Oh Israel ! Do you wish for peace ? Oh Hamas, do you ? It seems that both sides are engaged in using war to win power on their own sides. Hamas leaders are fighting amongst themselves to replace their executed leader. Israel's leaders are gearing up for an election. The lives of Palestinians and Israelis are not important to these people. Why did Israel imagine that killing one
There appears to be something of a backlash against this concept going on at the moment, and everyone I see lashing back against it seems to be lashing at so many straw men they're in a blizzard of dried grasses. Evidence-based policy does not mean you can't do ANYTHING without randomised control trials on every single facet of every policy. It DOES mean that we should pay attention to what we are doing currently and note what it's effects are and see if those effects push towards or move away from our aims. I don't see what the problem is ...
PoliticsHome has the front page of tomorrow's issue of The Times. The lead story trails an article inside in which Paddy Ashdown says the war in Afghanistan is lost and not worth the life of one more British soldier. I find it hard to disagree with this - it is been hard for some years now to discern what we are attempting to achieve in Afghanistan. Paddy's article will be find behind The Times' paywall. In any case, thanks to the Guardian core readership strategy, I find myself buying The Times more and more these days.
To think I watched Jaws and Monty Python and the Holy Grail here. Photo by @solarpilchard - whom everyone interested in Market Harborough should follow.
Thu 15th
21:54
Horwood revolts over 'a nasty, vindictive little clause'-Osborne so called employee ownership
At 7.53pm Martin Horwood 5th November (Lib Dem Cheltenham) spoke in the Government's Growth and Infrastructure Bill Column 663. Below is his thoughts on Osborne's daft suggestion on employees being asked to swap their employment rights for the illusion of ownership Then we come to the extraordinary clause 23. I proposed a policy on employee ownership and workplace democracy to this year's Liberal Democrat conference. I would strongly commend the contents of that and its many recommendations to Government, including the option to bid for employee ownership at the time of transfer of an undertaking, which we believe could result ...
Earlier today, I participated in the latest meeting of the City Council School Parking and Pupil Safety Working Group. Chaired by the Chief Executive, it has been a very productive and positive group of council officers, councillors, Parent Council representatives, Head Teachers and Tayside Police that has worked to improve road safety at schools across Dundee. I took the opportunity today to again highlight the concerns about road safety at the new West End campus (St Joseph's PS; Victoria Park PS; Balgay Hill Nursery School) that I highlighted on this site and the Courier also highlighted. The working group agreed ...
"We need to broaden our idea of what constitutes proper evidence, and develop an understanding of where good old-fashioned human judgement and instinct is more appropriate, given its speed, responsiveness and ability to handle both complexity and individual variations." Thinking Liberal gets it exactly right in questioning the enthusiasm for 'evidence-based policy'. Benedict Carey in the New York Times discusses the role that psychologists played in the campaign for the re-election of President Obama. Sociological Images has a gallery of vintage postcards opposing women's suffrage. Caroline Shenton tracks down some souvenirs made from the ruins of the old Palace of ...
I probably owe Johann Lamont an apology. I thought she was letting Alex Salmond walk all over her at First Minister's Questions today. She was trying to pull him up on college shambles. He seemed absolutely sure of his figures. Nobody could have been in any doubt that college funding had not been cut, despite what Audit Scotland and the Parliament's own information centre said. What do they know? However, what appeared to be flogging a dead horse was in actual fact giving the First Minister enough rope. She managed to hide what she was doing under a series of ...
I came back after a couple of hours out this afternoon to find a tweet from someone that read quite simply: What is this, the largest ever odd-one out round? I'm sure @caronmlindsay can spot the odd-one-out.This turned out to be a series of pictures of possible contenders for BBC Sport Personality of the Year. I flicked through it apprehensively, scared that I'd have to spontaneously combust if, like last year, there were no women. But of course the BBC weren't that stupid. They missed out Beth Tweddle, though, and Heather Watson and they seem to have forgotten that Katherine ...
Thu 15th
18:00
What Lib Dem members say about Coalition policies on the economy, shares-for-rights and cutting Coun...
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 550 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. 61% support — with reservations — Coalition's economic policies LDV asked: The UK economy recorded growth of +1.0% in the third quarter of 2012, officially bringing the recession to an end. However, many economists including the governor of the Bank of England have warned that recovery will be a slow, faltering process. Which of these is closest to your view: ...
Lots of news to report from the Sutton North ward, where I am a councillor. The pedestrian crossing on Sutton Common Road will be built on Monday; Sutton Garden Suburb are to get new heritage ...
This is the evidence I gave to the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee yesterday on the Mobile Homes (Wales) Bill.
Hundreds of residents packed into the Queen Edith Chapel yesterday to view the County Council's ideas for sorting out parking problems in our area. These have been put together by councillors, on the basis of comments from residents at previous meetings and from the local colleges and hospital. Although many residents were disappointed there were not more firm proposals, there were new schemes for Red Cross Lane/ Greenlands area, Baldock Way, Godwin Close and Nightingale Avenue. Residents were invited to fill in a short survey. There are two more chances to see the exhibition: Monday 26 November – Scout Hut, ...
Any questions about voting? All answered here on LibDemVoice: How to vote - and what to do once you've voted Oh, and here's my take from earlier today about the PCC elections: Wakey, wakey! It's PCC election day in England and Wales. You hadn't forgotten, had you?
In 2002, the Scottish Parliament passed freedom of information legislation that was much more robust than that passed by Labour in London. Want to take a wild guess why? That's what Lib Dem coalition partners do. The then SNP opposition ended up voting for the legislation, although they said then that they thought it didn't go far enough. I had a good rummage round the interwebs today and found this from Roseanna Cummingham: "I think parliament should feel some considerable satisfaction that it is debating a piece of legislation that underlines the difference between this Parliament and Westminster."Our freedom of ...
Yesterday afternoon saw a momentous change in British Politics!! No, it wasn't the eve of the inaugural elections of Police & Crime Commissioners (Vote Lib Dem!) but it was a relatively small change in the House of Lords. Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, DBE became the first member of either Houses of Parliament to contribute to a debate using the assistance of an aide. Speaking on the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill: Second Reading, Jane examined the aspect of equality within the Bill and the removal of section three, Equality Act 2006 which will directly impact the statutory duties ...
A clear win for the Daily Telegraph: Sir Cyril Smith sex abuse dossier seized by MI5
Tavish Scott has written a column for the Scotsman criticising the SNP Government for abuse of power and neutering the Holyrood Parliament. His comments come in the wake of a row about the Education Secretary Mike Russell effectively engineered the resignation of the Chairman of Stow College in Glasgow. Kirk Ramsay had been a vociferous critic of Russell's cuts in the sector. The story so far: Ramsay records Russell's on-the-record remarks at a meeting with about 80 people present at which the Cabinet Secretary was discussing his plans for the Further Education sector. He did so because he suffers from ...
Just a reminder that today is election day for the Police and Crime Commissioner post. Please support Pete Levy, Lib Dem Focus Team candidate for the new Commissioner role. [IMG: Pete Levy] If you live in the Yate South East ward, there's also a by-election for the vacancy on Yate Town Council. Please vote for Lib Dem Focus Team candidate Margaret Marshall. These elections are important - please use your vote!
Thu 15th
12:00
My Best Posts 2011-2012 - and A Pledge To Help Revive the Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards
What to do on not blogging much for a few months? Follow the practice of so many worn-out artists and put together a 'greatest hits' package! So, below, you can find links to my best six (ish) articles of the last year on politics, Doctor Who and several other subjects. You can scroll straight down to that - but if you're interested in Liberal Democrat blogs, I've also followed Jonathan Calder in developing a few ideas on how to revive the Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards after this year's moribund turn. I've even, perhaps unwisely, made a pledge... ...
A recent Lib Dem voice poll asked 'Do you support or oppose building a third runway at Heathrow airport?' and it was not surprising to me, knowing the history of Liberal Democrat aviation policy, that 79% opposed this proposition. But this jumps the gun. Firstly, what is a hub airport and why is it valuable to the UK? Secondly, we need to understand if there is a problem to solve, and to define that problem. And then finally, what are the realistic options on the table that should be explored that will solve the problem. A hub airport is an ...
Some central American country has had a presidential election and the incumbent, widely characterised in the U.S.A. as a socialist despot, has been returned. I am of course talking about the U.S.A., not Venezuela. A lot of people have discussed and analysed the result of the Obama - Romney contest, often perceptively. I'm not going to second-guess them, but just look at three things. First, commentators keep saying certain states - especially Ohio - are key determinants. We should remember that the political balance in most states is constantly changing, both because of changes within that state such as a ...
It seems to me that the trend is quite clearly more drugs coming on to the market, if the 'war' was working you'd expect fewer not more. I know these are only supply figures but I think they indicate that if people want to take drugs then they will. The problem here though is that there are 57 new substances that people will be taking where the effects on their bodies (particularly long term) are probably unknown. If we had a legalised, regulated drugs market then the quality of the substances could be ensured, protecting the public from unnecessary harm ...
Speaking at a Lib Dem conference in the Coalition's earlier days Linda Jack, a Lib Dem activist, called for a commitment to "evidence-based policy". She was interrupted by strong applause from the floor. Ms Jack is a feisty activist, but is not known for thought leadership. Her use of the idea, and the applause she got for it, shows that evidence-based policy has become a mainstream idea in some liberal circles. Not long ago it was a rather abstruse, fringe idea pushed by academics who wanted the extra public funding that it would require. Why is it now hurrah phrase ...
Thu 15th
10:40Wakey, wakey! It's PCC election day in England and Wales. You hadn't forgotten, had you?
Election day is usually a day when, if you're at all interested/involved in politics, the pulse quickens, the blood pumps faster, the adrenaline kicks in. With all due respect to the sane candidates standing for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner (and naturally with very best wishes to those Lib Dems flying the party's flag in England) today just doesn't feel right.* In fact, it feels like a damp squib. I think that's a shame for two reasons. First, voting matters. It's perhaps the purest, most powerful way in which an individual can show their commitment to engaging in ...
How convenient for the SNP that they managed to get themselves embroiled in another scandal the week that Willie Rennie has no First Minister's Question. I am fairly sure that if he did, he would have asked about the furore surrounding Kirk Ramsay, who was effectively forced out of his position as Chairman of Stow College by Education Secretary Mike Russell. To give some context, the SNP has been inflicting cuts and mergers on Scotland's FE sector. Kirk Ramsay had opposed them and had kept Stow as a single entity. It's fair to say he had been a robust critic ...
The latest figures on unemployment and worklessness in County Durham have been released by the council, and will be available on the county website from tomorrow. They are broken down into two groups. The first group, the proportion of the total working age population who are claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, is defined as "Claimant Count". The second group, the proportion of the total working age population who are receiving Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance, and Employment & Support Allowance, is defined as "Worklessness". In terms of our own local area the "Claimant Count" is 3.9% averaged across the ...
I have just started reading the World Energy Outlook 2012. It will take some effort to properly review this, but it is an interesting document. Followers of my comments will have noted that oil demand by the OECD peaked somewhere between 2005 and 2008. It depends whether you look quarterly or monthly or even daily (and those figures would be hard to get in a reliable sense). However, in terms
One of the increasingly notable (and in many ways remarkable) things about the coalition is the stark difference in the levels of party unity and discipline in the two parties. While Liberal Democrat MPs and members have committed – often selflessly – to the implementation of the coalition agreement, the same cannot be said of the increasingly fractious Conservative party. Old wounds over Europe have clearly not healed, and the salt of equal marriage and the prime minister's commitment that this should be the greenest government ever are making many on the Conservative fringes increasingly uncomfortable. The story of Chris ...
I went into the Discover Stockton shop on Monday to look at what is on offer - lots of interesting information about the area, the chance to buy souvenirs and postcards, someone to give advice on business start ups and enterprise ideas and point people in the right direction for proper detailed advice and most important perhaps, large scale plans of the proposals for the High St and surrounding
This is a post by someone who was adopted. The person concerned was adopted at age 7 months which is only just into the start of the period at which people could get RAD and hence is a good case to be considered as part of what the government wish to achieve. The underlying problem in terms of government policy is the failure to properly and scientifically approach the analysis of the policy.
PA MagLochlainn's funeral mass will be in Dungiven at 10am on Saturday. Belfast people can pay their respects in O'Kane's funeral parlour from 3pm today. Suggestion is allow the family to be there first and gather after 4. The top bar in Union Street has been opened by Andre Graham to allow people to gather there.
When Men Get Too Emotional To Have A Rational Argument (tags: ) Some Thoughts on Hot Chilli Production | Sarah Brown's Blog This! Also, if you fancy growing your own chilis, check out The Chili King blog. (tags: ) Sun and Daily Mail back down over 120,000 'problem' families | Full Fact See! Factchecking websites WORK! (tags: ) Colin Baker on 50th Anniversary, Movie | Doctor Who TV (tags: ) How Darwin took on Intelligent Design | New Humanist (tags: ) Bleeding-Heart Liberals Refuse to Deport Foreign Extremist (tags: ) Heaton-Harris and Delingpole referred to Northants police for possible breach ...
The new issue of Liberator is with subscribers, so it is time to spend another week in the company of Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. I suspect apologies are due to T.H. White, the Revd J.P. Martin and even Kenneth Grahame. Oh, and Liberator has a blog now. Anyway... Sunday When in need of wise counsel, I take myself off to a woody bank beneath the Ornamental Arch I erected to mark the victory of Wallace Lawler in the Birmingham Ladywood by-election of 1969 and rap on a door half obscured by foliage. There, after much shuffling and snuffling from ...
Today's the day to vote in the Police elections. Hundreds of local people have contacted me during the campaign, angry about the planned use of G4S in our Police Service. Here in Hertfordshire I am the only candidate who can beat the Conservative responsible for the G4S plans. If the Conservative wins the G4S outsourcing will go ahead, if I win I will do everything possible to stop it. If you really want to stop this ridiculous outsourcing project from going ahead, and wasting more of your taxpayer's money, then I need your vote today. Without us converting our words ...
Good combination of subject line ("Cutting your tax bill") and sender name ("Chief Secretary to the Treasury") to make you interested? Check. Plain English? Check. Explain why my support is important at this particular moment in time? Check. Sent via professional e-campaigning package that lets you evaluate open rates and the like? Check. One action and only one action the email wants you to take? Check. Repeated reference to the one action? Check. Text of email all about taking that action? Check. Footnote to clarify the implied caveat which may be obvious but which previous online activities have shown generates ...
Andover's residents have been shocked by Conservative run Hampshire County Council's decision to all but wipe out Youth services, making professional staff redundant in the process. Staggeringly, the Conservatives stashed over £300,000,000 in the County bank while making the cuts! Under the changes the Council will only provide services for 'vulnerable' young people such as those in care. There are many other young people needing support who may not get it at all. Candy Huxham is Manager of the Handy Trust voluntary Youth Service in Waterside, Hampshire, and is currently Youth Worker of the ye r. Candy has strong reservations ...
Amazon claims that it makes no money from the sale of Kindle eReader hardware. Looking at the prices of eink devices at wholesalers, this looks broadly accurate. They do seem to be selling at around wholesale cost - customers also get Amazon's fabulous support, free software updates, and high quality manufacturing. Yet there is a curious anomaly. Why aren't Amazon selling ePub books? TerminologyA quick diversion into the terminology used in this article. eReader - the physical hardware. Kindle, Kobo, nook, etc.eBook - the electronic file containing the words & pictures. ePub, Mobi, PDF, etc.BackgroundThere are, broadly speaking, two main ...
As today's the day when England and Wales go to the polls to elect police commissioners, I thought it was about time I set out my thoughts on them, if only so I don't look too far behind the curve. I'm not going to give you any advice on how to vote, or whether to vote or how to actively not vote, as I feel those few people who do still read this blog are clued up enough to work that out for themselves. Since the first modern police forces in this country were founded there have been debates about ...
Got an election in your area today? Here are a few key pieces of information for you. Voting in person Polling stations are open between 7am and 10pm today. No votes can be cast after 10pm; it's not like the shops where being in the queue at closing time is enough. You don't need your polling card to vote. You have to vote at your local polling station, which is indicated on the card. If you've lost your card and aren't sure where to vote, you can contact your local council. Make sure you read the instructions on the ballot ...
Yesterday, I had the great pleasure, along with other members of the Barney's Fund charity committee, of taking part in a photocall to present the sheltered housing tenants of Abertay Housing Association at Paton's Lane with a cheque for £150 towards their Christmas Party that will take place at the West Park Centre. Here's a photo below of the cheque being presented by Susan Sherriff of Barnetts Motors to Angie Stevenson, Abertay Scheme Manager.It was a good opportunity to chat with the tenants who were at the photocall and the main area of discussion (surprise, surprise!) was the residents' parking ...
The Friends of Magdalen Green Christmas card will be available at the West End Christmas Fortnight Community Fayre this Saturday - 10am to 12 noon at Dundee West Church:A high definition copy of this poster can be downloaded here.
Today highway resurfacing of Landcroft Road starts. As a section has been resurfaced relatively recently the areas to be resurfaced starting today are: Everywhere along Landcroft Road EXCEPT the section 75 Landcroft Road to Rodwell Road. The works will take four days to complete. It will cause a LOT of disruption. Please bare with this disruption as a lovely newly resurfaced Landcroft road will be fab and long overdue.
