Rafael Behr hits a whole row of ducks in his latest New Statesman article. Tory attitudes to Labour: The Tories are perplexed. Most were convinced that Miliband's leadership was a re-enactment of their experience under Iain Duncan Smith - a decent fellow, promoted beyond his powers. Conservative MPs watched with surprise and relief as Labour ignored the script and failed to mount a coup. Some were scornful of the opposition's apparent lack of gumption. It has taken a while for the Tories to recognise that they even have an adversary.The puncturing of George Osborne: George Osborne's reputation as a political ...
London Welsh deserve congratulations for winning rugby union's Championship (the second tier of club rugby) tonight. Given that in principle there is automatic promotion to the premiership for the champions, they should now be looking forward to a season in the top flight. But in a sport presided over by the Rugby Football Union, things were never going to be quite that straightforward - in fact the situation is truly bizarre. London Welsh were only told last week that they don't meet the stadium eligibility criteria for joining the premiership. This is despite existing premiership sides being in exactly the ...
DCC, working with the Derwent Valley Partnership, has created 20 apprenticeships in the area. The county council started with a pot of £440,000 for the whole county, and the Partnership took up the challenge to match fund with £20,000 towards apprenticeships in the Derwent Valley Partnership area. This comprises the five county council divisions of Consett North, Consett South and Moorside, Benfieldside, Leadgate Medomsley and Ebchester, and Burnopfield and Dipton. The result has been to double the number of apprenticeships which could be funded. All the apprenticeships have been set up with small or medium enterprises with the vast majority ...
It was something I didn't want to miss: Whickham Parochial School invited me to look at the garden they have created and take part in a fundraising wall-climbing session. Well, the garden is coming along well and it looks like the kids will make good use of a couple of trays of strawberry plants I donated. But what of this wall climb? Well, it turned out to be 12 metres high and I was due to
Earlier this evening I headed off to Alexandra Palace to go past the spectacular views and hear Paul Burstow talk about his plans for social care reform: Phew, nearly missed out on @haringeylibdems raffle tickets flic.kr/p/c8oxrf — Mark Pack (@markpack) May 30, 2012
Before I take you to Odanglesex County Council, let me apologise to visitors to the site who will have found nothing new for two weeks. I was on holiday, walking the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, and coming back with a tan (if you didn't know I'm basically white, you do now), memories of beautiful cliff scenery and a lot of quite spectacular bosses and ridges of hard skin on my toes. Because it's over two weeks since I posted Part 1 of The Away Day, here's a recap. The Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision in Odanglesex County Council, Kenneth ...
More good news for Greenwich from the Lib Dems. After the recent news that Greenwich is to be a trial area for the Go Dutch campaign, our borough has now been chosen to be a trial area for the early roll out of free childcare for 2 year olds. Nick Clegg announced the news this morning with the key ...
The "news" has been reported today that David Cameron has talked to Tony Blair on the phone about affairs of state and running the country on 8 occasions since becoming Prime Minister. Why this is considered worth publishing in a newspaper is beyond me. There are very few people who understand what it is like to be PM. Cameron should consult widely and the expertise and experience of the longest ever serving Labour Prime Minister who only stood down 5 years ago is very valuable to the current holder of the office. Running the country is not a game. It's ...
There is nothing greater for a British or Northern Irish sportsperson than to get a shot at representing their country at the Olympics games. So much so that our rugby players will have a shot at in the a Sevens event from Rio onwards and our golfers will also get a chance from 2020. Most of our sporting bodies with representation at the London 2012 Games have been working hard to bring on that home grown talent in time for these Games and to look to the 2016 and beyond for the legacy that will be left behind. Swimming and ...
Ӝӧккышет тазьы вӧлдӥсько, пиосме возьмасько Котэм нянь буй-буй будэ, сюлэмы керектэ Party for everybody! Dance! Come on and dance! Come on and dance! Come on and... Boom! Boom! Корка тыр ик нылпиосы, бертӥзы, мусоосы Корка тыр ик нылпиосы, бертӥзы, мусоосы Вож дэремме дӥсяло но горд кышетме мон кертто Вож дэремме дӥсяло но эктыны пото Кырӟалом жон-жон-жон, мӧзмон мед кошкоз али Кырӟалом жон-жон-жон ваньмы ӵошен (source) NB that the letters ӝ, ӥ, ӟ and ӵ are used only in the writing of the Udmurt language. The Cyrillic ӧ is used in Altay, Khakas, Komi, Mari, Udmurt and the Cyrillic version of ...
I cannot remember the last day, that I wasn't reminded of Britains slide toward corruption and the increasing curb of personal liberty. I see daily how the country is in a frenzy of excitement as the sacred flame from Greece makes its way to the Hackney and Stratford Olympics, whipped up by an on message BBC, who blandly cover the hysterical scenes daily and at times hourly on BBC news channel with absolutely no journalistic treatment whatsoever basically, BBC which often kids us about its fearsome independence but is acting like sleazy Public relations outfit. I know I'm a miserable ...
So, after my mother of all blog rants about Yes Scotland portraying its Twitter followers as supporters, and its son, in which I told you that they had at least partially climbed down by altering their site, there have been more developments today. Last night they altered the wording near the photographs to read that they were followers on Twitter and Facebook. Today, in a further climbdown, they have removed the words "Powered by people o'independent mind like you." They've also changed the wording to "Already thousands have followed Yes Scotland. Here are some of them." While yesterday's statement from ...
Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson has today launched Reflections on Body Image, a report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image, which suggests that children as young as five years old can be worried about their weight and looks. The report makes a number of wide ranging recommendations from giving children body image and self esteem lessons in school to requiring advertisers to use a more diverse range of models to looking at whether the Equality Act needs to be amended to cover appearance related discrimination to challenging the evidence base that supports dieting and the idea that ...
Mudar Zahran is a (Muslim) Palestinian writer from Jordan (most of Jordan's population is Palestinian) who lives in the UK as a refugee (a refugee from Jordan, that is - http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/jordan/report-2011). Having recently heard Mr Zahran speak and take questions, I am fascinated by what he has to say about Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians. Be he right or be he wrong, I think that he deserves a hearing. Here is a video of a TV interview: here is a piece from the Jerusalem Post (yes, a Palestinian writing for an Israeli newspaper - get over it): and ...
The winner is our own Harborough Mail for this end to a news report: Coincidentally, a fire engine was also seen rushing through the town at the same time - it was attending some burnt toast at a Harborough residential home.
I expect we all saw the film of Craig Oliver having a go at Norman Smith of the BBC yesterday over a report he didn't like, blissfully unaware of the cameras still rolling. But if you missed it, here it is.. And there's a good analysis (and some more 'behind the scenes' tales) in this report from Mark Damazer in The Guardian. Oliver has taken some flak over this.But I'm not sure why. He's just doing his job and he's pretty polite and straightforward. But you know. Wouldn't it be so much better if in real life, the spin doctors ...
Last Friday saw the launch of Yes Scotland, the campaign for Scottish independence. I wrote at the time that it really amounted to some white blokes talking in a cinema. It's not been a good week for them because yesterday they were forced to change their website after I found out my photo was on it, among others, under the headline "Powered by people o' independent mind". The clear implication was that I support their cause when I absolutely do not. I also found out I had a profile on their site, and had been awarded 50 "political capital" points ...
Congratulations to the White Hart Hotel in Launceston town square. Their scaffolding is coming down after a (dare I say it) much needed facelift. The building looks fantastic - just in time for the holiday weekend. Tweet
In recent weeks I have read many Conservatives stating that they want either Heathrow expanded or new airports built. Crazy. Our area of the country suffers from enough noise and air pollution thank you! And then today I was reading Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Department of Transport's report into the survey carried out on the SS Richard Montgomery ship which was wrecked with 1,400 tons of TNT explosives inside it, and is located near to where the proposed 'Boris Island' airport would be situated. Caroline said: "The threat of this cargo ...
Councillors from across the Launceston area have met to decide our recommendations for future development in and around our town. This was the latest in what is known as the Town Framework process which saw an exhibition and public consultation in the town hall a while ago. As part of our discussions today, we took the decision to recommend that two areas which had previously been included in the consultation should not be taken forward. These are land at Trebursye (marked KUE2 on the western end of the map) and land off St Stephens Hill (hatched in red and marked ...
Cheadle Area Committee was held at Bolshaw Primary School yesterday. Inspector Steve Gilbertson gave a short presentation on the work of the local Police and their partners, joined by Nigel Hudson and Vashti Jellis from the Council's Community Safety Unit. Inspector Gilbertson noted that the model developed in Stockport of sharing information between agencies in regular meetings was paying off. Crime has fallen for the past eight years in Stockport and continued to fall last year. Overall reported crime was down an impressive 12% between 2010 and 2011, with Anti-Social Behaviour down 28% – nearly 600 fewer incidents over the ...
My latest piece in the New Statesman. Louise Mensch said this (and tweeted it) Occupy London said this (they didn't RT it) Plenty of people on the left did like it. Though quite a few didn't like it... And even proper journalists felt it had something to say. So thanks everyone. It felt like I really had something to say.
As a keen observer of life in the House of Lords, I feel it my duty to explore some of the less well-known aspects of life there. And, as a photograph has come into my hands that deserves a wider audience... The life of the Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords is not altogether an easy one. Long days on the red benches, finding ways to whip the likes of Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams with little but loyalty and force of personality as tools at your disposal, require patience, tolerance and discipline. But the job does come ...
Wed 30th
16:54
Complaint upheld against SNP's Rob Gibson, caught using expenses to fund SNP candidates
Just a quick update on a story I brought to you last month about SNP MSP Rob Gibson. He used adverts, funded by the Scottish Parliament, for his surgeries which included some heavy duty promotion of his staff who at the time were standing as candidates for Highland Council. Both were subsequently elected. At the time, Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott complained to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body. The minutes of their most recent meeting have been published and show that:The SPCB agreed to uphold complaints received about adverts placed by Rob Gibson MSP on the grounds that the adverts ...
Just a quick update on a story I brought to you last month about SNP MSP Rob Gibson. He used adverts, funded by the Scottish Parliament, for his surgeries which included some heavy duty promotion of his staff who at the time were standing as candidates for Highland Council. Both were subsequently elected. At the time, Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott complained to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body. The minutes of their most recent meeting have been published and show that: The SPCB agreed to uphold complaints received about adverts placed by Rob Gibson MSP on the grounds that the ...
Immediately after the London Mayoral and GLA election Mike Tuffrey wrote some very shrewd observations on Lib Dem Voice. Now the dust has settled and the election results are known by ward perhaps it is time to think through the next stage of learning. For me getting Caroline Pidgeon re-elected was always a top priority. I'm delighted that she has been joined by my long-standing friend Stephen Knight - the shame being that they are not joined by Bridget Fox and Shas Sheehan. But Stephen and Caroline will punch above their weight and the work they have already started on ...
Hello, we're a pair of lovely cookies. We're not nasty at all. We're tasty. Welcome to the latest of my monthly collections for the Engine Group of five links that you shouldn't miss. Last mintue change to cookie law advice http://bit.ly/KJ0lQe Just before the deadline for implementing new cookie rules for websites the Information Commissioner's Office has changed its advice, introducing a more relaxed view of 'implied consent': "implied consent has always been a reasonable proposition in the context of data protection law". Share prices can go down as well as up, who'd have thought it? http://bit.ly/LBffVz Why did Facebook's ...
William Hague announced a new initiative last night - a UK task force of experts is to be created to go into conflict zones to get the evidence to enable prosecutions against those who perpetrate sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war. As Minister for tackling Violence against women and girls overseas I am proud of this commitment by us as a government to tackle this most horrendous of crimes. It is hugely important in substance, because experts will now collect evidence in conflict zones to enable prosecutions to be successfully brought to end the dreadful impunity that ...
Earlier this month the Defence Secretary announced that the MoD's budget was in balance, for the first time in a generation. A number of tough but necessary decisions meant that the £38bn black hole inherited from the last Labour government had finally been eliminated – a major part of which was the decision to deliver Carrier Strike capability using a different type of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jet because of unacceptable cost growth and project delays. In particular, the Government has decided to change the type of jet which will fly off the Navy's two new aircraft carriers – from ...
We have already seen reports that one of the directors of the Taxpayers Alliance lives in a farmhouse in the Loire and has not paid British tax for years. Despite that his organisation constantly lectures the public sector on how they should spend other people's taxes. Now it seems that there is a comparable example on a larger scale. The Independent reports that IMF chief Christine Lagarde has been accused of hypocrisy after it emerged that she pays no income tax, just days after blaming the Greeks for causing their financial peril by dodging their own bills. The paper says ...
Almost couple of months ago I decided that I could no longer continue blogging. There were a number of reasons for this. There have been some significant changes in my circumstances that in turn have led to my having to adjust priorities. I was finding that blogging, and a great deal of the thought that went into it, was beginning to overtake me. The break from the blog has been a welcome one and has afforded me the opportunity to better invest my time where it was arguably more needed. I had no real intention of returning to the blog ...
Today Nick Clegg announced that the Government was extending the roll out of free Early Years education for all families who meet the free school meals criteria. This means that the children of parents who are struggling to make ends meet and who rely on state benefits like Income Support or Child Tax Credits will now be entitled to free Early Years education from the age of two. Sound familiar? That's because Liberal Democrats in government have been consistently ensuring that one of the Coalition Government's main priorities is closing the attainment gap between the poorest children and the better ...
My attention has been brought to a rather unusual parcel delivered to the headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada. On Monday, Canada Post arrived at their office and delivered, amongst other things, a white box with a red heart on it. Addressed simply to 'The Conservative Party of Canada', it was handed to an employee to be opened, who was somewhat alarmed to find blood inside. But that wasn't all that was found. The police were called, and a biohazard team took the box to be x-rayed, only to discover that it appeared to contain a severed human foot, ...
Firstly, let me declare an interest. I am against elected Police and Crime Commissioners. I see them as a step backwards, allowing personality politics at the top of our police forces. It was in the Coalition Agreement though, so you would think the Liberal Democrats would be taking their strong message about tackling crime to the country. On November 15th, we see the first ever Police and Crime Commissioner Elections in England and Wales. London has already plumped for Boris, who will take on this remit as Mayor of London. Let's just say that the lack of interest in these ...
Wed 30th
11:52
City AM helps us answer the question of whether we want hot food for lunch VAT style...
In this morning's City AM they help answer the lunchtime conundrum of what to have for lunch. Some of us like our hot food but what do we pay VAT on? Please read below and all shall be revealed... [IMG: City AM Pasty VAT flow chart] Do you want hot food for lunch today...? [IMG: Share on Tumblr] [IMG: Submit to StumbleUpon] [IMG: Save on Delicious] [IMG: Digg This] [IMG: Submit to reddit] [IMG: Share on Myspace] [IMG: Share via email] Tweet
Today's Metro (May 30th) ran an article painting a bleak picture for the people of Britain. Projections point towards an increase in fuel poverty as prices are set to rise over the next six years. According to Cheryl Latham's article one in three households will find that their energy bills will be unaffordable by 2015 and consumer groups have reported bills doubling over the last eight years. If they continue at the same rate then by 2015 they could be £1582 PA and by 2018 £2766 PA. Already 6.5million people live in fuel poverty and it is becoming more and ...
From the content of last Monday''s letters page I must be one of only a few (maybe the only one) Guardian readers who has some sympathy with Christine Lagarde's statement that she thinks "more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education" and who "need even more help than the people of Athens." Yes, I know that it is the policies of the IMF (of which Lagarde has only just taken charge) ...
A delighted St Austell and Newquay MP Stephen Gilbert writes for the Total Politics website about the repeal of the so called "pasty tax" which had attracted huge opposition in Cornwall. But despite the inevitable inclination to baton-down the hatches the government did engage with the industry and understood the clear constituency interest of its own MPs. The alternative actually delivers the bulk of what the government intended without any of the negative impacts: all the upside with none of the economic downside. There's no doubt that caravans and pasties were unforced errors. Hindsight is a great thing and nobody ...
It has been nearly three years since I became a Parish Councillor and, it must be said, much has happened since then. What was a rather small, insignificant piece of the architecture of local government in one of England's quieter counties, responsible for grass cutting and nine street lights, has rather expanded. Last year, we absorbed the Community Council, inheriting its project to provide a new playground, as well as the funds raised, and set to work securing the site. Meanwhile, we discovered that we owned a small piece of woodland called 'Plot 89' next to the A14. Finally, following ...
475 Free Movies Online: Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns & More | Open Culture (tags: ) Why I Write "Strong Female Characters" Just making double sure that everyone who writes fanfic (or fiction in general - yes I'm looking at you, Moffat) has read this. (tags: ) Why Will And Jada Pinkett Smith Let Daughter Willow Cut Her Hair - The Frisky 3 (tags: ) Skeptical speakers behaving badly, anti-harassment policies and yammering yahoos On the informal "don't be alone with X guy" messages that women give each other ALL THE TIME, why they are necessary, and why things like ...
St. James' Church Gatley has been designated as an official sight for a Beacon to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The 1.5 meter high Beacon will be lit on the ramp outside St. James' Church on Monday, 4th June at 10.20pm and burn for about an hour. The lighting of the Beacon will be preceded by a short service in church at 9.45pm to give thanks for the Queen's long reign and service to her country. The Beacon will be lit at precisely the same time as other church Beacons throughout the land. Following the lighting refreshments will be served ...
The Coalition committed itself to reducing the aggregate housing benefit bill, which stood at around £20bn per year when it took office. The seemingly inexorable growth in housing benefit payments had been identified as a problem before the Coalition's formation. It was one indicator that the housing market was sick. So the Coalition's policy aspirations here were not particularly implausible or objectionable. Indeed, you could argue that it showed creditable determination to deal with a longstanding issue. The issue is how it has, then, gone about tackling the problem. And to do so it has started by introduced a range ...
Many Liberals will have been saddened to hear of the death of Hester Smallbone. Her daughter Teresa wrote an obituary in Saturday's Guardian. Hester was a stalwart of Richmond Liberals and I lodged with her in Kew in 1983 so that I could take part in the general election campaign which Alan Watson very nearly won. She was larger than life, generous, vocal and enthusiastic. Indeed,
Yesterday I wrote about The Sun's positive write-up of Nick Clegg's initiative this week on improving childcare. Today we've got the full details of this pre-school drive: Early rollout of free pre-school education for two-year-olds in ten areas - these areas will trial the entitlement, with just under a thousand two-year-olds set to benefit from this September. Greater flexibility for parents - the hours in which parents can bring in their children for their free place will be extended by two hours. Currently, parents are restricted by having to drop their children off no earlier than 8am and picking them ...
Alexandra Palace is a landmark that stands out not just locally but for the whole of London. It is a fantastic amenity for local people. It brings business to the area and of course it brings its share of extra traffic, noise and nuisance too at times. It is really important that they operate in harmony with the local neighbourhood. Alexandra Palace has launched a public consultation on its major regeneration plans. The Alexandra Palace team identifies 'Six Big Ideas' as the core of their plans: Improving first impressions of the site Upgrading the entrances to the Palace Making it ...
A few years ago my son got a clock for Christmas. It functions anti-clockwise. One o'clock is on the left of twelve. Five to one is really five past one. Are you with me? The thing is, you have to change completely the way you read and interpret the data on the clock face. The Coalition leadership is proud of its management of the economy because it sees the interest rates on gilts historically low and continuing to fall. It reads this as a sign that 'the markets' have confidence in its stewardship of UK plc. But suppose they are ...
The Metro ran a small piece this morning on the most complained about adverts. The British approach has always been relaxed, hence the widening gap between gender equality and archetypal references. Yet examining the top ten that annoyed the British so much, there stands a significant discrimination. Those who complain about religious offence, as per ...
It's upsetting to see a defence of tyranny coming from a citizen of a free nation. Lord Haw Haw, otherwise known as William Joyce, did his level best to demoralise English-speaking Allied soliders with his radio broadcasts during World War II; he performed this service for a regime that slaughtered 6 million Jews in the ...
First choice for this week's entry was actually The Day We Caught The Train by Ocean Colour Scene - but that selfsame track was the entry for "O" in my "A-Z of My CDs" series. So here instead is OMC with How Bizarre: Andrew
Earlier this month, I highlighted the concerns of local residents and myself at the decision of National Express Dundee to re-route the 5 bus service so that it no longer covers the very far west end of Perth Road - west of the Ninewells Avenue roundabout. This means that residents in that part of Perth Road, Millbay Terrace, Millbay Gardens and Clovis Duveau Drive can no longer catch the 5 service near their homes, nor can visitors to the Riverview Nursing Home use the service anymore. I am very grateful to the local residents who have kindly offered to collect ...
I was pleased to be advised recently by Nethergate Writers that they have published another anthology. It is called 'Wheels within Wheels'. The theme this year is how the lives of people are entwined together - with a minor character in one story becoming the major one in another. There is a reading event the Vine (see right) on the evening of 15th June. The event is free to attend, with tickets available from Waterstones.
Hi! We're Carolyn & Joyce and we've been best friends since the first period on our first day of high school, when we met in Mr. Pappas' world history class. Not that we're that old or anything (and, for the record, Carolyn's older), but we've finally gotten to the point that we've been friends for more than half our lives. Eeeks! Junior Prom! Joyce: You should probably know that I pretty much only and always call Carolyn, "Duchie," because she was in madrigal choir in 9th grade. Her choir "name" was Duchess Knifeinbach...and I've never stopped using it! Carolyn: Yup! ...
At Ealing Council's Cabinet meeting tonight, a lot of topics were raised and one stuck out like a sore thumb for the Labour leadership. That of April and the weeks of missed collections of household waste, recyclables, kitchen waste and the dirty streets. This cabinet meeting was what Labour thought would be a suitable chance to discuss the problems that occurred in April and some streets are still having issues. The view of my party, the Liberal Democrats, is that there should be a full, open, public debate about the causes of the problems so that we can avoid this ...
Filed under: Blogging
Two events today show how Rangers intend to bully the football (and tax) authorities into allowing them to carry on as if their insolvency never happened. Firstly, they issued a draft company voluntary agreement (CVA) that outlines how they will meet the £135m they owe - most of which is to the UK taxpayer. Their proposal is that creditors should receive 8p for every pound they owe. At the same time they demand the right to remain in the SPL, sign new players and take the profit from selling existing ones. All the while the the £80 million they owe ...
