[IMG: chorleywood-parish-council-logo] In a By Election held on Thursday, 21st, 2013, Liberal Democrat Frank Mahon-Daley was elected to fill the vacancy for Chenies Ward on Chorleywood Parish Council. This was a gain from Independent, as the Conservative vote sank to 17%. It is one of two by election gains in Hertfordshire for the Liberal Democrats this week. Chorleywood Parish Council Chenies Ward Liberal Democrat Frank Mahon-Daly 202 votes (51%) Independent 128 votes (32%) Conservative 66 votes (17%)
If there is one economic/industrial policy that defines our party surely it is employee ownership. From JS Mill to the Yellow Book, Ownership for All, Jo Grimond and on to Paddy Ashdown the central belief that those who work in an enterprise should share in its ownership and control is a constant. Nothing undermines that idea more that the barking idea promoted by Osborne that employees should swap their rights for shares and thus introduce Beecroft style management via the backdoor. It tarnishes the image of employee ownership. The good news the daft idea was defeated in the Lords last ...
It's my 100th favourite so here's the Who with their original line up with Baba O'Riley from the mid 70s.
[IMG: No Place For Those With Mental Health Problems] On 24 October last year, on this blog, I talked about how to put more police officers on the beat by changing the way we manage those with mental health problems. For too long, police custody suites have been used as 'dumping grounds' for people who, to all intends and purposes, are ill. For too long, the NHS has failed in its responsibility towards these most vulnerable of people, leaving frontline police staff to do their best, with limited powers and diminishing resources. I understand that the Home Secretary, Theresa May ...
Passenger Focus have published their annual survey of Bus Passengers this week. The satisfaction figures for the West Midlands (with the range of scores and average for all areas surveyed in the UK in brackets) are as follows: Overall Satisfaction: 79% – down on last year (national results range from 73% to 92% with an average of 84%) Value for Money: 50% – unchanged on last year (national results range from 30% to 70% with an average of 54%) Punctuality: 64% – unchanged on last year (national results range from 57% to 83% with an average of 70%) Journey Time: ...
'These aren't padpas, Doshie,' I said. 'They're tsavorite.' A tsavorite is properly green grossular, a sort of garnet discovered some seventy years ago near Kenya's National Park at Tsavo. Its lovely green lies between deep Sri Lankan emeralds and a peridot. (Tip: Don't buy a tsavorite unless it's above one carat in size.) 'Measure its single refraction, Doshie, to prove it isn't green tourmaline or green zircon. Save me a trip to London. Also, I know nothing about precious stones.' For someone who claims over and over that he hates London, Lovejoy spends a lot of time there in this ...
Not very difficult for me to rank them: 5) Empty Space: A Haunting, by M. John Harrison - possibly jetlag while reading it, but apart from Anna Waterman I found the characters unengaging, and I had difficulty following the plots and grasping how or why they intertwined. 4) 2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson - rambling and dubious but with a couple of good set-pieces. 3) Intrusion, by Ken MacLeod - a good book but quite a tough read, also tantalises with mind-blowing stuff happening off-screen. 2) Jack Glass, by Adam Roberts - a lot of clever stuff; a lot of ...
She was looking at the sun, now four fingers high over the jagged black horizon. "Oh my God, look at it," she said. "Just look at it." Wahram tried, but it was too bright, too big. A rambling combination of detective story, solar system travelogue, and rather unconvincing romance, this book may be the favourite on the BSFA shortlist for Best Novel, going by GoodReads / LibraryThing statistics. James Nicoll and Vandana Singh have pointed out some of its failings. I too was disappointed by it; I found myself several times looking up from the screen (reading on various combinations ...
The winner is Julie Sherry of the SWP for this effort in today's Guardian: It is true that a leading party member was accused of rape. However, far from "convening its own court, comprised chiefly of the alleged attacker's friends, to decide whether rape had occurred", the party engaged a committee, elected by its annual conference, to deal with the issue.So funny is she, that you wish you could hear more from her. Well, the good news is that Julie, as an SWP member, will almost certainly be given her own series on Radio 4 before the year is out. ...
A few weeks ago I chose a song by Molly Drake, mother of the once neglected and now ubiquitous Nick Drake, as my Sunday music video. In today's Guardian there is an article about her by Peter Paphides: If the idea of someone writing and performing songs without seeking a public outlet for them seems strange to us, perhaps that says something about the times in which we live. "It was a more private era," concurs Gabrielle. "You look at people broadcasting what they had for breakfast on Twitter and the desire for friendship seems to have been supplanted by ...
In just over two years Nick Clegg has gone from supporting an amnesty for asylum seekers to imposing £1,000 immigration bonds, a sure sign that his political compass has become seriously addled by the power ...
Whilst we probably see press regulation as a home grown issue and of little interest to those abroad. I think we forget that the rest of the world (somehow still) see us as a beacon of liberty to be emulated. So...what does the rest of the world think? Europe A "black day" for the British Press. Die Welt"little respect for basic liberties" - Le Monde "A sad event in the history of freedom of the Press in the UK". - l'ExpressFreedom of press under pressure - Russia Today New UK press regulator could pose a threat to freedom of expression ...
This afternoon I was in Plymouth to record the South West segment of the Sunday Politics Show. One of the other guests is Truro and Falmouth Tory MP Sarah Newton. In the green room before the recording, we were discussing the fears that the new Home Buy support scheme could end up helping to subsidise the purchase of second homes - as I blogged yesterday. Sarah declared that this was definitely not the case and that ministers had ruled it out. I agreed with her that there had been statements made by ministers that they would seek to exclude second ...
Finally we're seeing what is planned for the Southwark refresh of CCTV cameras: Project Transmission/ node location Estates Timescales 1 Draper, Taplow, Moleworth Castlemead Mar-Apr'13 2 Draper, Brandon, Castlemeads, Wyndham Comber, Elmington Apr-May'13 x3 deployable Aylesbury, x4 Manor Apr'13 3 Shard (27th flr) Shard May-Jun'13 4 Smeaton Crt Rockingham May'13 5 Peronet, Newington Jun'13 x1 Baron Close, x5 Spa Road/Bermondsey Spa Jun'13 6 Abbeyfield, Hakwstone, Osprey, Silverlock, Bramcote, Bonamy Jun-Aug'13 7 Redmand, Burwash Tabard, Kiling Aug-Sep'13 8 Lupin Rouel, Longfield, Arnold Sep-Nov13 9 Grasmere Tustin Nov-Dec'13 10 Whitcombe Marie Curie, Honor Oak Rise Kingswood Dec'13-Jan'14 11 Gloucester Grove Jan-Feb'14 12 ...
130400: Change of use from office to health club, Moorside. 130496: Window alterations, Riverside Place. 130513: New signage, Head Street. 130562: Change of use from retail (A1) to financial and business (A2), High Street. 130570: Loft conversion, demolition of garage and erection of double garage, Lexden 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 ...
Fri 22nd
17:55
Nick Clegg's illiberal hat-trick: now immigration joins 'secret courts' and media regulation on the ...
[IMG: nick clegg] Today Nick Clegg made a speech on immigration. He was due to deliver it in February but decided to delay it until after the Eastleigh by-election: I guess it wasn't an issue he wanted to stir-up for Ukip's benefit. Or perhaps he realised that his position would be as well-received by many activists as a bucket of cold sick. I have read it all the way through, which is more than it deserved. It's a lazy, lazy speech. It genuflects in the direction of liberalism with some stirring phrases... ... if every member of an immigrant community ...
So, I reach the first full season of the Sarah Jane Adventures. Absolutely excellent stuff, and if you haven't watched it you should. The episodes are 30 minutes long, which again is a bit awkward for my commute (two 20-25 minute trains with 5-10 mins between them); I also found I tended to want to watch the good bits again, and there are quite a lot of them. First time round I rated Revenge of the Slitheen the weakest of the five stories. I didn't think so this time; sure, it has essentially the same plot as School Reunion, but ...
Currently to access the Lib Dems website you have to go through an image of our manifesto from 2010 to highlight our fairer tax manifesto pledge which has been announced in this week's budget. Maybe we should make Lib Dems go through a copy of the preamble to the party's constitution instead. The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being ...
The much-missed Conrad Russell said you should read something three times before you pass comment on it. I've done that with today's speech on immigration by Nick Clegg. I've also had several cups of tea and am frantically hunting for some smelling salts to revive me. Leaders are supposed to lead and to challenge established thinking. I have no problem with him sticking his neck out on an issue if that is what he wants to do. It's important that we listen to him and if we don't like his ideas, to calmly and respectfully tell him so. It seems ...
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 I'm a liberal and I'm against this sort of thing. Leveson-style press regulation, that is (as well as secret courts) (67 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: The 'Bedroom Tax' does not pass the Fairer Society test (47 comments) by John Coburn Opinion: Time for Liberal Democrats to consider new claims about climate change (72 comments) by Michael Taylor Opinion: Taking minimum wage work out of tax would deliver the Living Wage (15 comments) by Adam Corlett Opinion: ...
Well, the date has finally been announced and in a very short 18 months' time the referendum will be upon us. Scottish voters will have their say on 18th September 2014. This is, of course, excellent news and we can now look forward to a year and a half of intense debate about the constitutional future of Scotland. For several years I believed that a referendum would be the best possible way of dealing with the issue and, at last, it is set to become a reality. The Scottish public are to have the opportunity they deserve. Well done all ...
Last night I attended a meeting in Mossley Hill ward called by Cllr Tina Gould and Paul Childs. The meeting was about the half baked decision to site a school on Jericho Lane. About 50 local people were there and ... Continue reading →
Asked in The House magazine about the Tories' commitment to reduce net immigration to 'tens of thousands' a year, Vince sagely replies: "It's not something Government [can deliver]... when you think about the logic of it: net immigration means reducing the number of people coming in or increasing the number of British people emigrating. Is that the policy objective? I don't know..." He smiles one of his Sphinx-like smiles.
The much-missed Conrad Russell said you should read something three times before you pass comment on it. I've done that with today's speech on immigration by Nick Clegg. I've also had several cups of tea and am frantically hunting for some smelling salts to revive me. Leaders are supposed to lead and to challenge established thinking. I have no problem with him sticking his neck out on an issue if that is what he wants to do. It's important that we listen to him and if we don't like his ideas, to calmly and respectfully tell him so. It seems ...
By SLF Council member and pensions expert Janice Turner Millions of private sector members of final salary and career average pension schemes have a better chance of a decent retirement after the government implemented more SLF pensions policy in this week's ... Continue reading →
Chris has been contacted by residents in relation to the works which are supposed to commence in my name next week. It is clear that Ringway and the county council have misinterpreted Chris's instructions and were intending to replace paving slabs with black top. This is something Chris would never authorise (except potentially for cross overs) and which has been consistently opposed by local residents in this street. We have now made it clear to Ringway that they are not permitted to do this with Chris's budget allocation and that, if necessary, the works must be postponed while this is ...
Councillors have just received the following (and some of us have also had the promised letter so, apologies if you already know all this) Changes to recycling in Camden this summer - update From July, suitable properties north of the Euston Road will be provided with wheelie bins so that paper, plastic and glass recycling can be put in one place. Experience from other councils that have introduced wheelie bins shows that by providing additional storage capacity the amount of recycling increases. Letters and surveys about preferred wheelie bin size and colour were sent to suitable properties north of the ...
There is an unwritten rule that there can be no deaths in the Palace of Westminster. Well, we had one in the House of Lords on Wednesday, as the controversial 'Employee Shareholder' clause in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill was removed. This pet project of George Osborne would have set up a new employment status where employees would be required to give up certain workers rights in exchange for shares in the company. Labour and crossbench Peers, plus a small number of prominent Liberal Democrat and rebel Conservative peers supported the amendment. Crossbencher Lord Pannick, outlined four main problems with ...
If you used the toilet today, you are luckier than 2.5 billion people worldwide. If you had a drink of clean water, you are more fortunate than 780,000,000 people on our planet, today. March 22nd is World Water Day, and November 19th is World Toilet Day. Take a few minutes today to think about ...
For those who have followed my previous commentary on such cases, much to do with the latest case will not come as much surprise. What is new is that this one was in England, thus increasing the threat that trans folk south of the border might risk criminalisation for entering into a relationship, as well as existing concerns north of the border. What is not new is that a guilty plea was entered, so this has (by my understanding) not set case law. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no defended case of "sex by deception" bought ...
Dear All, Immigration is one of the biggest issues facing our country today. Not because it actually is but more because that is what the media is telling us. Ten years ago immigration was a footnote when questioning the public about what they wanted the government to sort out. These days it has become a bigger talking point on the doorstep than everything bar the economy. Yes even the NHS and Education are less of a talking point than immigration. So why the sea change? Basically the economy has gone down the tubes and someone has to be to blame ...
While visiting the USA, I came across a delightfully bizzare TV show - Doomsday Preppers. For those who don't know, this pseudo-documentary follows the lives of certain... eccentric... families who believe that the end of civilization is coming and they better get busy preparing for that eventuality. Whereas you and I might keep a bit of spare cash hidden away, along with some out-of-date cans of food, these guys go the whole hog. Vast basements packed with food, gallons of oil to run generators, bomb-proofing their buildings, and training with guns. Lots of guns. It's easy to laugh at these ...
Just had this forwarded onto me; a fairly simple graph of By-elections gains since October 2012. As you can see the picture for the Liberal Democrats is not quite a bleak as certain newspapers seem to be suggesting ... With the elections coming up in May it's going to be an interesting few months!
First the (right-wing) Spectator. The the (left-wing) New Statesman. Now the (market liberal) Economist has joined the list of magazines saying that state-backed regulation of the press is something up with which they will not put. Here's its conclusion: it is important for any newspaper to be honest. A system where journalists police journalists will be more abusive than one run by politicians. But, in the end, society has a choice. If it values freedom from intrusion more than freedom of expression, it needs state regulation. If it regards the press as so important that freedom of expression must be ...
Data from the November 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections: [IMG: PCC elections turnout - November 2012]
Fri 22nd
13:52
Tolerant Britain, Zero-Tolerant of Abuse by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg (Speech)
Nick Clegg MP "Today I want to talk about immigration. Not asylum; that's an important distinction to make - immigration. The debate is opening up, and that's a good thing. We've now heard from the Labour party about some of their mistakes in office. And the Prime Minister and I are setting out how the Coalition is correcting those mistakes. Me today, David Cameron on Monday. The political mainstream has a duty to wrestle this issue away from populists and extremists. A duty to shift what can be a highly polarised debate - particularly in difficult economic times - onto ...
However much we might moan about the various failings of the Conservative-Independent cabinet on Cornwall Council, things could be worse. We could be in Torridge or Mid-Devon where the Conservative councils have sent out thousands of bills demanding a council tax increase of up to 17%. The bills are, of course, wrong and are having to be replaced. Mid Devon has had enough bad publicity in the last week with their decision to abolish the rules of grammar and delete apostrophes from their road signs. But now the council has sent out thousands of incorrect council tax bills and will ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Not the Treasury view...: Immigration as a growth strategy Next time a Tory claims to believe in supply-side reform, pls point then to this » 'Immigration as a growth strategy' http://bit.ly/16LR4BG
This should have been a budget for growth, helping the UK economy to recover from the deepest and longest depression on record. George Osborne's announcements on childcare, investment in industrial research and of course raising the personal income tax allowance to £10,000 are welcome steps in the right direction. They are all are clear examples of Liberal Democrat influence in the Coalition, not least the flagship move on the tax threshold. These measures, however, don't go nearly far enough to support businesses starved of credit or households facing escalating living costs and squeezed incomes - where was the action required ...
The last few weeks have, from my recollection, been some of the worst I've ever had. At the end of term I regularly felt that I couldn't be bothered to do anything – even extending to things like eating meals. I was misanthropic in a depressed way, rather than an arrogant one, as well as
An application's come in to replace the phone mast on Long Lane (by Garston Park roughly opposite number 88) By the looks of the plans the mast would be a bit higher than the one there now and there'd be a couple of extra cabinets. You can see the details, and comment if you want to, at this link. (the detail is all in the related documents bit at the end) You're also welcome to let Richard Oglethorpe and I know what you think. Richard is at richard.oglethorpe@liverpool.gov.uk and I am at paulakeaveney@yahoo.co.uk.
Abandon your preconceptions and actually read Nick Clegg's immigration speech. At the heart of it – is a very positive case for immigration – a case for the rule of law, and for understanding the concerns that immigration bring. Don't ... Continue reading →
I spent an interesting evening in Bootle on Tuesday night. My Lib Dem colleagues, Councillors Fred Weavers and Marianne Welsh and I, were attending a regular overview and scrutiny meeting. On the agenda was a call-in. Call-ins occur when 3 elected members disagree with a decision made by the executive. The matter is discussed at the scrutiny committee and a recommendation made to cabinet or full council. On this occasion the call-in was made by 3 Tories, including the leader of the Sefton Tory group. He spoke at length to justify the call-in and eventually a vote was taken to ...
The Ham and High got it spot on this week, reporting on the costly mistakes of a 'Council in crisis.' Haringey Council have always been prone to bad press and terrible errors, but last week this intensified, as the Council quickly lurched from one scandal to another. The front page article specifically refers to a court case against the Council. A High Court Judge ruled that that the Council acted indefensibly and unlawfully on an anonymous complaint against two parents. Not only did Haringey Council act unlawfully throughout the investigation, they were also ruled to have also breached the Human ...
If you had to choose a person from the following list, and only this list, to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, would you choose James May, Jeremy Clarkson or Richard Hammond? Tough choice, but go on: indulge me! The last time I wrote here, I predicted that the Quad had reached a turning point on monetary policy. I did this not on the evidence of Vince Cable's New Statesman article, but on a report in the Financial Times that Osborne was set to change the regime imposed on the Bank of England. Well, the 'turn' came two thirds of the ...
Fri 22nd
11:41
The worrying parallels between regulating bloggers and the Standards Board for England
Remember the Standards Board for England? If you haven't you never worked, or got elected to local government. If you have I will hazard a guess that it was accompanied by a groan and / or a rolling of the eyes. for the uninitiated it was a national regulator for Councillors. It was there to ensure Councillors behaved, stuck to the rules and do anything naughty. It had an independent investigation arm and had the power to suspend Councillors for exercising their office and even to ban them for standing for public office for up to five year. This regime ...
On the Independent's Independent Voices blog, Liberator's Gareth Epps, assessing this week's budget, says that George Osborne has got the little things right but the big things wrong.
There will be many thousands of people in Cornwall who are worried about how they are going to be able to afford their council tax. Even though the Cornwall Council element of the bill has been frozen this year, it is still a lot of money to find. Particularly hard hit are those who had previously been in receipt of council tax benefit. Until now, this means tested benefit covered up to 100% of the amount owed. Under the new rules imposed by the Conservatives and Independents, all working age households will have to pay at least 25% of their ...
Liberal Youth's statement on today's speech by Nick Clegg's on immigration policy. Nick Clegg's announcement on immigration will damage his plans to build a stronger economy in a fairer society. Immigration is fundamental to building a stronger economy, and a fairer society cannot exist whilst there is discrimination of nationality. If Nick Clegg truly wants to enable everyone to get ...
Nick Clegg's speech later today will remind us of how crucial an effective immigration policy is to Britain. One of the areas that has been the least developed by previous governments, as well as the Coalition government, is a clear integration policy. Far too often, integration policy has focused on the symbolic notions of identity and much less on the everyday experiences of individuals that might be able to capture better experiences of integration. Although the UK's experience of integration is generally positive, outcomes for different groups and in different places across the country are still very mixed. A new ...
On the face of it, as a Liberal Democrat, the 2013 Budget contained plenty to be happy about. The achievement of our marquee manifesto commitment, with a year to spare, to raise the basic rate tax threshold to £10,000 is, if not the 'victory' hubristically claimed in some quarters, significant. It means over two million workers pay no income tax at all, with tax cuts for many more. 10 out of 10 for that, and the party can now consider what the threshold in a fair society should be (minimum wage? Living Wage? Or should we tackle NI instead?) And, ...
The time is here – the time that all Liberal Youthers wait for in excitement – it's time for round 1 of 50 for Liberal Youth Elections. It's fair to say I've been fairly critical of the organisation in the ... Continue reading →
You may have seen the recent publicity about the EU budget, and the proposal to hold the vote in secret. I recently received the following from the Unlock Democracy campaign group. Dear Alisdair, I've got some great news: the European Parliament had a vote on whether or not to hold a secret ballot on whether or not to approve the 2014-2018 EU budget last week and the supporters of an open process won: by 553 MEPs with just 8 MEPs voting against.As only 20% of MEPs can call for the final vote to be held in secret, it could still ...
The Great Fire of London in 1666 turned the matchwood, half-timbered houses of London's Lombard Street into ashes, where the medieval goldsmiths from Lombardy had first set up their tables. A new street of brick and stone sprung up over the decade or so, and the bankers were back. Among them in the 1680s, under the sign of the Bolt and Tun, was a prosperous banker called Job Bolton. Bolton, like so many of his profession, was an outsider from the establishment: he was a Quaker. He could hold no public office. He was barred from the army, navy and ...
As far as I am aware, there are no meetings at Blyth Town Council next week The Events Committee that was scheduled for Tuesday, 26th March has been cancelled. The Blyth Town spring fair will be held on Easter Saturday, 30th March I will endeavour to post details nearer the time.
[IMG: European Union flags - Some rights reserved by tristam sparks] New Slovene government formed with a strong liberal presence Following what has been described as a "constructive motion of no confidence" in the Slovene Parliament, President Borut Pahor has invited Positive Slovenia's leader, Alenka Bratušek, to form a new government. ALDE member party, Civic List, has joined the administration, with its leader, Gregor Virant, becoming Minister of the Interior. In addition, ALDE Treasurer, Roman Jakič, has become Minister of Defence. For any Liberal Youth reading this, he's a former IFLRY Vice-President. EU Commission calls Daimler's bluff The European Commission ...
I never thought I would have something good to say about Margaret Thatcher but archives released by Churchill College reveal that she understood what her decisions meant for soldiers and sailors, even weeping over the loss of HMS Sheffield. I doubt that papers released in future will show such concern by Tony Blair over the lives he destroyed in Iraq through his lies and cavalier attitude
well blow me, an intelligent article on labour uncut (tags: ) Women in science: know your limits (tags: ) official doctor who website installs a randomiser (tags: ) disability hate crimes and how they are not dealt with proudly by the system Like all other crimes that are suffered by minorities then. FFS. If we all banned together we could sort this shit out. (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Also on YouTube here.
As usual great rhetoric from Obama in Israel: Palestinians have "a right to be a free people in their own land". "The only way for Israel to to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realisation of an independent and viable Palestine". I am not cynical about his rhetoric or the value of saying such things in the heart of Israel but US support for Israel despite the
In my role at the Council in charge of Transportation policy, I'm proposing a number of changes to parking which will have an effect on Cheadle. Cutting the cost of short-term parking Right across Stockport, we are proposing moving car parking to an hourly rate. In the centre of Stockport the rate will be 80p an hour. In Cheadle and the other district centres it will move to 20p an hour, so 1 hour parking 20p, 2 hours 40p up to a maximum fee of £2 for the day. That's a 50% cut in the cost of popping into Cheadle ...
We wake up to two very good by-election gains in Adeyfield West ward on Dacorum Borough Council (think Hemel Hempstead) and Lodbourne ward on North Dorset District Council. First, Dacorum... Adeyfield West, Hemel Hemstead by-election result: Lib Dem Ron Tindall 363, Lab 278, Con 229, UKIP 193, ED 51. Lib Dems go from 3rd to 1st! — Sara Bedford (@sarabedford) March 21, 2013 So, what have we got for you today? IPPR publish a report on integration today, and we have coverage of that courtesy of Myriam Cherti. And, naturally, we have more commentary on George Osborne's budget, as Prateek ...
The centre for British influence in Europe have created an interesting infographic that visualises how government spending is broken down. (Although personally I would style the top bubble welfare & pensions) Debt interest payments are now the fourth highest level of expenditure.
Results are just in of a sweeping Liberal Democrat gain from Labour in a Dacorum Borough Council By Election yesterday, Thursday 21st March, 2013. Both the Conservative and Labour votes collapsed as Liberal Democrat candidate, Ron Tindall, swept to victory with 33% of the vote – an 18% improvement for the party since the Borough Council elections of 2011. Dacorum Borough Council Adeyfield West Ward Lib Dem (Ron Tindall) 363 votes, 32.6% vote share (+18.1%) Labour 278 votes, 25.0% vote share (-17.5%) Conservatives 229 votes, 20.6% vote share (-22.5%) UKIP 193 votes, 17.3% vote share English Democrats 51 votes, 4.6% ...
Following the Evening Telegraph recently revealing the extent of child poverty across Dundee, I have pointed out that the council's method of distributing Fairer Scotland Funding that excludes two wards including the West End is now proved to be totally unfair and I have called on the SNP Administration to radically rethink how it distributes regeneration monies to tackle poverty in the city. The Tele's figures completely destroy the myth the council seems to have created for itself that instances of poverty exist only in six of the eight wards in Dundee. At the moment, six wards in Dundee get ...
Employment amongst adults across Wales still remains higher than England and higher than the UK average the latest figures show. Unemployment in Wales stood at 8.4% a rise of 0.5% and still higher than the rate of 7.8% in England and the UK as a whole. Commenting on the figures. The whole of the UK is facing difficult times. The Welsh Government have many economic tools at their disposal. It was 18 months ago today that Edwina Hart and Carwyn Jones unveiled Welsh Labour's attempt at copying England's Enterprise Zones. Since then, there has been little evidence on the ground ...
Over at Labour Uncut, Peter Watt the former General Secretary of the Labour Party has come to some pretty interesting conclusions about Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats: Clegg has courted his party assiduously by meeting weekly with his MPs and ministers. And out in the constituencies Lib Dem activists have been loyal despite the losses of council seats and a fractious reception from voters on the doorsteps. What a contrast with the ungovernable Tories and Cameron's approach with his MPs and minsters! It is the Tories not the Lib Dems who seem to be struggling with government. But Clegg's ...
