And prophetic too. The Sun from four days ago...
Alex Smethurst has a good article on Liberal Democrat Voice: "Social mobility and paid internships are connected. But I'm concerned with a culture that expects 'experience' before employment; a culture that expects you to work for free, afford rent with no income and have zero job security. This is stopping social mobility, not increasing it." "The Conservatives are beginning to get the treatment that the Liberal Democrats had in the first two years of the coalition. We had the moral fibre to cope: I wonder if the Tories do too?" The past few weeks have not shown the British Conservative ...
So, a few days into the "LIBOR Scandal" what do we know, when did things start to go wrong and in what way did they breach "best practice"? Here's a timeline to the current travails of the Treasury-privileged classes: 1690: John Freame, Quaker of Cirencester, and co-religionist Thomas Gould fled persecution in backward English countryside to traditionally more tolerant City of London to set up as goldsmiths, lending out paper tickets with nominal values worth many times that of the other peoples' gold they held so they could earn interest in the hope all the ticket holders would not ask ...
I am joining the chorus of praise for the BBC staging of Richard II last weekend. The high point is certainly Patrick Stewart's fantastic rendition of the "This Sceptred Isle" speech, as John of Gaunt, in the second act, but it's all rather fantastic - especially Ben Whishaw in the title role and Rory Kinnear as Bolingbroke. It also rather obviously points up Shakespeare's debt to Marlowe; Richard II is closer to Marlowe's Edward II than it is to Richard's actual life. When I listened to an audio version as part of my run through Shakespeare a few years ago, ...
Cambridge campaigner, 91-year-old grandmother Pamela Milne is to lobby Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday, July 4) calling for a change in the law to allow people to die with dignity. Pamela, of Hills Road will be welcomed by Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert at the House of Commons when she joins hundreds of other supporters from across the country for her first rally. She is backing the event called by pressure group, Dignity in Dying which names actress, Zoe Wanamaker among its patrons. Dignity in Dying, in partnership with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Choice at the End of Life has launched ...
MP Julian Huppert will join MPs from across East Anglia, on Monday 2nd July, to lead a cross party, multi-agency alliance from four counties as they launch the East Anglian Rail Prospectus. The Prospectus presents the strategic and economic case for long-term investment to improve the region's rail network. It has been co-authored by a multi-agency group including regional MPs, Local Enterprise Partnerships, County Councils, Rail Passenger Groups and Train Operating Companies. The MPs will be joined at the launch by the region's MPs, representatives from Local Enterprise Partnerships, and Greater Anglia, Train Operating Companies and local authorities. The launch ...
OK, so the Barclay's scandal is just one amongst many. However, the reaction to the forced exit of the unlovely Bob Diamond from the Barclay's PR guys: basically "spread the shit as widely as possible on the government agencies" is so blatant, that to be honest, the government should have a very simple response. Arrest and charge the lot of them. Any Barclay's employee or agent that has been involved in the "take as many of the bastards as I can" project of the unlamented Mr. Diamond should be charged with an attempt to pervert the course of justice. Diamond ...
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert MP Julian Huppert and Cambridge City Councillor Susannah Kerr have been clocking up the miles as they prepare for Sunday's Big Bike Ride. At the weekend, the pair notched up over 150 miles between them as part of their training for the event which will boost three local charities. Susannah cycled from Cambridge to Watlington and back on Saturday - a distance of just over 90 miles. On Sunday, she was out again cycling 22 miles to Longstanton and back along the guided busway. Julian headed out from Cambridge to Clare in Suffolk - a return ...
The latest copy of the Eastrop Focus is pretty much delivered. If you don't have a copy you can download a copy simply Click Here. I like to remind everyone that the Focus is published and produced by volunteers, funded by donations from the Lib Dem membership and your local councillors. It is printed by a local (Hampshire) small business. The Focus is often printed on paper left over from
David Parson's long drawn out and very public attempt to retain the leadership of the ruling Conservative group on Leicestershire County Council failed today. Reading between the lines, he resigned when it became clear that he would not win a vote of confidence within his own group. The BBC report reminds us of the concerns that led to today's events: Last month the council's standards committee censured Mr Parsons over an independent report which found he had delayed repaying money to a body called East Midlands Councils (EMC). It had initially paid for official trips to the continent, but the ...
Last night, Belfast City Council became the first council in Northern Ireland to support marriage equality. The Council voted in favour of the motion [proposed by Sinn Féin, supported by SDLP councillors and one Alliance councillor1]: This Council supports the same rights and entitlements to civil marriages for all citizens of Belfast regardless of race, ...
In order to better promote what your local Liberal Democrats are doing for you we took the very difficult decision to switch from Google (which we all love!) to the slightly better supported (at last by the UK Liberal Democrats) MyCouncillor platform. One of the issues was the EU Cookies directive that, if we're honest, we weren't sure how we'd implement on Blogger; much better to switch to a platform where a "national" solution will be provided - I'm expecting many other blogs to make this switch as well. Consequently our new website is located at; http://kingshedgeslibdems.mycouncillor.org.uk/ And we'll no ...
Admiral Daala, my hero as a kid In the week that Rochester was named in the top 5 best read Cities and Towns by Amazon based on its sales and me finishing the thousand page tome that was Storm of Swords, I'm going to resurrect a draft I started writing a year ago about Library closures. It would be fair to say that I am a fan of books... well that's an understatement, I have my own library with an unknown number of titles, some are quite rare, a couple are all in German, some copies memoirs of long dead ...
The public's views on Cambridgeshire's Highways and Transport services will soon be compared with others across England, thanks to the National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction survey. Cambridgeshire County Council is one of 75 Local Authorities to sign up to a standardised survey that will ask members of the public exactly the same questions, whether they live in Cornwall, Newcastle or Cambridgeshire. The survey, which is being run for the fifth year, is the result of months of work between the National Highways & Transport Network (NHT) and a regional Highways Service Improvement Group. It enables Local Authorities to compare ...
On Sunday Nick Clegg pitched in to help clean up a Sheffield beauty spot, reports the Friends of Millhouses Park site: Nick and local Lib Dem councillor Colin Ross joined the Friends of Millhouses Park at Beauchief Gardens to help with gardening duties. The work is part of the Friends on-going commitment to maintain the Gardens, which were donated to the city by the J. G. Graves Trust in 1935 and are situated next to Beauchief Dam. The level of care had declined up until the 1990s, until the Friends of Millhouses Park stepped in to restore the Gardens.It goes ...
Now that it is holding the reins of power and is in a position to make necessary changes to a universally acknowledged unfair extradition treaty with the US...why is the Coalition government stalling? This is baffling, particularly as both our ... Continue reading →
(Do shepherds dream of idyllic sheep?) [IMG: Danny Boyle's set for London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony] Danny Boyle's set for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony A few weeks ago, when the design for at least part of the Olympic opening ceremony was revealed, I was nothing short of appalled. You see, I grew up in a small village surrounded by farmland, and I have little time for the romantic longing for the countryside. Radio 4's endless pastoral idyll, the Archers fills me with horror, and the idea of presenting a world audience of potentially four billion with grazing sheep ...
From my front room window I can see Canary Wharf, which is how most of us East Enders refer (incorrectly) to Canada Tower on the Isle of Dogs, consructed to be the symbol of London's second City or financial centre, but with a nod to the Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament (equally incorrectly ...
They've won a UK Housing Award 2012 for their "The Store" project, based in Stanley. It's a weekly payment scheme which gives Derwentside Homes tenants the chance to buy furniture, white goods and electrical items at affordable rates, whilst also encouraging regular saving. Products available include cookers, fridge-freezers, bedroom and living-room furniture and televisions, with the total cost to customers estimated at around 40% lower than some other repayment stores. Run by social landlord Derwentside Homes and Prince Bishops Community Bank, the project was named Community Initiative of the Year at the UK Housing Awards 2012. The success at the ...
[IMG: Collecting signatures for the Upper Tollington Park petition] Haringey Council have agreed to hold a public meeting to discuss how to spend the £120,000 that has been allocated to safety measures on Upper Tollington Park. The money was awarded after a two year campaign by local councillors and Lynne Featherstone MP. The meeting will be held at 6pm on Monday 9th July at Stroud Green School (entrance on Perth Road). On the agenda will be plans to improve the junction with Lancaster Road and Scarborough Road, as well as the junction with Florence Road and the adjacent pedestrian crossing. ...
The Lib Dem Opposition Group on Herts County Council has slammed the Conservative-controlled Council's plans to abolish the regular Highway panel meetings as "an erosion of local people's say on a key issue - the way their roads are maintained". Under plans put forward by the Conservatives, which will be considered by the County Council's Highways and Transport meeting on July 3rd, the current Highways Joint Member Panels system is set to be scrapped. These Panels meet regularly and consist of local County Councillors and representatives of the Borough or District Council for each of Hertfordshire's ten Councils areas. Local ...
This article appeared in yesterday's Manchester Evening News: It's shocking and deeply irresponsible that the security at the Town Hall has been compromised in this way; particularly as the Council pays for 24 hour security. In tough times the Council should not allow precious resources to be lost in this way. However more importantly most offices in the Town Hall contain highly confidential and sensitive information and it is very worrying that this information is not as secure as it needs to be. It's a breach of the Public's Trust. I've asked the Council to carry out a security assessment ...
Nick Clegg has admitted that his previous pledge to pay interns working for the Party will be broken. And yet, one of the defining ambitions of the Liberal Democrats, found in the Foreword to The Coalition Agreement, is to increase social mobility. Having experience from six unpaid internships, social mobility is one area that I highlight for supporting the Party. Yet it's in danger of becoming part of Newspeak: for without money to back up the rhetoric, our Party is in danger of yet again offering an empty promise. Social mobility and paid internships are connected. But I'm concerned with ...
Bob Diamond did not go because of the actions of shareholders. The BBC's Robert Preston was reporting on the Today programme that major shareholders wanted him to stay. The governance of banks will not be fixed if we rely on shareholders. Self preservation may have prompted Sir Mike Rake to act but that is not a reason to duck the question about poor governance in the banking sector-and if he was pushed because he fingered the Bank of England that is no real comfort either. Last week Vince Cable was asserting that the 'biggest act of economic vandalism' in recent ...
This afternoon, Cornwall Council backed a Lib Dem motion opposing any move towards regional pay or regional benefit levels - both of which would hit Cornwall very hard. As far as I could see there were no councillors who voted against and only three who abstained. Sadly, one of these was the Cabinet Member for Finance. My colleague Edwina Hannaford and I put forward the motion because of the noises that Chancellor George Osborne has made about local or regional pay deals. As Cllr Andrew Wallis said, "Regional pay is not about fair pay, it is about cutting pay." If ...
... this picture is a good approximation: [IMG: [livejournal.com profile] ] nannyo who originated that amusing typo, but I might be wrong. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Steve Webb, the pensions minister, is addressing pension executives today and will be challenging them to provide a money-back guarantee to everyone who will be saving for their pensions through a new workplace defined contributions plan. This kind of scheme would ensure that people get back, as a minimum, the value of the contributions they have paid in. This is one of several proposals which will be consulted on later in the year. Other ideas include collective risk sharing, which allows pension companies to pool their accounts and share the investment risk. You can read the full article in the ...
As we learned on Friday, Bristol was again unsuccessful in its attempts to be crowned European Green Capital, losing out in the 2014 race to Danish Capital Copenhagen.Rather helpfully and encouragingly transparently, the European Commission's Environment department has published a document today that outlines the conclusions of the jury in its deliberations and its opinions on all three finalists
Last year, I wrote about how Authentec wouldn't support their fingerprint readers on Linux. I've been chatting to the good folk at Authentec, and they've agreed to release the specification documents! So if you want to code up an interface for the AES2810 or AES2550 you can! A word of note, the best way to get the latest version of these documents is to register for the Authentec Developer Program. You then need to drop the team a note asking to get access to these specific documents – devportal AT authentec.com That way you will get informed when there is ...
Just as in the heady days of the Credit Crunch some people I read (for example on Lib Dem discussion forums) believe that the Libor scandal is a result of deregulation and "market forces" and that "extreme free market ideology should be opposed" or that "the way to stop this is better regulation". And while watching the Matt Damon narrated documentary film "Inside Job" last night a way to explain why such sentiments are wrong came to me. The film focusses on the same popularly portrayed reasons for the cause of the crash: deregulation, revolving doors between finance and regulatory ...
If information is power then how we store and use data becomes a key indicator as to the position of the state on individual liberty and rights to privacy. There is a balance to be struck between the efficient use of data to secure cost-effective services and the cross-referencing of information so as to open up the possibilities of state intrusion into our lives and the potential abuse of individual data profiling for more sinister purposes. That is why the Data Protection Act was passed in the first place, the fact that it does not reach into some of the ...
Yesterday, our office received an unexpected visit from a senior member of HM Revenue & Customs, apparently wanting to hear our views about Pacesetter, the workflow management system that we use. Less than two hours notice was given, and we only had about twenty minutes, but it was at least an opportunity. And so, there she was, talking to us briefly about who she was and what she did, before it was our turn. Apart from one individual's attempt to hijack the session with irrelevancies, my colleagues raised various concerns in an entirely reasonable way, issues such as deskilling, such ...
Yesterday Nick Clegg spoke on CBBC's Newsround about the banking crisis – and he didn't pull his punches. He also visited a London secondary school with Joanna Lumley. They were there to launch the new Inspiring the Future scheme, which will send 100,000 volunteers into state schools to give pupils first hand accounts of their careers. * Newshound sets the agenda, as you would expect from a Red Setter
Tue 3rd
13:47
Ed Miliband to call for an inquiry into David Beckham's omission from the Olympic football squad
The Rambles of Neil Monnery have been contacted by a source that wants to remain anonymous with a leaked copy of a speech that Ed Miliband will give later in the weeK: Thank you, thank you, you're far too kind. Can I give an encore...just joshing ladies and gentleman. I know you aren't here to listen to me rap. You are here to listen to me ask the government to open a governmental inquiry into why David Beckham has been left out of the squad for the football at the Olympics games here in London, which are proudly brought to ...
In the light of the prime ministers travails over Europe yesterday, the following sentence from my turn at the 2007 Liberal Revue seems pertinent: In or out, matey? That's the question. We can't shakeabout any longer, despite the poply song with the knees up and bunting.
Today's Western Mail reports that Falklands veteran Simon Weston has pulled out of the race for the £100,000-a-year job of Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales because he was becoming disillusioned and the campaign was "too political". Writing on Twitter, he said: "With regret pulling out of the PCC role for South Wales. Became disillusioned by the fact it was getting 2 political & not serving the people." What is confusing me is how anybody can announce they are a candidate in a political election whilst thinking that they can keep politics out it. But then that is me. ...
This Friday I will be a judge at the 8th Chorlton Beer Festival alongside CAMRA tasters, publicans, journalists, local celebrities and real ale enthusiasts. This year for the first time the festival will be hosting a round of the Champion Beer ... Continue reading →
It's good that the rate-rigging of Barclays (and almost certainly other banks) has been exposed. It's important that we have an inquiry — whether judge-led or parliamentary I have no particularly strong views either way. But then I came across this e-petition (right), which is the kind of muddled reflex-agitprop that irks me: All party funding from the finance industry must be returned following the regulatory failure at Barclays For MPs to continue to receive financial support from the finance industry opens them up to accusations of corruption. In order to have a fair investigation leading to new regulation, any ...
Tue 3rd
13:19Another bash of the Daily Mail. This time they talk about 'flashy foreigners' and 'vulgarity'
Ah the Daily Mail. Source for some of my most sarcastic blogs. It is time for you to once more inspire my fingers to tip-tap on to my keyboard and write about how amazingly hilarious you are. Today though it is about a travel piece. The piece entitled My night in Hotel Vulgari: Daily Mail travel editor Mark Palmer gives his verdict on Britain's most expensive hotel Bulgari caught my eye because of the introduction under the piece... Benvenuti to the brand new Bulgari Hotel in London's Knightsbridge, the most expensive place to stay in Britain – where the cheapest ...
I suspect that many of the Neanderthals calling for a referendum on our membership of the European Union are the same ones who claim that now is not the time to reform the House of Lords because the issue would distract parliament from serious and contemporary matters: ie the economy. Just to deal with the Lords/Economy isue first, this excuse is a nonsense: parliament is well able to do more than one thing at once opponents will always argue that "now is not the right time" parliament already spends too much time on new laws, often formulated in haste and ...
Royal Greenwich Time, or Pravda to its friends, has become something of a comedy item. The letters page reminds me of that great Points of View sketch on "Not the Nine o'clock News" sketch many years ago which featured letters from viewers, such as this one: "The Test card is quite magnificent. It justifies the licence fee on ...
Minister of State for Justice and Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, The Right Honourable Lord Tom McNally visited the East Midlands on Saturday 30th June and spoke to an audience of Lib Dem members from ... Continue reading →
I've been getting quite a few visitors here looking either for information about the procession of the Olympic torch through Luton or the date of this year's Luton Carnival. In an attempt to be helpful here is some basic information about the events of this coming weekend and links to other sources of information. Friday 6th – In the evening there will be day one of the Love Luton Festival in Popes Meadow headlined by The Wanted. Saturday 7th – The Luton Mela will take place in Wardown Park and day two of the Love Luton Festival in Popes Meadow ...
That's the lead story in edition #22 of my monthly email newsletter about the Liberal Democrats, hitting inboxes tomorrow. So if you're not yet signed up to it, now is a good time to click on the form.
I did something decidedly analogue yesterday; I withdrew cash from a machine. I know, I know, I should have used my NFC enabled smartphone – or my chip & pin card. But it turns out most cab drivers prefer cash. On the screen was one of those ghastly animated adverts. Rather than selling me a mortgage or loan, it was advertising a fast food chain. The ad concluded by telling me to download the app – available on Android, iPhone, Symbian, and BlackBerry. I was about to snap a photo of the screen, when all of a sudden I noticed ...
Today is the first meeting of the Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Data Bill. Over the next few months, we'll be taking evidence from key witnesses, and making recommendations to the Government about how the Bill should change. As I'm sure you all know, the Bill as it stands is simply unacceptable. It's vital, therefore, that we're asking the right questions and posing the right, technical solutions from the off. The Committee will run a formal, public call for evidence starting very shortly. The more evidence we get, the better, so my first request is that every single Member ...
Today Le Tour finally enters France, but what f our last day in Belgium. Had Mark Cavendish lost too much speed because of the weight lose to make him more able to get over hills? With his team concentrating on yellow would he be able to win sprints as there will be no train? Well yesterday I was standing in front of my TV for the last 3 km , not following what Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin were telling me watch but keeping a track on the yellow helmet and rainbow jersey. For a change in a bunch sprint ...
Robert Peston has a clarification on the role of Marcus Agius - he says his non resignation is temporary.. "And, in an extraordinary twist, Mr Agius is temporarily becoming more powerful at Barclays. He is becoming the group's executive chairman, pending the recruitment of a new chief executive". And in a fabulous post he also theorises why Bob Diamond may actually have been persuaded to go. Its quite a theory...and worth a read Also this piece from Paul Mason is a thrilling and dynamite read
I've just helped develop a test for Parkinson's disease. Mathematician Max Little has developed algorithms analysing voices that can spot Parkinso'ns disease quite reliably. He needs lots more voice samples to improve his algorithms accuracy. So I've just spent 3 minutes calling 01865 521168 and following instructions to have my voice anonymously recorded and added to his database. He's aiming to have clinical trials using this methodology and now with my voice in the data within two years. Parkinson's disease affects 127,000 in the UK and 20million worldwide. No blood tests exist to spot it. So this voice initiative is ...
I've been known to appear in a pointing photo or two and even have had a bit of fun with others with the clichéd 'person pointing action photo' that appears in so many political leaflets. But for all the fun of the cliché, it is only rarely the right photo to take. As Ed Maxfield and I wrote in our forthcoming 101 Ways To Win An Election (available from Amazon here), Think carefully about the message that a photo really sends. It is common to see in local-level political leaflets photographs showing a candidate standing on their own (often pointing ...
The resignation of Bob Diamond is welcome - even if a week or so late. It is likely to be the first of many as the various investigations and enquires start to unpick the complex web of corruption in the banking industry. On these matters Cicero is usually spot on. And his call for the government to take urgent action to split the big banks up is essential reading.
*Warning, this is purely a theoretical argument* The education system in the UK is clearly not perfect. The evidence of this is abundantly clear, we have over 1m young people unemployed, many with no or little qualifications or real skills for the working world. So how do we change this? One radical idea would be to overhaul ...
I have long held the view that its' harder to promote race equality within the Liberal Democrats than any other party for one simple reason: the huge gulf between self-perception and reality. What the Lib Dems need, more than diversity schemes, ... Continue reading →
George Monbiot has today announced his discovery of economics. Well, that's perhaps not precisely what he meant, but it's certainly what this means: "The constraints on oil supply over the past 10 years appear to have had more to do with money than geology. The low prices before 2003 had discouraged investors from developing difficult ...
Media information note, 2nd July "Ulster Bank payments follow in sequence after those of NatWest and RBS. This ... in no way reflects the priority we attach to our Ulster Bank customers." Oh yeah? (tags: ulsterbank ) Ulster Bank could become Ireland's first efficient bank "We've always been efficient at taking your money... We're just not conscientious about giving it back." (tags: ulsterbank ) Me, Ulster Bank, What they're doing wrong, and what we can do "I have had no access to my account via my card for nearly 2 weeks now. " (tags: ulsterbank )
Neither a voting conference rep nor a suited lobbyist need you be to go to Liberal Democrat Party conference, yet amongst party members there is often an implicit assumption that federal party is something for other people rather than something for them. This is particularly unfortunate when, as with this autumn, the conference venue (Brighton) is within easy travel distance of a large portion of the party's membership. People can register to go to conference for just one day for £35 (£17 claimants) and get to sample the debates, the fringe and the atmosphere – and if you are within ...
Summer Madness is a Christian festival, it boasts of being Ireland's premier Christian festival on its website. One staff member tells of deeds that suggest some members of staff don't act in a Christ-like manner. Get your tissues out!
Tue 3rd
10:20
So the bloke who runs Barclays has resigned and will be replaced by the bloke who resigned yesterday...
Hat tip to Ben Goldacre for that excellent tweet that I've nicked as my headline. But honestly. While I'm not sorry that Diamond's gone, how can the man who said this yesterday... "As chairman, I am the ultimate guardian of the bank's reputation. Accordingly, the buck stops with me and I must acknowledge responsibility by standing aside" (Marcus Agius) ...now be the best person to find the new Chief Executive and so unresign himself? Or as John Prescott puts it today Of course, this may be being misreported. Marcus Agius was always staying on as Chairman until a new Chairman ...
Tue 3rd
10:04
European Selection Diary: Day 3 - introducing Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
So, who are these terribly important people who will be responsible for producing a shortlist of candidates for the delectation and delight of Liberal Democrat members in the East of England? And who made us king, anyway? Like so many areas of the Party's bureaucracy, it comes down to those mad enough to volunteer, and those too slow to hide when a 'volunteer' was sought or, in particularly unfortunate instances, the person volunteered in their absence (and let that be a warning to you!). So, let me introduce the East of England Selection Committee, in no particular order; Jon Whitehouse ...
Catch-22: Tech Blogging As a Woman (tags: ) My Corona: The Anatomy Formerly Known as the Hymen & the Myths That Surround It | Scarleteen (tags: ) Douglas Adams' lost Doctor Who story becomes rather a fun book (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Ben Colburn, pictured above (credit to Norman Fraser) was a Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and Affiliated Lecturer, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge until September 2010 when he became a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Glasgow. He recently gave a lecture to the Social Liberal Forum (Scotland) on the subject of Social Liberal Values. From Monday to Thursday this week, at 10 am, I'll put up a chapter of his lecture. Enjoy - and as I'm away on my holidays, play nicely in the comments threads If you missed it, you might want to also ...
Now that it is holding the reins of power and is in a position to make necessary changes to a universally acknowledged unfair extradition treaty with the US, why is the Coalition government stalling? This is baffling, particularly as both our own party and the Conservatives campaigned strongly against the 'lopsided' nature of the arrangement when in opposition. In fact, every senior member of the current cabinet voted in 2006 in support of a 'Forum Bar' amendment, giving our judges greater power to decide on the basis of each individual case, whether or not it is appropriate to order extradition. ...
Tim Farron is restanding as Lib Dem President. Read all the details here. Surely no one will stand against him? He's been a wonderful President, a champion of the membership and a fine upholder of our values. Plus an election would cost money we don't have. I'd be interested to see if anyone in the Party holds a contrary view. But otherwise, surely it will be Tim by acclamation come Conference.
It's odd how quickly some things become routine. Five years ago, a British rider winning a stage in the Tour was something that happened once every few years when a Boardman, Millar or Yates picked up a time trial victory. Now, it almost feels like the Tour hasn't started properly until we see Mark Cavendish picking up his first win of the year. All sprint wins are different, but Cavendish's 21st yesterday was a step change from the twenty that had come before. It was his first for Team Sky, and the first he's achieved almost entirely by himself. The ...
To the cloisters of Westminster Abbey last night for liberal think-tank CentreForum's summer party (which lived up to its billing as a party, even if summer didn't appear). Nick Clegg was guest of honour, and delivered a 10-minute tours d'horizons of current issues — not least of which was thanking those who keep governments on their toes, admitting it's easy for the welter of governing to prevent politicians from being able either to stand back or to dig deep. He characterised the experience as being 'labotomised', which prompted Andrew Neil to tweet: Nick Clegg tells Centre Forum he feels 'lobotomised' ...
Catching up with the Sunday papers last weekend, Ros brought my attention to a story of immense personal interest, although of little to most readers. In a 10-minute Rule Bill today, Oliver Colvile, the MP for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport, will present the Honours (Equality of Titles for Partners) Bill, which calls for "husbands and civil partners of those receiving honours to be allowed to use equivalent honorary titles to those available to women". Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr. Colvile said "The current system is uneven and rather outdated. "If you are made a peer or a knight, your ...
Bob Diamond is a figure who it is hard to love. Ever since he made the comment that the "time for Banker's remorse was over", he left a huge hostage to fortune, in the event of anything going wrong at Barclays. As we now know, something has gone wrong, and in the event, Mr. Diamond's bullishness has become his downfall- the time for remorse is now is the almost inevitable headline in most newspapers. Yet, although Bob Diamond may not be the most sympathetic creature, the reality is that - as his own resignation shows- he has not been in ...
Stockport is currently the fifth best recycler in the country – and the best Metropolitan borough by some margin. That's not only good for the environment – it also saves us millions of pounds a year. When we send rubbish from our 100,000 homes to landfill, it costs us money. When we recycle it, it either costs a lot less or makes us money. The presentation below shows how and why Stockport recycles the way it does – and has a useful reminder of what goes in which bin and what the collection rules are. Stockport Refuse and Recycling
This is a shout out to all Lib Dem federal conference voting reps to urgently request your help. Don't worry, it's nothing too arduous - I just need to find four more voting reps to sponsor a motion. The motion in question can be found here. I've written the motion to try and flesh out our disability policy and our welfare policy so that we have something a bit more substantial in our manifesto when we go into 2015. At the moment our welfare and disability policy is basically just a couple of paragraphs of good intentions but no concrete ...
Yesterday Nick Clegg called for more resignations at Barclays in the wake of the rate-rigging scandal. Well, he's just got his wish in part fulfilled, with the news that chief executive Bob Diamond is falling on his sword (or was he pushed?). Here's how the BBC reports it: Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has resigned with immediate effect. The move follows the resignation of chairman Marcus Agius and comes less than a week after the bank was fined a record amount for trying to manipulate inter-bank lending rates. Mr Diamond said he was stepping down because the external pressure on ...
Good riddance. That is all. socialise this: [IMG: add 'On Diamond....' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'On Diamond....' a digg] [IMG: add 'On Diamond....' a Stumble Upon] [IMG: add 'On Diamond....' a FaceBook] [IMG: add 'On Diamond....' a Twitter]
Information on the performance of the private contractors responsible for delivering the Government's Work Programme is beginning to leak out, seemingly despite the best efforts of the Department for Work and Pensions to keep us all in the dark. And the news is not good. It appears that A4e is seriously undershooting on the targets set for it, failing to achieve even the lowest level of performance anticipated by the DWP. Only 3.5% of the jobseekers referred to it were found sustained employment. Is A4e a particularly bad performer? Ian Mulheirn in his piece in yesterday's Guardian thinks this unlikely: ...
I recently highlighted the concerns about the withdrawal of the 3.50pm Service Number 16 school bus from Harris Academy and so am pleased to say that yesterday I was informed that it is now hoped that a solution can be found by making a separate bus service to Kingoodie larger next session and thus having a number of spare seats available for Harris Academy pupils from Invergowrie and en route. The bus in question, likely to be called Service 816, would be a 'service bus' so as well as carrying pupils from the catchment area entitled to free travel given ...
I was delighted to have a chat recently with Jill Darling, who was chair of the City Centre and Harbour Community Council during the latter part of the time my former ward (Tay Bridges) covered most of the City Centre as well as the West End. Jill was telling me that she is now running a Brownies pack in the West End and she's sent me an update and contact details that I reproduce below: "The pack is called the 86th City of Dundee Brownies and is for girls from 7- 10 years old (or 11). We meet on Mondays, ...
The fate of young academics in UK universities looks increasingly bleak: the chance to reach paid employment as an academic in the Arts and Humanities increasingly depends not only on talent and a willingness to work hard, but also on access to considerable funds. The problem is that universities increasingly expect early career academics to take on heavy teaching loads for a pittance, and often such jobs are paid only for eight or nine months. Yet, when those same institutions hire people for 'real jobs', they expect CVs with large amounts of research - the kind of CV you can't ...
