Four this week: Application 120922: Two storey side and rear extension, Carlisle Close Application 120817: Change of use from offices (B1) to shop and cafe (A1 and A3), Culver Street East Application 120918: Shop fascia and traditional projecting sign, High Street Application 120968: Change of use from B1 (Office) to A3 (Restaurant/Cafe), Trinity Street Please note that I am a member of the Council's Planning Committee for the next municipal year. This means that I'm required to act in a 'quasi-judicial' manner with regard to applications before the Committee and as such, can't make comments in favour or against planning ...
This British Pathe film from 1949 (click on the picture to view it) shows Sister Mary Ward who lived by the Grand Union at Stoke Bruerne and looked after the families who operated the commercial boats on the canal. One point of complaint: those boats were not barges, as the commentary repeatedly says, but narrow boats.
Local cyclists have been complaining about dangerous road defects on the road from the Shire Way roundabout to Westerleigh village. Some regular cyclists have stopped using this road because it's so bad. As well as the potholes on the way into Westerleigh, there are "tramline" cracks that could catch a bike wheel near the Nibley Lane junction. Anyone falling off their bike just past this blind corner could be run over by a following car. South Glos say that Westerleigh Road isn't bad enough to warrant resurfacing this year, but they aim to patch the worst areas some time this ...
My friend Caron has posted about how disappointed she was that the Alex Salmond and other white men launched a Yes to Indepedence campaign. They also as she points out launched it on Towel Day. Clearly they missed a trick, they needed someone like the guy on the left to really launch it in style today, instead of in some dingy cinema with a hole pile of men talking at us. Although one phrase that I did hear on the news about the launch was that Salmond had come to a launch without any clear policy. Yes that is how ...
I've been ill all week, which has necessitated two visits to the doctor to get more and stronger drugs, as the dastardly bug I have inherited has proved a tougher opponent than first thought. So there could only be one choice:
To quote for the County Council website: LANCASHIRE County Council has won £5m for transport schemes to boost economic growth and cut carbon emissions. The investment will focus on three areas: • Improvements to infrastructure such as traffic management and ... Continue reading →
If you are a young person interested in making films, check out the competition being run by Smokefree South West and Cut Films. The Plain Packs theme closing date is 10 July - find out more on the Cut Films website.
Do you live or work in the Langworthy ward? If so, Salford Council wants to hear what needs doing to improve our area and where. SNAP is a way of bringing people together to focus on local problems - aiming to clean up areas and target criminal activity over a week of action that will have long lasting benefits. During previous SNAPs Salford Council have fitted alley gates to reduce anti-social behaviour, arrested criminals, cleaned graffiti from walls, put on activities for young people, picked up litter and collected bulky waste, carried out home fire safety checks...the list just keeps ...
The Lancashire County Council has just started (on 23rd May) the consultation for phase 3 of the plan to lower the speed limit in residential areas to 20 mph but most of Ormskirk has been missed out yet again. Phase ... Continue reading →
When pointing out the shortcomings of the mayoral system of local government as implemented in Leicester - a Labour mayor and 52 Labour councillors out of 54 with those councillors being told how to vote by the mayor - I have been known to point to London as a better model. After all, at least the Greater London Authority is elected by proportional representation, ensuring that its assembly cannot be dominated by one party. But Sonia Purnell's Just Boris - an excellent biography I hope to review here one day makes it clear that London has a far from ideal ...
The Shropshire Star wins with: Shropshire warned over slug epidemic
"Again with the trans related posts!", I hear you say. When you spend so long hanging around with feminists and trans people, you can't help but think about trans issues and feminism a lot. And one of the issues that came up quite a bit while I was at a party with some cool trans people and feminists earlier this week was RadFem 2012, the upcoming "radical feminist" conference in London. But however good it sounds, it has a horrible policy: In turn we ask that RadFem 2012 be respected as a space where women born women living as women ...
Before the local elections, the councillors approved changes to Gatley Green including improvements to the paving around the shops on both sides of Church Road, making it more difficult for vehicles to drive the wrong way along Gatley Green and blocking off the cut-through behind the war memorial. The changes then have to be advertised for a month, which has been done. More objections have been received which means the scheme comes back to Cheadle Area Committee next Tuesday for a final decision. Council officers have spent time looking at how many vehicles use the cut-through (not a large number, ...
So the Yes Campaign has been launched for the Independence Referendum. Before the question has been agreed. What if it ends up being "Do you want to be a part of the United Kingdom?" Mr Salmond will look a bit daft then. But, jokes aside, I actually felt a bit disappointed. I'm never going to support this lot, but I wanted them to come up with something I could feel jealous of. Instead loads of blokes spoke in a dingy cinema. For a campaign supposedly offering something liberating, fresh and new, this was just more of the same male, pale ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Federal Committees approve Conference accreditation (96 comments) by Andrew Wiseman, Duncan Greenland and Tim Farron Draft Energy Bill: keeping the lights on for now, and for decades to come (34 comments) by Ed Davey MP In other news... Paddy in Lords bust-up; Manchester elects Lib Dem lord mayor; Defections round-up (9 comments) by Stephen Tall Professor John Curtice: 'Labour cannot afford simply to ignore the Liberal Democrats' (42 comments) by The Voice Five of the most common ...
The two runner up cities to host the 1976 Olympics were the only two candidate cities that made presentations to the 75th IOC session in Vienna, Austria on 23 October 1973. In what was was the Cold War putting up Moscow the Soviet capital against Los Angeles the home of Hollywood. In the end the bids were almost 2 to 1 in favour of Moscow with 39 votes to LA's 20. Nations 80 (-12) Competitors 5179 (-905) Sports 21 Events 203 (+8) 19 July to 1 August, 1980 hosted by Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Paralympics Nations 42 ...
Library Service consultation Sefton Council are consulting on the future of the library service. It is important that as many local residents as possible make their views known - remember, we have local libraries at: Churchtown, Birkdale, Ainsdale and of course Southport Town Centre. Please fill in the questionnaire on the Sefton Council website using this link Library questionnaire is here The Council says on its website "At this stage of the review we wish to seek information about how you use the current library service, and at a later stage we will gain your views about some possible options ...
The Cressington Communiy First panel is now asking organisations and initiatives in the ward to get in touch if they want to apply for funding. The priorities for funding, and information about the Cressington ward boundaries, are on the website at http://www.cressingtoncommunityfirst.blogspot.com/
[IMG: Cartoon] By Howard of Lib Dem News * Mary Reid is one of the Day Editors on Lib Dem Voice.
The bizarre furore over same-sex marriage is fraught with issues, here I'll deal with what I consider the top 5. Issue 1 - "But, I'm not a bigot!" If you're against this change, then yes, you are. Now to be clear, I can accept some people are bigoted on this issue which no actual malice or evil intentions. We all need to be clear on that, as some people hold the view of man-and-woman-only with no militancy in their views and behaviours on this matter. That means we cannot be militant back if we wish to try and convince them ...
This post is being written on my iPhone on the move so please excuse the typos I'm sitting on a surprisingly cool train having had a great run through the underground and am actually thirty minutes ahead of schedule. I can hear three things. I can hear the air con which is mist certainly welcome. I can hear the tip tapping of the keypad as I have the headphones in and the reason I have the headphones in is so that I can hear Aggers and chums on Test Match Special although at the moment nothing is coming through as ...
Cllr Dowd prevented Sefton Council properly challenging the appointment of Cllr Dowd to Merseytravel . First he deferred the decision to cabinet away from full council thus preventing debate and then he blocked members of the council using the procedures laid down in the constitution to review such appointment when he made it at Cabinet. This was done on the bizarre assertion of a Lab appointee of Cllr Dowd's who claimed it was an urgent matter. Pause for incredulity. The AGM of Merseytravel is on 26 June, there is another cabinet before then. The urgency was packing the Labour group ...
The above mentioned county councillor is John O'Brien. He is also (as I discovered today) Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport. Which means that the highways mess in East Grinstead at the London Road and Imberhorne Lane junction was part of his portfolio. Now I would have thought that, as a county councillor, if there was a big issue related to my portfolio, in a town I represent, I would have wanted to tell people what is going on. Alas Councillor O'Brien is silent on the matter. So I offer an invitation: Councillor O'Brien, what were you doing when ...
A devastating BBC Scotland documentary - still available on iplayer - on the financial shenanigans at Glasgow Rangers suggests that ex-Chairman, David Murray received more than £6 million - tax free - from an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT). Rangers are estimated to owe the taxman in the region of £70 million as a result of their use of EBTs and the adminstrators are looking at a deal that might see the taxman (ie you and me) get just £700,000 back. So Sir David's £6+ million would make a big difference to the creditors. Perhaps the threat of removal of his ...
The first full council after the elections (excluding Mayor making) is usually dull affair. Who is sitting on what committee is normally decided prior to the meeting as are who'll chair and vice chair. We tend to go through this rather pointless electing of chairs and vice chairs, which as the Conservatives have a majority seems rather pointless. It would be perfectly reasonable to allow
here is the text of the debate. I was pleased to hear my right hon. Friend's speech, and to read his Committee's report, but there are areas where we are still getting things badly wrong, and perhaps the direction of Government policy is making things worse rather than better. I declare an interest. I am involved in Justice for Families, which looks at public family law in the English and Welsh
Wednesday night I was stood in our local Chinese take-away waiting for my order and leafing through The Sun when I came across an article on the court of Human rights over ruling Parliament and declaring prisoners should be allowed to vote. This made me cross. Not because I am opposed to Convicts voting - I mean I am but I acknowledge I'm a little right wing when it comes to justice and policing and personally believe that if you've been excluded from society by Prison you cannot and should not take part in Society through voting. This is by ...
A quick "thank you" to the Wiener Library (http://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/default.aspx) for last night's private view of its temporary exhibition on "Operation Anthropoid: Britain, Heydrich and the Holocaust", with last night's event including a very interesting talk by Richard Evans (http://www.richardjevans.com/). Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination in 1942 of the Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, carried out by two Czechoslovak emigres serving in the British Special Operations Executive. An interesting, enjoyable event and my first visit to the Wiener Library, offering a reminder of how important its work is
The Liberal Democrat Group on Redcar and Cleveland Council have called on the ruling Labour Group to review cuts to services for elderly and vulnerable people. The withdrawal of the 'Homecall' contract, currently worth £680,000 to social housing provider Coast and Country, will see thousands of residents charged for the crucial pull-cord lifeline which allows them to live independently. Liberal Democrats fear that removing the subsidy will endanger the freedom and security of the Borough's most vulnerable and could bring an end to the service altogether. Cllr Mary Ovens, Liberal Democrat Group Deputy Leader and Shadow Cabinet Member for Health ...
Willie Rennie used his slot at First Minister's Questions yesterday to call for an enquiry into the way the Lockerbie prosecution was carried out. I think this is very sensible given the six concerns raised by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. Governments are not very good at admitting to their mistakes - and most especially, justice systems are amongst the worst offenders. People can be deprived of their liberty for crimes they didn't commit. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, and when concerns are raised about the validity of prosecutions, it's really important that they are ...
Over on City AM, Eamonn Butler, the Director of the Adam Smith Institute, has written an article about what he calls the 'powerful moral arguments' against taxation. It's fairly standard Randian demagoguery about taxation being confiscation through force, the use of force being necessarily evil; clearly, no-one should ever try to section a libertarian even ...
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Following the Birkenhead County Court order of 18th April 2012 naming Cllr Alan Brighouse on behalf of the Birkenhead Liberal Democrats granted by Deputy District Judge Ireland following the court hearing of the 4th April 2012, the Lib Dems have finally coughed up the original complaint (not shared with me until now 12 months later, ...
Woohoo A fleeting reference to me on the worlds best Advertising Blog. I am overly excited...
A while back, I penned a series of posts profiling forgotten liberal heroes (to which a couple of other people also kindly contributed), looking at some of those who achieved great things for liberalism in their time but have been unjustly forgotten - such as Margaret Wintringham, the very first female Liberal MP. There is also another group of people who I think are often unjustly obscure - those local campaigners who are often at the heart of their local community and local party, delivering liberalism and helping others, but as their stage is a local one they are often ...
I've been finishing up the latest draft of my forthcoming book on political campaigning, co-written with Ed Maxfield. In it we talk about Michael Dukakis's 1988 blunder: When he was nominated Dukakis enjoyed a big lead in the polls yet he ending up losing badly. The campaign struggled on a number of fronts but one of the most telling moments was when he was challenged in a TV debate over his opposition to the death penalty: 'If Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?'. He gave an emotionless response on an ...
Hopefully this time next week, the Wickes contractors at the A22 / Imberhorne Lane roadworks in East Grinstead will be packing up their tools and heading off to the next job. We will all heave a sign of relief, but there is a legacy of this fiasco that is worth considering. West Sussex County Council are the Highways authority for this area. This disaster happened on their watch and they must be held accountable. These aren't just the views of a political activist. Our MP Nicholas Soames has demanded answers from WSCC and has publicly blasted them for their handling ...
This is my latest column published in the Ham & High Thursday 24th May. On 25 July the Olympic Torch will go right past my constituency office which is in the Three Compasses Pub in Hornsey High Street. Well it's not actually in the pub. It is upstairs. I know it's still a long way away but I am definitely getting Olympic and Paralympic fever. I had hoped that Andrew Thornton would be one of the torch bearers. Andrew owns Budgens Crouch End (and Belsize Park) and has done so much for Crouch End and the local community - and ...
Here are my recommendations for stuff on t'internet you should check out:Solo Blogger - Did You Make That? (syndicated to DW as [IMG: [syndicated profile] ] did_you_make_that_feed) - One of my favourite sewing blogs. Group Blog - Den of Geek (syndicated to DW as [IMG: [syndicated profile] ] den_of_geek_feed) - covers pretty much every TV show it's possible to geek about, including (obvs) Doctor Who. Twitterer - Louise Jameson - I love the community of old Who actors on twitter - Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant and Frazer Hines are all also worth following. Katy Manning is as mad on ...
[IMG: Carwash canopy] In January I was contacted by a number of residents who were angry about the unauthorised building work at the hand car wash on Upper Tollington Park (behind Nando's and next door to the Osborne Grove Nursing Home). They were annoyed about a large new corrugated plastic canopy structure that has been built, which they think is an eyesore and looks unsafe. The canopy does not have planning permission, so I have pressed Haringey Council to take action against the owner to make them take the structure down. After endless delays, the Council eventually served an enforcement ...
Why are pound and ounce abbreviated "lb." and "oz."? A straight answer to a straight question. (tags: ) The Wheel of Ice, new Doctor Who book by Stephen Baxter. Coming in August. (tags: ) Gorgeous Georgian: Now we can enjoy the cuisine of Russia's fiery neighbour nearer home ...if in London, that is. (tags: cooking georgia ) Why You Can Be a Bible-Believer or Anti-Abortion, but not Both | Ken Watts | the daily mull Part one of a six-part series concluding the the Bible is in fact pro-choice rather than pro-life. (tags: religion sexandgenderandsexuality )
Here are some quotes from Ed Balls MP from past Prime Minister's Questions: No No No No No No No No No No and Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes and Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down Down and Up Up Up Up Up Up Up Up Up Up All this mono-syllabic heckling has gone on amidst a variety of facial squirms and gurns and even the exhibition of a wide portfolio of hand signals which have had puzzled observers searching umpiring manuals. This is what David Cameron sees opposite him, week after ...
The Social Liberal Forum (Scotland) is holding a Conference in Glasgow on Saturday June 23. We are delighted to confirm that we have secured Willie Rennie as Keynote speaker. Other sessions will include: Social Liberal Values: Ben Colburn and ... Continue reading →
The stretch of the A647 between Bradford and Leeds is a speed camera trap. At first, the signs are clear: the white circle with a thick black line struck through it tell the driver that the national speed limit applies and all's well. On a late spring day, provided one leaves early enough, this portion ...
Transport accounts for around a quarter of the UK's emissions, but people want to travel and they want to travel further and more often. Good transport infrastructure is also essential to a well-functioning economy, so how do we square the circle? The Lib Dem approach is to say that it isn't about choosing between growth and carbon reduction: it's about reducing carbon emissions from transport. That's why the Lib Dems in Government are overseeing the of spending £2.4bn on transport improvements; the biggest rail expansion programme since Victorian times; electrification of over 800 miles of railway compared to the 9 ...
How the German Pirate Party's "Liquid Democracy" Works | TechPresident This is a very interesting idea. (tags: ) » Sacking people is easy to do And anyone denying that is either misinformed or lying. (tags: ) Why Take The Flour Back are wrong and I'm leaving the Green Party It makes me sad the number of intelligent, principled, politically active people who are going through this sort of thing. (tags: ) Lovelace- The Origin | 2D Goggles (tags: ) Smearing of feminism - a history through illustrations « GenderBen! (tags: ) Cameron knew Hunt would back BSkyB bid - UK ...
Writing over in The Guardian, Liberal Democrat minister Sarah Teather says: John Harris writes of the fight he had to simply get the basic support for his autistic child (Special needs kids deserve better than a rush to reform, 21 May). His experience is a story I have heard over and over again. It is precisely this problem that the coalition government is trying to fix... I also know the system doesn't work well enough for children with less severe needs either, such as those with unrecognised language difficulties whose frustration in trying to communicate shows up as angry, even ...
I have realised that no one really agrees on what the worst Beatles song is. I have not yet been able to study the whole of Andrew Hickey's The Beatles in Mono, but so far I see he is not a fan of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (which I have always loved) and "Long and Winding Road" (Ditto). Googling "Worst Beatles Songs" brings up a wide variety of choices: Ugo says "Yellow Submarine" (a childhood favourite of mine and one of the few British Number Ones featuring a brass band ("She's a lady" by Peter Skellern also did). LA Weekly blogs ...
I was just thinking right now about a rather odd turn of phrase. It turned up as a comment on an article about gaffes by Prince Philip. Not gaffes, he is just not a signed up member of the PC Brigade. Now while Prince Philip's faux pas tend to raise a smile with me rather ...
This is the last article in a three part series of articles based on interviews with Lib Dem MEPs George Lyon and Phil Bennion about reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The other two articles can be found here and here. One of the subjects which came up in the interviews was whether or not to have a CAP at all. Both of them made some interesting points about the subject. Phil Bennion made the argument that it was necessary for the sake of global food security. "We have to approach food security, not just from Europe's point of ...
It's the 25th of the month which means it's time for the latest treat from Ms Minogue as she continues to celebrate her 25th anniversary as a chart-topping megastar. This month it's a brand new single! So, without any further ado, here it is, this is Timebomb: Andrew
We have already seen Police crackdown on offences on Twitter, now this news item in today's Guardian reminds us that not everything we can access through search engines is available free of charge. They say that Google is receiving more than a million requests a month from copyright owners seeking to pull their content from the company's search results. The number requests has grown so fast that it now often tops 250,000 a week, more than Google received for all of 2009: Lohmann said the dramatic rise had come with the growth of "enforcement vendors", which police the internet looking ...
From @libdemvoice > A postcard from Brussels – The capital of Europe is not exactly what a visitor from an alien civ... http://t.co/pPXcJV2i # From @libdemvoice > Opinion: Pupil Premium. Extend the concept ? http://t.co/1aJ70K5N # From @libdemvoice > ELDR Council: between a rock and some very hard places indeed http://t.co/1FEmLaq2 # From @libdemvoice > The LDV Friday Five: 18 May 2012 – It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists tha... http://t.co/bQ46qBdn # From @libdemvoice > Aber Uni Lib Dems: Football, Cakes and Glee Club Songbooks http://t.co/ozXYTx3r # @aaemmerson Surprised public school figure higher – must be ...
Lord Bonkers writes exclusively for Liberal England: I am confident that, as so often, I speak for the nation when I wish Engelbert Humperdinck the best of good fortune in tomorrow's Eurovision Song Contest. Mr Humperdinck, of course, is a long-term resident of Great Glen in the Harborough District. Indeed, he cut his musical teeth in our own Harborough Song Contest, which he has won many times. I know this event has its problems - the Langtons always vote for one another, Fleckney never fails to award nul points to Market Harborough - but I, for one, shall be glued ...
Last night, after my ward surgery at Blackness Primary School, I attended the latest West End Local Community Planning Partnership (LCPP) meeting at the Tartan Coffee House in Perth Road. The LCPP meeting remains a great opportunity for representatives from different council departments, councillors and representatives from other organisations like police, fire and rescue and the NHS to discuss local issues and matters of concern and also let local residents raise issues, ask questions and have their say. We started with a presentation from a local 10 year old pupil of Blackness Primary School who recently wrote to me saying ...
Nick Clegg has said the Coalition Government's economic policy needs to "shift up a gear", following news yesterday that the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the first three months of the year, down on the initial estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing a contraction of 0.2%. Here's Nick speaking on BBC2′s Newsnight last night: It's interesting to see Nick Clegg — rather than the Chancellor — taking such a prominent role in fronting the Coalition's response to the UK's current economic troubles. He was also quoted in the Financial Times on Wednesday signalling 'a shift from ...
As far as I'm aware there is only one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week The Events Committee meets at Ebor House, on Tuesday 29th May , at 6:30 This is to look at progress the various events over the next few months, and to discuss plans for other events in the current financial year.
Only two minutes, but great fun: And it looks like Rebecca, Emily and Libby join this list.
[Originally posted at the Guardian Housing Network, 23/05/12] We all agree that Britain needs new homes. A significant shortfall has emerged over many years and the collapse in construction simply piles on further pressure. Increasing supply is central to dealing with some acute problems facing the housing system. Simple, but pressing questions follow. Who is going to pay? And how are they going to do it? The Communities and Local Government select committee addressed this issue in its recent report on housing finance. The report's premise is that austerity means there is no more public money for investment in housing, ...
Well, my chaffing issues couldn't have better timed. My most local running store (10 minute walk!), Fleet Feet Seattle, had a Ladies' Night tonight, including bra fittings with reps from Moving Comfort. Even better yet, they were donating 20% from the sale of every bra to Girls on the Run. After a poll of my friends, I decided that it was worth it to skip running club (*tear*) in order to sort out my bra issues. And, I think they were definitely right! The sadness was significantly mitigated by the awesomeness of the goody bags that they had for the ...
Side Elevation of New Pod Tesco have submitted a planning application for a new pod and collection point to be erected in the "quiet" part of the Car Park (near the Primary School). This was discussed at the last two Parish Council meetings and will be discussed again by the Parish Councils Environment Committee over the new few days. Here are the documents associated with the planning application; 1. Application Form (No Personal Information) 2. Design and Access Statement 3. Location Plan 4. Pod and Canopy Location Plan 5. Pod and Canopy Elevations and Plan Here is the response I've ...
On behalf of residents, I have raised the condition of the roadway at the Union Place/Perth Road junction. I am grateful to the council's Roads Maintenance Partnership that has agreed to resurface here. The City Council has now released the following Public Notice about the work: THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of carriageway resurfacing works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Union Place, Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 28 ...
