Amazing it is that so little time and memory has been spent on a significant anniversary: one of the darkest hours in the recent foreign policy of the UK. Let us not forget. socialise this: [IMG: add 'Labour's illegal war: ten years on' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'Labour's illegal war: ten years on' a digg] [IMG: add 'Labour's illegal war: ten years on' a Stumble Upon] [IMG: add 'Labour's illegal war: ten years on' a FaceBook] [IMG: add 'Labour's illegal war: ten years on' a Twitter]
"Strongly Agree", "Agree" and "Disagree", but no "Strongly Disagree"? Odd choice, and also a somewhat unfortunate one as giving more 'agree' than 'disagree' options risks biasing a survey, especially when it means the 'agree' option is in the middle of your eye line looking as if it's the middle of the road choice to pick: [IMG: 38 Degrees - Meeting with Norman Lamb]
Fritz Schaefler (1888-1954) was a German expressionist painter who was damned by the Nazis as degenerate and thus some of his best work was destroyed. But he was fortunate in finding a patron in his almost exact contemporary, the Jewish industrialist Joseph Heymann (1887-1954) who bought around 70 of his canvases. This was indeed a ...
[IMG: Kata Jump Crop] Most of us have passions, or at the very least hobbies, that give great pleasure, provide distraction, and occupy time. It may be playing golf, supporting a football team or crocheting. Spending time playing darts in the pub or baking unnecessarily complicated cakes. And as likely as not our passion is completely inexplicable to our nearest and dearest. For 10 years I practiced karate. I trained once, twice, three times a week. Sometimes more. Early mornings and late nights. Indoors and out. On grass and on sand. I've travelled the length of the country to practice ...
I asked this question on Twitter yesterday and received answers varying from obviously yes to obviously no. My suspicion is that nobody knows. The Leveson Report barely considered the internet and the new law arose from a deal done in the small hours by party leaders and pressure group representatives after a process resembling the change of prime minister in The Thick of It. I suspect we shall have to wait for some case law to find out what the new legislation means. And recent experience suggests that the judges may not take the side of bloggers.
Players, by Terrance Dicks "We don't know your name either," said Peri. She glanced at the Doctor. "At least, I don't. My friend the Doctor seems to think he knows you already." "Churchill," said the war correspondent. "Winston Churchill, very much at your service." He looked at the Doctor. "I don't think we've met before, sir, have we?" "We will, Winston," said the Doctor. "We will!"This is the first of Terrance Dicks' three novels about the Players, a mysterious race of manipulators of human history for the sake of a grand Game, reminiscent of Roger Zelazny's "The Game of Blood ...
Not many serving government ministers get to release their own rock album. Norman Baker and The Reform Club
Tue 19th
20:56
Free Workshops Helping Local Companies Develop The Skills And Knowledge They Need To Succeed
When South Cambridgeshire business Cernunnos realised gaps in their business knowledge were holding them back from reaching their full potential, they took advantage of a range of free workshops designed to help businesses. Established in 2011, the specialist renewable and energy efficiency construction services company had found success, but also discovered a number of challenges along the way. "We had come into the business from an ethical standpoint, wanting to help create sustainable homes for the future," Leemya McKeown, Business Development Manager of Cernunnos explains, "but we hadn't come from business backgrounds and didn't appreciate the dynamics of a business." ...
Councillors have voted in favour of plans that would see £20,000 invested in community facilities and infrastructure for every home built during the first phase of Northstowe. The principles of the £30 million agreement with developers, which will secure these contributions, were approved by County and District councillors on the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee today (Tuesday 19 March). This would see a new primary school built, millions of pounds invested in sports and recreation facilities and an £8 million contribution toward a secondary school that will open before all the homes are built in the first phase. Developers will ...
Sometimes words are not just enough, pictures and graphics assist us in telling you what Liberal Democrats believe. with thanks to Mark Pack. Orginally published at http://www.markpack.org.uk/lib-dem-beliefs/
at800, the organisation tasked with ensuring UK viewers continue to receive Freeview* when 4G mobile services at 800MHz are launched later this year, goes into operation today. Its first pilot begins on Monday in the West Midlands; and its website (www.at800.tv) and UK-based contact centre are now live. The not-for-profit organisation - funded by the UK mobile operators with licences to provide 4G mobile services at 800MHz (EE, Telefónica O2 UK, Three and Vodafone) - is the only one in Europe planning proactive steps to address this issue on behalf of viewers. Other elements of at800's programme already underway include ...
It's hard to imagine it is 10 years since that fateful day we found ourselves dragged into an immoral, illegal, unjust war. Last night I was in the Palace of Westminster for a Defence Working Group meeting - reflecting on that day, 10 years earlier, when myself and three friends had sat through the debate which sealed the fate of thousands. Yas, Avais, Sharon and I had got tickets through our local MP Patrick Hall and found ourselves on the front row in the gallery, directly above the Lib Dem benches. I had been distraught at what was happening and ...
MP Julian Huppert has pushed the government to commit to future cash support for a highly successful project in Cambridge and Peterborough which supports women ex-offenders. He told Helen Grant, Justice Minister for Courts and Victims that the cities' Women's Resources Centres were worried about the future funding for their Dawn Project. Julian said today (Tuesday, March 19) in the Commons: "I visited the excellent Dawn Project in Cambridge and Peterborough which has done a huge amount of work with female ex-offenders and saves the state far more than it costs to run. "They are both concerned about the future ...
[IMG: boris and cameron] A typically colourful quote from Mayor of London Boris Johnson on any ambition he might harbour one day to occupy Number 10: "I would like to be the lead singer of an international rock group. That was my aim, or a good guitarist. I would love to have been a world-famous painter or a composer. There are many things that I would like to have been able to do. ... Obviously, if the ball came loose from the back of a scrum – which it won't – it would be a great, great thing to have ...
Cambridgeshire Trading Standards are warning residents to beware of trickster alarm sellers after a number of complaints about their activities. In each case underhand tactics have been used to persuade victims to agree to the supply and installation of a burglar alarm at their home. Victims are often cold called with an offer of special rates or even a free alarm as an installer is in the area. Once the salesman has been allowed in to a home they then induce the occupier into agreeing to a contract by making further false and misleading claims - for instance that they ...
Changes to immigration rules put forward as part of the Greater Cambridge City Deal Bid have been included in Government proposals to help businesses and retain high skilled international students. The architects of the City Deal Bid have welcomed the news that Government will be making changes to rules which will encourage the brightest and best global talent to come to the UK to study, work, invest and set up business. From April the UK Border Agency will expand the Graduate Entrepreneur scheme to allow up to 1,000 international MBA graduates from British universities to stay in the UK for ...
Local residents have until this Friday (22 March) to have their say on the proposed Ely Southern Bypass. Cambridgeshire County Council have held a series of exhibitions this month, which have seen hundreds of local residents coming to find out more and give their views on the project. There have been five events so far with the final exhibition taking place on Thursday 21 March at Soham Village College. Information is also available on the scheme at Ely and Littleport Library. Local residents have gone online to find out more about the bypass; with over 3,000 having now watched the ...
The following question was in response to a very interesting meeting I had with King's Hedges Guides at the Red Hen Project on Northfield Avenue; "King's Hedges Guides, as part of the national Go For It! Streets ahead project, have just completed a survey of members of the public regarding broken street lights within their neighbourhood and the effect this can have on peoples behaviour. While unscientific this survey highlighted the impact broken street lights can have on transport patterns with almost 1/3 of people reporting that they felt vulnerable when passing through an area with a broken street light, ...
Tue 19th
20:04County Council 26/03/13 - Written Question from Cllr Andy Pellew (Open Source Software)
I have asked the following question in response to recent changes in government procurement in favour of Open Source software; "For the first time the Coalition Government has mandated a preference for "open source" software in Government procurement (see Government Service Design Manual - https://www.gov.uk/service-manual). The manual actually goes further than ever before in that proprietary product usage must only be used in "rare" circumstances. The "Open Source Options for Government" document (April 2012) lists the benefits of Open Source as lower procurement costs, no license costs, interoperability, easier integration and customisation, fewer barriers to reuse, conformance to open technology ...
In all the publicity about the all party agreement on a new press regulator, the detail of the actual proposal has been somewhat overlooked. Here's what the draft Royal Charter says (Schedule 4): (b) "relevant publisher" means a person (other than a broadcaster) who publishes in the United Kingdom: i.a newspaper or magazine containing news related material, or ii. a website containing newsrelated material (whether or not related to a newspaper or magazine); ... d) a person "publishes in the United Kingdom" if the publication takes place in the United Kingdom or is targeted primarily at an audience in the ...
"No entry to the general public": is this attitude the product of political parties' inability to trust voters? Whenever a political party finds itself in a self-created crisis, the common diagnosis is that its ills are a product of the public losing trust in that party. This is true of the Conservatives in the 1990s, of Blair's Labour Party in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion and the Scottish Liberal Democrats following their electoral annihilation in 2011. The notion that parties suffer as a direct result of public losing trust in them is a compelling one, not least because it ...
Ian Hislop has been touring the studios pouring cold water on yesterdays vote on press regulation and the Spectator have made their views very clear. The Guardian and Independent seem to be set to join but the newspaper society which represents over 1000 regional and local papers is not keen and other major newspaper groups seem to be considering their options. If in a couple of months time we only have two or three newspapers signed up to the new regulator (The Guardian go for themselves, the Independent & the FT) then what? The ball will be firmly back in ...
The campaign group Hacked Off returned to the Media Select Committee today, after yesterday's announcement of a Royal Charter to regulate the press. Given they were in the room with Letwin, Miliband et al deciding the final deal,as confirmed by Labour Select Committee member Paul Farrelly, you might have thought that they had their ...
There has been some confusion about the issue of statute and press regulation. To me it is important not to have in statute the details of any press regulation. However, if you look at Section 12 of the 1998 Human Rights Act you will find: (4)The court must have particular regard to the importance of the Convention right to freedom of expression and, where the proceedings relate to material
Not often that I'd agree with Peter Tatchell, but if I heard right he described, the Papacy as shameful for inviting Zimbabwe President and alleged human rights abuser Robert Mugabe, to be greeted by the Pope, and of course he is right. Shame on Italy for allowing a suspect human rights abuser to travel unimpeded, and even more shame for the Catholic Church endorsing criminals.
This is a link to an article written by Allan Norman that goes into the Haringey case. It is worth reading.
A book review by Ysenda Maxtone Graham in the current Spectator introduces a welcome new measurement. Writing of A Green and Pleasant Land: How England's Gardeners Fought the Second World War by Ursula Buchan, she says: In 1942-3, there were 1,750,000 allotments, amounting to 100,000 acres, or an area the size of Rutland.She also suggests that the slogan "Dig for Victory" was invented by Michael Foot in an unsigned Evening Standard leader in September 1939.
It's been a long political day, and we have the Budget to look forward to tomorrow. So sit back and enjoy Norman Baker's first single 'Piccadilly Circus', with his band The Reform Club. The Guardian provides these passnotes: Baker fits the rockstar profile perfectly. He has been a troublemaker in the House of Commons, and campaigns for environmental and animal welfare causes. * Mary Reid is the Tuesday Editor on Lib Dem Voice.
[IMG: End child pverty now - Some rights reserved by RMLondon] What do the public think are the key determinants of child poverty? New DWP polling released last week aimed to answer this question, but in fact proved anything but conclusive. Asked to choose four out of a possible eleven factors that should be regarded as important when deciding if a child is growing up in poverty, respondents' answers were spread remarkably evenly across the board. All the factors - from low income to parental disability, poor housing conditions to debt - were regarded as at least 'quite important' by ...
The leadership's positioning over secret courts has angered many of the party faithful over the past week, but for me the major disappointment has been our uncritical support of the Tory inspired 'spare bedroom subsidy' policy or how I think more accurately describes it – the 'bedroom tax'. Our leader Nick Clegg used the provocative 'spare bedroom subsidy' term in a Q&A session at last week's Spring Conference, and it has been repeated by senior Lib Dems including Mike German on Newsnight in the days following. The policy, which is part of the government's welfare reform package, will cut the ...
[IMG: nhs sign lrg] The publication of a new poll by ICM for Civitas on the NHS should give encouragement to those in the Lib Dems who believe that we should not be bound by a single provider approach to the NHS. The poll shows that people are proud of the NHS but not concerned by who provides their healthcare. The key question is: "It shouldn't matter whether hospitals or surgeries are run by the government, not-for-profit organisations or the private sector, provided that everyone including the least well-off has access to care". 83% o agreed with this – 56% ...
Tue 19th
15:05
Paul Burstow writes: Greater focus on funding, prevention and integration essential to improve the s...
The law governing social care in England is a dog's breakfast. The product of 60 years of piecemeal legislating it is complex, confusing and sometime contradictory patchwork that is out of date and hard to understand. The government have recognised the need to change this and last year published the draft Care and Support Bill, Caring for our future: reforming care and support, to overhaul the legal framework. As the Minister at the time I led drafting the Bill drawing on the recommendations of a Law Commission Review. My aim throughout has been to secure a modern legal framework that ...
Residents on Aigburth Hall Avenue and roads nearby have been putting up with quite a bit of traffic and parking chaos near the new(ish) Tescos on Holmefield Road. The Council did make some proposals to do with loading etc by the store. It looks as if these will be discussed, and a decision taken, at a committee meeting later this month (27th March). The agenda for this meeting (The traffic and highways representation committee) isn't published yet but when it is is will be at this link. I'll blog again on this when I have more details.
You don't have to be a Sandgrounder to decode this question: John Pugh (Southport, Liberal Democrat) To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the alteration of local authority boundaries in order better to deliver the localism agenda. Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth, Conservative) The Government believes that it is preferable for local authorities not to be distracted by boundary changes, but to focus on combining and sharing operations across boundaries on both front line service delivery and back office. Where all councils concerned believe a boundary change would be of genuine benefit, ...
Tue 19th
14:01Ming Campbell writes: Britain lost moral authority as a result of its participation in Iraq
[IMG: Some rights reserved by mashleymorgan ] Today is the 10th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. We are marking it by publishing reflections on the war and its aftermath by senior Liberal Democrats. The second is by Ming Campbell. It is hard now to find anyone who will defend British participation in the American-led invasion of Iraq ten years ago. Labour's current frontbench seek now only to distance themselves from personal involvement in the decision to go to war and it has been all but airbrushed out of recent Tory history. Even in the USA it is hard to ...
If the latest claims from Finance directors of Welsh universities that the Welsh government's student fees subsidies are leaving their sector with an uncertain financial future does not cause Ministers to change their policy, it should at least give them pause for thought. The BBC report that Universities can not be sure there will be enough money left for them after the subsidising of Welsh students who study elsewhere in the UK.: The Welsh Higher Education Finance Directors Group says that no-one knows from year to year how many Welsh students will choose to study in England, Scotland and Northern ...
Here at 1:42. It's a very interesting discussion, between Harry Cole from Guido Fawkes and Carla Buzasi from Huffpo. Evan Davis succinctly sums up the whole thing by saying to Harry Cole: I can sue you now – for defamation or breach of privacy. So the only difference is that, in future, I will be able to sue you on steroids. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Without real contrition, press piety leaves me cold .@RafaelBehr is correct: press doesn't deserve pity. But that's the pt of rights like free speech: they're universal http://bit.ly/10cqkY0 Stephen Tall It's my birthday so I'm feeling nostalgic. Started blogging in 2005. Here's my first website back when I was a cllr http://bit.ly/118GgJY Wave goodbye to the World Wide Web, say hello to the worldstreamThe Deep End Interesting @ConHome post on how the web's focusing us on 'the new' (which isn't always the important of course) http://bit.ly/10blDhj Carl Minns – Thoughts from Hull: Want ...
I'm very grateful to Jonathan Calder for calling me "the nearest thing the Liberal Democrats have to an intellectual guru". If true, this may be a measure of the Lib Dems intellectual difficulties, but let's look at the hopeful side - it makes me feel I have something to live up to... So let me, for a moment, act like the nearest thing to an intellectual guru. I promise it won't be for long, but these somewhat philosophical issues are important. "I suspect I have more time for postmodernism than he does (nor do I believe the concept needs a ...
Tue 19th
13:00
The Liberal Democrat What Do We Stand For Challenge 2013.4 - What It's All About #LibDemValues
In government, in elections, in just wondering why we bother, Liberal Democrats must be inspired by what we stand for. So today I'm writing about just two things. First, what my short declaration of 'What the Lib Dems Stand For' means, how it explains our beliefs, our priorities in government and our message, as set out by Nick Clegg: "The Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy in a fairer society, enabling every person to get on in life."And second, Mark Pack's new Infographic poster version of what Lib Dems believe. You're still invited to write your own, too! Thank ...
Tue 19th
12:55David Heath MP reports back on the CITES conference and global agreement to protect sharks and manta...
Much of my work in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs centres on the last two parts of the title, so it's good just occasionally to be able to make a difference on the other part of the agenda, the environment. I had just such an opportunity last week when I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. I was in Bangkok, Thailand, leading a trade mission on behalf of British meat and livestock to the biggest trade fair in Asia. But the timing meant that I ...
I add my congratulations to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. I am delighted that we have reached the position where there ...
The councillor sat alone in the witness box looking across the court, looking at times as though he had been brought there for trial. Several times during the meeting, he might well have been justified in thinking that was the case. Ludlow Town Council's meetings take place in the historic eighteenth century Magistrates Court, a ...
Last month, I wrote a blog about how more needed to be done to cut childcare costs for hardworking families. Today, the Government has announced a welcome step in the ...
The 19th of March is a significant day for the link road between Morecambe and the M6. It is the date by which the government is expected to decide whether to build the road and as this happens to be today then I am expecting some news. This story has been going on for decades and it is still mentioned on the doorstep. The only news so far this week is a story from The Visitor where we are invited to take a 'sneak peak' at how the finished road would look. It would appear that the decision has been ...
Chris White has slammed Weber Shandwick, the communications consultants working for the developers who are digging up Inkerman and Bedford Road. He said: 'I received an email from them today still claiming that the contractors were working for Thames Water – even though Thames Water have now made it clear that this is not the situation. I immediately warned Thames Water that they were continuing to shift blame in the wrong direction. 'It has also become clear that Weber Shandwick have made no attempt to inform me about developments despite knowing full well that this is a highways matter and ...
[IMG: Great Wall of China] Last November I blogged here about my trip to China shortly before the Chinese leadership handover at the 18th Party Congress. On Sunday 17 March that hand over was finally completed with Xi JinPing installed as President and Li Keqiang as Premier of the world's emerging second super power. China watchers have been keen to study the background of these two men to predict the future direction of the Chinese Communist Party under their leadership. Their fluency in the English language and easy manner might suggest that they are more westernised hence would be "modernisers" ...
The extent with which Welsh Government Minister's adopt an oppositional role to the UK Government was highlighted once again yesterday with Carwyn Jones pontificating to the media about what he would do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer. In many ways these little lectures are the political equivalent of a journey with a particularly garrulous taxi driver, except that the taxi driver would most probably be better informed and have an understanding of fiscal responsibility. In fact most of the little homilies from Welsh Government Ministers have the same features, they are often ill-informed rants, that have no sense ...
There is some confusion about the Royal Charter rules as agreed yesterday. My primary concern is to stop politicians controlling the media. The underlying problem with a Royal Charter is that normally this would be subject to modification by the government. The changes in the House of Lords to the Enterprise Bill mean that any industrial royal charter can only be modified in accordance with
Having been in face to face negotiations till nearly midnight last night - followed by calls, texts and emails for many hours afterwards - I am delighted to have stood up this afternoon in the House of Commons to welcome the cross-party agreement on implementing the Leveson Report. It wasn't easy but after a lot of hard work - led on our side by the tireless Jim Wallace, we have got there. The Leveson Inquiry was established after public revulsion at the phone hacking scandal. So, when Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendations to reform the regulation of the press, ...
[IMG: Some rights reserved by mashleymorgan ] Today is the 10th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. We are marking it by publishing reflections on the war and its aftermath by senior Liberal Democrats. The first, by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, was written in Basrah, Iraq I am writing this dispatch from a conference in Basrah where the Iraqi Oil Minister has just been outlining plans to spend US$200 billion to rebuild the hydrocarbons industry, in a country where US $1 trillion is earmarked for reconstruction and where in just a few weeks free and fair local elections will be ...
A new group is being set up to lobby hard and bring forward improvements to transport in the north of Cambridgeshire. The new Moving Forward North Cambridgeshire group will look at how to speed up transport improvements that are currently holding back the local economy and improve accessibility for local people getting to jobs and vital services. Cambridgeshire County Council is to set up the group with Fenland District Council following its work with partner agencies on the Wisbech 2020 Vision, A14 Summit and A47 Alliance. Top priorities to move forward will be improvements to the A47, transport links between ...
Bury Council has announced more details on its proposal to introduce a very significant number of new 20mph speed limits and zones. The broad proposal is that all residential roads (everything but main roads) will be 20mph at the end of the a three year period (the exception being small cul-de-sacs etc). The Council is spending money from its reserves to do this over a three year period. There is more details of the scheme here www.bury.gov.uk/streetsafe. My understanding is that streets where the average speed is more than 25 mph, will require some form of physical traffic calming measures. ...
You will recall that Manchester City Council built a small part of an access road in Heaton Park earlier in the month, just one day before planning permission would have expired for a commercial soccer centre after three years of inactivity. Prestwich and Whitefield Guide have very kindly shared these responses to their Freedom of Information Act request to Manchester City Council, which make an interesting read - particularly the fact that the works were not paid for by Goals Soccer Centres, but out of council taxpayers money. On February 9, 2013, (and possibly February 10 and 11) workers, on ...
Having been in face to face negotiations till nearly midnight last night – followed by calls, texts and emails for many hours afterwards – I am delighted to have stood up this afternoon in the House of Commons to welcome the cross-party agreement on implementing the Leveson Report. It wasn't easy but after a lot of hard work – led on our side by the tireless Jim Wallace, we have got there. The Leveson Inquiry was established after public revulsion at the phone hacking scandal. So, when Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendations to reform the regulation of the press, ...
Yesterday evening Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg wrote: Having been in face to face negotiations till nearly midnight last night - followed by calls, texts and emails for many hours afterwards - I am delighted to have stood up this afternoon in the House of Commons to welcome the cross-party agreement on implementing the Leveson Report. It wasn't easy but after a lot of hard work - led on our side by the tireless Jim Wallace, we have got there. The Leveson Inquiry was established after public revulsion at the phone hacking scandal. So, when Lord Justice Leveson published his ...
Amusing Brett!Holmes gifs via Ozzy (tags: ) Campaigners target political parties with ambitious data plans | PR & public relations news | PRWeek Scary scary. (tags: ) Cameron has crossed the Rubicon. The new system of press regulation should be resisted by any means necessary - Telegraph Blogs Ahahahahahahahaha Toby Young threatens to take the government to the ECHR over press regulation. (tags: ) Norman Baker: Lib Dem MP makes bid for rock stardom | Music | The Guardian (tags: ) I Am The Blogger Who Allegedly "Complicated" The Steubenville Gang Rape Case -- And I Wouldn't Change a Thing ...
I've been a member of the Liberal Democrats (and sometime activist) since the mid-1990s. So I don't want to encourage anyone to leave the party, despite the frustrations we share. Admittedly, when supporters (and a few members) dropped away in the immediate aftermath of the Coalition I wasn't entirely unhappy. Many seemed not really to have engaged with our political culture, even if they liked individual policies (and didn't like Labour or the Tories). But since then many good liberals have left, for reasons we all know. The response of remaining members has been characterised by sadness, rather than rancorous ...
A number of residents have asked over time for a an update on the accommodation at Grosvenor Villas / 414 Bury Old Road – just across the road from the Milton Road area. The property has been a multiple occupancy dwelling for a number of years. My understanding is that the license to operate the property as a Multiple Occupancy Dwelling expires on 31 March 2013, and that the owners have no intention to renew this license. I have been in extensive correspondance with the Council's housing team, who I know have worked with many residents to ensure that the ...
Q: What do the Iraq war in 2003 and economic policy in 2013 have in common? A: An illusion of consensus. As Paul Krugman observes in the New York Times: The really striking thing, during the run-up to the war, was the illusion of consensus. To this day, pundits who got it wrong excuse themselves on the grounds that "everyone" thought that there was a solid case for war. Of course, they acknowledge, there were war opponents — but they were out of the mainstream.The trouble with this argument is that it was and is circular: support for the war ...
The Island of Surpyc Daniel Davis walks us through the Cyprus crisis, choose-your-own-adventure style. (tags: ) It's like money in the bank Pete Birks outlines the consequences in Cyprus. (tags: Cyprus economics ) Nick carrying the can for the village idiot My favourite Cypriot commentator at the weekend, blaming the Germans (a little unfairly) and the Communists (entirely fairly). (tags: Cyprus economics )
[IMG: clegg on leveson] Last night we published Nick Clegg's email to supporters setting out his views on press regulation. Here's the text of his full statement in the Commons yesterday: Mr Speaker, when Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendations, the Liberal Democrats supported them. I agreed with his basic model of a new, independent self-regulatory body for the press... With a new recognition body authorised to check, periodically, that the system is working properly. Given the importance of the relationships between politicians, the public and the press... I said at the outset that we should not become fixated on ...
Leveson recommended that there should be a law which guarantees a free press in this country. It is an essential balancing measure. Such a law is missing from the current half-baked, tear-arse, panicky "implementation" of his report. Hacked-off calls the whole implementation "artful". Crafty and shambolic, more like. I am beginning to think that it would have been better to pass a full-on separate short bill for this. At least, that way, there would have been proper scrutiny. Instead, we have the Black Magic option of the Royal Charter waved through at a Privy Council meeting with a few ministers ...
[IMG: What the Liberal Democrats believe - infographic] Last year I published an infographic on what the Liberal Democrats are achieving in government, which proved a big hit. Now I'm publishing a companion piece to go with it, on what the Liberal Democrats believe and the roots of those beliefs. I've long felt there is a big gap in what is available on this front. There are handy one sentence slogans and short extracts from the party's preamble at one extreme. At the other there are some comprehensive books such as Conrad Russell's superb An Intelligent Person's Guide to Liberalism ...
Wasn't the fact that apparently we need politicians to vote to protect press freedom. Wasn't the fact that MPs were complaining they were not given a copy of the deal they were voting on and as a consequence there still seems to be confusion regarding what they actually voted to support.It's not the issue of a 'voluntary system' being underpinned by huge fines if you don't volunteer. In other words join this...or else. The voluntary code of the Mafia!It's not even the fact that bloggers and websites will be covered by these regulations. It is related to the last point ...
I had chosen the poem I was going to post and came online to do just that - only to discover this was number 42 in my anthology strand. So, inspired by Stephen, I paid my own visit to the BBC's Vogon Poetry Generator site, and here is the result: See, see the lovely sky Marvel at its big neon green depths. Tell me, Amy do you Wonder why the turtle ignores you? Why its foobly stare makes you feel Groggy. I can tell you, it is Worried by your Spoondonalig facial growth That looks like A pesto. What's more, ...
It was really good news to learn recently from Craig Stocks of City Church at the Friary on Tullideph Road that the church as been awarded more than £257 000 to ensure essential repairs to preserve the building can be undertaken. The funding comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Historic Scotland.City Church has become an integral part of community life in its local area within the West End Ward and I have been pleased to attend a number of community events at the church over the past year or so. Craig has recently advised me of the following ...
We're all agreed that the issue of teaching climate change schools is political, but where do the political divides lie? A couple of weeks ago Joe Smith from the Open University posted a draft submission to the consultation on National Curriculum reforms (closes 16 April, if you want to have a pop too). Smith traced the 221 page document for mentions of climate change and sustainability, but they seemed to be entirely absent. He was angry and didn't hold back in his reaction: "Their removal appears political: playing to imagined prejudices of a Tory right that recalls a globe half ...
