Handily summarised for you in blog post form by an Ipswich councillor. This is not a parody. This is really someone who writes a blog post entitled 'Why I don't listen to experts (or facts and figures)' and means it. I know what you're thinking. No-one could possibly be that arrogant as to assume they ...
Ever since Ruth Davidson defeated Murdo Fraser for the leadership of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party rumours have circulated that elements (possibly including Fraser) were thinking of setting up a party free of London control. Cameron's candidate, Davidson, defeated Fraser for the leadership last November in a campaign that saw Fraser and his supporters call for the abolition of the existing party and the creation of a new Scottish centre right party. So the emergence of a party called the 'Scottish Progressives' with a rather slick website is an interesting development. The Progressives in Scotland have a long history ...
So my reduced services pledge and sabbatical is going well!!!! Before I went on leave I wrote a blog post about my writing, this blog and what I'm thinking for the future (here) and well... I've been thinking. Tonight, following a massive mix up on the part of a Local Labour member and myself, which has all been cleared up having him genuinely not seeing the disclaimer in the corner of this blog, I started to analyse the blog, my role in the local party and politics as a whole. Its like a whirling aerial dogfight. Don't get me wrong, ...
Cornwall Council's parking officers refused to attend a meeting tonight to discuss parking in Launceston. This despite the meeting being officially organised by the community network panel and an invite being issued six weeks in advance. Such high-handedness by officers was, I believe, very disrespectful to the large numbers of local businesses and residents who had turned out to discuss parking charges. In addition, it goes against the whole concept of localism. How can Cornwall Council claim to be engaging with local communities when their officers bolt themselves into their bunker in Truro? Tonight's meeting was to discuss the options ...
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A pre-season ritual of mine: 1) Manchester United 2) Manchester City 3) Arsenal 4) Chelsea 5) Newcastle 6) Tottenham 7) Everton 8) Liverpool 9) Sunderland 10) Fulham 11) Norwich 12) Reading 13) Stoke 14) West Brom 15) West Ham 16) QPR 17) Southampton 18) Aston Villa 19) Wigan 20) Swansea Post yours below. The ...
MP Julian Huppert met Cambridgeshire and Peterborough YMCA Chief Executive, Jonathan Martin to discuss David Cameron's suggestion to cut Housing Benefit for the under 25s. Mr Cameron put forward the idea as part of his vision for what a future Conservative Government might do - it is not government policy and has been rejected by the Lib Dems. It would affect hundreds of thousands of young people across the country including the 16 to 25-year-olds staying at the county's YMCA hostel. The hostel takes homeless young people referred from local council housing departments and support charities. About 15 per cent ...
The Foreign Office's threat to lift the Ecuadorian Embassy's diplomatic status over the Assange affair is a disgrace. As Carl Gardner points out the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 permits the Secretary of State to withdraw diplomatic recognition from premises for various reasons but ONLY "if he is satisfied that to do so is ...
Commuters are invited to a free event run by the Travel Plan Plus (TP+) project to try out and find out more about travelling to work by motorcycle or scooter. There will be plenty of vroom to see what models are on offer as well as training, safety tips and help for beginners with trial rides for complete novices. The event, being held on Wednesday 12 September between 11am to 2pm at Napp, 196 Cambridge Science Park, is for anyone interested in riding a motorcycle or scooter. It follows last year's highly successful event when almost 100 people came to ...
Punk music is not my cup of tea, even when it's performed by feminists. Freedom of speech, however, is very much my thing. Three alleged members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot face jail for singing a protest song outside a Moscow cathedral in February. They have been detained since then. It horrifies me that young women, some of whom have young children, might be jailed for several years tomorrow when the final verdict is given. There is a demonstration outside the Russian Consulate in Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, tomorrow at noon, timed to coincide with the verdict. Sadly, we're on ...
I hope George Osborne and the Treasury will cut the train commuter some slack in the upcoming budget. As a member of the Transport Select Committee, I know that this Government is investing more in our railways than any Government ... Continue reading →
ALDC (the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners) has just put together a new team of regional reps to help strengthen its work with English regional parties and at regional conferences. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in as one of the two London reps, the other being Southwark's Graham Neale. A full listing of the regional reps for all the regions is over on the ALDC site.
Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, who will lead the debate on medically assisted dying at his party's conference next month, has called for Parliament to act following the High Court decision on Tony Nicklinson today. Explaining the court's decision, Lord ... Continue reading →
Thu 16th
15:55
Tony Nicklinson denied the right to die but surely it is as important as the right to life?
Today has been a very sad day. No not because Julian Assange has been granted political asylum to Ecuador (there is a lot to play out there and many twists and turns) but because a man suffering from locked-in syndrome has been denied the right to die – and that is a truly depressing situation that we have found ourselves in. Tony Nicklinson today heard that the court has decided that it isn't for them to decide and is one for parliament and therefore they would not grant him and one other person the right to die. Mr Nicklinson said ...
Today I've seen something that made me laugh and then gape in shocked amazement. It was a picture on Twitter of an anti-marriage equality poster. I laughed because it seemed so outlandish as to suggest a fake, but then I found it was actually a real thing which stopped the laughing quite quickly. So before we break down its arguments let us just check we all know what we are dealing with. The SPUC is the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children which, it goes almost without saying, is a pro-life organisation. Last year, according to its about us ...
This is what the old monster wrote at the time. Monday A dreadful storm this evening. The sky is the colour of Messrs Postlethwaite's Blue Black India Ink (with which, as it happens, I am writing these very words), and it is only because of the distant beam of Knaresborough lighthouse that I am able to find my way back to the hotel. Later, after a stiffener of Auld Johnston, I walk by the shore - the locals have long since barred their shutters and bolted their doors - and watch as the Harrogate lifeboat is launched. There is a ...
The agenda for Autumn Conference has been online for five days, and has already attracted attention from the media. It is instructive to see which stories are picked up by whom. The Guardian focuses on the Housing Policy paper under the headline: Liberal Democrats propose major housebuilding programme. The Independent homes in on the motion proposed by Danny Alexander on 'Generating Growth and Jobs in a Time of Austerity': Liberal Democrats slam Osborne over green policies. Our opposition to airport expansion, and the motion from Watford, are also of interest to the Independent: Lib Dems to oppose South East airport ...
There was some really bad news for some people about the winning GB team at the recent Olympics. Some had foreign sounding names; some of them were immigrants or the children of immigrants; some of there were even... well black ... Continue reading →
Over the last couple of years I have had a few comments from my non-political friends (yes I have some!) along the lines of the Lib Dems cannot be trusted. When people who are usually not really that into politics say things like that it makes my ears prick up because it demonstrates that something about the subject has "cut through". Unfortunately in this case it is something pretty negative about the party of which I am a member. It should probably not be surprising that that message has resounded in this way, after all much of the media and ...
There seems to be a lot of split feelings towards Virgin Trains losing their West Coast franchise yesterday. I for one will sorry to see them go. Now I have a very narrow experience of travelling by Virgin. In the past 5 years I have used them once or twice a year and generally I travel off-peak and buy my tickets well in advance. I must admit I also travel first class because the service has
I've talked a few times about how housing has become an increasingly important policy in the rhetoric of Liberal Democrat ministers (see Danny Alexander set to up the ante on anti-Tory rhetoric and housing and Vince Cable on "one of the great acts of economic vandalism in modern times"). Whether or not that rhetoric will produce policy results is the big question. At which point, enter stage left a policy motion in the agenda for next month's Liberal Democrat conference: The Liberal Democrats would increase the rate of housebuilding to 300,000 homes per year, according to an upcoming policy paper. ...
Cornwall Council has just issued a consultation paper about imposing charges on people who organise street events which require traffic management. The problem is that, for the sake of about £50,000, they run the risk of killing off local carnivals. The background to this is the decision by Devon and Cornwall Police to hand responsibility for event traffic management to the council as from April last year. The council claims that providing advice, signage and temporary traffic management orders costs money and they want to get this back from event organisers. That's fair enough when it comes to big commercial ...
The Voice's Mark Pack has been writing about individual electoral registration for the IPPR's website: If I were to move, I would be quite happy to let the gas company, the TV Licensing authority, the local council's tax department, the electoral registration services and many others know, all in one go. Other people may well not be happy to do the same - but in the desire to ensure that those who want to keep data separate rightly have their rights respected we have too often overlooked the opportunities to make it easier to share data wherever people are happy ...
One of the most persuasive and effective arguments opponents of marriage equality (and oft-quoted marriage equality agnostics like Christopher Biggins) use is that civil partnerships are so close to marriage that there really is no reason to pursue marriage equality*. If we ignore the, sometimes glaring, differences between civil partnerships and marriage, civil partnerships do offer extremely strong protections for same gender relationships. Gone are the days of long term partners being denied hospital visitation or inheritance rights. Those heartbreaking moments that were once so brutally common are now consigned to history. Civil partnerships were successful enough to dampen the ...
Willie Rennie has been questioning the fact that Alex Salmond's Special Adviser seems to have an inappropriately familiar relationship with SCVO Chief Executive Martin Sime over the issue of a second question on Devo Max on the independence referendum ballot paper. It's already been stated by numerous constitutional experts that a second question could give an unclear outcome. Much as I and every other Liberal Democrat wants to see more powers for the Scottish Parliament, a second question in this referendum is not the way to deliver it. The SNP themselves say they only want one question, "Do you agree ...
Launceston's One Stop Shop will be moving from the Market House Arcade to the library next week. The move will take place on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd and services will be up and running again on Friday 24th August. Remember that the move means that the OSS will be adopting library opening hours (including Saturday mornings) but closing on a Thursday. There will also be later opening (until 6.30pm) on a Tuesday. Tweet
As someone who has used the west coast mainline regularly for the past fifteen years (and would have done so more if the cheaper fares were more readily available), I can testify to a significant improvement in reliability and levels of service in recent years. Much of this was of course down to the £9bn and more of public investment in upgrading the line, and much was down to Virgin themselves - I carry no torch for Sir Richard but there's little denying that Virgin trains, expensive though they undoubtedly can be, ran what became a reliable, punctual, comfortable service. ...
After complaints from residents, the Lib Dem team have secured a new bin at the entrance to the fields at the top of Gatley Hill. The bin can be used for all waste – including dog waste (which can be bagged and put in any litter bin, or in your black bin at home). We believe it's important to have a bin at the top of the car park as it's where dog walkers come on and off the field: it's on everyone's route and the most sensible place to have a bin. We're glad the Council have installed a ...
Police and Trading Standards are concerned about reports that young men are attempting to sell household supplies such as tea-towels and dusters etc by knocking at homes in the Borough and claiming they are recently out of prison and trying to make a living. The goods are of poor quality but some householders are convinced to make a donation because the men claim this is part of a Probation Service initiative to help them stay on the straight and narrow. The Probation Service do NOT run such initiatives. If you get a visit from such individuals, who will usually have ...
The media seem to love running stories when Nick Clegg had to go back on what he said at the leaders debate because of compromising within a coalition. I wonder why David Cameron isn't getting as much heat for what he said, even though his reneging is all down to his own party: For the record, I don't think what was proposed was ideal, but it was a damn sight better than what we currently have. To my mind failing to reform the Lords is the single biggest failure of the Coalition to date - something all leaders agreed should ...
These three videos have appeared on this blog before with a few explanatory notes (Creation, The Alan Price Set and Roger Daltrey), but I think they bear repetition.
BBC - Blogs - Doctor Who - Episode titles for the first five eps of the new series. Two of the first four written by Chibnall. This is not a good omen. (tags: ) Rocksmith Want this. (tags: ) New Statesman - Royal Mail caves in over Paralympic stamps Huzzah! (tags: ) I Wish My Mother Had Aborted Me (tags: ) Factcheck: Are employers turning to migrants because British youths are 'too lazy to work'? | Full Fact (tags: ) 2000 AD Portfolio Competition » Thought Bubble - Leeds' Comic Art Festival: 11th-18th November 2012 Lady artists! Do this! (tags: ...
Two days ago I wrote a post about the fact that students erroneously think that they can't afford to go to University and they believe that fees need to be paid up front. Basically we aren't getting the message across that they wont pay a penny until they graduate, and even then they are still not paying fees until they've effectively paid back the maintenance loan that they were given. In other words, realistically most students wont start paying fees at all until probably 10+ years after they graduate and even then it'll only be if they can afford it. ...
They don't make them much more bleeding heart liberal than me. I've written many times on human rights issues. Why, then, do I struggle to find much sympathy for the predicament in which Wikileaks founder Julian Assange finds himself? Assange is currently holed up in the Ecuador's London Embassy. He's been there for two months after he applied for political asylum in that country. Ecuador expects to make its mind up today as to what to do with it. He went there after spending nearly two years fighting a bid to extradite him to Sweden to face charges of sexual ...
Thu 16th
09:27
Never mind accreditation, it's the motions that are making Lib Dem conference illiberal
Lib Dem conference is just a few weeks away, and while people continue to get their knickers in a twist about the police checking who is walking into a room with members of the cabinet, far more illiberal things look ... Continue reading →
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 500 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. Net satisfaction with party's direction dips to +23% LDV asked: Do you think, as a whole, the Liberal Democrats are on the right course or on the wrong track? (Comparison with June's figures.) 59% (-3%) – The right course 36% (+5%) – The wrong track 5% (-2%) – Don't know / No opinion There's a sharp fall this month in ...
Stop putting it in your press releases I've been reading some absolute rubbish about Boris Island/Estuary airport and Government (esp. Libdem) involvement from... yep you've guessed it... the Labour transport twitter feed again. I cannot believe that what is being published is actually sanctioned by their Party machine as it is populist and alarmist, playing on people's fears and concerns for party political gain which is one of the lowest forms of Politics. So what has been said? Surely you have proof to the contrary? Well Yes... as a matter of fact I do. Just to help, that article address ...
My latest from the New Statesman. I though fairly uncontroversial. Comments suggest otherwise... Having spent two weeks glued to the Olympics, I am as anxious as the next Brit that we don't lose the impetus and continue the fabulous development of sport in Britain. But the last two weeks have demonstrated another area at which we beat the world hands down - one that will need just as much attention as our sporting endeavours if we are to continue our world beating performance.The closing ceremony was a paean to Britain's second largest industrial sector -the creative industries. We celebrated music, ...
It's significant that Annette Brooke, very far from one of the 'usual suspects', is one of the MPs quoted by the Financial Times: Liberal Democrats have, for the first time, begun to break ranks with the chancellor, calling for him to loosen his deficit reduction targets and fund immediate building and infrastructure projects... Mr Pugh said: "We need to look again very carefully at the implications of the sharp reduction we have seen in capital expenditure."... Annette Brooke, another Lib Dem MP and former economist, agreed with Mr Pugh. She said: "It is really important that we should be focusing ...
Back in March, I mentioned that I had, at the request of local residents, asked the Community Payback service to spruce up the seating area in Blyth Street. This has now been done - see photo below - and the seating looks so much better with a paint refresh. I have asked the City Council to complete the job by: * Weedkill the area round the seating - it would look a whole lot better without all the weeds growing through the setts. * Perhaps have a flower display in the centre to brighten the seating area up.
Grove Academy, Broughty Ferry I have previously mentioned the City Council working party I am a member of that is attempting to address the issues of parking outside schools and pupil safety. A number of school site visits were held prior to the school holidays to look at the issues at particular schools on-site and, yesterday, these recommenced at the start of the new term, with a site visit to Grove Academy in Broughty Ferry. There was a useful discussion and look at the safety issues at both the Seafield Road and Claypotts Road sides of the school campus and, ...
I'm shocked that our Foreign Office has even considered revoking the diplomatic status of any embassy on British soil. To do so simply to be able to arrest someone who is claiming asylum within that embassy is sickening. Somebody at the Foreign Office was obviously hoping to get into the new series of Yes Minister when it comes to the screens. They clearly have not thought of the ramifications of such an action. How can a nation that claims to be an example of democracy and diplomacy even contemplate such an action? All embassies around the world are considered sovereign ...
