re-election as Lord Mayor of London Town has inspired some of the more FRUITY Conservatories to come out fighting for more "traditional" Conservatory policies. Which is ODD 'cos Bojo's nine-point-plan puts LOTS of emphasis on investment for jobs and growth (points 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8. And probably 7 too. And maybe 9.) and distinctly NONE on cutting immigration "to help the working class (i.e. BNP-voting) poor", 'cos Bojo may be BONKERS but he's not STUPID. He just tries hard to LOOK stupid! ...
