Tonight's write up of the short Ealing Cabinet meeting started dead on time. I think the Leader of the Council had a football match to watch! If you want to see the reference about a Labour cabinet portfolio holder please skip to the last paragraph. The main item concerned the Council finances so I will list the main points from questions I asked or the discussion itself. Council Tax Discount for a Second Home The Labour administration have now seen sense and are to introduce a Liberal Democrat plan to scrap the 10% Council Tax discount for those owning a ...
For an exhibition entitled 'Jamaican Men', there are an awful lot of naked women in the show that opened at the 12 Star Gallery at Europe House in Smith Square, Westminster, this evening. But the title refers to the artists, not the subjects, and Jamaica is a famously macho country. Its music (think reggae, think ...
... is probably over. Channel 4 carries the story and reaction. Top marks to Frankie Boyle for his comment, "It's ok to avoid tax providing every time you do a joke about a town being shit you add "Partly down to me I'm afraid" under your breath"
Read more about the British Invasion events at Catalina Island Museum.
Regular readers will recall that Ross Willmott was sacked as chair of the city council's scrutiny committee by Leicester's elected mayor Sir Peter Soulsby. That's right: the mayor, because he wields the Labour whip, has the power to appoint and dismiss the person supposed to hold him to account. This is just one more reason why elected mayors are a bad idea. No wonder voters usually rejected that idea when they are asked. But Willmott has not take it lying down and has written a bitterly satirical blog post about the man Soulsby out in his place, Ted Cassidy: On ...
New mothers who read and write blogs may feel less alone than mothers who do not participate in a blogging community, according to family studies researchers. Brandon T. McDaniel, a graduate student in human development and family studies at Penn State University, together with colleagues from Brigham Young University, surveyed 157 new mothers about their media use and their well-being. The mothers were all first-time parents with only one child under the age of 18 months - most much younger than this. The researchers report in the online version of Maternal and Child Health Journal that blogging had a positive ...
Letters have been dropping on doormats in Brimsham Park telling people that Heron Land Developments have applied for outline planning permission for up to 2,450 new dwellings, extra care housing, 5 hectares of employment land, a local centre and two primary schools. Two steps to making your voice heard: Step 1 -Tell the government inquiry into the South Glos Core Strategy about your views by signing our petition and adding your comments - just click this link: Stop Brimsham Park Housing by Monday 25 June, to give us time to convert the petition and your comments into a document that ...
From the BBC News Leicester pages: The leader of Leicestershire County Council, David Parsons, broke the councillors code of conduct over his expenses, a committee has decided. The authority's standards committee has backed a report into money claimed for official trips to Brussels. It found he did not promptly repay expenses initially covered by a publicly-funded body called East Midlands Councils (EMC).The story goes on to quote Dr Sarah Hill, deputy leader of the Lib Dems on the county council (and my county councillor as saying: "Mr Parsons has to accept that his position as leader is now completely untenable." ...
I learnt from Today this week that there is only one scientist in the House of Commons. Step forward Dr Julian Huppert. He's an expert in G-quadruplex nucleic acids, don't you know. In tribute to Julian, stimulated by Radio Three – bless them – playing this song today, here is Daniel Radcliffe's party piece. It's Tom Lehrer's Elements' Song. Then, just below, is a three year old doing the same ditty, and finally, the Lehrermeister himself doing it brilliantly. As a bonus, at the bottom, it is Tom Lehrer's dark comedic take on the 1960s Cold War nuclear face-off, "We'll ...
It was with great sadness that I heard yesterday of the death of Ebbw Vale born Brian Hibbard. As this BBC website article testifies, he was a well known face on our TV screens having appeared in Emmerdale, EastEnders, Coronation Street, Pobol Y Cwm, Doctors and Casualty to name but a few over the past 20 years. But please forgive me if I recall what was for me, the abiding memory of Brian Hibbard. His performance as a part of 'The Flying Pickets' Christmas No.1 hit of 1983 has always been one of my favourite musical moments from throughout the ...
The end of the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, including Tolkien's attempts to plot out the very end of the story - Gollum always had a role in the destruction of the Ring, but exactly what that was took some time to work out; but Saruman only gradually emerged as the villain in The Scouring of the Shire, and a postscript of Sam and Rose and their children twenty years on was dropped on the advice of Tolkien's beta readers (I wonder if whether J.K. Rowling was given the same advice about the end of ...
Following on from yesterday's celtic tie, I have another celtic tie. This time it is for The Celtic Football Club. It's not a tie that gets worn terribly often, but it does make an appearance every now and then. Filed under: Style, Ties
Another Second Doctor novel featuring Ben and Polly (no less than five spinoff books are set between The Power of the Daleks and The Highlanders, if you count a Telos novella and an annual). Although there is an interesting idea here of alien intelligences infesting the movie industry (done better than in Pratchett's Moving Pictures, though this really isn't saying much), it is let down badly by the writer's failure to get American idiom at all accurately and by some ludicrous plot points - at one point a murder suspect outwits two policemen guarding his home to smuggle a corpse ...
This is a tremendous novel, ancient pagan mysteries linked with dubious academics and sinister conspiracies, all based around a fictional sinister Catholic university in Washington DC; not so very different from the plot elements of Dan Brown's novels, only much better written and much more interesting. Some brilliant scenes of simmering sexuality and emotional confusion; a satisfactory amount of drawing from genuine mythology, with extra lore invented by the author which plugs in rather neatly. I'm surprised that it is not better known, it feels like a taproot text for much of the recent wave of urban fantasies.
A date for your diary: Stocktoberfest – Stockport's first ever German beer festival – is on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September. It features 50 German beers, bratwurst, pretzels and oompah band. Advance tickets £10 per session can be excahnged for a Stein Glass and 2 beers on arrival. Tickets are available from High Peak Beer Co, in the Market Hall and from Stockport Tourist Information centre, Staircase House, 30 Market Place. email tickets@stocktoberfest.co.uk. Session 1 Saturday 29th September, 7pm to midnight. German themed fancy dress competition (strictly no military uniforms), lots of prizes to be won. Session 2 Sunday ...
Stockport Council issued another alert to householders to be on their guard against scam Council Tax band phone calls. Residents have contacted the Council to say they've been phoned by a company which offers to change their Council Tax band. The company asks for band details and a fee upfront to process claims. It may also arrange meetings with householders to discuss re-banding. The Council's Trading Standards say the company is making misrepresentations and claims to be working with, or on behalf of, Stockport Council or the valuation office. Trading Standards advise householders to put the phone down on the ...
The Local Government Minister made a statement in Assembly Plenary earlier today on Integrated Planning and Delivery in Local Government. During the course of his speech he announced that "Change must happen more quickly. My watchwords are priorities, pace and performance" For some reason, his manner of speaking conjured up a memory of the Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch: "Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms" Carl Sargeant dressed as a Spanish Cardinal. Now there is an image to conjure with.
It's been a madly hectic opening few weeks to my year as County Council Chairman as the great expanse of nothingness in this blog will testify. Olympic Torch Relay It began with the Olympic Torch procession that saw that famous flame carried by hand, Welsh cob and electric railway through our county from Pembrokeshire and onwards to Montgomeryshire. The wonderful work of County Council staff and volunteers throughout the county meant that the Torch received a wonderful welcome as it arrived from Pembrokeshire in Cardigan and moved up the coast through Aberaeron and towards Aberystwyth where it stayed overnight. On ...
Tue 19th
17:15
Peter Kellner's advice to the Lib Dems: ditch boundary changes, and get a new leader before 2015
Chairman of polling firm YouGov, Peter Kellner, has a must-read article over at his firm's site analysing the big challenges facing the Lib Dems at the next election. I know some Lib Dems might baulk at reading it: Mr Kellner, husband of Labour peer Baroness Ashton, is a self-declared non-Lib Dem, and YouGov's daily polling consistently shows the party's ratings to be significantly lower than other polling firms do. But get beyond those facts, and it's clear we need to take on board the stark questions he has for the Lib Dems — even if we disagree with his answers. ...
Nominations for this year's annual ALDC Campaigner Awards are now open. The awards this year have been re-vamped, with a new set of categories. All nominations (and accompanying examples) can be sent to our Campaigns Officer John Bridges (john.bridges@aldc.org). The new award categories are as follows: Best Focus Whether it's the content, layout, or some great photos that made your Focus special, we'd like to share it too! Best Innovation Whatever you did that was different, be it online, literature, or an event. We want to know what's new and what worked for you! Best Ward Campaign We'd like to ...
Well according to UEFA it is. Nicklas Bendtner was fined €100,00 for revealing "Paddy Power" underwear during the current Euro 2012 championships. Meanwhile Croatia have been fined €80,000 for their fans racist abuse of Super Mario Balotelli. It's good to see punishments increasing (they have been pathetically low in the past for racism, in the past Croatia have also been fined the equivalent of under £15,000 for racist chanting against Emile Heskey) UEFA are still getting their priorities wrong. It's one thing to talk a tough game against racism but surely their actions need to back this up. (I wonder ...
People do change their minds on political issues, and so we should not be too surprised when occasionally someone resigns from one party and joins another party or becomes an Independent. But we would hope that such a decision would be made after much thought, especially if the person had been elected on a party platform. Three curious stories have reached us today. In Thetford, Labour councillor Carl Clark resigned, apparently because he opposed Labour's policies on membership of Europe and on abortion, amongst others. He described Ed Miliband as a 'wet flannel'. He said "I have never really been ...
This is the first in a series of updates from me on Stockport's Portas Pilot bid. I've also published this on the unofficial Stockport Portas Pilot website. "But isn't £100,000 just a drop in the ocean?" I've heard it more than a few times since Stockport became one of the twelve towns to be selected as a Portas Pilot. And it's true. Millions of pounds is being invested in key projects around the town – in comparison £100,000 hardly registers. So why am I so excited about Stockport becoming a Portas Pilot town? It's about achieving something which the bigger-spending ...
I've written extensively about the wider issues around the Draft Communications Data Bill already, but in this post I'm collecting some of my thoughts on the details of its individual clauses. My view of the more general perspective is summed up in Walking: it's time to take action on this major terrorist threat. By all means add in your own comments on specific clauses in the comments, or for a more general debate on the Bill's purpose and existence I'd recommend Julian Huppert's piece. You can read the full Draft Communications Data Bill here. These are my initial and working ...
Yesterday I posted an email I received which suggested that the License for Kansas Fried Chicken lapsed over 3.5 years ago. I asked the Council to explain how this situation had occurred. Please see the response I have received below: This issue came to our attention as the annual fee for 2011was not paid. The licence was held by Waterford Services Ltd and when we checked on Companies House it transpired that the company became insolvent in 2008. The fees for previous years had been paid and as there has been no other issues with the premises (so far as ...
Both Chorlton Leisure Centre and Chorlton Library are pleased to be able to bring you 'A Grand Day Out'; two opportunities each week for older people to take part in a range of different activities. From 26th June, every Tuesday morning there will be indoor bowling and other physical activity opportunities at Chorlton Leisure Centre. From the 29th June, every Friday afternoon at Chorlton Library there will be a chance to get involved in a range of activities, including 'Silver Surfing' (which I'm pleased to say I suggested!). Just pop along to either venue to get involved.
The Independent reports that Downing Street has signalled a U-turn over controversial plans by the Chancellor George Osborne to bring in local pay agreements throughout the public sector:. David Cameron's official spokeswoman said yesterday: "Our case is, unless there is strong evidence to support it - and there is a rational case for it - then it won't change." She was responding to a report in The Independent that Nick Clegg is preparing to veto the idea amid growing opposition from Liberal Democrats, who fear it would widen the North-South divide and spark a political backlash. Downing Street's statement marks ...
Last weekend we went to see the Barbican's wonderful exhibition on the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was a school of artists, craftsmen and designers who operated between 1919 and 1933 in Germany, and were among the Weimar republic's few outstanding positive legacies. They led modernist design, and are famous for all sorts of achievements, from furniture to architecture. As Hitler took over, they dispersed across the world, but especially to America, where their influence was profound. 1925 Catalogue cover There were many wonderful things on show at the Barbican, but what blew me away was the Bauhaus typography and graphic design. ...
Following Robert Peston's comparison of what interest rate the Italian government is charged for borrowing money compared to what his own household would be charged (Italy turns out to be more creditworthy than the Pestons, but only just), I thought I would take a look to see how I compare. Take that, then, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. You are the seven EU members who are being charged a higher interest rate to borrow money long-term than I would be. * Mark Pack has written 101 Ways To Win An Election and produces a monthly newsletter about ...
I love Spotify. I use it lots. I have it on my phone. One thing I wish it had? I wish I could search songs by BPM. Because that would make it LOTS easier to make up an exercise playlist of music I LIKE instead of crappy bloody bleepy dance music, which is all the exercise playlists I can find online.... [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Tue 19th
14:00
Chilling and Gove: What Mr Gove finds chilling, is at odds with what is really chilling.
"A chilling atmosphere towards freedom of expression which emanates from the debate around Leveson", thus spoke Gove last week. The chilling aspect is the way the press media has for years been able to not to 'freely express', but in their ability to pry and subject their 'victims' to an abuse of their personal lives and freedoms. I have no interest in a person's private life, unless it is contradictorily to their views or on their ability to carry out their job; politicians and public servants in the main. I care not one jot about the private lives of actors, ...
Tue 19th
12:53Lord Jim Wallace writes... We want to enhance scrutiny of the security services, not evade it
Let's be clear: the original proposals in the Justice and Security Green Paper were too broad. The Government has listened and, as Tom Brake wrote last month, has ensured that the Bill before the House of Lords now is much narrower and more focussed on the problem at hand. However, in the recent media furore about Nick Clegg's red lines and changes to the Bill, I feel that a proper discussion about what this problem actually is has been lost. So let me set out clearly the problem that we need to solve. At the moment, judges cannot hear evidence ...
Since taking power Labour has net chopped down 196 more trees than its planted on our streets – 70 from the Dulwich area alone. Outrageous. Dulwich has so many streets called groves for a reason – they're meant to be tree lined! Everyone knows trees bring lots of benefits apart from sucking up Carbon Dioxide, they reduce air pollution/particulates, act as noise barriers, and lots of research showing people just feel plain better with plants and trees around them. Come on Labour Southwark stop hating our environment so much - we don't want an urban concrete jungle round here.
Have you ever thought ALDC used to publish a guide to "that"? Well you were probably right. We probably did and one of our best kept secrets is that they are ALL available online for ALDC members to download. But how? I hear you ask. Well in a few months we are aiming at an easier more searchable mechanism but in the meanwhile: Step 1 having logged into the ALDC website select My ALDC click on Publications Archive in the bottom right corner of the screen. You should then see the following screen. Sadly you need to login again at ...
I've had quite a busy end of May/start of June so haven't had a chance to blog, or even keep up with most news stories (being out of the country/at a festival tends to cut you off). However one story that caught my eye (well I couldn't miss it on the one day I bought a paper) "Young cannabis users 'do not realise the huge danger to their health'". It particularly claims that smoking cannabis is 20 times worse than smoking cigarettes. Now I welcome any attempt to improve the health of people and to educate people (particularly younger people) ...
Mr Carr avoids tax. By doing so, he reveals himself to be one of those gruesome rich people who refuse to pay their proper moral share of their income into the coffers of the Treasury. You see, it turns out that the Government can legislate morality, that the laws passed by our earthly Parliament can ...
NHS Hertfordshire has now approved the full business case for the replacement QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City. The planned 4-storey Local General Hospital will replace the existing buildings and is expected to be complete by August 2014. It will provide a general outpatients department, a Local A&E Department and diagnostic facilities which include, CT, MRI X-ray and ultrasound. Since the outline business case was agreed in March design changes have taken place which will result in significant improvements. The outpatient department has been increased, more therapy rooms are now planned , lifts, stairs, lobbies and corridors are all to ...
"As a British citizen I have always objected to being forced into bankruptcy in a foreign jurisdiction..." « Slugger O'Toole The extraordinary case of the IRA hungerstriker turned property magnate who clings desperately to his British citizenship... (tags: northernireland ) The Oatmeal v. FunnyJunk, Part IV: Charles Carreon Sues Everybody | Popehat Charles Carreon becomes an internet celebrity, and not in a good way. (tags: ) Zurker - Making Pyramids Appear Flat Another sceptic. I think I'll delete my Zurker account. (tags: socialmedia socia soci ) Nesbitt's UUP closes in on the buffers "Mr Nesbitt's own personal position is clear: ...
North West England Euro-MP Chris Davies is calling for eurozone counties to give Greece a longer period in which to pay its debts. The Liberal Democrat MEP welcomed the result of the Greek election and the commitment given by the ... Continue reading →
Now that the NeverSeconds blog is back up and running, I thought it would be useful to remind you of Argyll and Bute's disastrous statement last Friday which amounted to throwing petrol on the fire. It's an example of incompetence of the highest order. As I wrote on Friday, though, unhappy employees rarely produce good work, so it's vital that Argyll and Bute Council address the problems within their comms department. By depicting a 9 year old's reviews, which, after all, gave an average of 7.59 out of 10 for the meals she'd had, as an "unwarranted attack", the Council ...
A judge's decision to order the force-feeding of a 32 year old anorexic woman has been criticised by a North West England MEP. The woman, who cannot be named, has suffered from anorexia since she was 12 years old. She ... Continue reading →
Yesterday Vince Cable gave a sweeping speech about the current state of the economy, lessons from the 1930s and the way forward. The parallels with the 1930s are in some ways obvious, but as Cable pointed out there are important differences. In particular, in the 1930s there was no similar financial crash in Britain to mirror what happened this time. However, in another major respect this time round looks somewhat better than the 1930s as unemployment has not soared in a similar way, helped by the double-edged flexibility of wages. This time round, real wages have suffered, spreading the pain ...
Google data shows UK back as most snooped on population « Complicity (tags: ) Factcheck: Are the majority of poor children in working households? | Full Fact Short answer: yes. Including my own. (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Tue 19th
09:48
2nd Year of Praise for Lib Dem Ministers: Strengths of Lib Dem Ministers in 2nd year of being in Gov...
Another year of following the papers looking for positive news stories about the Lib Dem ministers has produced more praise for Lib Dem ministers. So Vince Cable, Chris Huhne, Steve Webb and Danny Alexander get praise for their efforts. Vince Cable The Guardian state that few politicians could manage contrition with Cable's conviction as 'he speaks ...
Last month came the bizarre news that Strathclyde Partnership for Transport was wanting to ban photography (not just flash photography, all photography) on Glasgow's Subway. Following the resulting public uproar, sense seems to be winning out: A spokesman for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport had yet to respond to our request for comment, but said a committee meeting is due to be held about the issue on Friday. It is reported that, as on the London Underground, flash photography will not be allowed but other forms of photography will be permitted. (Amateur Photographer) Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has welcomed ...
Rhoda Grant MSP today gives evidence to Holyrood's Justice Committee regarding her Private Members' Bill which aims to make paying for sex illegal. I'll look at the issue in more depth when I don't feel completely floored by a nasty bug but some brief thoughts to be going on with. I am not convinced that criminalising the process will actually help those men and women who are exploited by others and forced into prostitution with no control over what they do or how they do it. The people who do that trafficking, exploiting and abuse are the people who need ...
With all eyes on the elections in Greece and the future of the Eurozone, the Earth Summit in Rio is unlikely to be headline news. But it should be. As Nick Clegg wrote on LDV last week 'sustainability and growth go hand in hand, and it's for us as Liberal Democrats to make that case loud and clear.' As Liberal Democrats we have been making the case for decades, and over the last two years Liberal Democrat Cabinet Ministers have been forceful advocates around the Cabinet table and around the world. We may know that tackling climate change is essential ...
Note from District Council St Albans City and District Council wants to improve facilities for cycling, improve cycle safety, promote a cycle friendly culture and increase cycle use in the District. The first part of the Verulamium Park project is to construct a cycle route from King Harry Lane to Ye Olde Fighting Cocks public house. The new cycle paths can be used as an alternative for cyclists to the very busy Holywell Hill and Bluehouse Hill road routes. It is a key link for safe cycling across the city. The new route is over 650 metres in length and ...
On Sunday the Telegraph came out with the following ominous headline: Nick Clegg's Lords reform plans to be watered down after Tories' anger over Hunt treatment And then went on to say: "Nick Clegg's plans to replace the House of Lords with an elected senate could be watered down after the Conservative MPs expressed fury about Liberal Democrat attacks on embattled Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt."Now, aside from the telling fact that the tories view as an "attack" any suggestion that Hunt, a minister with serious question marks hanging over him, should, you know, be referred to the regulator of the ...
.... wrote David Allen Green earlier today. What could have prompted such a remark? Well, it was this extraordinary blogpost in the Telegraph by Donata Huggins, criticising what appears to be a perfectly well intentioned campaign by Owen Jones to raise awareness of call centre workers not being allowed, ahem, comfort breaks. But I think I know why Donata wrote her piece. It's orders from the top I reckon. Don't you? PS Isn't this the perfect put down of Donata mind you... Update Lordy, I didn't think it was possible, but it's got more ludicrous. Now Eoin Clarke has reported ...
Last week the Department for Education published its draft primary National Curriculum for science, along with the announcement that evolution would be included for the first time. We were naturally delighted at this news, which represents the fulfilment of yet another aim of our 'Teach evolution, not creationism' campaign. This is actually the second time this victory has been secured. In 2009, the Labour Government also reviewed the primary curriculum, and their initial proposals did not include evolution. As a result, the BHA coordinated a letter from 26 leading scientists and educators calling for this to change; and the Government ...
Last year, the Pennycook and Sinderins Court sheltered housing Residents' Association secured over £1000 of funding to get new seating in Pennycook Lane and have some environmental improvements too. The Dighty Group built the new seating and Blackness Primary School's Head Teacher kindly agreed to the school pupils maintaining some planters, as they already do with the ones in the school grounds. It has taken some time for the group to secure planters as the original source fell through, so many thanks to the City Council's Environment Department which has got the group some planters - now in place - ...
I was on Radio Tay's News yesterday about road safety adjacent to Dundee's rail station. Click 'play' to listen:
The night before my niece was born was restless; sleep came fitfully. I later compared how I felt to waiting for Christmas: too many thoughts were echoing through my head to allow rest to fully descend. My tussle with slumber ended when the dawn's first light poked through my bedroom window. As I got out ...
It has been well signed posted, but at last this morning Vince Cable set out his views about how Government could act to help drive Britain out of the recession. Drawing lessons from the 1930's he argued that housebuilding had a key role to play. The BBC reported his speech He pointed out that Britain got out of the "slump" of 1931 in part by building more homes - with private housebuilding increasing from 130,000 homes in 1931 to more than 300,000 three years later. He said these days there was an "unmet demand" for social housing and the government ...
It has been fascinating to follow Gladstone's Library as it seeks to redefine Liberalism. Little snippets have been leaked from their sojourn at the Hay Festival where hundreds of people filled in their 'liberalism' voting cards'. I guess a summary will appear shortly on their blog devoted to the project .http://redefiningliberalism.blogspot.co.uk/ The contribution from pollster Peter Kellner -who was a 'don't know' seemed to think we were useful people to have around ...................
