Keynsham Community rubbish pick is this Sunday, 10 February from 11 to 1pm meeting at the gravel car park by the Lock Keeper pub. B&NES are lending us some equipment, but do bring your own if you have it. Keynsham Wombles is a Transition Keynsham Project aiming to reduce the amount of litter on our streets. If you feel able to help pick up litter in a small area near your home or work in Keynsham please email womble@transitionkeynsham.org and we will love you for ever!! Bath City Farm 9th Feb Community litter pick Take in the beautiful surroundings and ...
Many Councils already offer residents the opportunity to see what is going on in their Council live on the web. B&NES has been slow to adopt this technology but now we have decided to pilot the idea and see if it represents good value for money. It will certainly enable far more people to watch and hear what is happening in the Guildhall and from the comfort of their own home. The first webcast will be the Cabinet meeting of February 13 and residents will be able to see it live and exclusively via www.bathnes.gov.uk from 6.30pm. There are also ...
Council press release on the budget propsal from the Liberal Democrat administration which I lead and reported in the Chronicle – click to read HERE Council Tax freeze for 2013/14 - budget proposal published A budget proposal for 2013/14 which freezes Council Tax, protects many frontline services, and invests in homes and jobs for local people will be discussed by Bath & North East Somerset Council's Cabinet on Wednesday 13th February 2013. Listening to local people Councillor Paul Crossley (Lib-Dem, Southdown), Leader of Council, said, "Our proposal puts people first and communities at the heart of everything we do whilst ...
Liberal Democrat cabinet to consider proposals to expand six primary schools in Keynsham, Bath, Peasedown St. John and Paulton With the population of young children growing in Bath and NE Somerset there is a need for additional places at several primary schools. Councils have a legal duty to provide sufficient numbers of school places for the children in its area. The Liberal Democrat Cabinet of the Council will consider the needs and consultation at its meeting on 13 February concerning proposals to create additional pupil places at Bathampton Primary, Castle Primary, Paulton Infant, Paulton Junior, Peasedown St. John Primary and ...
Each year, the Launceston Community Network of Cornwall Council holds a big meeting in the town hall to hear any and all opinions on anything that matters to local residents. This meeting sits alongside the themed meetings we hold around the parishes through the year. Tonight saw discussion on two big topics. The first was street cleaning and litter picking. Having been to a previous meeting and heard criticisms of the new regime, the staff came to explain the changes they had made and received some pretty positive feedback. The key points they made were: - the town centre zone ...
Yesterday I said I would post the University of Leicester's videos about the Richard III dig last summer. So I shall. But here first is Monday's press conference where the identity of the skeleton was confirmed.
Despite a one-day delay due to the weather, work has now started on installing the new puffin crossing on Schools Hill, Cheadle. The new puffin crossing will replace the existing zebra crossing which saw three accidents last winter. Along with the other safety measures (flashing speed signs, rumble strips, repainted lines, moved bus stop) we hope this will improve the safety of the road.
This evening, I attended the February meeting of Community Spirit - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Ancrum, Pentland and the Cleghorn area. There was an excellent presentation by Natalie Stewart and Linda Wood from the Dundee Early Intervention Team, a partnership of the 4 leading children's charities in Dundee - Aberlour, CHILDREN 1st, Action for Children and Barnardo's; all working in partnership with Dundee City Council, NHS Tayside and Dundee Voluntary Action. The team supports families where the eldest or only child is aged between 5-12, and still in primary education, offering ...
The latest issue of Liberator was waiting for me when I got home this evening, so it is time for us to spend a few days in the company of Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. Call Nick Clegg My less far-flung readers will be familiar with Bonkers Hour on Radio Rutland. Each week members of the public telephone me with their questions on matters of current interest and I give my candid views. We encourage hard-hitting questions - though I, of course, reserve the right to evict tenants who get above themselves. I have been telling Clegg for some time ...
John Pugh: "I think there is a liberal case against the Bill" Yesterday was a great day to be a Liberal Democrat. I expected no other outcome. The momentum on the equal marriage debate - and other LGBT rights matters - has been firmly with progressives for years. That said, when the vote was confirmed, my initial reaction was surprisingly emotional. I didn't view it as a political inevitability, but a righting of a wrong. For too long some people have been marginalised and treated as unequal in the eyes of the law. Yesterday our parliamentarians said "enough is enough". ...
Arguably the most impressive member of the Anglican Communion is Archbishop Tutu. His courage in the face of apartheid inspired many people. I found myself thinking about his writings in relation to people who are Gay or Lesbian. I think this passage is worth reading A student once asked me, If I could have one wish granted to reverse an injustice, what would it be? I had to ask for two. One is for world leaders to forgive the debts of developing nations which hold them in such thrall. The other is for the world to end the persecution of ...
Following the news that the European Parliament has voted overwhelming to back reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, Nick Perry, parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye said, "Hastings & Rye fishermen, as well as our residents, have played their part in this victory today. "It is crucial to keep bringing the injustices meted out to ...
[IMG: image] Say what you like about Dicky Three. When he died aged 33 he had damned good teeth. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
I recently attended a meeting with Chorlton's Police Inspector. Sadly there has been a significant rise in the number of cases of 'Burglary Non Dwelling'. There have been 56 of these crimes in the present period compared to 8 in the same period last year. Inspector Kinrade said that in most cases it meant burglars had been targeting sheds to steal bikes. This is in line with a massive increase in bike thefts across Greater Manchester. To tackle this issue the Police have been taking preventative measures such as high profile patrols and monitoring places the stolen bikes are usually ...
I realise that my choice of entertainment is not normal source material for a blog, however on the morning commute, amongst the mix I usually listen to, that ranges between Sinatra, Motown, Bowie, good knows what else, my iPod/phone's random selection, Elgar's Land of Hope and Glory. Music often sets the mood for the day, yesterday the Beach Boys fun, fun, fun bought the suggesting of summer holidays, and this morning Elgar's music which at one time would have summoned up a mood of national pride, history and all that malarkey, but just left me empty. I've considered why pride ...
This tweet today from The Times's Philip Collins — mid-debate between Tim Montgomerie and Matthew d'Ancona about the tortuous fate of Tory modernisation — caught my attention: @matthewdancona @timmontgomerie We all thought the Lib Dems might not be up to government. Turns out they are but the Tories aren't. — Philip Collins (@PCollinsTimes) February 6, 2013 Partly it's the implicit praise for the steely resolve the Lib Dems have shown in trying to make the Coalition work. But partly because it reminded me of Lord Bonkers' alter ego Jonathan Calder's perceptive blog-post from August last year, which he re-quoted again ...
Wed 6th
19:15
Jeremy Browne MP writes...There is no opt out clause for equality for women and girls in a liberal s...
In my lifetime, the role of women and girls in British society has been transformed. There has been an emancipation revolution. Many of these changes have been legal. It seems remarkable today to reflect that, until 1975, women were not allowed to buy a house without financial guarantees being provided by a man, typically their father or husband.Other changes have been cultural. It is extraordinary, for example, that until 1972 a female diplomat in the Foreign Office was required to resign if she got married. As each of these barriers to female attainment has been removed, women have capitalised on ...
This is a really good broadcast - practical and sensitive to the squeeze people feel on their finances at the moment. And it's a good kick off to the Fair Tax Day of Action on Saturday. Are you going to help? Have you signed up to the Fairer Tax campaign. If, like me, you're a Kirsty fan, here's the Welsh version. I will have to find out why there's not a Willie version - maybe we are saving him for the Conference broadcast. The fairer tax pledge was front and centre in our manifesto. It's something we have delivered in ...
I've recieved notification from the City Council about the following application for the Chorlton Conservative Club site: Please let me know as soon as possible if you have any thoughts.
I was chuffed to see long standing Liberal Democrat policy of equal marriage rights for people who are gay passed by the Commons yesterday. I'm sure gay friends who have civil partnerships will want to get married ASAP. Hopefully the Lords will pass this legisalation but I suspect with even more fuss. It was no surprise that the majority of Conservative MPs who voted, voted against gay marriage. They're conservatives. Fortunately Labour didn't decided to play silly games as they did with Lords reform. So it was passed 400 to 175. Amazingly 4 of the Lib Dem 56 MP's voted ...
With half of Conservative backbenchers voting against equal marriage Tory attitudes towards equality will no doubt come under the microscope. But here's another example. The ConservativeHome blog today has described Equality Impact Assessments as "a turd." ...
Nibley Lane is expected to close for cleaning from its junction with Badminton Road to its junction with Westerleigh Road on Friday 8th February 2013 from 9.30am until 2.30pm.
Just released by Lib Dem HQ: I can confirm that Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael will tomorrow, Thursday 7 February, move the writ to trigger the Eastleigh by-election. The by-election will be held on Thursday February 28. Liberal Democrat Party President Tim Farron said: Liberal Democrats have proud 20-year record of action in Eastleigh, fighting for people in both local government and in Westminster. The people of Eastleigh should have the opportunity to elect someone to serve the constituency as soon as possible. This is going to be a tough fight, and clearly a fight that's between Liberal Democrats ...
I rather liked this photo taken by Nigel Bishop at the recent Councillor Camp: [IMG: Mark Pack at Councillor Camp. Photo by Nigel Bishop] You can read about my presentation (on how to tell if your local council gets digital) here.
The agenda for the Liberal Democrats' spring conference has just been published. You can read the announcement on Lib Dem Voice. I maintain a Google Calendar called LDCONF in which I put our conference events, for my own purposes. But, I also make that calendar publicly available. You can see it below, or at http://s.coop/1c87r or, you can the events to your Outlook, Apple iCal, or smartphone
(Also on YouTube here.)
The latest Lib Dem Party Political Broadcast is airing tonight, with a variety of people telling how they'd use an extra £600 per year, thanks to Liberal Democrats cutting income tax: Video also available on YouTube. Catch the broadcast tonight at 17:55 on BBC2, 18:25 on ITV1 or 18:55 on BBC1. For Wales, there's a different version with added Kirsty. Support the Liberal Democrats Fairer Tax campaign here.
Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, has put a lengthy statement on his website explaining why he abstained during last night's vote on the Marriage (Same sex couples) Bill. He did not want to vote against as he supports equality, but he does not feel that the Bill, as currently drafted, delivers that. He said: I do agree unequivocally that all adults must be treated equally in terms of legal recognition of their relationship and the rights that they convey; the question is how best to deliver that at the same time as protecting freedom of conscience. ...
Lucy Care, a member of the Federal Policy Committee from Derby and regular contributor to Liberal Democrat Voice, has written an interesting piece for the Independent on the Quakers' involvement in the fight for LGBT equality. She recalls a gay man talking to a Young Quaker workshop when she was in her teens and how this affected her: He described his search for love and finding his 'Mr Right'. He talked about his joy and loving commitment towards the man with whom he hoped to spend the rest of his life. The emotions which he described seemed to me then ...
(Thanks to Andrew Rilstone for reminding me of the Jack Kirby quote that's titled this). February 6 is the anniversary of the deaths of two of my favourite creative artists. The first, Jack Kirby, lived a relatively long life, but not long enough — he revolutionised an art-form several times over, and created or co-created ...
Walking our streets at the moment, it's clear we need responsible dog ownership. So we should all welcome a county-wide campaign which will include targeting of particular areas with a mixture of education and enforcement. It also offers a chance to get ahead of changes in the law which are targeted for 2016. [IMG: dog walkers] There will be new temporary signs in target areas to highlight awareness of the problem, events offering free dog microchipping, education sessions in schools, promotion of the green dog walkers' scheme and a golden ticket competition to reward responsible behaviour. Neighbourhood wardens and police ...
The agenda for Liberal Democrat Conference in March has been released today. Spring conference isn't normally that fiery, so you things can easily slip under the radar, particularly the typically dull constitutional amendments. One about triggering a leadership election rather caught my eye though: If this amendment were to pass, it would make it significantly easier to ...
The new Conservative PPC for North Cornwall has some explaining to do. Scott Mann is currently taking thousands of pounds from taxpayers for a non-job that takes up just a few minutes of his time each year. Cllr Mann is Chairman of the Regulatory Committee of Cornwall Council and receives £2385.82 per year as a 'special responsibility allowance'. He was elected chairman at a meeting which lasted just 8 minutes on July 5th 2011. Since then, the committee has met just once more on July 2nd 2012 (when Mann was re-elected). That meeting lasted barely any longer than the first. ...
The Conference Agenda has been finalised and is now available online, along with policy and consultation papers. The agenda features a variety of debates including one on education ("Every Child Taught by an Excellent Teacher") and another on corporate tax avoidance. There are also Q&A sessions with Ministers on International Affairs, Green Jobs and Health and Social Care. Nick Clegg will do a Leader's Q&A on Saturday 9 March at 15:50 and Paddy Ashdown's sure-to-be-barnstorming speech as Chair of the 2015 General Election campaign is at 11am on Saturday 9 March. Every motion in the agenda is open to amendment, ...
It's not quite as bad as buying an aircraft carrier, but Cornwall Council's new accounting computer programme is experiencing some costly teething troubles. At present the system is around £800,000 over budget and taking lots of staff time to put right. The ERP system was bought in order to rationalise the payroll, invoice and accountancy systems and to make it possible for line managers to do a lot more of the financial work rather than having to employ more finance officers. But the council has asked for additional capabilities compared to the original order and the system does not do ...
The licensing committee met today to decide whether or not to allow alcohol sales from the shop premises at 180/184 Garston Old Road. This is the building on the corner of Stormont Road (Butterworth Spengler). I was there, with Councillor Richard Oglethorpe, and a local resident to represent people who opposed the idea. No other politicians or campaigners turned up to speak. We argued the points that residents had made, including the location being right by the park, the risk of increased litter and nuisance, the closeness of local schools and so on. Thanks to everyone who sent in letters ...
Every time there is a council meeting, agendas and other papers are printed and sent out to councillors. These often come to hundreds of pages. So the combination of print and postage costs are pretty heavy. Today a scrutiny committee was discussing the 'Corporate Asset Management Plan'. The plan was included as a printed appendix in the papers. At the meeting, an officer handed round new colour copies of the plan - apparently on the basis that there had been a slight change compared to the original. When I questioned the use of resources, the officer in charge said that ...
The latest edition of my monthly email newsletter about the Liberal Democrats included this story on tuition fees. You can sign up here to get future editions of the newsletter or sign up at the end of this story. [IMG: Riot police on horses] Ah, tuition fees. That turned out so well, didn't it? (Although the latest university data is well worth a look as is thedecline in the gap between applications from the most and least disadvantaged areas.) The party's current review of its higher and further education policy is ruminating over options to improve the tuition fees system, ...
Yesterday was Safer Internet day, but I was too busy voting on the Marriage Equality Bill to blog on it. I believe we have a responsibility as a society to protect young people and ensure they have a secure and ... Continue reading →
I don't often feel the need to say this, but actively quite proud of Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins today for having supported Equal Marriage in Parliament last night. The Gay Marriage Bill - What Would Thomas More Do? huff.to/11LvUOM via @huffpostukpol. Read here why I am supporting the Bill. - DamianCollins (@DamianCollins) February 5, 2013 Some other MPs locally, including Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke, voted against. On this issue: well done Damian. Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 ...
[IMG: Meral H Ece] [IMG: Jo Swinson wins "Best use of e-campaigning 2009"] [IMG: Caroline Pidgeon] Every year, Women in Public Life hold awards to celebrate female leaders across politics, journalism and business. As Dame Kelly Holmes puts it on their website: Women are under represented in business, the arts and politics. These awards help to highlight and reward the achievements of women and encourage others to pursue leadership roles and to strive for greater representation. I encourage all to nominate and get involved This year's shortlists have just been announced and there are three Lib Dem nominees. They are: ...
There is an interesting article in the Independent, which reports that Business Secretary, Vince Cable is to challenge the banks to publish weekly information about their lending levels, right down to individual branches. They say that bank chiefs could be forced by the Government to name and shame branch managers who refuse to lend cash to struggling small businesses. Vince says that ministers are prepared to legislate to require banks to release the information if they fail to do so voluntarily: The move comes amid continuing complaints - both within Whitehall and from industry - that the banks are sitting ...
Senior Directors of Ringway have been hauled over the coals about their failure to deliver an adequate Highways service since they took over the majority of Highways work in Hertfordshire on 1st Oct last year. Liberal Democrat councillors have been highly critical of the performance by Ringway since November, by which time problems were already coming to light. In an open letter dated 13th January Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst detailed 15 areas of poor performance saying that the service was not good enough. Two days later Ringway were issued with a formal "Early Warning Notice" by the County ...
I wrote this on Monday night, New Statesman published it yesterday. Lots of comments. But I wonder if I'm being a bit cold? Still it is what I think; and the summary of the piece here in italics - which I didn't write - is absolutely the point I was hoping to make... Party activists are tired of being told that there is such a paucity of Lib Dem talent that the former Energy Secretary leaves a vacuum behind him. Twelve months and two days ago I was sitting in the broom cupboard the BBC uses in Millbank for its ...
Here is the Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth South, as quoted in the current issue of Private Eye: "Why this obsession with political prisoners in Azerbaijan?"
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Mid Staffs hospital scandal: the essential guide | Society | guardian.co.uk Well worth a read > Mid Staffs hospital scandal: the essential guide | Society http://buff.ly/WO5UDk
The Chief Constable of the new Scottish single police force has suggested that men who are convicted of domestic violence while drunk should be banned from drinking alcohol. I wondered what Lib Dem Voice readers thought of this proposal. In England, Drinking Banning Orders have been around for 7 years but the guidance on their use suggests that they may not be appropriate if an individual is subject to domestic violence proceedings. I'd be interested to see if anyone has any knowledge of how these orders work in practice, and whether they are effective in reducing offending. Are they too ...
Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, has confirmed in a statement on her website that she would have voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill had she been able to be in Parliament yesterday. She is currently on maternity leave. She said: I am currently on maternity leave so was unable to vote yesterday, but I feel that it is important for my constituents to know how I would have voted, given the significance of this legislation. Equal marriage is central to the Liberal Democrat belief in a fair, free and open society, and I ...
Wed 6th
12:16LibLink - Lynne Featherstone MP: Moving towards a world free from Female Genital Cutting
Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. Tonight, Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne will be giving a speech tonight (which we will bring you later) and Lynne Featherstone has written an article for the Huffington Post. She will be taking part in an online discussion here at 12:45pm today. First she outlined exactly why FGC is a problem. FGC is a cultural practice involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. In its most extreme form the external genitalia are cut out and the girl's vagina sewn up, to be cut open ...
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by EBuzzing (Wikio as was). Hello again to Alex Folkes and Andrew George. Farewell (temporarily, I'm sure) to Liberal England, Liberal Vision and Mark Thompson. 1 (5) Liberal Democrat Voice No change 2 (30) Mark Pack Down 5 3 (43) Jennie Rigg Down 14 4 (48) Stephen Tall Down 5 5 (56) Zoe O'Connell Up 5 6 (57) Paul Walter Down 3 7 (59) Lynne Featherstone MP Down 25 8 (65) Alex Marsh Down 3 9 (67) Alex Folkes NEW 10 (84) David Allen Green Down ...
Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. Here's the text from my Huffington Post blog on this issue: Why in this present day does female genital mutilation or cutting (FGC) continue? For far too long it has been an issue that people have tended to shy away from, and in my view, neglected. But we can no longer shy away. What FGC actually entails is difficult for most of us in the UK to imagine. But to dispel the taboo, we need to talk about the details. FGC is a cultural practice involving the partial ...
The advice from the NHS Confederation is that some A&Es should close in order to make those that remain more efficient. Your life may be saved if you go to a casualty that has all the right resources. As you may have read in previous blogs, my preference is for local casualties that can treat most things but it may well be the case that local A&Es will close. If they don't then at least your local trust should be considering this option, if only to be seen to be following the Confederation's advice. According to my local paper the ...
The progress of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill through Parliament, with its Second Reading in the House of Commons, should be a cause of celebration amongst Liberal Democrats. As a party we have been, on the whole, united behind these proposals and we should applaud the leadership that Nick Clegg, Lynne Featherstone and, let's give credit where it is due, David Cameron have demonstrated on this particular issue. Working in Coalition, Liberal Democrats have introduced legislation which will secure equal marriage in law. I doubt very much whether a single party government, whether Conservative or Labour led, would have ...
It seems that the Health Board are appealing against the decision made by the Planning Committee to refuse the application for Bodfaen – change of use to a HMO. As a health board, they should be aware of the affect too many HMOs have on an area such as anti-social behaviour, noise, litter, and often ... Keep reading →
Yesterday's debate in the House of Commons on gay marriage ought not to have been a seismic event. Social attitudes have changed markedly in recent decades and homosexuality has ceased to be an issue for most people. The introduction of civil partnerships a few years ago, although controversial, passed without the uproar we have seen this week. Yesterday's vote was not even the final vote on this bill. What is really going on? Why has gay marriage become such a totemic issue, less for its supporters than for its opponents? In part, it is to do with the internal politics ...
This is my evidence to the joint committee on privilege yesterday.
Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP, writes a column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition. Green Deal In my constituency I know that energy prices are a key concern for local people. It has been one of the UK Government's top priorities to help tackle this issue by improving the energy efficiency of people's homes, reducing the confusing number of tariffs available and making it easier for people to switch. The Green Deal, launched last week, will help with the first part by enabling people to insulate their homes ...
Oh dear. While Reading West's MP Alok Sharma did the right thing and voted for the Second Reading of the equal marriage Bill, his hapless Reading East counterpart was all over the place, voting in both lobbies, for and against. This is not merely a case of an MP being hopelessly out of step with the times. I have seen a screenshot of the MP's social media feed with a message proclaiming he was in favour: this was hastily withdrawn. Leading backroom Tory organiser and former Reading East agent Paul Swaddle is, to his credit, in favour. So why did ...
For those wanting to know the voting breakdown of last night's historic decision in the Commons to approve equal marriage, here it is courtesy of Andrew Sparrow's essential Guardian live-blog... Conservatives FOR – 127 MPs (42%) AGAINST – 136 MPs (45%) ABSTENTIONS – 5 MPs (2%) ABSENT – 35 MPs (12%) Labour FOR – 217 MPs (84%) AGAINST – 22 MPs (9%) ABSTENTION – 16 MPs (6%) Lib Dems FOR – 45 MPs (80%) Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey), Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington), Annette Brooke (Dorset Mid & Poole North), Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane), Malcolm Bruce (Gordon), ...
Andrew Hickey makes a very good point about equal marriage (tags: ) fact check on the so called bedroom tax (tags: ) Stunning iron man 3 poster inspired by original comic cover even the date is the same! (tags: ) women don't negotiate salaries because they're not idiots (tags: ) Program Your Own Mind 2: About Teather's "explanation" of voting against equality Lee does an awesome fisk (tags: ) Anonymous soppiness ♡ (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
It's interesting to see micro-chipping of dogs in the news again. About 10 years ago, the Lib Dems discussed animal welfare and micro-chipping. It was a long, earnest and fairly one-sided debate – and some of the journalists and researchers watching appeared to be losing the will to live – when I stood up and opposed the motion (at least part of it). It's safe to say, it's not the most serious speech I've ever made. Mark Pack and I came up with the idea for it in the bar the night before. But the journalists liked it. And I ...
Last night saw the House of Commons approve the second reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. Three Lib Dem MPs spoke, and here are their contributions to that historic debate... [IMG: steve gilbert] Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD): It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins), who has articulated what many people of faith across our country have struggled with before coming to the conclusion that love should be for one and all and that marriage should not be an exclusive institution. I declare an interest: I am a gay man ...
In haste, but I think it's important to say – what a fantastic lobbying operation on Liberal Democrat MPs over same-sex marriage organised by Ed Fordham, Adrian Trett and their colleagues in LGBT+ Liberal Democrats. Add that to their key roles in the original party conference motion that made same-sex marriage party policy, and LGBT+ Lib Dems has been one of the party bodies to make the biggest impact in the last few years. Well done all.
The First Doctor BBC America documentary on William Hartnell's time in the Tardis. (tags: Doctorwho ) In The Future, All Space Marines Will Be Warhammer 40K Space Marines M.C.A. Hogarth's problems with Fames Workshop. (tags: Sf copyright ) Verified Facts Generate your own conspiracy theory! (tags: funny Wing nuts ) Does Ireland need a "Borgen" government? Jason on parliamentary minorities. (tags: ireland poliics )
Well, well, well, we've reached 70! I feel like I'm finally on the home stretch of what has been a bit of an epic undertaking. If you want to review progress in getting this far, click here - after today there's just 14 weeks to go and we'll be bang up to date! Wednesday's will never be the same again... Anyway - all that aside - this week's tune is a bit of a one-hit-wonder from Sam Sparro. This peaked at No. 2 - his only other charting hit reached 44... Andrew
Around a year ago, I asked that the City Council consider provision of a bus shelter on the east side of Glamis Road just north of the junction with Elliot Road - see current bus stop - right. This bus stop is well-used, not just by local residents, but also by people returning from visiting Balgay Cemetery. At the request of residents, I recently asked the Head of Transportation at the City Council for an update on the situation and have been advised: "The request for a bus shelter at the cemetery bus stop on the east side of Glamis ...
I am staging a debate in the Assembly today where I will be calling on the Welsh Labour Government to take urgent action to help stop the threat to the Welsh lamb industry. A combination of factors have resulted in Welsh sheep farmers seeing a 56% cut in their income in just a year. In January, the average Welsh auction market lamb price was 140.08p/kg, which is some 63p less than the comparative month in 2012. Whilst economic factors and rising food costs are making life particularly difficult for farmers, the Welsh Labour Government could be doing a lot more ...
This, roughly, is how the House of Commons divided on the Second Reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill yesterday; green is aye, red is no, grey is abstained/absent and white covers the Speaker and his Deputies, Eastleigh (currently without an MP) and the Sinn Fein MPs. I will aim to correct this map as soon as possible if you bring an errors to light; and please do so! Some points of interest: South Yorkshire is the only English county where all MPs voted "Yes"; there are no counties where all voted "No" though Buckinghamshire (1 Aye, 1 absent ...
Last night, in a packed Committee Room in the House of Commons, I watched alongside LGBT campaigners from all parties and none as the result of the vote on the Second Reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill was announced - 400 Ayes to 175 Noes. Immediately there was an eruption of applause and cheers - people hugged each other, and I even turned to see a lady in tears behind me: she wept as she told her friend how amazing it was. For me the moment was sublime. I remained silent studying the screen as others jumped with ...
The House of Commons acquits itself well: a huge majority for equal rights. Good on David Cameron and the Conservative leadership for putting this through, which genuinely can't have been easy within the Tory party. Two particularly moving speeches came from Stephen Gilbert and Mike Freer. The debate also showed the right wing (from all ...
