Oh dear, I'm 5 weeks behind on this series, so there will be a splurge of posts over the next few days while I catch up! First up, NOW! 58 from July 2004 and I've chosen Anastacia with Left Outside Alone. Pure, unadulterated, 100% cheesy pop. Enjoy! Andrew
The planning application for a retirement village to be built in the Tees Heritage Park at Mount Leven Farm in Yarm was rejected today by Stockton Council's planning committee. It was of interest to people in Eaglescliffe because the application for Yarm School's new sports pitches is also in the Heritage Park, albeit a different part. The decision to approve or reject the village all hinged on
Key facts The number of unemployed claimants in Bath constituency in November 2012 was 1,372. This represents a rate of 3.0% of the economically active population aged 16 to 64, the 495th highest of the 650 UK constituencies. (1st = highest rate of unemployment, 650th = lowest rate of unemployment.) The number of claimants is 30 higher than in November 2011 and 4 lower than in October 2012.
"Under legislation passed by the Labour Government in 2000, councils had been required to use what is known as the Leader and Cabinet system of governance. Today - using new powers given to it by the coalition - Cornwall Council chose a system which will give more power to ordinary councillors." A Lanson Boy has good news for Cornish democracy. The View from Creeting St Peter is excited by the Beccles loop - not the latest dance craze, but a new stretch of track that will mean better rail services for Suffolk. "Democratic citizens are embodied, take up space, and ...
Unemployment fell again last month both nationally and locally. The national headlines are: * Unemployment down 82,000 from August to October – a fall from 8% to 7.8% * Employment rose by 40,000 to 29.6m (a record) in the same three months, with the number in full time employment rising 44,000 and the number in part-time employment falling 4,000 * The number of 16-24 year olds (not in full time education) fell by 90,000 to 626,000 (the lowest since the end of 2008) * The monthly JSA total fell 3,000 in November to 1.58m In Acocks Green unadjusted unemployment fell ...
West End Christmas Fortnight 2012 would not have been possible without the great support we received from the local business community. Kwik Fit on Perth Road was a very generous sponsor and, today, Iain Wilson from Nisa Extra and I, on behalf of the West End Christmas Committee, met with Kirk Fairley, the Perth Road Kwik Fit centre manager, to thank Kwik Fit for its generosity - and we were also met by a special guest - see below! The Perth Road Kwik Fit centre has recently undergone a major refurbishment and is a state of the art car repairs ...
Wed 12th
18:59
Alistair Carmichael MP writes...Why I've put the whip away for the Equal Marriage vote
Everybody knows that the first rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club. I am no Brad Pitt but the same is also true of the Whips' Office. It is not normally my practice to discuss whipping arrangements for the parliamentary party, nor to discuss publicly the process by which decisions are reached. Today, however, I am prepared (exceptionally) to do so and to explain the decision taken last night to allow Liberal Democrat MPs a free vote on the Equal Marriage Bill when it comes to the House of Commons next month. As I ...
Although the UK government is only toying with plain packaging for tobacco products Australia has already implemented such a scheme. So, right cue some enterprising chap decides to sell stickers &wraps to punters to cover up what are fairly gross pictures on the boxes (story here) So, what do you think the reaction of the health community has been? Well, they really only have one reaction these days don't they..... from the Brisbane Times The Australian Medical Association has urged the federal government to ban stickers being sold to wrap around cigarette packets to sidestep tobacco plain packaging laws. Yes, ...
Here's a copy of my latest Ham and High Column on Royal Mail's reorganisation – and the affect this will have on my constituency When I get in and find a little card saying 'we tried to deliver but you were out' - I am always annoyed - because it means extra bother. Currently that bother is either re-organising delivery on another day, organising for it to go to a neighbour or popping into Archway Road post office to collect it at my convenience. With my schedule - only the last of those is a real possibility. But that small ...
My MP John Robertson (Labour) - are you in support of equal marriage? Please check the Coalition for Equal Marriage website to find out if your MP has indicated how they intend to vote on the extension of marriage to include same-sex couples in England and Wales. If they have not publicly ventured their opinion, please write to them and ask them to publicly state their support for Equal Marriage, or otherwise state their reasons for not doing so. I noticed today that my MP has not made clear his intentions, so I contacted him using this website and hope ...
Liberal Democrat peer Anthony Lester has written for the Guardian about his independent Press Council bill which he introduced in the House of Lords yesterday. If his measure became law, it would be the Supreme Court rather than OFCOM which would ensure that the independent self regulatory body was genuinely independent and complying with the principles Lord Leveson set out in his report. Writing about the need for legislation, Lester wrote: Statutory underpinning is needed to compel ministers and others to uphold freedom of speech and of the press, and the independence of the new press council. This aim cannot ...
The saga of our village playground has rather dominated the work of the Parish Council since I joined it in 2009. First, the Community Council ground to a halt after running out of members. Then, after the Parish Council 'absorbed' it, we had the problem of the lease on the field, which dragged on and on. However, persistence has been rewarded, and last week, the Parish Council met to consider the latest version of the 99-year lease we wish to take out on the land. It hasn't been an easy process, and we have had to be somewhat pragmatic about ...
Today I went to the funeral of my friend, and local community giant, Trevor Lever. Trevor was an amazing man, and this was amply demonstrated by the number of people who turned up to say bye to him; not just standing room only, but they couldn't even jam everybody in with most of us standing. My mum knew Trevor from when they were both little, and there were some tears this afternoon. The other thing there was this afternoon, as is usual when there's a funeral, was discussion of what we all want for our own funerals when we go. ...
I dropped out of the 'reviewing every book I read habit' while attempting it last year, and I'm not planning to pick it up. However, I do like writing the occasional book review, and as part of the concerted effort to blog here more often, expect to see the occasional one dotted in amongst the political rants. A Dance With Dragons is obviously the fifth book in the series, so if you haven't read the others yet, be warned that there will be spoilers. If you're watching Game Of Thrones on TV, then this really will spoil you for stuff ...
Residents and visitors to Redcar are being asked for their views on the market, seafront attractions and concessions as well as events and festivals in the town as part of a drive to attract more shoppers and visitors. A consultation process is under way seeking views on:* relocation of the market to the precinct area near the Town Clock* moving the market day from a Wednesday to a Friday* events and festivals to create a vibrant town centre* business opportunities for seafront attractions and concessions. To comment on the proposals:* complete an on-line questionnaire by visiting: * email * telephone ...
I seldom hear much enthusiasm about European politics. It seems particularly difficult to get people excited about the EU and during the Euro list selection campaign, I found that even politically active people were largely uninterested in European issues. It is hardly surprising, then, that the UK turnout in 2009 was less than 35%. One attempt to tackle this problem comes from the EU in the form of subsidies offered to MEPs who bring visitors from their constituencies to see the European Parliament. I was lucky enough to join one of these trips last week and I found it to ...
Great analysis of divergent reports on Portugal's drug decriminalisation. Concludes the evidence is "largely positive": Maureen Johnson, HALLMARKGATE: Or, A Lesson On How The Internet Works The cost of 'shares for rights' | What You Can Get Away With - Nick Barlow's blog Factcheck: QandA: The facts behind the drugs debate | Full Fact Ewan's liberal musings: Cannabis should be legal BECAUSE it is harmful Unpaid Internships: A Rite of Passage? « The Vibe Today's easy question: Why won't minorities support right-wing parties? - Spectator Blogs Stumbling and Mumbling: "Strivers" vs "scroungers": a false dichotomy On drugs, the law lags ...
Wed 12th
14:06Opinion: Equal marriage legislation proves that Liberal Democrats have equality in their DNA
Equality has always been at the core of our party's values, and is one of the main reasons why I joined the party in 2006. However, until 2010, Liberal Democrats had not been able to prove to the wider public that we had always been ahead of the curve on sexual equality simply because we hadn't been in Government for 80 years. In opposition, though, we were adopting policies on these issues way before previous governments had done anything. In many cases governments had only acted because of the threat of legal challenges in the Courts, not out of any ...
Just as summer follows spring and Catholics follow the Pope, it is inevitable that upon the release of any Government proposals on marriage equality there will be a grumpy blog post from Jae. It is a tradition I refuse to break with but, you'll be pleased to know, part of my grumpiness is directed at those attacking the Government for once. The Government's response to their consultation can be found here. Before I moan about the problems I have with the proposals, I must firstly get something off my chest. These proposals, to allow religious as well as civil marriage ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Twitter in 2012: the real story | Technology | guardian.co.uk The trends behind what trends > Twitter in 2012: the real story | Technology http://bit.ly/T8ac5o Lib Dems free vote on gay marriage | Storytracker | PoliticsHome 'Lib Dems free vote on gay marriage' http://bit.ly/Sa4naS Good. Easiest way to work out who's liberal, not who's afraid of the chief whip. Whips, Marriage and the irrelevance of consensuality? | Hopi Sen As @HopiSen points out http://bit.ly/UzSjMw Lab party has never voted to support #equalmarriage so no reason for their MPs to be whipped... Love ...
For the last few years, I've been using Y-Cam security cameras to guard my home. I've stuck a couple up around the house. I can monitor what's happening, get email alerts when movement is detected, and can stream the video to my phone. [IMG: Me coming through the door] The latest versions also upload photos and videos directly to my server so - in the event that they detect anything interesting, I have a backed up copy. They even do night vision. [IMG: Night Vision] If you buy the cameras directly, they cost from £135 to £135. That's quite a ...
Many people have asked for the waiting room at the new bus station to be open for longer hours, and I'm happy to report that after discussions with various people, we've been able to get them extended. The waiting room will now be open for these hours: Monday to Saturday: 6am to 9pm Sunday: 6am to 7pm I hope that helps, especially so people can get out of the cold in the mornings and evening at this time of year!
From the Law Commission's website: We have commenced work on reforming electoral law. We expect to open a consultation in late 2014. A report with recommendations to Government will be published in summer 2015... The twin aims of the project are to ensure, first, that electoral laws are presented within a rational, modern legislative framework, governing all elections and referendums under statute; and second, that the law governing the conduct of elections and referendums is modern, simple, and fit for purpose. More details are on the Law Commission's website but it's worth noting that the prime intent is to tidy ...
Tonight at 7.30pm in Dundee West Church, the wonderful Lydian Singers present a varied programme of festive music together with audience participation in carol singing. Tickets, price £5, available at the door and proceeds go to the Brain Injury Unit at Royal Victoria Hospital.
What a year it has been for understanding the 'new' country that we live in. How we all cheered on 'black' sports people and others who had been very recent immigrants as they soared to Gold medals on our behalf ... Continue reading →
I normally have a lot of time for Simon Hughes. Indeed in 2006 I supported his bid to be leader. However, yesterday in the Commons he was just wrong. He said: "I am a member of a party that supports equal marriage, but the Minister none the less must take into account that this was in no election manifesto, that it was not in the coalition agreement and that many members of my constituency, my church and my party feel that much more work must be done to see whether it is possible to redefine civil marriage separately from the ...
The first time I wrote on these pages as a health minister was when eleven former members of staff at Winterbourne View private hospital were sentenced. The judicial process ran its course and the Government process, too, has now reached a conclusion. On Monday I published our response to the shocking abuse that took place at Winterbourne View and the systemic weaknesses that allowed it to happen. Most importantly, I have set out what we are doing in Government to prevent it happening again. Holding directors to account Despite the convictions for some frontline staff, Winterbourne View showed the difficulty ...
Wed 12th
11:29
Good news for bailiffs! Cornwall Tories and Indies back moves to impose new council tax burdens on p...
This morning Cornwall Council's Cabinet - made up of six Conservatives and four members of the Independent Party - unanimously backed a scheme which will force some of Cornwall's poorest families to pay up to £938 per year in extra council tax. During the debate the Leader declared that council tax benefit - the payments they are proposing to cut - was simply "an easy way for other people to help themselves to our resources".As I have blogged before, the decision of the government to cut the amount of money available for council tax benefit for working age families is ...
Today, upward of a thousand enthusiasts are descending on Westminster to demand protection for one of the nation's great heritage assets. Beer. The Labour government of old was unduly fond of price and tax escalators, which generally take the form of retail price index plus a bit more. I have always regarded this as a rather odd fiscal mechanism because it simply creates a circularity that feeds itself. Costs go up, the RPI duly rises, and costs go up again as a result. It beats me why the coalition has decided to maintain this blunt policy. Fiscal escalators might be ...
This story in The Telegraph where a SpAd threatens the newspaper with Leveson over an Expenses story is such a good example of why politicians should not be writing the press regulation rules that you couldn't make up a better one.
Last year, Cornwall Council's parking budget under-achieved by some £3 million and had to be bailed out twice. The money to make up the shortfall came largely from cutting the amount being spent on road repairs and safety works. But there is good news for the new administration! This year they have turned things around so that the car parking budget is projected to be only £2.149 million short of their income target. At their last meeting, the cabinet made the welcome change of agreeing not to ratchet up parking fees yet further. Hopefully they will soon understand that they ...
The announcement from another MLA that he is going to join the street protests against the removal of the Union Flag, when both the leader of the Unionist leaders have called for a suspension of such protests, is upsetting. The fact that the MLA is question also serves as Speaker of the Assembly is a matter of confidence. Not only does that mean that he is going against the expressed desire of the leader of the party he was elected under but his position as speaker in which he has to act as the neutral voice concerning the chamber and ...
At Cabinet this morning, a public questioner asked if the authority thinks Eunomia is a well qualified organisation to advise the council on alternatives to the incinerator. Eunomia is the expert group commissioned by the anti-incinerator campaigners to present alternatives to the current plan. In the absence of portfolio holder Lance Kennedy, the Leader read out an answer on his behalf saying that the Council felt it inappropriate to comment on Eunomia's qualifications having never commissioned them. Except that according to the public questioner, Cornwall Council has indeed commissioned Eunomia in 2010 and Cornwall County Council did so before that ...
After having written previous articles about delegate Sarah Yong's motion on under provision in mental health, my own experiences with mental health, and the recent statements by Ed Miliband regarding Labour's policy on mental health, I want to add a final footnote to the series. It is clear from comments on this website that Liberal Democrats care a great deal about this issue and so will be heartened by the recent work Norman Lamb has done to put mental health on an equal footing with physical health in the NHS mandate. There was a stage a few weeks ago when ...
Wed 12th
09:40Maria Miller, the Telegraph and Leveson: how statutory regulation begins & how the press is brin...
Now I'm more than a little sceptical about Leveson: I think he's firing the wrong bullet (regulation backed by statute) at a target that's moving out of range (the 'dead tree press'). However, I'm also deeply sceptical about the press's ability to report facts straight. Which leaves me a bit conflicted at this morning's report: The minister and a warning to the Telegraph before expenses story. On the one hand, you have a clear signal of the danger of letting politicians anywhere near having a say in how the press should be (self-)regulated, with culture secretary Maria Miller's special advisor ...
Here's another of Ros's interventions that I hadn't covered, from 5 July 2011... Ros doesn't like poor legislation, and is rather good at spotting links between seemingly unrelated clauses. This is one example... Amendment 129LAA Moved by Lord McKenzie of Luton 129LAA: Schedule 5, page 267, line 17, at end insert- "( ) On application by a relevant authority, the Secretary of State may direct that the substitute calculations referred to in subsection (5) may be increased by an amount determined by the Secretary of State." Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat) Will the noble Lord consider a scenario ...
Not for another 88 years and 20 days will we have a similar date - so enjoy it while you can!
BBFC is to adjust sexual and sadistic violence policy to take into account key areas of public concern | British Board of Film Classification (tags: ) Nick Clegg statement on the Draft Communications Data bill | The Liberal Democrats: Latest News Detail ""The Committee did not, however, suggest that nothing needs to be done. They were very clear that there is a problem that must be addressed to give law enforcement agencies the powers they need to fight crime. I agree." OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE CLEGGY (tags: ) Religion in England and Wales 2011 Interesting census data. (tags: ) What ...
I would like to make a plea to MPs of all parties not to support the new employee-owner status and to table an amendment to remove it from the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. Buried in section 25 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill (as amended in Public Bill Committee), it seeks to provide a new employment status involving company shares in exchange for worker rights. It is due at report stage and third reading in the House of Commons on Monday 17 December 2012. I especially encourage all Lib Dem MPs to vote against what amounts to Beecroft by the ...
Today's Daily Mirror marks the day of three 12s with the top 20 funniest tweets of the year. Alas not all of them are that funny. There are three of the best, and that is saying something: @amateuradam There are 400 billion birds in the world, 250,000 planes, and one Superman. So, in answer to your question - probably a bird. @JennyJohnsonHi5 Most people don't realize this, but you can eat organic, gluten-free food without telling everyone around you. @JulianDutton1 Suffer from a phobia of numbers? Call the Number Phobia Helpline on 8473820940303209537264940302746809880829800888674729. Ask for Ethel. Not much else to ...
The Jersey blogger Voice for Children has posted a video of this week's BBC South West documentary about the investigation into child abuse on Jersey. He describes it as a fair account of the affair, given the limited time the makers had available. He also has a comment on the programme from Lenny Harper, Jersey's former Deputy Chief Officer of Police, who is interviewed in it. Another interviewee, the less than impressive Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand, did not take up the opportunity to comment. The sound quality of this recording suggests it was made in someone's front ...
So because it's relevant I started talking about marriage this week, both on twitter at my account @Bubbalou and on Facebook on various statuses and groups. As with many things there were as many opinions as people. I had to examine my own beliefs and why I think the way I do. It's relevant to the equal marriage debate: the primary focus is rightly the equality issue but I wanted to focus on marriage, and not just because Tory MPs are embarrassing their party by coming out with nonsense like "[David Cameron will] have civil disobedience and an estrangement of ...
Wed 12th
07:40
West Mercia's police and crime commissioner wants to make his election agent his deputy
Last week I wrote about the newly elected police and crime commissioner for Northamptonshire and his decision to appoint the Conservatives' political assistant at Northamptonshire County Council as his 'strategic adviser'. From the Shropshire Star comes news that Bill Longmore, the independent PCC for West Mercia, wants to appoint his election agent as his deputy on a £50,000 salary. The Star, which reminds us that the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act allows PCCs to appoint a deputy, says the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel has delayed its decision because of concern at the selection process.
Where to even begin? At the beginning, I suppose. The day after Election Day, my friend Takao (and Judge Mary Yu's bailiff and law clerk) responded to an e-mail and dropped this bomb: Oh, and between you and me, try and be in town on December 9th. Midnight would be the first time for gay weddings and Judge Yu is thinking of putting together a mass wedding for the first gay weddings in Washington State. If we pull it off I would need help and I know you'd love to volunteer." OBVIOUSLY, I was like: SIGN ME UP. As it ...
There are revised arrangements for bin collections over the Christmas and New Year Period. For the week commencing 17th December it will be a normal collection (Blue bins ) For the following two weeks the arrangements are :- Week beginning 24th December ( Green bins ) Normal Collection day Revised collection dayMonday 24 December Monday 24 DecemberTuesday 25 December Thursday 27 DecemberWednesday 26 December Friday 28 DecemberThursday 27 December Saturday 29 DecemberWeek beginning 31st December (Blue bins ) Normal Collection day Revised collection dayMonday 31 December Monday 31 DecemberTuesday 1 January Wednesday 2 JanuaryWednesday 2 January Thursday 3 JanuaryThursday 3 ...
Back in the summer I wrote about how: You can fight through a bulging email folder of press releases from politicians wanting to make mortgages easier, cheaper, safer and more numerous before you find one that talks about tackling any of the issues private renters face... It is notable that the rising trend of private renting and declining numbers of those with a mortgage pre-date the financial crash. In fact, the crash has not caused much of a blip in the trends. This week the new census figures confirm that: #2011census figures released today show private renting doubled between 2001 ...
liberalmartin: "Until same sex marriage is permitted it is impossible to claim gay and straight couples are treated equally" An earlier graphic
Some people have been pointing to this article by Patrick Cockburn as something that should be read before uncritically accepting the HASC recommendations. This is the letter I wrote in response to a previous article by Patrick and another by John Rentoul that were published in the IoS last year. I thought it would be worth publishing it again. An edited version was published the week after in the IoS but I can't find it online. I'm very happy the Independent has printed an editorial this week that has called for decriminalisation of drugs despite Patrick Cockburn's articles on ...
Today the Government has announced its proposals for gay marriage. As regular readers will know I never refer to marriage equality as gay marriage. The reason is simple that is not what I, even though I am a gay man, want. I want marriage equality irregardless of sexual orientation, or gender, or religion. So today we really only fully got one of those three. There are six key words in the Liberal Democrat policy that I am so proud are there: That wish to do so You see it really is that simple. There should be civil partnership or marriage ...
What the Liberal Democrats can achieve in one week http://t.co/Ou5vF3N2— Liberal Martin (@liberalmartin) December 11, 2012 A week is a long time in politics, and this has been an incredible week for Liberal Democrats. In a single week we have, as LiberalMartin notes Achieved a Government Bill for Equal Marriage Called for an end to ...
"Is not marriage an open question when it is alleged, from the beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get out; and such as are out wish to get in." Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1850 So that's it then, society is doomed. The government has formally announced (after heavy trails at the weekend, and an emergency question in the commons yesterday) that not only is Equal Civil Marriage to be legislated for but religious organisations will be able to opt-in and offer Equal Religious Marriages too. Beyond this, the Church of England and the Church ...
