Islington Lib Dem councillor Greg Foxsmith has left the party over the party's support for secret courts. He told the Islington Tribune, "I have resigned because I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the party leadership's support for the 'Justice and Security' Act is at odds with the principal reason that I joined - namely support for a fair, free and open society."
From The Big Issue in the North: An MP has accused the government of "complacency" over child abuse allegations on Jersey. Birmingham Yardley MP John Hemming backs Jersey Parliament members Shona and Trevor Pitman, who want the government to "ensure good governance by investigating evidence of the breakdown of law within the island's justice system". The Jersey child abuse scandal first surfaced in 2007 when social worker Simon Bellwood was sacked after complaining that children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours in solitary confinement at the Greenfields secure unit. International attention followed when the ensuing ...
Earlier this evening Sir Kenneth Branagh presented the honorary award to Her Majesty the Queen at a reception for the British film industry hosted by Her Majesty at Windsor Castle. The award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts is in recognition of The Queen's outstanding patronage of the film and television industries. ...
The Canadian Liberal Party has opened up its current leadership election to registered supporters as well as members. Justin Trudeau seems to be the bookies' favourite, while Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, is said to fancy the job one day. There is a Wikipedia page on the election, but I can't make head or tail of it. So try the video above instead.
George Osborne has said some crass things in his time, but his comments today, as reported by the BBC, that there should be a debate on whether "the state should subsidise lifestyles like that" were awful, giving a whiff of credibility to the demonising headlines in the Daily Mail that my co-editor Stephen Tall wrote about earlier. Does this make Osborne a "trollemicist?" Stephen sensibly said: The welfare state was no more to blame for their deaths than capitalism would be to blame if they'd done it to claim on insurance. The motive was greed; the result a tragedy. I ...
Some 4,000 tonnes of extra card waste alone are generated from the packaging along with an Nestle-estimated 726 tonnes of plastic waste, all of which is going to landfill in Britain and Northern Ireland. Eighty million Easter Eggs are sold each year in Britain and Northern Ireland it is estimated by the industry. Ireland will ...
'Evidence-based policy' seems to be all the rage these days. And little wonder. Because it is actually fallacy-based policy that is all the rage. Reactions to the Philpott manslaughter case are the most recent example. The tone was set by yesterday's appalling Daily Mail front page. The airwaves have been full of Tory MPs - oblivious of the old adage 'hard cases make bad law' - claiming that the Philpott case is an argument for cutting back on welfare payments generally. Nick Clegg's immigration speech last week was informed primarily by a need to mollify popular irrational feelings about immigration. ...
Thu 4th
21:30
Both left and right need to examine if its ever acceptable to use tragic deaths for political ends
The unedifying sight of politicians and commentators fighting over the sad tragedy of six murdered children like political carrion animals is not worthy of detailed comment. In my opinion both sides in this debate do not come out of this looking like decent people. This is because both sides in this debate are not beyond using tragic deaths to score political points and highlight policy defects whilst never reflecting on the fact that extreme cases always make bad examples to judge policy interventions. In time, political circuses move on to the next political feast but whats left behind is a ...
A few weeks ago, I received what I thought was a particularly inept phishing attack. Subject: shkspr.mobi ***PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL YOU MAY RUN THE RISK OF THIS NAME BEING ERRONEOUSLY DELETED - PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE (VIA EMAIL) WITH REFERENCE TO THE ACCURACY OF THE WHOIS INFORMATION*** Hello; I'm writing to you from Tucows (Registrar for your domain). It has come to our attention that the WHOIS for this domain (see subject line) may not be accurate. According to Section 18 of the Registrant Agreement you accepted when ...
The fact is, as I wrote in a newspaper article this morning, North Korea does now have missile technology that is able to reach, as they put it, the whole of the United States and if they're able to reach the whole of the United States they can reach Europe too. They can reach us too, so that is a real concern. Notice any non-sequitors there? 45 minutes, anyone? What a pillock! Pyongyang is 5,385 miles from London. The Unha-3 has a range of 3,700 miles. And even if Kim Jong-un could blast us out of our beds tomorrow, that ...
I thought of Robert Browning's Home thoughts from Abroad as I walked back from the gym today. There was a sort of blizzard and I met one of my fellow gymnasts leaning into the wind with a hooded coat pulled down over his face, so you could only just see his eyes. I didn't notice any chaffinches singing in the orchard bough. It was more like the set of Doctor Zhivago. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
The Rt Hon Peter Robinson MLA and Martin McGuinness, the First and deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, have confirmed that production of Game of Thrones series four will take place here in Belfast. Best-Selling books turned into film The ministers confirmed the return of filming for series four following the announcement by Michael Lombardo, ...
Thu 4th
20:35
Do U know anyone who's SIGNED up 4 the Council's energy switching scheme? Good deal or BAD deal? Let...
[IMG: councilanddemocracy-readytoswitchbanner_v_Variation_3] Have you signed up to Peterborough City Council's energy switching scheme?? Described by the Tory controlled City Council as: "A collective switching scheme spearheaded by the city council was first launched in November 2012 with the aim of using the combined buying power of residents to negotiate cheaper prices with energy companies. The second stage was launched on 1 March 2013." Commenting, Lib Dem Councillor, Darren Fower said: "It was 'billed' as something that would definitely help YOU save money, YEt I've heard murmurings that it's NOT saving some people money????? Even worse one lady said that while ...
George Osborne has said some crass things in his time, but his comments today that there should be a debate on whether "the state should subsidise lifestyles like that" were awful, giving a whiff of credibility to the demonising headlines in the Daily Mail. My Liberal Democrat Voice co-editor Stephen Tall sensibly said earlier: "The welfare state was no more to blame for their deaths than capitalism would be to blame if they'd done it to claim on insurance. The motive was greed; the result a tragedy." I think, though, that there was more than greed to it. The Judge's ...
It is not often I can cut and paste a post from this blog on to the website at work. But that I did for my story about the Education Endowment Foundation's grant to Chess in Schools and Communities, adding a nice supportive comment from a psychologist to the work version. I tend to concentrate on the Twitter feed at work, but a colleague put the story on our Facebook page. I like the conversation that ensued.
Thu 4th
20:11
Breathtaking Shropshire Council bungling on planning will trash fields and fail young people
Planning matters can be a little on the dull side, but bear with me a moment on this one. It really matters that Shropshire has gone from being one the best planned counties in the country to one of the worst in under a year. A year ago, the government published the National Planning Policy ...
Employment for Learning minister, Dr Stephen Farry MLA of the Alliance Party today announced the reappointment of the four members of the Industrial Court. The Industrial Court has its origins in the Industrial Courts Act 1919 and is responsible for the resolution of disputes arising from statutory trade union recognition for collective bargaining purposes; and employee ...
Last night, I firstly attended the monthly meeting of Community Spirit Action Group, the residents' group for the 'north' of the West End Ward, covering areas like Cleghorn, Ancrum, Pentland, Tullideph and Milnbank/Forest Park. There was an excellent presentation by Caroline Brown of the University of Dundee Archives about the work of the university's archives and also about the history of public health in Dundee. Caroline is an excellent and interesting speaker and her presentation was really well-received. There's a very useful on-line catalogue search facility for the university archives you can access here. Later yesterday evening, I was acting ...
Given the strength of my nostalgia for an era I barely remember, I was bound to be delighted by the news that the Rolling Stones are to play Hyde Park this summer. The band gave a famous free concert there 44 years ago immediately after the death of the band's founder Brian Jones. That delight did not last long. Today came news that this year's event will be far from free. Huffington Post reports: "You Can't Always Get What You Want," according to one famous Rolling Stones track. Fans might want to heed that advice, as a furious backlash has ...
Manchester Airport will be closing Runway 1 overnight for routine maintenance from Monday 8th to Friday 12th April 2013. As a result, Runway 2 will be used as the sole runway from 9.30pm to 6am from Monday 8th until the work is completed. The prevailing weather conditions will determine which direction aircraft will take off and land, so this may lead to additional aircraft noise at night during the week.
About 100 years ago the Birkdale and County Liberal Club held their annual picnic. In 1913 they visited Childwall Abbey. Undoubtedly the most significant figure in the photo is Charles Brumm -Birkdale's own 'CB'. He is fourth from the left. Brumm was German by birth and had become a naturalised UK citizen in the 1870's . He was President of Birkdale Liberals and held in very high regard as the last verse of this Election song shows: A year later with WW1 looming the annual picnic took them the the Rufford-Hesketh Arms. In the picture of that event Charles Brumm ...
The Lib Dems have secured a million pound boost to cycle facilities in the Cheadle area, which will greatly improve the links from Gatley, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme and Heald Green towards Manchester. The improvements will be put in over the next few months. [IMG: Cycles at Gatley Primary School] Cycles at Gatley Primary School The largest chunk of the money has come from the Government – over half a million pounds. Other funds are planned to come from local developments and Council schemes. Cheadle is one of 78 locations across the country that has secured this Government funding – and ...
Chorlton MP John Leech has hailed the 6 April Income Tax cut as a giant leap towards the Liberal Democrat goal of a fairer tax system. On 6 April 2013, the Personal Allowance will be raised to £9,440 - the largest rise in the Personal Allowance ever. This means that 133,800 ordinary basic rate taxpayers in Manchester will see their Income Tax cut for the third year in a row. That will bring the total Income Tax cut since Labour's time in government to £600. Thanks to this rise in the point at which you start to pay Income Tax, ...
With the clocks going forward on Sunday 31 March, The Safer Stockport Partnership is taking the opportunity to remind people to keep their homes and possessions safe. In the last 6 months we have seen a rise in burglaries. A large proportion of which are from insecure properties. This is especially common at this time of year as the weather improves, temperatures rise and residents leave windows and door unlocked. We also tend to see an increase at this time of year in the theft of gardening equipment including lawnmowers and other expensive equipment. The Safer Stockport Partnership has issued ...
The ratcheting up of tensions in the last Cold War conflict in recent days has got David Cameron reminiscing about Britain's own Cold War relic. Writing in the Daily Telegraph this Wednesday, the Prime Minister argues North Korea's threats of nuclear war demonstrate that "it would be foolish to leave Britain defenceless against a continuing, and growing, nuclear threat." When I first heard this it struck me how out-of-date this view seems. As the world has watched the North Korea issue increasingly apocalyptic threats and the U.S. Government respond almost daily by deploying more military hardware to the region, in ...
At the time of the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 it was commonplace to say that modern economics, especailly the macroeconomic variety, was in crisis, and needed a fundamental rethink. Alas, the vested interests of established economists have prevailed. Very little rethinking has occured, and this mainly tweaking rather than anything big. This is most striking in the area of monetary policy. The debates now going on in Japan and Britain remind me of the academic papers and discussions that I read about while an economics undergraduate at UCL in 2005-08. Circumstances have changed (in Britain anyway) but not ...
Jaron Lanier is one of my heroes. He has dreadlocks, is an accomplished digital musician and pioneer of virtual reality, and his book You Are Not a Gadget describes the development of what he calls digital Maoism, where web users become a new proletariat toiling for the benefit of an all-powerful virtual bourgeoisie. "We're sending them to peasanthood, very much like the Maoists have," he wrote. Lanier's target has been the idea that individual creativity is being undermined by the internet, partly because so few people seem prepared to pay for it - I speak as a writer - and ...
[IMG: SteamRoller] Notice has just come through from Hertfordshire County Council that Grove Road, Tring, is to be repaired sometime during the summer or early autumn. It will be closed to all traffic, except for access, from the junction with Marshcroft Lane north westwards to its junction with B486 at New Mill Terrace, a distance of approximately 760 metres. This also includes a prohibition from waiting on both sides of this length of road whilst works are in progress. According to the notice the closure and the waiting restrictions will be in place between 9.30 am and 3.30 pm, including ...
In 1972, Morty was punched, kicked and thrown down an escalator during a gay rights protest at the New York City Hilton Hotel. Watching the attacks on the evening TV news was Morty's mother Jeanne Manford. She was outraged that police officers appeared to ignore the assault. Following this Jeanne wrote a letter to the New ...
Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland I was so shocked when I read what my constituents wrote to me about the implications for them of the bedroom tax, and about how little they would have left to live on, that ... Continue reading →
I chose to travel on Easter Monday, even though this added to the cost of the rail journey which normally compares favourably with Ryanair, but not on a bank holiday. Additionally, because of my strained foot I decided to treat myself to taxis between Victoria and St Pancras, and between Gare du Nord and Gare ...
Yesterday I went to a really pleasant event. It had lots of nice people, Erica and I took up some case work, there was good food and some reminiscing about old times and old relationships. The only sad thing was ... Continue reading →
The Scotsman carries an extract from David Steel's Presidential Address to the David Hume institute in which he talks about the need for constitutional reform of the whole UK to give real power to its constituent parts. I was particularly struck by this passage where he talks about distribution, not devolution, of power: Many of my former constituents would quite comfortably consider themselves a Borderer first and then a Scotsman. And the same incidentally applies for Borderers born south of the Tweed in Northumberland in relation to Englishness. Politicians at their peril dictate identity and culture. People can quite comfortably ...
There is one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week Assets Committee, 9th April, 6:30 at Ebor House The week after, beginning the 15th, there are no meetings scheduled. Finally, the meeting of the Events Committee originally scheduled for 23rd April has been cancelled
Send to KindleHere's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Welfare Reform is this government's most difficult but most popular policy. » Spectator Blogs Alex Massie on the intrinsic contradiction that is Peter Oborne "entertaining, predictable, quixotic and changeable" http://bit.ly/16yd563 Does Leeds General Infirmary have a death rate "twice the national average"? | Full Fact Leeds children's cardiac unit suspension – tricky: wait for final valid data or act early? Face criticism either way http://bit.ly/XQaxPs Time for a rethink on standing at football | Alastair Campbell .@campbellclaret's right: "Time for rethink on standing at football" Govt shd have to prove ...
David Cameron is rapidly catching up with the White Queen. In one speech today he shows he can believe three impossible things before breakfast. 1. North Korea wants to launch a nuclear attack against the UK alone, not involving the USA or anyone else. 2. North Korea is capable of delivering a nuclear attack against the UK. 3. North Korea, which is not put off by the US nuclear and
Cllr Geoff Juby's recent column in the Medway Messenger: The recent crisis in Cyprus, where the more you save the more you lose seems to be called for by the EU, is putting another nail in the coffin for ordinary people who struggle all their working lives to save for retirement, only to find that their savings are practically worthless. At the moment it seems that if you are elderly you either have to have a very large savings pot, or none at all. Too many people find that their savings are not giving additional income because of low interest ...
The Stadium for Cornwall this morning got the go ahead from Cornwall Council's strategic planning committee. But big questions still remain as to whether the £16 million or so needed to take the project forward will ever be found. In terms of the application being discussed today, it is clear that the proposers had listened to previous concerns and modified their design as a result. The stands are lower profile and the pitch will now have a 4G surface to enable it to be used more frequently. I share the worries of my colleague Rob Nolan that the location might ...
In a perfect world we wouldn't need "hate crime" legislation, if a crime is committed then people should be punished for the crime almost irrespective of motive or who they victim is, otherwise wouldn't you be treating people differently under the law? 'Hate crimes' are usually of a violent nature, but surely most violent crimes derive from some form of hatred for the victim and some underlying prejudice against that person and hence be considered a hate crime? This labelling could also be self fulfilling, when attributed too commonly it could lead to groups feeling persecuted even if there isn't ...
In the second of our series on scientific advice, the outgoing UK chief scientific adviser reflects on progress and lessons learned There are times when a government knows it needs science or engineering advice. Perhaps most clearly when the physical world asserts itself in dramatic ways: the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the emergence of the swine flu pandemic, and the volcanic eruption in Iceland being recent examples. Although the issues can be complex, such events are among the more straightforward issues for a government scientific adviser: there are willing recipients of the advice and the challenge is ...
Today's news that Welsh Exports fell by over 10% in 2012 compared to a drop of just 1.7% for the UK as a whole makes the introduction of aWelsh Government manufacturing strategy more urgent. They also need to rapidly accelerate the their role out of its Enterprise Zones to help the wider Welsh economy. This is startling news. Wales is fairing for worse than the rest of the UK, our exports are falling drastically In terms of exports to counties outside the EU such as Asia, The Far East and America - all places that Welsh Labour Ministers have just ...
Earlier this week I saw this tweet from Paul Lewis of BBC Radio 4′s Moneybox programme: The 2014 rise in personal tax allowance worth £112 a year for basic rate taxpayer but £39 if on U Credit, & £195 for higher rate taxpayers. — Paul Lewis (@paullewismoney) April 2, 2013 The glaring mis-calculation I made was the percentage increase in the personal allowance which is of course 5.9% rather than 0.6% as I wrote! The underlying analysis however was right – the discrepancy in figures is due to the interaction between the increase to the personal allowance and the increase ...
[IMG: Lynne Featherstone on the doorstep] Want to know how to win election campaigns? You can learn from the very best of international experience with a free 10-week email course from myself and Ed Maxfield. Sign up at www.CampaignMasterclass.com and each week you'll receive one lesson by email, helping you become a top election winning campaigner or candidate yourself. We've helped, advised and run election campaigns across Europe and even further afield - and we've got many victories to show for it. Now you too can learn from what we've discovered along the way. We do hope you sign up ...
LibDemVoice's surveys of party members signed-up to our discussion forum have been running for close to four years now. (I posted yesterday the final set of figures from our most recent poll.) Our surveys are a way of testing members' views on a variety of hot topics. And as they've been running throughout the first three years of the Coalition they're also an interesting record of changing views on how the Coalition is regarded within the party. If you would like to take part in the LibDemVoice surveys, there are simply two steps you need to follow: 1) Be a ...
The debate about how far £53 goes is really not a sensible debate. It is possible to feed yourself reasonably cheaply, but there are other costs of course. One issue which concerns me, for example, is bus fares for young unemployed people. Young people in Yardley now have go to Solihull Job Centre. From April 2013 the applicable amount for a young single person is in fact £56.80. (It was
I've had the official confirmation through, so I can now announce that I'm been accepted as a Fellow of the RSA.
If Richard Littlejohn didn't exist, you'd have to make him up "As a focal point for public anger, he is little more than a convenient avatar; a man who embodies the essence of the right-wing tabloids we hate. If Richard Littlejohn didn't exist, you'd have to make him up. " (tags: ) Head Nurse: Let's talk about how not to be an asshole to your patients. (tags: ) Reno calls a domestic violence hotline: The MRA Reality Distortion Field in action | man boobz (tags: ) Remember this page when Left accused of playing politics with murder | Liberal Conspiracy ...
Both Kirkless Council and Hebden Royd Town Council have now passed motions condemning appointment of a Deputy Commissioner from among just members of the Labour party. The Liberal Democrat motion passed by Hebden Royd Town Council won the backing of several Labour party members who said regardless of their party politics it was discriminatory to only appoint someone from the Labour party. I applaud these members for voting with their concision rather than their party. [IMG: CoppersNotCronies] In the current climate of reduced public spending, a salary of £53k for a deputy is unnecessary, excessive and gratuitousness. The people I ...
Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, President of the European Movement UK, sets out why it's important for Britain to have a confident and active future in the EU. Well worth reading. Originally published in the European Movement's euroblog. BRITAIN'S FUTURE BELONGS IN THE EU by Charles Kennedy MP The Prime Minister's speech at the ...
I decided to invent a new word yesterday: Is "trollemic" a word? If not it should be. Trollemic = deliberately OTT argument to generate controversy & make rational debate impossible. — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) April 3, 2013 It's the welfare debate that's prompted it, but it could be any other topic on a given week. [IMG: daily mail philpott front page] Yesterday saw the Daily Mail publish a typically sensationalist front page blaming the welfare state for the tragedy of six children being killed by their parents. On Monday the Mirror shouted 'Shameful', with a cartoon showing Thatcher, Cameron, Osorne ...
From Wired: [IMG: Inside a computer. Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/660389] Every 30 seconds or so, the algorithmic bull pen of Narrative Science, a 30-person company occupying a large room on the fringes of the Chicago Loop, extrudes a story whose very byline is a question of philosophical inquiry. The computer-written product could be a pennant-waving second-half update of a Big Ten basketball contest, a sober preview of a corporate earnings statement, or a blithe summary of the presidential horse race drawn from Twitter posts. The articles run on the websites of respected publishers like Forbes, as well as other Internet media powers ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: Also on YouTube.
On Saturday I took part in the For A' That podcast in Scotland along with regulars Andrew Tickell and Michael Greenwell and fellow guest Green (and former Liberal Democrat) Douglas McLellan. It's not all about Scottish stuff. We had quite a long conversation at the beginning about immigration and Nick Clegg's speech in particular. A rich abundance of podcastiness today, starring a spiky @caronmlindsay arguing that we're #bettertogether bit.ly/10oQ41u #indyref — LallandsPeatWorrier (@PeatWorrier) April 1, 2013 Spiky, Andrew? I think maybe spirited is more appropriate. I certainly wasn't cross or heated and was quite enjoying chewing the fat from my ...
When Nick Clegg bravely proclaimed and robustly defended Liberal Democrat policy on immigration in the Leaders' Debates before the last election I was very proud to be in the same party. In particular, regardless of the scorn of the other two, and the likelihood of vitriolic headlines in the following day's Daily Mail, Nick stuck to our guns and called for an amnesty on those otherwise law-abiding immigrants who had been here illegally for ten years. I'm not quite sure to what extent Nick has now modified our policy, but it is sufficient to permit John Kampfner, in yesterday's Guardian, ...
The Parents' Group for Balgay Hill Nursery School has started a great fundraising effort to buy new outdoor play equipment for the school. I've been helping them get funding advice and they now have a sponsored walk planned for the end of April. As one of the group members advise : "The idea is for it to be a family fun day and therefore not only the children can be sponsored. We are trying to open it up to past and future children of the nursery as well as extended family/community groups. We are in the early stages of planning ...
There has been a spate of news stories recently around Town and Community Councils in Wales that raise a number of questions about the way that some of them conduct themselves and their members' understanding of transparency and accountability. The latest is Pontypool Town Council, which has decided that it does not like being scrutinised on it distributes grants to local organisations. According to this report Councillors have barred both the press and the public from any part of its meetings where such Local Project Funding grants are discussed: The council has £30,450 a year to give to local groups, ...
2013 is the European Year of Citizenship, though you could be forgiven for not knowing, especially as so much of the recent related discourse in Britain and several other EU member states has been about national identity, restricting immigration and questioning the right of free movement of people within the Single Market. But an exhibition ...
Sir Andrew Motion, the president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England caused something of stir last weekend by launching a salvo against second home owners in the Times. There were about 1,100 second holiday homes in Shropshire in 2001. On the face of it, the 2011 census suggests there are rather less, but I ...
I did try recording one of my stories for podcasting today, but I need to redo it with a pop-shield, as every plosive makes it sound like the speakers are exploding. Expect something in the next week or so. I'm hoping to have a post on politics up tomorrow, but in the meantime, links: 2000AD ...
