I campaigned at the last general election for a fairer, more balanced tax system. I've long thought it unfair and economically perverse to give bigger tax breaks to speculators than employees. It sounded like a bit of spin but it was really the case that a City trader could pay a lower effective rate of ...

Posted by stephenwilliamsmp on Stephen Williams' Blog

MP Julian Huppert has taken his fight for better funding for postgraduate students to the government. He claims the present system, which means most students have to pay up front for their courses leads to "huge social mobility problems". Julian called on Universities Minister, David Willetts to act to allow postgraduate students to pay back the cost of their tuition only when they are earning. "Most have to pay large sums up front, borrowing from banks or their families if they are rich enough which creates huge social mobility problems," he said in the Commons yesterday (Thursday, February 7)." Julian ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill
Fri 8th
20:57

Why do we dissect?

Half way between where I sit and the advance guard of Winter Storm Nemo, sits a bucket that contains a lot of formaldehyde and two large freshwater mussels. Also on that table is two bivalve pairs, cleaned out yesterday after we hacked up the mussels inside them. It was a messy, disorganized process that hit a snag very early on when I handed the kids (aged on a continuous spectrum between 5 and 10) their mussels and told them to prise them open. In the 10 years since I last carried out a mussel vivisection during my undergraduate degree, muggins ...

Posted by Debi on Thagomizer.net

It is always good to talk. This week there has been a lot of talking about marriage. Most of it has been done honestly and respectfully. Overwhelmingly Lib Dems have welcomed the proposals for equal marriage and a higher proportion of our MPs supported the Bill than in other parties. Lauren Keith (pictured on the left below taking part in the 'Breakthrough Breast Cancer' charity Crocus walk in Hesketh Park) has written a guest posting on the issue I'm proud to be a Liberal Democrat this week. Our action in Government, led by Lynne Featherstone MP in her previous role ...

Posted on birkdale focus
Fri 8th
20:41

Six of the Best 321

"It's a bizarre circumstance that the Conservatives ... have chosen a candidate who appears opposed to it and its leader. As well as declaring against Gay Marriage, Lords Reform and Abortion rights - all key elements of the Cameroon modernisation agenda and part of the Tory General Election Manifesto she fought the last election in support of - she's effectively pre-rebelled against the housing and infrastructure policies of the Government she's campaigning to be a part of." Leading Lines on the ironies of the Eastleigh by-election. Spitalfields Life photographs the fight back after fascists firebombed the anarchist Freedom Press bookshop ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

A14 at Girton A top level summit gave widespread support to the principle of a local funding package to help fund improvements to the A14 which is strangling the economy in the eastern region. The A14 Summit, hosted by Cambridgeshire County Council, brought together representatives from Councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships affected by the whole route to discuss the issue. Congestion and accidents along the length of the A14, which is an important European link road, harms the economy of the eastern region and is a barrier for business locating in the area. Improving the road would not only boost ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

This blog first came across Barbara Potter as one of two Leicester Labour councillors who backed the return of the death penalty in August 2011: "Bring it on. Give these murderers the option of the noose, the electric chair or lethal injection. I think the vast majority would back this campaign."The Labour group whip was back in the news today. According to the Leicester Mercury she has been banned from a Leicester primary school (Humberstone Junior School) after falling out with teachers and governors. There may be more to this story than meets the eye, but I suspect those teachers ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Policing costs in Devon and Cornwall will be going up in the coming year thanks to Conservative Police Commissioner Tony Hogg and the rubber stamp of the Tory dominated Police and Crime Panel. At today's meeting, the panel discussed Commissioner Hogg's desire for a referendum-cheating 2% rise in his council tax precept. Cornish Lib Dem councillor Adam Paynter led the charge against the rise. Of course, all budgets are under pressure and the police force has seen officer numbers cut as the pressures tighten. But the bit of Commissioner Hogg's budget that seems more bloated than it need be are ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy
Fri 8th
19:00

Friday favourite 97

Portobello's finest, Shirley Manson, with the unique sound of Garbage and 'Stupid Girl'.

Posted by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone

Of all the arguments against marriage equality I've encountered the two most tiresome are very closely related. We have the "LGBT people don't want to get married" argument (often backed up with historic examples of queer radicalism) and, worse, the "LGBT people shouldn't want to get married (because I thought they were cool)" argument. Both have been used yesterday in two newspaper comment pieces and I think it really is time we put this one to bed. Some LGBT people don't want to get married. I'm not just talking about individuals who have decided it just isn't for them either. ...

YouGov

County Councillor Ron Tindall (Hemel Hempstead St Pauls) has today called for action from Herts County Council following the news that Shelter Hertfordshire is to close. Councillor Tindall said " I have today learnt of the closure of Shelter Hertfordshire which will be a serious loss to the county in terms of advice and advocacy to the vulnerable members of our communities across Hertfordshire. "Shelter has since 1976 provided an essential service to those needing help, particularly families and adults with learning difficulties and mental health issues. "What is Hertfordhire County Council doing about the situation? Who is going to ...

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White

[IMG: Inspector Peter Smith] We met the new Stockport West Police Inspector Peter Smith at the Cheadle Police Post this morning. Peter Smith takes over from Steve Gilbertson, who moves into another role based at Cheadle Heath Police Station. We've worked well with Steve over the last couple of years and wish him well in his new position. Peter grew up in Cheadle and has most recently been based in Reddish. We discussed the issues in Cheadle and Gatley. Although we're a relatively low crime area, and crime's been falling here over the last few years, we still have our ...

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

Just a couple this week. 130189: Change of use from A1 (office) to D2 (education and training facility), Manor Road. 130199: Extension to existing building, Topfield, Popes Lane. 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 ...

Posted by Nick on What You Can Get Away With

The news that rather more frozen lasagne are 100 per cent horse than we realised is really no big surprise, is it. The story will run and run (as they say in horse racing circles). But it does shine a light at the problems with regulators - and it reveals exactly the same problem that the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal does. Does anyone really believe that the horse meat adulteration would have been brought to light by the Food Standards Agency if the Irish regulator had not stumbled upon the problem? Regulators don't take a punt on these things normally ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

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 The end of Chris Huhne's career in politics: initial reactions (74 comments) by Stephen Tall Equal marriage: 2 Lib Dem MPs against and a further 9 (or 10) Missing In Action (164 comments) by Stephen Tall Eastleigh by-election (24 comments) by Mary Reid Our congratulations to Mark Pack - and, alas, a farewell to him (5 comments) by Stephen Tall ++Eastleigh by-election on February 28 (19 comments) by Helen Duffett 5 sample LDV Members' Forum threads First ...

Posted by Helen Duffett on Liberal Democrat Voice
Fri 8th
16:53

Lifted

Last week I and some other local councillors were able to accompany the police on an operation where they searched sixteen properties and arrested 13 people. The activity, whilst centred in the North East, stretched far beyond our area, demonstrating that, as always, crime is no respecter of county boundaries and police force areas, and how important it is that police forces and communities take a wider view. For me the main message of the day was that the operation was only possible because of the information given to the police by ordinary citizens in local communities. It's the police's ...

Posted by Owen Temple on Owen Temple

Kent Highways will start ootway reconstruction works in Coolinge Lane on 11th February. These works involve the replacement of the existing footway surface with a newly constructed asphalt layer, together with localised kerb replacement works and new pedestrian guard railing. Works are programmed to commence on 11 February 2013 for a period of two weeks. Working hours will be from 7am and be completed by 5pm. The works are due to take place in Coolinge Lane, for a 160m length from it's junction with Sandgate Hill to opposite the Mathematics & Computing College on the western side of the carriageway. ...

Posted on Tim Prater
Fri 8th
16:45

Action on footpaths

[IMG: Watery Lane] Cllr Katherine Bird is working with council and housing officers to get the footpath between Colenzo Drive and Watery Lane re-instated. The path was fenced off without local consultation and the area became a dumping ground for rubbish. Following Katherine's calls Testway Housing and Test Valley Highways have agreed to remove the rubbish and damaged fence from the area.

Posted by lengates on Len Gates

Kent County Council will be carrying out patching repairs to the carriageway of Coolinge Lane, Folkestone between its junctions with Shorncliffe Road and Audley Road starting on 18 February 2013 and taking approximately 5 days to complete. The work is being carried out to repair potholes and areas of cracking, in advance of the proposed application of a micro asphalt surface treatment, which is currently being programmed for 6 and 7 March 2103. Additional notification will be provided for the surface treatment work nearer to the time. During these essential works, it will be necessary to close Coolinge Lane, between ...

Posted on Tim Prater

Unmanned aerial vehicles are no longer the preserve of the military. Civilian applications are booming Until recently, drones only meant one thing to me. They were the flying killing machines favoured by Obama, brought vividly to life - ironically - by the central plot of the president's favourite TV show, Homeland. They were the cutting-edge technology that pushed public concerns about automated warfare to the limit. A UN inquiry into military drone attacks will report this Autumn. And the Ministry of Defence has just bought an extra 160 miniature flying surveillance vehicles for use in Afghanistan. Drones felt like the ...

Posted by Jessica Bland on Science: Political science | guardian.co.uk
eUKhost

On Sunday 30th December PCSO Mark Ball attended One Stop in Cheriton Road in relation to a report of Shoplifting. From viewing the stores CCTV Officer Ball identified the male who was subsequently arrested. On Friday 4th January 2013 PCSO Mark Ball and PCSO Gary Carr attended Bouverie Place Shopping Centre in relation to a report of nuisance youths who were verbally abusive to members of the public. The group were stopped and quickly identified and moved on from the area. Parents will be informed of their conduct. Whilst on routine patrol of Hawkinge Cemetery PCSO's Gary Carr and Mark ...

Posted on Tim Prater

Today I met with Dean Murphy, local director of the new Sutton branch of Metro Bank to welcome him and his team to Sutton. Their branch opening celebrations take place over today and tomorrow and Dean told me that they already had high numbers of local people signing up for an account with the branch. There was ...

Posted by jaynemccoy on Diary of a Sutton Councillor

The Home Office yesterday announced plans for the regulation of CCTV as part of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This is fantastic news. The regulation of CCTV and the protection of civil liberties were key to our manifesto and prominent in the coalition agreement. Britain is home to as many as 4.2 million CCTV cameras – up to 20% of cameras globally – yet under Labour there was virtually no control over who has access to state surveillance. Our reforms mean we can control who has access to cameras, and how the footage is used. Regulation will be crucial ...

Posted by Julian Huppert MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

The 36,000 people who signed the Mary Seacole petition were thanked today. They were instrumental in securing victory after education secretary Michael Gove unveiled the new schools curriculum. In addition, the number of MPs of ...

Posted by Lester Holloway on

The Ofsted report on its January inspection of Pent Valley Technology College in Surrenden Road, Folkestone has given the school an assessment of "Good". they say: This is a good school. Students make good progress and achieve well. Progress accelerates as students move up through the school and they achieve particularly well in English. Teaching in most subjects, including English, mathematics and science, is good. Students' behaviour around the school is good. Their conduct, manners and punctuality are good. They are courteous to adults, welcoming to visitors and generally respectful of one another. The headteacher and members of the governing ...

Posted on Tim Prater

MEPs vote against discards and for sustainable fisheries across Europe On Wednesday, MEPs voted for an ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) by 502 to 137 votes. Chris Davies, who founded the cross-party MEP campaign group Fish For the Future, commented after the historic vote: Today's overwhelming support for EU fisheries reform from MEPs across all parties and nationalities puts us in a very strong negotiation position with Member States in the Council of Ministers. The Irish Presidency has made clear it wants to complete the reform by June. People across Europe have said that we must stop ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

County Councillor Chris White (St Albans) has allocated £200 to the Hatfield Road Day care Group from his locality budget fund. The Hatfield Road Daycare Group is a charity which runs a day centre for older people (72-103 years old) and disabled housebound people, almost all from the Fleetville area of St Albans. The funding will contribute towards the cost of the group's 25th Anniversary celebration event. A total of £10,000 is available to each of the 77 members of Hertfordshire County Council to spend on worthwhile community projects in their area. Locality budgets were launched in July 2009, with ...

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White

About Teather's "explanation" of voting against equality – Lee Griffin points out the problems with Sarah Teather's reasons for voting against the same-sex marriage bill. The Other 11 Doctors – What if the Doctor had always been played by a woman? Damsel, Arise: A Westboro Scion Leaves Her Church – Megan Phelps-Roper, one of the more prominent members of the Westboro Baptist Church ('God Hates Fags') has left it. Open letter to Andrew Turner MP – "I will not vote for you, because you think I am worth less as a person than you. No-one who believes I am as ...

Posted by Nick on What You Can Get Away With

Solo Blog: Life Less Ordinary by Stephadoo - especially worth reading is her Guide to the ladies of classic who. Group Blog: Brian May in Places - Hilarious photoshopping of my favourite curly-haired old hippy* guitarist. Twitterer: DM Reporter. Spoof Daily Mail journalist. Hilarious and sharp. Podcast: Mitch Benn music podcast, this week featuring EXXCITING COMIC RELIEF NEWS! Pinterest Board: Cosmos: the Universe. Amazing photos of stars and galaxies from a huge group of people. Radio Show: The Film Programme. Beats any film programme on the TV by a country mile, and better than Kermode and Mayo by dint of ...

Yesterday, Michael Gove announced plans to scrap the English Baccalaureate Certificate (EBacc), intended to replace the current GCSE system way of examining. I welcome the U turn. Whilst I believe that it remains true that we need to reform ... Continue reading →

Posted by John Leech MP on John Leech MP

When Sainsbury's expanded their Cheadle Royal store, they had to pay some money for improving access. Some of that money has gone to the upgraded puffin crossing on Schools Hill – the rest (which has to be spent near the store) is on improvements for cyclists and pedestrians at the Cheadle Royal roundabout in in Bruntwood Park. The proposals include new/resurfaced footpath to run parallel to Bruntwood Lane from Valley Road up to the main car park in Bruntwood Park. new 3m wide footpath/cycle path to run past the car park on Bruntwood Park, down past the BMX track and ...

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

Acocks Green Village's Post Office may move location following an announcement by the Post Office about its national network of Crown (owned by the Post Office) branches. The Post Office want to replace 70 of these Crown branches, including Acocks Green, with post offices based in other shops. Crucially they have promised that there will be no closures, saying if retail partners cannot be found, the Crown branch will remain. There is currently no information about where the Acocks Green Post Office might move to, simply a promise from the Post Office that it will be in the same vicinity. ...

Posted by rogerharmer on Roger Harmer

Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Tories start ahead in Eastleigh - but it's going to be a battle – Lord Ashcroft Polls Here is that Lord Ashcroft poll showing Tories/LibDems neck-and-neck in Eastleigh http://buff.ly/WSRL7T Anthony Hilton: Bank-shares giveaway is a clever idea – Analysis & Features – Business – London Evening Standard Anthony Hilton: Vince's bank-shares giveaway is a clever idea http://buff.ly/WRNKAM (@swilliamsmp said it here btw http://bit.ly/WRO16L) Why Cameron must win Eastleigh The Tory Diary ConHome's Paul Goodman on 'Why Cameron must win Eastleigh' http://buff.ly/UFBCEK Spanish politics: Can Rajoy hang on to his job? | The ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Stephen Tall

The Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group has presented a radical alternative to the Mayor's draft budget, prioritising home building, creating new jobs and safeguarding London's fire and police services. The changes to the Mayor's budget include plans to create a new £1.7 billion housing investment fund, to deliver a further 55,000 affordable homes and create 37,000 permanent jobs. At the same time the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Members have shown how extra resources can be found to avoid the Mayor's dangerous proposals to cut fire stations, police counters and the decimation of dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Acton Fire Station The ...

Posted by Gary Malcolm on Councillor Gary Malcolm

The news about the abandonment of the EBC is to be welcomed by all interested in a progressive and inclusive education system. Is this beginning of the end of the regular Gove-ian, back of the envelope initiatives, which seem to have little to do with evidence-based, rigorous research and planning, and more to do with a kind of "Tom Brown's Schooldays", personal take on what makes for a good education? Somehow I doubt that. But at least it's a start. The education world has been suffering from major shock and awe style reforms and promises (threats?) of reform, such as ...

Posted by Helen Flynn on Liberal Democrat Voice

Probably not the answer Lord Ashcroft was looking for... I'm not complaining though....

Posted by Richard Morris on A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON

Here are the highlights of work in January 2013 in the portfolio I have responsibility for on Northumberland County Council. Contact CentreThe Fire and Rescue Service completed its second month of delivering the Council's 'out of hours' contact centre service on behalf of the Council. Although no major concerns from the public were raised, there were some issues 'behind the scenes', which were pro actively managed and resolved by officers from a range of departments. This included a fault with the telephone system over two weekends (12 - 13 January and 18 - 19 January), which has now been repaired. ...

Posted by Neil Bradbury on Northern Neil

[IMG: House of Lords] It may only be February, but like schools, half-term is approaching fast (don't forget, Easter is a bit earlier this year). And with the break starting on Friday, there's still quite a bit of business to squeeze in. Curiously, there are no oral questions or debates initiated from the Liberal Democrat benches all week, but the agenda isn't without interest. On Monday most attention will be focussed on the Second Reading of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill. Baroness Stowell of Beeston has the unenviable task of leading for the Government, although given that votes are unusual ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

Debates about science's problems shouldn't be left to the walls of public lavatories, no matter how well connected those walls might be A slightly surprising thing happened last weekend: an op-ed by Ben Goldacre on withholding clinical trial results became one of the most emailed pieces in the New York Times. Maybe it's not that much of a surprise: these are life-and-death issues even if they look like bureaucracy. But they are life-and-death issues that have traditionally been kept at some distance from the public. It's esoteric stuff, even for a skilled writer like Goldacre. And that's one of the ...

An FOI Request to Gwynedd Council revealed that the Environment Portfolio Holder Gareth Roberts has not visited Bangor and has no intention to visit Bangor despite numerous complaints from individual Councillors, Bangor City Councillor as a body, the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and most importantly, Bangor residents. Bangor has a severe lack of disabled parking, ... Keep reading →

Posted by Rhys Taylor on Ramblings of a Liberal Democrat.

There is much coverage this morning about the Audit Select Committee's criticism over disability benefits tests. Unusually, Government ministers have been robust in their defence of the system, and ATOS, the company who carry out the assessments. They have ... Continue reading →

Posted by John Leech MP on John Leech MP

Some Positive comments about our Libraries Here are some comments we have received at the Northumberland library service: CRAMLINGTON"I am very impressed with the research and dedication given by library staff to finding information no matter how obscure" HEXHAM"The printed page is well represented, the I.T is looked upon by many as "ace" (I believe that is the term). All enquiries are answered by professional and caring staff, an efficient body of ladies and gentlemen that makes Hexham Library the treasure everyone trusts." LYNEMOUTH"Thanks for all the help I received whilst preparing for an English Language examination which I passed. ...

Posted by Neil Bradbury on Northern Neil

Let me begin by saying that I enthusiastically support equal marriage. The ability of two people who love each other to marry regardless of their gender is a blessing, Tuesday's vote was a victory for liberalism, and despite its flaws the Bill is a big step forward to a fairer society. I found the explanations made by those Lib Dem MPs who opposed the bill to be intellectually unconvincing, sometimes evasive, and fundamentally illiberal. And yet, I was slightly perturbed by the number of people - and a party organisation - discussing whether to refuse to campaign for the 'rebels'. ...

Posted by James King on Liberal Democrat Voice

This lunchtime I was on the Daily Politics with Tim Montgomerie being grilled by Andrew Neil about the forthcoming Eastleigh by-election: Keep watching to near the end, for this rather helpful quote: "Ideal scenario would be where the Lib Dems win" – Lab cllr on Eastleigh. Watch video at bit.ly/YZbuFS — Mark Pack (@markpack) February 8, 2013 [IMG: Polling station sign] The backdrop to our discussion was the first Eastleigh by-election poll, conducted by Lord Ashcroft and with polling immediately after Chris Huhne's guilty plea, puts the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats within the margin of error (34% – 31%). The ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

There are three scheduled meetings at Blyth Town Council next week Tuesday 12th February , 6:30 pm at Isabella Centre Blyth Assets Committee meeting with allotment holders' representatives, followed by Tuesday 12th February, 7:15 pm at Isabella Centre Blyth Assets Committee meeting, councillors only I'm not on the Assets Committee, but I may go to these meetings to see what's happening I have just (Friday afternoon) been informed of an additional meeting Thursday 14th February , 6:30 at Ebor House, Blyth Special meeting of Events Committee This is to carry out some business that was carried over from the last ...

Posted by Alisdair Gibbs-Barton on Alisdair Gibbs-Barton
Fri 8th
09:48

A near miss

Yesterday's Telegraph records that if we are standing in the right place next week, namely the equator then we might just see a very close near miss as an asteroid measuring 150 feet across comes within 28,000 kilometres (17,000 miles in real money) of the earth. The paper says that the 130,000 tonne space rock will miss Earth so narrowly that it will come within the orbit of some communication satellites, travelling at a speed of five miles per second, eight times the speed of a bullet from a rifle. Could Lembit Opik have been right about something after all? ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

...since last night. It's all changed since I had a lot of feedback last night. Most of it totally uninformed so this is still guessing. Scroll to the bottom to see updates of people saying 'wrong wrong wrong'. *Late Runner --- Justine McGuinness --- Late Runner* 2-1 Louise Bloom (NEW) New favourite. Eastleigh Councillor, former member of the GLA, much admired in the part nationally and locally, HOW DID I FORGET HER YESTERDAY??? 4-1 Gerald Vernon-Jackson (from 2-1) Still second favourite but the leader of Portsmouth City Council has drifted in the odds due to the large number of folk ...

Posted by Richard Morris on A VIEW FROM HAM COMMON

Vote Molly Axe is an American men's deodorant, similar in their sexist marketing to lynx in the UK. They are running a contest to send someone into space. wouldn't it be cool if that person was a lady? (tags: ) Vote Sabrina this is the UK version of the above. Certainly explains why axe and lynx have similar sexist marketing campaigns... (tags: ) One of the reasons I want equal marriage Heart-rending story. (tags: ) "Why do you hate the shape of breasts in plate armor so much?" this! (tags: ) Girls Lead in Science Exam, but Not in the ...

South Glos Council is currently asking for your views on its proposed schools admissions policy for 2014/15. This is that policy that will state how school places will be allocated for that year. Last year some local residents felt they were disadvantaged because of where they lived. You can view the proposed policy and comment online.

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

On Wednesday 30th January the National Assembly for Wales held a 'Debate by Individual Members' on Wales' relationship with the European Union. Aside from myself, the debate was tabled by Simon Thomas (Plaid Cymru Regional Member for Mid and West Wales) and David Rees (Welsh Labour Member for Aberavon) - with the additional support of 14 Assembly Members from our three Parties. Sadly no one from the Welsh Conservatives felt able to give their support in advance. Our aim with this debate was simple. We called on the National Assembly for Wales to recognise the 'benefits to Wales of being ...

Posted by William Powell AM on Freedom Central

 

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

[IMG: eastleigh campaign] Mark Pack has posted last night's poll findings from Eastleigh, showing the Tories narrowly ahead with both Labour and Ukip out of serious contention. In case you needed some reasons to help the Lib Dem campaign in the next three weeks in whatever way you're able here are 5 from me... The Lib Dems can win... Lord Ashcroft's poll is pretty ideal for the party: it piles the pressure on the Tories as early front-runners, while confirming how tight the contest will be. The Lib Dems' local strength is significant — as Lord (Chris) Rennard has pointed ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice

In 2004 Jenny Tonge, then a Liberal Democrat MP, said after a visit to Palestine that, although she did not condone the behaviour of suicide bombers: "If I had to live in that situation - and I say that advisedly - I might just consider becoming one myself." For this admission of empathy, shared by many, she was slapped down by the then party leader, Charles Kennedy. Last year, for stating that, "Israel in its present form is not going to be there for ever," (a fairly obvious truth: the UK for example, "lost" the larger part of Ireland in ...

Posted by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal

One of the main justifications offered by the coalition government for sticking to its austerity policies is a fear that the UK would otherwise lose its 'triple A' rating from the credit rating agencies. But why should we trust the judgement of the credit rating agencies? Ever since they gave the thumbs up to subprime mortgages and helped trigger the banking crisis of 2007/8, more and more of their misjudgements have come to light. The USA is currently being entertained by the Justice Department's five-billion-dollar lawsuit against one of these agencies, Standard & Poor's, which is accused of defrauding investors ...

Posted by Simon Titley on Liberator's blog
Fri 8th
07:43

Happy Chinese New Year

 

Posted by liberalabroad on overseasliberal

Before I start, news from Eastwood in Nottinghamshire; Result:Eastwood South byelection (Ashfield Con)LD831.Ind 221.Lab 227.LDgain from Lab.Turnout18.4%Lab2nd by6!604 majority,65%of vote. — Jason Zadrozny (@jzadrozny) February 7, 2013 Congratulations to candidate David Hallam and all of our team in Ashfield on this gain from Labour. Made slightly more complex by the fact that our beloved site crashed late yesterday evening, we're another day closer to the Eastleigh by-election. Unfortunately, I can't get to Eastleigh, but am giving money instead. And if, like me, you'd really like to help but can't get to Hampshire, you can do so by visiting the Eastleigh ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

I have submitted my proposals to improve the Dundee City Council Revenue Budget the SNP administration put forward. These are: EDUCATIONDo not increase statutory level in S1in Mathematics and English in any schools £197k CITY DEVELOPMENTSupported Services UnregisteredContinue Friendly Bus service £60k TOTAL £257k This would be fully funded from a number of sources including : CORPORATE SERVICESCut Advertising and Contract Car Hire Budget ENVIRONMENTDo not proceed with Fortnightly Bin Collections so less funding required for Scottish Waste Aware Group and Zero Waste Fund initiatives CHIEF EXECUTIVEReduce Exhibition Events Activities, printing and stationery and other Supplies Services I welcome the ...

This should have been a really great episode! And in some ways the show's definitely coming into its own. Tr0uble is, now they're bringing all the plot threads together it's becoming obvious which are really thin indeed. So much for Oliver's character development from a random murderer to someone who feels bad about murder. So much, also, for Quentin being an actual interesting character? [IMG: 113c] OTOH, the show's starting to build up towards some things, the Island plot is becoming something approaching mildly interesting, and the grown ups' plot if becoming the plot of the show. Sadly, a ridiculously ...

Posted by Debi on Thagomizer.net

I'm actually going slightly out of order here. There were two Beach Boys solo albums released in 1977. The first of these, Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue, is generally considered a masterpiece. It's been issued on CD as a double "special edition", including tons of bonus tracks and an entire second, previously-unreleased, album, Bambu, that ...

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

I think Alan Johnson's name will be gracing many a leaflet in Eastleigh courtesy of his comment tonight: "Labour aren't going to win" says Alan Johnson #bbctw #eastleigh — Ian Morton (@agentmorty) February 8, 2013

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Business minister and Lib Dem rising star, Jo Swinson, came to Kingston this evening to talk to local publicans and CAMRA members about the problems in the trade. She got a good reception and the recent announcement from the Business Department aimed at tackling unfair business practices of the pubcos was well received. Other issues raised included the lack of planning powers for local councils to prevent surreptitious change of use, minimum pricing, duties and the beer escalator. Thanks to Rick at the fantastic Willoughby Arms for hosting.

Posted by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone