Nick Harvey's had a tough week. On Tuesday his ministerial career was brought to an abrupt and surprising halt when Nick Clegg told him he was 'trading' his post of armed forces minister for a Lib Dem foothold in another department. The North Devon MP has been a victim of his own success. So shrewdly has he overseen the Trident nuclear weapons review — the crunch defence decision which divides Lib Dems and Tories — that it is highly likely to produce more effective, better value deterrent options, with a final decision not needed until 2016, after the next election. ...
It's good to see that our MP Steve Webb has kept his post as Minister of State for Pensions in the major government reshuffle. Steve is now apparently the longest-serving pensions minister ever, as he's been in the post for two and a half years. The Department for Work and Pensions will be a key area during the rest of this government's term. Some stability in the DWP ministerial team will be welcome, in contrast to the number of changes in other departments.
This house now forms part of The King's School, Tynemouth - former pupils include Stan Laurel and Toby Flood. The blue plaque on its wall records that Garibaldi stayed here in 1854 "while visiting Tynemouth to brief local political and industrial leaders on his plans for a unified Italy". The King's School is in the news this week. As The Journal reports: One of the North East's leading private schools will become free to parents next year after the Government approved plans for it to convert to academy status. The King's School in Tynemouth will merge with nearby Priory Primary ...
So at the start of the day there were 23 Golds for Paralympics GB, but Dame Mary Peters was calling for all 27 of the UK gold medalists to be honoured with gold post boxes. She was referring to Bethany Firth a swimmer for Seaforde, Co. Down, and athletes Jason Smyth from Eglington, Co. Derry and Michael McKillop (with 2 golds) from Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim. Either way the Paralympians were closing in on the 29 golds won by the Olympians, so today there was to be no rest still for the Royal Mail stamp design team. However, what was the ...
A burglary took place yesterday in the Allensford area yesterday (Tuesday 4th September) between 12:00 and 15:45. Entry was made through a window onto the rear gardens of the detached property during daylight hours whilst the occupants were at home. A number of valuable items have been removed from displays and cabinets close to the window. Police are appealing for anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious around this time in the area of Allensford, in particular any persons or any vehicles which were acting suspiciously, to call local police on 101.
A question raised by a work colleague, to which there is no easy answer. Of course the reference is to why do we (those of us who earn a living) get up before dawn, travel miles, work, go home, do the same thing every day, while large numbers live on benefits. Well it seems one reason, might be so that a ragbag coalition of left wing er....activists, (Anti Cuts Thanet and the Thanet Trades Union Council) can celebrate, us tax prayers by bleating about cuts. if you'd like to join them, you have an opportunity to mix with like minded ...
One of Justine Greenings leaflets from the last election (h/t William Green of The Journal).
Liberal Democrat councillors in Southport have welcomed the news that English Nature are carrying out a thorough review of the controversial "Higher Level Stewardship Agreement" with Sefton Council which covers the Ainsdale and Birkdale Local Nature Reserve. This is the agreement which has led, in recent months, to residents voicing concerns about proposals to introduce 'sheep pens' in the dunes. The pens are intended to allow grazing to improve the habitat. Felling of trees has also prompted a backlash. At the July meeting of the Southport Area Committee councillors unanimously backed a motion proposed by Councillor Tony Dawson (Dukes Ward ...
D66 the left Liberal Party from the Netherlands is being tipped to enter government. With the recovery of the Labour Party the possibility of a 'purple coalition' is growing. That was the coalition that ran the government between 1994 and 2002 and has always been seen as D66's preferred option. The coalition would consist of D66, the Labour Party and the right wing Liberals VVD. The election is on the 12th September Earlier this year D66 put out a statement on their position which can be found in full here and their website is here Forward Now Towards a prosperous, ...
As a 'thank you' for all his hard work the Liberal MP for Southport presented his agent with a handsomely engraved silver salver. I was John Pugh M.P.'s agent when he first won Southport but sadly it was not me who got given the 120 ounce silver salver. The MP was another John, J M Astbury KC, who fought and won the seat in 1906 and his agent was the legendary A. Keith Durham. Now I must make clear I do not hold a grudge against John Pugh for failing to give me such a lavish gift. When I fought ...
It won't set many Consett pulses racing, but the County Durham Plan is an important document which needs people's responses. The plan will be presented at the AAP board meeting on September 26th from 6.00 – 8.00 p.m. at St Patrick's Hall. It will also be open for people to drop in and make comment at St Patrick's Church Hall from 4.00 – 8.00 on October 17th.
Jill Hope's by-election headquarters have opened at 2a Ryder Court, Saxon Way East, Corby, Northamptonshire NN18 9NX The HQ will be open every day between 10am and 8pm, seven days a week. View Larger Map
As a consolation prize for being sacked as a defence minister yesterday, Nick Harvey (Lib Dem MP for North Devon) is to receive a knighthood. The honour is listed towards the bottom of this page on PoliticsHome. Among the others retiring minsters to be awarded knighthoods is my own MP, the Conservative Edward Garnier.
Got a problem? Ok, mate, "attend cabinet" – that'll sort it. Hey you, walking passed Downing Street on the way to MacDonalds, attend cabinet, why don't you? Well, David Laws fancied attending cabinet, so Cameron and Clegg agreed for him to attend. By the way, there is no way I am going to defend David Laws. I am not going to defend the indefensible. So they will now have to knock down a wall in Number Ten to make space for this second rank. By reckoning, this cure-all sop has now been extended to: David Laws Ken Clarke Baroness Warsi ...
Wed 5th
18:07
Escalation in drone attacks on Somalia could create a new generation of radical terrorists
As President Barack Obama ratchets up drone attacks on al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia, experts are questioning whether drones could replace Guantánamo Bay as the recruiting tool of choice for militants. An undeclared war fought by remote control is now ... Continue reading →
Local LIB DEM ward councillor, Darren Fower, says that – according to the City Council – the slap replacement work, presently taking place along Gunthorpe Road, starting at Lowther Gardens. Commenting, Darren said: "The footpath along Gunthorpe Road is a well used stretch, by dog walkers and residents alike. Local residents living in and around this area have waited long enough for action from the Council to address the smoothness of the footpath, and as someone who has campaigned on this I am very happy to see action finally. Hopefully, the work will now be completed on time." Queries should ...
Chorlton Eco Show Home opens doors this weekend showcases world first solar installation as part of the SuperHomes network The hundred year old Arts and Crafts property in the South Manchester conservation area is owned by Kit Knowles, who refurbished the property to test and showcase over 100 sustainable technologies and design techniques including three world firsts. Without using any renewable electricity generation he has reduced its carbon footprint by 62% with energy bills tumbling from £2,500 to £500. Kit will now exceed 85% carbon reduction with the installation of a ground breaking new hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) system that ...
Two videos taken of Gatley Carrs recently.
In case you've missed the finer points of David Cameron's 4th September Cabinet reshuffle, I'll summarise a few key appointments here. Andrew Lansley: OUT Mr Lansley, who attracted intense criticism for his NHS reforms while Health Secretary, has finally exited the Cabinet with an appointment as Leader of the House of Commons, replacing George Young. Jeremy Hunt: Secretary of State for Health Weird, right? The embattled, scandalised Culture Secretary has been bumped up to Health. I'm not really sure what to say about that. Ken Clarke: Non-Portfolio The liberally-minded Justice Secretary has been sacrificed to the Tory right by David ...
I emailed the Street Works Co-ordinator today about the road works in Houghton Regis. The current work is needed for UK Power Networks low voltage cabling, and will continue until the end of the week, being done off peak until 3.30pm daily. Temporary lights are in operation as one lane is out of use. These are being operated on manual timings (when the guy is not on his lunch break), and on automatic settings the rest of the time. Automatic or manual doesn't seem to make much difference, actually, since the operator can't see the lengths of queues in all ...
sugarmango: Welcome to the internet, here's your gif basket
I guess talking about Europe is not what a party wants come September. With the conference fast approaching, the polls painting a gloomy picture, debate about the leadership raging and the small subject of the economy hanging over everybody, the last thing one needs is a debate about Britain's place in the EU. But in politics there is no escaping the big issues. The EU is not just a club we are members of. We are the EU. Our economy is deeply integrated in the wider European economy and our ability to influence the global events that affect us depends ...
Cornwall's Tory led cabinet has this afternoon stuck two fingers up to democracy and insisted that it will press ahead with the privatisation of key council services despite an overwhelming vote against the proposal at yesterday's full council meeting. The Cabinet member in charge of the policy - Steve Double - has claimed that most of the concerns raised yesterday had already been addressed at the council meeting. Clearly members were not convinced by the answers they were given then or subsequently. Steve also claims that there are many cases of successful public-private partnerships. Which is true. But there are ...
I met new Post Office minister Jo Swinson last night and presented her with a 12 page document putting forward the arguments to re-open Ladybarn Post Office. This follows a meeting I had recently with former minister Norman Lamb. The ... Continue reading →
I am not fond of Ryanair and avoid using it whenever I can. Nothing will surprise me about the many ways they seek to make money. Well, that was the case until I saw this article. They say that after a flight last month from Alicante to Bristol, Suzy McLeod of Newbury took to Facebook to vent her anger at paying €60 each for boarding passes for herself, her parents and her two children, a total cost of €300. The reaction of Ryanair's owner, Michael O'Leary is hardly designed to win friends for his airline: But Michael O'Leary yesterday ridiculed ...
David Cameron is dressing up the inquiry he is about to launch into Airport Expansion at Heathrow as not a U turn - because he only promised not to expand Heathrow in the current Parliament. But that's not true. Here's what David Cameron said in 2008: "I think the whole country can agree that the most important priority for Heathrow is making it better, not bigger," Cameron told environmental group leaders. "And yet Gordon Brown is pig-headedly pursuing a third runway just to try and prove a political point. What a ridiculous way to plan for the future."Cameron said his ...
From a press release: London MEP Sarah Ludford has welcomed the use of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in a bid to apprehend a former Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing children at St Benedict's School in Ealing, west London. After failing to answer bail the man, named by police as Lawrence Soper, is believed to have fled to Italy. Sarah Ludford commented: "This represents a clear example of sound use of the Euro-warrant. While there are some cases of justified concern about misuse, the EAW is generally used properly." "It makes the long arm of the law that much ...
More reshuffle falling into place – Duncan Hames new PPS to @nick_clegg and so almost certainly new FPC chair too — Mark Pack (@markpack) September 5, 2012
So Justine Greening has been shuffled out of the cabinet. Even before she has cleared out her desk the media and pundits have begun speculating what this means. Like an episode of Dawson's creek or from my premarital love life everyone is sat about over thinking everything, suggesting hypothesises and second guessing every tiny detail. A couple of months ago the opposition were trying to convince us all that Boris island or the Hoo peninsula scheme were the only options and that those evil Tories would force it upon us - Those blaggards! Then in recent weeks Heathrow expansion has ...
... if the Tories on South Glos Council hadn't "postponed" it. Instead they built this white elephant up the road from Parkway Station at a cost of £1.2 million - a Park and Ride with no bus service! This photo was taken on a recent weekday afternoon - there were 11 cars. That's a busy day for Parkway North. And far from being critical of the Tories, a South Glos Labour councillor told BBC Points West that it would come in handy in 2015 when the bus rapid transit is built. By then we could have had a Yate Park ...
'A move to the right' seems to be the overwhelming view amongst the media of this week's government reshuffle, alongside its weekly speculation of the collapse of the coalition. Personally I think this is a bit simplistic - but the reshuffle has proved to be more interesting than I thought it might be. Firstly, we must note what David Cameron could not do. Obviously he could not sack George Osborne. There is little doubt that Osborne has to date been a considerable failure in the post, but to abandon him now would be admitting the failure of Plan A. There ...
Yesterday was the big day. The much anticipated cabinet and ministerial reshuffle. The excitement was palpable. However when it became clear that changes were going to be more Claudio Ranieri than Roberto Mancini the excitement seemed to wane. In fact I even went to ASDA and whilst I was disappointed their hot deli counter didn't have any Cumberland ring sausages I was able to procure calamine lotion for all those bites I seem to have taken on Sunday. Anyway I digress. So what do I think about the reshuffle is the main question that is holding this blog post together ...
For 40 years I read the Guardian. I only stopped when the vitriol generated by Polly Toynbee kept dripping onto the carpet and ruining it! I switched to the Independent which had always been my second choice for independence and ... Continue reading →
The Evening Standard reports: A London schoolboy will eclipse the teenage William Hague's famous Tory Party conference speech tonight when he presents a campaigning film he has made about animal welfare to MPs at the Commons at the age of nine. Ayrton Cable - grandson of Business Secretary Vince - said he was "not nervous" about appearing before the invited audience of politicians and lobbyists.Farmers Guardian (which manages to report an event that hasn't happened yet in the past tense) quotes Ayrton further: "With method of production labelling people can choose either to buy meat and cheese from animals which ...
From reading The Australian during an antipodean holiday over the last three weeks, a few national Australian issues stand out: The state of the Australian government There are great paralells with the UK here in terms of the actual form of the government. Both countries had elections in 2010 where no party had an overall majority. Despite her many faults, Julia Gillard has been remarkably successful in holding together her government, some might saying "clinging on by her fingernails", relying on a handful of independent MPs and one Green. During my stay, there was an example of her Houdini-like political ...
Wed 5th
13:32
Transfer deadline day: Laws, Brake, Foster & Swinson in, Burstow, Teather, Harvey & Stunell ...
I love reshuffle days, they're just like transfer deadline day. You sit there at your office computer pretending to work while secretly updating the Guardian live blog to see who your side has brought in and let go. So, have we strengthened the side for the second half of the season or left gaping holes in our defence? Well, we have managed to hold on to all our big players - Cable, Alexander, Davey and Moore - and, despite losing his place to Alexander after his suspension early in the season, we now have a fighting fit Laws back and ...
Richard Oglethorpe and I went along today to the Council's licensing committee to represent local people. We planned to speak against an application to sell alcohol 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the petrol station on the bit of St Mary's Road where it starts to go into the village. This is the one by ASDA and also reasonably near the Garston Adventure Playground. We had petitions signed by local residents wanting us to object for a range of reasons, including potential nuisance and likelihood of anti social behaviour. Well I had promised to update on the ...
Our own Stephen Tall has been analysing the Reshuffle over at Endeavour Public Affairs. He says that an opportunity to pursue a more radical economic agenda has been missed: The Government should be building on this with a radical and popular agenda to create a more competitive and much, much fairer economy, as I argued here on LibDemVoice. This would mean further banking reform than currently proposed, for example by separating completely retail and investment banking, and parcelling up and selling on the currently state-owned banks into a number of smaller ones to create greater plurality in the system. More ...
It's time to end the Coalition - Hard to argue with some of this from Nick Barlow although I disagree with his conclusion 100 Oldest .COM domain names Relativistic Baseball Shocking story about Samsung's alleged treatment of bloggers
For various reasons, I haven't posted here in a while, and it seems that, following the acquisition by Twitter, Posterous is dying on its feet. So . . . this blog will no longer be updated, though it will stay up for posterity, or at least until I find an efficient way of exporting all the posts. If you want to follow my writings, my blog posts will once again, appear here. You can also follow me on Twitter or, for shared material and +1's, sometimes with rapid fire opinions attached, Google+. Permalink | Leave a comment »
Our two week old daughter Mattie has been given some lovely presents by her uncle Rob and aunt Izzy, along a foxy theme. Among them, a beautiful dress and these two fine creations. If you're smart, like that Saatchi bloke, you will buy a Rob Mason original here.
Saturday: After watching Dr Woo in my luxury London flat - the "Asylum of the Daddies", I call it. "It's a Madhouse! A Madhouse!" - we put AVP in the DVD. Under the icy surface, our heroes penetrate the alien ziggurat, with its diagonal walls and secret doors and, surrounded by the skeletal remains of the last people who got in there, they soon discover the shocking secret of the alien life form and its "eggs". But worse is to come when they realise that the Predator has been locked in there with them. And he's wearing a bow tie... ...
Default blocking of online adult material is a controversial and illiberal policy, which has attracted criticism from plenty of Liberal Democrats - and rightly so. Default Internet censorship takes decisions about what is appropriate for families and households out of parents' hands. In the process the Government would be constructing an infrastructure of censorship that will be inefficient, error-ridden and open to abuse. Default blocking will mean the Government and technology companies, rather than parents, deciding what is 'appropriate' for children and young people. Filtering can give parents a false sense of security and also inevitably leads to the the ...
Back on the front line.
I was dismayed to see such stupid protestations from Conservative MP's who should know better and supposed business leaders. They've been demanding Heathrow have a third runway to magically solve all our economic woes. First myth. Building a third runway with all the infrastructure would take at least 10 years and would only come on stream in two or three five year parliaments time. Not much economic magic about a ten plus year delay. Second myth. That air pollution wouldn't be a problem, that aircraft are so much cleaner. Most aircraft are flown for 40+ years. The current aircraft flying ...
580 - The Legend of the Tsar's Finger | Strange Maps | Big Think Too good to be true, alas. (tags: maps ) The President Vanishes: The Lost Day video, Putin-Medvedev and the August War | Gerard Toal (Gearóid Ó Tuathail) Analysing a peculiar video. (tags: georgia ) Ax Killer Pardon Reignites Caucasus War Fears in Oil-Rich Region - Businessweek Not good news. (tags: azerbaijan armenia war ) 15 Reasons Why Flying United Airlines Sucks Slightly shocked by several comments defending United. Astroturf??? (tags: travel ) Space to Reflect: Back from the Con: A Priest in SF Fandom Caroline Symcox, ...
Oooh er missus [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
It is a great shame that so many LibDems are so disillusioned that they are quitting the party. They have every right to be profoundly upset. The political ineptitude and betrayal, particularly by the Conservative part of the coalition, is little short of breathtaking. OK so immediately I have provoked a howl 'tuition fees' & 'betrayal' by the LibDems (the only so called betrayal that seems to count). But actually 'the howl' makes my point. Despite the £9000 figure the new structure is a much better deal for students than the old one - as those students who have studied ...
STORY, Luton and Dunstable Express Basically Labour Luton screwed up putting on a weekend event at unaffordable prices, then panicked and slashed the ticket prices in half to try to encourage more people to go. Then they have the cheek to whinge about having to cut council services because of Government cutbacks. Reality check, Luton. Watch the Debt Bomb. It's still ticking, and your let set it off, racking up massive borrowings while in Government, never giving much thought to interest debt repayment.
Dolphin Drive, Houghton Regis, has an awkward double bend in it and that is presumably the reason for double yellow lines on it. I wouldn't support the removal of these lines from one or other side of the road as parked vehicles are a hazard to traffic movement. And, actually, I don't really support the heavy handed approach of beating people with a stick, in the form of the parking control car, especially when other solutions can be found. Picture from Google Street View Neptune Square was created at a time when it was assumed people would walk to the ...
With only two of the county's MPs surviving the 2010 General Election, and with five newcomers to the House of Commons, it wasn't terribly surprising that we were unrepresented within the serried ranks of Government Ministers at first.Tim Yeo is, to put it bluntly, past it, with no likelihood of preferment, given that there were rumours before 2010 that he wouldn't be running again. David Ruffley, who might have been preferred had it not been for the Coalition, suffered from well-reported health problems, and the added stress of ministerial office might have exacerbated those.The newcomers were a mixed bunch, with ...
A new term and the Government looks set to walk straight into a public relations disaster. In a bid to 'manage' the spread of bovine TB, Defra will commence a badger cull starting in two areas of the South West – West Somerset/Taunton Deane and in the Forest of Dean/Tewkesbury. It is not just the pictures of indiscriminate shooting and maiming of an icon of the British countryside which will be so damaging for the Government; it is the fact that the cull is based on flawed science. This is an ill-conceived policy. The decision by Defra, one of the ...
Half of Hugo Award Winners Women This post links to a lot of the works which won awards. (tags: ) It's time to end the Coalition I agree with pretty much every word of this post (tags: ) The Dark Knight Rises « Graphic Spoiler Alert This? This is the best review of TDKR I have seen. Bar none. (tags: ) For heaven's sake, Nick, what were you thinking, letting the Tories have equalities? Caron reacts to the reshuffle in typically understated and calm fashion (tags: ) Prerequisite Rape Quiz [Sex in the News] : CollegeCandy - Life, Love & ...
I hope that you liked our marathon 6 hour live blog yesterday as the Reshuffle unfolded and our analysis from Nick, Stephen and Mark. Chances are you may have seen one or other of them on the television yesterday. Here's Stephen on the Daily Politics, at about 16 and 27 minutes in. I thought I'd briefly add my random observations on the reshuffle. Nukes, kids and jobs As a long term supporter of David Laws, albeit for his skills rather than his economic outlook, I'm delighted to see him back. However, he has to have one of the weirdest jobs ...
Wed 5th
09:25
5 things you shouldn't miss - including research into how valuable online reviews really are
Welcome to the latest of my monthly collections for the Engine Group of five links that you shouldn't miss. How valuable is a positive review? http://bit.ly/PZRNt6 Fascinating study of 300 San Francisco restuarants. Want users to set better passwords? Turn it into a game http://tcrn.ch/Q00YKc The trend for gamification reaches that thorny old IT security problem - how to get users to set secure passwords which they both remember and aren't the same for everything. Tips for making an effective infographic http://bit.ly/PZTlU4 It's not just about the choice of colours and fonts. Making website terms of service easy to understand ...
Critics of the coalition's economic policy come from many and diverse perspectives, from those such as John Redwood who advocate the traditional Tory neo-classical approach of cutting taxes and spending until growth is achieved to those who advocate forgetting the deficit and spending until growth occurs. The traditional Tory arguments were largely demolished by the great Liberal economist JM Keynes in the 1930s, and their reheated version disproved by JK Galbraith in the 1980s. The arguments of those who wish to see stimulus spending are more cogent but the latest data concerning the Danish economy should provide them with food ...
As I'm at a conference in Telford this week, I was unable to attend yesterday's full council meeting where the issue of the privatisation of services was discussed. But the council voted clearly in favour of the motion put forward condemning the plans. After the debate, my colleague Jeremy Rowe had this to say: "Cornwall Councillors today voted overwhelmingly and unequivocally against the cabinet's decision to go into a joint venture partnership with a private company to deliver a wide range of council services - in effect a privatisation. It is now up to the Cabinet to respond to this ...
Yesterday I wrote about how SNP MP Pete Wishart had taken to Twitter to throw some personal insults around about Mike Moore and Jo Swinson. Ok, so he didn't actually use any sweary-words, but suggesting a panda, which sleeps 20 odd hours a day and chomps bamboo the rest of the time, would be a better Secretary of State for Scotland can never be construed as polite. And his extraordinary press release the other day described Mike as attention seeking and pointless and painted a picture of a man desperate to save his job. They clearly have a quality control ...
This is the futuristic viewing tower from which you can look out across the remains of the Roman fort of Segedunum at Wallsend and the replica bath house that has recently been constructed there. The fort marked the easternmost point of Hadrian's Wall. The site was lost under terraced housing until the 1970s and has been excavated more recently than that. The Segedunum museum and its tower opened in 2000. There is a remarkable photograph in the guidebook I bought there. A group of children are playing in the street (judging by their clothes it was taken around 1970), and ...
Wed 5th
08:00
David Cameron has screwed up his evil plan for a 3rd Runway. Good. But Simon Burns. I'll hold you to...
So, what a complete cock up David Cameron has made of the aviation plan. I'm firmly against a third runway in Heathrow. So I was pleased when the MP for Putney was made SoS for Transport 11 months ago.Surely a SW London MP would never allow Heathrow expnsion to go ahead. Justine Greening had in fact been fairly mealy mouthed ever since her appointment, confirming that there won't be a change in policy pre 2015 but saying nothing after that. But as she was a West London MP, you felt safe. David Cameron had apparently not noticed Greening was MP ...
I said last week that there was lots of bubblegum pop to choose from in this week's album. And there was, but I went for this!: Enjoy ;-p Andrew
Constituents have queried with me the works on Riverside Avenue's north side, opposite the entrance to Riverside Nature Park. Concerns were expressed about the removal of some trees and bushes. The City Council's City Development Department has updated me as follows: "Some trees, shrubs and bushes were required to be removed for the installation of a venting trench to monitor landfill gas concentrations along the eastern part of the northern boundary of the Riverside Landfill site to prevent migration off site to adjacent properties. The trench will approximately be 230m long to take into account the relative concentrations of landfill ...
Equalities has been taken out of the hands of two Lib Dem ministers and given to a Conservative, Helen Grant. And, certainly as far as race equality is concerned, it promises to be a step forward. Equalities is on the ... Continue reading →
Watching the Paralympics this week made me think about all the column inches I have seen written about the Olympics helping the image of being British in Scotland. I've read a lot about us all getting behind team GB and their achievements somehow affecting the way Scots feel about their nationality. Maybe it has, but if it has I think something more fundamental has been happening than getting enthused about the Olympics and the Paralympics. You see, I believe many of us have a sort of two pronged nationality - we are both British and Scottish at the same time ...
