While it may appear churlish to criticise Manchester City on the day they won their first championship in 40 odd years, or Rangers who appear to have found a last minute saviour, both these events are bad for football. Rangers bought success over many years by cheating - spending money they didn't have, defrauding the taxman (and all of us by extension) and failing to pay dozens of small local suppiers for their goods and services. The fact that they may now be saved and allow to carry on in the upper echelon of Scottish football by wriggling out of ...
An interesting piece by Vernon Bogdanor on the future of the Coalition has just appeared online. His main point is that both Coalition parties are having to look out for their increasingly restless grassroots: Tories pulling to the right, LibDems pulling to the left. And this destabilises the Coalition. The odds of it failing reaching 2015 intact must be steadily shortening. It is clear that parts of the Tory party – both at Parliamentary and grassroots level – are making attempts to pull the party to the right, and are seemingly getting plenty of sympathetic media space in which to ...
This morning, Andrew and I woke up at home, got up, had some breakfast and then went to Church. As I said on twitter... Getting ready to go to @stgeorgebelfast with @belfastwriter – the only "normative" thing to do on Sunday morning. @churchofireland — M Carchrie Campbell (@gyronny) May 13, 2012 We arrived at St ...
I was at the Parish Church of Saint George in Belfast this morning and I was pleased to see copies of the parish welcome leaflet which is being launched on Thursday. The title of the leaflet is If someone in your family is gay or lesbian – what your church family can do to offer support. ...
Although I'm well aware that it's stating the obvious, the one word that I'd use to describe the marathon is HARD. It was so, so, so hard. I'm very proud of finishing, even though the last 10 miles of the race were really, really difficult. I wish I had been able to go faster, but am well aware that without the training that I put in, that it might have been even harder. And, despite what I might have said right after the race, I'm totally ready to do it again (and, yes, I did enter the ballot for London ...
Alex Sarll on Facebook linked the infamous 'last Doctor Who interview' of Lawrence Miles (the one where he slags off everyone in the Doctor Who world except Jac Rayner, who he says is lovely and doesn't have an enemy in the world, which is true). I reread it, and this bit struck me, which hadn't ...
You may have seen on Twitter that a story in tomorrow's Independent concerns Caroline Lucas stepping down from her role as Leader of the Green Party. This is in fact a requirement of the Green party constitution... However, it seems she stepped down early – the Leader is able to stand for 5 terms, Caroline ... Read more
Why "Pin" Mill? I don't know. It's on the coast, on the Orwell estuary, just outside the large village of Chelmondiston. You can approach it by a narrow road, but I approach by foot through dense woodland along a ridge overlooking the estuary. As you descend you come to a series of houseboats, all with names, many with postboxes and with wooden walkways out to the boat, with plants in pots and other decorations plus various junk. Some are quite neat and others very dilapidated, plus the occasional rotting ruin. Beyond the houseboats the path suddenly comes out to a ...
One of the highlights of blogging for me has been the opportunity to appear on the radio. It's not something I've really covered on here much. Most other bloggers seem to take it in their stride and most "normal" (i.e. non-political) people I know are a bit nonplussed as to what it's all about. But I have really enjoyed the times that I have been asked to go onto various radio stations and debate politics. Sometimes it has been over the phone but often it has been in the studio which has been a particularly fascinating aspect of it for ...
Reform Ireland gives thanks God General Synod's adherence to the Bible's teaching on marriage and human sexuality. But are they right to do so? Michael is not so sure.
I cannot imagine a sadder and more potentially controversial subject than that provoked by the trial of the nine predators who abused young girls in Rochdale. I have a few questions, to my mind, its simple this crime was possible because the men involved appeared not to view white girls as equal, although according to the independent "Despite far-right claims to the contrary, the police, social services and the Crown Prosecution Service do not link the offences to the ethnicity of the convicted men - eight of whom were of Pakistani origin, while the ninth was an asylum seeker from ...
Sun 13th
20:39
They voted, but what is the point of it all? The figures from General Synod 2012 @churchofireland #g...
Michael gives the facts and figures from the debate on Human Sexuality at the Church of Ireland's General Synod in Dublin.
It was daring — even brave — of the Armenian National Movement to invite the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) to convene a Council meeting in Yerevan this week, only days after general elections were held in Armenia, about which they have cried foul. ELDR has never had a meeting on such a scale in the ...
Action on social housing - have your say on Flexible and Affordable Rent Tenancy guidance for housing providers and the revised Homesearch Scheme Local communities and the people working with them are being encouraged to have their say about proposed changes to social housing put forward by Bath and North East Somerset Council in partnership with registered providers that could free-up more
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] Southport is one of those northern chapel towns where Liberalism refused to lie down and die in the post war years. The Jewish community -who suffered significant discrimination at the hands of local Tories-joined hands with independent radicals, Methodists and Congregationalists to build a formidable electoral presence. Liberal representation on the Council was never snuffed out and in 1959 Cllr Sam Goldberg was polling strongly in a three cornered fight in the General Election coming in a rare second place. By 1962 we had taken the Council out of Tory hands. We were early ...
A recent 'new band of the day piece in the Guardian spoke of The Quangos' vocals evincing a love of the blue-eyed rasp of Steve Marriott and Steve Winwood and jaunty gait suggesting the La's were ,,, an 80s influence on themand of these 22-year-olds' love of vintage rock'n'soul, and the sort of Motown-influenced R&B the Stones and Spencer Davis were doing circa 1964/65, before things went all psychedelic and "weird".This, I thought, could be a band for me. Thought they are from Manchester, here they are on stage at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool. (Wikipedia suggests that it ...
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Before I start. Please ensure you have signed the Home Office Consultation process survey: Sunny Hundal is generally a likeable chap, even if we generally disagree on politics, he responds, he is generally polite, and he blasphemes on the big questions. However, I take great exception to Sunny when he uses his blog Liberal Conspiracy and twitter to play politics with gay marriage and pretend that Lib Dems are not fighting for it. Over on his blog, found here, he asks the question, "Will Lib Dems fight for gay marriage now?" The exasperated tone of this question is somewhat ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 273rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (6-12 May, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Lib Dems face ...
Continuing to focus on race and ethnicity is fanning the flames of far right recruitment and hatred while the real underlying issues are about class, weakness, vulnerability and a desperate void in community leadership. Media reporting of the Rochdale "sex ... Continue reading →
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Here's a round-up of stories we haven't had time to cover on the site this past few days... Lord Owen attacks coalition over Lords reform 'farce' (Telegraph) Lord Owen was one of 43 of the peers polled who said the Upper House needs to be reformed, even though he disagreed with the changes devised by Nick Clegg and other senior Liberal Democrats. "There does need to be change," said Lord Owen. "You look around the chamber and you can see the person who is a friend of George Osborne. You can see the person who was a big donor. And ...
Arriving commendably early at Maida Vale Tube station to meet a friend, I decided to go for coffee first. Popping into an independent coffee shop of the fast-disappearing sort that is much mourned by coffee's commentariat, I asked the counter-person whether the place had a loo. She looked at me as if I was mad. A lavatory, I further ventured, but my use of such complicated vocabulary only served to confuse matters even further. When, at school, one of us boys used to ask a particular teacher if he (the boy, not the teacher) could go to the toilet, the ...
Now Pastor Maldonado's won the Spanish Grand Prix to make it five different winners from five different teams in this year's Formula 1 season, I took a look back to 1983, the last time it happened. Interestingly, four of the five teams who won those races are still in F1 in one form or another, and three have won races this year: McLaren, Ferrari and Williams (and Williams were the fifth team that year as well). The other two winners of the first five were Brabham (no longer with us, even in team-who-bought-the-team-who-bought-the-team spirit) and Renault, who've had a convoluted ...
[IMG: Postal ballot paper being posted] The Queen's Speech mentioned a Bill to introduce individual electoral registration (see this post if you're not sure why individual electoral registration is a good thing). It also made vague reference to other electoral administration reforms. Now I've read the proposed Bill and seen what they are, I'm rather pleased – as they include three things I've often raised in previous election law consultations and on this blog. First, extending the timetable for Parliamentary by-elections. As I've written before about this issue: The average length of Parliamentary by-election campaign has shrunk by four weeks ...
Peter Bone and his right-wing ilk have been touring the studios this week making their concerns over House of Lords Reform known. Their key argument is that using Parliament's time to push through reform now would be a huge distraction from the the Coalition's main job of reducing the deficit and getting the economy back on time. What's odd is that earlier this parliament, Peter Bone and his comrades Philip Hollobone and Christopher Chope were very busy presenting a long list of Bills containing a whole host of populist right-wing measures. I don't doubt that they're entitled to raise issues ...
It is a wet, drab day in Yerevan, which is a pity, for our formal business is over and we have a day off to enjoy the city. But we've been for a walk anyway, passing the National Assembly building, the Cascade, which houses a rather impressive museum and some interesting sculpture, and Opera Square, with its surrounding parkland filled with cafes and bars. Our fellow delegates, many of whom had visited Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, before coming on to Yerevan, have been a mite dismissive about Armenia, but Ros and I are rather smitten by Yerevan. One doesn't ...
Sun 13th
14:15
Another Mail headline to savour... Lynne 'slaps down' Tory minister for opposing Coalition support f...
At this rate the Daily Mail will soon become Lib Dems' favourite reading... A few days after its front page proclaiming David Cameron's lament 'I'd govern like a true Tory if it wasn't for the Lib Dems', the paper reports: Tory Minister is slapped down by Lib Dems after criticising gay marriage Two Ministers in the Coalition clashed last night over David Cameron's plan to allow gay marriages. Tim Loughton, Tory Minister for Children and Families, came under fire from Liberal Democrat partners after he said he was totally opposed to same-sex marriage and that the Prime Minister would do ...
William Hague has updated Norman Tebbitt's "on your bike" exhortation from the 1980s. The Telegraph reports: In a blunt message to the country's bosses, he said they should stop complaining and get on with the business of wealth creation. His comments, in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, are a direct riposte to business leaders ...
Yesterday's Telegraph reported on a crisis in social care that has been building up over decades simply because successive governments have avoided making difficult decisions or have decided that solutions are too expensive. They highlight new research that shows that Britain's crisis over caring for the elderly is mounting because of a combination of rising costs and falling house prices. The study concludes that the average proceeds from selling a home now pays for just five years of care, compared with seven years in 2007. For those in nursing homes, assets are drained yet more quickly - in three years, ...
A couple of days ago Mary Reid, one of LibDemVoice's day editors, reported the news of the fake election leaflets distributed in Richmond with the seeming intent of misleading voters about the views of local Lib Dems: A number of local voters have admitted that they were taken in by the leaflets, decided not to vote Lib Dem as a result and voted Conservative in protest. This was a seat that we were hoping to take back from the Conservatives, but Jane Dodds lost by 146 votes. The BBC now reports that the police are investigating the allegations of electoral ...
NEP for Russia brought about regeneration A few weeks ago my blog was mentioned in a Full Council meeting by Councillor Alan Jarrett, deputy leader of the Conservative group and portfolio holder for finance. This, as always, amazed me as I didn't think many people actually read this blog let alone that it had any clout what so ever. I was thinking this morning about local politics and the Council's hilarious over spends that we (the Libdems) and other opposition groups (especially Labour) have been critical of. Maybe we're going about this the wrong way... Maybe we should make suggestions ...
As I said yesterday the Giro would not be won on the climb to Rocca de Cambio yesterday but some of the contenders did stretch their legs. Defending champion Michele Scarponi (LAM) was one of the two who pulled away from the small remaining field on the last climb, however Paolo Tiralongo (AST) took the honours on the line. However, the strongest ro react was Frank Schleck (RNT) was was only three seconds back for the final time bonus spot just ahead of Joaquin Rodriguez (KAT). Ryder Hesjedal (GRM) was a further 2 seconds down, Ivan Basso (LIQ) in a ...
That's my favourite geography school report of all time. It could however be a thing of the past if a new course run by Durham County proves successful. It's a beginner's guide to map and compass reading and will take place on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 between 10am and 3pm. Day One will be theory-based with some practical activities in Durham and on Day Two people will put their new skills into practice when they head out into the Durham Dales. The course costs £25 and people are required to bring their own Silva-type compass and a ...
Remember that old saying "you don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps". Well, in Deepest Bishopbriggs, there's a charity called Cue and Review where volunteers record various news media for blind and partially sighted people. They do great work and deserve your support - whether cash, promotion of their work or volunteering. They've even made a video about how much fun volunteering for them is. Please don't let it put you off. Even if you don't live in Glasgow, watch it because it really is very funny. Boys will be boys, that's all I'm saying.
will be announced later this week. In fairness it may not be the most dishonest but it features some original 'made-up- ness' rather than the rather predictable stuff from Labour - none of it local, none of it under local authority control, and none of it true either. Firstly Labour say "The Lib Dems have sold out to the Tories", a myth dispelled quite nicely by the Daily Mail Then we
The local Guardian has run two stories on the Orlit property buy-back; the first contained inaccuracies and misrepresentations that I needed to write in to correct, the second presents a selective view which makes insinuations about the intentions of the Council in respect of the development. The facts are that the Council is seeking to ...
Twenty years ago this year, on the 21st of December to be precise, I boarded a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow to go to my first proper gig. The venue was the (legendary) Glasgow Barrowland. The act was Del Amitri, then promoting their 2nd album. (Yes, I know Wikipedia says this was their first album but that had been kind of disowned; in the sleeve-notes of a 2003 reissue, though, lead singer Justin Currie has a more nuanced take on it's merits.) It was a great night with a band I continued to love for years to follow. Indeed, I ...
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 ...
This weekend is the first for as long as I can remember that we've not had something on, whether lib demmery, election preparation, trips away to Cardiff to see Doctor Who or my sister's wedding. So, there is no guilt at all in immersing myself in motorsport. F1 is in Spain this weekend, taking over the Circuit de Catalunya. One good thing about the Infernal Wickedness of Sky Plus is that it also shows the two F1 feeder series, GP2 and GP3.This is where the F1 drivers of the future are likely to come from.It's succession planning in front of ...
Gay Marriage - 16th Oct 2011 "For millennia Christians have taken too great an interest in what other people get up to in bed, it is an unhealthy fascination. My starting point is that marriage is a blessing, and therefore I have no business denying that blessing to someone because they happen to be gay. I will go further than the Prime Minister: I am in favour of gay marriage because I am a Christian." - Christian Tory MP on gay marriage. Sir, I salute you. (tags: ) That's a lot of Wonga for a business loan! Tim Harford on ...
She is looking forward to returning to Hyderbad, where the living conditions will be much better. Amelia Gentleman, Guardian, 10/05/12 This is the payoff line for an extended article about poor housing in the private rented sector in Newham. The aim is to provoke a reaction. Conditions are so bad in our glorious capital - a global city no less – that someone would rather return to India which is, we had always presumed, at the very least a bit squalid. We should be shocked. The article covers "beds in sheds" and headlines the instance of people found renting a ...
I decided I really wanted this book after the ever-excellent Bookslut tipped me off to this interview with the author. It mostly succeeds; it is the story of a man going through intense emotional crisis and working it out by writing a book about pencil sharpening, except that almost everything apart from the pencil sharpening has been taken out. Rees is good at capturing the tone of how-to manuals, especially when describing really obvious and easy tasks. There are a couple of points when he wanders far off-topic and the humour did not work for me, even taking it as ...
It may be ten years or so since I read this, and I had forgotten how good it is. Set at the Versailles court of Louis XIV, it is the story of Marie-Josèphe de la Croix and a captive sea monster, destined for slaughter for royal entertainment, and how her realisation of the captive's personhood revolutionises Marie-Josèphe's world, all in lush yet intense prose. Presumably it was one of the sources at the back of Neal Stephenson's mind for the Baroque series set around the same time. The Moon and the Sun won the 1998 Nebula for Best Novel, one ...
That is why we're putting ourselves through the electoral, political pain. If you haven't read it already, the amazingly wonderful Daddy Alex summed it all up in an honest, compelling analysis, Happy Birthday to the Libera-Tory Coalition. Read it, learn it by heart and let it inspire you to keep, or start, fighting for our values.
This story in the Sunday Express has details of how thousands of children leave care for an unknown reason every year. What concerns me is that there is no proper independent auditing of what happens to the children. Given that hundreds of younger children are simply lost to the system each year I don't think this is acceptable. Independent auditors are used to track where the money is, but
Sadly due to an accident at home involving broken bones in my arm and a head injury after a fall down the stairs on the morning of Thursday 10th May I was taken to hospital (Arrowe Park) by ambulance. At Arrowe Park Hospital I was taken to Accident & Emergency where I was seen to, ...
From Dundee City Council : Next week, from 14-18 May, is National Walk to Work Week - the ideal time to give walking a go. Why not walk to or from work, stride out with colleagues at lunchtime or walk between meetings or duties? Or just get off the bus a few stops early or park a bit further away? Walking will: • tone you up• trim you down• help keep your heart healthy• save on petrol or bus fares• help the environment For more information on Walk to Work Week, visit:
I was on Wave 102's news yesterday about detrimental changes to the No 5 bus service route:
The sun shone, shivering Brits ventured out into the unwonted brightness – and all of Spring's delayed glory leapt fully-formed onto the Tring stage today. With fine weather for a change the Friends of Tring Church Heritage (FOTCH) held their most successful Family Fun Day ever at St Peter & St Pauls Church, Tring. With bouncy castles, stalls, fun and games, choral and instrumental music there was something for everybody – inside and outside the church. More people came and relaxed at the FOTCH Family Day in the wonderful space at the heart of our town than ever before. There ...
