European Liberal Democrats have welcomed the official results of Georgia's parliamentary elections which show the six-party Georgian Dream opposition coalition led by Bidzina Ivanishvili as the winner of the popular vote ahead of the ruling United National Movement party. Antony Hook, delegate to the annual congress of European Liberal Democrats said, "We are delighted to see the ...
In all the furore about the cock up over the refranchising of the west coast main line, it might be easy to imagine rail services in the UK are generally overpriced, unpunctual and unclean. Well I had to go to Banbury today and I did it by the excellent Chiltern railways - running out of London's best railway terminal (and John Betjeman's favourite) - Marylebone. Chiltern run fast, frequent, clean and reasonably priced services - taking just over an hour to get to Banbury - far quicker than the traditional Great Western route via Oxford and Reading. And my experience ...
The 2012 Ryder Cup involved a classic sporting comeback and a heart-stopping close finish. Team Europe came from kilometres behind to beat the USA 14.5 to 13.5. The Ryder Cup is one of those sporting events, like football's World Cup or the Olympic athletics, that interests people who normally take little notice of sport. I ...
When Nick Clegg recently called for the Conservatives to back a wealth tax there were some Tories who suggested that there was no need for any further redistribution of wealth. You often hear about a brain drain and maybe some people do leave the country because of slight changes in the rate of taxation, but I can't see this being top of their list. I also heard comments along the lines that high earners deserved their money because they worked hard for it. The trouble with this argument is that everyone works hard. You used to be able to make ...
Cllr Ian Manning (LD, East Chesterton) MP Julian Huppert will visit Cambridge's Shirley School on tomorrow (Friday, October 5) to discover how the children are beating national average scores in their English and maths. The school, which includes pupils of many nationalities many of whom don't have English as their first language, achieved impressive marks in their SATS tests. They notched up 84 per cent at level four in their English and maths tests combined when the national average last year was just 74 per cent. And the school has introduced an international primary curriculum which helps children to understand ...
Cllr David Harty A Cambridgeshire County Council project to help strengthen networks for older people has been awarded funding from the European Commission. The project called SeNS (Seniors Network Support) will work alongside European partners to create better lives for older people by using the skills and knowledge of support agencies and older people themselves to help others in their communities. Cambridgeshire County Council will contribute through pilot projects in the community that focus on active ageing, healthy living and IT skills for older people. Cllr David Harty, Cambridgeshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Learning said "The SeNS project will ...
One of my favourite artists is the early 19th-century watercolourist John Sell Cotman. His paintings are a world away from the muddy palette we associate with the medium. An exhibition on Cotman in Normandy is being held at the Dulwich Picture Gallery between 10 October 2012 and 13 January 2013. This video tells you about it.
Is up at Mindless Ones. I wasn't impressed.
It is a matter of deep regret for me that you have chosen to show me such disrespect in sharing your views with the media without speaking to me first.Not the sort of letter you expect to receive from the leader of a Liberal party. But Willie Rennie has written in those terms to five Scottish Liberal Democrats who signed a letter to The Herald newspaper. In it they questioned the Scottish party's decision not to allow Yes Scotland (the pro-independence campaign) to have a stall at its conference later this month. Nicola Prigg, one of the five to receive ...
The following event has been organised at the Masonic Hall in Cambridge in support parents of children with additional needs; Additional event information is available on the website; http://www.pinpoint-cambs.org.uk/events A flyer is available for printing out and displaying here (via Google Docs).
Cllr Belinda Brooks-Gordon and NIAB resident Ian Howell A Cambridge councillor has taken up the plight of a disabled resident who is struggling to leave his home after pavements and roads were left unfinished on his estate. Belinda Brooks-Gordon, who represents Castle ward on Cambridgeshire County Council, is campaigning to help Ian Howell who is worried about going out alone in case he falls out of his wheelchair. Ian, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, moved into Kings Court on the NIAB development in Huntingdon Road almost two years ago and is concerned that work has been left unfinished. A short ...
The Lib Dem Conference has come and gone. People are turning their central heating back on. Soon the clocks will be going back. There's nothing for it: I shall have to start showing you the photographs from my summer holiday. Please sit down. You will find I have taken the precaution of locking the doors. And where better to begin on National Poetry Day than the birthplace of W.H. Auden? I passed it on the say from York railway station to my hotel. I knew it was going to be a good holiday. York Stories (one of two excellent website ...
Thursday: Returning from his holiday, Captain Clegg talked to the Grauniad and mentioned a WEALTH TAX. You'd think this would be entirely UNCONTROVERSIAL. It's Party policy after all, and we've talked Mansion Tax enough for everyone to know that. But BOTH other Parties ATTACKED him. Predictably, the Conservatory right called it "politics of envy", then warned that it might "drive wealth creators away". Meanwhile Hard Labour sneered disingenuously that if he wants to tax the wealthy he shouldn't have voted to cut the top rate of income tax. But we're NOT talking tax on INCOME. We're talking tax on WEALTH. ...
I have been shocked and surprised by the actions taken by the Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader, Willie Rennie in recent days. It all started when the Herald published an article, accurately reporting that Scottish Conference Committee and Scottish Lib Dem HQ (SLDHQ) refused to let Yes Scotland have a stall on the same commercial terms ...
[IMG: Lynne Beaumont and Bev Rolfe on a Speed Watch session] Concerned about traffic speeding through Sandgate? Community Speedwatch is an intiative run by volunteers and backed by Kent Police. Teams set up a Speed Indication Device (SID) that alerts drivers to the speed they are travelling - often drivers exceeding the speed limit were not aware they were doing so. Speedwatch volunteer teams can pass to Kent Police details of vehicles caught travelling way in excess of the speed limit so a warning letter can be sent to the driver of the vehicle. No fine or prosecution can be ...
Jennifer Livingston is the news anchor of WKBT tv's morning sh in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I guess she's kind of like the equivalent of Bill Turnbull. She's intelligent, articulate and doesn't take nonsense from people as she recently showed when a viewer sent her a highly obnoxious message suggesting that she should do something about her weight as she couldn't possibly be a suitable role model for the local community. The clear implication is that if she couldn't, she shouldn't be doing her job. Why should someone's ability to do their job be defined by their weight? Surely the job ...
Over at the CentreForum blog, Richard Reeves, former Director of Strategy to Nick Clegg and now associate director of CentreForum, has a post discussing the "political movement that now sweeps all before it": One Nationism. Here's an extract: All the main political parties have now made their claim to be the true heirs to "One Nation" politics. The Conservatives were ahead of the game by a century or so, of course. But in more recent years, non Tory leaders have turned to One Nationism to pitch for the centre ground: though none as audaciously as Ed Miliband this week. In ...
The suspension of three, presumably senior, civil servants as part of the fallout from the competition for the new West Coast Mainline rail franchise is worrying from the perspective of anyone who cares about good governance. And boy, has this one cost. £40 million is, given the fact that nothing has actually been purchased, an awful lot of money to pay for what, it is alleged, are pretty serious errors. Naturally, elements of the media, egged on by Labour politicians, are looking for the head of a minister, and doubtless that will continue over the coming days. And, as usual, ...
Used with kind permission of Tracey Crouch Although this was well out of our (Medway Liberal Democrats) current sphere of influence, I've kept an eye on this story from afar. Arriva buses had cut the evening service 155 bus which had run from Chatham via Rochester, Borstal and onto Aylesford. It's an important route for those who live out in Eccles & Borstal as there is no real alternative transport and to be honest Aylesford is a bugger to get to by train from the Medway towns. The Independent campaign has fought hard and contacted their elected representatives (cllrs Tolhurst ...
On Monday 3rd September 2012 at 21:20 hrs PCSO's Michelle Brady and Mark Ball stopped and spoke with a group of young persons who were drinking alcohol in the park. All alcohol was immediately seized and disposed of. The group were subsequently escorted from the park and instructed not to return that evening. PCSO's Mark Ball and Michelle Brady stopped and spoke with 3 males who were in possession and drinking alcohol by the garage area of Tudor Road, Cheriton. The alcohol was disposed off and the persons were moved on from the area. Whilst conducting high visibility foot patrol ...
Small businesses are being encouraged to tell EU leaders what rules and regulations they find most of a problem. The European Commission has promised to do all it can to reduce unnecessary burdens upon business, so long as this human ... Continue reading →
I was wrong. The County Durham Plan will set pulses racing and hearts fluttering in Consett when people see the three sites selected for housing development in Consett North. It seems we're back to the green-field/brown-field argument. When the Academy is built, wherever that may be, there is an obvious logic in using the footprint of the existing school site for housing, but not the playing fields or we just lose still more open space. As for spreading into the countryside when we have massive brown-field sites it makes you wonder what planning is all about. If you want to ...
News reaches the Voice from Unlock Democracy, who have been carrying out investigations into the practices of the 15 unions currently affiliated to the Labour party. The research shows that 14 out of 15 trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party fail to explain to their prospective new members about affiliation and inform them that they have a legal right to opt out on their membership forms and website. The top lines from the research are as follows: Just 1 union (UNISON) mentions affiliating to the Labour Party. UNISON is also the only union to allow new members to choose ...
Diane Abbott has hit out at the equality minister Maria Miller who called for the abortion limit to be cut to 20 weeks. Abbott called the move "anti women" but the debate is more complex ...
In many ways the Liberal Democrat conference felt more at peace with itself last week. It was not just that it was rediscovering its mission-talking seriously about enhancing liberty through redistribution of assets -Land tax and employee ownership- but rather that it was doing these things in the context of asserting its identity with far more confidence that it has in recent times. One thing was missing-the rest of the world! I can't ever remember a time when Liberal have believed that the international dimension was not central to our thinking and policy making. This detachment from the international dimension ...
Thu 4th
13:35
Stephen Twigg backs 'local pay' for teachers while also opposing 'local pay'. Very even-handed
Of course he didn't use the phrase 'local pay' because Labour, like the Lib Dems, are opposed to it. But local pay is what Stephen Twigg today announced in his education speech to the party's Manchester conference: We will have a New Deal for Teachers. ... Teachers need to be rewarded appropriately so we can attract the best candidates, especially in subjects like maths, sciences and IT which are harder to recruit. ... I want to look at ideas like helping pay back your tuition fees, if you go to teach in a poorer area. Something for something. Stephen Twigg's ...
Hattie from Camberwell recently appeared on Page 3 in the Sun, and now she seems keen to take on a role in 50 Shades of Grey. Addressing the Labour Party Conference she said: "Now, as it happens I have also ... Continue reading →
So, the reason the CPS didn't prosecute him wasn't for lack of evidence. In which case, what was it? I think this blog post probably has it spot on. But, with regard to the way a lot of people are talking about this, there is one thing that's leaving me very disturbed, and that's the number of people who are othering Savile. You can tell he was a paedo, look at him! goes the refrain. Well, if you could tell he was a paedo, why didn't you do something about it? The answer, of course, is that you couldn't. You ...
The Libertine has won an award! We got a BOTY! Liberal Democrat Voice, the foremost Liberal Democrat blog, hosts the Blog of the Year awards at Conference every year. This year, The Libertine won the Best New Blog award. We won! We won! We blooming well won a #BOTY !!! Best New Blog — The ...
I was, yesterday, somewhat critical of the Conservative candidate, Tim Passmore, noting that the blog on his rather shiny and otherwise modestly slick website was, a bit like his notion of consultation, utterly useless. However, I have now had some interaction with his Labour opponent, Jane Basham, although it hadn't entirely been my intention to do so. This afternoon, James Hargrave, whose Twitter feed I follow, retweeted a message from our beloved Labour MEP, Richard Howitt, which drew my attention, and, somewhat unusually, a response (I'm a busy man, I need someone to do this stuff for me...) @richardhowitt @onlygeek ...
From childhood's hour I have not been As others were; I have not seen As others saw; I could not bring My passions from a common spring. From the same source I have not taken My sorrow; I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone; And all I loved, I loved alone. Then- in my childhood, in the dawn Of a most stormy life- was drawn From every depth of good and ill The mystery which binds me still: From the torrent, or the fountain, From the red cliff of the mountain, From the sun that ...
In the past month there have been three incidents of criminal damage and one incident of shoplifting on the ward. Kent Police are investigating two reports of nuisance youths in Enbrook Road and the Golden Valley shops, one incident of a nuisance vehicle in Freemantle Road and one incident of obstruction in Castle Road. I have been supplied with some names of those responsible and will be following these up. On Saturday 6th October, Kent Police attended the 'Full of Life Day' at the Saga Pavilion. Crime prevention advice was handed out to those attending the event. Extra evening and ...
Read about the threat to the Tree Sparrow on my local blog here!
Bizarre micro-management at its worst, courtesy of Michael Gove. Now, it's easy to see why he's keen to seen if schools can be built at lower costs. It's also easy to see how a bit more standardisation between different new school designs could reduce costs. So looking for more standardisation in design? No problem. Demanding that the cost per square metre of new schools comes in at a lower figure? Quite possibly reasonable, especially given how expensive some recent schools have been. But instead of simply doing these two things, Michael Gove has gone much further, issuing micro-meddling regulations about ...
As the row over the West Coast rail franchise rumbles on, Head of the Civil Service Sir Bob Kerslake took to Twitter: Tough headlines for the civil service today. Clear errors made on West Coast franchise. Need to learn lessons ... Continue reading →
In much the same way that UKIP managed to get short lived first representation in the House of Commons and also its three members in the House of Lords so it now has a Member of the Legislative Assembly sitting at Stormont. David McNarry now of UKIP Nigel Farage tweeted yesterday "Off to Stormont tomorrow and looking forward to welcoming David McNarry as UKIP's first MLA". So the former Ulster Unionist MLA would appear to set to become the first member of UKIP in any of the devolved Assemblies. McNarry is a former UUP party whip and ran for the ...
Sandgate Farmers' Market This Saturday 6th October 2012 at The Chichester Memorial Hall, Sandgate from 10.00am until 12.30pm The Sandgate Bakery - freshly baked bread, pies and biscuits, smoked salmon Juicy Fruits - fresh fruit and vegetables Izzy's Deli - homemade lasagna, soups, meat and vegetarian pies, quiches, pizzas and dry cured, farm cooked ham, freshly sliced, English & French cheese. Catherine Jordan Cakes - large and small cakes, seasonal fruit pies and tarts, scones and biscuits Old Hall Farm, Brookland - traditionally reared meat & sausages, rare breed lamb & pork and fresh eggs Alkham Valley Preserves - jams, ...
The decision of Manchester's Labour-run Council to spend almost half a million pounds on a pop concert starring Alicia Keys has been branded "crazy" by Lib Dems in the city. Manchester City Council is currently in the process of making £296m of cuts to its budget over a two year period – cuts condemned as "ideological" by the Labour Council Leader Sir Richard Leese. Here's what the Lib Dem group leader on Manchester City Council, Simon Wheale, had to say about this use of scarce public money: It is unbelievable that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on ...
Three things you should know about the Labour Party Conference (according to Guardian commentators)
I have just spoken to Jason from Amey, who is running the operation to resurface Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis. The works started this morning and will continue over the next four days. The times are 08:00 to 18:00. The area to be resurfaced is from Windsor Drive junction to Westminster Gardens. Through traffic is being barred from Parkside Drive, although local road access is possible. Windsor Drive and Parkside Drive is used by traffic as an alternative rush hour route to using Park Road North and Sundon Road. Because of the hours of operation of this resurfacing, this alternative route ...
Be Prepared - Is your community ready for anything? A Focus for prayers and sermons on October 7th 2012 October 7th sees the start of Norfolk Prepared Week-a week of action to build awareness of the vital work being done to prepare for any emergency situation hitting our county-from severe weather to terrorist attack, from a dangerous flu epidemic to a plane or train crash. It is an opportunity to pay tribute to and give thanks for the emergency services, the military, utility providers, emergency planners and decision-makers working tirelessly behind the scenes preparing for the worst case scenario through ...
This morning's news that there will be a credible independent candidate for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner doesn't come as a particular shock, even though I have to confess to having no previous knowledge of David Cocks, whose hat has been thrown into the ring. For, let's be honest, with just two declared candidates thus far, Labour's Jane Basham and Tory Tim Passmore, there is a pool of potential voters out there without allegiance to either of the two Ugly Sisters. And, with the Liberal Democrats and Greens having decided that the county is best served by not ...
Thu 4th
10:04
Liam McArthur tells Holyrood: Governments must work to protect people from nuisance calls
Quite often, MSPs at Holyrood debate things in a mature fashion. We don't often see it because it happens after hours or doesn't get the coverage because it's too civilised. One of these moments happened on Tuesday night when MSPs debated a motion from Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney Liam McArthur on the subject of nuisance calls. This did get some coverage on the BBC, too. Liam told how nuisance calls are more than just inconvenient. They have a sinister side. A constituent of his, who has Dementia, was pressured into buying a broadband package despite not even having a ...
A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON starting a campaign to make the most democratic of all the party conferences...democratic (tags: ) Small rail suppliers should also be reimbursed, not just the Big Boys (tags: ) Oh my God, David Icke's little helper is really serious! The David Icke saga continues LOL (tags: ) Isn't it annoying when something you've paid for gets cancelled, commuters ask FirstGroup (tags: ) Labour conference: the anger of voters » Spectator Blogs (tags: ) Blinded by the obvious. This is a post about the Jimmy Savile thing. And linked to for "this is thought-provoking" rather than ...
This getting elected business is harder than it seems, and whilst the world and her grandmother have announced that they are running for the Federal Executive, Federal Policy Committee or Federal Conference Committee (depending on whose fault they think it is), I'm throwing my hat into the ring for a second term as a member of our delegation to ELDR Council. So, as the deadline for submitting my manifesto has now passed, here's what I've written... Keeping my promises Two years ago, a surprising number of you put your faith in me to represent the Party as part of our ...
Timmy has put up something very silly about abortion this morning. Here's my response from the comments: Of course it's a fucking feminist issue, Tim. If the Government forced you to have someone clamped to your todger for nine months in order to save their life, you'd be screaming about civil liberties and demanding that ...
Last week at conference I attended our consultation on tax policy. As the chair progressed through the paper, it was quite interesting to hear all the opinions put forward on it. I was planning to suggest some ideas for the committee to consider but unfortunately the chapters on corporation tax and financial taxes were left out, and I put my hand up too late to be called in the NIC and Income tax section. So instead, I've decided to put the ideas up here for debate instead. Corporation Tax cuts for paying a Living Wage Using corporation tax cuts to ...
The new tuition fees system is "substantially more progressive than its predecessor" according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
In political circles the Labour Party is notorious for its control freakery, dating back I suppose to jokes about the way Peter Mandelson used to manage MPs. However, if the stories about Ed Miliband having his phone confiscated after he texted Vince Cable are true, then they have managed to surpass themselves. Sky News say that the Labour leader disclosed earlier last month that he had been secretly wooing the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary with text messages: His admission infuriated Labour left-wingers and veterans Dennis Skinner and Ken Livingstone protested angrily at a meeting of the party's national executive committee ...
(Waiting for Bats was written for National Poetry Day 2012, on the theme of stars. It describes an evening in September.) Overhead, as we wait for batsThe twilight sky is deepeningA jewel box of bright glittering gemsFirst one or two and then a scattered handfulLook there, is that Mars all milky red? The moon hasn't risen yet and so The stars shine bright insteadAnd then, as planes ply to and foWith their knowing red/green winkA satellite in regular transitTracks across our sightlinesWe follow it for a whileIn the absence of any batsUntil it disappears from viewBehind the neighbour's roof Night ...
So what... [fill in blank here] – Fleet Street Fox compares the media coverage of two stories involving fifteen year old girls. The Wormhole Water Wheel – I'm simultaneously amused and scared by the idea of Lawrence Miles inventing a perpetual motion machine. Clegg's Cornish pasty conference speech – Very good critique by Dan Falchikov. "Clegg's view is still there are votes to be gained by being 'a party of government' – despite the idea being tested to destruction by the last two and half years of coalition." Village changes mind – Jamie Kenny is short but to the point ...
Today is National Poetry Day and Launceston poet Charles Causley's work 'I Am The Song' has been chosen to appear in lights in Piccadilly Circus through the day. If you can't get to London, here's the poem: Tweet
In all the debating about Jimmy Saville and what he may have done in the past, there are aspects of the link to the current day that are being ignored. Of course there needs to be an investigation into what the BBC tolerated on BBC premises. There is also the need for a proper review of what happened at Haut de la Garenne and the allegations of abuse cruises off Jersey. However, it should be
Thu 4th
07:55
What Lib Dem members think about means-testing pensioner benefits & a freeze on benefits payment...
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum before conference to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. More than 550 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. Two-thirds back means-testing of some wealthy pensioner benefits LDV asked: Nick Clegg has suggested introducing means-testing so that better-off pensioners would no longer be entitled to receive benefits such as winter fuel payments, free bus passes and television licences. Supporters argue that at a time of financial austerity such benefits for the wealthiest paid by general taxation are ...
Both schools I attended as a child are still standing and and are still in use, though they seemed already pretty old when I attended them The secondary school is still a school, though it has been much extended. The primary school building, with its proud façade and castellated roof, is now used as a workshop for a Formula 3 motor racing team,. However, the first school at which I taught, almost brand new when I started there in 1959, was pulled down about five years ago. The school from which I retired from full-time teaching, built in, I think ...
Jo Swinson and her local party, East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrats, are looking to employ a campaign organiser. The closing date is tomorrow, so you have to move quickly if you fancy applying. The East Dunbartonshire crowd work hard - but they also produce some of the most delicious food in the western hemisphere between them, so it's worth getting to know them. Anyway, all the details of the job and how to apply are below. Good luck if you decide to give it a go. East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrats and Jo Swinson MPLocation: East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrats Local Party Office ...
I'm super excited to be heading to SFMusicTech Summit in San Francisco next week for the bi-annual get together of music tech folks. Having attended MIDEM, ILMC and many of the other music industry conferences over the years I would describe SFMusicTech as the TED conference for music. You couldn't hope to meet a room ...
Mumford and Sons Local Minister David Robertson highlighted in the Courier letters earlier this week his valid complaint about the sale of tickets for the forthcoming Mumford and Sons Caird Hall Concert. I have since been in contact with the Caird Hall Manager about the situation and I reproduce her response below: "I did request a ticket allocation from the Promoter of this Concert for Dundee City Box Office to ensure some citizens could purchase locally. The Promoter did intend initially to sell the tickets only via the Bands website via a password as everyone in the business is constantly ...
For there are only two ways of doing politics: by following opinion, to get yourself on the populist side of each issue, or by leading opinion, and standing on the future side of each issue. The first brings short-term rewards, of course it does. But the big prizes are for those with the courage and vision to get out in front, set the agenda and point the way. Nick Clegg, 26/09/12 Standing on the future side of the issue? No, me neither. But leaving that to one side the point Clegg is making here is an important one. What stance ...
