On Saturday I bought a copy of Alice Hawkins and the Suffragette Movement in Edwardian Leicester by Richard Whitmore. I was looking for more information on J.W. Logan's Suffragette daughters Isobel and Nora. I found them, and rather more on the notably militant campaigning of Leicester suffragettes. I shall be sharing some of them with you. Here is the first, discussing the Leicester branch of the Women's Social & Political Union in 1912: From late May and early June the Leicester branch had been making tentative moves towards the southern part of the county and had managed, with the help ...
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Mon 9th
22:45
The 15 words that mean the Coalition won't fall, no matter what happens to Lords reform
There's a very simple reason why — even if enough Tory MPs inflict the Coalition's first defeat on a key plank of the Coalition Agreement which appeared in their last three manifestos — the Government will not fall tomorrow. It's these 15 words from the May 2010 Programme for Government: The deficit reduction programme takes precedence over any of the other measures in this agreement. There is also, of course, the small matter of the current opinion polls: neither the Tories nor the Lib Dems will relish a rush to the ballot box at the moment. A Coalition once held ...
If you judge a man by the company he keeps then David Steel's remaining admirers must be weeping at this paragraph from this morning's Guardian: The other former Tory cabinet ministers [besides Geoffrey Howe and Norman Lamont] who signed the letter are the former Northern Ireland secretary and party chairman Peter Brooke, the former Scottish secretary Michael Forsyth, the former agriculture minister Michael Jopling, the former transport secretary John MacGregor, the former attorney general Patrick Mayhew, the former Scottish secretary Ian Lang and former environment, industry and social security secretary Patrick Jenkin. Another signatory is the former Liberal leader David ...
Part Three of the League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen posts features me, Adam Mindless and Amypoodle (and a cameo from Bobsy), talking about The Avengers (Steed version), Alesieter Crowley, C.S. Lewis, Mary Poppins, the Knights Templar, the Kaballah, Harry Potter and mekrob. There'll be a fourth one of these, on the text at the back and the ...
News of a cut of 20,000 in UK troops seems to have settled in with begrudging acceptance though there has been plenty of comment about it. Personally I think it's a good move, I'd rather the money saved was spent on keeping the remaining army equipped with the right tools for the job, and more often than not that means developing and deploying cutting edge technology, which the UK has traditionally excelled at.If we look at the design of the Spitfire and our pioneering use of Radar, it's clear that the UK has a habit of pulling technological rabbits out ...
The coalition is over two years old, fast approaching the half way stage. Just for fun I thought I would put together a series of interactive blogs to see who can remember what Labour were saying back in 2010. Today we start on the economy. Simply read the 3 texts below and identify which one was in the Labour party manifesto. Simply click on the 'read more' to reveal the truth.
From the Evening Standard: Toxic foreign moths infest Bromley
Another reminder of the tuition fees fiasco is upon us. Following the trebling in English uni tuition fees to £9000 per year, the 2012 application numbers were always going to be down, but the most interesting news, and I would say depressing but unsurprising news, is that it is the mature student applications that have seen the biggest ...
[IMG: House of Lords. House of Lords. Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament] Interlocutor: What's all this about needing experts in the Lords? Don't MPs sit through debates and vote on everything, so aren't you pretty knowledgeable about what you are doing? MP: Look, I know f*** all about most things I go to vote on. Frankly, we need some people who know what they're going on about. You can't expect MPs to know about the Bills they're voting on. Interlocutor: If those experts in the Lords are the ones who understand the issues, shouldn't they ...
Malcolm Rifkind made one of 'those' jokes today about Lords Reform, which Conor Burns (shortly to join the bank benches once again by all accounts) delighted in tweeting around... Oh Malcolm. Oh Conor. You are members of the Conservative Party? Had you forgotten? here's Nicholas Soames in this morning's Telegraph, lauding your principles and what it means to be a Conservative... "...a belief in the British constitution, which sustains our government and society and respects our great institutions..." And here's a definition of the word conservative... disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc.,or to restore traditional ones, and to limit ...
Thirty-two manufacturers have successfully applied for £90 million of government funding to help British suppliers compete in the global economy and attract foreign investors, Vince Cable has announced. Vince commented: Building up the supply chain and encouraging new suppliers to manufacture here is one of the steps we're taking to strengthen the UK's manufacturing capability. The BIS website describes the initiative: The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative aims to help existing UK supply chains grow and achieve world class standards while encouraging major new suppliers to come and manufacture here. The new fund will support innovative projects in established UK ...
On Tuesday 10th July Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, Julian Huppert, will propose new measures to defend local pubs and independent shops from being taken over. Under the current system, councils and local residents often have no opportunity to stop the process. Julian will ask to bring a Bill preventing the demolition or change of use of a pub or local independent shop without planning permission. Planning permission would also be needed before premises or land could be used for a supermarket. If you agree that pubs and independent shops need greater protection against being lost, please sign Julian's petition ...
The Institute of Fiscal Studies has published a detailed paper on how the proposals of the Dilnot Commission on care and support for the elderly can be funded: The Dilnot Commission proposed changes which would involve a degree of co-payment between individuals and the state, and a much less harsh meanstest on assets than in the current system. The proposals would cost money – £1.7 billion a year in the short term. The main beneficiaries of these changes would be pensioners with higher levels of income or significant assets. Dilnot therefore suggested that any tax rises or benefit cuts designed ...
"....The Lib Dem brand of localism is incompatible w/ liberalism (social, economic or miscellaneous)" This is what James Shaddock (@jpshaddock *) said on twitter last week whilst in conversation with myself and and Mike Bird (@birdyword). We were talking about how people accept the need for cuts, as long as it's not to *their* issue or as James said "frankly alot of what Lib Dems call localism is just nimbyism" Now, I know a lot of hardworking local campaigners and councillors, and I've spent a fair amount of time trying to get them elected or re-elected and I think a ...
There is a tendency in politics that once your side has come forth with its proposals, bill or other form of announcement, for activists and certainly parliamentarians to row in behind them. There is also a less edifying tendency to then try and shoot down any opposition to them rather than actually listen to and engage with opponents. As such, I find myself in a slight quandary as regards the Lords reform bill that is making its way through parliament at the moment. We desperately need democratic reform of the Lords. For over 100 years parties of all hues have ...
The travelling persons' caravans that have filled the Riverside Nature Park's car park over the past week finally moved away this morning - see restored car park above. I am pleased that local people will again be able to use the car park to visit the nature park. The car park should never have been used as an unofficial caravan park, particularly as the City Council does provide a proper serviced site for the travelling community at Balmuir Wood near Tealing. I have been in touch with the City Council's Environment Department about ensuring the car park is henceforth properly ...
Mon 9th
16:27
Liberal Democrats need to counter the perception that they are no longer a serious political force
Many of my friends are quite bemused when I say am working for the Liberal Democrats. "They're a bit of a laughing stock at the moment," one will say. "They'll be wiped out at the next election," another comments. These ... Continue reading →
Bang on the Heathrow Flightpath. and made by the resident park Shire horses, pulling a non motorised mower.
You may not have woken up this morning with that question on your lips- but it is one worth thinking about and the folks at Gladstone's Library have been doing just that: The
Mon 9th
15:53Opinion: We need to counter the perception that we are no longer a political force to take seriously
Many of my friends are quite bemused when I say am working for the Liberal Democrats. "They're a bit of a laughing stock at the moment," one will say. "They'll be wiped out at the next election," another comments. These are not die-hard Labour tribalists or Tory hardliners, who yearn for the end of the Lib Dems and the return to a two-party system. They are just ordinary members of the public, with nothing more than a passing interest in politics. For me, this is the biggest danger facing the Liberal Democrats: that, despite having been in power for over ...
120903: Demolish and rebuild section of wall, Balkerne Hill. 121078: Shop refit, redecoration of shop front and signage, Culver Street West. 121079: Advertisment consent for fascia sign, Culver Street West. 121198: Insertion of new uPVC windows and doors, Church Walk. Please note that I am a member of the Council's Planning Committee for the next municipal year. This means that I'm required to act in a 'quasi-judicial' manner with regard to applications before the Committee and as such, can't make comments in favour or against planning applications as I may then have pre-judged them before they come to Committee. I ...
"Homophobia!", cried Conservative Future on Friday, the day after the Lib Dems won the Grove Ward by-election in Kingston. "A return to 1983!", cried the Lib Dem bashers around the internet (including famous opponent of equal marriage Ben Summerskill, but that's for the next post). Why? Because the election was described as a "straight fight", when the Tory opponent just so happened to be gay. As LibDemVoice pointed out, both the Tories and Labour have used the phrase "straight fight" in very recent campaigns, so it's not as if they have aversion to the phrase themselves. I would guess that ...
The UK has been the centre of the world's millinery since the 1980s, from the bold hat wearing of the Princess of Wales to the exciting identities created in the New Romantics music scene. The art of millinery is to speak without words. A hat is the most unnatural item of clothing and yet has the power to draw attention or create a distraction, be an alibi or a veil or form a whole new identity for the wearer. A milliner needs imagination, wit, technical skill and a hint of genius or madness to bring ideas to life and Britain's ...
I can only imagine the latest posting on the Thanet Lab blog has been written by Clive Hart, over the top with the cliché in the first paragraph "Thanet Labour have won an historic victory in Westgate-On-Sea" isn't everything historic, even these words, as they change the pixels on my screen from white to black. The second para opens well enough "We are now delighted to welcome Councillor Jodie Hibbert as the newest member" I'm sure the newest Thanet councillor has the best wishes of us all, (God knows enough dinosaurs, roam Thanet council chamber, but the things rapidly decline, ...
This article appeared in today's Manchester Evening News. This is the motion I am proposing at Full Council on Wednesday morning: Recognising Manchester's Musical Contribution This Council notes that: The Government's Plan For Growth, published alongside the Budget specifically identified the UK's creative industries and tourism amongst sectors with the greatest potential to drive economic growth. UK Music has challenged public bodies "to realise the potential of this considerable economic asset." More than 100,000 people in the UK derive their main source of income from the music industry. Manchester has just seen nearly a quarter of million people enjoying the ...
This was sent to Charles Kennedy on 7th May 2002 Dear In the last few weeks I have been reading and listening to scores of commentators about the rise of 'the far right' and voter behaviour, both in UK & France. None of them get the point. Of the 60million or so men, women & children in the UK more than 95% , from all ethnic backgrounds - even those who are third generation and longer English -go about their daily business trying to improve their lot and not be a bother to anybody. What reward do they get? ABSOLUTLY ...
This is the column I wrote for the Manchester Evening News which appeared on today's Viewpoints page: Many friends think I was mad to get involved in politics at a young age, but in fact it was inevitable after the Iraq War. I felt strongly that the action being taken in my name was completely immoral, and I wanted to find a way to voice my opposition. In Manchester, effective opposition came only from the Liberal Democrats. When I joined the Lib Dems and started meeting politicians for the first time I saw the positive impact politics could have; particularly ...
1. As the last committee week before the Parliament's summer recess, this week promises late nights and early mornings with meetings back to back. 2. On arrival inBrussels, Chris will go straight to vote in the Budgetary Control committee ... Continue reading →
I've commented before that Albert Einstein is a good example of the power of brevity, something some politicians and campaigners forget when insisting they need to write a long story or give a length speech in order to properly explain an issue: It's far harder to write clear, precise and brief text than it is to write long, imprecise and waffly pieces. So don't confuse brevity with dumbing down. Unless of course you think Albert Einstein was a stupid, idiotic scientist for lazily using just using five characters (not even five whole words!) to try to explain complex science when ...
The next Cheadle Area Committee will be back at the Upper Rooms, above Tesco in Cheadle at 6pm on Tuesday 17th July 2012. The temporary move back to the Cheadle location isn't just to confuse everyone (honest!) – but because our new 2012/13 venue at Bolshaw Primary School is unfortunately booked for that evening. There are five planning applications on the agenda – three relating to the expansion of the Seashell Trust, one for the proposed housing development on Old Wool Lane and one for a house extension at 18 Daylesford Road. The Council is consulting on it's planning enforcement ...
Clegg's Vision for Lords reform must go through Over the next two days the House of Lords reform proposals, developed by the Cabinet Office and championed by Nick Clegg will be put before the Commons and already there are serious problems. Not only are there due to be 70 odd Conservative MPs rebelling against the Government line of support but there is also 20 LIBDEM lords who are against the moves as well. This could ultimately scupper the bill in the Commons and even beyond should the Peers gain more support for the campaign. If that was not enough there ...
I recently read about an innovative telephone call scam. A scammer rings the mark and asks for her credit card details. If the mark refuses, the scammer tells her to hang up the phone, then dial 999 and ask for "Sergeant Scammer of the Fraud Squad". The mark does so, and is connected to what they assume is the emergency services. However, because the scammer hasn't hung up at their end, the call is still active. So the mark isn't speaking to 999, but to the scammer. Pretty devious. Luckily, it can't work on mobile. But it got me thinking ...
Nick Thornsby writes: [IMG: David Cameron] Six examples of Tory support for an elected House of Lords... Here's the prime minister speaking just weeks before the 2010 general election in the leadership debates, where he couldn't have been clearer in his support for a mainly or wholly elected chamber, and again criticising Labour for failing to deliver this... See Cameron and the other five examples here. Meanwhile, Paddy Ashdown demonstrates that becoming a Lords doesn't necessarily mean suddenly losing your enthusiasm for Lords reform: Some write of the 'amazing expertise' in the Lords. They are right to do so - ...
[IMG: Blue Badge] The Department for Transport is consulting on how to bring the process for assessing eligibility for blue disabled parking badges in to line with the wider reform of disability benefits announced by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department's preferred option for bringing the process in line with new legislation is not expected to significantly affect the overall numbers of people entitled to blue badges. Currently, people are entitled to a blue badge if they receive a certain component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) that relates to mobility. The DLA is being replaced by the ...
Veolia Water South East is from totday lifting temporary use restrictions (ban on the domestic use of hosepipes etc). These restrictions were originally introduced on 5 April after months of below average rainfall. Now an unusually wet spring and early summer with well above average rainfall have opened the way for the lifting of the restrictions. The principal water sources are local chalk and gravel aquifers and these sources have now recovered to near long term average levels. Veolia Water South East say they are therefore confident that no further restrictions will be needed this year. Published and promoted by ...
Enfield North's MP Nick de Bois has put his name to a letter from a bunch of Conservative MPs trying to block the long-needed House of Lords democratisation. The letter calls for much more of parliament's time to be used for "full and unrestricted scrutiny" of the Bill. So despite having spent nine months consulting on a draft bill, these Tories want to spend even longer trying to make sure the reforms that all parties promised are the right reforms. Fair enough, right? So how come Nick de Bois asked this back in February? How can the Government justify consuming ...
This is a long fought argument and, maybe, one that everyone that will read this is tired of hearing. Nonetheless, it is an argument that all liberals should support. As liberals, we oppose the arbitrary concentration of power - and you don't get more arbitrary than your head of state being hereditary! As a short disclaimer, I do not intend to go into arguments about cost et cetera, but rather the principle of having a monarchy. Certainly, a liberal conception of a head of state isn't one that that has no mandate to challenge what the government legislates, simply rubber-stamping ...
It is hard to imagine now, but there was a time when European selections drew a crowd. In 1997, I received a telephone call from the then Candidates Officer, Sandra Dunk, asking if I could act as a Returning Officer for the European selection, with South East England as my intended assignment. I considered the timetable and offered my apologies, as I had already booked a trip which coincided with the scheduled hustings phase. And, although I did suggest that, if nobody else could be found, I was willing to fill in, I didn't expect to be involved. Two days ...
The excitement of the weekend for me (aside from Bradley Wiggins donning the Yellow Jersey) was discovering that a bit earlier than expected Amazon has started shipping copies of 101 Ways To Win An Election. The sales rank has been bouncing up and down a lot over the last few weeks, peaking at just outside the top 1,000 bestsellers. On Sunday the number of copies left in stock according to the Amazon site started ticking down close to zero: It came down to just one copy left in stock, leaving me shouting at the computer "Come on Amazon!" in the ...
Our roads and public transport is congested. We've used sticks in the form of the Congestion charging Zone to reduce people driving during the busiest hours and its helped. People pay more to use public transport during the rush hour. But how to reduce congestion further? An experiment at Stanford campus, California, is taking place where people are paid to drive to the campus outside the commuter rushhours. They're not paid much – chance to win a daily $50 lottery – but it seems to be making all the difference for some. In Singapore the same Stanford researchers suggested a ...
Another busy day at the office, with a total of nine principal council by-elections reported to ALDC for Thursday 5th July. Unfortunately, not a great set of results for Liberal Democrats, with a loss to Labour and some tough results elsewhere, but we'll start with the good news. The Grove ward of the London Borough of Kingston has been Liberal Democrat-held for three decades. With a strong borough-wide Liberal and Lib Dem heritage, and a sitting MP, the Grove by-election was a 'must-win' against the Conservatives. Metropolitan fights against the Tories have been slightly more complicated post-coalition as some Labour ...
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. The English and Scottish Liberal Democrats are now inviting applications for selection for the Liberal Democrat Party lists for the English Regions and for Scotland for the next European Parliamentary elections (which take place in 2014). The closing date for applications is 6pm on Friday 27 July. Potential applicants should contact the Returning Officer for the region(s) in which they are interested for ...
This morning's Radio 4 coverage of the oncoming debate on Lords reform made little attempt at balance. They gave prominent coverage to opponent Betty Boothroyd. A supporter may have been given airtime while I wasn't listening – but if so they did not get a mention on the website. But at least Baroness Boothroyd's bluster gives supporters of reform plenty of ammunition. Baroness Boothroyd, a former Labour MP and the House of Commons's first (and only) female Speaker is treated as a bit of a national treasure – understandable given her remarkable life story, and the determination with which she ...
Away from the fun and games of online dating this blogs other prominent subject seems to be politics. Well it has now been just over five years since the day Tony Blair left office and I came across a video in the annals of my YouTube list that gives the highlights of his final day in office and it was an interesting viewing. Certainly the highlights of his last ever PMQs. [IMG: Share on Tumblr] [IMG: Submit to StumbleUpon] [IMG: Save on Delicious] [IMG: Digg This] [IMG: Submit to reddit] [IMG: Share on Myspace] [IMG: Share via email] Tweet
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] We are delighted that thisposting on the launch of the Nuttall report made it into the 'Golden Dozen ' this week This should be a big day for Liberals. For generation we have promoted a vision of an an economy where businesses are owned by those who work in them, where as Richard Wainwright used to say 'labour hires capital'. Today we made a big stride in that direction, so why is it that Lib dem bloggers tell so little about the Nuttall report? In his new role Norman Lamb commissioned Graeme Nuttall to ...
The first three come from the last three Conservative general election manifestos – 2001,2005 and 2010: Fourthly, here's how the Lib Dem and Tory commitments to Lords reform combined in the coalition's programme for government: We will establish a committee ... Continue reading →
listen to 'Graeme Nuttall: Employee Ownership' on Audioboo The blogs coverage of the launch of the Nuttall Report made it to the [IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] this week. Those interested can hear the audio of the launch following the link above
Last week I was asked to speak to a group of charity fundraisers in Geneva. You can see my speech below this article on YouTube. I was asked to inspire them based on work that I had done with the Liberal Democrats as a senior manager between 1989 and 2009 to help spend resources more effectively, raise substantially more money from large donors and make the party more electorally successful. In researching my speech, I looked at many good causes and charities that I could highlight as inspirational examples. I told the fundraisers that these causes did not generally begin ...
We're getting wildly differing assessments Getting the right news from the Supreme Court. (tags: blogging blog news ushealth ) Well THAT didn't end where I expected it to! Holly on the UK's ludicrous "citizenship test". (tags: ukpolitics migration ) Stories, readers and authors on Jackanory 1966-70 (tags: children television bbc ) Stories, readers and authors on Jackanory, 1970-73 (tags: television children bbc ) Euro 2012 Story It's a small world. (Especially if you're talking about County Cork.) (tags: football ireland )
A gem from 2009, showing what Facebook did when they were unhappy that a major news outlet was running stories without first checking stories with the Facebook PR team. They could have complained, they could have moaned but instead they did this. A much smarter way of making the point.
Sadly the terrible weather has claimed another victim with Acocks Green Carnival being cancelled on Saturday, due to the ground being waterlogged. This was both a huge disappointment to everyone who enjoys the Carnival, but also a huge blow to the many residents and community organisations who worked so hard to organise it. Several of these organisations depend on the Carnival as a significant annual fundraiser so the financial impact will be painful for them. Perhaps the Ward Advisory Board could look at making some one off grants of Community Chest, to those organisations which have been particularly badly hit? ...
Bill Corbett shows people how to apologise He recognises that he did a bad thing. He apologises for his instant reaction to being told he'd done a bad thing, AND the bad thing itself. He makes it crystal clear he understands how bad it was. He says he won't do it again, and will donate money to charity to apologise. People, he might have done a bad thing, but this is a good apology. (tags: ) What it's like to be a "minority" (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Mon 9th
10:01
Why I am more a Lib Dem now than I was when I joined (and why we keep on needing to say such things)
It has been over 2 years now that we have been in Government. We have been ridiculed, mocked, humiliated, and embarrassed by a seemingly never ending stream of attacks, u-turns, and broken promises. Our local power base has been decimated. Our members feel demoralised at best and ashamed at worst. The only person who seems ...
Focus councillors met South Glos officials on Friday to discuss the outstanding problems We've been having another go at S Glos about the problems at Yate Bus Station. At a meeting on Friday we were told for example that the gaps at the bottom of the panels are "part of the standard design" and would cost thousands of pounds to change. We said that obviously the design was wrong, and we could find much cheaper ways of covering over the gap - we're going to get some quotes. Back in May it was agreed that double sided poster boards for ...
I've written about employee ownership on these pages before - but today am doing so from a very different position. As the Coalition's minister for employment relations, employee ownership is part of my remit. I've gone from being an enthusiastic advocate of greater employee ownership, to being the Liberal Democrat minister responsible for delivering it. This is a Liberal ideal. From John Stuart Mill's nineteenth-century call for partnership between capital and labour, via Elliot Dodds' 'Ownership for all' Committee in the 1930s, to Jo Grimond's visit to the Mondragon co-operative in Spain (a visit which inspired him to found the ...
I dropped my MP a line on Friday care of the brilliant Fix Parliament device, to let him know I was actually quite bothered about Lords Reform and could he please do the right thing and support it. Now, I know Zac is one of the 100 or so named Tory rebels - so there was a more than a touch of hope over expectation in my note. However, to be fair, Zac replied in less than 24 hours (this is the second time in a week I have been fair to Zac, I must stop this...) and I have ...
As the economic crisis of the West grinds on, I find myself noting that the mistakes of policy are more and more political mistakes, and that the failures of leadership are more and more failures of political leadership. Attempting to create a safer banking system by forcing increases in reserves, through Basel III or restrictions in concentration, is in fact having almost the precisely opposite effect to that intended. The increase in reserves has not made banks safer, but it has forced a dramatic shrinking in bank balance sheets. The result is a crash dive in lending- especially to the ...
Yesterday showed how it's possible to have a great stage of the Tour without having to go up the highest mountains. Oddly, the only marked point on the profile of the stage over 1000m was the sprint point at La Genevez, with all the summits below 1000m. True, that's still more than 300m above the height of the highest paved road in the UK, but by the standards of a Grand Tour it's quite low. With live coverage all day yesterday, it almost felt like watching one of the Spring Classsics, with the main bunch fragmenting into a number of ...
The blue LED display on the boiler flashed the letter "F" and then "L" and then "F" again; the sequence then repeated. I sighed. It was late at night, there was no hot water in the house, and this message wasn't promising at all. I looked it up on the internet: the electrical element which ...
Today's Telegraph highlights a disastrous attempt by Government civil servants to save money which actually cost them more. The incident highlights once more the inability of the public sector to handle ICT contracts, but also the perils and pitfalls behind a philosophy that suggests that joint working and shared services always saves money. It is not necessarily so. The paper says that five departments including the Departments for Work and Pensions, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Transport, as well as the Ministry of Justice signed up to share 'back office' functions like human resources and finance. The new way ...
Betty Bothroyd is furious. So furious that this morning, on Today, she could hardly speak coherently at one point. Spitting feathers, she was. She is livid about the "reckless" plans to make the House of Lords mainly elected. She spoke of her outrage at the idea that "millions of people" will be able to vote for House of Lords members, giving them some sort of democratic authenticity. This will create "chaos" she said. Betty Boothroyd last faced a competitive election in 1992. * Paul Walter is Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, a LibDem activist in Newbury, Berkshire and blogs ...
My own experience of the armed forces is limited to membership of the school cadets back in the 1950. Among other things I learned how to perform an "about turn on the march" and discovered to my surprise a couple of years ago that I can still do it, whereas an ex-regular soldier friend couldn't. Maybe he concentrated on more serious military matters. Another ex-regular friend who was a parachutist but was invalided out after an accident when his parachute failed to open, has this to say: Generally, I am of the view that we should avoid killing, or harming, ...
Whilst we are small, if perfectly formed, our village is not exactly a hive of cultural activity. Yes, we do have an artist, in Isobel Clover, whose tapestries are highly regarded, but we're not on the touring schedules yet. Let it not be said that the Parochial Church Council aren't trying though, and it was their efforts that drew Ros, her sister Ann, and I to St Peter's on Saturday evening for a concert given by Acafella, a local barber shop quartet, who performed in front of an audience of thirty or so from the village to raise funds for ...
I noticed a couple of people linking to this article in the Telegraph, with the headline "Floods are judgment on society, say bishops". In fact the headline is rather misleading (or at least the plural noun at the end is). Most of the article is a quote from a leading evangelical bishop, who, amazingly for an evangelical, sees God as directly intervening in everything. Dog bites man, folks. The other two bishops actually took a very different view from that implied by the headline. One said, "we are now reaping what we have sown. If we live in a profligate ...
Yesterday we saw the first French winner of this year's Tour, he is also the youngest rider in the race. But before we got there it was full on from when the flag dropped for the official start of the stage. A group of 11 riders got up the road early on but there were too many dangerous names so Sky pegged that back pretty sharpish. However, one man on a mission today early appeared to be Jen Voigt (RNT) but the mard man of so many Tours was eventually tagged back by a group of lesser names including Freddie ...
Over a long period, I have raised concerns about the dilapidated state of the former Queen Victoria Works between Brook Street and Douglas Street. The concerns were raised again recently by residents of Pleasance Court at a meeting I held with them. Following this, I raised the concerns again with the City Council and the Head of Planning has advised: "Building Standards Officers have regularly inspected this property following the receipt of numerous reports. These inspections have confirmed that a reasonable level of site security is achieved such that no law abiding citizen could inadvertently find themselves at risk within ...
To watch follow this link.
Mon 9th
00:22
European Selection Diary: Day 8 - allowing myself to be distracted in, and by, Norfolk...
Even a candidate selection buff like myself has to have other things to do in life, and apart from building a mass transit system for Needham Market, and attacking the Iroquois (I'm playing Civilisation 3, for those who were wondering), Ros and I do like to get out and about at the weekend. And so, after a late breakfast, we set off towards South Norfolk, crossing the Waveney on our way to Kirstead Hall, for a tour organised as part of the 'Invitation to View' programme. It's a programme of particular fondness for Ros, as she was involved in its ...
