Simon writes on Liberator's blog: The government put down a marker several months before Plebgate by making Winsor HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, the first person from outside the police ever to be appointed to the job. Early next year, the Home Secretary will decide whether to implement the Winsor report's proposals. It helps to know that the upper classes have never liked the police because there is no officer class like there is in the military. Every police officer has to work his way up from the bottom, so ex-public school boys rarely join the police. One of Winsor's ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

From the Brum Beat site: A regular visitor to the Golden Eagle R&B nights was future Slade star Noddy Holder whose reaction to the group is worth quoting; "Of all the bands I saw in those days, they were the ones who impressed me the most. They had this small public address system, one of the smallest I had seen and were very unassuming on stage, and then this spotty kid on the organ suddenly opened his mouth and screamed "I LOVE THE WAY SHE WALKS..." and launched into an old John Lee Hooker number. Gosh - my mouth fell ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Fri 21st
21:38

The symptoms or causes?

I'm reading a lot about social policy at the moment. The relationship between policy and personal lives. Each has an impact on another. Our views are social constructed. By this I mean that each of us constructs a different lens of how we are to behave. Indeed policy can frame how we view good and bad forms of living. It can kerb what is perceived as negative ways of living. For example, I am currently reading how childhood is a constructed idea. The tension between children as vulnerable and contrastingly as a threat. How we lock children up for the ...

Posted by Emma Bagley on Emma Bagley's Blog

So the world hasn't ended today (well not yet anyway), so the obvious choice was REM It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine). But that would be too easy - so instead here is Elvis Costello and the Attractions wth Waiting for the end of the world...

Posted by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone

A lot of people will tell you that A.E. Housman, author of A Shropshire Lad, never visited the county. But Church Stretton Through the Ages by Tony Crowe and Barry Rayner tells a different story:: The Hotel was the centre of the town's social life, the place for business meetings and the venue for formal dinners. The poet A.E. Housman stayed at the hotel for nearly a month in 1899 among his "blue remembered hills".The photograph here shows just part of The Hotel, and it was only one of several large hotels that flourished in the town's late Victorian and ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

The National Rifle Association, the NRA has spoken. Well they have left it a whole week since the terrible shootings in Connecticut so there has been time for them to gather their thoughts and speak rationally. According to the NRA's chief executive, Wayne LaPierre "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,"and felt quite strongly that there should be an armed officer in every American school. He needs to apply more logic. No good guy with a gun stopped Adam Lanza. No good guy with a gun would have helped ...

Posted by Michael Gradwell on Politics for Novices
Fri 21st
20:24

Why I am not a Centrist

Recently U.K.Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has made two major speeches (one at the party conference in September, the other this month on welfare reform) in which he has made a great deal of the virtue of being in the political centre. To me, there is neither virtue nor sin attached to being in the centre; and the centre has never been where I though I was. On particular issues, yes of course, it can happen that the right, just or practical solution is about halfway between two other proposals put forward by opposing groups. On occasion though, one extreme ...

Posted by SibatheHat on Siba The Hat

My Father Malcolm Saville by Radio Winchcombe on Mixcloud In this interview from Radio Winchcombe, Rosemary Dowler talks to Gordon Ottewell and Barbara Herod about her father Malcolm Saville and his books for children.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Amy Fowler, who manages and regularly writes about home, lifestyle and legal issues for the Stormclad blog, explains our preference for older houses. Britain is being plagued by a housing shortage, yet when it comes to the most obvious solution - building new homes - just one in four home buyers are in the market for a property built within the last decade. But why are we saying "no thanks" to new builds? Research at the Future Homes Commission concluded that new build homes feature rooms that are too small, have insufficient storage, and limited natural light. Not to mention ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Do you know someone whose work in your community deserves to be recognised? If so, you have until 22nd February to nominate them for a South Gloucestershire Chair's Community Awards. You can find out more on the South Glos website.

Posted by Paul Hulbert on Focus on Sodbury, Yate and Dodington
YouGov

Blogging is going to continue being light for a while, as I'm staying in the US for Xmas and having to do Xmassy things. I do have several posts planned if I can find the time — a short story, a book review, a music post, and the next Mindless Ones Who post, but meanwhile, ...

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!

This is likely to be the last update of the year, as I doubt there'll be new applications next week. 121738: Demolition of existing offices and replacement with new commercial premises and flats, High Street. 121739: Conservation area consent for 121738. 122244: Extension to office and replacement shop front, Culver Street West. 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 ...

Posted by Nick on What You Can Get Away With
Fri 21st
17:06

Elsewhere

As I've written enough about Eric Pickles here this week, I decided my next piece about him should go somewhere else, so you can find it on Liberal Democrat Voice. Related PostsWhich will go first – Eric Pickles or the whole DCLG? Localism thrown into the bin Eric Pickles and the Star Fraction Does Eric Pickles actually possess a brain? I'd like to thank the Academy...

Posted by Nick on What You Can Get Away With

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 A Christmas Carol. Stave One: Mensch's Ghost (5 comments) by Andy Boddington Y'know those stories about the death of the Lib Dems? Turns out, they might've been exaggerated... (57 comments) by Stephen Tall Did you know the Lib Dems have lost half a million voters to Ukip? Here's what I think it means. (48 comments) by Stephen Tall Ad Lib: If you're reading this, it's not for you (33 comments) by Mark Pack Nick Clegg's speech: Governing ...

Posted by Helen Duffett on Liberal Democrat Voice
Fri 21st
16:58

NRA Fact and Cost Check

So the National Rifle Association have finally spoken after the shootings at Sandy Hook. Basically they have said "Don't take our guns away, but place an armed police office at every school." So lets look at the stats: There are 98,917 public schools and 33,366 Private schools (2009-10 figures) At a mean $26.74 per hour (2010 national mean), say a 40 hour week to cover arrival and departure times as well as teaching time that comes to $141.5 M per week Typically with 36 weeks per year that is $5.094 Billion per year Now there are only 644,300 Police Officers ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal

Here's Stockport Council's forward plan for Feb-May 2013. It details the key decisions expected to be taken over that period. Not everything is there – there are always changes and decisions that come up at the last minute, but as far as possible the major decisions are here. Executive Forward Plan – February 2013 Executive

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

Lithuania have a chequered history at Eurovision – yet outside of that arena they are so `up and coming`. This could change with young Andrius's song – a tightening of performance, a projection of the voice and it might be `Vilnius 2014`

Posted by John on Liberal Revolution

It's the time of year to be nostalgic and I thought I'd add my pick of Liberal Democrat Voice posts to that of Mary Reid the other day. My original plan was to pick one post for each month, but there were a couple of months where I couldn't choose which one to pick, so I decided to pick two and allow myself the luxury of an extra post next week. Many of the posts I've chosen are not the burning issues of the day, but thoughtful, considered posts that I felt deserved another airing. So here we go with ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

A big shout out to @MPSGreenwich as they go off for their Christmas holidays! Our local police started a twitter account in May of this year and it looks to have been a great success, both in getting information out into the community and in gathering useful information in from the community, They have 2140 ...

Posted by Greenwich Liberal on Greenwich Liberal

I've been a bit lax about this lately, haven't I? Oops Solo Blog: Complicity, by Zoe O'Connell. Zoe is incredibly knowledgeable about a number of subjects I know just enough about to know that they are important. Worth reading for anything to do with IT and technology systems, and LGBT+ issues. Group Blog: Geek Feminism. Often slightly longwinded (Think Alex Wilcock ;)) but always interesting, even if I don't always agree with what they say. Twitterer: @AAEmmerson. Yes, I know I recced Andy in FF#3, but I'm doing it again. He's a very conversational twitterer, and you'd like him. Podcast: ...

eUKhost

This time last week, Richard and I were watching and enormously enjoying The Hobbit - An Unexpectedly Small Proportion of It. Neither of us have been able to write reviews yet, sadly (though we might see it again), but I cheered at Sylvester McCoy appearing in big movie-star letters, and thrilled at his having not just a character cameo but major scenes: the gathering dark; the extended comedy action piece; the full-on action scene where he bests the most dangerous character in the entire film... So it got me thinking. Who else might Doctor Who fan Peter Jackson have cast? ...

Posted by Alex Wilcock on Love and Liberty

EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement signed Catherine Bearder, the Liberal Democrat European spokesperson on international trade, has welcomed the EU trade deal with Singapore as a potential gateway for the UK's insurance and banking sector into the Asian market. This free trade deal with Singapore will bring huge benefits to the UK's financial services sector in particular. Negotiating as a block of 27 countries with the biggest single market in the world has given Brussels the necessary weight to insist that European banks will enjoy a level playing field with US competitors. Britain on its own would have struggled to achieve ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice

Well I know there are many candidates but surely one of the first must be to scrap what Martin Horwood described as a 'nasty and vindictive' clause in the mis-names Growth Bill. This is the clause that wants workers to swap their employment rights in exchange for the illusion of profit sharing. This has just got a whole lot worse. Tory Minister Michael Fallon has just confirmed that job seekers may be sanctioned if they refuse jobs with reduced employment rights. Time for our colleagues in the Lords to assert some clear Liberal principle. We should be advocating reform of ...

Posted on birkdale focus

Here's another of Ros's interventions that I hadn't covered, from 3 October 2011... Ros hadn't given up on seeking further clarity on the less well-publicised elements of student finance... Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat) To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the funding of tuition fees for, and repayment of loans by, students taking second degrees varies from that which applies to other students. Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat) The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) does not usually provide a funding contribution towards university tuition fees for students that are studying a second degree, although some ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

Wedenesday saw the announcement of the local government funding settlement for 2013-14. As expected, councils across England will be facing even more cuts in their already-stretched budgets, and wondering just how they continue to deliver services in the face of ever-widening budget gaps. (See here or here for examples of how a funding squeeze and rising costs are impacting councils) Of course, local government should be glad that we have a Secretary of State who understands the issues affecting the sector and is prepared to fight its cause in Whitehall while puncturing some of the myths that are propagated about ...

Posted by Nick Barlow on Liberal Democrat Voice

Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency | Carl Bernstein | Comment is free | The Guardian Carl Bernstein asks why the US media is ignoring evidence of Murdoch's attempts to sew-up the Presidency for Petraeus http://bit.ly/UhtYhn High threshold set for social media prosecutions – Index on Censorship Keir Starmer + the CPS came close to being (belated) @CentreForum Liberal Heroes this wk http://bit.ly/UhsGTz < common sense on social media Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) / EEF News What diff does digital tech make in children's learning? EEF ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Stephen Tall

At the beginning of the month I signed one of those E-petitions that lobby your local MP. The one I signed was to encourage my local MP, Rehman Chishti to vote for the Leveson proposals. I dutifully filled in the address and email etc and sent it off. Much to my surprise (but not my wife's!) I recieved a letter from Rehman on 14th of December and thought I would share the contents: Dear Chris, Thank you for contacting me about the LEveson Report. The Leveson Report blows apart the conspiracy theories that have been thrown at the Government over ...

Posted by Chris Sams on The Ginger Liberal from Medway

Party activists should be cheering on UKIP's rise in the polls. Why? Because a UKIP surge would most likely end up making it easier for Liberal Democrats to win in Conservative marginals. By my reckoning, every 1% on UKIP's popularity increases the Lib Dem majority over the Conservatives in these areas by about 90 votes. If last weekend's polling, putting UKIP at 14%, is correct, that gives Lib Dems in Con-Lib marginals about a 1000 vote head start. Where do these numbers come from? A recent ComRes poll found that, of people who said they were going to vote for ...

Posted by Tom Richards on Liberal Democrat Voice

Each year, I hold a Christmas card competition to decide the design of my card to 42,000 homes in the constituency. This year the competition has been won by Didsbury C of E pupil Harry Horgan. Last week, I presented ... Continue reading →

Posted by John Leech MP on John Leech MP
Fri 21st
12:00

The Moon

I've always been a bit obsessed with space. I think all true geeks are. It was probably Star Wars that set off my star lust. For the last few years, I've been pondering getting a telescope. Like many of my plans, it sat in the back of my head waiting for me to get off my lazy arse and do something about it. I halfheartedly researched telescopes online, glanced at them occaisionally in the shops, and thought "soon". Then, while stocking up on catering sized tins of beans at Costco, I spotted this beauty. [IMG: Telescope in Costco] The Celestron ...

Posted by Terence Eden on Terence Eden has a Blog

Earlier on this morning, I noticed that my BTYahoo! email account had placed yet another email from BT into my spam folder. Being mildly amused, I tweeted: [IMG: BT1] To my surprise, I've just received a response: [IMG: BT2] The link leads to a help page that shows you how to configure your spam filter (which I knew about already). At first, I wasn't sure whether it was scarier that BT are obviously monitoring all tweets mentioning them or that they didn't apparently understand my pretty weak attempt at humour. However, on reflection, I think it seems to be a ...

Across the country the controversial newly elected Police and Crime Commissioners are supposed to be getting down to business. The reality in several areas is that many are hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons, and nowhere is this truer than in the case of Adam Simmonds, the Northamptonshire PCC, who has stacked his new "sprawling" 17-person commission with his campaign staff. The whole story is an 'omnishambles' – a toxic mixture of high farce, cronyism and arrogance potentially leading to an unacceptable politicisation of our police force. First though, a little background. Mr Simmonds was the Conservative political assistant ...

Posted by Brendan Glynane on Liberal Democrat Voice

As I mention in the previous post, I am to play Cardinal Wolsey in an amateur performance of Bolt's "A Man for all Seasons" next month. Another of the things I say to Sir Thomas More (if I can remember - learning lines is no longer the cake-walk that it was) is: "You are a constant regret to me. Thomas." It would be unfair of me to claim that Clegg is a constant regret - in previous posts I've praised some of his initiatives, and I certainly think he bears more than his fair share of opprobrium, and bears it ...

Posted by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal

Five countries have chosen only two of whom have songs worthy of remark. The first is Switzerland who have chosen poorly over the past few years. Their entry `you and me` by Heilsarmee – literally a Salvation Army pop group! It's a chugalong pop to indie number – a cut above the rest. There's been ...

Posted by John on Liberal Revolution

[IMG: Income Tax square on Monopoly board. Photo courtesy of Images of Money on Flickr. Some rights reserved] Now the dust is settling, how is the Autumn Statement looking? That was the topic of the latest edition of my monthly email newsletter, which you can also read online here. If you would like to receive the next edition of the newsletter direct to your own inbox, just sign up here. It's free! You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom of all the emails, and I won't pass your email address on to anyone else (except ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

It is that time of year when Christmas messages start appearing, and here at Liberal Democrat Voice, we are no exception. And so, for your delight, here is a message from Sir Graham Watson, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West, and President of ALDE...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

Drop In Services this festive season ... click here to download a list in PDF format: Friday 21st December 20127.30pm - Salvation Army, Strathmore Lodge - Friday Night Drop In Christmas Dinner and Carols10.30pm to 3am - Street Chaplains Saturday 22nd December 20127.30pm to 9pm - Graham's Soup Kitchen, West Marketgait10.30pm to 3am - Street Chaplains Sunday 23rd December 20121.15pm to 2.15pm - Food Cupboard, St Salvador's Church Monday 24th December 20122pm to 3.30pm - Steeple Church Parish Drop in as usual(no HHOT)6.30pm - Bus stop Drop In, Gate Church, Perth Road7.30pm to 9pm - Eagles Wings Soup Kitchen, Bell ...

Recently, in response to a planning application by local concrete products company, Poundfield Products Ltd, Creeting St Peter Parish Council submitted an extremely negative reply, noting;the impact of noise pollution to the local surrounding area and the Gipping Valley in general, especially from the loud bleepers. It is understood that noise is often heard at night and at weekendslight pollution from the very bright lights on top of the cranes which can be seen from a long way off. This light pollution is affecting both local residents, the Gipping Valley in general and also the natural environment - owls, badgers, ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

The consultation period relative to the proposals for part of the West End ends today. I am on Radio Tay news this morning about this - click 'play' below to listen:You can still respond to the consultation as long as the City Council receives your comments today. This can be done electronically. More details (plus a link to the on-line questionnaire) are available here.

New Tory Policy: Pretending to protect children more important than protecting children Zoe hits the nail on the head again. (tags: ) *IMPORTANT NEWS!* Facebooks legal team have told me I am banned from Facebook because of F.B. Purity | F.B. Purity - Cleans Up FacebookF.B. Purity - Cleans Up Facebook I'm so glad I deleted my FaceAche account. (tags: ) Apocalypse confirmed for 4.59pm this Friday (tags: ) UK to vote on return to 'good old days' (tags: ) Ukip are true libertarians Another contribution to the UKIP are/are not true libertarians debate. This cleaves more closely to my ...

At last nights Parish Council meeting the meeting dates were agreed for 2013. These are; Full Council (Thursdays starting at 7pm in the Parish Council Offices) 17th January21st February21st March18th April16th May20th June18th July19th September17th November19th DecemberEnvironment Committee (Wednesdays starting at 7:30pm in the Parish Council Offices) 6th February3rd April5th June4th September6th NovemberPlanning Committee Meetings - these are scheduled but only actually take place if there are any planning applications that need to be discussed that could not be discussed as part of the agenda of a Full Council meeting (Thursdays starting at 1.30pm in the Parish Council Offices) 10th ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

LibDemVoice is delighted to bring you A Christmas Carol, a contemporary re-imagining of Charles Dickens' classic tale, told in five staves (as Dickens called them). The third stave, The Ghost of Avarice Past, follows. You can catch up with Stave One, Mensch's Ghost, here, and Stave Two, The Ghost of Avarice Past, here. [IMG: LDV scrooge story] As sketched by Bodz Osborne was struggling to keep warm on a deserted platform at Corby rail station. He dare not sleep, for fear of imagining yet again the Ghost of Avarice Past that had so recently tormented him. "Having trouble sleeping, Osborne?" ...

Posted by Andy Boddington on Liberal Democrat Voice

Iain Roberts and Olympic medallist Alan Newton Stockport Council last night honoured Alan Newton, Stockport's first olympic medal winner. Alan, who was in the council chamber with his wife Barbara, won a bronze medal for cycling in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, sixty years ago. His achievement was largely forgotten until this year when Council officers tracked him down to play a key part in our amazing sporting year. I met Alan when he was handing out prizes to school children at our Olympic BeInspired event at the Stockport Plaza; and again opening our new Connect2 cycle route at Chadkirk. ...

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

The proposal from Harrow Estates to build 950 houses on the former BAE Aerodrome site is moving forward. Stockport Council have been consulting on a revised SPD (Supplementary Planning Document) which sets out what a developer is allowed to do on the site. As a result of that consultation, a revised SPD (proposing slightly fewer houses be permitted) will be published on 4th January 2013. That will include all the 700+ public comments made in the SPD consultation, and it comes to Stockport's Executive on 14th January 2013. There does not need to be an SPD in place for the ...

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

[IMG: Sea otter] Yes, it's the end of the week again, and time once again for the attack sea otter to turn from the mysteries of double entry bookkeeping to the drama of what to publish on our humble website. So, what do we have... Firstly, just in case you missed it, this week saw a Wednesday by-election, for the Sunbury Common ward of Spelthorne District Council, on the London fringes, where the sitting Liberal Democrat councillor had stood down due to ill health. And, despite the intervention of a UKIP candidate, Brian Spoor successfully retained the seat with 46.6% ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

I recently had a meeting with Dickens, the owners and developers of the former Tatton cinema site we all want to see something happen to. We've been told to expect new proposals to be brought forward early in the new year, and have been assured that the developers want to get moving. After ten years, I think it's fair to say we're all taking a sceptical approach. If a way forward can be found that works for Gatley and also works financially for the developers, that would be a great present for new year.

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

We're angry that poor work from contractors has made a mess of Park Road in Gatley, and we're working to get it sorted out as quickly as possible. Park Road had a treatment called a "surface dressing" – it's the most cost-effective way to resurface roads that haven't deteriorated too bady. It should last for 4-5 years and it's widely used (for example, Edgeley Road). Unfortunately, something's gone badly wrong with the quality of the work on Park Road. After just a couple of months the surface is breaking up, grit from the holes is lying on the road and ...

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

Stockport Council faces more cutting over the next two years. Over the last couple of years we've cut around £32 million from the Council budget after the then-Labour government first made it clear to us that we'd have to save between £40million and £70million over four years. We're still in that area, with the total savings over four years now looking to be around £60 million. For 2013/14 we're looking to make savings of about £15million, with the same for 2014/15. We've already brought forward proposals for about half of that £30 million and consulted on them. We need to ...

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith Holloway, Iain Roberts & Pam King

Yesterday, I chaired a very positive West End Christmas Fortnight Committee "debrief" meeting at which we discussed the 2012 events and had initial discussions about our 2013 West End Christmas activities. At this month's West End Community Council meeting, the winners of the Christmas Fortnight Shoppers' Prize Draw and Children's Window Spotting Competition were drawn. You can download the winners' list here. It is also available on various community notice boards across the West End.

 

There is a fascinating article in Time magazine outlining some of the techniques used by Obama in his recent successful campaign for re-election. They say that his election machine machine used new methods of mining informatuon devised by a geek squad convened from multinational ad agencies, corporate consultancies and high-tech start-ups: The goals were the same as ever: more money in the bank, more door knocks, more phone calls, more voter registrations and more voters at the polls. But the methods for achieving those ends in 2012 bordered on the revolutionary. A squad of dozens of data crunchers created algorithms ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black