The Impartial Reporter is the local paper in Fermanagh. This evening at the first full council since they became the first council in Ireland to vote against supporting equal marriage there was a protest attempting to hand the Councillors a letter. Here is the response that some of the Councillors gave to the paper, there are audioboo clips in the report. Please listen to them this is an example of the stance that too many of Northern Ireland's elected representatives give on this issue.
Back in July I got an email from Jim Hancock that read: Jessica and Katy Bingham have asked me contact you to ensure that you know that there will be a memorial celebration of the life of their father Viv Bingham (President of the Liberal Party 1981-82) on WED SEPT 12th at 6pm in the Lloyd George Room of the National Liberal Club. ..and so it was a goodly crowd of Liberals assembled at the NLC to remember Viv's life. It was the sort of event Viv would have loved to attend. The range his of friends there from Ministers ...
What are we to make of this article in the Daily Telegraph that suggests that the Home Secretary is To give customs officials and immigration officers the power to take mouth swabs or hair samples without a passengers consent? They say that under the planned changes, the requirement to transfer a detainee to a police station to take fingerprints and DNA samples would be dropped. Instead, authorisation would be given for the sample to be taken at the port or airport. Isabella Sankey, Director of Policy for Liberty, believes it is a slippery slope. She told the paper: "Schedule 7 ...
The Lib Dem team have reported five faulty streetlights in central Gatley for repair – two opposite the Horse & Farrier, one outside the Tatton, one under the railway bridge and one at by the triangle on Old Hall Road. We've also asked the Council to cut back vegetation on the passageways from South Park Road to the Station car park. If you spot any problems, you can report them directly to the Council online – just click on "report it" from the Stockport Council website. Let us know if anything isn't getting done and we can chase it up. ...
It's almost two weeks since Helen Duffett invited us to submit our nominations for the prestigious Liberal Democrat Voice Blog of the Year. Nominations close at 5pm tomorrow so if you haven't done yours yet, you had better get your finger out. You are allowed to nominate your own blog – and nobody will ever know that you did. All the relevant details and the categories are reproduced below. If you are at Conference, the winners will be unveiled at an every expense spared ceremony at Conference. Better get that tux dry cleaned.... Make your choices and get them in ...
Yes that's right. Nick Clegg is fighting for common sense in Chatham and many places like it by standing against Boundary reforms. How can Chatham railway station not be in Chatham & Aylesford constituency? How can Luton & Wayfield, in the heartland of Chatham be part of Gillingham & Rainham? These arbitrary moves have been carried out without many people being consulted based on current population size. On the up side, it cuts some 60 odd MPs from Parliament and mean each MP is equal meaning in net terms each voter is now equal. But the price is splitting up ...
Tens of thousands of live animals – mainly cows and sheep – are exported, alive, from the UK every year. Sometimes the animals have relatively short journeys – veal calves off to live in intolerable conditions in France or Italy, for example – and sometimes they are exported much further – to Russia, or beyond. Most of the animals are ready for slaughter, and will be killed as soon as they arrive in their destination countries. This often involves unimaginably long journeys for hundreds of animals at a time, crammed into lorries. Animal welfare campaigners have long condemned the practice ...
Thu 13th
20:26
Former copper Matt Gallagher selected as Lib Dem candidate for Police Commissioner for Greater Manch...
Matt is a big supporter of improving road safety. He has joined me in successfully campaigning to stop Labour's School Crossing cuts and calling for 20mph limits. Greater Manchester Liberal Democrats have selected retired former police Inspector and Chorlton resident Matt Gallagher to be their candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner.Matt Gallagher said today,"I have 30 years police experience, and a detailed knowledge of the Greater Manchester Police. That is why I am best candidate to work with police officers and cut crime across Greater Manchester."He added, Matt served as a GMP officer for 30 years "Survey after survey shows ...
I am not a career politician, I am a career copper. 30 years. 6 in the Tactical Aid Unit. By the end of my career I had made Inspector. As part of the TAU, I help take drug dealers ... Continue reading →
Writing on ConHome, Peter Hoskin mentioned this important point in passing: I'd just like to throw in this report from the OECD which suggests that, of all taxes, taxes on property are the least harmful to economic growth, with those on corporate and personal income being the most harmful. Of course the party pushing for higher property taxation at the moment, whether in the guise of mansion tax or wealth tax, is the Liberal Democrats.
Cubbagudta Plantation, home of the Daintree Tea Company, North Queensland Sign in a Manly, New South Wales supermarket List of fruits tried at Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm, Northern Queensland My feet have now just about touched the ground after our whirlwind tour of Queensland and New South Wales down under. Apart from memories of a "holiday of our lifetimes", my one abiding "take away" from the visit was of how lucky the Australians are. They have a country of vast, vast resources, most importantly, space. Flats and terraced houses are rare, virtually everyone has their bungalow with a large ...
Further to my previous blog, I've now heard back from the public affairs team at Royal Mail. They assure me that 'the Universal Service Obligation is being delivered' - in other words that every house in Launceston is getting a mail delivery every working day Monday to Saturday. That directly contradicts the evidence presented to me by residents and the statements made by local Royal Mail staff who say that they are under-staffed at the moment, that they have asked head office for more staff and that this request has been refused. The Royal Mail person I have spoken to ...
Liberal Democrats have condemned the spending of over £4000 on new furniture for the Mayor's Parlour.Since the council moved out of the old Redcar and Cleveland Town Hall earlier this year the Mayor's Parlour has been moved to Kirkleatham Museum.But figures uncovered by Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Abbott show that rather than use the perfectly good furniture from the old Mayor's Parlour, the council's Labour bosses have seen fit to spend £4,319 on replacing it.Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Abbott commented:"This is sheer waste of taxpayers' money."Kirkleatham Museum already houses quality furniture which used to be in the Mayor's Parlour at ...
Gareth Epps, my Liberator colleague, was interviewed by Carolyn Quinn on last Sunday's The Westminster Hour. You can hear the interview on the BBC website. More from Gareth Epps on his blog.
They say hindsight is a wonderful thing. In my case, it truly has been wonderful. The amount of support I have received post resignation as Liberal Youth Campaigns Officer has been overwhelming. Over 400 people have now seen my resignation blog post, including Lib Dem MPs such as Party President Tim Farron. So I thought ...
Tomorrow morning at 9.30 the second reading of Gavin Barwell's Mental Health (Discrimination) Bill in the Commons. This video explains why MPs should support it.
Where I actually say some quite complimentary things about a new Doctor Who story — and one written by Chris Chibnall no less! It's still by me, though, so I still focus on my one huge complaint. (This post sat in drafts for two days for some reason — the Mindless post went up on ...
I quite want to read Charles Stross and Cory Doctorow's new book, The Rapture Of The Nerds. I'm not hugely interested — I like some of Stross' work a lot (basically the Laundry series and the near-future-Edinburgh police procedurals, all of which I adore), but other than Glasshouse his singularity-based stuff (Accelerando, Singularity Sky, that ...
This is an article that I posted on Lib Dem Voice on Tuesday. It attracted quite a few comments, which you can read here. I think the lessons can be applied to any organisation that relies on volunteers. I have just returned to my duties at Lib Dem Voice after spending an extraordinary two weeks as a volunteer Games Maker at the Paralympics. My final event was the Athletes Parade today when we were thanked over and over again by Coe, Cameron, and Johnson, and by athletes and members of the public. I have never felt so appreciated in my ...
Thu 13th
16:34
Lib Dem win as Kent County Council changes policy to allow locally supported 20mph zones
[IMG: 20 mph zone sign] To the Conservatives at Kent County Council who failed to understand what the Lib Dems were doing proposing a motion which sought to allow Councillors (if they wished) to back local 20mph schemes with Members Highways Fund money in this year, contrast and compare: Last line of motion proposed by Martin Vye and Tim Prater on behalf of the Lib Dems (albeit heavily amended by Bryan Sweetland, Conservative Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste) and passed at Full Council today: "Any new 20mph schemes will follow the normal process of consultation involving local communities ...
Nick Clegg went to Cambridge today. He met Liberal Democrat members ahead of a packed public Question and Answer session where Credit: Helen Duffett he was quizzed on a huge range of subjects. Local MP Julian Huppert, LDV's own Helen Duffett and Liberal Youth's Harry Matthews were among those present and tweeting.Nick talked about the distinctiveness of the three traditions, Conservative, Labour and Liberal in British politics and how they couldn't be folded into each other. He explained how the liberal tradition valued the sanctity of the individual. The vexed question of tuition fees was always going to come up ...
As with most tech based projects, Digital Politico is constantly evolving. As a few of you will know, I've long admired the work and influence of Matt Drudge, and the late Andrew Breitbart. Drudge in particular made his name scouring ... Continue reading →
Thu 13th
15:29
Tom Brake MP writes... Romney's bought the latest gadget, but he's forgotten to read the manual
Romney's bought the latest gadget, but he's forgotten to read the manual.When Obama stormed to the Presidency he did so in glorious Technicolor while his opponent was still campaigning in black and white (or at least fifty shades of grey). In contrast, Obama campaigned with panache and proved what can be achieved by harnessing the power of social media. His victory, for me, was a Kennedy/Nixon moment - one campaign looked modern and dynamic, the other looked tired, sweaty and frankly a bit outdated. The result was rather predictable in the end. Obama triumph. Slam dunk. But if Obama's victory ...
There appears to be a significant shortage of postmen and women in Launceston at the moment. I'm told by many residents that they are only getting mail deliveries every three days. Neighbours have told me that they were finding the same story up and down their street. So we talked to the delivery office who said that they are short staffed at the moment and that the problem is affecting around half the town. I know that the staff we have are a very friendly and hard-working bunch, but it's a big problem if there are too few of them ...
Good night with George Galloway coming soon. 9/11 conspiracy ? Who's conspiracy? Sorry for the delay. GG. — George Galloway (@georgegalloway) September 13, 2012
....letter boxes that is. Northern Ireland's Paralympic medalists l to r: Bethany Firth, James Brown, Michael McKillop, Jason Smyth There were three towns in the UK that bred Paralympic heroes who were left out from the original phalanx of gold paint from Royal Mail engineers. Their 'crime' was that these Paralympians competed for Ireland and not GB. Eglington, Glengormley and Seaforde have all welcomed home gold medal winners, respectively Jason Smyth, Michael McKillio and Bethany Firth, now each will receive an honourary gold post boxes. In a statement from the Head of External Relations for Royal Mail in Northern Ireland, ...
For all those who are wondering if their child is lesbian or gay, the Education Ministry in Penang, Malaysia, has a simple list of 'symptoms' which may assist you, according to freemalaysiakini2.com. Symptoms of gays: Have a muscular body and like to show their body by wearing V-neck and sleeveless clothes; Prefer tight and ...
I was in the chamber yesterday for the Prime Minister's statement on Hillsborough. The atmosphere that descended was so quiet and reflective, such a marked changed from the raucous Prime Minister's questions which proceeded it, that you couldn't help but ... Continue reading →
Earlier this week Vince Cable MP the Business Secretary for the coalition announced his Industrial Strategy. For the UK to even have one is quite revolutionary. This type of central government influencing ended under Thatchers Government – the Tory 'wets' lost the argument then. Blair and Browns Labour governments didn't produce one or think it important. Over the last 30+ years most successful countries have had such strategies with particualr success in Germany. I thought the analogy The Evening Standards Anthony Hilton made was perfect. Our Olympic medal success came from spotting talent, investing in that talent and seeing success. ...
I've been made redundant twice in the past 13 years. The second time, in 2010, I was able to find work myself. The first time I had to use the Jobcentre (JC) to find me work. Both times I signed on and had to do my fortnightly, pointless trawl to their centre to be degraded. I will point out the benefits of the JC first. There are people, of course, who do need help with filling in forms and applying for jobs. Thus the JC is a "better-than-nothing" system where these people would receive no help at all. In both ...
After a long break, I started watching Corrie again a couple of years ago, around the time of the tram crash. I'd grown up on the comedy and drama of life on the Street, but had drifted away. One of my favourite characters these days is Marcus, the midwife who, wretchedly, is no longer with Sean. The scriptwriters need to remedy that one soon. Anyway, the actor who plays Marcus, Charlie Condou, popped up on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about his family arrangements. He and his partner Cameron are bringing up his two children with their mother, a ...
Thu 13th
12:50
Council is chasing up company about shops overgrown grass (Amberley Slope + Storrington Way)
After local LIB DEM ward councillors Julia Davidson and Darren Fower raised the issue of the grass areas located adjacent to the shops on Amberley Slope and Storrington Way being overgrown (AGAIN) and unsightly, the City Council has now taken action to get the private company who own the land to show some responsibility. Commenting, Cllr Fower said: "Its seems that the land is actually owned by Deengate Property Services, who I understand are based in London? I am also aware that this site secured planning permission a few years ago in reference to the building of new flats...... so ...
Some of the newspapers say that today is Roald Dahl Day, marking the birthday of perhaps the country's favourite children's author. Growing up in Weston-super-Mare, we heard a lot about Dahl, because he was educated locally and the town likes to claim him as one of their own. I have great affection for his books, ...
In his annual State of the Union address on Wednesday, European Commission President Barroso issued a clarion call for a 'federation of nation states' to take on the challenges facing Europe. The only way forward is more unity and more European integration, said Barroso. But this must be accompanied by more democracy - placing the European Parliament in a central role - and subsidiarity - concentrating EU action on the real issues that need to be dealt with at European level. There is much for Liberal Democrats to welcome in the speech. The emphasis on the European Parliament, national parliaments ...
Thu 13th
12:18
If an independent Scotland is forced to apply for EU membership - what about Englad, Wales and North...
This report in the Telegraph yesterday is interesting as it suggests an independent Scotland would have to reapply for EU membership if it broke from the rest of the UK. What makes it interesting from my point of view is that, of course, the UK is a legally constituted entity of 4 parts. Thus if one part leaves, the UK itself no longer exists. Which to my mind suggests England Wales and Northern Ireland would also have to reapply. Which I'm sure the Telegraph wouldn't think is a bad thing - and would probably lead to an EU referendum about ...
Yesterday, a petition from avaaz started going round the internet. It spread very rapidly, through twitter and Facebook. Many generally thoughtful, concerned people passed it on, some with words of anger or concern, urging others to sign the petition as well. This kind of thing happens every day, and I keep wondering whether anybody ever actually looks at this kind of thing properly. I do sign online petitions sometimes, so I looked at this most recent one, too. But my only reaction was: don't people actually READ this stuff before they sign and inflict in on their friends and aquaintances? ...
It's often said that apart from being a political party, the Lib Dems are a family. Well families support each other in difficult times. Recently, Lib Dem blogger Mark Thompson and his wife tragically lost their nine and a half ... Continue reading →
Welcome to Ponte Sisto, Rome – part-funded by the numerical inconsistent* Pope Sixtus IV's tax on prostitution. * Alas all the preparatory work put in by Popes Sixtus First to the Fifth have so far been wasted as no Pope has taken the opportunity to build on their work and be the numerically consistent Pope Sixtus the Sixth.
Chris Bryant has announced on Twitter that he will introduce a bill under the Ten Minute Rule on the 30th October 2012 called The Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill. Details are scarce on what will actually be proposed but it can only be a good positive way of getting marriage equality into the news rather the usual anti-equality hi-jinks. Even though Ten Minute Rule bills have next to no chance of success, I wish him luck in getting it on to the agenda. Let's hope it is also more wide-ranging than the Government proposals. To avoid coming across as a ...
Stephen Glenn, local membership development officer for the Northern Ireland Liberal Democrats,has just sent an email to Lib Dem HQ and the Party President Tim Farron MP, following the members' survey highlighted yesterday: Hi all, Much as many of the Northern Ireland local party members (Branch 900 for your info) would love to take part ...
Mitt Romney's ill-judged attack on Obama over Libya backfires | Ana Marie Cox via @guardian - Methinks he'll come to regret that smirk Boris Johnson said: "I barely understand it, but information will spout unstoppably from these gizmos." - Genius! Stumbling and Mumbling: Conservatives - support unions! - Excellently thought provoking piece from Mr Dillow as per Drug use is an issue for society, not the criminal justice system - Sense, sense and more sense The school that swapped its laptops for iPads... and wants to switch back - Shows how jumping into purchasing IT equipment as part of a ...
It's the height of self-indulgent wankery to blog about why one is flouncing away from a social network. So, here's my rant. There are many like it – but this one is mine. Let me start by saying something which I hope is obvious. Twitter belongs to Twitter. It's their game and they can take their ball home any time they like. Therefore, all whinging and whining by jilted developers ought to hold no more weight than kids moaning that it's all so unfair! Still, my blog, my rules. Let the kvetching begin... The TriggerTwitter knows a fair bit about ...
On most Wednesdays a friend and I go for a walk, sometimes with the local Ramblers, sometimes on our own, and usually in the lovely countryside around here. However, yesterday we went independently and, for a change, chose to visit Liverpool for an urban walk which my companion had spotted in an AA publication.. Although I've visited Liverpool before I hadn't realised that it is built on such a massive scale. It makes Leeds look like a village, and it's no wonder the people who come from there are so proud of it. Our walk started at the rehabilitated waterfront, ...
Speaking at a plenary session of the European Parliament yesterday, Chris Davies, European Parliament member for the North West, urged his fellow MEPs to look beyond the short term to vote to restore fish stocks: But his frustration (and passion for this subject) was clear later, after a five-vote margin saw the amendment passed: * Nick Thornsby is Thursday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs here.
Cornwall Council has announced that parts of Race Hill and Southgate Street will be closed for up to ten days during October for ducting works. The sections to be closed stretch from the Newmarket pub to the top part of the Cattle Market car park. The works will be carried out during the period of 8th to 19th October and will be in two phases. The first will cover the area immediately outside the Cattle Market car parks (the section in black on the map). The second will be lower down the hill - the area outside the Pannier Market ...
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain would like to make public our support for Tom Holland's Channel 4 documentary 'Islam: The Untold Story' (tags: ) fleet street fox: Hooligan (n.): A rough, lawless person. The world is a different place today, which is why I can write that hooligans were the cause of the Hillsborough disaster. Hooligans in the police force who made it worse, hooligans in the football business who saw no reason to spend money on safety barriers, proper signs or exits. Hooligans who lied and smeared to cover up the fact people had died unnecessarily, the hooligan ...
It seems as if every Italian I have met this week speaks better English than I speak Italian. A fair degree of respect for their language skills is therefore due to them. What is surprising, however, is just how bad many of the printed English translations I have come across are. It's no surprise that if a restaurant translates its own work we get such gems as "English soup ice cream" or "Angry pasta". (I wimped out; I had the pizza of unknown bellicosity.) But also translations which I would have expected to have had some care put into them, ...
At our Autumn Conference, members will be offered a chance to influence the party's policy on regional and local pay. The Pay Review Body has been asked by George Osborne to look into the possibility of paying public sector workers differing amounts based on where they live. As Liberal Democrats, we must ensure that this policy does not go any further. This is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats, in partnership with the South East Cornwall Liberal Democrats, have tabled a motion designed to send the strongest possible signal that the party does not support any extension of regional or local ...
If you like reading the stuff I write, here's the 5 easiest ways NEVER TO MISS A SINGLE WORD I UTTER. I spoil you, I really do... 1) Email – there's a little widget in the right-hand sidebar which allows you to enter your email address and get sent updates direct to your inbox at a frequency of your choosing when A NEW THING appears here. 2) Twitter – follow me here, and you'll find links to all my posts sprinkled through my timeline. Though you will also be inflicted with my more random unstructured views and occasional pix of ...
Well, I've got some good news for a change - several Liberal Democrat MPs, including the party president, Tim Farron, and former leader Sir Menzies Campbell are backing the Equal Citizenship policy motion, due to be debated and voted on at Lib Dem conference later this month, which calls for an independent review of the impact of the Welfare Reform Act, for proper reform of assessment mechanism of disability benefits, changes to means testing thresholds for disability benefits and action, including a public awareness campaign to tackle disability hate crime, in order start empowering and enabling sick and disabled people ...
A great night of music - jazz and blues on the Upper Deck of HM Frigate Unicorn tomorrow: Stephen Duffy - Friday 14th September:More details and link to booking tickets can be found by clicking here.
Reblogged from Joe Blogs: My friend Darren sent me a link to these rather excellent alternative London Underground signs... Apparently they've been appearing for some time now, but like 99% of passengers, I'm sad to say I've missed them.. They've been done so well, that to a regular commuter, their utter familiarity as part of ...
