...are crowded with too many angels tonight." from The West Wing The news from Newtown, Connecticut today is not good. A man walked into an Elementary School, for children aged 5-11 and opened fire. 18 young children died at the scene, 2 more died at the nearby hospital. Six adults were dead in the school teachers and/or administrators, there is also another adult dead in the town. This is more school children killed, at a far younger age, than the Columbine shootings. Already the two sides in America are taking sides on the issue of gun control and the right ...
The Open University and 11 other UK universities have announced today that they intend to launch a new platform for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), challenging the already established edX platform set up by MIT, Harvard and other US universities earlier on this year. Known as Futurelearn, it will be set up as an independent organisation but majority owned by the Open University, with the first courses being offered at some point during 2013. Martin Bean, the Vice Chancellor of the OU is quoted today as saying: MOOCs represent an enormous development in higher education, one that has the potential ...
I had originally planned to spend the second week of my summer holiday in North Yorkshire too, staying in Richmond and then heading for somewhere remote like Keld. But I left it late to book accommodation and could not get in where I wanted. And the weather was dreadful, which made me look for comfort rather than adventure. I know, I thought. I'll go to Shropshire.
In the aftermath of the Newsnight fiasco over child abuse in North Wales, David Hencke (since crowned Political Journalist of the Year in the British Journalism Awards) said he was working on another story about a paedophile ring. He added that he would not publish it until he was satisfied that it was secure. He must be happy, because on his blog today he writes: Exaro News ... today reveals that for the last two months the police have secretly been scoping a new investigation into senior politicians and their involvement in a paedophile ring, involving under age boys, that ...
[IMG: JulianHuppertWide] Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert MP has commented on Thursday's news (13 Dec 2012 ) that the first of several million DNA samples from innocent people have been sent for destruction. This is in line with the Coalition Government's commitment to clear innocent people from the national DNA database. Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Parliamentary Party Committee, Julian Huppert said: "In a fair society it is simply not right that innocent people can have their DNA stored by the state. That is why Liberal Democrats are restoring basic rights to millions of people." "Under Labour, the Government ...
New Zealand has turned Middle Earth into a tourist destination, but the Visit England blog suggests that Tolkien found his inspiration nearer to home in the West Midlands. Perrot's Folly and Sarehole in suburban Birmingham are both mentioned. Meanwhile, Harvard Gazette has an interview with Stephen Mitchell, the university's professor of Scandinavian folklore and a Tolkien enthusiast: Where does the word "hobbit" come from? I think you could probably start bar fights over this. There is, I believe, a heated debate about where the word comes from. The obvious answer is that it's a combination of "human" and "rabbit," a ...
Here's the Motors - better known for their hit 'Airport' on TOGWT in 1978 with Dancing the Night Away.
I almost wrote a blog last week about the suicide of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, but as is my wont, I looked to my advisory group for their comments (I spoke with a couple of people) and the advice given was that my blog should not detract from criticism of the hoax callers in Australia. Now you see how each of my blog entries is carefully crafted. My emphasis was not on the mistakes made in Australia. The hoax callers were wrong. Every time someone pulls a prank it may not be appreciated by the person on the receiving end. Many ...
Statistically out of 50 odd people (even specially selected by party allegiance) there has got to be one who opposes marriage equality. Even among the Lib Dems in the House of Commons. And it looks like This Is Lancashire has found that person. Burnley Liberal Democrat Gordon Birtwistle is strongly opposed. Oh dear. And they even have a quote. And it is not even thoughtful. Mr Birtwistle said: "I will vote against gay marriage. Civil partnerships are fine. Gay marriage is just not on." I'll tell you one thing that is just not on: Gordon Birtwistle's opposition to marriage equality!! ...
Today the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in Case C-237/11 (Joined Cases C-237/11, C-238/11), France v European Parliament against MEPs' decision to merge two Strasbourg plenary sessions into one week in October. Senior Liberal Democrat MEP Edward McMillan-Scott, European Parliament Vice President and co-founder of the cross-party Single Seat campaign commented: The ruling is regrettable, even though we expected it. There is now a compelling case for a change to the Treaty to remove this wasteful obligation imposed by EU governments. We urge governments to respond to MEPs' recent overwhelming vote for a single seat as well as public ...
This week Chris will be in the European Parliament for two days during which the future of Europe's fisheries will be decided after over 18 months of campaigning. We still don't know whether we're going to get an early Christmas ... Continue reading →
Foxes. Love them or hate them you can't ignore them. Which is precisely because they are everywhere. And that, apparently, is our fault for leaving too many rubbish bags outside for the foxes to rip ...
122063: Change of use from shop to cafe/restaurant, Queen Street. 122181: Variation of conditions on permission 121289 regarding tree/shrub planting, Leisure World, Cowdray Avenue. 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 before they come to Committee. I can give advice on planning issues and what to do if you have a comment or objection. ...
Well, neither of my questions were selected in the end. Which was, of course, true for the vast majority of those present. I arrived at the venue for 6 - as instructed - and we went through security (bag searches and frisked with hand-held metal detectors) before being checked off and given a card on which to submit the second question. Last night's venue was Bristol's City Academy - established under the Tony Blair's Academy programme - the set was in the school theatre and the holding area was the school canteen. On arrival, the BBC news was playing on ...
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 Opinion: It's time for Nick Clegg to make the liberal case on drugs policy (31 comments) by Mark Thompson It's not just this Government that's unpopular: it's the idea of Coalition. Here's what Lib Dems need to do about that. (62 comments) by Stephen Tall Alistair Carmichael MP writes... Why I've put the whip away for the Equal Marriage vote (38 comments) by Alistair Carmichael MP Equal marriage: it's a matter of religious freedom (55 comments) by ...
[IMG: Decorating Stroud Green Road] My colleague Ed Butcher has spent the last few months trying to persuade Haringey Council to provide some Christmas cheer on Stroud Green Road. The road suffers from being on the boundary of Haringey and Islington – and keeps missing out on getting Christmas lights. This year Haringey and Islington signed an Accord, promising to work together more constructively on issues in the Finsbury Park area – but this appears to have no effect. Ed got a curt email from Haringey's highways team saying it was nothing to do with them – despite half the ...
From April 2014, for the first time, people who need mental health services will be able to choose where they receive their care. In 2008, the Labour government gave patients the legal right to choose who provides their care when referred by a GP. Scandalously, however, that right was specifically denied to mental health service users - a clear, institutionalised bias against mental health services and service users who had to take what they are given, whether they like it or not.Until now. On Thursday Nick Clegg announced that all this will change. From April 2013, anyone with a mental ...
NOW! 60 features a (relative) embarrassment of riches to select from but ultimately it had to be The Killers with Somebody Told Me: Andrew
Needless to say I am delighted with Nick Clegg's clear and politically brave comments on drugs policy reported widely today. But I just wanted to focus on one small aspect of the coverage and discussion today. David Cameron, Theresa May and others who have spoken out against any change in current policy have repeatedly pointed out that there is no need for a review because drug use is falling. That may well be true but drug use statistics have a habit of bouncing around all over the place not really correlated with any legal or other factors. If anything it's ...
Having successfully dipped their toes into the social media pool with their Twitter account, the party's peers have now launched their very own blog. The site is intended to give an insight into the often overlooked work the group are doing in the second chamber. Because - let's be honest here - even the most committed of members can be forgiving for not thumbing through Hansard on their morning commute. In the past week alone there have been blog posts from Roger Roberts on tackling homelessness, Robin Teverson on the importance of energy efficiency and John Alderdice on mental healthcare. ...
I blogged last month about how the Guido Fawkes website is full of vile racist comments from readers on completely unmoderated threads. A story on the site I saw today once again underlines how even ...
Kenneth helping look for clues on Treasure Hunt Younger readers will certainly not remember Kenneth Kendall reading the news, he retired from that role in 1981. But he was soon taking part in one of the signature programmes of the new Channel 4 Treasure Hunt he was in the studio unsure of what was happening next but helping the contestants to help Anneka Rice hunt down clues while Ann Meo, Annette Lynton or Wincey Willis were the clue setters in the background. In was in that role that I best remembered Kendall, as even I was a little on the ...
Later today Ed Miliband is going to talk about integration. He may say a lot of sensible things but what is making the headlines is that public sector workers should speak fluent English. The trouble here is a definition of fluent because speaking easily and accurately is often difficult to assess and we don't have pass or fails when we speak with others. I can get my points across in French. You may think that makes me fluent but others may not. There are many words in French that I cannot translate. Conversely there are many words in English that ...
Not a headline I was expecting to give to a blog post any time soon, but occasionally Nick Clegg does speak up in favour of Liberal Democrat party policy. Today he's talking about drugs and becoming probably the most senior UK politician to make the argument that if you really want to be 'anti-drugs' and cut the number of people using drugs and the harm that's caused, then you need to be in favour of reforming the current system. There's coverage all over the place of his statements, but see here for an interview with the BBC (and a report ...
Our economic system is built around the indicator of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It measures how much we have produced as a country over a period of time. It does this by adding together the market value of what we have produced. As a result, an increase in the market value of what we have produced signifies that our economy is growing. But should it? In the grand scheme of human history, GDP is relatively new. It was created to allow the US to better understand how to develop schemes to tackle the Great Depression and to measure the overall ...
with tips from Durham County's waste strategy team. • Choose an artificial Christmas tree rather than a real one so that you can use it year after year. • If you do opt for a real tree, try sourcing it from a sustainable grower who has Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation. • When Christmas is over, take your real tree to one of the council's 15 household waste recycling centres, where it will be turned into compost. • You can also arrange for the council to collect your tree by calling 03000 26 1000 before Monday, 7 January. • Send e-cards and recycled cards to ...
The Sun running a story about the attitude of politicians to drugs reform is fairly commonplace. A Liberal Democrat politician calling for the drugs laws to be reviewed is fairly commonplace. What is however rather less common – and so all the more significant – is for the former to feature the latter in a positive light as LDV mentioned earlier today: Nick Clegg declared the war on drugs a disastrous failure last night — and demanded that David Cameron plucks up the "courage" to order a major review of Britain's ageing narcotics laws... Reforms ... most Brits want a ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Ian Birrell: Labour's cowardice on immigration is sickening – Commentators – Voices – The Independent Good stuff from @IanBirrell: Labour's cowardice on immigration is sickening http://ind.pn/SVGlgU & he's right, LDs shd be speaking out more Central banks should see beyond inflation – FT.com "The UK needs more inflation" – @CentreForum's chair Paul Marshall calls for review of BoE's mandate in the FT http://on.ft.com/SVC4tQ 'We're losing the war on drugs': Nick Clegg looks within himself and unexpectedly finds a spine - Telegraph Blogs "Good to have you on board, Mr Clegg" – @TomChivers ...
One of the most pernicious memes is "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." It implies that the only reasons for opposing a law is that you would find yourself guilty under it. The phrases is, I think, a contender for a new form of Godwin's Rule. Any discussion about laws eventually boils down to "Only a criminal would oppose this measure." The annoying thing is, it's particularly hard to refute. In some cases, yes, it may be felt that the law unfairly criminalises behaviour which one currently engages in. Most people, however, argue from theory. ...
Harrogate BC, Bilton Date: 13/12/2012 LD Valerie Rodgers 623 (46.0; +8.8) Con 395 (29.2; -16.1) Lab 208 (15.4; -2.1) UKIP 127 (9.4; +9.4) Majority 228 Turnout 31.03% LD gain from Con. Percentage change is since May 2011.
It's unlikely that many of our readers also take The Sun, but it's probably equally unlikely that a Liberal Democrat would ever give an interview to it in which they spoke so freely about drug policy. So, today's headline in the Sun, "Nick Clegg: time to re-think drugs" will be an unexpected one, made more so by the rather supportive polling carried out by YouGov for it and the general tenor of the piece. Here's a snippet from the article; If you were waging any other war where you have 2,000 fatalities a year, your enemies are making billions in ...
North West England Euro-MP Chris Davies has welcomed the comments by Nick Clegg on the 'War on Drugs'. Davies has consistently called for a fundamental rethink of drugs laws since before he was first elected to Parliament in 1995 in ... Continue reading →
Fri 14th
12:16
Should there be European citizenship? If so, by what means could it be achieved, and if not, why not...
To enquire whether there should be European Citizenship requires us to understand what we mean by the two important concepts of "citizenship" and of "Europe" itself. In this paper therefore I will first look at what we understand by "citizenship", its purpose, origin and essential characteristics. Moving on to "Europe", I will highlight some different propositions in terms of what the sovereign body conferring such citizenship would look like, its powers and responsibilities and its relationship with increasingly or decreasingly influential member states. With these definitions, I investigate whether the Citizenship of the European Union status already enjoyed by citizens ...
[IMG: Liberal Democrats Winning Here poster] Last week's clutch of by-elections saw an exceptionally good set of results for the Liberal Democrats, especially in areas which are Lib Dem / Conservative contests and which are very relevant to the party's seat numbers at the next general election. This week saw one more by-election in just such an area – Harrogate – and once again saw a Lib Dem gain: LD Valerie Rodgers 623 (46.0; +8.8) Con 395 (29.2; -16.1) Lab 208 (15.4; -2.1) UKIP 127 (9.4; +9.4) Majority 228 Turnout 31.03% LD gain from Con. Percentage change is since May ...
Dear Mr Chishti I am writing to you concerning the worrying situation of Medway's primary schools. As fifth worst in the country it is a very concerning state of affairs. I am not writing this as a Libdem trying to score points or trouble, nor am I here to call for Councillor Wick's head. I am writing as a concerned dad whose little girl will be starting primary school at Woodlands road in the next year or so. Although Woodlands is a good school and my wife and I have every intention of helpin and augmenting both of our children's ...
On the Libertine today, we have a brief interview with Acting Chair, Harry Matthews, following the resignation of Chair Tom Wood. Harry was formerly Vice Chair. 1. What are your plans for Liberal Youth during your tenure as Acting Chair? Get a new chair co-opted, as well as showing our members, and the wider party, ...
At 1900 GMT on Wednesday 21st November a ceasefire came into place between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which, it was hoped, would signal at least a temporary halt to the bloodshed. Sadly, this ceasefire looks little more likely to last than previous ones have done and it would seem to be a good moment to reflect on the latest tragic and depressing episode in the Middle East and the 'peace process.' Of course the refrain from the Government of Binyamin Netanyahu is that Israel has no choice, is acting in self-defence, is desperate for peace in Gaza, ...
I can't believe I've not blogged since Monday! And now I'm on another train, this time headed for the Midnight Doctor Who convention in Birmingham. Anna is well excited at the prospect of getting her photo taken with David Tennant and Billie Piper on Sunday. There has been so much I have wanted to blog about this week but haven't had time. The equal marriage legislation has been unveiled both north and south of the Border. I am a bit irked by the total exemption for the Churches of England & Wales. Should they ever decide to drag themselves into ...
The Tour of Britain on Ilkley Moor Yeah the 2014 Grand Depart of the Tour de France will come to Yorkshire. The first two days of racing will feature the county on 5 and 6 July before a stage down to London where the third days racing will end. It is the fourth time that the Tour has visited Britain after trips in 1974 for a stage two loop around Plymouth, 1994 when after stage 3 went from Calais to the Eurotunnel. stage 4 took the Tour from Dover to Brighton and then stage 5 for a loop around Portsmouth, ...
Fri 14th
10:55
Y'know those stories about the death of the Lib Dems? Turns out, they might've been exaggerated...
As Samuel Ellis Rees points out today: Of the last 20 Council by-elections to take place, the Lib Dems have won 11 of them. 8 of which were gains from another party. Not too bad. — SamuelEllis Rees (@SamuelEllisRees) December 14, 2012 And yes, before the Lib Dem-baiting starts in the comments below, I'm well aware that local council by-elections need to be taken with a liberal pinch of salt and that none of this alters the party's flat-lining poll ratings. But the main point remains: in spite of everything, the party's still alive. Speculation of our demise, as so ...
This is great news, with one caveat. The Tour de France tends to be a total sausagefest. Yorkshire being the starting point for the tour is a marvellous opportunity to rectify this, not least in tribute to the amazing, mens'-world-record-beating Yorkshirewoman Beryl Burton. Sort it out, cycling world! [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
-It's been announced this morning that the 2014 Tour de France will be starting in Yorkshire. Yorkshire had been bidding for a while to bring the race back to Britain, but the expectation had always been that it'd be sometime later in the decade, so this is a welcome surprise. The 101st Tour will start in Leeds – presumably with a prologue time trial around the city – followed by another stage in Yorkshire, and then a third stage starting somewhere in the south of England and finishing in London. More details will come in January, but I'm sure people ...
The recent screaming headline from the Newsshopper the other week revealing that various senior members of Greenwich Council including the Council Leader had spent £1143 per head of taxpayers money for "flights and accommodation" on a recent trip to the Latvian capital was, to put it mildly, a red rag to a bull in these straightened times. OK it ...
In today's Times, Philip Collins (no, not that one, Tony Blair's former speech writer,) has a masterful piece behind the paywall explaining just how effective the Coalition has really been, and what a shame it is that it's become so transactional. I've been trying to write such a piece for 18 months. Colins rightly identifies ...
Here at Liberal Democrat Voice, I have occasionally drawn the attention of readers towards the Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs and its inquiry into the economic implications for the United Kingdom of Scottish independence. And this week, the Committee appears to have obtained an answer to a question which has hung heavy over the debate until now, i.e. would an independent Scotland automatically become part of the European Union. In response to an invitation from the acting Chair of the Committee, Lord Tugendhat (a former two-term European Commissioner), Jose Manuel Barroso wrote; Whilst refraining from comment on possible future ...
Ros is particularly keen to promote the role of volunteering. Genuine volunteering, that is, rather than the 'forced volunteering' which some Conservatives seem so keen on. In a debate on the legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics which took place on 8 November, Ros took the opportunity to bang the drum... Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat) My Lords, I, too, congratulate my noble friend Lady Doocey on securing today's debate and reflect on what a marvellous opportunity it has been to hear a cross-section of perspectives. A couple of weeks ago, I attended a reception at the Czech ...
Want to know how to win election campaigns? You can now learn from the very best of international experience with a free 10 week email course from myself and Ed Maxfield. Sign up at www.CampaignMasterclass.com and each week you'll receive one lesson by email, helping you become a top election winning campaigner or candidate yourself. We've helped, advised and run election campaigns across Europe and even further afield - and we've got many victories to show for it. Now you too can learn from what we've discovered along the way. We do hope you sign up and start learning today! ...
There was an interesting piece on the Spectator blog yesterday that suggested that not only are the Liberal Democrats exercising considerable influence in government but that on some key areas we are changing the views of senior Tories. Isabel Hardman says that George Osborne's evidence to yesterday's Treasury Select Committee suggests that the Chancellor is taking on Vince Cable's point of view. She says that it was significant how many times Osborne had to explain a softening in what were previously hard-and-fast economic rules, and hard-and-fast policies: His refusal to rule out replacing the Bank of England's inflation target with ...
BBC News - Leveson: Legal warning for tweeters and bloggers Start enforcing it against the dead tree press before you start picking on the in ternet, Levvy. (tags: ) Internet Explorer Data Leakage It tracks your mouse movements all the time, even if you're in another window or have it minimised. YAY for advertisers, boo for privacy (tags: ) Angry Mobs, Good Deeds Very silly indeed (tags: ) Facebook is scanning private messages for brand page mentions | Digital Trends Yet another reason to avoid using faceache (tags: ) Peter Tatchell hails House of Lords' decision to pass insults law ...
With all the protests against the democratic decision by Belfast City Council to fly the Union Flag on designated days from Belfast City Hall, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has taken the opportunity to try and educate people about the law regarding protests. Everyone has the right to peacefully protest provided you remain within ...
I'll settle for that. [IMG: YouTube screenshot]
The media narrative: The Government has, without consulting the Church of England, unnecessarily banned them from performing same-sex marriages. The Church of England is outraged at being told they will be banned. Omnishambles all round. The truth is a little more complex. Let us follow the chain of events (ignoring the Church in Wales stuff, I feel that needs its own blog post which I'll do later). Between March and June 2012, the Government began a consultation regarding how to implement civil equal marriage. They received many responses, including a thoughtful one from the Church of England with a rather ...
European patent will boost UK businesses Liberal Democrat MEPs have warmly welcomed Tuesday's green light for the long-awaited deal on a unitary European Patent. The European Parliament has voted to accept a hard-fought compromise package which has taken nearly forty years to negotiate. Two states, Spain and Italy, have declined to take part on the grounds that their languages are not included in the patent filing process. Andrew Duff MEP, who represents the important cluster of science research in the East of England, commented: Today sees a huge break-through for European innovation and competitiveness. The final agreement on a unitary ...
This is an important planning application for East Dulwich. The local Catholic church have a planning application in for its Thomas Moore Hall on Lordship Lane: The area is desperately short of nursery school places. So largely this will be a very good thing for East Dulwich. But sad to lose a large hall and all the past activities that used to take place there. If you object or support this application please let me know.
From The Guardian Miliband will say: "We can only converse if we can speak the same language. So if we are going to build One Nation, we need to start with everyone in Britain knowing how to speak English. We should expect that of people that come here. We will work together as a nation far more effectively when we can always talk together This sounds awfully familiar you know. Let's flash back to 2002 From The Telegraph Mr Bunkett [then Home secretary] is concerned that current immigration rules that allow individuals to acquire citizenship without speaking English can leave ...
Today's an unusual day in this corner of LDV Towers. Away from the site, it's my final day in a job I've been doing for more than eleven years – I start a new job on Monday. So, do forgive me if I'm not entirely on top of my game in terms of comment review... We awake to news of another by-election gain, from the Conservatives, in Bilton ward, Harrogate, plus the news that Nick Clegg has declared the war on drugs to be lost. Here on Liberal Democrat Voice, it's an international day for the most part, with news ...
I have previously updated residents about the public consultation on residents' parking in part of the West End, in an area that approximately covers west of Marketgait, east of Richmond Court and south of Blackness Road. A reminder that the consultation ends on 21st December and I would encourage all residents in or near the area - or any other resident or local business with views - to give their feedback before the deadline. You can read full details of the consultation here and you can download the questionnaire at http://tinyurl.com/westendparkingform.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Enya:
I'm afraid that over the last few days I've had a recurrence of my chronic apathy, and a relapse of the comorbid lethargy (I'm a martyr to it) and so haven't been able to write much. After tomorrow I'm off work until the new year though, so even allowing for the distraction of Christmas and ...
