[IMG: Outside Harringay Station] This evening I went out knocking on doors near Harringay Station to make people aware of an important consultation about the future of train services into Moorgate and Kings Cross. The current franchise, run by First Capital Connect, is coming to an end so the Department for Transport are consulting on what the specifications should be for the new franchise. This is our opportunity to argue for better services and improvements to the trains and stations. But what makes it really important is that the Government is spending £6 billion upgrading services, which includes linking our ...
It's over folks. The House of Lords will stay as it is and the Lib Dems have been shafted worse than contestants on Robert Kilroy-Silk's game-show 'To share or to shaft.' Yes a report in the Telegraph this evening says the PM can't talk around his backbenchers and therefore is giving up. This is the same newspaper that wrote a genuine piece about the perceived 'Curse of Cameron' with regards to his witnessing of sporting events led to the lack of Gold medals. It is so dumb that I was going to just blog on that. Now I'm doing a ...
Apparently this is the lead non Olympic story in tomorrow's Telegraph Time to make a fuss. They're burying bad news.
Skyrim: Fantasy Sword play Last night I killed a man. I don't know his name, where he came from or if he had family, all I know is that he died at the end of my blade gasping for mercy as he laid on his knees. He did start the fight to be fair, he attacked me first wielding a two handed sword and rushing out of the long grass at me as I looked for an easy way into the castle. I should point out I was playing the fantasy game Skyrim and not wandering the streets of Rochester. ...
Day six sees the Royal mail being busy. Three more golds today means 50% more work than yesterday as the next stamps had to be designed, printed and distributed, plus post boxes selected from a paint job, especially as three of them may have come out of the blue. First up are Etienne Stott and Tim Baillee for their gold in a British 1-2 in the C2 slalom. Golden post boxes in their honour will appear tomorrow a second north of Hadrian's wall at Aberdeen for Baillee and one in Bedford for Stott. Then we have Peter Wilson for shooting, ...
MACE - the Media Archive for Central England - has begun a series of time-limited screenings of 10 themed compilation films. Each will stream online for four weeks, on both the MACE blog and Vimeo. The Last Train to Woodford Halse is the first of these. MACE describes it thus: Remembering the lost stations and lines that didn't survive the modernisation of British Railways in the 1960s. From major hubs like Nottingham Victoria to the smallest branchline halts of the Midlands region. This compilation of rarely seen archive material from the MACE collection will not only bring to life those ...
When did 'medal' become a verb? asks Living on words alone this evening. The place to find an answer to such questions is generally Michael Quinion's World Wide Words. Use the search facility on the site and, sure enough, you will find this exchange from a 2008 newsletter of his: "I was bemused to hear this morning's NPR commentator speak about the US meddling in the Chinese Olympics," wrote Barbara Millikan, "but after hearing it several times I realized from context that I was just witnessing the transmogrification of yet another noun: 'medal'. Did you know that we no longer ...
The decline of party membership in the UK Figures are available for 2011 party membership of Labour and the Liberal Democrats (but not the Conservatives, who seem rather secretive) here: The Conservative party is estimated to have a current membership between 130k and 170k, so for the sake of this graph, I put the middle value of 150k. I also used data available here: http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN05125 With all major parties in a long term decline, is party system democracy becoming a thing of the past?
This morning's papers were full of reports that Bradley Wiggins had called for the wearing of safety helmets to be made compulsory for cyclists. However, later reports, such as this one on BBC News, suggest that was not his intention. I am not an enthusiast for compulsion. As Julian Huppert, Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, says on the Spectator's Coffee House blog, there are many other practical things that can be done to make cycling safer: We need to improve dangerous road junctions, install priority traffic lights for cyclists and we need the adoption of a 20mph speed limit in ...
Letter received by Chris from Veolia I am writing to advise you that Veolia Water is upgrading nearly 18km of the underground network of pipes that supply water each day to residents, businesses and schools in the St Albans area. This work represents an investment of £2.3 million. Some of the existing water mains were laid more than 60 years ago and have given many years of good service, but have now reached the end of their useful lives. The majority of these pipes are cast iron, which have begun to weaken and this has made them vulnerable to leaks ...
Kingston proved an excellent backdrop to the Olympic road cycling and the crowds have thronged to see the top professionals and especially the UK riders. Sadly my photography skills are such I managed to miss the UK contingent at both the road race and time trials as these snaps show... ...but my enjoyment of the TV coverage of the games has been somewhat spoilt by the British team (or 'Team GB' as I suppose we must call them) constantly referring to 'medalled' or 'medal' in the form of a verb - as in 'we expect them to medal at this ...
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert MP Julian Huppert has called on English Heritage to save Cambridge's Flying Pig pub. He hopes it might be able to give the 1832 pub listed status to protect in law through the planning system so that it can be passed on to future generations. Julian, who is pushing a Private Members Bill to save the nation's pubs and independent shops, has written to English Heritage after residents called for his help to save the pub, one of the first buildings on Hills Road, from redevelopment. He has asked representatives to visit the timber-framed Flying Pig, ...
Please email your MP and Nick Clegg to urge them to support new amendments to the House of Lords Reform Bill to remove Bishops from Parliament: http://holyredundant.org.uk/how-you-can-help/ Last month, over two days of Parliamentary debate on Lords reform, the Government's proposals to retain Church of England Bishops in the legislature came under sustained attack. In all, around one in every five speakers made reference to ending the role of the Lords Spiritual in a reformed House. What's more, within hours of the Bill's introduction, amendments to remove the Bishops had been tabled by Chris Bryant MP (Rhondda). In the wake ...
Victory salute Today the cycling has moved from the road into the velodrome and what a day it was. World records fell in the Team Sprints to both the men and women's GB teams, though the later lost theirs minutes later to China, and to the men's 4000m team pursuit. But there was drama in the first round of the women's sprint. Victoria Pendleton was deemed to have overtaken Jessica Varnish too early and this resulted in them being relegated to last in the round rather than progressing to the gold medal match. The GB team of Geraint Thomas, Ed ...
Writing here in a personal capacity, I am very pleased (as a pro-Israeli Liberal Democrat) that UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met Palestinian Prime Minister Dr Salam Fayyad on Friday could debate ad infinitum the strong criticisms of some Israeli policies expressed by Mr Clegg on this occasion; my point, rather, is that it's simply great that Mr Clegg is meeting the person who is surely the best leader that the Palestinians have It is people like Mr Fayyad who will lead the Palestinians to the sort of peace that will benefit Palestinians and Israelis alike. Mr ...
A Government Minister has praised the forthcoming Liverpool Pride event and sent best wishes to organisers and everyone taking part. Lib Dem Lynne Featherstone, who is minister for equalities, sends the message via Liverpool Lib Dems, who will again this ... Continue reading →
One of the most difficult aspects of the welfare reforms for many Liberal Democrat activists to bear was the removal of Employment and Support Allowance after a year from those placed in the Work Related Activity Group. Our anxiety is compounded by what we see as a deeply flawed assessment system which does not take fluctuating conditions seriously. I wrote a critique of the application form earlier this year which explains some of the problems. The Work Capability Assessment was introduced by Labour in 2008. The Coalition has improved it under the guidance of Professor Malcolm Harrington, but not to ...
My grandmother came from Glasgow. She moved, with her husband and children, to Belfast in the late 1930s. During World War Two, she was in Glasgow to visit her family. There was a barrage balloon, and during her visit my grandmother decided she wanted to see it. She went to the site of the balloon ...
Yesterday, I went to see the Spain v Uruguay football at Old Trafford. Given it finished goalless it was pretty good match, and it was great to see so many different football shirts in just a small part of ... Continue reading →
Loved the opening ceremony – surprised no London's Calling from The Clash. I didn't expect to watch more than five minutes but ended up watching the whole thing. Fab. I was fortunate enough to buy family tickets for Hockey and Archery. We all really enjoyed both events if not the exceptionally early starts following LOCOG instructions. London Bridge was near empty at 7.15am and 4pm despite the repeated gloom and doom messages and really no need for the irritating one-way system. Network Rail should have shown proper leadership on this. What I was really impressed by at the Archery was ...
Celebrating gold 15:37 is the time that Team GB won three medals all at once at two at Lee Valley on the white water course in the C2 there were two British pairs bookending the final six. First off where Tim Baillee and Etienne Stott who absolutely blitzed the course going clean without hitting a gate in a time of 106.41, faster than anyone had gone in qualification or the semi final. They then sat in the bottom as the Chinese and Poles both hit gates and were outside their time. Then the French pair Klauss and Peche came down ...
Huge congratulations to Bradley Wiggins on his gold medal of course, but also good on him for using his place on top of the podium as a platform to talk about cycling safety. Whatever your views on compulsory cycle helmets and the like, there is nothing wrong with the Olympic and Tour de France champion using his moment in the spotlight to say what he believes. Some will suggest that it is not for him (or Lizzie Armistead, who has said similar) to talk about politics. But if they know what they are talking about - and as road racers ...
Yesterday Boris Johnson was in Victoria Park taking the first ride on a new zip wire. This is what happened, courtesy of ITV: * Mary Reid is one of the Day Editors on Lib Dem Voice.
Some great news today as the Medical Research Council (MRC) announced that Manchester would be home to one of four new e-research centres to be set up across the UK, with £18m investment. I am delighted that the government has ... Continue reading →
John Leech MP has welcomed the huge investment of over £18m to fund a centre of excellence in electronic health research in Manchester. Manchester is one four e-research centres to be setup in the UK with the University of Manchester's Jean McFarlane Building on Oxford Rd being home to Manchester's centre. John Leech MP said: "We have a world-wide reputation for pioneering health research in Manchester and I am delighted the government have recognised this and made this huge investment. This funding will mean that Manchester is leading the way in helping fight heart disease cancer and diabetes. This investment ...
My grandfather used to row on the Bann for Coleraine Inst. but two other old boys of the same school, Richard and Peter Chambers, today were racing at Eton Dorney for Olympic gold. In what was the closest race of the Olympic regatta so far the Northern Irish pair along with Rob Williams and Chris Bartley were in a four way tussle with the Danes, Aussies and South Africans. The Danes had taken the lead early while the other three crews were left somewhat in their wake. But at half way the other three were starting to make inroads into ...
From today's publication of party accounts by the Electoral Commission for national party organisations (i.e. excludes some of the component parts of the parties): Liberal Democrats Income £6,204,766 Expenditure £6,504,743 Surplus / (deficit) -£299,977* Membership 48,934** * There would have been a £217,473 surplus had it not been for a one-off write-off of a debt owed to the Federal Party by the Parliamentary Office of the Liberal Democrats which, after the loss of Cranborne and Short money income was never going to be realistically repaid. ** 31 December 2011. Conservative Party Income £23,660,000 Expenditure £22,971,000 Surplus / (deficit) £689,000 Membership ...
Cornwall's Council Leader Alec Robertson is trying to re-write history by claiming to members that his administration never considered closing any libraries. He makes the claims in an email to all members in which he also tries to justify the privatisation of a range of front line services. The key excerpt from Alec's email reads: Despite the misleading comments made in one local newspaper this week, the Council has never considered closing any libraries in Cornwall. But this isn't actually true. In 2010 when the cabinet was considering their first emergency budget, an options paper was put before them with ...
The future of the Royal Bank of Scotland is back in the headlines today. The Financial Times reports that ministers are discussing buying the remaining shares in RBS, bringing it fully under state control. This would allow them to force it to lend more to viable small and medium-sized businesses without having to worry about other shareholders challenging such a direction in the courts. The Guardian reports that Liberal Democrat Vince Cable is the driving force behind this plan. He believes that it's the only way to get money to businesses. What we do know, and Vince Cable confirmed when ...
With the bravado that only a national cinema organisation of great standing can muster, the British Film Institute has decreed which films are the Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time. It's a poll weighted heavily to academics and critics – and, as a result, is rather pseudish, brimming with films that the reviewers' would like people to know that they've seen and appreciated. It's a selection of highbrow films, lest those who make a living from the movies be associated with something as lowbrow as "fun". Not that there aren't fun films in the list or good films in ...
The fifth of our 15 minutes with Christ services is at 6 pm today, at St George's Church, High Street, Belfast.
When I was calling at people's doors for many reasons, I liked having some form of organisational identification about my person, to show to people as they opened the door of their house to me. I've just had an odd conversation with two young women who claim to be from Action on Hearing Loss. ...
Only ten countries in the world recognise marriage equality. I'm a supporter of All Out. I'm one in a million. Filed under: Belfast Pride, Blogging, LGBT
No one is allowed out on a bike in our house without a cycle helmet – and that means teenage children moaning, natch, but they do it. Following the tragic death of a cyclist last night, hit by a Games vehicle near the Olympic park, Bradley Wiggins, newly crowned gold medallist has said that he ...
[IMG: Norman Lamb] Writing for Which? in his capacity as consumer affairs minister, here's what Norman Lamb had to say about his hopes for improving consumer protection: I want to develop a single, comprehensive set of shoppers' rights, which sets out in plain English, all the rights and remedies that consumers have. The intention is to drive up business standards and help you settle issues much more quickly and easily. At the start of July we launched a consultation seeking your views on proposals to strengthen the law on goods, services, and digital content like music and e-books. Your input ...
Blue Peter host Helen Skelton has quit twitter this week after what we assume is negative reaction to her part of the BBC Olympics coverage. The 29 year-old has been out and about in the Olympic Park doing vox-pop type segments that have to be honest not been great. Having done vox-pops I know how evil they are and whether it was her or just the vox-pop concept that I dislike – these pieces aren't working. Now we don't know exactly what sparked her to leave the microblogging site. Whether she got some personal hate or just received criticism for ...
A while back, annoyed by the appearance of the Address Book and iCal applications in OSX 10.7 (Lion), and inspired by Giles of Simple and Usable, I created a silver skin for Address Book. Mountain Lion has improved the Address Book interface, and renamed it "Contacts". It's great that you can now see groups, group members, and contact details in one window; they've done away with the awkward
C.S. Lewis: "The starting point of the second novel, Perelandra, was my mental picture of the floating islands. The whole of the rest of my labours in a sense consisted of building up a world in which floating islands could exist. And then of course the story about an averted fall developed. This is because, as you know, having got your people to this exciting country, something must happen." Kingsley Amis: "That frequently taxes people very much." Brian Aldiss: "But I am surprised that you put it this way round. I would have thought that you constructed Perelandra for the ...
Many of those packed into the public gallery broke into spontaneous applause as the inquest jury delivered its' verdict in the case of Sean Rigg. An African drum started beating and the coroner looked uncomfortable. It felt like justice, but in truth ... Continue reading →
This story is where social workers from Norfolk ignored the law and went to France to get a baby. The phrase "habitual residence" determines which country is responsible for child protection. I am not aware of any country that makes as many absurd decisions as England. Most other countries make decisions that are about what is best for the child rather than what is best for the local authority
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Trivial Fact of the Day with Olivia Newton-John Max Born and Rudolf Hess. (tags: history ) I'm breaking up with eBooks (and you can too) A librarian's perspective. (tags: ebooks ) The writing of E. Nesbit, by Gore Vidal From the December 1964 NYROB. (tags: literature writing ) Ari Ratner: Can Lessons From the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Help Solve Washington's Deadlock? Short answer: probably not. "...conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate, the world grows ever more tired of our endless fighting, and hope for a solution grows ever more dim." (tags: middleeast uspolitics )
BBC Parliament has shown a documentary, "First past the post", which celebrates parliamentarians who are Olympians. Needless to say, our own Sir Menzies Campbell, once one of the fastest men on the planet, is featured liberally in the programme. Menzies reveals the exotic mixture which his mother used to feed him on race days, and shows viewers his old team blazer. He tells us he can still get into it, but the buttons don't do up. Until the end of today, you can see the programme here on BBC iPlayer, and BBC Online has a write-up on it here. * ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg speaking at Lib Dem conference. Photo courtesy of Alex Folkes/Fishnik.com (07984 644 138 or alexfolkes@gmail.com)] Advances in technology mean that politicians need to take into consideration more factors than ever in order to make a successful political speech. Mark Pack, co-author of 101 Ways To Win An Election, writes on how politicians can use those advances to their advantage. Technological change has frequently altered the speaking styles of political orators. The exaggerated hand movements and booming voice projections of the pre-electrical era were essential for being seen and heard. As film footage spread, that approach increasingly came ...
First, a PSA: I have very poor internet access at present, haven't seen LJ since Friday (posting from my phone) and am well behind on emails. Hope to catch up soon. My current run of Lovejoy books continues with another story in which he is pulled from cosy East Anglia to wilder climes, if the Isle of Man counts as wild. This is an earlier book in the sequence than Paid and Loving Eyes; Lovejoy is even more obsessed with antiques here, and slightly less with women, in that his affections are concentrated on Jane Felsham (played by Phillis Logan ...
During the past three weeks I've used the railway system to whiz up and down the UK three times. There was a time when I'd have used the car these excursions but now I find motoring very boring, especially on motorways, and am also more aware of the environmental damage caused by one person travelling alone in a car, rather than with lots on a train. In any case, with the right ticket bought in advance, the train is cheaper. As with so many other things, it would help to understand the pricing systems the train companies use: different web-sites ...
Matthew Norman: It's Tom Daley's Twitter tormentor who needs the law's protection - Matthew Norman - Commentators - The Independent This is pretty much my view on the matter. (tags: ) Three intriguing opinion poll results that made me go, "Hmm, really?" Middle one particularly funny. Lib Dems as yoghurt-weaving hippies... (tags: ) UK Government Censors Copyright Consultation Submission About How Awful Collection Societies Are | Techdirt (tags: ) Clive Palmer Rumored To Be Building A Real Jurassic Park In Australia | The Mary Sue (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Dodington Parish Councillor Paul Hulbert at the CAB office in Yate Yate Town Council and Dodington Parish Council are working to persuade other local councils to pay their fair share of the running costs of the Citizens Advice Bureau. This cash-strapped organisation is providing an invaluable service to local people in the current difficult economic situation. Yate and Dodington have always paid the "going rate" and it's time other some local councils did the same.
Thu 2nd
09:24
Opinion: Lib Dems should say "No, Minister" to Tory plans to politicise the Civil Service
An initiative by Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, should be a cause of considerable alarm for Liberal Democrats. According to the Independent, Maude has proposed a massive expansion of politically-appointed civil servants. The details are rather sketchy. But it seems obvious that if Francis Maude gets his way it will hugely reduce the effectiveness of government. There are countless problems with an apolitical Civil Service. It is traditionally seen as a bastion of Establishment moderation and elitism. There is a good deal of evidence to suggest this has more than a grain of truth. The success of Yes, Minister ...
In a recent Focus, Tony Davis asked for your views on what should happen to Wapley Court and Rodford School. Loads of residents phoned, emailed and sent back the survey form. Thank you to everyone. So, what was your verdict? Your Verdict Rodford School Wapley Court Open Space 54% 31% Social Housing 2% 5% Redevelopment for Housing 4% 3% Extra Care Housing for the Elderly 20% 46% Commercial Development eg shops 0% 5% Allotments 17% 10% Special School 3% Other suggestions included - skate park, sports area and changing rooms, petrol station, larger GP surgery, open air swimming pool, enclosed ...
This is the second in my fairly randomly spaced series of articles about people who I consider to be modern day heroes of the Lib Dems. And today I'm talking about Lord Bonkers, Liberal MP for Rutland South-West between 1906 and 1910, and sole survivor of the 1906 landslide which swept the Liberal party into power. Lord Bonkers of Bonkers Hall Lord Bonkers is also, sadly, fictional and was invented by Jonathan Calder. The noble lord's main job is as the diarist for the radical liberal periodical the Liberator but is also notable for running against Bill Rodgers to be ...
Pow. Take That.
Last night I attended a meeting of those who in Ealing are active in stopping the proposals to close the four local hospitals served by residents in the area: Ealing, Central Middlesex, Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals. The group is made of people who are from the main political parties. Click here to sign the petition. There are many residents who are not aware of the plans to close these four hospitals and so that is why it is VITAL that you do what you can to inform people you know in the area. From the Liberal Democrats Hanwell Councillor ...
Yesterday evening, I took part in a walkabout organised by the Community Spirit Action Group, the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Pentland, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area. The walkabout is a good opportunity to look at local issues and matters requiring attention in the local area. Here's a couple of issues residents raised with me in this area earlier this week : Rutting of the grass area at the City Road/Tullideph Road junction - I have received an assurance from the City Council that this will be repaired as soon as possible. Larch ...
Yesterday's Western Mail highlights problems with yet another Community First area reporting that the Cwmaman Communities First Partnership in the Cynon Valley is the second such regeneration project to face a police inquiry. As they say this raises fresh concerns about the level of scrutiny exercised over the initiative, which up until 2010 had spent £241m of public money. They add that in October last year Miriam Beard, the coordinator of Plas Madoc Communities First Partnership in Wrexham, was jailed for 32 months after defrauding the body of more than £53,000: Beard's family members benefited by tens of thousands of ...
There was an excellent attendance at Redcar Town Clock this morning for the annual reading of the Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity. Former Bishop Auckland Town Crier and former Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of Middlesbrough, Chris Foote-Wood led the proceedings encouraging people to attend the ceremony and promoting the sale of white roses to raise funds for Redcar Lifeboat. After a short speech of welcome by Ian Swales MP, who said he was proud to call himself a Yorkshire MP, Chris Foote-Wood read the Declaration on the stroke of 11.37 am, which is exactly 1137 years since the first recorded ...
