It is clear Nick Clegg is in trouble. His poll ratings are dire and show no sign of improvement. Even the mainly loyal readership of Lib Dem Voice are split down the middle on whether he should continue as leader. And his advisers seem to be floundering about looking for anything that might turn things around. Or at least that can only be the reason for Clegg's sudden conversion to taxing the rich, having voted to do the opposite in this year's budget. Now the Guardian's Martin Kettle has waded into the debate with a thoughtful piece which makes the ...
Today (29th August) is the church 'celebrates' the beheading of John the Baptist, granted it is a 'lesser festival' nevertheless it is good day to turn our minds to those who abuse power and wealth. No doubt this is the reason Clegg picked today to launch his proposal for wealth taxes. Liberals have for generations challenged the mal distribution of wealth in Britain and put forward schemes to remedy this state of affairs. Most famously of all Elliot Dodds chaired an inquiry into the distribution of property set up by the Liberal Assembly meeting in Buxton in 1937. The resolution, ...
[IMG: Shipston Town Councillor Philip Vial] All, I talked in an earlier post about the Mencap's proposed development in Shipston in an earlier post. Mencap came to talk about their proposals to a meeting of the Town Council's planning working group (which I chair) and were generally favourably received. The Town Council will be deciding whether to support the scheme in September. Personally, I'm all in favour of this redevelopment of their existing site, but I'm happy to listen to the views of local residents. Some of the plans can be seen here and here. Philip
In February Brian Binley, the Tory MP for Northampton South, described Prime Minister David Cameron and his government as a 'shady, back-street second-hand car dealership'." Today he has done it again. In the course of a comically incoherent rant on his blog, Binley writes: The LibDem minority has run ragged over the government in a manner not remotely justified by the level of their electoral support. When will the leadership wake up to their responsibility as the leading partner? Allowing the LibDems to have their way in a hopeless effort to avert yet another puerile tantrum, whilst at the same ...
This video was produced with the help of a public engagement grant from the British Psychological Society, who are my employers. You can read more about Professor Jan Burns' work in Nature.
There's a Cornwall Council by-election taking place in St Keverne following the sad death of Independent councillor Pam Lyne. But, once again, the so called 'Party for Cornwall', MK, are not putting up a candidate. This will be the fifth by-election of the council and, to date, MK have only put up candidates in two of them. Confusingly, the last by-election was in nearby Wendron which MK won (and all credit to them). So how come they have given this one a pass? Are they really the Party for Cornwall? UPDATE - Andrew Long, MK's Deputy Leader, tells me that ...
Tomorrow sees the publication of Boneland, Alan Garner's second sequel to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, a novel that puts "long-awaited" into perspective: half a century. Of the many fantasy books I loved as a boy, the Weirdstone perhaps always felt closest to home, and in the last year I've found myself rediscovering it - as has our friend Nick, who's encouraged several of his friends (including author Paul Magrs) to re-read the originals in preparation for tomorrow. He interwove our views last week, including a few of mine, and this is the full stream of consciousness that I sent him. ...
Both local LIB DEM councillors Julia Davidson and Darren Fower attended this years "Friendship Club" Fete at the Gunthortpe and Paston Community Centre! Commenting, Darren said: "It was a great success, the Telegraph sent a photographer down, new faces turned up and hats off to those that make the Friendship Club a reality!" For more photos of the event simply CLICK HERE!
HSBC ("the world's local bank") wants to close its branch in Kibworth. The locals are not taking it lying down: there is a petition to sign and a Facebook page to like.
Wed 29th
18:55
Jeremy Browne MP writes: Paralympics legacy must advance rights of people with disabilities
The fourteenth Paralympics Games open today, the pre-cursor of which dates back to the last time London hosted the Olympics. The brainchild of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital for disabled veterans of World War II, the event was staged to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics. It has grown dramatically since then. This year's Games, the biggest yet, will see 4,200 athletes, from 160 countries, compete in 20 different sports medal events. London 2012 saw the first ever double amputee compete in the Olympic Games. South African, Oscar Pistorius competed in the men's 400 metre race and was ...
This is not about young people, especially gang members, showing or not showing ("dissing")"respec'" to other similar people. That's an interesting development of language, but that kind of respect is about enhancing someone's self-image. It's not about traditional respect for elders (children for adults, young adults for older adults), or for clergy, upper-class landowners or whatever - even teachers. My belief at fifteen is pretty much my belief fifty years later, that while some systems, to function effectively, need a fair amount of people acting as if they respect people of "standing" - so, for example, in an effective school, ...
You'te not going to like this, but the Daily Mail has done it again: Moby Sick! Rare whale vomit found by schoolboy on beach could be worth £40,000
For those who are interested in the proposed 2014 London Worldcon, and in reach of the city on Sunday (unfortunately I'll be on a plane going east): Originally posted by drplokta at London PartyOriginally published at London in 2014. You can comment here or there. For anyone who will be in London rather than Chicago this weekend, we'll be having a party in London on Sunday afternoon for the announcement of the site selection result. It's at the Green Man pub on Great Portland Street, from 4pm. The result should be announced around 5pm UK time. Come and help us ...
[IMG: BOTY 2] The Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards, run by Lib Dem Voice, are back for their seventh year. As usual, they'll be awarded in a budget lavish ceremony at the party's autumn conference in Brighton. Click on the following links to see last year's Shortlist and the Winners. This year's awards are as follows: Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2011) Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award) Best use of social media / campaigning by a Liberal Democrat (The Andrew Reeves Award) Best non-Liberal Democrat politics ...
Nick Clegg today triggered a war of words within the government by calling for a 'wealth tax'. The first thing to say is that the idea of taxing wealth not work (i.e. income) has always had suport within the Lib ... Continue reading →
I was the county councillor for Middlewich in the 1990's and as everyone in the town knows the Wardle Canal in Middlewich is the shortest canal in the UK at 154 feet (47 m). As wikipedia records: The canal lies in Middlewich, Cheshire, UK, and connects the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal, terminating with a single lock known as Wardle Lock. It was built in 1829 so that the navigation authority of the Trent and Mersey Canal could maintain control over the junction. The canal is in the news because Maureen Shaw ...
After two decades in limbo, Dallas' new series will get its UK premiere a week tonight, in what is surely the third-most-anticipated return of the next week, and probably achieve the impossible - get people watching Channel 5. Tonight, John Barrowman meets the cast for an exciting advertising feature; the trailer gives the best line, of course, to J.R.; and now seems the moment to confess that I've been watching the old series on the even more obscure channel CBS Drama, where it's now back in 1986-7 and in the middle of the supersoap's most turbulent, improbable and infamous stretch. ...
When I first left home and became a student there were no mobile phones, skype or email only letters and pay phones where you had to press button B to be put through. In those days my Mother used to send me press cutting of book reviews she thought I ought to read and thus it was I discovered the novels of Neil Gunn, the living doric of Charles Murray's poems -not to mention news items with neat notes in the margin expressing extreme anger at the shallowness of Mrs Thatcher. This came back to me this morning when I ...
Saturday: KNOW YOUR ENEMY! Essex Lion! Clockwork Kitling! With an ESSEX LION on the prowl, it's a good time to look back at the PERIVALE CHEETAH. Obviously, I'm NOT afraid of cat-monsters... but I must now go and look after Mr Stripy behind the sofa while Daddy Richard tells you all about it! "Survival", like "The War Games" and "The Horns of Nimon" before it, is the last ever episode of Doctor Who. And, like those previous stories, it stands Janus-faced both as the capstone to one era of the series and as gatekeeper to a new and greater one. ...
I am a non-smoker, apart from the odd birthday cigar. After initial misgivings about the details of the public building smoking ban in the UK, I have come to see it as the most significant and beneficial health change in human behaviour in many decades. It has transformed our public places for the better and helped thousands to give up. Despite that, I have always been suspicious of the increasingly fanatical political drive against smoking. It has always had an undercurrent reminiscent of the 19th century Temperance movement that gave rise to the disaster of "Prohibition" of alcohol. There can't ...
Politically active people often assume that everybody else knows the things that politically active people know, but this can be a mistaken assumption. For example, does everyone know that there is a swathe of marginal seats in west and south-west London in which opposition to a third runway at Heathrow is a huge vote-winner, as the people who live there are very concerned about the noise and other disruption that they associate with any expansion of the airport? That is one reason why Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were so clear in opposing the then Labour Government's plans for a third ...
Awkward. No mention of Hari. Hmm. MT @independent: "Cutting corners in journalism is unacceptable" @memphisbarker on plagiarism: ind.pn/SS1Q2s — David Rose (@DRoseTimes) August 29, 2012
Following on from my last blog, I have just paid the bill as requested and then looked for the full BT Vision package. I will need to pay an extra £50 deposit for the equipment that is already in my possession. I will need to pay an activation fee of £40 and as far as I can see neither of these fees are on their website. I will need to pay £35 as an engineer's fee as my line speed is so slow. I can't see this on the website, so basically I am being asked for £125 as a ...
I don't know Iain very well at all. (I've only bumped into him a couple of times at Total Politics towers and party conferences). I have rather a lot of time and respect for him though, as he is one ... Continue reading →
I am proper livid today. Nick Clegg came to Scotland yesterday. Not that you'd know from the amount of media coverage the visit attracted. There's not much in today's papers, although STV covered his visit to a factory in Jedburgh. What would Scots have learned about our Deputy Prime Minister over the last year? People remember that he had paint thrown at him when he came up last August but his visits since then have largely gone unnoticed. That, I believe, is because we are being far too timid in what we do with him: every time he comes up ...
With the public outrage over phone hacking, the spectacle of Leveson, and the furore over The Sun's printing nude pictures of Prince Harry, there has been some debate of the role of the press in the UK, and whether investigative journalism is now in terminal decline. Traditionally it has been the job of reporters to question those who hold positions of power, and to hold them to account on behalf of society. This role as a watchdog has been cherished by journalists since the origins of newspapers, and reporters were described as 'the Fourth Estate of power and the most ...
A new system to secure funds from developers to raise cash "...for community infrastructure projects such as schools, community facilities and public realm improvements..." will be discussed by Peterborough City Council's Planning and Environmental Protection Committee on Tuesday 4 September 2012. Why are they doing this? Currently when the Council gives planning permission, they get contributions from developers for infrastructure "...to mitigate this impact..." This is part of the Planning Obligations Implementation Scheme (POIS) and/or agreed using a Section 106 planning obligation. However, the Government has introduced a new Community Infrastructure Levy process which the city council needs to adopt ...
On the 6th August I wrote about broadband provision when moving house as I did just that on the 27th July. I had decided that I wanted BT Vision with anytime calls and broadband. It looks a good option at only £17 per month. Unfortunately there have been problems and I wrote about some of them on the 6th August. I now have broadband. It took some time to get up to speed but it works now and this blog comes to you from my new address. Nobody knows my temporary phone number. I was given a temporary number but ...
Something exciting came out of that Olympics closing ceremony after all! Kate Bush re-recorded her second-biggest hit for the event and, astonishingly, Running Up That Hill shot up the charts to become her fifth-biggest hit as well, zooming in at Number Six, with lower but still improbable chart placings for the likes of the Who's Baba O'Riley, the Kinks, ELO and Annie Lennox Vs Cthulhu (all discovered last week while laid up with painfully inflamed ligaments in my left ankle, a change from the occasional tendonitis: running up that hill? If I only could). But what's the song about? Well... ...
Why did senior Tory MP Tim Yeo make such a conspicuous bid to support Heathrow's third runway? The idea is ruled out in the Coalition Agreement, and it is politically impossible for the government to take forward. Such a bid can only weaken the government and David Cameron, the Tory Prime Minister. Rather than indulge in conspiracy theories, I prefer to think it is because most MPs, who are elected in safe seats, and the business lobby advisers, don't understand how elections are won and lost. Mr Yeo made his bid in an article in the Telegragh. After going through ...
The eyes of the world are now on the UK for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have heard a lot about the legacy of the Games, in terms of the rejuvenation of East London and getting more children into sport, but we also have a fantastic opportunity to create an economic legacy right across the UK. From my perspective, as a Highlands and Islands MP, we want all those visiting or watching the Games to see the beauty of our rugged coastline and mountains and be inspired to visit the outstanding beauty of the whole of the UK, ...
Work begins next week on bringing mains gas to the Ridgegrove and Lanstephan estates in Launceston. This is great news and will mean lower heating bills (and better quality heating) for people living on these estates. The work will take up to six months as a gas main has to be laid down each street. In Ridgegrove it's not that easy as many of the homes can only be accessed from footpaths and the steep slopes will mean lots of digging. Inevitably there will be a fair amount of disruption with a rolling programme of street works. Some of the ...
How Much We Owe and Have to Pay Back In 1997 Labour inherited a budget that was actually in balance. After a painful and turbulent decade under the Tories, the public finances had finally been brought under control. But after four years in office Gordon Brown took out the country's credit card and let rip. By the end of 2009-10 our annual deficit had ballooned to £170.8 billion.
It was inevitable really. Home series against South Africa, Graeme Smith still as South African captain, Strauss had to stand down. (Happy times as Ashes Winner, sad times after being bowled by South Africa this summer) My narative first starts in 2003, a plucky young Graeme Smith turned up for his first tour of England and as captain went on to smash 259 in the first test at Edgebaston, this lead to the resignation of Nasser Hussain. Then, five years and one Ashes success later South Africa and Graeme Smith once more proved the downfall of another England captain. The ...
Wed 29th
11:58Fiona Hall MEP writes: Behind the scenes: negotiating the EU Energy Efficiency Directive
While the UK Draft Energy Bill is creating headlines in the UK as it makes its way through Parliament, the EU agreed on what is regarded as the biggest ever piece of legislation in the field of energy efficiency earlier in the summer. The adoption of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) was preceded by a whole year of tough political scrutiny and weeks of negotiations between the European Parliament and Member State ministers in the Council, led by the Danish Presidency. Both Chris Huhne and later Ed Davey were heavily involved in these negotiations for the UK, which was one ...
The Taxpayers Alliance* has today published details of the basic allowance paid to all local councillors in the UK. It's probably not news to anyone who is concerned about this sort of thing - all the information is publicly available. What is disappointing is the lack of context being given by the organisation. What is interesting about the figures is the range of pay. From £1500 per year for South Ribble to £16,932 for councillors in the Scottish Borders, it would appear that there is a huge disparity. But context is, as ever, key. Although £1500 is a very low ...
If we want to remain cohesive and prosperous as a society, people of very considerable personal wealth have got to make a bit of an extra contribution - Nick Clegg, interviewed in The Guardian, 29 August 2012
Kerry Kennedy: A Brush With Morocco's Secret Police in Laayoune, Moroccan-Occupied Western Sahara (PHOTOS) Moroccan police harassing RFK's granddaughter. (tags: westernsahara ) The Billionaire Who Would Rule Georgia: An Interview With Ivanishvili - Armin Rosen - The Atlantic A frank interview. (tags: georgia ) Why Doctor Who isn't just for kids Said to Tom Baker: "I'm such a big fan of your work that I've just named my baby son after you... but my wife can't stand you!" (tags: disability doctorwho ) Republicans' Flimsy Case on National Security - Fantasy-Based Foreign Policy - democracyarsenal.org "The Romney camp wants to represent ...
Here's how they work: In the owners manual "you can see the default setting is to only use the strong setting on the claw once every 18 games!" "...There are further controls for the claw to grab in strong mode and then switch to weak mode anywhere from 2-9 seconds after grabbing." Life is so unfair!
Wed 29th
10:25Julian Huppert MP writes... Liberal Democrats need a clear policy on the future of aviation
Over the last few months, speculation over the Government's aviation policy has filled countless column inches. The majority of it has been based on very little evidence. Perhaps the lack of evidence isn't surprising, given the way aviation policy has been formed during recent years. When Labour decided to build a third runway at Heathrow, they did so by completely ignoring the fact that, already, a quarter of all those in Europe who are affected by aviation noise live under the Heathrow flight path. Not only that, but Labour decided to figure out if we could meet our carbon reduction ...
Too many civil servants, politicians and celebrities are receiving honours, a report by a group of MPs has said. I am sure this is true. How many "Sir" Bufton Tuftons are there at the top of the civil service for example? Proportionately many more than in my view deserve it and the MPs agree: "We believe that no-one should be honoured for simply 'doing the day job', no matter what that job is," the committee said. But the Cabinet Office has come out to bat defending the current way of doing things: The Cabinet Office denied honours were dominated by ...
Amazon Customers Go Rogue, Hilariously Review Bic's Idiotic Pen for Women (tags: ) Janeway Doesn't Deserve This Shit | Tor.com MMost of the comments are depressingly full of Janeway hate, but I liked this one: "At a time when most media and the world was sending me really damaging messages about what a proper woman was, Kathryn Janeway was there. Captain Janeway taught me that I could be nerdy, strong, feminine, and stubborn. I could stand my ground against others, not giving in, and still be a woman. She taught me it it was okay to battle depression and okay ...
Local Lib Dem ward councillor Darren Fower, has now submitted a request to the City Council, for the installation of a bin to be situated near to the corner of Fulbridge Road and The Green, in Werrington Village. Commenting, Darren explained: "I've had several residents ask me about the possibility of a bin being installed and given the high usage from youngsters travelling to school, pedestrians and of course dog walkers, I believe that there is a need for a bin to be installed." View a map of the location by clicking here.
A year ago I heard that six degrees of separation are now down to four courtesy of the internet and social media. Some, if not most, in politics are "connectors", people who know many and who like introducing them to each other, who make friends fast, keep them for life and remember all about them; that's not just true of politics, but of successful people in most walks of life. Will there be any point in let's say 12 years time, in keeping information on who has been in touch with whom during the previous year? I choose 12 to ...
Massive hat tip to Red Peppers here. They've compiled this handy mythbuster to tackle various myths about welfare which I'm reposting here - in particular I think the first three myths make for very interesting reading. Welfare reform is almost inevitably contentious. Answering the question of who should receive how much financial support relies on often competing conceptions of fairness, with rival views about who needs, and who deserves, our help, not to mention the most just and efficient way of providing it. These issues are worth debating - but the current debate is being conducted on shoddy terms. Myths ...
Nick Clegg has told the Guardian that he wants to see a time limited extra tax for the wealthiest so that it can be seen that they are shouldering their share of the burden of the country's economic challenges. He warned that, with the "economic war" we're facing likely to be longer term than we thought, it wouldn't be either "socially or politically sustainable or acceptable" if the richest weren't asked to pay more. He said:If we are going to ask people for more sacrifices over a longer period of time, a longer period of belt tightening as a country, ...
Nick Clegg has told the Guardian that he wants to see a time limited extra tax for the wealthiest so that it can be seen that they are shouldering their share of the burden of the country's economic challenges. He warned that, with the "economic war" we're facing likely to be longer term than we thought, it wouldn't be either "socially or politically sustainable or acceptable" if the richest weren't asked to pay more. He said: If we are going to ask people for more sacrifices over a longer period of time, a longer period of belt tightening as a ...
And so with NOW! 47 - released in November 2000 - we reach the last of the 20th Century NOW! albums - and next week we'll enter a shiny new decade, century and millenium. There's lots of bubblegum pop to choose from... But that's all for next week! There are a number of tracks I could have chosen this week too - including In Demand from Texas' Greatest Hits album (I struggle to believe that was 12 years ago but that's growing old for you!) I've chosen LeAnn Rimes instead though. She has a truly amazing voice - particularly on ...
The following facts and opinions were stated on the Guardian's letters page yesterday (28/08/2012) Last November there were 279 000 long-term empty properties. Councils should be supported by the government to provide loans to improve such properties so that they can be lived in and let. Cllr Andrew Judge (Labour.) Less than a week ago, housebuilders were saying they already had planning approval to cover house building for the next five years or so at the current rate. Rev Dr Jeyarajan Anketell Government data shows (sic) that in 2008 there was enough brownfield land suitable for housing development, much of ...
In the Western Mail yesterday the former Shadow Welsh Secretary, Peter Hain gave us the benefit once more of his political wisdom and knowledge with the claim that Labour will struggle to win the next general election outright and should be ready to go into coalition with Liberal Democrats. He may well be right, but if he is I hope that Labour are more prepared to negotiate as equals than they have been in the past. Hain's political analysis and understanding of history is a bit one dimensional and he struggles with the history of the Liberal Party, which he ...
From V&A at Dundee: Martin Kemp, one of the world's leading authorities on Leonardo da Vinci, will give a public lecture in Dundee next Saturday (1st September) to mark the arrival in the city of a new exhibition of Leonardo's drawings. 'Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration from the Royal Collection' is at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum, from 31st August to 4th November. It is the only Scottish venue hosting the exhibition. Martin Kemp is Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford and one of the world's leading ...
If the future is mobile technology then cloud computing is the key. Essentially, it enables users to draw down software, infrastructure, and storage as separate components or a complete platform via the Internet on demand. As with all technology most of us use it without understanding how it works or why. So it is hardly surprising that a survey of Americans in which they were asked what their understanding was of cloud computing came up with a wide range of answers. The survey found that ninety-five percent of those claiming they never use the cloud actually do so via online ...
MANCHESTER PRIDE PARADE Saturday 25 August 2012 On Saturday, I took part in the Manchester Pride parade, in the city centre. It was delightful to see such a large turnout, especially with the weather prospects. . Included in the parade were officers and staff from 17 police forces and policing organisations, and Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy, who said the following; "This year's parade is dedicated to the code-breaking mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, whose work during the Second World War was vital, and whose sexuality resulted in a criminal prosecution, in 1952. It's worth remembering how ...
