Morecambe MP David Morris was on a programme called Free Speech on BBC3 yesterday and he mentioned the court case that I wrote about in my last blog. A young graduate was taken from her relevant and interesting work and forced to work in Poundland by a Government scheme which highlights the importance of voluntary work. You can see how I agreed with the Appeal Court judges if you scroll down. However David takes a different view. David tells us that the geology graduate felt she was 'enforced into slavery by working in Poundland'. Maybe she did say that but ...
Last September I visited Delapre Abbey and the miniature railway in its park. Today, via the BBC's Northampton pages, comes news of a restoration plan: Plans for a £3.6m transformation of an 850-year-old abbey in Northampton have been revealed. Delapre Abbey could undergo the restoration if the borough council's plans and bid for lottery funding are approved in the summer. It is hoped parts of the main abbey would be restored for tours and events, and two stable blocks turned into visitor areas and small business units. The work would be completed in phases and should take three years.No doubt ...
Comedians do not always tell the truth about their pasts. Think of Stewart Lee and his stories about David Cameron and Richard Hammond. ("Now that story about David Cameron is not true. But I feel what it tells us about David Cameron is.") But I think Charmian Hughes is telling the truth here: The Jesuits say 'Give me the boy at seven and I will give you the man'. Chris Huhne wasn't seven when I first met him, he was 11. It was 1965, I was nine and my family had just moved to London. Chris and his arty lively ...
Memorandum submitted by Lord Pannick QC (MB 01) Note to the Public Bill Committee 1 There is no basis for the concerns expressed by some MPs during the Second Reading Debate in the House of Commons last week [1] that there may be good legal cause why this man and this man (or this woman and this woman) should not be joined together in matrimony. worth reading in full at he concludes: 5 Concern has been expressed that the European Court may challenge the special position of the Church of England and the Church in Wales, which cannot opt-in ...
This YouTube video shows a really great example how the tyranny of traffic congestion can be solved in a way that meets the needs of pedestrians and vehicle drivers. It is truly inspiring and worth watching through to the end.
Big expansion of Lansdown Park & Ride complete An extra 390 spaces are now available at Lansdown Park & Ride as part of Bath & North East Somerset Council's upgrade of the city transportation system - two weeks earlier than planned. The Council has already extended Odd Down Park & Ride by 230 spaces and plans to expand the Newbridge site by 250 spaces in the Autumn. The number of spaces will jump some 40% from 1,990 before the extensions started to 2,860 when complete. Some 500,000 passengers use Lansdown Park & Ride every year - a number anticipated to ...
Coming home this evening I fell into conversation with Brenda Murray. We were sat waiting for the Southport train at Liverpool Central station. Brenda has been working on a project to to erect a statue of Gladstone in his childhood home of Seaforth and was very delighted that the Crosby Herald had done an article -which she produced out of the large bag she was carrying. It began: A SEAFORTH historian's long campaign to remember one of Great Britain's greatest politicians will finally be recognised later this month. Brenda Murray, 89, has worked tirelessly to raise money for an 8ft ...
As Liberal Democrat Leader of Bath and NE Somerset Council I have introduced a pilot programme to webcast some of the Council meetings. The first pilot was the meeting of the Cabinet on 13/02/2013. The webcast can be seen at CLICK THIS LINK The Guildhall was packed for the first two items of school building programme and our budget proposals. The Liberal Democrat cabinet is proposing for a second year in a row a 0% Council Tax rise. My notes for the meeting are as follows:- Cabinet Meeting Notes - 6.2.13 Agenda Item 12: Financial Plan 2013/14 – 2015/16, Budget ...
Somehow the Earth people must have found a way of making heavy things fly. But how? Well, I had no more idea than Jeffo or anyone else. I was no different from the rest. We knew so little, and Earth knew so much. We might as well be blind for all we understood about things. No wonder we longed for Earth. As ever, the BSFA shortlist continues to deliver good reading, with this story of an accidental human colony on a distant, cold world, decided from two survivors of a lost expedition, and now subject to politics and splintering. It's ...
The much larger Taculbain flying about their heads were providing a diversion, the Mecrim jumping into the air whenever one came close. A ring of Dugarqs with guns had surrounded the beasts.I found this rather a confused and slightly tedious tale, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe landing on a planet where medievalish humans are dominated by an anti-science cult and various subterranean alien races emerge to do battle or otherwise prop up the plot. The is one nice scene with Jamie and Zoe driving a hovercar together. And there is a nice continuity touch: the I in IMC originally stood ...
She was a gigantic holy terror, a fierce tyrannical monster who frightened the life out of the pupils and teachers alike. There was an aura of menace about her even at a distance, and when she came up close you could almost feel the dangerous heat radiating from her as from a red-hot rod of metal... Thank goodness we don't meet many people like her in this world, although they do exist and all of us are likely to come across at least one of them in a lifetime. For some reason I had never read this particular Roald Dahl ...
Ah the 14th of February. The day when we are all meant to show our love for our significant other and if you don't have a significant other you are shamed and feel depressed because society dictates that you should be. Well as you all know I like to rail against the way society says I should be so there won't be any lamenting from me. I enjoy Valentine's Day as I see all those who are 'luvvy-duvvy' show off about how happy they are and those who aren't complain mercilessly about everything. Also the most fun bit is when ...
What was the proudest political moment of the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, the man who wields the axe over Lewisham Hospital, according to his bio on the Conservative Party website? PROUDEST POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT: Working with local campaigners to save the Royal Surrey County Hospital's A&E department from closure. A 6,000-strong rally, packed public ...
Hardworking Londoner, Caroline Pidgeon, says that soon every Londoner will be owed £10 by embassies that dodge the Congestion Charge. How sad this is. Why have we a Mayor of London who is not fighting for Londoners. The amount of unpaid Congestion Charge and penalty charge notices owed by embassies and diplomatic missions that evade paying the Congestion Charge now stands at £68 million according to new figures obtained from the Mayor by Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group. Caroline Pidgeon In answer to a recent written question the Mayor has admitted that in mid ...
Labour's shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan is quoted in today's London Evening Standard as pledging that half of its' key target seats in the capital will have all-women shortlists. This is admirable from a party that ...
The papers have been published for next week's budget council meeting. According to them – and to the press release put out by Wokingham Borough Council – the Conservatives are planning to increase Council Tax this year by 1.9%. I would love to be able to tell you what is in the budget and what the implications are for residents, but unfortunately I only got sight of the documents yesterday afternoon and am still working my way through them. Bear in mind that involves reading about 150 pages of detailed figures. In most councils the budget is openly discussed for ...
"A record of Action" "Action Days", "Activists" Politics, to me, is all about the action. This appeals very much to the part of me that wants to get things done, and improve things for everyone... I like creating new plans, projects and do this almost to a fault - I've noticed in the past I have to hold myself back from "something must be done, this is something, therefore it must be done". This is why I think thoughtful conservatives deserve a place in British politics, even though I self-define as on the progressive side - sometimes you need people ...
Every weekday morning at the northern end of Melbourne Grove T BROWN vans park willy-nilly. Some come super early before 7am park up and play loud music to annoy the locals. Many park on the single and double yellow lines. When I've checked with council officials they tell me they have park anywhere passes. I say but those vouchers are meant to be at the council housing end not at some depot newly acquired and effectively subsidised by this parking free for all. Tough is the effective response. I point out that the vans proclaim how they work for Lewisham ...
[IMG: Ed Davey] Cabinet member and MP for Kingston Ed Davey has been on Twitter for a while at @eddaveykands. However that account's last tweet was back in 2010. He's now started up again with a new account – @EdwardDaveyMP. The first two tweets look promising: a mix of constituency and Lib Dem news. Let's see what the future holds... You can follow all the Lib Dem MPs on Twitter via this list.
Recently I wrote this letter to Nick Clegg with regard to the Security and Justice Bill. Today I have received a reponse. Here it is, in full, with no comment (for now...) The only edit I've made is to omit the name of the staffer who sent it. Dear Mr Brown, Thank you for your email to Nick Clegg. I am replying on his behalf. We fully understand that our members instinctively have concerns about the implications of the Justice & Security Bill for civil liberties and I hope to address these concerns in this email. As you know, we ...
[View the story "Eastleigh by-election: 14 February round-up" on Storify] Eastleigh by-election: 14 February round-up A relatively quiet day on the by-election trail so far today, but with more naked men than usual. Storified by Mark Pack· Thu, Feb 14 2013 09:15:33 Let's start with how the bookies think things are going: Eastleigh byelection. Latest Betfair traded implied victory probabilities: Lib Dem 55% Conservative 40% Labour 4% UKIP 3%Damian Lyons Lowe Meanwhile David Cameron came visiting Eastleigh today and copied the approach of the Conservative Party candidate Maria Hutchings in dodging the media: Cameron has slipped the Eastleigh press pack ...
[IMG: St Johns Rd Team] I have put in formal requests to Hampshire County Council to release figures on how well they do at repairing roads. It is a common complaint from residents that they report potholes and broken paving but no action is taken. Too often they are left with no option but to sue the council for compensation. Over £75,000 has been paid out for trips and falls in Andover alone. I have even heard councillors advise residents to sue the council for repairs to cars damaged by pot holes. I requested details of the number of potholes ...
When it comes to fear of flying, it's the idea that risk should be treated purely as a number which is irrational Very few risk experts display the same combination of peerless authority and engaging clarity achieved by Professor David Spiegelhalter, Winston Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University. A particular virtue is Spiegelhalter's unusual openness about the limits to risk assessment. This kind of humility is sometimes difficult for experts who have invested so much in their favoured methods, that they end up like the proverbial carpenter equipped only with a hammer - for whom every ...
Liberator understands that a large batch of new life peers is shortly to be announced, probably before the end of this month. The list will include 18 Liberal Democrats, which implies at least 30 new Conservative peers and over 50 new peers in all, since the ostensible aim is to bring the parties' share of peerages more closely into line with the result of the last general election. This has a certain logic, although it means the creation of a ridiculous number of new peerages, since each successive general election will require the winning party to leapfrog the others. It ...
Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has issued a withering retort to Miliband and Ball's economic nonsense. In a statement just released by the Lib Dems, Alexander has condemned the two Eds for being "rather late to the party, wanting to cut taxes for those on low and middle incomes." He ...
When Will Straw first set up Left Foot Forward in 2009 he asked me to be a part of the inaugural team of contributors with a particular focus on drugs policy and electoral reform. Having learned all about how LFF was to be an evidence based blog with a left-leaning agenda I was happy to be a part of it although over the last few years I drifted away from contributing. I was however somewhat irked in 2010 when LFF published a number of pieces relating to research done by Tim Horton of the Fabians and Howard Reed of Landman ...
I have essays in You And Who 2: Contact Has Been Made, a two-volume charity anthology of essays by fans on Doctor Who. Volume 1 has a short piece by me on The Space Museum and volume 2 has one on the Eighth Doctor Adventures. I don't actually remember what I wrote in them, as ...
In Liberal Democrat circles, when Barack Obama is discussed, it's generally agreed that he's doing a grand job except for the not insignificant matter of the extra-judicial killings and the use of unmanned drone attacks. Paddy Ashdown has expressed a different view writing in today's Times describing drones as the most "democratic" weapon ever invented. As a lifelong peace-loving hippy, you'd expect that I would have been the first to head Paddy's advice: war is a revolting practice and cannot be discussed without using revolting words. So the squeamish and those morally offended by all violence should look away now. ...
You may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together - what do you get? The sum of their fears.We had better award the old boy Quote of the Day while we are at it.
The start of the Eastleigh by-election campaign has shown the perks, and problems, campaign emails. The battle to replace Chris Huhne as MP for Eastleigh is well under way now, and the parties are trying to rally the troops into action. From what I saw when I was there on Monday, Lib Dem members don't ...
Over 500 local people in Hertfordshire are waiting to hear about their dropped kerb crossover applications, because Herts County Council decided to stop processing applications in the run-up to the new Highways contract from the 1st October and Ringway, the new contractor has not done the work they should have since then. The new Ringway contract already has a backlog of work and have admitted that they may take till June to get all the outstanding highways repairs done. Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Central Watford and Oxhey, Leader of the Opposition) was appalled to hear of yet more delays and commented, ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... This is a squeal: watch disabled piglet Chris P Bacon learn to use his wheels – World – News – London Evening Standard A disabled piglet with a wheelchair. Totally aww. Happy Valentine's Day > http://buff.ly/YtfatL "Brown's mistake" has already been reversed "Brown's mistake" has already been reversed, reports @AlexHern http://buff.ly/Ytesg1 Yep. By the Lib Dems in Coalition. Labour: I agree with Vince | Hopi Sen .@HopiSen says: "Whisper it, but Labour's economic policy is now Vince Cable's economic policy, delayed a few years." http://buff.ly/YtdQHk Is it time to re-introduce the 10p ...
Now there's a surprise "Portas" money (David Cameron's High St. intiative) disappears into the shadowy world of Margate's great and the good, well at least according to the Independent newspaper, as it becomes apparent that of all those, sent freedom of information requests, to see just how wisely or not town teams have been, Margate was the only one unable to open up and let the world know how or if they have used any of the taxpayers one hundred thousand pounds in the high profile government initiative. Just to add to concerns about Margate, Cllr Clive Hart (Labour Leader), ...
At Landpark Wood B4540/B4541, Bedfordshire 2013/2/13. Pathways very muddy in places. Not good for "silly shoes". Stout footwear, boots or wellies a must. Some of these images are available as quality prints. Check out my Pro-Prints. Location Map, Bedfordshire, UK From the free car park near the roundabout, there is a gate through to a meadow. A littler bin and dog poo bin are available close by. Immediately ahead is a tarmacadamed path leading to a picnic table. The meadow is ideal for dogs to run around on. The meadow has a picnic table. Dirt paths run off at several ...
I had a laugh to myself yesterday when on my Twitter feed someone had sent a tweet that mentioned that Ed Miliband has a "policy chief" - surely this must have been the easiest job in the world for the past 2 years? (Incidentally, on further investigation the tweet was referring to Jon Cruddas, an MP, so one would assume he had other responsibilities). Yet amazingly today, Labour have announced a policy! Huzzah! Now after all of this time to think I'm sure it's a very unique and revolutionary policy, so what is it? Ah yes - fairer taxes... Well, ...
According to a report published by Shelter this week, if the price of an oven ready chicken had risen as fast as the price of the average house since 1971, it would cost £51.18. House prices simply have to fall if we're to find any way out of our economic mess and many of those with mortgages are going to have to take a hit. What we need to do is to ensure that the pain is borne by those who can best afford it... and who caused the problem in the first place. We need to get over our ...
After posting about using the Galaxy Note II for a full day of work, someone asked me why I didn't just plug in a proper keyboard and mouse to it. To be honest, I'd never even considered that as a possibility! In order to plug in USB peripherals to an Android device, you'll need a USB-OTG adapter (OTG stands for On The Go). One end plugs into your Android's charging port, the other end is just a regular USB port. The total cost for a USB A 2.0 female to Micro USB B male Cable Adapter on Amazon ? 70p. ...
Here's my latest blog on the huffington post website. I am currently in Mozambique with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. There is money in the air in Mozambique. The deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and I have just watched Nilza and Herculano transfer 100 meticais (about two pounds) via mobile phone. They may both be standing in front of us for this demonstration, but in a country where less than 12% of adults have a bank account, the benefits of these mobile money systems can be large. The Department for International Development (DFID) supported the launch of M-Pesa mobile money ...
At yesterday's cabinet meeting, Conservative cabinet members were queuing up to ask for Liberal Democrat leadership on council tax and the budget. Apparently, it is all because I was quoted on Radio Cornwall yesterday morning setting out the Liberal Democrat position: "We want to see the lowest possible level of council tax whilst protecting services. If we can find a way of freezing council tax for a third straight year whilst protecting the services that people value, then we will do so. If we can't freeze council tax then we will seek the minimum increase necessary."The Conservative Leadership's budget is ...
Yesterday at PMQs Ed Miliband channelled Ronald Reagan. Today he's channelling Vince Cable: Labour does have a policy after all. Two in fact! It's just that they're both Lib Dem policies: tax cuts for low-paid funded by mansion tax. — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) February 14, 2013 Here's what Ed has just announced: Let me tell you about one crucial choice we would make, which is different from this government. We would tax houses worth over £2 million. And we would use the money to cut taxes for working people. We would put right a mistake made by Gordon Brown and ...
[IMG: Storify logo] Curation has become rather a buzzword in the last couple of years, with the idea that there is a niche for people and brands who curate content for their audience. With the huge volume of content available online, selecting, sorting and presenting the most interesting is a way to increase your audience and to keep it happy. As long of course as there is enough decent content in the first place to select from and to curate, without everyone ending up curating each other in an incestuous circle full of cross links and short of content. Alongside ...
Some want more sport in schools, or more competitive sport, and there are complaints about funding. This misses the point, though. Although obesity is an issue for school children, it's actually far less of a problem for people in their late teens and early twenties. In other words, there aren't lots of school kids dying through being overweight; instead there are lots of kids who are overweight aged 8-12 but generally lose weight and get fitter – for all the obvious reasons – over the next decade. School sports can be great, but can also put people off. A good ...
The little boy in the Emperor's New Clothes, the Hans Christian Anderson story, was the best kind of consultant - outside the structures of imperial management enough to be able to see the truth. When I wrote my book The Tyranny of Numbers, more than a decade ago now, I suggested we use the little boy's question - actually it was a statement, not a question - as the antidote to fatuous or dubious data and the tickbox systems that spread from it, especially in the public sector. I was reminded of that this morning by the NHS blogger Roy ...
Safer Stockport Partnership has launched Ringmaster, a free scheme to give you information about crime and safety, alerting you to issues via email, phone or text message. You can sign up online here or print off and fill in the form below.
Dear Dave, This may seem cold hearted to do this on Valentine's day and to do it by letter but it must be done. We need to talk... Our marriage has been in trouble for sometime and neither of us have been willing to talk about it. Things needed addressing some two years ago but we fooled ourselves by looking at other things and papered over the cracks. I remember those heady days in the Rose garden, that summer sun full of promise - we were going to change the world together, make things fairer, greener and more democratic. Things ...
President Obama's public statement in favour of a US-EU trade agreement should be welcomed by all liberals. Free trade is a cause with a long and proud liberal history, and such a deal has the potential to increase prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. There will be some countries in the EU less keen on such a deal than others: our French neighbours being the most obvious example. Many countries in the EU have a vested interest in not creating a truly free market within the EU, never mind across the pond. Agriculture has long been a major impediment ...
At 9.00am people were gathering outside the Town Hall to make their voices heard over the Labour Cabinet's proposal to close 7 libraries. The polocy would lead to there only being one Library in the Southport constituency and three in the Bootle constituency. I predict that under pressure from the electorate there will be a Labour U Turn very soon
Good news! Marion Clayton will be stepping down making way for fresh candidates to stand in the coming Bucks County Council elections. I suppose all parties will put at the centre of their campaigns their (local) opposition to HS2 and the local development plans, pandering to the NIBYism that is prevailing - safe and boring. Several people have suggested to me that this time round the Conservatives are not that strong in their Wendover seat since all the HS2 objectors will protest vote and not support the three main parties. That is a worry as this will mean that not ...
"Following last night's misery for thousands of St Albans commuters, FCC should be hanging its head in shame," said Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat candidate for St Albans. "Time and again, they fall down on basic communication during these incidents. And then compensation is made unnecessarily bureaucratic and inconvenient. "They must prioritise getting good, clear information to stranded passengers. And the whole rail industry needs to wake up and speed up the introduction of a fair and simple compensation scheme for commuters who are the railway's cash cow. "It's quite simple. Until they can guarantee a reliable service which is all ...
[IMG: Snow White Dry Cleaners - Stroud Green Road] Living right near the border between Islington and Haringey, many of the local businesses I frequent are in Haringey. Many are great. Many offer fabulous service. Many do a really good job. But only one has the amazing charm and kindness that is Snow White Dry Cleaners on Stroud Green Road. So no competition really as to which independent outlet over the council boundary I was going to nominate for Lynne Featherstone MP's independent shops competition in her constituency. You too can nominate Snow White or somewhere else here. Snow White ...
There's something rather familiar about that tax announcement in Barack Obama's State of the Union speech... [IMG: Barack Obama wants to end tax breaks for luxury planes] Click on image for larger version
The following recently dropped into the Voice's inbox, and may be of interest to readers: The Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats are going ahead with their Annual General Meeting this Saturday (16th February) but have changed the venue to the party HQ at 8-10 Great George Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AE. The AGM will start at 11.15am sharp! Afterwards members are encouraged to join us on a minibus to campaign in the Eastleigh byelection. We postponed the EMLD / Social Liberal Forum conference on race equality – which was due to take place this Saturday – in order to prioritise Eastleigh. For ...
'I wouldn't say it's sexism, except that ... It's all these little subtle things': Healthcare scientists' accounts of gender in healthcare science laboratories (tags: ) Gender Bias 101 For Mathematicians « The Accidental Mathematician Rebuts a lot of the crap feminists get thrown at us with actual facts and stuff (tags: ) I just don't understand why there are so few geeky women!!! | Ideologically Impure "New rule: if you look at this amazing piece of TARDIS cosplay, and your first, wittiest reaction is to make a fat joke about the woman wearing it ... I'd better never hear you ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has criticised those Neath Port Talbot Councillors who characterised requests for more money for children's social services as Oliver Twists always coming back for more. Mr. Black was commenting on Neath Port Talbot's Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Board's who expressed concerns about a £1.3m overspend on Children's Services in the county. "The Scrutiny Board needs to sharpen up its act," he said. "Overspending the public's money when there is no reason to do so is obviously wrong. But the council's priority must be the swift protection ...
After Labour's policy chief, Jon Cruddas displayed a barely-literate understanding of the economy and taxation policy on last night's Newsnight, Ed Miliband must be hoping that his big speech on the economy today will help to turn the tide in his party's favour on the key issue of economic-competence. According to the Telegraph the first people the Labour leader needs to convince are senior members of his own party. The paper says that a significant number of the his front-bench team are demanding a tougher line to convince voters that the party can be trusted with the public finances again: ...
Ecuador's Paraplegic Vice President Lenin Moreno a Major Force for Disability Rights Fascinating. (tags: disability )
Dear Reader, you know I love you. And for the past couple of years I've tried to give you something for Valentines day - in 2011 it was these lovely romantic pictures whilst last year it was a beautiful love song. So, this year, I felt I needed to keep with tradition and I knew just the thing... it's more del Amitri (although in the guise of Justin Currie with just his guitar) and it is every bit as soppy as you've (hopefully) come to expect from me... Enjoy! Andrew
Climate change is 'our moonshot' but we need to do better than divisive Cold War rhetoric Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, gave a speech at the Royal Society on Tuesday. You can read the full transcript here. With lines like "it is the science that drives policy" and a call to hear "loud and clear from experts", there's a lot in this to please the science lobby. As Carbon Brief quipped, "Ed Davey hasn't actually said anything yet, but the PR is headlined: IRREFUTABLE CLIMATE SCIENCE SCREAMS OUT FROM DECADES OF RESEARCH. Sounds rather painful". ...
In case you didn't know, it is in Dublin, here.
From the Chair of the Harris Academy Parent Teacher and Pupil Association: We are holding several fundraising events in the coming months. Harris PTPA now has a Facebook page which you can 'like' and receive information on our activities. The main objective for current fundraising is to raise money for a much needed minibus. The previous one was set on fire by vandals. The first event is a Race Night to be held in the school on Friday 1st March at 7pm. Tickets are available from the school. The next one is a quiz in Braes to be held on ...
