The government's Regional Growth Fund has enabled CAV Aerospace from the Number One Industrial Estate in Consett to develop new technologies and products to allow them to compete globally in the supply of safety critical components to the Aerospace industry. These developments of what are market leading technologies will enable CAV to get into exciting new markets with great export potential – particularly in Europe and North America. In these hard times its particularly good to be able to celebrate a local success, and to recognise that a cutting-edge business in Consett can be a world leader with the help ...
Then get yourself along to Derwentside College for Halloween.
Dr Julian Huppert MP " Our country's relentless focus on punishment for punishment's sake, rather than as a tool for crime reduction and rehabilitation, has consigned thousands of individuals to a hopeless life with no way out. A staggering 90% of those sentenced in England and Wales in 2011 had committed a previous offence. Even in the best of circumstances – where criminals are caught, trials are fair and judges pass sentence – prisoners aren't rehabilitated; victims remain unfulfilled and citizens are rightly angered. On top of all this, it costs the state £40,000 to put a person in prison ...
The Jersey blog Voice for Children has an interview (billed as the first of two parts) with the island's former deputy chief police officer, and senior investigating officer of its recent child abuse investigation, Lenny Harper. Voice for Children says: Yesterday Mr. Harper was permitted a short interview on BBC State Radio which left a number of listeners with the belief that Mr. Harper was levelling criticism towards the States of Jersey Police by suggesting an independent Police Force should be recruited to investigate the Jimmy Savile case in Jersey. Not for the first time the BBC had given those ...
I spent Saturday at the Battle of Ideas, an annual two-day intellectual event put on by the Institute of Ideas, It is best described like a party conference without the main hall - you are offered is several streams of enticing fringe meetings throughout the weekend. And the lack of partisanship is welcome. Last year, for instance, I listened to a panel that included Anne Atkins. She is not to my taste, and I suspect she was not to the taste of most people in the audience, but she was received with perfect politeness, which is something hard to imagine ...
Two sad departures today that reinforce the march of time. Firstly the news that the BBC's Ceefax is no more - due to the final switch from analogue to digital TV. Ceefax was a technical wonder of the 1970s - an era of teleprinter and punched card. It survived all the way into the internet age - teaching web editors how to keep copy short and to the point. The other sad loss is of Flight Lieutenant William Walker - the last of the few. As is usual on these occasions the Telegraph provides an excellent obituary. His poem 'Our ...
Council officers have been distributing leaflets to ask people's views on what are the problems that need fixing in Cheadle village and what should be done. The replies are coming back in to the Council and all your views will be collated before some proposals are put together for us all to take a look at and consider. If you've not had a leaflet through and you want to have your say, either let us know or contact Mark James (mark.james@stockport.gov.uk) at Stockport Council and we'll get you a leaflet with all the information. The front of the leaflet looks ...
In one night, eight cars on two roads in Gatley were broken into and items stolen from them. The thief was later arrested, but it underlines the need to lock our cars, not leave valuables on display and not leave the engine running on cold mornings while we nip inside for a cuppa. (If you turn on the engine, leave the key in and leave the car unattended, you're insurance company will not pay out if the car is stolen). Here's some advice from the police on how to avoid becoming a victim of car crime:
Two posters from the police to put in your window on Halloween – one if you're happy for trick-or-treaters to call, the other if you'd prefer they missed your house out. If you've a colour printer, you can print out the one you want, or you can contact the police to get an original.
Cornwall councillors today voted to reject the recommendation of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) which included the former boss of local newspaper group Cornish and Devon Media, but did agree a rise in allowances from May next year when the new council is elected. It's always a very tricky business to vote on your own pay. I wish there was a way we could hand it over or tie our allowances to the pay of a particular officer level, but the law is clear in stating that we must decide based on an IRP report. The IRP said that the ...
If you live in Eastrop you've probably had your latest Focus, if you've not seen it, live elsewhere and want to see what we're up to, from the Conservatives party and wanted to know.......(well anything would be progress really) or from the Labour party and wondered what an honest leaflet looks like (see it can be done) you can download it here
In politics, emotion can serve as a powerful catalyst; spurring us from distant disapprovers to impassioned activists, unifying strangers in a cause. It can be the glue which binds the abstract and the practical. Four years ago, America's great narrative was Hope. Fear is an evergreen and potent force. As I argued for the New ...
Two Scottish Nationalist Party MSPs have today announced their decision to quit the party following the conference decision to change its policy on NATO membership. For decades the SNP's stance has been that an independent Scotland should not be a NATO member, due to concerns about joining what it saw as a nuclear alliance. Like the Liberal Democrats (and the Liberal Party before), the SNP has a history of expressing suspicion towards the nuclear deterrent and the recent conference vote - in which the leadership won the day arguing that it was possible for a nuclear-free Scotland to part of ...
In an few hours time Dame Mary Peters will complete the digital switch over, turning off the analogue signal here in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's first TV transmitter For the last hour of analogue from 10:35 BBC Northern Ireland and UTV will be hosting a simulcast hosted by our very won Eamonn Holmes that will look back over the 60 years that we have had dedicated television here in Northern Ireland since 1953. It was the year that a month before the Coronation the first television transmitter here came into service on May Day in Glencairn, Belfast. Before then TV ...
Local residents and businesses have been left in communication 'blackout', after major delays in broadband improvements for many areas in Hampshire. Residents in so-called broadband 'notspots' have told Hampshire Lib Dems that during the late afternoon and evening there is often no connection at all, making life very difficult. Children can't do their homework- (which is increasingly online), elderly people find that they can't shop online (which is so useful when they can no longer use the car), and small businesses and charities cannot function properly without broadband. Belinda Mitchell, National Volunteer Co-ordinator for Help for Heroes, has been badly ...
For years I resisted. My old Nokia 8310 was still just about working. For about three years it kinda only intermittently worked and if I picked it up the wrong way it would stop working but I persevered. I didn't want to join the smart phone revolution. Well either that or I was tight as hell and didn't want to buy one. I'll leave it to you to decide exactly how much of it was one and how much of it was the other. Anyway I was reading a blog entitled Modern Technology Kind of Makes Me Want to Hurl ...
Tue 23rd
17:48
Mark Littlewood calls for an electoral pact between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems
Sign up to the Despatch Box, the new weekly political e-magzine from digitalpolitico.net Former Head of Media Mark Littlewood will apparently call for free marketer Orange Book Lib Dems to be given a free ride by Conservatives in the 2015 ... Continue reading →
In tabloid speak David Cameron has moved form "hug a hoodie" to "mug a hoodie" in a a speech carefully timed to re-assure the Tory faithful as we approach the first ever elections for Police and Crime Commissioners. The description is not quite fair, as some of Cameron's proposals, emphasising prevention and rehabilitations, are quite constructive. He has moved a long way from the days of Micheal Howard's "prison works" so lock 'em up and throw away the key, even if he has sacked Kenneth Clarke, the minister most likely to implement a more constructive policy. What Cameron has failed ...
Our country's relentless focus on punishment for punishment's sake, rather than as a tool for crime reduction and rehabilitation, has consigned thousands of individuals to a hopeless life with no way out. A staggering 90% of those sentenced in England and Wales in 2011 had committed a previous offence. Even in the best of circumstances – where criminals are caught, trials are fair and judges pass sentence – prisoners aren't rehabilitated; victims remain unfulfilled and citizens are rightly angered. On top of all this, it costs the state £40,000 to put a person in prison for under 12 months. And, ...
Here's a line up of writers ~ I never dreamed I'd be in a line up with...
"Fellows near Mr. Quelch's study window heard a sound from within—the rhythmic sound of a cane on trousers." Just who, I wondered, as I watched the House of Commons Select Committee hearing held last week, does the speaker remind me of? Then, as he spoke about using sticks against the laggards, an image from decades ago slipped into my mind. Oh crikey! I realised that am listening to Mr Quelch, the merciless form master who beat Billy Bunter and his ill-behaved companions at Greyfriars with jolly regularity in the weekly Magnet. I swear that Nick Boles is Quelch reincarnated. The ...
My all-time favourite regulator is to get a new head from 1 January 2013. Downing Street has announced that The Right Honourable Sir Anthony May will be the new Interception of Communications Commissioner. As his full title suggests, this is hardly the appointment of an outsider to the post. His background may be very, very establishment but at least it is also rather distinguished: He was appointed to the High Court in 1991 and to the Court of Appeal in 1997. He was the Vice-President of the Queen's Bench Division from 2002-08 and the Deputy Head of Civil Justice 2000-03, ...
It's a sad day. At 23.30 BST in Northern Ireland this evening, Olympic champion Dame Mary Peters will turn off the last analogue TV signal in Northern Ireland and with it, in the United Kingdom. As the victory of digital television is made complete over it's out-dated and extinguished rival, so too will be the loss of the BBC's much loved text-based Ceefax service. At its height in the 1990s, it was viewed some 20m times a day and I was one of that regular and happy band of followers. Watching the latest football scores come through on a Saturday ...
Today saw the publication by Lord Ashcroft of an opinion poll he's funded to find out the likely result at the forthcoming parliamentary by-election in Corby: 'Labour take 22-point lead in Corby'. I tweeted my insta-verdict: it suggests Labour will win Corby by-election battle but lose the general election war. What prompted the judgement was this paragraph from Lord Aschroft's commentary: Most Corby voters (56%) are pessimistic about the economy, thinking that in three or four years time things will be no better or even worse than they are now - although the proportion of those who think the right ...
Cornwall Council today voted to kick privatisation into the long grass. In the interim, the council will properly consider alternatives including: working more closely with our NHS and other public sector colleagues to share services and deliver savings as a result (but without a private sector partner creaming off a profit);working with a private sector partner in a trading venture to bid for contracts outside Cornwall and to bring new jobs to Cornwall;an employee-owned mutual company.In my opinion, we can't afford to take this decision without properly understanding all the options. The old cabinet started off with one view and ...
Lib Dem News is changing. After 14 years at the helm, editor Deirdre Razzall is retiring and the time has come for us to take a fresh look at one of the key ways members can get information about what's going on in the party. First of all we're going to change the format. In the age of news websites, blogs and social media there's less of a need for a weekly publication to supply members with news. By switching to a monthly magazine format we can do a whole lot more - features, interviews, long form journalism, debates. We ...
As a former frontline Police Officer I know what Greater Manchester residents need and want from the Police. My Manifesto outlines how I will make the police more effective, efficient and responsive. If I am elected I will put ... Continue reading →
The decision of Jason Roberts, Rio Ferdinand, the Swansea City Football team and other footballers not to wear Kick It Out T-shirts last weekend has certainly started a debate as to whether racism can ever be properly removed from the game as well as whether the work being carried out by a particular organisation is sufficient or not. Over at the BBC, Richard Langley, an English-born Jamaican international who played for QPR, Cardiff City and Luton Town during a 12-year career in the Football League, writes about his experiences of racism in the game and discusses what should be done ...
I'm not sure just how worrying the fact that I have typed that title is. I think it's extremely worrying that it is a legitimate question. Let me tell you the story behind the title as seven men are sentenced to jail for not predicting a deadly earthquake. Yes you read that right. Seven men have been sentenced to jail because they didn't predict an earthquake. An earthquake in the small Italian town of L'Aquila in 2009 led to the deaths of 309 people. A tragedy for all involved but how did the six scientists and one government official who ...
You have until Sunday 28th October to tell South Glos Council what you think day services in South Gloucestershire should look like in the future. You can fill in the survey online.
Reading Stephen Tall's Lib Dem Voice post on police commissioners this morning, I found myself thinking about elected mayors and how some of the claims that are made for them and their potential effects. One thought that occurred to me is that while there's been lots written on elected mayors and the arguments for and against them (see this pdf from the Warwick Commission for a good summation), there doesn't appear to have been any quantitative research into their effects. (But if you are aware of any, please let me know) Because of the piecemeal way in which the mayoral ...
A brief footnote to Stephen's piece yesterday Government suffers defeat in Lords over 'new poll tax' changes to council tax benefits. Note what the rebellion was over: An independent review of the changes to be carried out within three years of them being introduced. Yup, that shocking idea that after a new policy is introduced, we should leave it a little while and then someone should go and take a look how it's work. Revolutionary stuff, hey? It's the sort of thing that should be the norm. * Mark Pack has written 101 Ways To Win An Election and produces ...
This post is prompted by a press conference on the BBC news website. Malala Yousafzai, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl from Pakistan, is being treated in a Birmingham hospital for a gunshot wound to the head. She's stable. She is safe there, already on the road to recovery. She was shot by the Taleban, for daring to ...
I wrote a piece for the New Statesman yesterday correcting Lord Tebbit's assertion that "The abiding sin of the government is... that it seems unable to manage its affairs competently" pointing out that he was confusing 'the government' with 'the Tories' - for the omnishambles is entirely of their own making. What seems to have grabbed most peoples attention is the current U Turn Count. To date there have been 34 U turns. 33 of them have been Conservative U Turns. The 34th - Lords reform - is technically a Lib Dem U turn. But I think we all know ...
The A432 Badminton Road will be closed at the railway viaduct from midnight to 6am on 26th October 2012. Pedestrians will be escorted through the site when it is safe to do so.
On Saturday I saw the protesters forming up for their march through London in the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth park that surrounds my work place, the table of Socialists with their slogan Get the Tories out! and General Strike now! I even had to personally evict five young people in the process of disguising themselves as Ninja from Museum property - interesting garb for a peaceful process. Within work there were several PCS leaflets scattered around and I got to reading one of them and found I disagreed completely with it but as I hadn't got anything else to read I ...
Former Policeman and Lib Dem Police Chief candidate, Matt Gallagher, will today launch his manifesto detailing his plans if elected as Greater Manchester's first Police and Crime Commissioner. Mr Gallagher describes how he plans to cut bureaucracy to increase the number of visible police officers and improve Police response times. Matt is also proposing to establish a panel of Assistant Commissioners to ensure overlooked groups are represented in Policing and to provide a direct link to Greater Manchester communities. Matt grew up in Chorlton and still lives in the area.Other proposals outlined include:a groundbreaking Apprenticeship scheme.A Police station in every ...
For an organisation that looks to the past and to party politics, it is almost inevitable that the Liberal Democrat History Group's publications are rather dominated with accounts of men. Even now, well into the 21st century, we only just have the first female Liberal Democrat ministers, whilst female Liberal Democrat Cabinet members or party leaders are still something for the future. When women do get mentioned, attention is often dominated by the famous elite families of the early 20th century and their descendants. Yet there are many other women whose contribution to British political liberalism has been at least ...
Line blogging the appearance of BBC Director General George Entwistle at the Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee answering questions around the Jimmy Savile allegations.
You might recall me raising the issue of the 'new' cycle storage facilities that we've been given at Heaton Park Metrolink and, as far as I know, at other stations on the Bury Line. At present one of the cycle storage doors has been ripped open by vandals, which wouldn't give me much confidence to store a bike in one of the other ones. At Radcliffe the situation has been even worse, with all four doors torn open. The response from Transport for Greater Manchester is that: "The significant issue with cycle storage facilities on the Bury line is at ...
Still time to stop the ill-advised badger cull (tags: ) Jimmy Savile scandal: the powerless are still targets for abusers (tags: ) Men Photographed in stereotypical pin-up poses I like the lumberjack best :) (tags: ) Vulnerable to be hurt most by 'inhumane' support cuts - UK Politics - UK - The Independent (tags: ) Fabulous adverts for awareness of language (tags: ) Colin Baker on the illusion that choice makes everything better (tags: ) A handy field guide to some of the different types of metalhead (tags: ) Factcheck: How many working people are being forced onto Housing Benefit? ...
Good news: There's some progress on reducing the draughtiness of the bus station shelter - the "baffle boards" should be fitted to the bottom of the timetable and Real Time Information boards. Bad news: South Glos have got a quote for a second shelter but say they haven't got any money for it. They say that if Yate Town Council want another shelter they'll have to fund it themsleves (even though it was South Glos that decided to install a smaller shelter than had been agreed)
A planning application C2012/66514 has been submitted to convert the old Stanley Park High School into a primary school. It will form one of a pair of sites making up Bandon Hill Primary school, to be known as the Woodfield Site. The current Bandon Hill site will be known as Meadowfield. This resourceful use of ...
This weekend I sacrificed both of my two possible lie-ins for London Regional Conference and a Liberal Youth executive meeting respectively. Both left me feeling frustrated, and cynical about the future of the party for one main reason: our insularity. Regional conferences are diligently organized - usually by the same people - but feature a similar rotation of speakers, uncontroversial debates and excessive coffee breaks. Attendance is limited to the most committed regional members (usually just the executive) and a straggle of elderly members who have all-day Saturday to spare. Likewise when discussing Liberal Youth's upcoming conference we were talking ...
The Guardian reports: Some senior cabinet members want to limit the number of TV debates in the next election campaign to just one, but they are likely to face a counter-offer from Channel 4 that there should be four debates: two during the campaign itself and two in the months before the election, due to be called in June 2015. Discussions between the parties and the broadcasters are likely to start soon with initial feelers being put out by the broadcasters. There is cross party concern, but by no means a consensus that the three debates held during the concentrated ...
Question: when you see a headline such as 'Lib Dem Jo Bloggs calls for...' do you assume that Jo Bloggs is a member of the party? To me, that seems quite a reasonable assumption to make, and appears to be the convention the media follows in most cases. If the person's not a member, but connected in some other way to the party you might see a qualifier added like 'Lib Dem supporter', 'Lib Dem donor' or 'Lib Dem voter' but 'Lib Dem' on it's own implies membership. Yesterday, Conservative Home referred to 'Lib Dem Mark Littlewood' in the headline ...
Shane Richie's Jim'll fix it Boxing Day special 2011. It is simply shameful that the BBC broadcast it, knowing, within their organisation, what they knew, based on Newsnight's investigation. As mentioned by Kevin Marsh, former BBC editor, in Panorama last night, George Entwhistle was "damned if he did and damned if he didn't" over the Newsnight programme. He kept at arms length from it as Head of Vision. He was told about it in a 10 second conversation by Helen Boaden, Head of News. In one sense that was a highly proper move. He was keeping out of it. (Mind ...
I have criticised the City Council's failure to progress a committee decision to improve parking on the University of Dundee campus edge - at Hunter Street - by simply 'sitting on the decision' despite committee approval to proceed. In May 2008, the City Council approved a report to provide a replacement car park in Hunter Street at the edge of the university campus. As the Planning and Transport Convener at the time, I greatly welcomed this proposal. The Hunter Street replacement car park proposal makes a good deal of sense. There's a huge parking demand in the area around the ...
See larger image Prometheus (Blu-ray + Digital Copy)[Region Free] (Blu-ray) Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over List Price: £24.99 GBP New From: £12.73 In Stock Used from: £11.90 In Stock Release date October 8, 2012. I've long been a devotee ...
Its only now, when it's getting dark so early, that it's clear that this exciting and busy year is drawing to a close with only about 60 days till Christmas. But the year hasn't wound down yet - there's been a lot going on and lots more to come. Some good things: We welcomed our new Farmers Market (largely as a result of the efforts of West Hampstead Lib Dem Councillor Gillian Risso-Gill) which goes from strength to strength - blessed for its first weeks by glorious weather, and we also especially welcomed the Boundary Commission's final recommendation to leave ...
This is my view of what happened at the Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United game at Hillsborough on Friday line by line: I make no judgements but I do wish to show that the behaviour of a minority of SWFC fans was just as bad as that of a minority of LUFC fans. The Leeds fans were situated in the Leppings Lane end and I attended with my 8 years old grandson, Daniel. The picture right shows the view we had. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 1 (Bothroyd 43), LEEDS 1 (Tonge 76)Sheffield Wednesday: Kirkland, Buxton, Gardner, Corry (Mayor 84) Llera, Semedo, Antonio, ...
In which I continue to try to find the right balance between tuneful pop songs full of harmony and electronic burblings that go skree skronk bloop bleep. This week's show includes the Monkees, Sun Ra, the theme from Horror Express, the Beach Boys, Gershwin played on the Moog, Waterson:Carthy and Van Dyke Parks, plus much ...
Whilst I have been well aware of the growing news stories revolving around Jimmy Savile in recent weeks, I suppose I hadn't really taken it in until I watched tonight's Panorama on BBC1. I missed ITVs Exposure so didn't see the evidence in its initial context. Seeing it tonight in the full gaze of weeks's worth of light being shone onto the case was truly horrific. The revulsion that I felt as the pieces of a barely believable jigsaw puzzle came together was indescribable. Less than a year ago upon his death, I wrote this blog post about this apparently ...
This evening's Panorama was a brave piece of television by BBC employees but the Daily Telegraph suggests they were not allowed to use all the evidence they had gathered: The Daily Telegraph has learnt that a series of emails sent by the BBC reporter Liz MacKean to an unnamed friend were blocked from featuring in a Panorama investigation into the BBC's treatment of the scandal, which was broadcast last night ... One of the emails sent by Ms MacKean that did feature on Panorama made clear that Peter Rippon, the Newsnight editor, felt his superiors were not happy with his ...
