Sinn Féin are showing they are serious about ending double jobbing with the announcement today that the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness is to resign his Westminster seat for Mid Ulster and concentrate on his Assembly duties. There will be a by election in the Autumn. However, four of his Stormont colleagues including the former ...
WordPress.com is being completely useless and timing out any time I try to do anything on the back end of this site (and yes, it's *definitely* the site, and not anything at my end). I did do a linkblog today, but wordpress ate it. In other news, I owe a lot of people emails. ...
britishrailways.tv
"No one will suspect a peer of the realm of breaking the law" I have fought too many by-election campaigns to be afraid of fisticuffs and am no duffer with an orchard doughty (that sturdy club beloved of Rutland gamekeepers), but I am not accustomed to being quite so 'tooled up' - as Violent Bonham-Carter used to put it. Still, I walk up from the harbour, with its smells of tarred rope and rusted chain, armed with pistol, cutlass and so forth as requested. I reach the cliff top and await the arrival of the pastymen. One by one, figures ...
Really busy day today packed with meetings, so much so that it is only now that I am sitting down to look at the blog. The highlight had to be the Consumer Focus Wales-organised conference with Local Authority licensing officers to discuss the detail behind my private members bill on park homes. This was a very constructive session in which we thrashed out details as to how the Assembly should approach this issue. A number of suggestions and issues were raised that I will need to take into account when drafting the bill. Progress is good and I believe that ...
The movie 'Home Alone' has become a child's dream. There is a rather attractive side to it- getting left behind and being free to do what you want to do. What child doesn't want to be in charge without their parents bossing them about? I came close to it myself 7 years ago when I was 5 years old. I got lost during the Lord Mayor's show and I found it quite exciting but my mother thought otherwise; she called me a silly escapee and told me off for letting go of her hand, oops. I hadn't even had time ...
Catalina Island off the coast of California is home to the British musician Spencer Davis. And from 30 June until 22 August the island's museum will be host to an exhibition entitled Gimme Some Lovin': The Spencer Davis Group. Not only that. On 30 June the island will see a symposium. The Catalina Island Museum Presents The British Invasion Rocks America is billed as "the first of its kind" and will examine the movement of the blues from America to Britain and back to America during the British Invasion. And it has a remarkable list of participants: Spencer Davis himselfMickey ...
Let the crossover fanfics begin!
"Right, everyone!" Kelly Pattrick shouted crisply, activating a powerpoint presentation. "Dale's set the scene and now it's time for some activity! Has everyone got a coloured sticker?" Various voices confirmed this. "Has everyone put their initials on the task chart over there?" The response was more confused. A few people shouted that they had. A few shouted "No!". Most looked confused and some guilty. "It isn't clear what it means," Mike Finnegan complained. "Ah, but you could have asked," Dale Brashcon commented. Mike looked cross but kept quiet. "Today is all about reaching out and taking risks!" Dale continued. "Kelly?" ...
An interesting video on the WORLDbytes website: In this edifying sofa discussion, school teacher David Perks tells us why, with a group of passionate teachers, he is setting up a science 'free school' in East London. What is key, he argues, is the need to challenge the pervasive low expectations we have for young people's ability to learn.
You'll see below that my piece about "Giving up The Guardian" is Number Four in this week's Lib Dem Golden Dozen, based on clicks through from the Lib Dem Blogs aggregator. Thanks again to anyone who reads this blog.------------------From: Helen Duffett <postman@libdemvoice.org> Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:00:02 +0000To: <ldv-dozen@lists.libdems.org.uk>Subject: Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #277 Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #277 By Helen Duffett Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 277th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice ...
"David Penhaligon is one my heroes. You can't be a Cornishman and not have a soft spot for the man. He had the passion, humour, grace and humility which all us Cornish like to think typify the best of our county." Liberal Burblings on a great Liberal MP. Lester Holloway asks what Tony Blair is doing in Africa. "This summer, the city will become a fortress, protected by the largest aircraft carrier in the British Royal Navy, Eurofighter Typhoon jets, flying marksmen, more than 23,000 security personnel (including 13,500 British soldiers), and an array of new cameras added to a ...
Mark Pack has a posting over on Lib Dem Voice on how leaflets used to look. Today he has a1929 leaflet. We have featured before the 1929 Manifesto 'We Can Conquer Unemployment'. I was very pleased to receive a copy kept by a long time Birkdale Liberal activist H G Williamson of Grosvenor Rd (which is now in Dukes Ward) You will note that the Southport election result is written on the top left hand corner. Our candidate was Cecil Ramage-best remembered today not as a Liberal MP, or a barrister but as an actor in Kind Hearts and Coronets ...
The Lesbian and Gay Foundation are running a survey to find out the experience of lesbian, gay and bisexual patients accessing healthcare at their local GP surgery. You can complete the survey online.
This was already covered by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice last month, but, in case you haven't seen it, it is worth viewing this good-humoured but impassioned clash in the House of Lords between Paddy Ashdown and Andrew Phillips. Most entertaining. * Paul Walter is Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, a LibDem activist in Newbury, Berkshire and blogs at Liberal Burblings
Some months ago I went with some local residents to see the head of the police academy on Mather Avenue. The problem was parking. Visitors to the building were not always using the car park but were parking on Mather Avenue causing problems for residents there. As part of trying to get a solution, I agreed to speak to the Council traffic and highways people about any changes that could be made to free up some space not outside people's homes. And it seems that there is a solution which will do just this. Richard and I have written to ...
The Cressington Community First fund has money to give out to local groups or initiatives. The Fund is cash from the Government which is to be spend on things going on in Cressington. Decisions on what to fund are made by a panel of local people - who either live in the ward, work there, represent it or have a connection with it. There is an organisation on the panel too - the Citizens Advice Bureau. The deadline for applications for the first bit of money is fast approaching - 22 June. There is a website for the scheme http://www.cressingtoncommunityfirst.blogspot.com/ ...
There is a bit of vacant land towards the end of Garston Old Road. It used to be a waste transfer station but a few years ago a developer got planning permission to build sheltered housing/extra care housing. There were a few disagreements about parking and building height but on the whole the scheme was welcomed because it meant a bit of land that had been acting as an eyesore and potential environmental problems would be used. Well sadly nothing happened. Nothing was built and the land has been used for various bits of storage which hasn't pleased people living ...
By Andrew Emmerson* We all know the damage tuition fees did to our party, and I imagine too many it's still a very touchy subject. At the moment we've tacitly accepted the current fees regime knowing its better than Labours mess, but it still remains official Lib Dem Policy to scrap tuition fees over a ...
The so-called 'Summer of Sport' looks set to become a summer of sofas and snacking. With TV schedules bursting with athletic activity, the nations living rooms look set for an orgy of dips and drinks as we gather round our flat screens to share in the experience. The marathon started with a few beers and some pork related products in front of the England v South Africa rugby test match at the weekend. Now are at least three England Football matches to chomp my way through and untold barbeques to endure if Roy Hodgson's boys make it through to the ...
PoliticsHome reports: The Government has published its flagship Green Deal plans, promising to deliver £1.3bn in energy saving measures and support up to 60,000 jobs across the sector. The deal, which is designed to operate until 2030, allows households and businesses to complete energy efficiency improvements at no upfront cost and then make repayments through a small levy on their energy bill. It will be introduced this October, with potential Green Deal Providers able to apply for approval from August. Unveiling the long-awaited plans, Energy Secretary Ed Davey pledged to deliver £1.3bn in energy efficiency measures across the country, with ...
Stockport's award-winning covered market hall was heaving yesterday – the Vintage Village had come to town, as it does on the second Sunday of every month from 10am to 4pm. For the rest of the month, there's the Vintage Village shop just opposite the market hall, but on that one Sunday the stallholders and shoppers pour in. You want a copy of the first ever issue of The Sun (it's changed a bit – it was a broadsheet then, for a start)? Or perhaps some 1940s clothes? Magazines from the 1930s? Some '70s kitsch to brighten up your home? All ...
Most young people aren't interested in politics. So how do we build Liberal Youth branches, bring new members into the party, and engage the next generation? I believe that one way we can start is by getting back to community politics. The art of politics, in so far as it is electioneering, is of obvious importance to what we do as a party, but it shouldn't be everything. If we only focus on getting the next Lib Dem elected then we will only ever attract a narrow pool of talent, which, however bright, will be made up of those young ...
Acocks Green Farmers Market is launched this coming Saturday (16th June), 9am to 4pm, with a combined Farmers Market and Summer Fun Day. The Farmers Market is an important initiative by Acocks Green BID, which I worked hard to support in my time as a councillor for Acocks Green. The aim is to give an economic boost to the Village by attracting people to the market who will then visit the other businesses in the Village. The Farmers Market will provide tasty local produce including: Melt in the mouth fresh bread, pies and cakes Fresh local beef, pork and poultry ...
Unlike the posters in America, British adverts for the film Red Tails doesn't show any of the characters – just an action scene of a fire-fight in the sky. Ads in the UK national papers and on the London underground ... Continue reading →
With less than a week to go until the 2012 Local Government Conference in Bedford, it really is the last chance to book your place! Here is a brief summary of the training and events that delegates will be able to choose from. ALDC Training Rebuilding Capacity - Cllr Mike Bell and Neil Fawcett Getting Back on the Doorsteps - Cllr Mark Alcock and Cllr Mike Bell Fundraising - Cllr Mark Alcock and Neil Fawcett What Worked in 2012 - Cllr Abi Bell Finding Council Candidates - Steve Hitchins Councillors and Social Media - Next Generation of Leadership Councillors Leading ...
The candidate selection process for the 2014 European Parliamentary elections is beginning this month. The final ballot will take place in November, with hustings events due to take place over the autumn federal and regional conference season. Anyone interested in putting their name forward for selection should contact the Candidates Office as soon as possible. The application pack can be obtained by emailing: candidates@libdems.org.uk
Economic growth still eludes the Coalition. The development of a convincing analysis and programme for (fiscally sustainable) growth is essential for the second half of the Coalition's life up to 2015. The Lib Dems must take a lead role in developing it. Before the economic crisis started in 2007 the signs of 'systemic financial sector failure' were all around us. Few spotted them, however. Several simplistic economic tenets have since been jettisoned, as politicians have learned about the economic concept of 'systemic financial failure'. So what is this 'systemic failure' ? In the banking and financial sector it has shown ...
There is widespread press coverage today about this. For example, the Independent reports: A senior Liberal Democrat has said culture secretary Jeremy Hunt should have resigned following his evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about News Corp's failed takeover of BSkyB. Lord Oakeshott, who was one of Vince Cable's closest colleagues when the business secretary was overseeing News Corp's ill-fated bid, said Rupert Murdoch's empire was treated differently from other firms by the Government and criticised Mr Hunt, saying "no self-respecting minister" would have stayed in his post. * Newshound sets the agenda, as you would expect from a Red Setter ...
In today's Daily Express, Hickey reports the LDV poll which said 59% of members surveyed said Ken Clarke was their favourite Tory. Mischievously, a quote has somehow made it's way into the paper from "a senior Lib Dem MP" who says, 'chuckling': If only Nick Clegg was that popular among his own party members these days... * Paul Walter is Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, a LibDem activist in Newbury, Berkshire and blogs at Liberal Burblings
By Sean Davey – Chair of London Liberal Youth London Liberal Youth Training Day, Sunday 8th July, Liberal Democrat HQ Most young people aren't interested in politics. So how do build Liberal Youth branches, bring new members into the party, and engage the next generation? I believe that one way we can start is by ...
With the economy continuing to dominate politics, it is time to take another dip into my collection of old political leaflets and have a a look at how the Liberal Party of 1929 talked about the issue: [IMG: 1929 Liberal Party leaflet (front): We Can Conquer Unemployment] [IMG: 1929 Liberal Party leaflet (back): We Can Conquer Unemployment] (Click on images for larger versions) Large headings, big margins, limited but effective use of colour, plain English yet presenting an important issue and with a potentially complicated message. This is a well-written leaflet. The two sentence explanation of the multiplier effect in ...
The statements submitted by objectors for the first two weeks of the Core Strategy's Examination in Public have all been published in the online Hearing Statement Library. South Glos Council's responses on matters to be discussed in later weeks are also available, with statements received from respondents on those matters to be added in the early part of this week. The library has also been updated with a number of new documents including community led statements of support, such as those on Woodlands Farm and Engine Common. The library, together with other up to date information, is available on the ...
Fantastic idea this: We're excited to announce a unique London Liberal Youth training program, designed to recruit and train 14 Young Leaders to become Community Champions in their area of London. Do you have ideas about how your local area could be a better place? If you have the ambition and the leadership skills to run a campaign which will engage other young people in your area, then we want to help you... 14 young people will be selected to attend our training day at Lib Dem HQ on Sunday July 8th. Through a series of workshops with experienced campaigners ...
As the time for the lighting of the Jubilee Beacons approached, the Friends of Wigginton celebrated in the hilltop village with a firework display and then lit a bonfire. Local Dacorum Councillor Rosemarie Hollinghurst parked at Wood Row and walked over to join the merry throng at the Recreation Field. Sadly the visibility was not really good enough for the expected view of surrounding beacons but all present felt that the occasion had been marked in style and they had done their bit. Happy Jubilee, Ma'am!
Dress code for people carrying the Olympic Torch? That I could understand. Dress code for security guards and other staff accompanying Olympic Torch? Ditto. But issuing a dress code for members of the public who turn up to see the Olympic Torch? That's Labour-run Haringey Council for you. In case you want to know: the dress code is 'wear white'. Hat-tip: Dan Houghton
The other day whilst cruising around Youtube I stumbled upon this video of "Die-in" protestors who tried to interupt a dinner for Arms dealers at the Imperial War Museum. Although War is brutal and a world without it would be a much better place I do question the tactic of striking an Arms industry dinner.Lets be honest, the delegates in the footage are either Military (where it is their job to have good munitions and weaponary) or the suppliers. How many are likely to turn around and rethink their lives?Look at the way the delegates are responding to the protestors ...
The Bootle Labour controlled Sefton Council, that I am supposed to be a part of, continues to amaze me. First they take all cabinet positions and give them to their Bootle colleagues. Previously Southport had 4 representatives on the cabinet, Crosby 1 and Maghull 1. Next they take all other committee chairs. This leaves the council in the bizarre and undemocratic position of having decisions made by the Labour cabinet being scrutinised by Labour chairs. This morning I received an email informing me that I will not be required at the next scrutiny meeting that I am a member of ...
Mon 11th
11:38
Ed Davey: Electricity Market Reforms will Keep the Lights On, Bills Down and the Air Clean.
Liberal Democrat Coalition Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Rt Hon Ed Davey Keeping the lights on, consumers energy bills down and creating cleaner electricity to help tackle climate change, are the three goals of ambitious draft electricity market reform legislation published today. The reforms are designed to provide investors with transparency, longevity and certainty in order to attract £110 billion of investment to bring forward new low-carbon power generation for the 21st Century. Over the next decade, around a fifth of existing power generating capacity will come off-line. Without these reforms, we could in the future see ...
Despite a team of 6 bods, listed as part of Southern Water's Media Team, it appears these are insufficient to keep tabs on the Big Spill at Foreness point, contacting the media office this morning, I asked the question "Has the pumping station at Foreness Point been fixed?" I cannot, help but think, the voice on the other end, would have preferred a sports question, still a promise was made to get back should they find out anyway if they do come back, I'll let you know. Whether this is just being evasive, who knows, but cutting the waffle aside, ...
"What would Jesus do?" ran the famous '90s slogan, often with little agreement on the answer. But that question seems positively trivial alongside the far more problematic "What would Labour do?" As the Coalition is finding to its cost, Labour is often very effective at attacking Government plans but rather less forthcoming on what its alternative might be. And I imagine it must be a little galling for Government ministers when Labour decides to attack policies that they trumpeted in their own 2010 manifesto. "Surely that could never happen?" I hear you cry. "Labour supporting a policy in 2010 and ...
Monday: Oh Pollyanna Toytown, what a poisonous wee troll you are. Mr Matthew is much kinder to her, persevering to find praise for Mr Dr Vince in among all the bile she spouts. But I'm not that kind of elephant! Replaying the Coalition negotiations with the benefit of two years' hindsight, Polly still can't get them right. The Lib Dems, she says, should have forced a Conservatory minority government. AND we should have struck a harder bargain with them from our position of outnumbered-six-to-one-by-the-gerry-rigged-electoral-system strength. Well make your mind up. Either we agree to a Coalition and make them do ...
Twitter is full of people saying that we shouldn't be talking about David and Samantha Cameron leaving their 8 year old child behind in a pub. Not a big deal. There are much bigger issues like Syria and the economy that we should be talking about and this is a mere distraction. In fact, some suggest that it's a deliberate distraction to take our minds of various top Tories' forthcoming appearances at Leveson. Do you know what? Our brains can take it. We can think of more one thing at a time. And it is a big deal that an ...
Lose your money in the best ever IPO, praise China, cry woe for Europe, then renounce scarcity and move into education. Prospectus for Silicon Valley's next hot tech IPO, where nothing could possibly go wrong – "Trust us: Once you invest in Ponzify, you'll have a difficult time investing your money anywhere else ever again." British parliamentarians queue up up to suck up to Chinese tyranny – Jonathan Calder finds some disturbing behaviour from elected representatives. The failure of European centrism: Towards a hypothesis of historical recurrence – Fantastic post from Nosemonkey, looking at the current crisis in Europe, historical ...
Albeit rather late, I am enjoying Annette Penhaligon's very faithful biography of David Penhaligon. I have been struck by the similarities between Yeovil and Truro in terms of how each seat was won for the Liberal party. Not least, both David Penhaligon (a chartered engineer) and Paddy Ashdown (presumably an expert in stripping down a rifle) spent hundreds of hours nursing their respective ancient and ailing constituency printers. David Penhaligon is one my heroes. You can't be a Cornishman and not have a soft spot for the man. He had the passion, humour, grace and humility which all us Cornish ...
Citywire Money reports: [IMG: Paul Burstow MP] The 'sandwich generation' who are forced to look after elderly relatives as well as support children will be given a helping hand ... Under government plans, carers will be given legal entitlement to services that will help support them and their families, including the right to respite holidays, help with transport and training in caring. The details will be set out in a white paper due this month ... Care services minister Paul Burstow told The Daily Telegraph that people who cared for older family members were being failed by the system. 'Carers ...
The rumbles about the BBC coverage of the Diamond Jubilee have continued, with the latest rumours suggesting that the poor coverage may even have a serious impact on who will be appointed as the next Director General of the BBC when Mark Thompson steps down shortly. The essence of the complaints has been that the coverage was neither informative nor entertaining- which from the little I saw, seems justified. The "send for a Dimbleby" message that has summed up the complaints seems to me just to underline the scale of the problems, not just of the BBC but of the ...
On Thursday 14th June, South Gloucestershire Council and Airbus UK are hosting a Paralympic "Come and Try" event for people of all ages and abilities with physical and sensory impairments. The event is being held at WISE Campus Stoke Gifford and you can find out more on the South Glos website.
This is Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights: 1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has asked John Swinney to pick up the phone and talk to Danny Alexander about releasing funds in Scottish Water to create jobs and investment in Scotland. In the 2011 Holyrood election, Jeremy Purvis came up with the original and radical idea of turning Scottish Water into a Public Benefit Corporation, releasing a one off windfall of somewhere around £1.5 billion. This would be a real boost to the Scottish economy at a time when it is really needed and could create 100,000 jobs. Liberal Democrats would spend the money on: • £500 million ...
Today's suggestion that only those with a certain level of income may marry non-EU nationals and bring them to this country is yet another sorry product of an initially stupid policy.But first, a declaration of interest. I am, as noted in the past, the son of a non-EU migrant to this country who, in truth, has done more for it than most, and I then married a non-EU citizen (less said about that the better). So, perhaps, I'm better qualified than most to comment on the sheer inadequacy of the debate.The Conservative policy of reducing net migration below a set ...
Carl Haglund, a Finnish MEP who was crucial in the European Parliament rejecting the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement in December, has just been elected leader of his party and will also become Minister of Defence in a couple of weeks. This will mean he must resign as an MEP. His replacement in the European Parliament is likely to be one Nils Torvalds, who is twice his age (66 rather than 33) and is also the father of Linus Torvalds, the inventor of Linux.
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we're publishing the full results. This weekend saw eurozone ministers agreed to lend Spain's banks up to 100bn euros (£80bn) in the latest attempt to stave off economic collapse. We asked our sample of Lib Dem members for their views... LDV asked: Thinking about the current problems facing the European single currency, the Euro, do you think it would be good or bad for Britain's economy ...
Last month I gave an interview to the Metro newspaper about QR codes. [IMG: QR Interview Metro] Click for full size [IMG: flattr this!]
A West End constituent recently spoke with me expressing concern about the road condition on Riverside Drive just east of the junction with Riverside Approach, where the road appears to be suffering from a degree of subsidence. I contacted the City Engineer about this and he has responded as follows: "The northbound section of Riverside Drive from the railway bridge to the Tesco roundabout has been identified for surfacing works for the last two years. However, it has not been incorporated within the programme due to the proposed development of the Homebase site and servicing and access works which will ...
The Kinks' first album for RCA Records is perhaps the last one that can be seen as an unalloyed artistic success. While the Kinks, and Ray and Dave Davies as solo artists, would occasionally produce great work after this point, usually the quality of the work was in inverse proportion to its artistic ambitions. Where ...
