This is late this week because I've been having a less than optimal few days with a cold and a general feeling of 'meh,' so I didn't write this yesterday, deciding to watch Gaksital and Parks and Rec instead. But this isn't a bad episode! It's not an amazing episode either: I found it kind of boring for the drama it was supposed to bring to the series, and goodness did they ever ruin an opportunity for an interesting villain. However, it is actually cohesive to the extent that I realize I cannot keep to my organization by subplots anymore. ...
Counting down towards the fiftieth birthday of Doctor Who with Fifty great scenes... Tonight's celebrates the late, wonderful Elisabeth Sladen's birthday by going back to a particularly fine moment for Sarah Jane Smith, joined by the Doctor and Harry to set out in their first trip in the TARDIS together. And mine. Beware spoilers for Robot, the story that first captivated three-year-old me and led to all this, as the coda still charms me every time... "Doctor, you - you're being childish." "Well, of course I am. There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." ...
I was asked to write a short piece for Ealing Council about elected councillors. Could you be one? You need an interest in your local community and a passion to get involved. Becoming a councillor is an extension of what some people are already doing. For example, if they are already active in community work, a political party, trade union or school governing body. For others, it is a chance to 'give something back' to their community, because you have the opportunity to help shape local services and improve people's lives. WHAT DOES A COUNCILLOR DO? Councillors represent the residents ...
This week it is Zoe with 'Sunshine on a rainy day' - a song I recalled while walking the dog in Richmond Park as the sun won its battle with the rain clouds.
When I asked this question on Twitter a few days ago I received only one reply - a slightly plaintive observation from someone that, where he lived, the Liberal Democrats don't seem to campaign countywide on anything. So let me try again here. Liberal Democrats are pretty solidly against selection in education. That has been borne out this week in the Lib Dem blogosphere. While everyone agrees it is the Cleggs' business and no one else's whether they educate their children privately, a piece in the Financial Times by Chris Cook citing research that questions whether grammar schools make any ...
I had a letter from the First Minister yesterday concerning a question I had asked in plenary. It was about the agreement that the Welsh Government will introduce a new Welsh mortgage guarantee scheme designed to increase the supply of affordable homes and improve access to home ownership support. Labour Ministers committed to the scheme in May 2012 as part of the budget deal with the Welsh Liberal Democrats but have taken months to draw up the details despite the fact that England has been offering support for a number of years and a comparable scheme is operating in six ...
Well, we're finally at the end of the 30 day marathon - although I still owe you a gif. I'm sure this won't be the last time I write about Who this year, however, not with the big 50 fast approaching. By the way, if you haven't already been there, go and check out the new BBC 50th anniversary website. And so to the question? It's a bit weird because I don't think there's any other thing you need to do to call yourself a fan than watch and love the show. I've only watched it on tv - I ...
Next week is the big week, which Chris has working towards for over 18 months; the European Parliament has for the first time ever equal powers with the Council on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The European Parliament will vote ... Continue reading →
A limited but much needed makeover scheme is planned for Consett Bus Station to to make it more passenger friendly. The refurb will include repairs to automatic doors, repairs to prevent rainwater coming in through the roof, a new floor and replacement of seats, as well as re-painting. The works are due to start on Monday 18th February 2013, and will take up to 11 weeks. While the work takes place the building and bus stands will remain partially open; bus stands will be reallocated while works are carried out on one half of the building and then the other. ...
[IMG: Police officers] Of course, I've never heard anyone rubbish policy decisions made by Liberal Democrat conference, so this is only of academic interest. But I am an academic of sorts (Wednesday nights at City University). Compare and contrast: The motion on the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) passed at Liberal Democrat conference last autumn, and The views of the cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee, just out. You'll find that pretty much everything the party called for in the autumn is now being called for by the cross-party group of MPs. Just goes to show the wisdom of conference...
After not having any for a couple of weeks, here we go again: 122180: Advertisement consent for signage, West Stockwell Street. 130125: Change of use from A1 (retail) to A3 (cafe) and installation of extractor duct, Sir Isaac's Walk. 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 ...
When a number of councils proposed raising council tax by just under the Government's threshold of 2%, local government minister Brandon Lewis accused them of 'democracy dodging'. Now that Police Commissioner Tony Hogg has proposed a precept rise for Devon and Cornwall of 2%, the silence from Mr Lewis is stunning. Tweet
Take a look at the results of the 2010 General Election and you may notice that if you take the south of England (the southwest, southeast and east of england, excluding London which is hugely different culturally and politically), Labour aren't too strong. In fact, they have only ten parliamentary seats. The Conservatives dominate the south with over three quarters of the seats while the Lib Dems have a presentable but not brilliant 23. There are two others: Speaker John Bercow in Buckinghamshire and Green Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavillion. Here are the proportions: It really is overwhelming, not just ...
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 Has it all gone Jenny Tonge for David Ward? (87 comments) by Mark Valladares Labour party 'gerrymandering': recalling the only occasion in a century when a party has interfered with electoral boundaries (54 comments) by Simon McGrath Nick Clegg's son's schooling is none of your business (130 comments) by Nick Thornsby Holocaust Memorial Day, and a response to David Ward (31 comments) by Julian Huppert MP New university data shows everyone was wrong about tuition fees (40 ...
As I've been off-air for a while, it might be handy for you the reader to understand why I come back, well first I enjoy it, second recently spotted in a documentary on "World in Action" the spectre of Johnathan Aitken the disgraced one time local MP and perjurer whose trusty sword of truth was designed to silence honest reporting, and finally gaps in local news media. Now I'm not suggesting for one minute that, our much local media are biased, just I imagine busy when it comes to using in good news, which wouldn't fit in with local Tories ...
The Social Liberal Forum, unsurprisingly, don't seem to like competition. The arrival of a new membership organisation within the Liberal Democrats seems to have upset them, but today the co-chair of the SLF rather over egged it: The rather daft comment was referring to a poster for an LR event happening at the upcoming Lib ...
A Romanian newspaper has responded to the suggestion that the British government should run an advertising campaign dissuading would-be Romanian immigrants from coming to Britain - with a spoof advertising campaign inviting Britons to move to Romania. "Half our women look like Kate. The other half, like her sister" says one of these Romanian ads. Romanian and Bulgarian citizens will enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other EU citizens after 31st December, when temporary restrictions on moving to Britain expire. This has prompted some right-wing tabloids to run scare stories suggesting that millions of Romanians and Bulgarians will ...
Anna and I went to see Les Miserables last Saturday. I had never seen the stage show. All I really knew was that it was about poor people in Paris around the time of the French Revolution and that I dreamed a dream, Susan Boyle's anthem,was in it. The film is pretty powerful. It's death every which way through the tragedies of brutal warfare or enduring poverty. Slow deaths sudden deaths punctuate the cat and mouse pursuit of Jean Vaijean by his jailer Javert. The amoral Thenardiers, played with just the right mix of evil and comedy by Helena Bonham ...
Attempt to introduce the British model to European railways fails [IMG: Virgin train] Germany has succeeded in changing the content of a European Commission proposal on the liberalisation of railways before the proposal was even published. The intention, to introduce greater competition in rail passenger services by separating infrastructure owners from passenger service operators failed after stiff resistance from Deutsche Bahn and SNCF. Ironically, SNCF is run as a separate entity already but it is intended to merge the two companies once more. Instead, vertically integrated rail companies will have to erect firewalls between their business units before they can ...
A choice of two 2 bedroom first floor apartments (with allocated parking) in this brand new development of only 5 similar properties. Due to be completed in Autumn 2013.(Pair of 1 bedroom ground floor, garden apartments also available at £169,950).
Fri 1st
15:55
A myth: Did Zhou Enlai or Mao Tse-tung say it was too early to tell what the impact of the French Re...
In short: no. At greater length: it's often said that either Zhou Enlai or Mao Tse-tung responded to a question about the impact of the French Revolution by saying it was too early to say. It's a pervasive story as it's a good one. It's also an untrue one, as an interpreter present when this was meant to have happened in the early 1970s has explained: "I distinctly remember the exchange. There was a misunderstanding that was too delicious to invite correction," said Mr Freeman. He said Zhou had been confused when asked about the French Revolution and the Paris ...
Once the various occupational health forms and police checks and such have gone through respective systems, I will be: A full-time healthcare assistant in an NHS hospital.A student mental health nurse.A bank (temp) healthcare assistant with a mental health NHS trust. Finally, it feels like my life is falling into place, and it is wonderful. Amusingly, I will probably be working for the hospital for about a week, if not less, before I have to give notice for reducing hours to fit in with university, as teaching starts in just under 6½ weeks... [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Let me say this out loud, 'cause I wanna get it straight in my head. You're saying that Mr. Blonde was gonna kill you, then when we got back, he was going kill us, take the satchel of diamonds, and scram. I'm right about that, right? That's correct? That's your story?
In 2013 we celebrate 15 years of having been 'going out' together. That's a long time to be 'going out' – even for the decidedly commitment-phobic. Over the last fifteen years we have attended many weddings, christenings, funerals of friends and family that mark out the great stations of life. Apart from the occasional birthday bash and Eurovision party- we haven't provided a similar opportunity for our friends and family to celebrate our life together. On Tuesday the House of Commons will have a free vote on the Marriage (same sex couples) Bill - it's not a perfect bill and ...
Cheadle company The Mansion Group has been named by insider magazine as the fastest growing company in Greater Manchester over the last five years, and the second fastest in the North West. To be considered for the list, a company has to have had positive growth over five years, and started with a turnover of at least £1 million in the first year. The Mansion Group, which specialises in providing high quality student accomodation, has averaged an annual 358% growth over the last five years and now has a turnover of £136 million.
Getting the rules governing Personal Independence Payments right is vital. The new benefit, which will begin to replace Disability Living Allowance later this year, will have a huge effect on disabled people up and down the country. I'm broadly ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Israeli children visit Palestinian village of Tuwani and participate in bilingual activities together - Some rights reserved by delayed gratfication] Writing about Israel and Palestine is a bit like that bit in Great Expectations when Pip asked whether it was a good idea to lend money to a friend. The cynical Mr Wemmick responds "choose your bridge and pitch your money into the Thames over the centre arch". Or put another way, don't waste your time. I think that, at our best, Liberal Democrats are fair-minded people who try to accept that most arguments have two sides. So what ...
Fri 1st
13:35
'Like it or not this (equal marriage/rights for homosexuals) is this generations Civil Rights issue'
Not my words but the words of ESPN's Israel Gutierrez on ESPN's Around The Horn show this afternoon. However it is a really interesting point and topic of debate. They were discussing it as a player of the San Francisco 49ers who had said the following when asked about gay players on the team: "I don't do the gay guys man, I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff. Nah – can't be – in the locker room ...
The Phlebotomy (blood testing) service has been temporarily relocated to St Helier Hospital whilst NHS South West London, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust who provides the service, the landlord and Sutton CCG work together to resolve some teething issues with the building. At a meeting with Andrew Grimes, Project Manager for Better ...
The latest version of Bar Hill News is now available electronically; http://www.barhill.org.uk/bhn.php (or here, via Google Drive). Topics including in this issue; Have Your Say In Shaping Bar Hill's FutureGuide Dog Puppy Gus Says GoodbyeUpdated Residents Association WebsiteNeighbourhood Watch UpdateCommunity Car Share SchemeCommunity NavigatorsPlus Regular Updates From Village Groups and Local Organisations
One of the big problems that has blighted Strood has been the Railway bridge on Darnley Road. This has become a site of serious congestion but was to be rectified this past Christmas. Network rail, who had to repair the rail bridge anyway, closed the road at Christma and the Council were supposed to link in the widening scheme at the same time so as to keep the road closures to a minimum, after all they do cause a lot of vexation for everyone. The council were also granted £500k by Morrison's to assist in the widening works with the ...
The Libertine has interviewed the new members of the Liberal Youth exec on a range of topics, in order to keep you in the loop. Here is the first in the series, an interview with our new Co-Chairs, Kavya Kaushik and Sam Fisk 1) What is the first thing you will do in office? We ...
Coffee shop, Hot Numbers has caused a stir in the city winning first place in the January heat of MP Julian Huppert's competition Discovering Cambridge. The shop in Gwydir Street was voted the city's favourite in the coffee shop category of the competition designed to find the best independent businesses. Votes for Hot Numbers poured in as customers told how the coffee shops offers "lovely staff, great new gallery annex and really, really good soy flat whites." Customer, Tom Wilson told Julian: "I can't think of another institution that has ingratiated itself to the local community in such a short ...
Fri 1st
12:50
Putting the party's message in a distinctively liberal context - Part 3: a fairer society
[IMG: Liberal Democrat badge - Some rights reserved by Paul Walter, Newbury, UK] This is the third of three posts looking at the party's messaging. The introductory post was published here, and yesterday's on the economic part of the message is here ; this last and final post concentrates on the second part of the message: social justice. The second part of the party's message is "building a fairer society". Fairness was, of course, the theme of the party's 2010 manifesto, linking the four key policy platforms on which we fought the election (fairer taxes, a fair start for every ...
Dear resident, Happy New Year and welcome to the first edition of my Notes from Westminster for 2013, which is to keep you informed of some of the work I have been doing on your behalf both locally and in Westminster. Also, a reminder that I also now have a Twitter account, which you can follow at www.twitter.com/markhuntermp if you wish! · Many residents have contacted me about "nuisance" sales calls and in response I have now launched the "No 2 Nuisance Calls" campaign to help people regain their privacy from telemarketers and spammers, an initiative that I have received ...
The Expendables 2 on Blue-Ray DVD (cert 15) Director ~ Simon West Expendables 2 starts with a high-octane action sequence, snappy dialogue and knowing references to its action hero stars and their movies. (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Jet-Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Arnold Shwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Terry Crews...) Somehow this great start then devolves into a muddled plot to stop the plunder and sale of stored cold war plutonium to someone (not sure we ever learn to who or why) by a group of mid-European baddies, via what looks like a local airport....But, forget about the clunky ...
[IMG: Marple Cllr Shan Alexander foiled council tax scammers] When Cllr Shan Alexander took a call from someone claiming he could get her a rebate of thousands of pounds on her Council Tax, she knew it was a scam. But instead of putting the phone down, Shan arranged for the scammer to visit her – and had the Police and Trading Standards waiting when he did! Shan and Stockport Council are now warning all residents to watch out for this scam. If anyone contacts you claiming they can get you a big Council Tax rebate, it's a con! Cllr Alexander's ...
[IMG: House of Lords] Strangely enough, in the absence of a Lords Reform Bill to debate (and who's sorry now?), things are relatively quiet on the red benches. Quiet, but not exactly dead, I'm delighted to say. And now that Paddy Ashdown has hit Twitter, life is going to be a bit more exciting. And talking of Twitter, don't forget that our Parliamentary Party in the Lords has its own Twitter feed. And yes, those are real Peers tweeting, in live time. So, what might they be covering next week? On Monday, business kicks off with, amongst other things, an ...
Last night's This Week on BBC1 discussed the plans for HS2. The guests (sort of) representing the three main parties - Michael Portillo for the Conservatives, Alastair Campbell for Labour and Miranda Green for the Liberal Democrats - were in agreement. Not only must HS2 go ahead, but any local environmental objections to it are inherently ridiculous and must be ignored. If politics goes in cycles then this is pretty much where I came in. We are once again living in an age where the man in Whitehall knows best and environmental concerns are seen as the enthusiasms of an ...
[IMG: Student holds anti-violence poster at protest in Tunis - License Some rights reserved by Magharebia ] As part of a three year joint project between the Arab Partnership Fund, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the UK Liberal Democrats, a strategic roundtable will be held at our Party conference in Brighton to discuss a roadmap for advancing a progressive agenda in Tunisia and more generally across the Middle East. Youth and female members of liberal political parties have been invited to apply to participate in the roundtable discussion and, although the focus will be on Tunisia, people from all ...
Norman Baker has had a good week. Two announcements about one of his first loves - sustainable transport. Technically, the one about trains wasn't his to make, but he supported the announcement by Simon Burns with his own enthusiasm. (There are respectable criticisms of the whole HS2 project from the sustainability point of view. In my view the whole idea became much better once it became clear that the line would run beyond Birmingham. And one of the most promoted ideas - that you can get bodies from London to Birmingham quicker - is, in my view, one of the ...
The BBC doesn't give enough representation to Liberal Democrats on Question Time. We've known that for some time. And the weeks when we don't have anybody on the panel often coincide with a time when we have a different point of view to offer. Last night, though, I was particularly annoyed because, despite having no Lib Dem in the room, they allowed a very personal question about Nick Clegg's choice of secondary education for his son. Like it's any of our business. Decisions about children's schooling are stressful enough. The memories are still fresh enough for me to make me ...
Phil Stevens, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Disability Association, wrote the following letter to SLF members, regarding the Enterprise and Regulations Reform Bill currently before Parliament. George Potter has written the accompanying briefing note. I am writing to you about the Enterprise and Regulations ... Continue reading →
Ella Henderson - is feminism a dirty word for popstars? - Telegraph (tags: ) Schneier on Security: Power and the Internet "Either we fight for a seat at the table, or the future of the internet becomes something which is done to us" (tags: ) HMV workers take over official Twitter feed to vent fury over sacking (tags: ) Poll Tax II: the poorest face council tax rises of up to 333% (tags: ) Zombies, Run! | Zombies, Run! Fan Competition Get paid for creating stuff, people. Go to it. (tags: ) Express mangles language figures and 'migrant' facts - ...
Congratulations to Julie and her team at Launceston Post Office. I've just heard that they are going to be one of the branches upgraded to 'main post office' status shortly. This means a refurbishment and longer opening hours but no loss in services or products. The new opening hours will include full day opening (9.00am to 5.30pm) six days a week, including Saturdays. And, alongside that refurbishment, a side entrance will be created that will, at last, provide proper access for those who cannot manage the steps at the front of the building. I know this is something that Julie ...
Recent economic announcements have been a true rollercoaster ride, with unemployment figures falling to one of the lowest levels, but then national output also falling. This disconnect between unemployment and GDP is still confusing economist, but the real worry is that youth unemployment is doing as expected, if not exceeding expectations. Youth unemployment in the UK now stands at just under 1 million, with over 1 in 5 young people now out of work. This has recently risen to the highest level since 2011. Across the EU this picture does not improve with youth unemployment standing at 23.7% which equates ...
And here's a graph to show it: [IMG: Apprenticships data] More details on the figures are over on the BIS website, including this from Vince Cable: I am particularly pleased to see the high number of people studying engineering. We have a massive shortage of engineering skills in this country, and we need even more to support manufacturing, exports and infrastructure." Apprenticeships are, of course, one of the main policies the Liberal Democrats have been pushing in government.
The new Steven Spielberg film Lincoln has no scenes set in Lancashire. Perhaps it should have. As the BBC's Paul Mason points out, Lancashire's cotton workers, urged on by Liberal MP John Bright, expressed solidarity with the Union's fight against slavery and its blockade of the south, despite losing work from the resulting loss of cotton supplies. Lincoln is commemorated by a statue in a square named after him in Manchester: At a mass meeting in Manchester's Free Trade Hall, on New Year's Eve 1862, attended by a mixture of cotton workers, and the Manchester middle class, they passed a ...
The hour and manner of my death (tags: Death )
[IMG: Sea otter] Yes, it's Friday once again, and whilst it's a bit early for 'Crackerjack' (cultural reference for our older readers), there is some good news to start the day. Swiss banks have paid HM Revenue & Customs £342 million in the first tranche of a ground-breaking agreement which will deliver around £5 billion of previously unpaid tax to the UK. Under the agreement between the UK and Switzerland, which came into force on 1 January, people with taxable assets in Switzerland have a choice of authorising their financial institution to disclose the details to HMRC, or having a ...
Harris Academy Last night, after my weekly ward surgery at Blackness Primary School, I attended the latest meeting of Harris Academy Parent Council. Mr Thewliss, Head Teacher, gave a detailed update on staffing at the school and preparations for the Harris Academy re-building project and decant arrangements. It was also good to hear that there has been progress with the new Harris Academy website which will be launched after the February Harris Academy Project Board meeting and will provide useful information to parents, pupils and the wider local community.
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee: A special exhibition featuring art by Master of Fine Art students from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design will be on show in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum at the University of Dundee this Saturday. Accompanying the two exhibitions currently showing in the Tower Building (featuring artists inspired by the ideas and collections of D'Arcy Thompson), the MFA students were invited to create a visual response to the unique setting of the museum. As well as drawings, prints and other two-dimensional works, the exhibition features numerous installation ...
Put simply, to leave the EU would devastate our prime rural industries, and continually weaken them for decades to come. It would jeopardise the profitability of over £150 billion in trade, and it would weaken our international influence across the globe. Those who believe that Wales and the United Kingdom are better off going it alone in our increasingly interdependent world, or think we can pick and choose our international engagements – in an a la carte fashion – on the terms of a minority view, are simply misguided. It is in our national self interest to stay in the ...
Consett's clock is back. OK it was one of my 2012 New Year's resolutions to get it back, but better late than never. [IMG: Clock] Actually it's taken much longer than a year since I first set out on the trail – about the time Derwentside was disappearing which is nearly four years ago – but today I'm not whingeing about all the time it's taken but celebrating. I'm grateful, too, to the county council's economic regeneration team who joined me enthusiastically in ensuring we got it back – and sourcing the cash to do it.
On The Caves Of Androzani. This one, like the one on The Five Doctors, is a little plainer than I'd like, but some of these are meant to be setting up background information to be expanded upon in the other essays. Next week's will be a good one, I think.
