The news that the century old Liberal goal of democratising the House of Lords is to be dropped due to Tory intransigence, will put more pressure on an already strained relationship between the governing parties. But it would be foolish to end the coalition over this issue - however important it is to constitutional reformers. Hopefully the Liberal Democrats will use the leverage that this Tory breaking of the coalition agreement gives them to promote some popular and more meaningful liberal reforms. But given their track record in government I fear they wont. Which reminded me of one of the ...
A child who died in Gaza because of the war Imagine having to grow up in a conflict zone where you were constantly in danger. Where your parents could be taken from you at any time. Where soldiers surround your house at night. And where you don't have basic human rights like clean water. It is bad enough that these children have to suffer war but it is terrible that they have a lack of resources. Did you know that 90% of the water in Gaza is unsafe to drink? And that 10 Palestinian children have been recently chased and ...
It's an enticing question. And when you have the US Senate majority leader asking it, citing "an extremely credible source", plus a CNN reporter saying she has a source who confirms the accusation, one tends to suspect this is a story with "legs", as they say in the trade. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Another three gold today so the Royal Mail were busy again, and were probably relieved that Rebecca Adlington didn't give them a late Friday night. I'm not saying that appearing on a stamp was the added incentive that Katherine Grainger needed to turn silver into gold, but along with Anna Watkins this makes a welcome addition to the philatelists' collections. It means that Aberdeen will get a SECOND golden post box to honour Grainger, the other was for Tim Baillee yesterday, and one in Leek, Staffordshire for Anna. Of course next we have Geraint Thomas and Ed Clancy helping to ...
Because they tend to do well in parts of the country where population is growing and badly in areas where it is shrinking, the redrawing of constituency boundaries helps the Conservatives. Because that redrawing does not happen very often, Conservatives find themselves fighting on a political battlefield that slopes against them. They feel strongly about this. I have heard Sir John Major complain that the boundaries robbed him of a decisive victory in 1992, with the result that his majority had evaporated by the end of his time in office. To an extent this is the Conservatives' own fault - ...
I just wonder if or how, the Editor of the Isle of Thanet Gazette, Rebecca Smith, could justify the account given in today's edition of the paper, of Thanet councils actions in interfering with my note taking at last weeks TDC Cabinet meeting. I cannot help feeling, that had my actions been in any way consistent, with the papers report, (particularly the first paragraph) it would have been, reported elsewhere in terms a bit more excitable than these, " Tonight also marked the second time fellow blogger Tony Flaig left early after being challenged over the use of his phone ...
Here's the August 2012 Police newsletter for Cheadle, including the latest crime figures and news. Police Cheadle newsletter August 2012
I'm a birdwatcher, but now seriously into dragonflies and a bit into butterflies, though it is frustrating how many of the former (damselflies) are very small and striped blue and black and how many of the latter in Britain are basically brown and orange. Birds are residents or migrants. Migrants can be passing through or coming to stay. Their arrival and leaving dates are affected by the weather, but for example, by the late April the first clear night with winds from the south should bring some Whitethroats and although the odd bird may arrive very early, in Southern England ...
Fri 3rd
20:44
++ Clegg to announce Lords reform sunk; Tory rebels defeat Cameron; first breach of Coalition Agreem...
The Guardian reports tonight: Nick Clegg is expected to announce next week he has been forced to abandon Lords reform in the face of implacable Conservative backbench opposition that David Cameron has been unable to overcome. ... Clegg has to decide whether to respond to the Lords rebuff by insisting legislation designed to cut the number of MPs to 600 should be abandoned. The change is being promoted by Cameron as a way of cutting the cost of politics and equalising the electoral size of constituencies. Lord Rennard, the Liberal Democrat peer and former party chief executive, denied the reverse ...
As reported in today's Courier, I have welcomed news that amateur football will be able to return to the Riverside pitches this month, following play having to be suspended last season due to injuries caused by stones on the pitches. I have been updated by the City Council Environment Department as follows: "Riverside pitches As you are aware we have been undertaking remedial works throughout the summer in an effort to have the pitches playable for the coming football season. Last Friday we met with a football representative regarding progress and our intentions for the season commencing 11th August. We ...
The small scripture passage in Matthew chapter 13 that is provoker of our thoughts and mediation this hour is a curious one. It is another example for me of the integrity of the gospel writers to include some of the flaws and complexities to Jesus' reputation and ministry. What we find here is a an ...
So it looks like another Liberal Democrat constitutional reform is going tits up. Well, that is according to the BBC news website. I am not surprised as to be honest there is far more pressing situation that our leaders should be focusing on, the declining economy for one. I do not share with Nick Clegg's argument that Governments can focus on more than one thing. The country has slipped into
Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Rogers has been selected as the party's candidate for Bristol Mayor, reports the BBC. He was elected as Councillor for the Ashley ward in 2005 and is currently the City Council's Executive Member for Care and Health. After his selection, Cllr Rogers said: I want to make sure the power stays with councillors and also that I represent Bristol on the national and international stage," he said. As a family doctor for 30 years, I know this city inside out – the people, the places, the issues. I know what makes Bristol great and I know ...
Always the bridesmaid... ...and then... Today was the day that Katherine Grainger started in her fourth Olympic rowing final. After six world titles she had never managed to stand in middle of an Olympic podium. Indeed in all three of the last Olympics she has been in the second spot. Silver in the Quadruple Sculls in Sydney 2000, in the Coxless Pairs in Athens 2004 and again in the Quad Sculls in Beijing 2008. But in the double sculls with the women who will become a pub quiz answer in years to come, Anna Watkins, she had long been tipped ...
I was watching RBS announce losses of £1.5bn this morning, and reckoned that the current rules regarding RBS are bonkers. The rules, drawn up when the last Labour government bailed them out, means that, although the taxpayers own 82% of the ... Continue reading →
Herts Highways have issued the following which will be with local residents shortly. Final information bulletin 2
Fri 3rd
15:28Paul Varnsverry selected as Liberal Democrat candidate for Northamptonshire Police Commissioner
Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats have selected Paul Varnsverry to be their candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner election in Northamptonshire in November. Paul works with policing, security and government organisations across the globe. He has chaired the British Standards committee for police protective equipment since 1998. As an experienced and respected authority, Paul has also addressed parliamentary committees and he has worked with ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and the Home Office. Paul, who was born in Northampton, was Deputy Leader of Northampton Borough Council from 2009 – 2011. Paul also stood for Parliament in Northampton South at the ...
...and yet still probably the best picture you'll ever see. Lovely. h/t to @charlstonm & @philipnormal
Saturday: Mr Christopher Nolan Sisters would like it made quite clear that his new movie "The Dark Knight Votes Palin" is IN NO WAY political, and any resemblance between Mr Bane the Baddie's OCCUPATION of NEW YORK and the, er, Occupy New York movement is entirely a DELUSION brought on by Obamacare. Obviously, this makes Mr Nolan Sisters either FRIGHTENINGLY naive or the biggest FIBBER since, well, Mr Bane. Nice to see that, in spite of the chaos caused by the Joker, the Dent Act hasn't made it any harder to get vast quantities of explosive anywhere in Gotham, though. ...
If you live near to St Mary's Park you will have received the following letter concerning the 'Festwich Communtiy Festival' to take place in St Mary's Park Saturday September 1st & 2nd. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if there are issues you would like me to raise with the organisers. Dear Resident St Mary's Park is to host two days of a most prestigious concert titled Festwich. Festwich will present the very best in tribute acts catering for all the family with a wide range of musical tastes from tributes to Bon Jovi to Led Zepellin, plus ...
The sixth of our 15 minutes with Christ services is at 6 pm today, at St George's Church, High Street, Belfast.
This week (part of a fortnight of holiday indulgence), I ate for the first time in a Stockport hostelry I've been aware of all my life but, I'd thought, never crossed the door of before. And it turns out that the reason behind my always having looked askance at the Bamford Arms is the one time I'd previously gone in and been thrown out... Long before I could remember it. My Mum has a longer and sharper memory, but thirty-nine years and several changes of management later, she's rescinded her boycott and took my niece and me for dinner there. ...
By Howard of Lib Dem News
From today's Leicester Mercury: Two long-standing Conservative councillors have resigned from their party's group on a council due to a "lack of support." Councillors Jill Gore and Peter Swift quit the Conservative group on Oadby and Wigston Borough Council on Tuesday, leaving two Tories representing the borough. The pair said they did not intend to give up their seats, and plan to set up a new independent group. Jill Gore, who has represented the Wigston Meadowcourt ward as a Conservative for almost 10 years, said the move was due to a lack of support from "other Conservatives" but refused to ...
So, if the Guardian is to be be believed, David Cameron is about to drop Lords Reform because there is no way to get it past the right wingers in his party who all stood for election in a manifesto that included changes to the Upper Chamber. If David Cameron isn't a bit scared that Peter Bone and Nadine Dorries have the upper hand in his party at the moment, then I'd be very surprised. As a Liberal Democrat, I'm gutted that it looks like one of our major constitutional reforms, backed in some form by all parties in 2010 ...
Dan Hannan MEP is a really good columnist. Intelligent, eloquent, and with an agenda he is informed on. I often disagree with him, but equally find him though provoking. Sadly though, like many of his colleagues in the mainstream commentariat, ... Continue reading →
Yesterday I joined London's Olympic party, when we went to see the gymnastics at the North Greenwich Arena, better known as the O2 (but the company isn't an Olympic sponsor...) or in its prior guise as the Millennium Dome. It was the women's artistic individual overall final. All too brief – but I'm glad we made it, for once in a lifetime! The event was due to start at 4.30pm, but we decided to make a day of it. We set off at 11.30 in the morning, and took the river bus to Greenwich. We opted to lunch there, about ...
The role of the Liberal Democrats in ensuring that this Government does not agree to the expansion of Heathrow airport is emphasised by an article in yesterday's Independent. It says that a group of right wing Tories with links to the Chancellor are drawing up plans to offer compensation to local residents who would be affected by increased noise from a third runway at Heathrow. The Coalition agreement has ruled out giving approval to a third runway during this parliament and the Conservatives opposed the move at the last election. But some senior party figures, including the Chancellor, George Osborne, ...
Once again the Shropshire Star triumphs: John Challis flies home as children raid house
This morning I read a news story in which Cancer Research UK found 1,110 10 to 14 year olds in Cumbria, 5% of the total, are "regular smokers". In a recent survey covering the North West, some 18% of 14-17 year olds ... Continue reading →
Well done Southwark for adding more Green Flagsto the collection. Southwark started trying for Green Flags when a great Lib Dem Richard Thomas was the executive cllr in charge of parks. Southwark was awarded another four this month and now has 14. Dulwich Park and Peckham Rye Park locally. We need to push for St.Francis Park, Goose Green and Dawson's Heights to be worthy of this award locally in East Dulwich. Complicated by Sainsbury's being responsible for St.Francis Park but I'm sure they could make it happen if they put their minds to it. A management plan for Dawson's Heights ...
Amazing research has shown that transferring microbiome (flora of fungi , bacteria and viruses) of a drought-tolerant plant to a normal plant drastically reduces the water it needs to thrive. Assuming this can be scaled up the implications are truly awesome. Draught resistance for most plants when we want it. No need for GM and all the messy expensive problematic research required for GM. The trials showed instant results. Within 24 hours more, better and longer shoots for seeds treated in this way. The researchers have formed a company called Symbiogenics and are at the field trials of rice that ...
One of the very first Liberal Democrats I met when I came back to Scotland after 11 years in the East Midlands was Derek Barrie. We very quickly forged a firm friendship, based mainly on him taking the mickey out of me and referring to me (in public) as the Wicked Witch of West Lothian. In return, he became my Grumps. I had wondered if I might take a break from political activism, but he ruined those plans by dragging me in ever deeper to election training and preparations. When I later spent 3 years as Convener of the Scottish ...
Just a reminder to everyone locally who uses Alexandra Park, Finsbury Park, Bowes Park, Harringay and Alexandra Palace stations – to complete this survey on future services. The Coalition is investing huge amounts in rail and these are the local stations affected. Also – please share this link with anyone else you know who uses these stations.
I received a copy of the Gateshead Unison newsletter yesterday and have just read it now. As you would expect, there were various pages of attack, much of it directed at both Gateshead Council and the Government. On a more positive note there was a useful outline of the reforms to the pension scheme and an explanation that a ballot of members is underway on whether or not to accept the agreement
It may have only lasted 82 seconds but in the first round bout of the women's +78kg judo a little bit of history was made this morning. Shahrkhani at opening ceremony Wearing a tight fitting black cap rather than a loose fitting head scarf Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani stepped unto one of the two competition tatami to make a piece of history. The 18-year-old was the first female Olympian to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately she lost to an Ippon, landing firmly on her back, from a throw from Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica. However, I do hope ...
Fri 3rd
11:06New LDV members' survey now live: your views on Lords reform, the economy, Nick Clegg, the reshuffle...
The new LDV members' survey is now live. So if you are one of the c.1,300 registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum — and any paid-up party member is welcome to join — then you now have the opportunity to make your views known. Questions we're asking this month include: what you think of the Lords reform proposals; what you think should happen if Lords reform falls; what you think the Coalition should do about the economy; your views on Nick Clegg's leadership and the forthcoming reshuffle; what your preferred election result post-2015 would be; how satisfied you ...
Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore has done loads of good, cool stuff over the last couple of years. It took some skill to balance the demands of the Nationalists with the reactionary forces from the Tories and Labour and push ahead with the Scotland Act. Even as recently as last Christmas, the whole venture, giving Scotland the biggest devolution of power since the Act of Union in 1707, was said to be dead in the water. Mike kept going with it and ensured the Act passed both Holyrood and Westminster. A good job well done. He ...
Yesterday we reported your views on what should happen to Rodford School and Wapley Court. But council officials and developers have other plans... ...and officials are only giving you 10 days to comment! South Glos want to sell it to developers for housing. If they are going to sell the land it's important to make sure they know what it's worth, so some developer doesn't come along and rip off the taxpayers - so it's right to work out what to do with it NOW - but their housing scheme can't be the right answer. South Glos are willing to ...
How best to react to when on the receiving end of online abuse has been rather in the news, courtesy of some high profile recent incidents. My own view is that 'don't feed the trolls' is far more widely said than is useful, both because 'trolling' now means so many different things to different people and also because feeding can be the right approach. Here's a round-up of stories that flesh out this point: Why you should feed the trolls (sets out my views in more detail) Problem with the 'don't feed the trolls' line summarised in one tweet Olympic ...
I was recently interviewed in The Guardian talking about the use of mobile phone in cultural institutions – museums, libraries, galleries, etc. [IMG: Terence Eden QRpedia Guardian Interview] I was talking about the QRpedia project I co-founded. During the course of the interview, a phrase fluttered into my head – "The Engagement Economy." It wasn't a phrase I'd heard before – although Jane McGonigal wrote an excellent paper in 2008 with the same name. McGonigal's paper talks about getting people to work on a project. My idea of the Engagement Economy is around how to keep someone's attention in a ...
How you view Eric Knight's book by the end will depend very heavily on what you want out of it. At one level it works extremely well: a very readable and lively introduction to many of the issues which dominate the agendas of politicians and diplomats – fighting terrorism, regulating the financial markets, handling immigration, dealing with climate change and more. Eric Knight, however, sets out to do more than present a primer on major current issues, as the subtitle suggests: "How to solve the world's trickiest problems". His argument is that by reframing issues, using original perspectives, we can ...
So David Cameron is to drop Lord's Reform because he is unable to get the legislation past his backbenchers. There are also rumours about a similar thing has been happening to some other policies that are within the coalition agreement. Now I'm not going to go into an argument here about how the Reform of the Lords is 100 years overdue, but its dropping is a catalyst to another story. I'm sure that Nick Clegg had a tough time with his backbenchers on issues such as Tuition Fees, Welfare Reform, the NHS and other issues. But by in large he ...
Most older and disabled people want to live in their own home for as long as possible, but sometimes they need a bit of extra support to be able to do so. South Gloucestershire Council has agreed a new contract with West of England Care & Repair to deliver services that do just that. The agency will provide information and advice on housing related issues, ensure that homes are suitable for people leaving hospital and support those requiring major adaptations to their homes. A new centre has also been opened in Waterloo Street, Bristol where people can test out equipment ...
Bradley Wiggins wrong on helmets Linking just for the "if you make US wear helmets, we'll lobby for helmets for car drivers then!" paragraph (tags: ) 'Dark Knight Rises': Anne Hathaway's Feline Fitness Regime - YouTube Anne H skewers sexist interviewer on his repeated insistence on asking her about her diet. (tags: ) Factcheck: Are cyclists to blame for road accidents? Mostly not. Suspect you could say the same for bikers, too. (tags: ) Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws. [Accid Anal Prev. 1996] - PubMed - NCBI I'm assuming Accid Anal Prev means accident analysis prevention, not anything more ...
There had been an air of cynicism over the Olympics in Kingston. We were having to contribute substantially to the costs with no obvious benefits to us. That all changed as we gradually realised that not only were we hosting four Olympic events but we were also getting the torch twice! And all could be watched for free. 250,000 people watched the torch relay in Kingston. That is not only far greater than the population of the borough but beat the turnout in all the other London Boroughs, even though we are the smallest one. It started out from the ...
Bury Council has written to all Prestwich councillors informing us that the recycling centre at the Longfield Centre is to close "very shortly". The Council's 'reasoning' is that it costs a lot to keep the site clean and tidy, and that it has to pay to dispose of the items. It suggests that the site is no longer needed because of the full household recyling that we now have in place (blue, brown and green bins). Personally, I'm hugely disappointed. In the last few years we've seen the loss of the recycling facility at Tescos, last year Prestwich Tip closed ...
The talk of Twitter last night was a blog post from Telegraph journalist Andrew M Brown, who wrote of his feelings when watching Gemma Gibbons win her Olympic silver in Judo yesterday. Pride? Admiration? Nope. None of that. I found myself wondering: is women fighting each other violently a perfectly wholesome spectator sport? This wasn't a bit of pretend wrestling. Gemma and her American opponent, Kayla Harrison, were properly grappling with each other, throwing each other with full force onto the mat. They both showed pure, naked, fierce, animalistic aggression of a sort that one doesn't naturally associate with women ...
Residents have thanked Tony and Ruth Davis from the Focus team for speaking out about concerns over the Coopers site planning application. The planning committee were convinced by their arguments and refused the application due to the effect of highway safety issues and overbearing development on Stanshawes Drive.
As I have previously indicated, there has been good progress with regard to completion of the new St Joseph's Primary School, Park Place Primary School (to be newly named Victoria Park Primary School) and Park Place Nursery School (to be newly named Balgay Hill Nursery School). The new schools on the Logie site will be opened after the October school holiday. The contractor has kept adjacent residents updated throughout the building of the new schools and recently issued his seventh newsletter to residents. You can download it by going to http://tinyurl.com/schoolnewsletter7.
I wish I had something profound, brilliant and original to say about the London Olympics. However, a quick examination of the morning papers suggests that all the best superlatives and metaphors have been used, nearly every last sporting cliché has been deployed, and even fake sideburns, à la Bradley Wiggins, have become an essential fashion ...
The Telegraph carries an intriguing response by the Prime Minister to polls that show his Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne to be marginally more popular than bubonic plague. Rather than consider finding a new tenant for No. 11 Downing Street, David Cameron has instead asserted that George Osborne will remain as the man in charge of the UK's economy until the general election which is due to take place in 2015. The paper says that Osborne has been heavily criticised since the budget, after being forced into a series of about-turns and amid accusations of poor presentation from the ...
Mark Pack reports the Liberal Democrats membership has slumped to less than 50,000. Twenty years ago it was 100,000 - I remember the press release of Paddy Ashdown announcing in the run up to the 1992 general election the landmark recruit conveniently in the key seat of Bath. Which entirely coincidently was won a few weeks later by Don Foster - defeating then Tory Chairman Chris Patten. There is no gloss that can be put on this - and Mark's valient attempt to deflect attention onto the Tories is a misplaced attempt at loyalty that cannot be allowed to lead ...
If the reports in the Telegraph are true and that the Prime Minister is to retreat on a commitment to Lords reform then we are officially in a bit of a pickle. Naturally many have already reacted by claiming that ... Continue reading →
