Since its founding in 1951 the Wexford Festival Opera has served as a home for lost operas, breathing new life into works that have long been gathering dust on the shelves. Although I have never been over to see the festival for myself, I have been a strong supporter of the concept and have enjoyed the tales ...
I posted a link to this on the British Pathe site a couple of years ago, but I have now found an embeddable version on Youtube. And if you are wondering what happened to the cinema...
Ivan drew a long breath. "Tej. Will you marry me?" "What?" she said. It wasn't a thrilled sort of what? either, that ought to greet such a proposal, more of a have-you-lost-your-mind? what. Ivan cringed. This is a very welcome return to familiar territory for Bujold, as the bumbling cousin Ivan Vorpatril of the Vorkosigan sequence of stories finally gets his own narrative, one that includes lots of nods to the books' internal continuity though with new twists to Barrayar's history, perhaps because of the different viewpoint character. It starts off as a damsel-in-distress tale and then turns into a ...
I got home about an hour ago expecting to find an email from Nick Clegg explaining why the parliamentary party voted in favour of secret courts. Nothing. There was an email from Sal Brinton urging me to come to Brighton for the Spring Conference, but nothing from Nick Clegg. Like Paul Walter I am puzzled by his decision and want an explanation. I am puzzled by the politics of this. What has been gained by adding civil libertarians to the list of people who feel that Nick Clegg has courted them and then let them down, I cannot imagine. There ...
[IMG: diversity in unity - multicultural children] It may be little more than an uncharacteristic outbreak of optimism on my part, but it seems to me that discussion in the corner of the internet that I inhabit is taking a turn towards the more philosophical. And that's no bad thing. Two developments make me say this. The first is the advent of the May-Grayling pre-emptive strike on human rights law over the weekend. The precise details of from what the gruesome twosome wish to withdraw the UK keep shifting. But the more lurid version entails the withdrawal of the UK ...
Later this evening, I took part in the latest WESHA committee meeting at the Vine in Magdalen Yard Road. WESHA - now known as the West End Community and Sports Hub - is making excellent progress in moving sport forward across the West End. We had very positive reports on further progress with the improvements at the Riverside Sports Pavilion (pictured above) - new kitchen completed, new lighting - both internal and external, new toilets and basins are examples. We also discussed progress with charitable status, lease negotiations and the football pitches at Riverside. The committee welcomed the news I ...
We last saw David Sprason when he was in the soup for leaving a porn DVD in his council laptop. It could happen to anybody. Today comes news that he has left the Conservatives and joined UKIP and will be defending his Markfield, Desford and Thornton seat under their colours in May. Not only that. Rob Fraser, who was elected as a Conservative but has been sitting as an Independent since September of last year, has joined UKIP too. He is best known for his alleged remarks at a meeting held to discuss plans for a travellers' site in 2009. ...
Earlier this evening, I took part in the first committee meeting of the Perth Road Traders' Association, following its inaugural AGM last week. This took part in the rather splendid surroundings of Utopia Costumes' Children's Party Rooms - see right! There was a very productive discussion about a traders' survey that will be circulated to the Perth Road business community in the coming weeks. It is really good to see the association's committee taking great shape, for the benefit of the business community and shoppers in the Perth Road.
This afternoon, along with my councillor ward colleague Cllr Richard McCready, Environment Convener Cllr Craig Melville, Trudy Cunningham, Environment and Sustainability Officer at the University of Dundee, community representatives, members of the Bonnie Dundee group and others, we took part in a clean-up of the area around Greenmarket and collected bags (and bags!) of rubbish. A couple of photos below! Part of the litter pick team in action! Alistair Gibb of Community Spirit Action Group and me at Greenmarket Leaving aside the "keeping our environment clean" message that Trudy got across on tonight's STV news, it was really good to ...
Here's the shot I was sent yesterday of Mike Thornton being greeted to his new job on Day One at Westminster. Does anything strike you about it? What occurs to me is: in the aftermath (and on going issue) of recent media attention, you'd think for a staged media shot welcoming a new member to Parliament that we'd do a bit of stage management and have some prominent Women MPs front and centre. But as you can see - we didn't. Yes Jo Swinson is there - just; and there's someone else (is it Tessa Munt?) hiding in the bottom ...
My letter to Nick Clegg on the latest proposals on immigration. Dear Mr Clegg, I have read about the latest government proposals over benefits for immigrants and I am shocked that the Liberal Democrats do not seem to be opposing the changes. The whole debate on immigration has been dominated by negative and hateful rhetoric for many years. I have been living in the UK for over 15 years
[IMG: Sir Menzies Campbell - Some rights reserved by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport] There is furious anger in the Lib Dem blogosphere and amongst activists about last night's votes on the Justice and Security Bill. I don't seek to belittle it. I just don't share it. Maybe I am getting too old for this anger malarkey. I've looked through the list of people who voted against the amendments and see Charles Kennedy, Sir Alan Beith and Sir Menzies Campbell there. These are people I respect and who I don't think vote based on the motivation of cuddling ...
I have looked through the Commons debate on the Justice and Security bill last night. Simon Hughes and Dr Julian Huppert said plenty to support Labour's amendments. But I could find only three short interventions from LibDem MPs who voted against the amendments: Sir Menzies Campbell, intervening in Caroline Lucas' speech: I do not challenge the hon. Lady's sincerity for a moment, but I hope she will accept that when it comes to voting on matters of such important principle, every Liberal Democrat MP is obliged to use his or her judgment. She speaks as if Ministers were in a ...
Here's a graphic inspired by a true story, sadly: [IMG: nick clegg secret courts] With thanks to Alix Mortimer and Sara Bedford for the reminder of this interview: Why we should believe Nick Clegg when he promises to restore liberties stolen by Labour
Last night Full Council approved its budget for 2013/14 which included a freeze to the council tax for the fourth consecutive year. Councillor Simon Wales, Lead member for Resources, set out in his speech how we had managed to achieve this against the background of cuts to local authority grant funding. There were a number ...
Liberal Democrat councillors in Southport have welcomed a three-month breathing space to allow a detailed alternative to library closures to be developed. A verbal commitment to give library campaign groups time to bring forward detailed feasible and sustainable alternatives to closure was given by Councillor Peter Dowd, Leader of Sefton Council, at the Council's recent budget setting meeting. However, the Liberal Democrats have expressed disappointment that Labour-controlled Sefton Council has decided to officially endorse Option B which proposes closing seven out of the Borough's current thirteen libraries. In Southport the campaign groups battling for Churchtown, Ainsdale and Birkdale libraries have ...
Tue 5th
17:46
The full list of how Liberal Democrat MPs did or didn't vote in last night's Justice and Security Bi...
It is sometimes a good thing to actually go through the list of how MPs vote in controversial divisions in the Commons, and consider every name. In the vote on Labour's amendment which was 298 no against 225 aye: 7 Lib Dems voted Aye: Crockart, Mike Farron, Tim Hemming, John Hughes, rh Simon Huppert, Dr Julian Mulholland, Greg Teather, Sarah 38 Lib Dems voted no: Alexander, rh Danny Baker, Norman Beith, rh Sir Alan Birtwistle, Gordon Brake, rh Tom Browne, Mr Jeremy Burstow, rh Paul Burt, Lorely Cable, rh Vince Campbell, rh Sir Menzies Carmichael, rh Mr Alistair Clegg, rh ...
A follow up to last month's news – the Lib Dem pressure has paid off in spades: [IMG: NHS logo] Commenting on Liberal Democrat Health Minister, Norman Lamb's statement on the regulations (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) under section 75 of the Health and Social Care Act, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Health, Baroness (Judith) Jolly said: "Liberal Democrats ensured that Conservative plans for competition in the NHS were put back in their box during the debate on the Health and Social Care Act. Our overriding concern was to ensure that patients come first at all ...
I am behind with posting these - actually up to first series of SJA now. Back in the far-off days of March 2007, New Who had pulled off a regeneration of the main character but not yet of the companion. (By contrast, Old Who wrote Susan out after a little more than a year, and Ian and Barbara after less than two.) So it's interesting to watch now, several companions later, to see how RTD pulls out all the stops to make Martha Jones acceptable to an audience still reeling from the departure of Rose. (Well, maybe not reeling after ...
Predicting votes at County Hall is dead easy. We all knew the Planning committee would approve the Academy at Belle Vue, and it did. Four local objectors and I lined up to point out the flaws in the application. Nobody local lined up to back it. A local resident resident spoke about the traffic issues on Medomsley Road. She was told that a Traffic Assessment said it was fine (despite the fact that, as I pointed out, the Traffic assessment said there had been 58 accidents at the Medomsley Road/Ashdale junction in the last five years, seven of them serious). ...
Tue 5th
16:56
Judith Jolly writes ... Lib Dems are leading the battle over the regulations for the Health and Soci...
One year ago my colleagues and I sat in a room in Gateshead explaining in detail to party members what we had done to ensure that the Health and Social Care Act included key Liberal Democrat policies and principles. We explained our efforts to reinstate the Secretary of State's responsibility for ensuring that there is a comprehensive NHS. We stated that we would end Labour's policy of crude competition on the basis of price, not quality, which had led to the private sector being paid £250m for work which was never done. Above all, we stated that competition should be ...
Whilst I wasn't tagged in this meme I thought it was more than interesting and I would implore all Lib Dems (not just in the blogosphere) but all Lib Dems to sit down for a few minutes and think about their values and how they mesh with the party. Alex Wilcock wrote about it first and I've also seen Richard Flowers do his version. I won't copy theie entire blurbs but just the main headlines of both: The Liberal Democrats stand for freedom for every individual - freedom from poverty, ignorance and conformity. – AW The Liberal Democrats stand for ...
Is depression an illness? It can be. Many people suffer depression that is so severe that it overwhelms them. They need help and we categorise it as mental illness: a condition with a life of its own, where medical intervention is recommended. But for most of us, most of the time depression is just part of the ordinary fabric of living. It is a necessary step in the way the mind adapts to new realities in the world around it, especially changes that are unexpected or unwelcome. We don't understand why the human mind has evolved in this way, but ...
The Telegraph has published a supportive report of a speech by Vince Cable at the launch of the National Asian Business Association yesterday. He referred to the 50,000 British Asian businesses in the UK which together generate more than £60bn nationwide, which in turn help to create thousands of jobs. He claimed that British Asians are probably "the most entrepreneurial section of the British public" He said: The stereotype of Asian businesses is changing rapidly; while that stereotype is still there - 30pc are in the retail sector - it's rapidly diversifying. Their growth is essential to job creation and ...
After only seven Lib Dems voted against secret courts last night, there is a lot of anger in the party's grassroots. This has been succinctly, and excellenctly, summed up by Mark Thompson, in a blog post today: I understand it is difficult for Lib Dem ministers to get their way on things all the time but ...
That's the title of a Lib Dem spring conference fringe meeting organised by Tom Brake MP which I'm taking part in on Friday. Here's the blurb from Tom: [IMG: Friends, Followers and Connections- Voters in the Age of Social Media] At Spring Conference this year, I'll be hosting a Fringe event sponsored and supported by social media giant Facebook, with a specially invited panel of guests including Paddy Ashdown, Campaign Chair; Mark Pack, former Lib Dem Head of Innovation; Rob Blackie from Blue State Digital; Steve Pitman, the newly appointed Lib Dem Digital Director and Facebook's own Policy Director for ...
There is an interesting article in today's Western Mail, which is based on research carried out by Labour's Shadow Welsh Secretary, Owen Smith. Mr. Smith has discovered official figures that show that living standards in Wales have gone down further than in almost every country in Europe over the last two years. He has revealed that a comparison of salaries against inflation across the EU between the third quarter of 2010 and the third quarter of 2012 has shown that real value of pay in the UK declined by 3.2%. Only three of the 27 member states - Greece, -10.3%: ...
The failings in the Mid-Staffordshire hospitals are well documented and according to the public inquiry what happened was ' "not just wrong, it was truly dreadful" and the government needed to "purge" a culture of complacency'. It is probably the biggest NHS scandal in recent years and the chief executive at the time was Sir David Nicholson. Now he happens to be the chief executive of the whole of the NHS in England. This morning he was questioned as part of the Mid-Staffs investigation. He cannot remember whether he was in charge of 54 or 56 organisations at the time. ...
[IMG: land] Raising the tax-free personal allowance is the Lib Dems' headline contribution to this Government – so popular that the Tories are trying to claim it as theirs! But when Danny Alexander said that our next manifesto should include a promise to raise and peg the personal allowance to the National Minimum Wage (almost £13,000) he was setting his tax policy working group a challenge: to find £12bn a year from elsewhere. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies this isn't progressive. Highest earners and others benefit, while the unwaged and very lowest paid don't benefit at all. But ...
Its's not been the easiest 24 hours to be a Liberal Democrat. It was very hard to watch the majority of our MPs vote to remove the right to a fair trial in civil cases where national security is deemed to be a factor. Just seven MPs voted in favour of amendments advised by the Joint Committee on Human Rights. The fact that the JCHR had a different view from the Government should surely have raised a huge red flag. An even bigger signal that our MPs were on the wrong course was the fact that Labour were voting in ...
Earlier today I submitted the following emergency motion relating to last night's Secret Courts vote for Lib Dem conference this weekend. There is a slot on Sunday morning where urgent issues can be debated. There is also a motion that has been submitted by Jo Shaw who has been an outstanding campaigner on this issue for a long time. I am very hopeful that one of these motions will be picked. My one is a bit more succinct and tries to make a broader point to the leadership but the important thing is we debate the issue as our internal ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have today criticised the Welsh Labour Government for failing to properly implement Welsh Liberal Democrat policies agreed between both parties. During numerous budget negotiations the Welsh Labour Government formally agreed to take forward Welsh Liberal Democrat policies and implement them while in government. As part of the 2012-13 budget deal between the two parties, Labour Ministers committed to introducing the Welsh Liberal Democrats' First Time Home Buyers scheme. This would increase the supply of affordable homes and improve access to home ownership. This policy has faced much delay, with the First Minister recently stating that it ...
After 10 years of sitting around dodging all forms of physical activity, I've finally unlocked an achievement in a real life sport! [IMG: Pil Sung Do Certificate] It will come as no surprise to those who know me that I am not a particularly sporty person. Actually, that's an understatement; I loath sport. Somehow my mind has used this psychological flaw to traduce any form of exercise. Getting sweaty is not for me. But, I'm getting older and fatter. Although I'm a vegetarian and have a fairly healthy diet, it was becoming clear that wheezing after climbing a few flight ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... The next Conservative leadership election is under way The Tory Diary Interesting from @PaulGoodmanCH on "Next Con leadership election" http://bit.ly/Z5YYCi Surely Tories depressed by poss candidate list tho? Enough of the post-Eastleigh gloating. Now Clegg must win real changes | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian The shorter Polly Toynbee article: "Now Clegg must agree with me" http://bit.ly/YrwGBa Clegg has survived, but his party might not « Labour Uncut LabourUncut usually has smarter, more interesting articles than this > Clegg has survived, but his party might not http://bit.ly/15tAxkh BBC ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg and Vince Cable at a factory 2 - Some rights reserved by Liberal Democrats] The Lib Dem Campaign for Manufacturing had a hugely successful start, with the first campaign aim being implemented in the Autumn Statement. Our proposal on capital allowances saw the Chancellor increase the annual investment allowance from £25,000 to £250,000 for a two year period. This move by the Treasury will help businesses invest in plant and machinery and I am already seeing the difference in Burnley with a number of firms taking advantage of the initiative. As thrilled as we all are with ...
Last month I popped over to Stamford for a quick look around a very picturesque place. It's also an interesting example of the pros and cons of economic development, or more precisely missing out on it. For Stamford's brief history is that of an initially successful and prosperous staging post on the road north out of London before the trains came. Then vested economic interests kept the railway away in an attempt to protect their business. The railway was kept away for a long time but local prosperity faded because the result was business bypassing the town and going elsewhere. ...
Of course I flatter myself but word reaches me - via The Banksonian - that Abacus are to reissue Iain Banks' back catalogue with completely new jackets, restoring a consistant look across his (non-M) œuvre. I previous blogged about this here and here - the latter of these two pieces featured the design for the paperback edition of Stonemouth which is template for the new look covers. Here are some of the others: A vast improvement on the mishmash they had become. Andrew
Why wait for someone to tag you, when you can just wade in?... Technically, of course, as a bureaucrat, I should do this in 450 words, rather than 150, but, here is my especially personal take; A liberal bureaucracy should bolster the freedom of the individual against the danger of an overmighty state. It should respond, not react, to the established needs of the individual, enabling them to make informed decisions in their lives, participate in their society to the extent desired and take advantage of the full range of opportunities available to our society. It should enable, rather than ...
I am please to have signed the Emergency motion on the economy tabled for this weekends conference. Prateek Buck has drafted the motion. Prateek is author of the Social Liberal Forum's Plan C which-along with Will Hutton's foreword is available here The motion speaks of the failure of the banks to lend to businesses and people-especially RBS and Lloyds. Yesterday Lord Oakeshott tweeted: matthew oakeshott Furness Building Soc was bigger net lender to homes and biz than RBS,Lloyds or Santander"State-owned banks are stabbing biz in back That is a pretty amazing statistic. One small northern mutual Building Society is massively ...
This St Piran's Day there is a new initiative launched encouraging people to buy more food and goods produced in Cornwall. The Choose Cornish Every Day scheme suggests that if everyone spent an extra £20 per year on Cornish produce, we would generate more than £10 million for the Cornish economy. With the beef/horse meat scare, there is even more reason to choose Cornish food where you know the origin and supplier. And buying your food from local shops and traders helps those businesses to stay trading, making sure that many of our villages and hamlets can remain viable communities. ...
Healing sound, which is run by a musician in L19, is inviting people to a taster session to try out African drumming. It's at the Penny Lane Development Trust (on Penny Lane obviously!) on 14th March from 7 to 8 30. There's no charge. I'm told its a lot of fun!
[IMG: green-book] Yesterday saw the launch of a book project that I've been working on with colleagues over the last year. Between us, we persuaded 27 authors to put pen to paper and say what should be in a programme for government, one that's fit for the world we live in today. Some 70 people from business, NGOs, academia, think-tanks and political parties joined us in Westminster for the launch. Our choice of the title "Green Book" is a very conscious nod towards the Orange Book of a decade ago and indeed Lloyd George's Yellow Book - really authored by ...
Monday: Daddy Alex has challenged Daddy Richard to come up with a brief statement of Liberal Democrat belief in fewer than a hundred and fifty words. But stuff that, it's MY diary, so I'M having a go... At a pinch, I THINK I can trim our core message down to: "The Liberal Democrats stand for the freedom to live your life enjoying the rewards for your own endeavour*, governed by your own choices - with equality before the law; without harming others." (*and before anyone else has a go, that's "fruits of your labours" translated into language a Conservatory might ...
Police have found the body of a man in the River Mersey, Cheadle near to the Waterside Hotel off Manchester Road. The body was found at about 3.10pm yesterday. The body has not yet been formally identified but is believed to be Neil Marsom who went missing in January. Neil Marsom from Sale was dropped off in Hazel Grove at 11am on January 3rd. Two hours later Police divers investigated another incident came across him struggling in the River Goyt near Bredbury but, despite their efforts, he became submerged and was swept downstream. Mr Marsom, 38, was presumed drowned but ...
[IMG: SteamRoller] Ringway, Hertfordshire County Council's new highways contractor, has again come under fire from angry county councillors. At a Council Meeting at County Hall, Hertford, on 26th February, senior Ringway directors heard a barrage of complaints from opposition councillors who questioned the Executive Member responsible for Highways, Conservative County Councillor Stuart Pile, over their poor performance since they took over responsibility for maintaining Hertfordshire roads last October. Liberal Democrat Leader and Highways Spokesman, County Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst said, "I was pleased that almost every opposition councillor was able to air their concerns, and give examples, about the way Ringway ...
With more than a third of the votes now counted and a robust defence from the IEBC about the validity of both the voting and counting processes, the results appear to be following a steady pattern. Kenyatta: 2,535,000(54%) Odinga 1,943,000 (41%) Mudavadi 131,500 (3%) Kenneth 27,300 (0.6%) Votes counted: 4,750,000 Around 6,250,000 more votes to be counted.
So it seems that we are doomed to have secret courts after all. We still have the Third reading to go - helpfully scheduled for Thursday so it's safely out of the way before the horror of Spring Conference. I asked Twitter last night when was the last occasion a bill was defeated at third reading. A C McGregor was able to fill me in... Here is the said bill. It's a wowser. So here are a few posers: 1. What is the point of conference anymore. Here's a comment from LDV from Alex Marsh that I think sums up ...
With the arrival of UKIP as a political force, not quite capable of winning elections (yet) but certainly capable of deciding them, many Tories will assume that it's just their natural 'mid term blues' manifesting in a protest party. I suspect that it's something deeper than that. Ever since Cameron's ascendency as Conservative Leader, the British Right has been pulling itself apart. Maybe these aren't just the growing pains of returning to Government after 13 years in opposition. In many European countries, there are two main parties of the Right, a relatively socially liberal, pro-enterprise party, and a more reactionary ...
Hope everyone has a very pleasant St Piran's Day. There are events taking place across Cornwall. In Launceston we will see the lowering of the flag at the Castle at 6pm followed by a small parade to the town square and a celebration in Harvey's. Tweet
With only about thirty minutes to go, we were given a reprieve last night and allowed to speak for three minutes on World War 1. Big deal! This came about because the previous business accelerated and the so-called "dinner hour debate" became the final business of the evening, and the hour was elongated to ninety minutes. The extra thirty minutes enabled each of us backbenchers – 21 in all – to have two minutes extra. How do you work that out? I don't think this in any way undermines the case for taking these decisions away from the establishment, and ...
[IMG: HMS Astute Arrives at Faslane for the First Time] Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond has made headlines by suggesting the MOD and the armed forces should be spared any more significant cuts in the future spending review, instead suggesting the cuts should come from the social welfare budget instead. The problem is... I partially agree with him; the defence budget is already the bare minimum required to meet the UK's international commitments. It has not only received its share of austerity cuts under the Coalition but was underfunded under Blair and Brown leading to a budget "black hole" which also ...
#notosecretcourts
Rochdale Council is currently consulting on it's 'Core Strategy' – the deadline for comments is 8 March 2013. For Holyrood Ward residents who live in Bowlee and Rhodes this will no doubt be of interest on what is going to be happening immediately over the border. There is more information on the plan here [IMG: Screen Shot 2013-03-05 at 09.52.10] The area which is probably of most interest is the green land immediately over the road on Heywood Old Road. I have spoken to Rochdale Council about this land to make sure we understood what the proposed use was of ...
I'm off down to Brighton on Friday. I really like the Sussex seaside town and I am sure I will find plenty to do while I am there. There's the pier, the Laines, the beach, the Royal Pavilion and lots of nice restaurants. While I'm down there I may pop into the Lib Dem conference which is on. That is ostensibly the reason I am actually going to be there to get involved in debates and vote on party policy. Although after last night's vote where the parliamentary Lib Dems were whipped to vote for the Secret Courts bill against ...
St Hilda's Church are currently looking at the possibility of raising funds to provide a Community Centre near the Church on Whittaker Lane. Their aim is that the centre would be open to all in the local community to fill the gaps in the provision of what is currently available. The Church Council is currently interested to hear from people who can help them make the case that there is a shortage of community facilities in the area (and lets face it we don't have many community facilities where local groups can meet!). If you would like to contribute get ...
A number of people have been in touch with the local Lib Dems asking for more information about the Council Tax rise we are all getting on 1 April 2013 of 3.5%. (I voted against this, but it was voted through by Labour councillors.) The national news will report that there is a maximum which is allowed by Government of a 2.0% rise in Council Tax, before a referendum must be held. However, in Greater Manchester (and in other areas where the same situation applies), this calculation is broadly taken AFTER the budget increases for some 'joint authorities' which are ...
Episode 49 of the House of Comments podcast "The Eastleigh Fallout" was recorded on Sunday and is out today. This week myself and Emma Burnell were joined by Rafael Behr the political editor of the New Statesman to discuss the fallout from Eastleigh including the UKIP surge, John O'Farrell's comments about candidate "scrutiny" and murmurs from the Conservative Party about rowing back on human rights legislation. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (note - this is a new feed so if you used to subscribe to the old feed a couple of years ago you'll need to ...
NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has announced that it has been 'authorised' by the NHS Commissioning Board to become established as the new commissioning organisation for Bury from 1st April 2013. This means that the CCG will take over from the Primary Care Trust (these are being abolished) from 1 April). Bury CCG has been working in shadow for a year, however they will now be given full powers as the new statutory commissioning organisation. A CCG is broadly a Committee of General Practitioners (GPs), obviously supported by a staff team. The Government's idea is that GPs are best ...
83% of Eastleigh ukip voters voted ukip to "send a message" to the party they usually vote for (tags: ) Bradford representative of batman inc has a Yorkshireman's attitude to cosplay "body armour? Adam West dint need no bloody body armour! Bloody modern batmen with their Kevlar and their latex! Bunch of nancies the lot of em... Reet. criminal apprehended. I'm off for a pie and a pint." (tags: ) children in custody in the UK subjected to horrendous inhumane treatment on routine basis trigger warnings very definitely apply (tags: ) A Sensible article in the Torygraph by a man ...
[IMG: miranda-whitehead] We have received this statement from the Chair of Women Liberal Democrats, Miranda Whitehead, which has been sent to all their members. In view of its subject matter we have decided to reproduce it in full. Women Liberal Democrats ( WLD) are very concerned by the sexual harassment allegations involving the party . Of equally serious concern is the implication that the party did not deal appropriately with these complaints when they were first raised and failed to offer support. We are also aware that it appears WLD was not seen as a place to turn for people ...
Find out who in the Liberal Democrats has seen their reputations and influence go up following the Eastleigh by-election victory in the next edition of my newsletter, now called the Liberal Democrat Newswire. It will be hitting email inboxes tomorrow (Wednesday). Sign up for it here and make sure you don't miss out.
I woke on Sunday morning to reports on the Gatley Facebook page of a live band playing late into the night on Saturday and keeping people awake. So far, so normal – it's not a common occurance, but hardly unique. Then I found out where the band was, and where the people who had been disturbed were, and things started getting very odd indeed. The band was at Cheadle Sports Club, off Kingsway. The sleepless residents were all on the other side of Gatley – around the Park Road and Longley Lane area. That's nearly a mile away! Just a ...
After the excitement of Friday's Eastleigh by-election result, it's back to earth with a bump for Lib Dems, after most of our MPs last night ignored the party conference's overwhelming opposition to 'secret courts' and voted into law a measure that flies in the face of natural justice. Here's the BBC report: MPs have voted to back plans to allow more civil courts to examine secret intelligence in private, despite calls for more safeguards. MPs from all sides had tried to press for so-called secret courts to be used only as a last resort. But the government successfully saw off ...
An article in the Independent suggested that the Eastleigh result would strengthen Nick Clegg's hand in dragooning Liberal Democrat MPs into the lobbies to support Tory policies. Surely the reverse is true: Nick is now in a stranger position to inject more Liberal Democrat policies into the coalition programme. In the Observer last month an article by Will Hutton concluded as follows (my emphasis): What is becoming clearer by the month is that every Tory maxim - leaving the EU, belief in smaller government, a hands-of approach to capitalism, junking the welfare state - is 100% wrong. Britain needs to ...
In today's Daily Telegraph the chairman of Farming and Countryside Education claims the British consumer is, on average, six generations removed from farming – "more than any other nation in the world". I'd like to know who worked that out and how, because having studied my own family history, I find it highly implausible. This ...
"Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear" William Ewart Gladstone The Liberal Democrats on principle oppose secret courts. Our party conference has repeatedly pointed out that no government can be above the law. It is an article of faith that we must oppose any executive authority that seeks to place itself outside the normal rule of law. Nor is this a purely theoretical issue: the information coming out of Libya after the fall of Gadaffi suggests prima facie evidence that agents of the British government sanctioned criminal activity- including ...
The race has slightly narrowed overnight, but with more than a quarter of the votes now counted it looks like Kenyatta is going to be the fourth President of the Republic of Kenya. With 3.5 million votes counted Kenyatta has 1,920,000 (54%) and Odinga 1,470,000 (41%)and Mudavadi 100,000 (3%). If Kenyatta maintains his 50%+1 share he avoids a run-off in April.
Following complaints from residents about potholes on the roadway of Glamis Terrace, I reported this to the City Council and have since been advised: "An order has been raised by the Road Maintenance Partnership inspector for the repair of a number of potholes on Glamis Terrace with a timescale for repair of twenty eight days or sooner."
Yesterday, I took part in the latest Tay Road Bridge Joint Board meeting. I have recently joined the board and yesterday's meeting covered a number of financial, engineering and operational matters. It was good to learn that recent pier collision protection works have been successfully completed, some £1.36 million under budget. I asked a question regarding the recent employers' liability audit, an audit that had a very positive outcome. Later yesterday, I held my weekly Monday ward surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and at Harris Academy.
An online school journey planner has been launched by Hertfordshire County Council to help parents and pupils find the best way to get to school, which should help to reduce congestion. The Hertfordshire School Journey Planner will be a tool for parents of children starting school for the first time and for older pupils planning their journeys to new secondary schools. By entering the home postcode and a child's school into the journey planner, users will be able to compare a range of travel options so journeys can be planned. The journey planner offers a range of routes either on ...
