Richard Allan, Nick Clegg's predecessor as MP for Sheffield Hallam and since 2010 a member of the House of Lords, was the guest speaker at Kensington and Chelsea Liberal Democrats' summer garden party in Notting Hill this evening and delivered an astute analysis of the present state of the Party after two years in government. One would not expect ...
I have left York with a rucksack full of interesting snippets to share with you as the nights draw in. It remains a stunning city, though I chose not to pay £9 to enter the Minster or join the people queueing in the rain outside Betty's. You now find me in Ripon - cathedrals are best seen by dusk.
Parking at Homerton Childrens Centre The South Area meeting at the Cherry Hinton Village Centre last night set five policing priorities for the coming four months: Anti-social behaviour in Cherry Hinton Mini-moto misuse in Cherry Hinton Dangerous driving and parking outside schools in Queen Edith's Speeding in Church End, Cherry Hinton Domestic burglaries The police recommended carrying on with the school parking and asked to add another, domestic burglaries. They asked to discharge the three Cherry Hinton objectives. I spoke in support of the parking outside schools objective. Despite the police reporting 'no problems', parents I have talked to from ...
Report back from Cheadle Area Committee, 17th July 2012 Sgt Gareth Davis, based at the Cheadle Police Post, reported that there have been no robberies in the area over the last two months and other crimes (e.g. burglary) continue to fall. As in previous years, the Police are putting on extra patrols for this Friday when the High Schools break up and for over the summer holiday period. David Wilson, our Public Realm Inspector from the Council raised the issue of flooding in heavy rain: sometimes it's due to blockages in the gulleys, but other times it's just due to ...
I have this afternoon received a response to my Freedom of Information Request about the retention of the lifetime ban on Men who have sex with Men (MSM) donating blood. Here is the reply: Q 1. For minutes of any meetings that the Minister has had pertaining to the SaBTO report "Donation selection criteria review - men who have had sex with men" 8-Sep-11 A: No minutes held. Q 2. For details of any information that the Minister has received that conflicts with or supports the quantitative and qualitative substance of the above report. Especially that of the two pieces ...
Which is as good a reason as any to point out that both are wrong. Creationism (the theory that evolution did not happen and God's creation of the world is "not just a theory but a fact") is a dangerous doctrine that should not be taught in schools, for the very simple reason that it undermines the basis and integrityof all science education. Now, I'm as stereotypical a liberal arts student as they come, but I do believe in teaching based on fact over superstition. This evening, it appears, Michael Gove has mystifyingly given the go-ahead for three so-called free ...
So, I took the kids to the beach today, our first visit this year. The absence of rain and the temperature being above freezing provided the impetus to get there while we had the chance. We had a great time - although I'm not sure the jellyfish called Carlos being carried around in a bucket would have agreed. Maybe it's just as well they don't have brains. I was nervous but anticipating good things from the Scottish Government on the subject of equal marriage. Surely to goodness they wouldn't wimp out, pandering to the loud voice of the Cardinal who'd ...
Tue 17th
19:56
Lib Dems set to confirm Police & Crime Commissioner Candidate - as Concerns over Publicity Restr...
Cllr Ron Tindall Liberal Democrats are preparing for the election of the first Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner on 15th November, with the candidate – Cllr Ron Tindall of Hemel Hempstead – set to be confirmed by members through an all-member ballot by mid-August. Ron Tindall said: "I am delighted to be putting myself forward to be the Liberal Democrat candidate in this important election. It will determine who will supervise and guide Herts Constabulary over the next four years. I want to set out a distinctive Liberal Democrat approach to policing. It is important to support local police teams, ...
[IMG: Twitter logo] I've just added two more Liberal Democrat MPs to my Twitter list – Mark Hunter and Simon Hughes - bringing the number of Lib Dem MPs there up to 42. Or perhaps more accurately 41 1/2 as Simon's account is not being used at the moment. You can follow all the Lib Dem MPs on Twitter via this list. (Right, let's see how long it is this time before someone spots another one...)
An email reaches me from Andrew Wiseman. It tells of "an exciting and diverse agenda for our week in Brighton". That is good to hear, but I am struck at once by the illustration. What have they done to Libby? She has turned blue overnight. I am struggling to see how this helps in our efforts to differentiate ourselves from the Conservatives in the eyes of the voters. A 14-year-old from Nick Clegg's office replies: It's not blue, it's aqua. So there.
Sorry for not blogging in a while but I haven't been in the blogging frame of mind recently. Nick Clegg gave the inaugural William Beveridge lecture at the Social Liberal Forum's Conference on Saturday. The speech was generally uncontroversial, Nick basically transplanted Beveridge's 5 Giants of Evil into todays world and the challenges we face ...
The Government has announced a consultation into the provision of Facility Time within the Civil Service. I declare interest as a member and former rep for DWP Eastern, DWP Cambridgeshire and DWP Norfolk and Suffolk within the PCS. The role of a union rep is vitally important. In my brief time as a rep, I found that the majority of my work was related to helping staff with their problems. It might have been a bullying and harassment case; a grievance against a warning wrongly given or just sitting with a member talking to a manager about their sick absences. ...
Vince Cable writes for the Evening Standard: [IMG: Vince Cable] One important dimension of effective boards is their ability to tap into big talent pools. In the past, these pools have been shallow and stagnant, unrepresentative of wider society. In particular, a mixture of prejudice and inertia has kept women down to derisory levels of representation: barely one in 10 of board directors. This Government is not afraid of tackling the status quo and the Home Secretary and I are taking this issue very seriously. Eighteen months ago, we asked Lord Davies to drive a process of increasing the share ...
[IMG: 20mphsign] Angry local residents have spoken out against Haringey Council vetoing a plan for a 20 mph limit for Stroud Green Road. The residents were interviewed along with myself on the BBC London radio drive time slot – calling for the Council to the think again. Islington Council has decided to implement 20mph restrictions on all roads, including Stroud Green Road, but Haringey have been able to veto this because the road is on the boundary between the two Boroughs. Haringey are currently refusing to implement 20 mph zones without speed humps and other physical measures – despite these ...
The British contractor G4S has specacularly failed to find anything like enough staff to support its contract to provide security staff for the London Olympics...which start in less than two weeks. The details aren't clear yet, but this one has all the makings of a fiasco that will be examined in deph in MBA courses for a long time. A bigger question is the effect it will have on public attitudes to the private sector here in Britain. For now the politicians and journalists are having some fun. "Is this a humiliating shambles for G4S? Yes or No?" (or similar ...
It has been widely remarked that House of Lords reform is not such a major issue and that it should not break the Coalition. Maybe so. However what is of fundamental importance is the Coalition Agreement. It was that that was broken last week by Tory MPs. Up until then the Coalition Agreement had been considered sacrosanct. Lib Dem MPs had loyally voted for policies they didn't agree with on the understanding the Tories would do likewise; this is how Coalitions work. However it is clear that a substantial number of Tory MPs do not want it to work, and ...
I recently contacted the Council to ask about the future of the recently closed Public Toilets at Chorlton Bus Station. A number of residents have contacted me because they are concerned about the lack of Public Toilets in Chorlton and because they were concerned the building would get vandalised. Last year Manchester City Council closed all but one public toilet in the City. This is the response I have recieved: "I refer to your enquiry regarding the public conveniences at the bus lay-by at Chorlton. The decision to close 13 sets of public toilets was set out in a committee ...
Tue 17th
16:14
Opinion: Britain and the EU-Liberal Democrats need to help reduce the democratic deficit
Following the launch of the Balance of Competences review of EU powers last week, the next major debate within the coalition looks set to be over Britain's relationship with Europe. Nick Clegg has emphasised that the review should not be used as a way to exploit the eurozone crisis and carve out a special EU deal forBritain. However, many Tory eurosceptics will no doubt view it as a platform to push for a significant repatriation of powers, in the run-up to an eventual referendum on EU membership. Membership of the EU has clearly become a major issue for the public, ...
Reacting to a report in the Manchester Evening News today, South Manchester Liberal Democrat MP John Leech has criticised plans to place a Subway in Parrs Wood School. John said today, "My instinct is to oppose these plans, and urge the school, and Subway, to think again. Schools should be offering a balanced range of dinners to pupils, not just sandwiches." Local Lib Dem Councillor Andy Taylor added, "I work in public health. I see the effects of fast food on child obesity every day. Schools have an obligation to reduce obesity levels, not add to them."
Tue 17th
16:00
Dear Tory HQ. You might want to delete the @camerondirect feed from the last election.
...because this is what it currently shows. A tad embarrassing, isn't it?
[IMG: Flooded Road] Flooding in Guildhall Street over the weekend The recent heavy rain in Folkestone and Sandgate has highlighted the shocking state of drain clearance throughout the area. Folkestone West County Councillor Tim Prater has demanded urgent action from Kent Highways after roads turned into raging rivers in places over the weekend. Residents in Folkestone and Sandgate faced road and pavement flooding due to heavy rain. In many places, the flooding caused fear of damage to property. Clearing of street drains (gullies) is the responsibility of Conservative dominated Kent County Council. Lib Dem Campaigner Tim Prater said: "The clearing ...
In an article in The Spectator, Stephen Williams argues: The Libor scandal has shown the UK's banking sector in its worst light. The public has lost trust in the big banks and are concerned that their politicians are more interested in political point scoring than the urgent task of fixing our broken banking system. That is why, last year, I joined the Move Your Money campaign, which urges the public to use their consumer power to change the behaviour of the big banks by moving their money, or at least some of it, to ethical, local or mutual financial institutions. ...
As we get ready to enjoy/endure/get-away-from (delete as appropriate) weeks of physical competition and confrontation at the Olympic games in London, questions remain as to what legacy the UK will be getting from this competition. Will we see many more youngsters seeking to emulate their heroes by taking up sport or will they be following the example of the sponsors and just eating more junk food? Today's Guardian highlights how commercialism is taking over the Olympic spirit. They say that by concluding long-term exclusivity agreements with iconic junk food brands, the International Olympic Committee has failed to support public health ...
By Sam Fisk It has been said many a time over but the fact remains: Europe is facing a lost generation. The recession and Eurozone crisis has hit the young hardest. Youth unemployment has hit 50% in parts of Europe with the UK suffering from over 1 million young people unemployed at 20%. If we ...
We've had complaints about the state of the road that goes from the M60 J3 slip road under Kingsway and onto the South Park Road Estate. Not the road itself, but litter dumped on the sides and tall grass growing on the north side of the road that's causing visibility issues for people coming off the motorway and turning right onto the Estate. The problem is that, although the road itself is owned by Stockport Council, all the land to the north of the road (on your right as you come off the slip road and drive towards South Park ...
30% Club Celebration Event, Tuesday 3rd July 2012 from Vimeo. Note: The 30% Club are a client at work.
Well done to Councillor Victor Chamberlain who has had an article published in the Manchester Evening News entitled "I'm proof that politics IS for young people" with the byline "Manchester's youngest councillor aged 22". Here is a taster: 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 ...
Yesterday, I had a very useful and productive meeting with a City Council Financial Inclusion Development Officer regarding the issue of ATMs that charge the customer for cash withdrawals from the machine. My concern in raising this - and a map provided by the City Council of ATMs across Dundee confirms this - is that many of the machines that charge are in community regeneration areas, where the greatest concentration of people on the lowest incomes live. The banks will argue that their providing free-to-use cash machines at these locations is away from where their volume usage is, but there ...
With Rod King (r), Founder of 20s Plenty for Us, and Norman Baker MP (c), Lib Dem Transport Minister. In February, I put forward a successful Council Motion to introduce 20mph limits on all of Manchester's residential roads. 20's Plenty for Us welcomes the proposal for new speed limit guidance regarding 20mph limits. Now over 8m people live in local authorities who have already committed to 20mph limits as the default for all residential roads and it is important that the DfT is aligning itself better with what is developing good practice within such progressive local authorities. The DfT's own ...
Yesterday, watching Paul Kingsnorth and Tim Worstall spar on Twitter over the price of milk, I was struck by two notions. Firstly, it's fun to watch people who are wrong for different reasons argue. Secondly, the reasons for their disagreement are so fundamental that such a debate is pointless; there's insufficient common ground for any ...
I know most of you don't care about the Penn State scandal but it has given us not only a chilling A-list story on child molestation alongside the Catholic Church but it has also given us a glimpse of how sports writers work these days. Being right has always been at the forefront of journalism with being first a hair's breadth behind. These days though being the loudest voice in the room is by far the most important thing. Let me just give you two prime examples. Stephen A. Smith is a well known writer and broadcaster in the United ...
All three major parties committed to Lords Reform in their 2010 General Election manifestos, however Labour promised an elected Second Chamber via a referendum. This explains why Labour MPs dragged their heels during the Second Reading of the Lords Reform Bill, though a cynic may suggest that Labour did so not as its job as Opposition but because of a more insidious agenda to break up the Coalition. Nevertheless, Labour profess that their opposition stems from a belief that 'constitutional convention' requires that the Bill must include a referendum. But does such a constitutional convention really exist? In recent times ...
[EDIT: Consider this argument post-electoral reform, not under FPTP ~ Cheers for this guys!] We're at a stand-still in British politics, cynics will call it the "mid-term blues" but I think it goes further than that. There is huge political apathy in Britain, voter turnout is continuously falling and the expenses scandal, combined with nearly every other ...
A packed public gallery witnessed a fiery Full Council meeting in Sutton last night, after the Tory opposition attempted to turn a social project – aimed at tackling youth obesity and school absenteeism – into a political football. The project ... Continue reading →
It was standing room only at the Cherry Hinton Village Centre at last night's South Area meeting, mainly with people from Queen Edith's who were there to quiz traffic officers from the Tory-run Cambridgeshire County Council about parking. Queen Edith's is home to some venerable institutions such as Addenbrooke's Hospital, Homerton College and both Hills Road and Long Road VI Form Colleges. All of them are excellent - and all of them are big traffic generators. Either to save money paying for hospital parking, or because there is no parking at the colleges, the cars park in neighbouring streets. Some ...
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TEMPORARY CLOSING OF BEDFORD ROAD AND INKERMAN ROAD, ST ALBANS NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads:- 1. that length of Bedford Road, St Albans from its junction with B6424 Alma Road north westwards to its junction with Inkerman Road, a distance of approximately 165 metres. 2. that length of Inkerman Road, St Albans from its junction with Alexandra Road south westwards for its entire length. The purpose of the Order is ...
As I type a small posy of sweet-peas are keeping me company with their scent. Outside, what promised to be a fine day earlier is clouding over, yet more rain on the way. I'm just back from the allotment. This year, I was determined to make it the most productive year so far but, despite my best efforts, all I have succeeded in is raising a bumper crop of slugs and snails.It is just energy sapping to see all the damage this year's rain has done. Garlic, courgettes and cauliflowers have all disappeared without a trace. I'm down to two ...
A very impressive effort from 1969, despite getting off to an unpromising start with thinking that the future of phones lay in video phones – that perennial prediction for the next big thing that kept on turning out to be misplaced time after time as other more important and more popular innovations took off instead: The film features the Post Office Research Station in Dollis Hill which was also where Bletchley Park's famous code-breaking computer, the Colossus, was built.
Today the Scottish Government shall discuss and, perhaps, decide upon the future of the marriage equality campaign in Scotland. The choice, to my biased eyes anyway, seems clear. On the one hand there is a campaign for individual and religious freedom, fighting for the right of all couples to marry. On the other is a campaign hellbent on maintaining the current status quo, ignoring the wishes of smaller religions and determined to put individual citizens rights up to a majority vote. Given the history of prejudice against Catholics, especially in certain parts of Scotland where such prejudice continues to this ...
I've saved David Cameron the trouble of knifing his friends and reshuffled his cabinet for him. (Blame me Dave; tell them I made you do it). In fact I've reshuffled it twice. Once as I (or maybe Nick, who will have a strong influence on any LD changes) would like it to be (while maintaining some semblance of reality - if I had a free hand I'd fill it with Lib Dems but that's not going to happen so I've been sensible and looked at the possible); and once as I think it's more likely to end up. And what ...
Southport's MP has been making some important observations over the weekend in an article in the Observer. Not least amongst them is the exploding of the Westminster Village myth that there were a group of voters who would step up and fill the void left by those electors deserting us because of the coalition. The deputy PM, .........' has had to recognise that being in government has not by itself won a whole new range of voters who it was said previously "considered" the party but doubted its capacity to make tough decisions and declined to vote for it. These ...
The latest issue of Liberator magazine (issue no.354 - July 2012) was mailed to subscribers last week. If by chance you have not yet got round to taking out a subscription, here's a summary of the contents: The editorial column Commentary calls for tougher bank regulation in the wake of the Barclays scandal. It also calls on the party's Federal Finance and Administration Committee to produce the evidence for its decision to defy both the conference and the Federal Conference Committee and persist with police accreditation for conference representatives. The insider gossip column Radical Bulletin begins with the background story ...
What Central Europe thinks of Britain and why "the new member-states will have few reasons for wanting to spend political capital on supporting UK demands for exemptions from EU legislation" (tags: ukpolitics eu ) Right Said Blake A Blake's 7 / Bernard Cribbins mashup. What more can you ask for? (tags: sf ) Updated Supporter Numbers | London in 2014 Bid to bring the World Science Fiction Convention to London in 2014 is going well! (tags: worldcon sf ) GPO restored W.T Cosgrave re-opens the GPO (1928?) after it had been restored following the 1916 Easter Rising. (tags: ireland ) ...
Ashford Citizens Advice Bureau has been made aware that members of the public are being telephoned by someone pretending to be from CAB and offering debt advice. Citizens Advice never call a member of the public without them having first contacted the CAB and giving permission for a call back. Members of the public are reminded that they should never give personal details, banking information or other data to anyone who cold calls them. They are also reminded that the Citizens Advice Bureau do not charge a fee for the advice they give. To report any concerns you have or ...
Police from nine forces drafted in to fill Olympic security gaps left by G4S | UK news | guardian.co.uk (tags: ) Diary of a Benefit Scrounger: A Nice Lady from the DWP (tags: ) Kerrang's greatest rock stars of all time (tags: ) Top Gear bonus lifts Jeremy Clarkson's pay above £3m | Media | guardian.co.uk (tags: ) Stephen Shashoua - Interfaith needs atheists | New Humanist Teacher and writer Alom Shaha, who sometimes speaks at 3FF's school workshops, was once asked by a young Catholic woman, "So you don't believe in Heaven or Hell or anything after you die? ...
When is a sprinters' day not a sprinter's day? When not one of the sprinters' team actually do any work to reel in the six man breakaway. That is what happened yesterday on the road in to Pau. Pau can be all sorts of things to Le Tour being as it is at the foot of the Pyrénées it can he end of a flat stage approach to the mountains, a launching pad to enter the mountains or an end town after being in the mountains. Yesterday it was supposed to have been set up as a sprint finish before ...
Dadabhai Naoroji I have written here before about the case for community outreach by our Party and cited amongst other statistics results from the Ethnic Minority British Election Survey (EMBES) which showed in the 2010 elections: 68% of ethnic minorities had voted Labour, 16% Conservatives and only 14% Liberal Democrats. To encourage local parties to do more to promote support from diverse communities, we have of course implemented various initiatives. These range from the appointment of a National Diversity Advisor for the Party in Issan Ghazni (2007-2010) and permanent staff in the Party's Diversity Unit, to the establishment of volunteer ...
Readers of the Dispatch Box will know that Home Secretary Theresa May is really under huge pressure to keep her job post Olympics. Things only seem to be getting worse for May and her Security Minister James Brokenshire, as further ... Continue reading →
After the peloton took a bonus rest day on Friday, it seems they decided to do the same yesterday as well. After some frantic early attacking – so frantic that Edvald Boasson Hagen and Bernie Eisel were trying to calm the pack down because of the chaos at the front – a break got away, and after a bit of chasing from Lotto-Belisol, they were allowed to go clear for the win. That was also because of the nature of yesterday's stage – while there were only a few categorised climbs, there was over 2000m of ascent in it, which ...
[IMG: Twitter logo] Oops. I missed out two MPs from my earlier update. Tessa Munt -@tessamunt – and Mike Crockart – CrockartMP – are also both on Twitter, bringing the number of Lib Dem MPs there up to 40. You can follow all the Lib Dem MPs on Twitter via this list.
The economic headlines have been dominated by the IMF's latest forecast, with seemingly grim news: UK economic growth forecasts slashed by worried IMF. The Guardian contrasts the IMF's downgraded prospects for UK growth with the more stable picture for other countries: The IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook that GDP across the UK - which is currently in recession - will increase by 1.4% in 2013 - a 0.6 percentage point cut from its previous 2% forecast. Only Spain has a bigger downgrade next year after the IMF said it will lose 0.7 percentage points and maintain its ...
Tuesday I call in at St Asquith's and find the Revd Hughes listening to two chaps with wings. "Isn't it terrible about Nicaragua and I feel so sorry for social workers. I blame the coalition," says one. "I am looking forward to seeing that new film with the dialogue in Ancient Manx. I think films like that should be subsidised. Did you read Polly Toynbee this morning?" "Who were they?" I asked the Revd Hughes after they have gone. "Guardian angels," he explains. Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South-West 1906-10 Previously in Lord Bonkers' Diary When banks Go ...
Perhaps this pattern is too neat, and certainly the evidence needs marshalling. Yet there seems to be an answer too little talked about to two of the major right-wing policies that Conservatives and keen on and make Liberal Democrats nervous about being in coalition with them. An answer, moreover, that Liberal Democrats would welcome. Start with immigration – which Conservatives look for all sorts of ways to cut. What fuels much of it? Job creation in the UK which is seeing large number of non-UK nationals secure new jobs. (Compare the first quarters of 2011 and 2012 and employment went ...
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we've been publishing the full results. Party members give Lib Dems 7 out of 10 for influence within the Coalition How would you rate the extent of the Liberal Democrat influence within the Coalition Government, where 10 is highly influential, and 1 indicates no influence. 1: 1% 2: 4% 3: 9% 4: 8% 5: 9% Lacking influence = 31% (n/c) 6: 16% 7: 27% 8: 19% ...
Residents have complained to me that the site of the former McCheyne Memorial Church on Perth Road is again badly overgrown - see right. I have asked the City Council's Planning Enforcement Officer to contact the building owners to request that they take steps to have the front of the site tidied.
