Politics in many Labour heartlands is a pretty brutal affair. It's often signified by corruption, vote rigging nepotism and sexism. Trades union and Labour clubs are often unwelcoming places for women and ethnic minorities. So it's hardly surprising that a strong streak of sexism has (and continues to) run through the left's attitude towards Margaret Thatcher. The success of the campaign to get 'Ding, dong the witch is dead' from the Wizard of Oz up the charts - no doubt organised by some twenty something trots whose only knowledge of Thatcher is gleaned from the pages of the Guardian or ...
Suddenly everything is being centered around Margaret Thatcher. I know that she was probably the most famous British PM to date but using a children's song for political point making is wrong and immoral. When I was younger I used to sing along to 'The Wizard of Oz' and the sight of quirky munchkins jumping around demands that this song be remembered for being a jolly and great piece of acting, singing and dancing. Let us just remember Toto, Munchkins and Dorothy.
Where I (sort of) discuss last week's episode
No running week morphed into a second week. And I think it's pretty likely that there's at least one more of these in my immediate future. Le sigh. I had already given up the idea of running the Eugene Marathon, but was kind of hoping that I might be able to run the half. I saw my PT today for a torture session and his basic advice was: "Yes, you COULD run the race, if you were absolutely desperate to do so. But, it would hurt and it would definitely delay your recovery. I don't think you SHOULD run the ...
In yesterday's Six of the Best I linked to a post with photographs of the derelict Blobbyland at Cricket St Thomas in Somerset. That post, on 28 Days Later, also has this video of the site.
Thursday A grey morning on the coast of Fife. When the strategy of asking McNally to insult party members failed (as I said it would), Clegg decided an article had to be written for Liberal Democrat Voice defending his ridiculous decision to support secret courts. There was only one thing for it: Sir Walter Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP would have to be got out of mothballs and launched from Rosyth. It is a magnificent sight as Ming takes to the water again, urged on by Elspeth - the only woman I have ever met who could have gone fifteen ...
One of the sessions at the British Psychological Society (my employers) Annual Conference in Harrogate this week featured excerpts from the documentary Doctors of the Dark Side and a panel discussion with Dr Karen Kitchener, a former Chair of the American Psychological Association's ethics committee, and Frank Margison, chair of the trustees of Freedom from Torture. The video above is a nine-minute introduction to the role of physicians and psychologists in the detainee torture programme. It suggests how new US state legislation could stop this post-9/11 misuse of healthcare professionals and secure them as a force for torture prevention. It ...
All this kerfuffle over whether or not to play almost 75 year old record this on this week's chart show. Now to slightly change the most common line in another hit single that the BBC refused to play may be the BBC should "relax, just do it". Because all the publicity over whether they should or should not have played it on Breakfast this morning and News at One at lunchtime and no doubt this evening at six I shall hear another comment about the decision not to play it on the chart show (a five second excerpt will be ...
Chris Mead writes on the paper's website today: No seats changed hands in the latest council by-elections but the Liberal Democrats had the strongest voting boost. They comfortably defended a Wigmore seat at Luton Borough and came from nowhere to take second place at Lascelles, Darlington. After a string of by-election gains since last November, the Lib Dems can face the 2 May 2 (sic) and unitary authority polls with greater confidence than in any main contests since they went into the Coalition.But he goes on to point out that, because these seats were last contested in 2009 when an ...
Yesterday the Guardian reported that despite government assurances to reform the lobbying industry, 100 lobbyists still have parliamentary passes given to them by members of the House of Lords [1]. On top of that, members of the House of Lords remain free to work in public affairs despite the enormous potential conflicts of interest. This is a national scandal, yet it is something that we only hear excuses about from senior politicians, never action. The House of Lords itself has always argued that it doesn't need democratic reform to clean up its act. Let's put that to the test; will ...
Primary schools across Cambridge are to receive a share of almost £160,000 from the government to boost school sports. The news has been welcomed by the city's MP Julian Huppert who believes the investment will help children to build confidence, understand teamwork and stay healthy. Every state primary school in the city will receive the funding in 2013/14 and 2014/15. Among those benefiting will be Arbury Primary School which will receive £9,620, Kings Hedges Primary School which will receive £9,495 and the Shirley Primary School which will receive £9,580. The funding is the equivalent of around two days a week ...
In Houghton Regis, Parkside town councillors are planning to lead a community litter picking session, next Tuesday. Depending on how successful this is, further community litter picking will be organised. Meeting in Brentwood Close from 11am to 3pm. Litter picking sticks will be available, if anyone has their own, fine. Helpers might also wear gardening gloves. There's a lot of litter around. It's as good a place as any to make a start. Let's hope this generates a bit of pride in the area.
Business Secretary Vince Cable returns to Cambridge tomorrow (Saturday, April 13) to join Liberal Democrat candidates on the campaign trail. He will be joined by the city's MP Julian Huppert as he gives his support to candidates canvassing in the forthcoming Cambridgeshire County Council elections on May 2. Vince, who studied at Cambridge University, has become a familiar face in the city supporting businesses and launching the recent Business Awards. He said: "I'm very impressed by the hard work of the Lib Dems in Cambridge. "Ian Manning and Kilian Bourke as councillors have been strong advocates of key projects such ...
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 Opinion: Dr Strangelove: or how I got utterly fed up with the Left (118 comments) by Jack Williams RIP Margaret Thatcher (42 comments) by The Voice Paddy Ashdown pays tribute to Margaret Thatcher (and shows Nick how it's done) (66 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: Is UKIP a threat to community cohesion? (54 comments) by David Hennigan Liberal Democrats pay tribute to Lady Thatcher (26 comments) by The Voice 5 sample LDV Members' Forum threads Return to ...
Just a quick list of what I have sown under glass : Aquilegia Long Spurred Hybrids Lupin Russell Mix Delphinium Pacific Giants Sunflower Full Sun Hollyhock (collected seed, single, white) Sweet Pea (collected seed, mix) Gherkin Partner Pumpkin Americana Tonda Peas
I've been chatting to Martin Robbins recently and I share his incredulity that the blogosphere isn't aflame with outrage over the plans to include blogs, either by conspiracy or cock-up, depending on who you believe, in the Leveson Royal Charter. Here are four blogs posting about it: http://www.mjrobbins.net/?p=518 Frankly I am unsurprised that Sunny Hundal is putting his faith in the DCMS to 1, do what it told him it would and 2, not cock up the implementation. Sunny, bless him, has always had a touching faith in people that drove me mental even in the days ...
Last year, Lynne Featherstone MP* launched the Access to Elected Office Strategy to provide additional support for disabled people seeking elected office. The Strategy is designed to level the playing field for potential disabled candidates and tackle the currently low levels of disabled people in political life. The Liberal Democrat HQ diversity team forms part of the stakeholder group for this initiative. As part of this strategy, the Government has:Set up a new fund to help disabled people who plan to stand for elections with the extra disability-related costs. The fund will be open for applications until March 2014. It ...
My article in the Globe and Mail: My one conversation with Margaret Thatcher about the Liberal Party of Canada began with a chill in the air, and ended with our host mopping his brow. We were all polite, but there were daggers behind the smiles and venom coiled around the courtesy...The news of her death, coming days before the party chooses its new leader, brought her verdict back to me.
How can we overcome the chronic short-termism of our politics? In the seventh piece in our series on scientific advice, Natalie Day calls for a new approach to long-range decision-making Four months into the UK's coalition government, Nick Clegg gave a speech on "governing for the long term". It wasn't a premature pitch for re-election; rather, the deputy prime minister wanted to highlight how a culture of short-termism pervades political life, and how "the longer-term vision we are adopting in government will help to wipe the slate clean, and ensure that future generations can thrive." Clegg would struggle to make ...
Having introduced an unpopular tax, been hanged in effigy and seen an unprecedented series of protests during their time in office, some were still taken aback when plans were announced for protests at the recently deceased leader's funeral. Thinking Margaret Thatcher? Wrong. Massachusetts Lt. Governor Andrew Oliver died in March 1774 just a few months after the tumultuous events of the Boston Tea Party (and a few years after his official, if not personal, support of the Stamp Act which helped lead up to it). Samuel Adams, who would go on to become one the USA's Founding Fathers, was taken ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Ten myths about Margaret Thatcher exploded - Telegraph Blogs A good corrective, shd be read by left/right > Ten myths about Margaret Thatcher exploded http://bit.ly/ZdznI3 (via @TomChivers) Mum did to Maggie what she'd done to Kermit - Telegraph Blogs This is, quite simply, brilliant. Dan Hodges (aka Mr Glenda Jackson Jnr)> Mum did to Maggie what she'd done to Kermit http://bit.ly/ZcvCT8 If Europe wants Thatcherism, it must abandon austerity | Anatole Kaletsky .@Katesky on how Thatcher U-turned in 1980 on the economy – within weeks of her "lady's not for turning" speech ...
[IMG: Ballot papers] On Wednesday evening Alan Skepelhorn was elected to Luton Borough Council winning the local by-election for the Wigmore ward. This means that Luton Liberal Democrats have held on to this seat and we keep our numbers at 8 on the Council. The by-election was held after the sad death of long-standing local campaigner Roy Davies. I am really pleased. Not least because Alan was a colleague of mine when I was on the council — he was previously a councillor in Round Green ward — and I know what an asset he will be to the Lib ...
I suspect there are two sorts of people buying Ding Dong the Witch is Dead The first are folk with a genuine, passionate grudge about Mrs Thatcher, who honestly are delighted she has died, and want the whole world to know. I think the whole thing's a bit distasteful, perhaps a tad puerile, but if that's what they think then fine, and of course they have a perfect right to both think that, and buy a record that expresses how they feel, and tells the world that a number of people feel the same. The second are folk who don't ...
Margaret Thatcher's death on Monday has distracted attention at rather an interesting moment in British politics. There is a vigorous debate about how Labour should fight the next General Election, which should be in 2015 (one of the very few Lib Dem inspired constitutional changes to get through was one on fixed term parliaments). I have picked this up from two articles. First was an article by Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland last Saturday: Labour must draw the sting from welfare, or lose in 2015. Mr Freedland is nominally an independent journalist, but this article seemed to be very well coordinated ...
Out and about again this week speaking to residents in Viking Way. Thank you for your positive response and my apologies to anyone I missed. I'll try and call back later but if you need to speak to me in the meantime please phone or email. As in other areas residents are disgusted with the condition of local roads and speeding traffic in the area. The state of Viking Way is appalling and untouched despite several people reporting it. The potholes are dangerous and should be filled immediately. No doubt the county council are waitiing in the hope that the ...
[IMG: ding dong oz] As journalists look to extend the reason to continue writing about Margaret Thatcher's death, three quick points from me on the entirely bogus furore over whether the BBC should play Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead on Radio One... 1) Don't buy the record At least not in protest against Margaret Thatcher (if you just like 'The Wizard of Oz' please ignore). It doesn't matter to me that it boosts Sony's profits — though the anti-corporatist left might — but, seriously, is calling the first female prime minister a 'witch' the best those who disagree with ...
Strolling along London's Southbank the other day, I came across one of those new-fangled information posts. Crudely stuck to it was a decidedly old-fashioned piece of paper bearing a planning notice. [IMG: Lambeth QR Planning Poster] But! My my! What's that in the lower left corner? A QR code! [IMG: Lambeth QR Detail] Unsurprisingly, scanning the code takes you directly to the planning application on the web. Although the site isn't specifically designed for mobile, it's light weight enough to access even on a low powered phone. The planning application lets you view and make comments, read the planning application ...
Senior UK Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles has called for a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry should the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) Hearing on 25 April not answer the many questions hanging over the Cyprus affair. Bowles, who chairs the influential ECON Committee said: We will have an ECON Committee hearing on 25 April with the Troika and Mr Dijsselbloem, President of the Eurogroup to get to the bottom of the Cyprus bailout affair. If we find the answers insufficient the Liberal Group in the European Parliament will call for the immediate setting up of a Committee ...
Further to my article last month about the road closure at the Dudhope roundabout that started last Monday, the photo (right) shows the partly completed resurfacing works as of last night. I was pleased to be informed earlier this morning by the City Engineer that progress is on schedule to allow re-opening of the road network at the roundabout on Sunday.
Fri 12th
11:14
"We used to think that you could spend your way out of a recession, and increase employment by....
"We used to think that you could spend your way out of a recession, and increase employment by cutting taxes and boosting Government spending. I tell you in all candour that that option no longer exists, and that in so far as it ever did exist, it only worked on each occasion since the war by injecting a bigger dose of inflation into the economy, followed by a higher level of unemployment as the next step. Higher inflation followed by higher unemployment. We have just escaped from the highest rate of inflation this country has known; we have not yet ...
My support for a free press and the right to publish, think and speak your mind, even if your ideas are offensive seem to have caused more arguments with some of my friends than any other set of blog posts. For me, the right to speak your mind and hold unpopular opinions is a foundation block of a free, open and pluralistic society. These rights should only be tempered by the law of libel and direct incitement of the sort J.S Mill explained. Or as Michael Gove (yes him again) said in the Leveson inquiry "by definition free speech doesn't ...
We may not think about class much these days, but the Today programme obviously does - returning to the theme yet again this morning (0855), and enjoying the thought that George Orwell identified himself as "lower upper middle class". It is conventional to say, as Juliet Gardiner did this morning, that we are confused about class. I'm not sure we are, but the BBC is: it seems to think that class is all to do with income. That is why the Great Class Calculator identifies me as 'traditional working class' - because it is old-fashioned enough to equate my miniscule ...
The Liberal Party Constitution commits us to' ... create the positive conditions which will make a full and free life possible for all' . The last two words establish an unbridgeable gulf between us and the Thatcher approach. David Steel 1985 A journalist reporting the death of Thatcher tonight said that he learned the news whilst following Clegg on a campaign tour of Cornwall and reflected that Thatcher had a profound impact on our party.Writing in 1985 David Steel set himself the task of '...........presenting a constructive alternative to Thatcherism and ....'winning the intellectual argument against the new Conservatism.' . ...
[IMG: Ballot box] Three principal authority by-elections this week, two candidates and one win... We start with Darlington, where Howard Jones was flying our flag in Lascelles ward, one which we didn't fight in 2011. Plaudits should go the team there, who have demonstrated that there is a vote for us out there, if we make a case. The Conservatives were pushed into third place, perhaps reflecting national opinion polls that are showing them at their lowest level in this Parliament. The result was; Helen Crumbie (Labour) – 426 votes (63%, -17%) Howard Jones (Liberal Democrat) – 129 votes (19%, ...
Sexist adverts go both ways! aka the patriarchy hurts men too. And should be smashed! (tags: ) How to improve your story a useful flowchart for writers of all forms of fiction (tags: ) Leaked: NUS internal report exposes undemocratic structures (tags: ) Andrew Hickey On Mental Health Wards "When you underfund services, cut corners and demoralise people to the point that the most dedicated and conscientious of staff all wanted to get out because the conditions are too bad to do their jobs, this is the result. " - with very few alterations you could make this to be ...
Changes contained in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 mean that certain elements of the discretionary Social Fund scheme will be replaced by new locally based provision delivered by local authorities. From 1 April 2013 crisis loans and community care grants were replaced by the welfare grant scheme. These changes mean that you can no longer apply for certain parts of the social fund. You may be able to get some help if you are in a crisis in an emergency in receipt of certain benefits on a very low income live in South Gloucestershire looking for a home in South ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: Also on YouTube.
A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood Ward as detailed below:- Application number: 56183 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 10/04/2013 Location: 29 Heys Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1JZ Proposal: Erection of front porch. Plans will be available to view on the Council's website here (use the planning application number to search). Any questions or if I can help please just get in touch. Tim
South Gloucestershire Council has set up a new grants programme to encourage young people to participate in positive activities across South Gloucestershire. At the recent area forums, money was awarded to support work at a number of existing youth clubs in the area. The remaining money will be allocated at meetings later in the year. Funding from the Positive Activities Subsidy Grants Programme is available for organisations working with young people aged 13 to 19 years old (or up to 25 years old for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities). Priority will be given to: Organisations who can demonstrate ...
It's been a fascinating week, hasn't it? The death of Baroness Thatcher has been a reminder of a rather different political world, one of confrontation and ideology, of a sort that we don't apparently see now. And, interestingly, most of the key players in the Thatcher administrations are quietly passing their days in the Lords, which made Wednesday's tributes there rather more personal than those in the Commons. And whilst the week has been dominated by her passing, and the reflections on her influence over our nation and its politics, there has been quite a lot going on, even though ...
nef (the new economics foundation) has produced another mythbuster, this time debunking fallacies about welfare expenditure. Only 2.6% of Britain's social expenditure is received by able-bodied unemployed people. And the situation is dynamic; these people are not permanently unemployed: In reality, people slip between employment and unemployment, often within the space of a few months, as the economy relies increasingly on short-term, low pay, insecure contracts. This happens even more in areas where the economy is especially weak. In Teesside, one of the UK's struggling economic regions, research has found that, for many people, 'shuttling between benefits and jobs' has ...
You can download a higher quality PDF of this poster here.
The Western Mail reports on figures unearthed by Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society tbat less than £4,000 out of a £17m adult education budget was spent on Welsh-medium community education for adults. Information released by the Welsh Government shows that a number of major Government budgets fund almost no Welsh language provision, with over 99% of money going to English language projects. Yet in its language strategy published last year, the Government promised to "mainstream the language in all [its] work". Over the last three years, out of a total of 90,477 apprenticeships funded by the Welsh ...
Yesterday's Guardian reports on an intriguing intervention by Tony Blair in which he warns Ed Miliband that he must prevent Labour returning to a "comfort zone" in which it attacks all government cuts without providing a compelling alternative for Britain: He wrote: "The guiding principle should be that we are the seekers after answers, not the repository for people's anger. In the first case, we have to be dispassionate even when the issues arouse great passion. In the second case, we are simple fellow-travellers in sympathy; we are not leaders. And in these times, above all, people want leadership." Blair ...
...in candidates that is. The Vote UK forum statto - Mark Senior - a Sussex Lib Dem number cruncher has worked out from hundreds of council websites that the party nominations line up as below: Con 2,249 Lab 2,165 LDem 1,760 UKIP 1,727 Green 877 BNP 100 TUSC 116 Liberal 11 Meb K 25 Others/Ind 782 All the conditions seem to be in place for the Lib Dems to finish in fourth place in vote share if not seats. Last time around the estimated Tory share was 35%, Lib Dems 25%, Labour 22% and others 18%. It is difficult to ...
Campaigners outraged at government plans to scrap a key feature of equality law have launched a campaign to lobby MPs. The public service union PCS has begun a website for members of the public to ...
