This was a pretty simple episode that consisted nearly entirely of Island Flashback, which is good because it's about time the filled us in on some island stuff, while a couple of significant changes to the status quo happen in Now Time. Now Time So remember when we left Ollie, he was Hoodguying right into Moira's office and pointing an arrow at her face? Well, we pick up where we left off, with him yelling at her to tell him about Walter and WHERE IS HE? And WHAT IS THE UNDERTAKING? And – I wonder if anyone has ever called ...

Posted by Debi on Thagomizer.net

The timetables for this summer's shuttle bus services in the Shropshire hills have been published. These services will run on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from 4 May to 29 September. You can find maps and timetables on the Shropshire Hills AONB website. The Long Mynd and Stiperstones service will run this summer, as will the one (new last year) from Church Stretton to Much Wenlock. The really good news is that a new service will run from Ludlow via Bromfield, Leintwardine, Brampton Bryan, Bucknell, Knighton and Clun to Bishop's Castle. I am particularly pleased to see these buses ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Fri 15th
21:26

A tribute to Roy Davies

[IMG: Cllr Roy Davies] Cllr Roy Davies Those who have been involved in campaigns for the Liberal Democrats in Luton over the years will be sad to learn of the death of Councillor Roy Davies. I served alongside Roy as part of the Liberal Democrat group during my eight years on Luton Borough Council and I want to pay tribute to the determination and commitment that he gave to the Party and the Town. He was a proper local councillor — someone whose top priority was to fight for the interests of the people of the area he represented. Roy ...

Posted by Andy Strange on Strange Thoughts
Fri 15th
21:24

we are family

glad to see the hard copy of we are family from editor Hannah. I wrote an article on section 28 marking the 25th anniversary of the legislation. I broadly wrote about the context and how things have changed in the meantime. and they have. I remember when I first got interested in campaigning. It was after the case of R v Smith, the case of a gay servicewoman sacked from the forces for being gay. historical stories such as these stick in your throat. how are things these days. well fast forward and the gay community is on the brink ...

Posted by Emma Bagley on Emma Bagley's Blog

The other day the Guardian interviewed the Liberal Democrat peer Eric Avebury as part of a feature on people who are still working past the ago of 80. In it he said: On my 80th birthday, I said I am never going to retire and I have stuck to that. It would have been a great disadvantage if I didn't have work. People who don't do anything after a certain age decline - the lack of mental stimulation has a bearing on your physical side too.And he demonstrated his continuing activity by writing a piece for Liberal Democrat Voice on ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

The scheduled repairs to Acocks Green Library's Roof have been put back yet again. The date for the temporary closure of the Library has been put back from 23rd February to Thursday 28th March (the day before Good Friday) . The work is now scheduled to start on Tuesday 2nd April and be completed on Friday 21st June. If there are any further delays I will let you know...

Posted by rogerharmer on Roger Harmer
Fri 15th
19:55

Bandstand Grandstanding?

Knocking on doors is a really useful aspect of democracy and it doesn't cost anything. One of the issues that was brought to my attention yesterday was about moving a bandstand from a park in Lancaster to Happy Mount Park in Morecambe. Maybe it was mentioned to me because there was a petition last year which was signed by 1700 people and it could be that I had just met one of those signatories. There are plenty of brass bands that use Happy Mount Park. I have seen them play many times and the setting is lovely. I have only ...

Posted by Michael Gradwell on Politics for Novices

Could you or your business help fund a major community event on June 2nd? Sodbury Celebrates - The Big Lunch will take place in Broad Street on the same day as the national Big Lunch initiative and the 60th anniversary of The Queen's coronation. Organisers are looking for funding to cover costs such as the closure of Broad Street, public liability insurance, marshals and First Aid cover. They would be happy to print the logo of any local business sponsor on all their publicity. The events builds on the hugely successful Sodbury Jubilee Celebrations in 2012. People will be encouraged ...

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

Those Tories, David Cameron merely needs to take his eye of them for a minute and one starts saying something silly. Step forward David Jones MP, Secretary of State for Wales, who has decided not only to suggest something many anti-LGBT people believe (that same-sex parenting is, at the very least, not ideal) but to also go one step further when he says: "I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same-sex partners can't do." ...

Solo Blog: Disturbing the Universe by Dave Clements. A heady mixture of scifi and actual science. Fun and interesting. Group Blog: Geek Feminism. A nice mix of articles and a regular (not quite as regular as mine) linkspam. Twitterer: West Yorkshire Police Dog Unit. A nice mix of safety advice, wit, and pictures of cute doggies. Podcast: Sherlock Holmes Adventures. Interesting old radio shows from the previous century with Nigel Bruce, now in podcast form. Some Doyle originals and some "new" adventures. And adverts for KREML HAIR TONIC. THAT'S K-R-E-M-L. Pinterest Board: Icons by Kiddý Ámundadóttir. Kiddy has broad-ranging tastes, ...

YouGov
Fri 15th
18:44

Edward Pellew

[IMG: I have just finished reading a biography of Sir Edward Pellew - The Life and Exploits of Britain's Probably Greatest Frigate Captain by Stephen Taylor. What a marvellous read about possibly a greater if different naval commander than Nelson from that period. He lived 1757-1833. Was a legendary captain the frigate Indefatigable. Showed extreme physical and emotional bravery often when he could have avoided it. His humble beginnings meant his climb to leadership was startingly. His tenacious loyalty. Anti slavery leadership. Amazing. If you get the chance read this book.

Posted by James Barber on James Barber

[View the story "Eastleigh by-election: 15 February round-up" on Storify] Eastleigh by-election: 15 February round-up Storified by Mark Pack· Fri, Feb 15 2013 09:39:59 Let's start with The Guardian, who sent their excellent live-blogger Andrew Sparrow to Eastleigh today: "The Lib Dem candidate, Mike Thornton, has the best local credentials" @AndrewSparrow http://bit.ly/Vl9mriMark Pack However he went on to be less impressed with the campaign for the Conservative candidate, Maria Hutchings: "The real weakness of her campaign is that she does not seem to have come up with a good reason for voting Conservative." In as much as there is a ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

130220: Extension on first and ground floor, Ipswich Road. 130272: Retrospective application for flags and signage, Queen Street. 130303: Residential access including permeable surfacing to front of property to enable parking for two cars, Cowdray Avenue. 130314: Single story kitchen extension, St Paul's Road. 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 ...

Posted by Nick on What You Can Get Away With

It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Mike Thornton selected for Lib Dems in Eastleigh (37 comments) by Helen Duffett +++ Neck and neck: first Eastleigh constituency poll (47 comments) by Mark Pack Three things we've learned from today's opinion polls (115 comments) by Stephen Tall Maria Hutchings, Eastleigh Conservative candidate, plays hide and seek with the media (1 comment) by Mark Pack 5 reasons for Lib Dems to campaign in Eastleigh (just in case you needed any more) (7 comments) by Stephen Tall ...

Posted by Helen Duffett on Liberal Democrat Voice

Spotted at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi...

Posted by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone

[IMG: Abney Hall Park] The Friends of Abney Hall Park will be holding their first task day of the year on Sunday 24th February 2013 from 11am - 3pm where they will have a general clean up of the park. If you would like to volunteer, you can simply turn up on the day and help out. Please remember to wear suitable clothing and if possible bring some gloves that can be used to handle rubbish. Refreshments will be provided at the food stall for all volunteers. If you would like more information please ring 07970 614 925 or email ...

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

I've recently written to residents in the area I represent asking for their views on the level of council tax in Cornwall next year. As I have written before, I would like to see council tax kept as low as possible without making additional cuts to valuable front line services. I'd like to know the views of the wider readership of this blog too. Should council tax rise by the 1.97% desired by the Conservative Leadership of the council? Or should we strive for a freeze? Make your views known here. Tweet

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

Calderdale Councillor has again agreed that there should be no increase in their allowances this year. There has been no increase in Councillor Allowances for a number of years now, and a cut of 5% was agreed two years ago. At a time when the nation is struggling to get national debt under control and Council services are facing the squeeze it's only right that Councillor allowances are once again frozen. Cllr Janet Battye our Lib Dem group leader said: "We understand the pressures on Council Tax payers and we also want to support local services and jobs. Any increase ...

Posted by jamesbaker on Cllr James Baker

I have received the following letter from the new Police Inspector for Birkdale Nigel Stewart: who we welcome: I know I have spoken to some of you at various meetings, but I would just like to formally update you all as to the fact that Diane Prosser, who had been posted as the Neighbourhood Inspector in replacement of Jim Atherton, has now been offered a full time position in the Police Federation. As a result of this the Area Commander for Sefton has decided to give me the opportunity, and made me the Acting Inspector for the Neighbourhood. Obviously I ...

Posted on birkdale focus

[IMG: Mike_Thornton] It's only just over a week since the Eastleigh by-election was called. But this first Lib Dem / Tory by-election battle of the parliament has attracted a lot of interest. One aspect that hasn't been noted much in the media is the level of enthusiasm within the Lib Dems to fight this by-election, and fight it to win. As the party's weekly briefing itself noted, Mike Thornton's campaign has broken the party's by-election records, with "more volunteers, more money raised and more campaign literature delivered in the opening days of the Eastleigh by-election campaign than any other". Here ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice
eUKhost

I suggested last year that one of the ways Sefton could cut back on its spending would be to look at the number of Councillors. At present there are 66. If the Boundary Commission agreed that we could move to 2 member wards that would save in the region of a quarter of a million pounds. I know from members of the public they want us to look at this sort of option. I also asked the Council last year to reduce the allowances paid to top councillors. When you look at some of the reductions that are being proposed ...

Posted on birkdale focus

Today is bright and sunny but the morning doesn't have the intense, crisp coldness of 15th February 2003. How would I know? That's the day our family discovered its inner peace activist and headed for Glasgow Green to protest against the war in Iraq, which then looked inevitable. Bob and I wore yellow "not in my name' t-shirts. Anna was 3 and in her buggy. She acquired a plastic dove from somewhere and enthusiastically waved it. She tells me now that my explanation of the war was "rubbish." Like I was going to traumatise a three year old with the ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Caron's Musings

I must admit to have gleefully joined in the Twitter chorus of condemnation over The Sun's front page splash this morning showing the woman murdered in Oscar Pistorius's house on Valentine's Day, Reeva Steenkamp, posing ...

Posted by Lester Holloway on

"I do believe that as leaders, we all have a common interest in being able to tell our taxpayers who work hard and pay their fair share of taxes, that we will make sure others do the same...But to achieve this will require strong political leadership...I hope we can be ambitious." (David Cameron, Prime Minister's Letter to G8 Leaders, 2 January 2013) This year the UK holds the Presidency of the G8, with the world's top leaders coming to Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June. This is a momentous and perfectly timed opportunity to turn public anger, evident around ...

Posted by Stephen Williams MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

Iain Brodie Browne has urged Southport people to shop locally and use the towns family butchers in the wake of the horse meat scandal Iain, a Birkdale Councillor and Lib Dem leader, said 'We have excellent local butchers in the town and buying locally is the best way to know where your dinner has come from.' Over the past two weeks, Europe has been swept into a panic after horsemeat was discovered in beef products in the UK's supermarkets. Horsemeat has also been found in branded and supermarket-own ready meals, including lasagne and spaghetti bolognese. British farmers operate to very ...

Posted on birkdale focus

There are some days when being a Cornwall Councillor is lots of fun. Today is one of them. I was a judge at the second Launceston College Masterchef competition. We ate the work of six very talented year nine pupils (aged 13-14 in old money) who had been whittled down from 49 original entrants. All the food was of an incredible standard which is testament to the pupils, their parents and the staff at the college. Each contestant had two and a half hours to produce a two course meal of main course and dessert. We got two fish pies ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Most "eurosceptic" Conservatives care more about the next elections than the EU | Ballots & Bullets Tim Bale on the short-lived Tory EUphoria » Most "eurosceptic" Cons care more about the next elections than the EU http://buff.ly/VUdkqS Mark Thompson: Left Foot Forward shows its bias .@MarkReckons discovers LeftFootFwd is small-l liberal and large-L Labour outfit http://buff.ly/YtyuXP (And E in Evidence sometimes silent) The 10p rate is a flawed tax cut, but a tax cut nonetheless | Adam Smith Institute Interesting @S8mB analysis > The 10p rate is a flawed tax cut, but ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Stephen Tall

It is estimated that worldwide more than 175 million people, some three times the population of the UK, are at risk of persecution because of their sexual orientation. Seventy-six countries criminalise consensual same sex relations, among them 54 countries of the Commonwealth. Hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is deeply entrenched in the culture of these countries, and their elected governments reflect the prejudice of the masses. They know that persecuting LGBTI people is contrary to international law, and leads to friction with donor nations. In the case of Gambia, when EU representatives were due to ...

Posted by Eric Avebury on Liberal Democrat Voice

From the Daily Telegraph website this morning: Further cuts to the welfare budget are not needed, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said. The senior Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister said that no more additional savings from the benefits budget were required in the next spending round. The comments will be sure to infuriate the Tory right, with some suggesting that defence and policing should be protected in the next spending round.I wouldn't take too much notice of that last point: the Tory right is permanently infuriated. In fact, being infuriated is the sole reason for its existence. But ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Ten years ago, the last time the Labour Party enjoyed a double-digit poll lead, a remarkable thing happened in the Liberal Democrats, which if certain people have their way will never happen again. It was the story of how a party, from the bottom to the very top, seized the zeitgeist and found itself, somewhat to its own amazement, the right side of an era-defining political moment. I was one of those (alongside Martin Tod) when James Graham and Donnachadh McCarthy got the party's Federal Executive to show some leadership, possibly for the only time in the existence of that ...

Posted by Gareth Epps on Liberator's blog
Fri 15th
12:00

Burn The Libraries

I've been thinking a lot about libraries recently. When I was a child I was taken to a library every two weeks and made to check out the maximum allowance of books - that's what having an English teacher for a mother gets you! Once I went to university, I stopped going to the library. Even university libraries are pretty poor for computer science books - and the ability to buy cheap paperbacks online obliterated my need to visit them. It wasn't until Surrey libraries started offering digital borrowing that I even thought about my local library. Nowadays, I'm found ...

Posted by Terence Eden on Terence Eden has a Blog

More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

When Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer reduced the tax rate for the first £1 500 of taxable income to 10% in 1999 there were mutterings from the tax collecting experts (then known as the Inland Revenue) that an additional rate of tax was not a good idea because it simply added to the complexity of calculating how much should be paid. The accepted wisdom was "The fewer tax bands the better," so would it not have been simpler to abolish income tax on, perhaps, a slightly narrower band? When I first heard, in the 2007 Budget, that Mr ...

Posted by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal

The article that appears in today's SMR was written before Labour's welcome U turn on Withington baths. Congratulations to the @SaveWithyBaths Campaign. But it is proof positive that Labour are making the wrong choices for Manchester. John Manchester's Labour ... Continue reading →

Posted by John Leech MP on John Leech MP

[IMG: Caroline Pidgeon] Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly, has challenged the London Mayor over congestion charges that have been evaded by embassies in the capital. In answer to Caroline's written question the Mayor admitted that embassies currently owe around £68 million. By the end of the year they will owe the equivalent to almost £10 to every Londoner. The majority of embassies have some charges to pay. Two years ago the Liberal Democrat group studied the data gleaned through a Freedom of Information request and found that about a quarter of all embassies ...

Posted by Mary Reid on Liberal Democrat Voice

The other night I saw the aftermath of a Twitter debate on this subject and thought I'd weigh in. Firstly I'd like to say, I agree that spitting in public is a filthy habit and polite society should not indulge or condone it. This was certainly something my education and family drummed out of me at a young age. Now for the science part... There is a slight risk of disease being passed this way. Indeed disease like Flu, colds, streptococcus which can cause any number of diseases like Strep throat, cytomegalovirus, mononucleosis, and tuberculosis. The odds are really stacked ...

Posted by Chris Sams on The Ginger Liberal from Medway

The long-awaited improvement works to Blackness Library started on Monday. The substantive part of these will, for the first time, give disabled access to the upstairs meeting rooms and there are several other improvements planned as part of the project. The City Architect has advised me: "Construction worked commenced on Monday 11th February and will run to 19th August (28 week construction programme as advised by Construction Services). The closure period as currently identified, is 10th June - 15th July (6 weeks)." I have sought details from the Director of Leisure and Communities regarding alternative library arrangements and arrangements for ...

I don't like today's front page of The Sun. To put it politely I think it is tasteless to say the least. I also don't like twitch hunts, you can read my view here if you like. And whilst I am on one, I really don't like a lot of the nonsense filling up my twitter feed about the Sun front page. This is for two reasons. Firstly the reaction of many of the 'outraged' is inadvertently satirical. It can be summed up by a Lib Dem Peer who tweeted the Sun has showed total disrespect to the murdered woman ...

Posted by Carl Minns on Carl Minns - Thoughts from Hull

I happened to hear various interviews yesterday on the BBC about the local government settlement, and you have to agonize about it. The so-called Graph of Doom, which I have written about before, is pretty graphic (as they say). I find myself wondering whether the real story of these years, the one told by historians, will be about the way public services struggle to adapt to the financial holocaust - not about austerity (though that doesn't help) but because of the staggering inflation of public service costs. They will do so using the new localism powers given to local government, ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

Motorists are being advised of potential disruption when a carriageway improvement scheme gets under way. A six week programme of work on the A1085 Corporation Road / Locke Road / Mersey Road Junction begins on Monday 25th February. These planned changes were highlighted as part of the Tees Valley Bus Network improvement scheme which looks at ways of easing traffic congestion in the area. Works will include widening the junction to facilitate right turn movements for vehicles travelling from Corporation Road towards both Mersey Road and Locke Road. The scheme also includes upgrading the existing traffic signals which will help ...

Posted by Chris Abbott on Chris Abbott

Anybody who had even minor suspicions about Labour's economic competence would have had their fears confirmed yesterday after Ed Miliband stood up in a major speech, said that the abolition of the 10p tax rate by his government in 2007 was a mistake, and proposed that it be reintroduced, to be funded by a new mansion tax. It is a shame that they did not do this when they were in Government. Instead they supported the move to abolish the 10p tax rate. It was the biggest tax mistake they ever made and it has taken them until now to ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

See below for premises licence grant application for The Little Convenience Store, 130 London Road, St Albans: Application new premises license The Little Convience Store Last date for representations is 6 March 2013.

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White
Fri 15th
09:24

Police report

This is the report given to the recent PACT meeting. [IMG: PACT Logo] Beat Area:- Consett Town Centre Reporting period:- 02/01/2013 - 05/12/2013 Information regarding incidents/crimes in the area. Alcohol seizures:-01. Locations:-Consett Park Dwelling Burglaries:- 03 There have been 3 reported burglaries for this period. 2 of the incidents are related to unknown persons entering 2 bedsits through an insecure door in Forster Street. The 3 incident relates to unknown persons entering an address on Roseberry Terrace through an insecure door. Any information regarding the above incidents please contact Police on 101. Crime prevention advice:- make sure that you check ...

Posted by Owen Temple on Owen Temple

The newspapers have reminded me that it's a decade today since my friends and I sat swigging wine from the bottle in Trafalgar Square, amidst Trots, discarded placards and other detritus. Owen Jones reckons it was "bitingly cold," but I think that's an exaggeration. It's a solipsistic indulgence to write about terrible and historic world ...

Posted by pauldavidevans on The Evans Account

Yesterday, in South Africa, a young woman was fatally shot. 29 year old Reeva Steenkamp had a successful career as a model, most notably with FHM magazine. Her Twitter account speaks of someone not only enjoying life, but also aware of the problems of others. One particularly heartbreaking tweet, from Sunday, says: I woke up in a safe, happy home this morning. Not everyone does. Speak out against the rape of individuals.We also know from Twitter that Steenkamp planned to wear black today in support "against rape and woman abuse". South Africa has, to put it mildly, a real problem ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Caron's Musings

Top 11 Biggest Lies of Mainstream Nutrition interesting and mostly convincing although there's some amusing jousting in the comments (tags: ) [1302.1886] Collective Motion of Moshers at Heavy Metal Concerts Science! (tags: ) A Most Peculiar Test Drive | Blog | Tesla Motors Dear journalists: if you're going to lie about the performance and behaviour of electric cars, don't do it on one where they are logging everything you do. (tags: ) BBC News - Eastleigh by-election candidate list My first thought on reading this list was "Poor Dave Sutch must be spinning in his grave when he sees what ...

It's OK. There's still ten days for the BBC to start reporting on the Italian election. Compare how much attention they had paid to the US Presidential election ten days before the vote. Remember how much coverage they gave to the Danish election ? No ? Not a lot. Then tell me the BBC reports Europe fairly !

Posted by David on Disgruntled Radical

[IMG: institute-for-fiscal-studies-logo-370x229] Ed Miliband's announcement yesterday that Labour will re-introduce a 10p starting rate of income tax paid for through the introduction of Vince Cable's mansion tax has received a tepid response from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The IFS put out a note yesterday headed simply, Better options exist to help low earners than 10p tax rate: A 10p tax rate would reduce taxes for those on low incomes and strengthen their work incentives. A far simpler and more sensible way of achieving these aims would be to spend the same amount of money on increasing the personal allowance ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice

I am only aware of one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week Planning and Development Committee Thursday 18th February, 6:30 pm, at Ebor House I haven't yet examined the Planning Applications for Plessey Ward or South Blyth, but if there are any interesting, or contentious , applications I'll post details

Posted by Alisdair Gibbs-Barton on Alisdair Gibbs-Barton

Yes, I know it's been a while - over a week since I last wrote anything here. Trust me, it's been no fun. I thought I was coming down with a cold last Thursday. By Friday lunchtime,I was in bed, emerging on Tuesday afternoon after a pretty vicious bout of Flu from which I haven't yet properly recovered. I do appreciate that having no appetite isn't going to do me any harm. I have plenty in reserve, after all. I still feel pretty wiped out,though. And while I've been quite literally sweating it out, I discover that my lovely blog ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Caron's Musings

Two speeches, and what have we learnt? Ed Miliband wants to lift the Liberal Democrat policy of a mansion tax whilst Barack Obama wants to lift the Liberal Democrat achievement of taxing luxury jets sensibly. I'm sure there's a lesson in there...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

The Eastleigh by-election is a must-win for the Liberal Democrats- that is a given. The party has a lock on the council, and a loss here would be devastating for internal morale and for the public perception that the party can ride out its current unpopularity in the opinion polls and survive, and even thrive at the next general election. Yet, from overseas, while I see the energy and commitment that the party is putting into the by-election, I am filled with foreboding, for this energy masks an a profound, even existential, crisis. The fact is that the burden of ...

Posted by Cicero on Cicero's Songs

At yesterday's City Council Budget meeting : * On the Capital Budget, I proposed not going ahead with yet more new council offices and instead proposed that it be spent on improving Dundee's roads and on further improving the city's primary schools. Although I had the support of the Conservative, Independent and Labour members, the SNP administration voted this down. I regret that, in voting through millions on new council offices over schools and better roads, this speaks volumes about the priorities of the SNP administration. * On the Revenue Budget, I proposed scrapping the SNP education cuts that will ...

Once more the Welsh Labour Government has failed to get a grip on Wales' NHS referral to treatment times. Under Welsh Government targets, only 5% of patients should spend more than 26 weeks on a waiting list, yet statistics have shown that nearly 10% of patients have been waiting longer than that period. The Welsh Government also has a target for 100% patients to be treated within a maximum of 36 weeks. This target was also missed with 5,426 patients being forced to wait longer than that period. Waiting for the start of treatment is a very stressful time for ...

Posted by Kirsty Williams on Freedom Central
Fri 15th
01:38

Turbulence

I can't think of an appropriate start, so this'll have to make do. On Sunday I had my most difficult set of questions in for that evening. I naturally had left it all to the last day which, when combined with a deadline, is perfect for anxiety to take control. The nature of my course

Posted by Josh Goldenberg on Life, philosophy, and a whole lot else

When I wake, one of the first things I do is browse Twitter. So it was, yesterday, that I discovered the awful news about Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp. Whatever the explanation - and Twitter was abuzz with speculation about him mistaking her for a burgler, with the odd dark hints about temper problems - the story was tragic. With Pistorius' status as an international sportsman, an ambassador for Paralympians and as a role model for millions, he was, inevitably, going to be the focus. Ultimately, though, a young woman is dead and she should not be forgotten beneath our ...

Posted by Andrew Brown on the widow's world