As some of you will have guessed from my relatively poor writing of late, and from my brusquer-than-normal attitude in the comments sections, I've been unwell recently with the stress-related symptoms I get occasionally (though I've not really been *well* as such for a year or so, I go through good and bad patches, and ...
[IMG: Muswell Hill bins] Despite huge opposition and complaints from residents the Council plans to push ahead with plans to implement fortnightly collections of non-recyclable rubbish in Stroud Green in June. They have written to residents in the last week telling them about the new arrangements, which also means new recycling wheelie bins will replace the current green recycling boxes and all properties will therefore have to have at least two wheelie bins. Fortnightly collections have already been introduced into Highgate, Muswell Hill and parts of Wood Green, so this week I went out with Muswell Hill councillor Gail Engert ...
I'm writing this post on the train back to Derby from Cardiff, where I've been for my OU graduation ceremony today, along with 280 other graduands and their families and friends. I'd travelled to Cardiff on Friday afternoon with Jane, meeting up with my daughters from Exeter and Carmarthen so that we could enjoy a pleasant evening together. Today, the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed wandering around in my academic dress – no hat, of course! The great thing about the OU is the diversity of the student body and the stories everyone has about the ways in which ...
Fly tipping used to be a problem of verges on the outskirts of the borough. Recently for some reason it's started to be a problem in streets across the ward. Black bags dumped on the grass on estate roads, in alleys behind older terraces, in the road behind shops - no apparent pattern, no apparent reason. I spent time on Friday morning with the cleansing manager and Care For Your Area
Village halls vary from the opulent to the austerely functional - this post about The Langtons has an example of each. Even so, it was a surprise to find this unlovely example in the ancient village of Mowsley today. But there is an interesting history behind it, and that history begins with smallpox. Popular feeling against compulsory vaccination seems to have been at its strongest in the East Midlands - I caught a faint echo of this as a councillor in the 1980s when the fluoridation of the water supply was proposed. Partly as a result of this, a different ...
sometimes living in a democracy is liberating. sometimes it is inspiring. other times it can be frustrating. we live in a majoritartian system. predominantly lead from the centre - even more so under Tony Blair. yet David cameron (call me Dave) is taking the first tentative steps to decentralising. This is interesting. As there are some stutterings off from the starting blocks. He wants to be seen to be sending power to the periphery. The referenda on mayors. the ideas about localism. traditionally the checks and balances in our political system came from the judiciary, media and dissent. yet the ...
The cover of Time, depicting a mother nursing her 3 year old son has caused a right stooshie across the US and Europe. It's definitely frightened the horses down at the Daily Mail. I tend to agree with Victoria Bekiempis in the Guardian that there was never any intention on Time's part to have an honest debate about breastfeeding toddlers. By using that photo, they've made people retreat to their instincts rather than actually listen to the arguments. Being a mum is the best thing I've ever done, but for me, and most other mums I know, it's Anxiety Central. ...
Salford's new elected Mayor Ian Stewart announced his cabinet yesterday and while the people who fill his cabinet positions are perhaps not that surprising, their "titles" are a tad strange. Take for example the Assistant Mayor for International Relations. Why does a city need such a thing? Is our new elected mayor planning on seceding from the United Kingdom? In addition to the Assistant Mayor for International Relations, the new mayor has formed a cabinet larger than the Scottish administration currently running an entire country. Perhaps Salford has more complex problems than the whole of Scotland? If so, it's a ...
The website of the Diocese of Shrewsbury reminds us that today, 12 May, is St Pancras Day. I have always thought it should be a bank holiday in the East Midlands. That website (from which I have also borrowed the illustration) tells us all about the saint's life and martyrdom: St Pancras was boy of 14 years of age when he was beheaded for his faith in 304 under the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian, the last, largest and bloodiest official persecution of Christians in the history of the Roman Empire. Like many of the Roman martyrs, details of the ...
One of the biggest questions in education is the extent to which schools can make a difference to the lives of the children they teach. Put more fatalistically, if you're born poor does that mean you will perform poorly at school? Last week Kevan Collins (my boss at the Education Endowment Foundation) published an article in the TES magazine which has, I'm glad to say, created some waves. You can read it in full here, but its central point is simply summarised... Based on data we've researched, we can see that in 2010 there were 446 secondary schools (1 in ...
Nick Clegg has long championed the pupil premium, new money allocated to schools to help boost the educational chances of children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Today's Guardian reports how he plans in a major speech on Monday to emphasise its importance in improving social mobility in the UK: Nick Clegg will next week set out long-term plans to break the grip of private schools on the British establishment when he publishes proposals for a surge in social mobility based on the "pupil premium". ... Clegg, launching a two-week drive on social mobility, which he sees as one of the ...
Taking advantage of the latest edition of the EU Institutions Open Day in Brussels, I took the opportunity to join a debate being held in the European Parliament's Plenary chamber, and watch the debate from the chairs of all six of our region's MEPs.Above are the views that each of our MEPs currently enjoys during debates and votes held within the Plenary chamber in Brussels.He may have next to
Last Thursday saw the first full Council meeting of the newly elected West Lothian Council. This 33 seat Council had been run for the last 5 years by the SNP, propped up by, frankly, useless hospital campaigners and a Tory Lord Provost. Despite gaining two seats in the recent elections, the final results gave the SNP 15 to Labour's 16 with 1 Tory and 1 Independent. This means that Labour were in pole position to form a minority administration. Certainly, their warmth towards the Independent at the count left me in no doubt that this was the most likely outcome. ...
Good News as tanker drivers in the Unite union vote to accept the deal on their dispute over terms and conditions. In stark contrast to the unyielding and unbending stance of both sides in the public sector pension row, there are lessons to learn from how the tanker drivers approached their dispute and the willingness of the employers to seek a resolution. The easiest course of action was to call the union's bluff, allow strikes to go ahead and then utilise public anger over queues and petrol shortages to force agreement, imposed or otherwise. Instead, both sides went down the ...
No, this isn't another post about the Coalition. It's a strange and sinister 1969 tale of waking up in an English town to find it deserted... But why? With a script full of tension, twists and betrayal, eerie direction, terrific music and impressive guest-star turns from Peter Barkworth, Joss Ackland and Brian Blessed, The Morning After is one of The Avengers' strongest and most gripping episodes. Steed is landed with an unexpected (and unwilling) ally and faces unexpected (and all too unflinching) enemies in this stylish mid-point between Seven Days To Noon and Doctor Who - Invasion of the Dinosaurs... ...
So, here it is in the Guardian, the paper that's been so critical of the Coalition in general and the Lib Dems in particular, these past two years. The announcement that many of us have wanted to see for as long as we've been politically active. That women who take time out of the labour market to care for children or sick relatives will not be penalised in their old age. This is an example of the Coalition delivering a major benefit to mainly women. And although it's Iain Duncan Smith who's quoted in the article, make no mistake, it's ...
So, here it is in the Guardian, the paper that's been so critical of the Coalition in general and the Lib Dems in particular, these past two years.The announcement that many of us have wanted to see for as long as we've been politically active.That women who take time out of the labour market to care for children or sick relatives will not be penalised in their old age. This is an example of the Coalition delivering a major benefit to mainly women. And although it's Iain Duncan Smith who's quoted in the article, make no mistake, it's Liberal Democrat ...
This Monday, the people from LINK (the organisation involved in providing cash machines) are in Liverpool. They are meeting representatives from the Council, but they're also doing a tour of bits of Liverpool where there are few or no fee-free ATMs to see if locations can be found to fill the gaps. Cash machines that charge are a major problem in areas where they are the only source of cash. If you are already short of money and then have to pay to get hold of the little you have, this is effectively a tax on poverty. I've been working ...
I was contacted this morning by a mum in South Liverpool who's worried about something that happened to her little boy. Apparently he was approached, on the way into school, by people working for Truancy Watch. He wasn't late and the letter sent to his mum has made her angry and worried. This may of course be a one off mistake. But it strikes me that approaching children on the way into school in the morning is probably not the best way to spot truants! Don't get me wrong. Truancy is a problem and its vital that youngsters don't miss ...
I have been wondering who the Bogeyman is since I was little. All I knew is that he was a 'he' (BogeyMAN). As I grew up I started questioning who he was. Was he a single man, I mean was he operating on his own and not whether he was married, or did he have followers? Did they all travel the world scaring little children whose parents summoned them? Or was it one man who appeared simultaneously everywhere like God does? I think I have found the answer. It's the 1922 Conservative Backbench Committee and they reside in Westminster. If ...
I have finally got round to seriously studying parts of Andrew Hickey's The Beatles in Mono, which I was given for Christmas. I've been wanting to compare some of the different versions of songs, recorded by the great men, which Andrew comments on. "Love me do" had three different versions recorded in the studio by the group (plus the eight versions recorded at the BBC, including the one on Live at the BBC). Each version had a different drummer, which provides an interesting contrast in styles. The first version was recorded on 6th June 1962 at Abbey Road with Pete ...
This painting by Modernist Artist, Michael Goldberg inspired one of my favorite modernist poets, Frank O'Hara to write 'Why I am not a Painter'. The artist started off inspired by some sardines but as the painting changed it came to ... Continue reading →
"I know nothing" Incompetent or complicit: either way he should resign.
In Victorian times Southport used to advertise trips to the town under the marketing slogan 'visit the Lancashire Riviera'! Later on we promoted the resort as somewhere to come in winter because of our micro climate which produced mild weather when all around were suffering a freeze. It is well known that it is not just meteorolgically that we have a micro climate. For generation Southport has demonstrated that it can buck the national trend in politics. Southport is one of those northern chapel towns where Liberalism refused to lie down and die in the post war years. The Jewish ...
One of the things that drew me to the Liberal Democrats, apart from polices, was a certain honesty that wasn't questionable unlike New Labour and their spin machine and the fading memories of Conservative sleaze that rocked the Major Administration. I became inspired by Nick. As the expenses scandal hit the news and the "truth" that the public had held about MPs being corrupt was proven, only one person seemed to be listening to the public out cry as Nick called for Parliament to extend its session to get to the bottom of this. Leadership debates followed and Clegg stepped ...
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 ...
As news stories go, it is not earthshattering but I have been elected as the new Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group on Gateshead Council. And that makes me the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Noel Rippeth, our previous Deputy, retired from the Council at the local elections. This is not a new post for me. I was Deputy from 1998-2000 but then had to give up because my new job took me to London.
President François Hollande's call for a new growth-led approach has resonated with many people across Europe who continue to suffer from a seemingly endless cycle of economic decline and painful public sector cuts. Nobel prize-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, who have strongly criticised ... Continue reading →
Changing Attitude Ireland is hosting several events for IDAHO (the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) this week. Date Time Details Sunday, 13 May 2012 11.00 a.m. St Annes, Shandon, Cork Eucharist Speaker: Clive Davis Sunday, 13 May 2012 3.30 p.m. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Speaker: Revd. Sandra Pragnell Sunday, 13 May 2012 4.00 p.m. ...
Sat 12th
12:27
The Weekend Debate: Bank of England independence - an economic success story or a well-intentioned f...
Here's your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate... The Liberal Democrat 1997 manifesto said the following: We will turn the Bank of England into a UK Reserve Bank, free from political interference. We will charge the Bank with keeping inflation low and make it accountable to Parliament for achieving this goal. Of course after Labour's landslide victory in that election, one of Gordon Brown's first decisions as chancellor was to borrow this Lib Dem policy and essentially transfer responsibility for monetary policy to the Bank of England. Most Labour ...
I happened to be glancing through Adrian Mitchell's Heart on the Left this morning (as you do) and rediscovered the poem 'My Shy Di in Newspaperland', in which he took lines and headlines from the press coverage of Charles and Diana's engagement in 1980 and turned them into a poem. Having many better things to do this morning, but in need of an excuse to defer them, I thought I'd try the same with a different public figure in today's news, and see what the result was. (Each line is taken whole from media coverage of the event – thank ...
It has been a year since I first joined the Liberal Democrats. In that time, I've slowly learnt but a few of the ropes of a Liberal Democrat member and campaigner; time-limited by my studies, I've only been able to savour the joys of leafleting and a couple hours of telling last week. Yet the reasons I joined - my personal Liberal beliefs and a feeling that this party is by far and away the best vehicle for Liberals in Britain to carry their beliefs into action - remain as strong as ever. I firmly believe this party has managed ...
Well yesterday certainly saw something rather unusual happen. The Maglia Roas (pink jersey) changed hands, that wasn't what was exceptional, but it is when you learn who it went to. There was a break away over the undulations yesterday in the end five of that breakaway stayed clear. One Miguel Rubiano (AND) went solo on the last categorised climb and stayed away. But it was the group of four that pursued him where the interest lay. The best placed men in that group were Adriano Malori (LAM) and nine seconds behind him Michal Golas (OPQ) with time bonuses available for ...
Come along to the Lifestyle Market, 11am-3pm, Tuesday 22nd May, Tiviot Dale Hall, Stockport. Lifestyle Market
The first episode of Michael Palin's "Ripping Yarns" began with a quote from G. K. Chesterton: "The follies of men's youth are in retrospect glorious compared to the follies of old age." I didn't expect to think of this when I bought my tickets to see "American Pie: Reunion". I thought I'd get a dose ...
The Smiles building has been empty for a long time, what should we be doing ? Should it be converted to housing ? What could open instead ?
While six out of the ten Greater Manchester councils are missing the target for finding adoptive parents for children placed in care, Stockport comes out top, beating the Government target by 107 days. Stockport is also one of only three Greater Manchester authorities to also meet a second target – placing children with families within seven months of adoption being cleared by the courts. Fostering is a challenging area, and no-one's perfect, but it's one where Stockport has worked hard and we're very glad to see that paying off in improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable young ...
We have reported the potholes in Wansdyke Road opposite the Green to the council
Today's Telegraph provides further evidence that despite all the Labour propaganda about the government looking after the rich, there are many measures being brought in for those who are less fortunate. The paper reports that the UK Coalition is proposing that millions of mothers who have chosen to take time out of work will no longer be penalised once they are pensioners. They say that at the moment, people who do not work for 30 years do not qualify for the full basic state pension. Under the reforms, mothers and carers will be treated as if they had worked throughout ...
The argument over the nano-SIM is a distraction. It's a sleight of hand designed to catch the industry off guard and fool it into doing something really stupid. The SIM is designed to do a number of things; encryption, address storage, hold SMS, etc. Most importantly, it's designed to be swappable. With GSM, you can choose your phone and your network provider separately. Want the iPhone? Hate Three's network? Stick in a Tesco Mobile SIM. Love Vodafone? Think their range of phones is crap? Buy the phone and service separately. It means carries and manufacturers don't have control of customer ...
From an Islington Liberal Democrats news release: Twenty-three Islington Council staff earnt over £100,000 last year according to figures published this week ... A further twenty-one Islington Council staff earnt £75,000 – £100,000... The number of top earners in Islington Council is the 22nd highest in the United Kingdom, out of 434 local authorities... Islington Liberal Democrat Leader, councillor Terry Stacy, said: "Labour councillors talk about fairness and reducing the poverty gap in Islington. But these figures show they are one of the highest spenders on executive pay in Britain despite being one of the smallest boroughs."
Did I know that Ivan Massow had returned to the Conservative Party? I knew that Mr Massow had left the Tories and joined Labour (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/862683.stm), but did I know that life's revolving door had returned him to the Tory fold? Actually, yes, I think I did and it rings a vague bell - this says that he re-joined in 2004 "with the lure of possibly becoming a Tory MP at the next election", which he didn't, and this is perhaps the latest update). In an article in the Standard Mr Massow writes, on gay marriage, that Tory ...
Let's face it, we all need a pick-me-up. And what better way to raise our spirits than free food, lots of time to chat, and, of course, some invigorating campaigning? This May and June, you're spoilt for choice. We've not one, not two, but three Regional Action Days coming up, in Brent, North Norfolk and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The days will follow the successful formula followed earlier this year in Colchester, Carshalton and Wallington, and Cambridge. We will meet in the morning for hot drinks, with a morning campaigning session, a simple free lunch, and an afternoon session. Then, as a thank ...
See larger image The Iron Lady - Double Play (Blu-ray + DVD) (Blu-ray) Director: Phyllida Lloyd Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Alexandra Roach, Anthony Head Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over List Price: £24.99 GBP New From: £15.59 In Stock Used from: £15.46 In Stock Release date April 30, 2012. Generally speaking, ...
All three parties and some Human Rights Act too. It's like Question Time in here. Gay Marriage – Never expected to be linking to a Tory MP's post on equal marriage, but here's a well though through and Christian perspective in favour of it from Desmond Swayne. How my riots tweet landed me in hot water - at taxpayers' expense – And after a Tory MP, we have a Labour Councillor in Lewisham, talking about the iniquities of the Standards Board regime. And I am not making this up... – Wiggy explains the Human Rights Act, and how criticisms of ...
Cllr Peter Downes (LD, Brampton and Kimbolton) A new code for organising the admission of pupils to schools came into force on February 1st 2012 and will affect admissions from 2013 onwards. Although many of the changes from the previous Code could be seen as a simplification or tidying-up of previously convoluted procedures, the main changes of principle and policy are an integral part of Gove's vision for the future school system. The first is the deliberate diminution of local authority (LA) oversight and responsibilities. Ever since Gove came to power, local authorities have been cast in the role of ...
Once upon a time I was concerned at the lack of visibility of the issue of marriage equality. Hardly anyone in this country, LGBT or straight, seemed to care. I lamented that most were satisfied with civil partnerships, and the actions of campaigners like Peter Tatchell or individual members of the public like myself did not seem to be changing the situation all that much. Even after the Liberal Democrats adopted marriage equality as an official policy, most folks seemed unenergised. However, thanks to you rabidly anti-equality folks out there, the issue has exploded on to the political scene! Every ...
I have welcomed news that, as part of the Unadopted Footways Upgrade Programme, a number of streets in the West End area will be brought up to good standard and adopted by the City Council over the next year. These include Oxford Street (west side), Harrow Street, Cambridge Street, Kelso Place, Marchfield Terrace, Hillside Road, Terrace, Place and Drive, the cul de sacs in Invergowrie Drive, Hyndford Street north of Blackness Avenue and Kelso Place. These improvements are to be welcomed and will see more of the very poor pavements in the West End finally brought up to standard. Back ...
I have criticised changes that will see the removal of a vital bus service from the west end of Perth Road, resulting in fewer bus options for residents but also removing the service for visitors to a local care home. Bus changes at the end of May will result in National Express Service 5 terminating at the Technology Park (Luna Place/Explorer Road) after visiting Ninewells Hospital, not serving Apollo Way or the Clovis Duveau Drive area at all. This detrimental change means that the far west end of Perth Road around Clovis Duveau Drive will no longer be served by ...
In the last week Obama has declared his support for Same Sex Marriage which has polarised opinion in the US and at the same time made it a key part of the Presidential campaigns and galvanised supporters on both sides with large amounts of money expected to be raised on both sides of the debate in support ... Read more
