So Becca and Shoroko and I went along to the Film Forum on Monday to see Mark of Zorro (1920) as part of their Douglas Fairbanks season. This was relevant to my interests for the twinned reasons of secret identity heroics and swashbuckling swordplay. Just the kind of movie, in fact, that warms my happy place. I said before that Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes was my nomination for best Batman screen adaptation of all time. With that in mind, I think Mark of Zorro is my favorite Green Arrow screen adaptation so far. (Sorry, Arrow, but our show-fan relationship was ...
One of the joys of Europe is the continent's linguistic and cultural diversity, and that goes far beyond the 23 official and working languages of the European Union. There are a plethora of minority tongues which are now standing tall and proud, from Catalan to Guernsey Norman, which just happen to be two of the languages featured ...
The final issue of Liberal Democrat News arrived today. It is being replaced by a monthly magazine, Ad Lib. The first issue will be sent to all party members next month and to all Lib Dem News subscribers from January. It is sad to see a title close, particularly when you have been writing for it for so long and when, if you add in the old Liberal News, it has been running for 66 years. Still, I get a thank you and an anecdote on the last page: I learnt a lot about journalism and what editors look for ...
This week's favourite is for the man who enlivened up the 2001 general election with a punch and earlier today failed to get elected as Humberside's police commissioner.
As far as I am aware, there are no meetings at Blyth Town Council next week. However, the countdown to Christmas has started, and the Christmas lights are turned on on Friday (23rd) This poster has details:-
In 1909, the Liberal Party Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George delivered his People's Budget. During his delivery he stated that;"I cannot help hoping and believing that before this generation has passed away, we shall have advanced a great step towards that good time, when poverty, and the wretchedness and human degradation which always follows in its camp, will be as remote to the people of this country as the wolves which once infested its forests." One hundred and three years on from the People's Budget how close are we to seeing David Lloyd George's "good time" when poverty ...
A second day with Rutland's most popular fictional peer. This time thanks - or apologies - are due to David Nobbs. Monday In Brighton for the Conference of the Liberal Democrats, whom should I bump into but our own Nick Clegg? He kindly asks me to look at his main speech of the week: "I've already given the press most of it, but you may be able to tweak the odd line." Well, I have tweaked for every Liberal leader since Campbell-Bannerman, so I settle down in the lobby of the Grand with a pot of orange pekoe and a ...
A bad day for the Lib Dems, but not unexpectedly so. Call it sanguine, call it resigned... Lib Dems Corby pressed The party expected to get squeezed in Corby, and we were. I suspect we lost some 'none of the above' voters to Ukip and some left-leaning liberals to Labour (and many others who just didn't vote). To forfeit our deposit by barely more than a dozen votes added an extra ignominy (although revived an old Liberal tradition). Though there is something practical we can do to lend a hand there... Anyone else want to help the #BetterDeadThanRed fightback? Go ...
Lots of people were wondering last night why they were delayed by a heavy police presence in the Jolly Drovers area. Most will know by now that it was part of a planned police operation in connection illegally held firearms in the Derwentside area, and that four men were arrested as well as a firearm and ammunition being recovered.
When she agreed to fight a by-election in Corby - a Conservative/Labour marginal with little history of Liberal Democrat activity - Jill Hope knew she was undertaking a thankless task. We owe her our thanks for doing so. Like Neil Monnery I suspect UKIP's showing in Corby is encouraging for the Liberal Democrats. Neil believes UKIP will split the Conservative vote next time. Maybe the mechanism is more subtle than that. The better UKIP does, the more large parts of David Cameron's party will be convinced that he failed to win the last election because he was too moderate. So ...
Party President Tim Farron MP has just emailed Liberal Democrat members with a message of thanks and encouragement on this day of election results. I wanted to put on record the party's thanks to our candidates in yesterday's PCC elections, by-elections and Bristol mayoral election. We had many excellent candidates and teams who worked very hard to fly the flag for our party. I thank them all and I'm sure you would like to do the same. It was a tough day, and whilst we may not have gained anything the hard work we've put in lays the foundations for ...
Here is a blogpost with a local angle. The Llangynwyd Community Association, who are situated within my region, are trying to raise more than £100,000 to plug a leaky roof and carry out a range of refurbishments to turn the rundown former St Stephen's Church into a modern community hub for the village. As the Glamorgan Gazette points out, rather than turn to the conventional collection buckets and coffee mornings to stump up the funds, the group has filmed a wacky musical medley which it hopes will grow into the next YouTube internet hit. The film, which reworks the lyrics ...
What were yesterday's main election disappointments for the main parties? Humberside: John Prescott was hoping to become the new Humberside PCC but dramatically lost in a tight contest. Manchester: The Tories were expecting to do badly here but not to lose their deposit in the Manchester Central parliamentary by-election. Corby: The Conservatives conceded their first parliamentary seat to Labour in fifteen years and the Liberal Democrats lost their deposit by nine votes. Dyfed-Powys: Provisionally a Labour seat with the Liberal Democrats not bothering to field a candidate, the Tories narrowly took this PCC position. Bristol: Favourite with the bookies during ...
Congratulations to Sue Mountstevens on becoming the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset - a tough job, and the public are going to have high expectations of her. Also congratulations to George Ferguson, the newly elected Mayor for Bristol. He will have some hard decisions to make in the next few weeks about budget cuts. We wish them both well and hope that they will be able to work effectively with local communities for the good of the whole region.
pccspoil: @Taiconderoga
The otter population is growing in the UK and has been welcomed back as they look lovely and mean that the environment is cleaner. They have been welcomed back so much that they are protected. Well they haven't been welcomed back by everyone. Did you know that otters kill for fun? If an otter family moves in then they can do a lot of damage. They eat duck eggs and the ducks if they can catch them. Fish farms are vulnerable too. Regardless of whether you like or loath otters there is no doubting that the otter population has increased ...
Following concerns raised by residents, we've asked the Council to check trees on the edge of Gatley Carrs, immediately behind Mitchell Close (on Lorna Grove, Gatley) to see whether they are in good condition, or need action. We also need the Council to check the land ownership, since the land on that edge of the Carrs isn't all owned by the Council.
Senior Tory councillor Richard Stay (http://cllrstay.blogspot.co.uk/) didn't think much of Nadine Dorries going off to the jungle. Perhaps his anti-Nadine campaigning has helped fuel the Tories expected win in the Bedfordshire PCC elections? By all accounts some people have protested by either voting for Olly Martins in the PCC elections, the Labour candidate who won, or simply scrawling messages about Nadine Dorries, thereby invalidating their ballot papers. From Tory Richard Stay's Blog: Sally Chidzoy, (Home Affairs Correspondent, BBC (East of England) tweeted : Beds Lib Dem PCC candidate Linda Jack jokes granddaughter, 6 asked : "Nana, if you get elected ...
Operation Eagle Eye is launching in Stockport to encourage safe driving. Police and safety officers are going out with school pupils to monitor offences around the school, such as illegal parking, speeding, and failing to wear a seatbelt. Year 6 pupils from Gatley Primary School were out this week monitoring traffic speed on Styal Road. Find out more about Operation Eagle Eye and sign the Eagle Eye Pledge.
There were no new applications in the ward last week, so that's why there was no update. For this week: 122010: Erection of conservatory, Margaret Road 122013: Advertisement consent for replacement signage, Culver Street West. 121941: Penthouse flat to be added to existing building, North Station Road. Please note that I am a member of the Council's Planning Committee for this municipal year. This means that I'm required to act in a 'quasi-judicial' manner with regard to applications before the Committee and as such, can't make comments in favour or against planning applications as I may then have pre-judged them ...
Much to our frustration, Transport for Greater Manchester are currently holding up the new puffin crossing we've approved to go on Schools Hill, to replace the existing zebra crossing where three people were hurt last winter. TfGM are responsible for managing traffic lights across Greater Manchester and need to approve the lights. They've had the plans for some time now, but still no approval! We'll continue to press for the lights to go in as quickly as possible – no-one wants another accident.
If you read the front page story of the Stockport Times, you might get the impression that the Council is employing teams of people to scour the streets of the borough looking for stolen bins. It's a nice story, the only problem is that it's not true! We are concerned about stolen bins, but the bin men who come round and collect your bins anyway are going to be checking as part of their normal rounds, at no extra cost to the taxpayer. They know how many bins each household should have, so if someone has more than they should ...
Here's one simple graph that reveals an awful lot about the mess in Greece. It shows how Greek GDP has changed over the last few years and how well the experts of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (collectively the 'Troika') have forecast it since the start of the ...
A few weeks ago, I reported that the Lib Dem councillors were looking to sort out the problem of football parking – especially around Beech Avenue in Gatley and Grange Park Road in Cheadle. Keith Holloway has now had further meetings with the Police and the Parks people who manage bookings. The Police have confirmed that they are putting on more patrols. The Parks staff will be reminding teams of their obligation to manage parking. In Cheadle, we think people should be parking in the Massie Street car park or on Ashfield Street – it's free on Sundays and only ...
Near the busy Cheadle village centre, it's a constant balancing act between residents wanting to park near their own homes and shoppers/workers wanting to park in the centre. One idea we're looking at is to take the areas currently residents parking around Massie Street, and change them to mixed use. During the daytime (perhaps 9.30am to 4.30pm) they would be 2 hour limited waiting bays (though you could park as long as you liked with a residents permit). Overnight, from 4.30pm through until 9.30am the next day they would be standard residents parking as now. Out hope is that it ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week ++ SHOCK! HORROR! LIB DEM MP CAUGHT UP IN NEW EXPENSES ROW! (22 comments) by Stephen Tall Federal Committee Election results 2012 (20 comments) by Helen Duffett Majority of Lib Dems support 'No more page 3' campaign (but big differences between women/men's views on issue) (26 comments) by Stephen Tall PoliticsHome: 'New Cyril Smith abuse claims' (13 comments) by The Voice Opinion: Let's end the smoke filled rooms and make the party truly democratic (32 comments) by ...
Earlier this week one of the bands that I spent a lot of my hard earned paper round money on vinyl announced that they were stopping touring. Now that is some time ago, even more spectacular is that is had been 15 years since their charismatic front man Michael Hutchence was found dead in a hotel room. But after 35 years as an excellent live band INXS have announced that they are parking the tour bus for good. Many people will only have heard of INXS for the first time after I already had a fair amount of them on ...
Rumours abound of glum Labour faces at the Hull and Humberside count...
Paddy Ashdown has called for British troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan "quick, neat and soon". It's hard to argue with him about the catalogue of political and international failure to provide the sort of support that could have made a difference. Writing in the Times (£), reported by BBC, the Liberal Democrat peer said that there was nothing more that could be achieved in Afghanistan. We should have understood that victories on the battlefield are meaningless if you can't translate them into political progress and better lives for ordinary people. We should have placed more emphasis on political means ...
Fri 16th
15:47
Is the UKIP trouncing of the Lib Dems in Corby actually a good result for the Lib Dems?
Corby has elected a Labour MP. It isn't the biggest shock in the world lets put it that way. Corby is a clear swing seat with people who are not entrenched into their positions. It is proper floating voter territory and lets be honest – any by-election in a seat like this should be won – and won big by a party of opposition but that isn't the story that I am going to concentrate on. The story Lib Dems care about is how we did and we didn't do well but this is not a story – well it ...
I was at the local Westminster Council Area Forum earlier in the week – I suspect some of the main issues are common to the whole Borough. Here's some key points: I saw a presentation on the Parking Sensor trial – not sure about Labour's claim it's a money-grabbing scam – at least not yet. ...
Well, I think we can safely predict today won't go down in the annals of Lib Dem history as our finest ever electoral performance... (Though the party has done much better in this week's local elections, as Helen Duffett reports here.) Police and Crime Commissioner elections: Andrew Sparrow's Guardian live-blog reports the national picture in England and Wales (but not London): Labour is winning on the basis of the share of the votes counted. Labour is on 33.29%, according to the most recent figures, and the Conservatives are on 29.5%. Independent candidates have won 19.13%, Ukip 7.78% and the Lib ...
Earlier today Vera Baird - a former Solicitor General in the Brown Government - became the first Labour elected Police and Crime Commissioner - winning the Northumbria election. Baird had been MP for the previously safe Labour seat of Redcar since 2001, but two and a bit years ago she was rejected by the good people of that borough - following a series of scandals over her expenses including the purchase of two artificial Christmas trees and attempting to spend a ludicrous £29.97 on snowflake lights and baubles and a further £5.48 on decorations. Baird earned more than £120,000 a ...
The Liberal Democrats have gained five council seats and retained all three of their previously-held seats in the raft of council by-elections they were contesting yesterday. In Wallsend, North Tyneside, Michael Huscroft gained from Labour with 58.2%, or 1158 votes. David Siddans won in Rossett, Harrogate Borough Council, with 48.9% of the vote (897), in a 25.6% swing from the Tories. From the Harrogate Advertiser: Councillor John Fox, Constituency Chairman, Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats said: "This is the first Liberal Democrat gain from the Conservatives in the north of England this year. We are absolutely delighted to have overturned ...
The news today is that the impending disciplinary debate into the actions of the DUP's Jim Wells will be subject to a petition of concern from his party. On their parties website they say: We want to normalise our institutions and political arrangements to demonstrate that democratic standards apply and fairness and equality of opportunity ...
While attending the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Election Count in Folkestone and Hythe today, the Coservatives were *very* keen I took a picture of their counting agent team for them (presumably to prove their their agent that they were actually there). I'm not at all sure how it helps them, but I'm always happy to help out... [IMG: Shepway Conservative Councillors] Five Go To The Count [and don't like the result] The slightly strained expressions on their faces may be due to the result. In Folkestone & Hythe, the result was: Ann Barnes Dai Liyanage Craig Mackinlay Steve Uncles ...
I should point out this is written with a wry smile and tongue in cheek to a degree. I was thinking about the works of the famous Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung the other day, in particular - Synchronicity and how it effected the character's in Jack Higgin's book The Eagle has landed. Then it occurred to me that I also had an act of Synchronicity as whom should appear on my Television but Harriet Harman, which really filled me with loathing. (so much loathing that I can't even field a picture of her on my blog!!!) I remembered why I ...
Last week that unusual event, a keynote speech by a senior Westminster-based Liberal Democrat at an ELDR* event, as Nick Clegg made one of the speeches that opened this year's Congress. Europe needs liberals now more than ever. The shared challenges we face are ones that can only be tackled when like-minded people across Europe work together: how to create jobs, particularly for our young people, and bring back prosperity; how to tackle climate change and build the new, green economies we need for our future. For the rest of his speech, click here. This was followed by a passionate ...
On November 5, 31 Bahrainis were deprived of their citizenship arbitrarily, without notice and without judicial process, contrary to customary international law. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that everyone has the right to a nationality and no-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality. The victims can appeal these decision, but there is no point. The king has absolute power to grant or rescind citizenship, and the courts wouldn't dream of overturning his decisions. No wonder that hundreds of Bahrainis demonstrate against the government every day. Even after a total ban on meetings they continue ...
Among the many election results today a by election in Penrith Pategill ward of Eden DC caught my eye. Lib Dem candidate John Tompkins won with over 50% of the vote. LD John Tompkins 226 (54.2; +16.1)Con 86 (20.6; -21.1)Lab 77 (18.5; +18.5)BNP 28 (6.7; +6.7)[Ind (0.0; -20.1)] And why did it catch my eye ...? John's father Ian is the Blyth Lib Dem Ian Tompkins. Well done, John, and welcome to the club ...
Friday: This week there's a call from Daddy Alex (supported by Auntie Jennie, following Lord Bonkers) for REVITALISATION of the Liberal Dcemocrat Blogger of the Year Awards. And rightly so. In 2010, when my obvious awesomeness was (finally!) recognised, it was a HUGE deal. This year's ceremony, for the just-as-deserving Mr Mark Reckons, didn't feel as SPECIAL. And that's a SHAME. But today Mr Paul Burblings, who's usually very wise, falls into the TRAP of ANTI-INTELLECTUAL SNEERING about "long blog posts", implying we should drop the BLOG of the year for the TWEET of the year. Which would be GHASTLY! ...
I've said it once about Theresa May - she is not a safe pair of hands And then I said it again. For a safe pair of hands, she drops an awful lot of balls... And after this debacle... Doesn't someone have to suggest that maybe, it's three strikes and you're out?
The Watford Central Ward By-Election was caused by the standing down of one of the sitting Lib Dem councillors having obtained a job in the Midlands - meaning he had to resign his seat and move home. The resulting by-election campaign was remarkable for the barrage of Labour personal attacks against the Lib Dem candidate, deliberate misrepresentation and a curious attempt to use spurious legal measures to block Lib Dem participation in the election at all. Labour also used personal remarks by the local Chief Inspector to imply official support for of Labour's proposals. As a result, Labour had to ...
Here's a graph showing the proportion of pupils predicted BBB at A-level who apply to at least two of the most selective universities according to the type of school they attend – the data's from this Sutton Trust / Government report, Tracking the Decision-making of High Achieving Higher Education Applicants: Here's how the TES reports the figures: The majority of high-achieving A-level students at comprehensive schools and colleges do not apply to top universities, often due to a lack of confidence in their academic abilities, a major government-commissioned report suggests. Good students who choose less prestigious institutions are also often ...
I've seen a huge number of theories on this, but given some politicians' disdain for actually doing research and finding things out, I suspect we'll never have a definitive answer. After all, it's much easier to pontificate from assumptions than do research... With that caveat in mind, I'd like to take a look at some of the theories. 1, Nobody votes in winter elections Turnout in winter elections does tend to be depressed by 5 or 6 percent. This may be a factor, but it's clearly not the full explanation when in some places turnout didn't even hit 10 percent. ...
Despite the fact I think that we shouldn't be having Police and Crime Commissioners, I'm finding it hard to ignore the announcement of results that's going on today. The electoral geek in me has come out, especially as the news I'm hearing from the Essex count is very interesting – the Conservative candidate has a lead after the first round, but the independent Mick Thwaites might be able to close that gap with second preferences. Results from across the districts show that the other independent candidate, Linda Belgrove, has also done well. The problem, though, is that this information is ...
I like the Lancashire Tory PCC candidate's message that he will be 'critical but supportive' of the chief constable. Now critical usual means that you are finding fault but Tim Ashton must be talking about the less used definition of critical as 'expressing an analysis of merits and faults'. The trouble is that even with this definition critical and supportive just doesn't make sense. I'd put the expression 'critical but supportive' in Room 101 along with 'zero tolerance'. Change the world
I laughed out loud when I read that one ballot box in Doncaster contained five voting papers. And then it sunk in. We have replaced something that many people haven't heard of, the police authorities with something they don't understand partly because we haven't had commissioners yet. What is the difference between a Liberal Democrat, a Tory and a Labour philosophy on policing? I am sure that if I read out an election address from the vast majority of candidates then you would not be able to name the party. There was no funding for a postal leaflet so most ...
By Howard of Lib Dem News
With Labour briefing that they have lost the mayoral election and the Ferguson campaign quietly delighted, it seems like it's all over. George Ferguson, a Liberal Democrat turned Independent who has run under his own banner of Bristol 1st, appears to have pulled off a dramatic overtaking of previous tight favourite Labour candidate Marvin Rees. An Independent mayor will have consequences for Bristol, in my opinion not entirely undesirable consequences. Bristol council has been the scene of political logjam between Labour and the Liberal Democrats recently, maybe Ferguson is the man to create an effective bipartisan administration. I suppose we'll ...
I remarked earlier about Helen Goodman MP and her total lack of technical knowledge. An MP being a bit behind the times isn't the greatest shock - but she's Labour's Shadow Minister for Culture, Media, and Sport - that's a big deal! This year, Claire Perry MP produced an "independent" report into online child protection. By "independent" I mean "produced by vested interests including religious groups". It makes for pretty tedious reading, however you may get a laugh from the antics of our MPs on page 86 when they start discussing Internet filters... Helen Goodman: I'm sorry, maybe I'm particularly ...
A new survey by European news portal Euractiv has ranked Sharon Bowles MEP as the most influential Brit in EU policy-making, eight places ahead of David Cameron and thirty-three above Nigel Farage. The UK40 survey also features Lib Dem MEPs Andrew Duff and Sir Graham Watson in the top sixteen. National politicians such as Cameron, William Hague and Nick Clegg make the top twenty, but often lose out in the ranking to less well known Brits in the EU institutions. We can be proud of the clout that our MEPs wield in Brussels, particularly Sharon's key role as chair of ...
Fri 16th
11:50
The law of unintended consequences: relaxing Liberal Democrat committee campaigning rules
I've long been an advocate of relaxing the restrictions on campaigning in Liberal Democrat committee elections and other internal contests (with some success), and this year's federal committee elections say the first outing for the more relaxed committee rules. I think they worked well – with one interesting, unintended but welcome consequence. The new rules meant it was possible for more public discussion to take place about the elections, especially on social media. As a result, rather than being a mostly private contest between the candidates and voting conference reps (the electorate), without the rest of the party hearing much ...
I really feel for Youth Employment minister Angela Constance. While every other politician in Scotland was living it up in luxury at the posh Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh for the Scottish Politician of the Year awards, she was doing the rounds of the tv studios with Hugh Henry, defending the indefensible - Alex Salmond not just getting the figures on FE funding wrong, but in such smug, pugnacious style. Sending Angela out there is a sign that not all has gone to seed at SNP Towers. There are still brain cells in there capable of having the odd good ...
Fri 16th
10:50Ground Wars - Personalized Communications in Political Campaigns by Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
If you have been involved in grassroots electoral campaigning, reading Rasmus Kleis Nielsen's study of the grassroots aspect of two US Democrat campaigns from the 2008 Congressional elections is likely to produce a mix of two responses. First, there is the amusement at how much heavy weather political scientists can make of discovering what to those with direct experience has been obvious for years. Lots of theory and references to previous work in order to 'reveal' what people have been doing for years. But second, also, a recognition that sometimes applying that different perspective teases out new lessons and perspectives ...
Andover Lib Dem Councillor Nigel Long has worked with local residents to deal with anti-social behaviour at Vigo Road Recreation ground. Nigel consulted local people and brought their views to the borough council for action. As a result benches will be relocated elsewhere in the park and the hedge/fence will be repaired and trimmed. Trees will be trimmed back to allow the footpath to be properly lit in the evenings. Funding has been found to put a barrier in at the car park. Acre Path residents' chairman Peter Steele congratulated Nigel on the work done so far to improve the ...
Here's a date for your diary... On 17th December, all LibDemVoice readers are invited to join us for festive drinks at 5pm in London, followed by (for those who wish) seeing Steve Richards' Rock 'n Roll Politics Christmas Special. You can sign up for drinks on our Facebook page here, or via FlockTogether here. Premiered at this year's Edinburgh Festival, where it earned rave reviews, here's how Steve's show is billed: Award winning BBC broadcaster and columnist, Steve Richards, takes you behind the scenes of British Politics and the media, the characters, the absurdities, the tragedies. Laugh and cry as ...
A great new mapping system has been created that will show you everywhere within 30minutes trave ltime of a postcode. Great for working out the most feasible places to live for a given work location or vice versa - it also throws up comibnations of public transport you might not have thought about: http://property.mapumental.com/ The map has taken over four years in development using the free open source data set the National Public Transport Data Repository and assuming sensible journeys combining public transport. I've had a look and found it fascinating.
Paddy Ashdown has (behind the Times paywall, so you'll have to pick up a copy left on a train somewhere) written that British troops need to get out of Afghanistan as soon as decently possible, amid a broadside at the international community. I have – at times unpopularly – always opposed what had it succeeded would have been a Pyrrhic victory, a campaign in the most inhospitable territory from which the Soviet army withdrew defeated. The priority, as Paddy said, should always have been about protecting people rather than chasing an enemy. However much we in the West might find ...
Yes, I wandered out into the fog yesterday evening, down the very dark lane (the street light has been out for more than nine months now) towards a distant glow.On arrival, I entered the Church Room, for that was the inviting point of light, and said hello to the presiding officer and his assistant, the same pair who had been on duty last year. It would seem that my campaigning in 2011 was rather more effective than that of the PCC candidates, as turnout was down from over 50% to a rather depressing 11.2%. That means that 24 good citizens ...
BBC News - School bans Movember moustache for not being 'inclusive' OFFS (tags: ) Doctor Her » Cosplayers are not "fake geek girls." (tags: ) Terry Pratchett: My daughter Rhianna will take over the Discworld when I'm gone (tags: ) Windows 95 Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks ... in a Lovecraftian millieu. This is awesome, and you should click it. (tags: ) UK and Germany agree crackdown on tax loopholes for multinationals | Business | guardian.co.uk This could prove interesting over the next few months (tags: ) Michael Beckett chosen to fight Rotherham for the Liberal Democrats (tags: ) Brighouse - ...
Child poverty in the UK is way too high. It is at unacceptable levels and has been for too long. The government is united in taking child poverty seriously and we are determined - even in difficult times - to reduce child poverty and increase opportunities. Traditionally we have defined poverty simply by relative income. We know now that this is not sufficient. A child's experience of poverty is about more than whether their family income this week is low. That is why we are consulting on a new measure of poverty. The new measure is not about abandoning the ...
Fri 16th
08:10
5 quick reflections on 'Super Thursday' elections - plus why Labour got my 2nd PCC candidate prefere...
[View the story "5 quick thoughts on 'Super Thursday' elections, 15th Nov 2012" on Storify] 5 quick thoughts on 'Super Thursday' elections, 15th Nov 2012 Storified by Stephen Tall · Fri, Nov 16 2012 00:08:32 If PCC turnouts of c.15% shown people don't want elected police chiefs does that also mean folk in Manchester Cent. don't want an MP? (1/5)Stephen Tall If there had been a PCC election in London how likely is it that the media would've taken a bit more notice? (2/5)Stephen Tall It appears that for all the public moaning about political leaflets people do want and ...
Writing in today's Times (£), Paddy Ashdown says that Afghanistan is 'not worth the life of one more soldier': The war in Afghanistan is lost and not worth the life of one more British soldier, Paddy Ashdown writes in The Times today. In a stark assessment of the 11-year campaign that has cost 438 British lives, Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon urges Britain to pull out its troops as quickly as "decently" possible. The intervention comes as David Cameron finalises plans for Britain's exit from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. It will be dictated by US departures rather than local ...
"Blogging" is not dying – although in the narrow sense that most people associate with the term, it is greatly reduced. "Blogging" (and particularly that type of Blogger/Wordpress blogging which has been associated with the Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year awards (BOTYs) – where you fire up an old steam-driven computer and sit there for two hours (or more) beautifully crafting and recrafting a highly erudite, well-researched, terribly witty and (for most people) tediously long, elaborately discursive University standard essay which is read by twenty highly erudite people who mostly went to University) is something which is now still ...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of accepting a generous donation towards West End Christmas Fortnight from Tesco Riverside. The Tesco Extra superstore at Riverside has supported our Christmas events for many years and we are very grateful again to Tesco. Here's Kath Torode, Tesco Riverside's Community Champion, with me at the presentation:
...For the more discerning older reader, of course. Well, look at this. Today: a bit of leg from Sally from Westminster. Wednesday: A crafty bit of cleavage from Nadine from Brisbane. Tuesday: A bit of everything from Jill from Tampa Monday: A bit of class from Liz from Windsor Saturday: A bit of Blunt from Sofia from London ....You get the picture(s) (geddit???!!!!) [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Bury Council is currently consulting on what is called its 'Core Strategy'. This is an important planning document which sets out the long-term vision for the future development of the borough to 2029. They have produced a Second Draft Publication Core Strategy for consultation to 30 November 2012. The main changes in the second draft are: - the provision of more land for 'employment uses' at Gin Lane in Walmersley - the removal of most building restrictions on what is called 'Other Protected Open Land' You can read all the plans on the Council's Website here. Please don't hesitate to ...
Tomorrow sees the launch of West End Christmas Fortnight 2012 and isn't it good to see our Christmas Tree at Seabraes now in place!
Israel is one of the world's military powers - a nuclear armed state - with huge conventional military resources and powerful supporters in diplomatic and influential circles across the globe. It's a beacon of democracy in a part of the world where tyrants traditionally have misruled over their benighted people. Witness the appalling slaughter in next door Syria where Soviet era supremo Bashar al Assad is directing a brutal and - no doubt - ultimately futile attempt to cling onto power. The fact that everyone expects Assad to fail in his attempt to stay in control because this brutality simply ...
Margaret Marshall has been elected as the new councillor for the South East Ward of Yate Town Council, replacing the late Cllr Arthur Adams. Margaret gained nearly two thirds of the vote. Full results were as follows: Margaret Marshall (Lib Dem Focus) 386 votes (63.9%) ELECTED Mike McGrath (Labour) 94 votes (15.6%) Fred Watts (Conservative) 78 votes (12.9%) Michael Dollin (Independent) 46 votes (7.6%) Turnout: 19.1% Result last time (May 2011): Lib Dem 74 % Con 26% Lib Dems maintain 100% of Town Council seats.
Since I said I would shave off my beard and grow a moustache to raise money for charity as part of Movember, I have so far raised £150. Not bad but I am hoping to get a total of £500. This is a picture of me earlier today... Day 15 The second picture is when I started the journey of turning myself into a moustachio muskateer. I have been joined in my gorwing antics by five or six colleagues at work and hopefully we can raise a lot of money and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular ...
Following my query the council will publish amended figures today for the rise in worklessness in the Derwent Valley Partnership area. Sadly, although the correction reduces the figure for the increase in the number of people who are workless, it doesn't change the harsh fact that the number of people not working in our area has risen significantly over the last twelve months. It won't be helped, either, by the news that the Eurozone has slipped back into recession. All too often parts of the media behave as though the economic health of Europe isn't our concern. The cleric John ...
Also known as THE DADDY ISSUES EPISODE. I mean, uh. YET ANOTHER DADDY ISSUES EPISODE. Don't get me wrong, even the slightest bit wrong, I have a huge crush on stories about legacy and family and being the best person your parents could conceive. But... this is a lot of Very Special Daddy Issues episodes for a show only six episodes long. And this isn't the most exciting of episodes either. One of my favorite characters isn't in it at all, and two of the others are involved in a chemistry-free tacked on "love triangle" plot that has nothing to ...
