It was always the case that just ten days was always going to be far too short a period of debate for proper consideration of the Lords' reform bill. Some of the proposals in the bill are deeply flawed - like the single 15 year term limit (an invitation to sloth and inactivity) - but its thrust is generally in the right direction. It is unacceptable in a democracy for lawmakers not to have a public mandate and the sooner we move to an elected chamber the better. So the coalition needs to listen to the views of the bill's ...
Over the last day or so I've tweeted and retweeted a few times about Lords Reform. I've brought much of this comment together here via Storify. [View the story "Twittering about Lords Reform" on Storify] [IMG: Share]
6.35 pm David Miliband (South Shields) (Lab): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Watford (Richard Harrington). I hope in my six minutes to pick up two of the key points that he made and that were made very forcefully by Labour Members yesterday. I have been spurred to speak by the fact that I find myself on the opposite side of the debate from some comrades on this side of the House with whom I have worked very closely over the past 10 or 15 years. I have asked myself why my view is so diametrically ...
I know its late, and I probably shouldn't publish this but what the hey... Its not over yet! Here follows the Party's release to members concerning Lords Reform. I hope that this isn't a dead issue and I'll be writing in the coming days as to why it should be supported - but first.... Bed time. Dear Chris, This evening we overwhelmingly won an historic vote on the Second Reading of the House of Lords Reform Bill - a Bill that will finish something our party started a century ago. This is a huge triumph for our party, and a ...
One of the most difficult aspects of list selections is the incumbency factor, and it now acts to dissuade potential candidates from running. For, let's face it, a credible MEP has the advantage of recognition, and a profile across the Region which is, in electoral terms, worth its weight in gold. And, unless you have a similar reputation, you're going to have to go out and earn it. Publicity is a good idea, but it's harder to get than one might think, and remember, you're trying to persuade party members, many of whom aren't terribly active. So, whilst attending a ...
Frankly tales of Kent's Conservative council secretive inner circle, drain me, but fortunately should you wish indulge, an interesting story appears courtesy of KentOnline and Paul Francis. The last few years, of writing this blog, it has been clear to me that residents are deliberately, presented information by Kent Council, which in the main suits the ruling Conservative party. Over the years it has been difficult to come by information, on various issues, media spend, lavish payments to staff, councillors use of chauffeur driven limousines, expensive travel, entertainment, it seems only the freedom of information act, has allowed the grudging ...
Manchester City Council should be championing more 'Green' and Sustainability initiatives say Manchester's Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems have put forward a Council motion calling on the Council to introduce a raft of radical Green policies such as going Meat-free one day a week, declaring opposition to controversial Fracking for gas, offsetting flights from Manchester Airport, and sourcing all Council electricity from Green providers. I am propposing the motion at tommorow morning's Council meeting. Our motion is calling for the Council to acknowledge that it has a huge part to play in tackling Climate change and creating a sustainable green ...
John Major was a decent man who wanted to govern as a one-nation Conservative prime minister, but was not allowed to do so by his ungovernable party. David Cameron is an arrogant man who has grasped that he needs to govern as a one-nation Conservative prime minister if he is to win a second term, but is not being allowed to do so by his party. Back in December 2006 I commented on a warning that Cameron, then leader of the opposition, gave to his party. He told it that it must back his drive to modernise or face a ...
This is a continuation of the interactive blog series, today looking at benefits and living standards. Three texts, but which was in the Labour Manifesto backed by the Labour supporters. A. All those who are unemployed will be offered a job placement, which they'll be required to take up or have their benefits cut. We will re-assess those on
As part of the current twitter storm about the Lords reforms, I got into a "debate" with Sunny Hundal. And I think that one particular segment of the debate sums up very neatly why I will never, ever stop being angry with Labour. Let's just quickly recap: The illegal invasion of Iraq, approved by parliament in no small part due the Labour government deliberately lying about weapons of mass destruction, resulted in, according to the Lancet, over 600,000 dead Iraqi civilians and in 4 million people being made refugees. It also destroyed the country's economy, plunged a mostly secular country ...
Wednesday 11th July St Mary's Parish Church, Abbey Road, Kilburn, 7.30pm The Gaumont State cinema and theatre Sunday 15th July HISTORY WALKS ALONG THE KILBURN HIGH ROAD 11am meet at Kilburn Park tube (Bakerloo) 2pm meet at Kilburn tube (Jubilee) Wednesday 18th July St Mary's Parish Church, Abbey Road, Kilburn, 7.30pm Kilburn Priory - where was it and what do we know Sunday 22nd July HISTORY WALKS ALONG THE KILBURN HIGH ROAD 11am meet at Kilburn Park tube (Bakerloo) 2pm meet at Kilburn tube (Jubilee) Wednesday 25th July St Mary's Parish Church, Abbey Road, Kilburn, 7.30pm Lived here and Loved ...
It's been a "day of drama" at Westminster much-beloved by the Village, with the Coalition Government deciding in the end to shelve a vote on its programme day motion to introduce House of Lords reform in the face of concerted opposition from rebel Tory MPs and the Labour party. It's the first time the Government has backed down in implementing one of its own Coalition Agreement policies. So does that mean Lords reform is lost? Not necessarily, as Unlock Democracy's Peter Facey makes clear here. However, the repercussions of the Conservative party's decision to renege on their last three manifesto ...
How Library Walk looked before the Council's £170m refurbishment Manchester City Council have submitted plans to block off Library Walk between Central Library and the Town Hall Extension. This is something that I am completely opposed to. I do not think it is right for the Council to be blocking off one of our City's most impressive roads. You can see my representation below. You can view the Council plans at: Please let me know if you need a hard copy. I understand that this application will not go to the Planning Committee until the late Summer/September ...
This lunchtime I was at Dr Challoner's High School for Girls in Chalfont, opposing the motion that This House Believes the Eurozone Is Doomed to Fail. Proposing it was David Moller, a former Reader's Digest journalist, on behalf of Civitas. The audience were a group of 30-odd Year 12s who have been studying economics. A vote on ...
I have been fascinated with the way words have been used - some would say misused - in the Lords Reform debates of recent weeks. No doubt both sides have been guilty. Some of the reformers have got very muddled up in their descriptions of the proposed electoral system. Some of the opponents have tried to label the Bill as "abolition". If that is accurate, how would they differentiate these reforms from the total removal of the House, creating a unicameral Parliament ? But, the most curious linguistic episode has been the sudden announcement from some opposing Peers that we ...
A local resident reports: "The wife got a missed call from 070 4920 7759, she phoned back got an answer then the line went dead. "This cost us £2.59 + VAT." The call has now been reported to Kent Trading Standards to see if they have had other reports and to ask for advice on reclaiming the cost of the call. Have others had any similar experience of calls from this number (or alternatively, if you own this number, has there been a misunderstanding)? If so, please email me or send me a message via Twitter. Published and promoted by ...
The British constitution is primarily the result of accident or, at best, short-term political compromise. From the existence of a Prime Minister to the electoral system, chances are some aristocrat you've never heard of blundered across it by accident a couple of centuries ago. The current bill to reform the House of Lords continues this unfortunate tradition. I am almost alone in the Lib Dems in opposing an elected second chamber. As it stands, the bill is not about to make me change my mind. The bill proposes an electoral system which uses list PR. This system puts powers over ...
There was a great article in yesterday's Manchester Evening News from Chorlton's Cllr Victor Chamberlain. Victor is Manchester's youngest ever Councillor, the previous holder of the title was Cllr David Hennigan (Levenshulme). Before David was another Levenshulme Councillor Keith Whitmore, ... Continue reading →
Tuesday: The House of Lords is a CANCER of PRIVILEGE at the heart of our Establishment. It needs to go. How can we complain about UNACCOUNTABLE bankers manipulating interest rates for their own advantage or UNACCOUNTABLE media barons (haha very ironic) hacking the phones of innocent victims for a story to sell when we allow the very laws that govern us (and bankers! and newspapers!) to be made by an UNACCOUNTABLE bunch of self-interested, unrepresentative, largely-geriatric, probably-deluded, has-beens hand-picked by the Prime Monster and the Leader of the Opportunists? WHO BENEFITS? Not the PEOPLE of Great Britain, that's for sure. ...
Jericho House Earlier today, I attended the latest meeting of the Jericho Housesupport group, a regular meeting at which a number of us discuss fundraising and other projects to support this important facility in the West End Ward, that assists those recovering from alcoholism. It was good to hear about positive progress on the funding issues I have been assisting Jericho House with and we also had a discussion about local activities Jericho House will be involved with in the coming months. You can read more about Jericho House at
Some time ago I mentioned a local mystery. The Kingsway Evangelical Church had suddenly become the Kingsway (large gap) Church on its big name board and its notice board. What was happening, I wondered. Had other Evangelical churches thrown it out for dubious theology or had it revolted? It's only fair to provide a sequel. It's now the Kingsway Community Church. A nine letter word has replaced the eleven letter one. What change of focus or image does this represent? They don't seem to have a website, or it can't be found easily by keying in the obvious words, but ...
Members of the public are being invited this week to find out more about plans to add capacity on the M25 in Kent and Surrey, through the delivery of the motorway's first managed motorway scheme. The technology-driven improvements are planned for 15 miles of the M25 between junctions 5, near Sevenoaks in Kent and junction 7 in Surrey, where the M25 and the M23 intersect. The hard shoulder will be converted to a traffic lane to add extra capacity. Variable mandatory speed limits, displayed on overhead and verge-mounted signs will help smooth the flow of traffic and reduce congestion on ...
My post from last year is rather relevant again, so here it is with some slight updates: The voters have cast their verdict and an MP is out of office. What should happen to them next? Most people's answers are somewhere on the spectrum from the polite (let them tidy up their affairs and see their staff properly treated as their contracts end) through to answers best not published before the watershed. But our political system has a remarkable answer. For a lucky group, the answer to being voted out of parliament is to say to them "now you've been ...
"If two monkeys want the same banana, in the end one will have it, and the other will cry morality. Who gets to form the committee to decide the rules that will be used to determine what is 'fair'? Whoever it is, got the banana." from here Most people don't care about democracy. Oh, people ...
Just a post to let you know that I am back from my maternity leave and ready to help. I've already made a good start on some housing casework today. Me and Baby
Getting my daughter out of bed in the morning in the school holidays is not easy. Actually, it's not that easy in term time either, now I come to mention it. She's a night owl and she would happily sleep the morning away, emerging around lunch time in a reasonable humour. Yesterday, though, she was up and ready to go out at 10:30 because, in her own words "I get up when it's important". So, what does a 13 year old consider important? Supporting equal marriage, that's what. Yesterday, the efforts of the brilliant Equal Marriage campaign culminated in a ...
Over on Crooked Timber, Bertram, Robin and Gourevitch (BRG) have put up an interesting argument claiming that the commonly understood objective of libertarian ideology, freedom (defined as the absence of coercion) does not necessarily imply that a market economy is the best way of organising society. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the cornerstone of ...
Because it is an absurd idea may well be your answer to that question even before you've reached the end of it. But bear with me a moment. Imagine a government policy to have mandatory tracking devices in all motor vehicles, which would record all the journeys and store the data. The data would normally be private but could be accessed by the police and others if they subsequently discovered a reason to suspect someone. (You may be able to guess where I am going with this...) It would cost a fair amount of money to implement, but the government ...
I rent out a unit in Beehive mill in Hebden Bridge, this is where my business is based. Yesterday we had the second flood to hit the area in just 17 days. This time the water ran straight off down the hill, with the road outside the building becoming a river, as rocks cascaded down with the water. The entrance to the mill is lower than the road level, and the silt in the water soon blocked up the drains. This resulted in water flooding into the entrance of the building. I was just planing to head out for my ...
Reflecting further on the comments by BBC Correspondent Vaughan Roderick on his blog, which I referred to last week that "With Plaid Cymru having spent a year navel gazing, at times it has appeared that the Lib Dems, with their 5 AMs are the most effective of the three opposition parties. Some Tories are of the opinion that this cannot continue." it seems that there is a need for all three opposition parties to get together do something about that. Naturally, it is nice for the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Kirsty Williams to be singled out in this way, but ...
First, form the policy, then find the evidence, it seems. The Save Withybush Hospital campaign has a good summary of the methodology of the Longley Report here: http://www.zen142533.zen.co.uk/SWATcontd/longleyreport.html Now the "smoking gun" in the form of emails between Professor Longley and Lesley Griffiths' health ministry has been found. Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said: "These email exchanges clearly contradict the health minister's statements that this case for change report was an 'independent assessment' and that it was 'impartial, based solely on the evidence'. "This is an appalling insult to the many people in Wales who are rightfully concerned about ...
Transport for Greater Manchester have updated their cycling webpages with lots of new goodies to help existing and would-be cyclists. They include: Cycle maps to view online, download as a pdf or order to have a paper version delivered to you for free. Book your free adult cycle training session Cycling tips and help Help for businesses to get more employees cycling to work Local Stockport contacts and maps (e.g. for the Middlewood Way and the Transpennine Trail).
In the Guardian yesterday evening Charles Kennedy challenged Labour to restore faith in Parliament today by supporting Lords Reform. He writes: For 100 years progressives in British politics have tried to bring democracy to one of the most important but arcane institutions in our country - the House of Lords. And for 100 years, the establishment has resisted, blocked or talked out those who argue for change at every turn. But today we have an historic opportunity to finally bring about that change - and it is in Labour's hands. ... Labour politicians for generations have fought to bring democracy ...
A North West England MEP is calling for an EU law to be toughened up to help cut energy use and save money. Liberal Democrat Chris Davies told the European Parliament's environment committee today that the EU's 2009 Eco-Design Directive ... Continue reading →
Tue 10th
12:55
Could the increasing popularity of harm reduction products impact cigarette consumption?
Not if the Public Health Industry has its way One obvious failure of the 2006 Health Act is the fact that the much vaunted smoking ban has had no impact on smoking prevalence in the UK. Not that those people who rely on the mainstream media for news would necessarily be aware of this as the pampered public health industry has gone to some lengths to hide the negatives and is even now clinging to patently false claims of alleged benefits. Sadly the media seems quite happy to indulge this penchant for deceit and the DoH has gone out of ...
Remember the Labservatives? That was the brilliant Liberal Democrat advertising campaign which satirised how Labour and the Conservatives collude to prevent meaningful reform. We saw it with the AV referendum. Much as though I'd prefer we just hadn't gone there, the nasty and vitriolic no campaign, backed by rich, powerful vested interests, fuelled by a collusion of people like Tom Harris from Labour and Tory Nadine Dorries emphasised that politically and socially conservative forces would stop at nothing to hinder even the most modest of reforms. Ed Miliband's half hearted support for the Yes campaign and his reluctance to work ...
Lords Reform could not fail if had the full support of Labour. The unknown destiny, at the time of writing, of the Lords Reform Bill is purely because that supposedly progressive party is split over whether to support or oppose democracy for the Upper House. On Monday, the first day of debate on the Bill, the ...
It is generally assumed knowledge - within the Liberal Democrats as well as in the wider political world - that our party's poll numbers took a big nosedive right after the coalition government voted (excepting rebels) to change the way tuition works in England by raising the limit on what universities can charge students per year to £9,000. For instance, a common answer I get when I ask fellow Lib Dems how many points they think we lost post tuition fees is "about 8%". What I want to do here is not to discuss the pros and cons of the ...
There is little I need add to this article from the Liverpool Echo: This independent think tank led by the most experienced Labour politician in Liverpool shows that it was untrue that: Liverpool needed a mayor Liverpool would get more ... Continue reading →
It's fair to say that last night's debate on the House of Lords Reform Bill will not go down in history as the Common's finest moment. There was more cant on display than the entire run of Play Away. Many of the speeches appeared to be against a different bill entirely and you could be forgiven for thinking the bill bore no resemblance to the one which Labour had proposed in its own White Paper in 2008 (in fact, the proposals are remarkably similar). For all that, however, it is fair to say the Lib Dems have not exactly covered ...
It would be so easy to deal with Labour's tribal opposition to House of Lords reform but responding in like manner. Nevertheless I hope we can rise above that. Don't get me wrong I think those who Ms Toynbee described as 'knuckle dragging neanderthals ' deserve all the grief that can be heaped on them but let's recognise that they are not all wreckers or ignore that there are some 'Hedgers and Ditchers' in our own ranks-did you read Steel's rant? If we are to make progress on this agenda we need to rally constitutional radicals where ever they are ...
Lots of guard railings have been removed with most to follow. Scrap metal merchant bonanza. it transpired that guard railings just corralled pedestrians and didn't make them any safer or other road users – sometimes trapping cyclists and pedestrians into dangerous and even occasionally deadly situations. So great these guard railing are going. But they were incredibly useful for parking bikes and locking them up. What to do? Well they're not a new idea but cycleloops seem the obvious alternative. Just need to persuade Southwark to roll them out...perhaps not pink ones.
Map of SNESteros Westeros meets Nintendo! (tags: sf ) Crazy Ape, The Hunter of Bäckaskog, now known as "the Bäckaskog Woman" "the oldest and most famous skeleton found in Sweden". (tags: archaeology ) 'Frankenstein' Mummies From Bog Off Coast Of Scotland Show Mix Of Corpses It's different in South Uist. (tags: archaeology ) South Sudan: Celebrating One Year of Independence Quotes "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". (tags: southsudan )
There was a time, when I was a Regional Officer in London, when I attended a fair few Liberal Democrat social events. As the husband of the President, I attended a lot, sometimes more than one in a day. However, now that I live full time in the country, there are less events to attend. Except that, during the summer, local branches like to hold outdoor events, so last week we were in Little Finborough for a Stowmarket Branch lunch. And no light repast either, with a proper roast lunch, desert and a cheeseboard, at the home of Bosmere's county ...
Sam Coates writes in The Times: "Yet this week [some Tory MPs] have put their careers on the line for a piece of legislation few members of the public care about." I would argue, rather, that members of the public do care about Lords reform, and do understand why it matters. It is not that they do not care, it is that they often do not find it very interesting. That is an important distinction. A lot of things that we care about (because we know that they matter) are also things that we can sometimes find boring. Some of ...
Why, in a supposedly modern civilised liberal society, are some of our journalists having to put up with alarming levels of personal abuse? Mehdi Hasan It is not often that I agree or sympathise with the comments of Mehdi Hasan, a vehemently tribal Labour party supporting journalist previously working for the New Statesman and now with the Huffington Post UK. But here, he talks about something I concur with - an issue which is not written about often due to the fear of public reprisal. It is an issue of real importance to be dealt with, if we are to ...
Going Medieval « Ars Marginal Ars on why people who complain that "PoC in medieval fantasy stories are unrealistic" are total arsholes (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Do you live in South Gloucestershire, are you over 50? Do you want to make a difference in your local community? The Centre for Sustainable Energy is looking to recruit volunteers who are keen to learn about energy and willing to share their knowledge in the community. A session for potential volunteers is being held at Yate Library on Tuesday 24th July 2012. If you are interested in helping older people at risk of, or already suffering from, fuel poverty then please visit the CSE website.
Following yesterday's Thornsby and Ashdown on Lords reform, here is another couple of bites for today. First Charles Kennedy: For 100 years progressives in British politics have tried to bring democracy to one of the most important but arcane institutions in our country - the House of Lords. And for 100 years, the establishment has resisted, blocked or talked out those who argue for change at every turn. But today we have an historic opportunity to finally bring about that change - and it is in Labour's hands... There are only two reasons to oppose this bill: to defend the ...
Last year's drug policy debate at conference ended with near-unanimous endorsement of the policy motion "protecting individuals and communities from drug harms", but since then Liberal Democrats seem to have been passing up every opportunity to publicise our new policy. When Theresa May dismissed the advice of the chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Lib Dems were silent. When Ken Clarke said the War on Drugs was failing but that decriminalisation wasn't the answer... Lib Dems were silent. When an audience member of question time last week asked if it was time to control, regulate and ...
After two days in the mountains and the first time trial, this Tour is finally taking shape, and it's looking like it's going to be Bradley Wiggins' race to lose. He's often said how Miguel Indurain was his hero, and watching the Spaniard's performances in the 90s were his inspiration to become a cyclist, and this was an Indurain style performance. He used the time trials to assert his superiority and demoralise his opponents, and that was exactly what Wiggins did yesterday. I'd expected that he'd gain time on all his rivals, but that it was likely to be a ...
To read most Right-wing newspapers and the Lib Dem bloggosphere in the past week or so, you would get the impression that large chunks of the Coalition have taken leave of their senses. Sales of anoraks must be through the roof as Lib Dems obsess over the contents of a Bill equally inappropriately ogled by various Tories who seem to think it's a convenient excuse to tear up the overall Coalition Agreement. Watch them all as they dissect parts of a law in the finest traditions of letting the best get in the way of the good. And, as a ...
One of the comments I've seen made quite often by people who oppose reform of the House of Lords is "if it ain't broke don't fix it". A predictably shallow and intellectually unsound argument but, despite that, I've decided to rant about it :) So, if you've used that phrase to defend an undemocratic, unaccountable House of Lords then the following is addressed to you (warning contains *quickly checks* one swear word) : It ain't broke. Are you serious? We have a chamber stuffed full of failed politicians, appointed by the nepotism of their party leaders, who can get £300 ...
I'm really bad at getting to short stories - my middle-aged presbyopia makes reading magazines difficult, so I tend to catch up on this year's short fiction by reading next year's Hugo nominees (and occasionally Year's Best anthologies). This is a set of ten short stories from PS Publishing's PostScripts magazine sent to BSFA members three years ago, which I have only now got around to reading. It wouldn't really have moved me o take out a subscription. The clear majority of the stories in the anthology are horror rather than sf, and frankly gave me bad dreams last night. ...
Tom Bradby? What is he like? He was saying last night on News at Ten that the Lib Dems might cause an early general election if House of Lords reform fails. He said the Tories are relaxed about this because they think they would win it. No and no. Does Bradby not read Acts of Parliament – like the Fixed Term Parliament Act – and the polls? The Tories would lose a general election now according to the polls – I doubt they want to risk it – and anyway if the Lib Dems withdraw from the coalition and vote ...
....but not before another little bit of Tour history. Yesterday was the race of truth. And the truth was rather revealing. One of the first men to lay down a marker for the day was World Time Trail champion Tony Martin (OPQ) who came in with a time of 53'40". When asked at the end who would beat that time he said Fabian (Cancellera) (RNT) would be fastest at the end. It was a sentiment echoed by David Millar (GRS) but he also mentioned that Wiggo and Froome Dog would not be far behind. Cancellera did indeed go faster, a ...
Tue 10th
06:55
LibLink: We can't sit in our golden chamber resisting democracy - Paddy Ashdown responds to attack o...
In the Mail on Sunday this week, Lord Ashdown responded to Lord Carlile's article from the previous week, which had opposed Nick Clegg's plans for Lords reform: If ever there was a time for a strong democratically based second chamber to buttress our democracy, it is now. Whatever view you take of the Cameron/Clegg proposals, nobody can seriously call them 'ill-considered'. They were preceded by a Royal commission, four white papers and three joint committees. Every party called for it in their manifestos at the last Election. The Cameron/Clegg reform Bill does not 'trash' the Lords, as some claim - ...
With the school holidays well underway, there's a large number of activities provided by the Ancrum Outdoor Centre in Ancrum Road. You can download the Summer Programme at www.ancrum.com/AncrumSummer_12.pdf.
The Courier yesterday covered my concerns about the state of the former Queen Victoria Works and I was also on Radio Tay News about the matter - click 'play' below to listen:
