Fake Facebook girlfriends: what's not to like? via @guardian My brother is running London Marathon for ppl with mental health issues such as survivors of child abuse. Pls donate The libel reform O turn - and what the party needs to learn | Mark Pack Why is the LSE making such a fuss over Panorama's North Korea documentary? | Robin Lustig | Comment is free Stumbling and Mumbling: Thatcherite roots of the crisis Tony Blair can't escape blame for trashing the economy » Spectator Blogs Blair misses the point on the pre-crisis deficit Street harassment FAQs: an imaginary conversation | ...
It's not just being an old fogey that makes me enjoy watching vintage drama: I enjoy it because of the time writers used to be given to tell the story. No doubt money is tight and the audience only a click away from departing, but where producers still have the courage to give that time the results can still be enthralling - as Broadchurch has shown. BBC4 is currently showing I, Claudius, one of the greatest of all vintage television dramas. And last night's episode gave a welcome central role of one of the forgotten giants of 1960s' television: Stratford ...
[IMG: Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel] I'd read and loved Hilary Mantel's previous novel of the life and career of Thomas Cromwell, Chief Minister to Henry VIII, "Wolf Hall" and so had expected a lot from this sequel. It was delivered. This is a brilliant book. Like "Wolf Hall" it feels rich both with scholarship and with a deep understanding of human nature. Also, like "Wolf Hall" it is a Booker Prize winner. Although it is a different book to the first, with a different and older Cromwell, and it seemed a harder edge. "Wolf Hall" told the ...
[IMG: Some rights reserved by freefotouk] You known the scene. We've just seen it on "Scott and Bailey", but it's been repeated in cop shows time and time again. The DI stands in front of a dozen detectives and reels off a list of things she wants to be followed up: I want CCTV checked for the garage and the house. I want house-to-house to find out if anyone saw anyone leave the house or arrive or leave the garage, or saw the car coming or leaving. I want to know who he'd pissed off and who he'd had arguments ...
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert MP Julian Huppert has welcomed the news that unemployment in Cambridge continues to fall. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in March was 1,600 - 158 lower than the same period last year and 18 lower than in February this year. Julian said: "It's good news that more jobs are becoming available and people are finding work. The job market is still tough but these figures show that confidence among employers is continuing to grow and new jobs are being created. "Clearly, it is still extremely difficult for those families surviving against a backdrop of ...
"Josh Dixon was brave enough to confront conference as a Lib Dem, arguing that the party's heart is still in the right place and Labour were just as bad on education. He received a thunderous applause and no heckling." On the Libertine, Rich Clare describes his experience as a delegate at the National Union of Students' conference. On the day of her funeral, The View from the Hills offers a clear-eyed verdict on the economic and political legacy of Margaret Thatcher. A briefing from 20's Plenty explains that school safety zones should not be a priority - children benefit far ...
I was hoping to have a new Who post up today, but I got hit with a short story idea last night and I'm busy writing that (I think it may well be saleable to a magazine — if it isn't, it'll end up on here as usual) so you get some links instead. Also, ...
You know it has been a long time since I've been out on the scene or even been to watch a Pride march (let alone be in one). And since leaving London I don't even have a work LGBT group to attend. With my singular focus on the fight for marriage equality, my views of LGBT normality have become somewhat skewed as I wade through the hate thrown at us by our opponents. Thus it is good to sometimes get my head out of the mud and remember that being LGBT is fantastic. Thankfully this is helped by scenes like ...
Something made me cry today, and it involved a bunch of politicians in what is normally a solemn ritual. It took place in the New Zealand Parliament when MPs voted in favour of same sex marriage. In the House of Commons, you might, if you're lucky, get some order papers waved. Having said that, I hear tales of The Land and Lloyd George knew my father being sung in the Lords voting lobby by certain of our peers late one night. Anyway, look at this place – real warm celebrations. Hugs, kisses, flowers and the spontaneous rendition of a Maori ...
I write on this, Margaret Thatcher's funeral day. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.The evil that men do lives after them;The good is oft interrèd with their bones..."Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 2 So begins Mark Anthony's funeral oration for Julius Caesar. Tony Benn tells the story that he met Mrs Thatcher at the funeral of Eric Heffer, the veteran left wing MP. Heffer was a socialist and collectivist and one whose viewpoint Mrs Thatcher strongly opposed. But, nevertheless, she had come to pay her respects to a political opponent and ...
Great news that the bridge is finally open. HOORAY. Alastair Hanton, Michael Bridgeland and I originally proposed this in 1998. Please see attached graphic and map we used in our Southwark Cyclists report.The Millennium Link Graphic It was meant to be a The Millennium Link a project linking northern Southwark to the Millennium Dome. We met so many people so many times – everyone from Network Rail, TfL, Southwark Council – officers and councillors, Southwark Police, Lewisham Police, British Transport Police, Sustrans.... Lots of hurdles. Walking the route to double check our assumption, site meetings with the great and good. ...
The moment I decided to stand to become an NUS delegate for Sheffield Hallam was when I found out that Vicki Baars was standing to become President. You may or may not remember Vicki as the NUS Vice President forced to apologise after sending out a chant with lyrics such as "put the Lib Dems ...
listen to ‘Thatcher Procession cheers’ on Audioboo
We are delighted to announce that members' registration will open shortly for Autumn 2013 Federal Conference in Glasgow. We very excited that Conference is making a return to Scotland after many years' absence. The event will take place at the SECC (Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre), Exhibition Way, Glasgow, from 10am on Saturday 14th September to around 3:30pm on Wednesday 18th September. The conference hotel will be the Crowne Plaza. In order to cut down on costs and be more environmentally friendly, there is a discount available for those who are content not to receive any papers through the post ...
This question occurred to me recently. I started to do some calculations and what I found is a bit creepy. I have a little over 7,300 followers on Twitter. I have been active on the site since 2009 so that's roughly 4 years. If we assume that there has been a fairly steady rise then in each of the years I have been active I have had an average of around 3,650 followers in each of those years. In the UK in 2011 there was a mortality rate of 0.623%. So if we use that as the standard rate for ...
We float down the Welland to read the Rutland & Stamford Mercury and our Headline of the Day: Friendly ferret found in Morcott
The Poke has assembled a splendid collection of Twitpics to mark this special day. And one picture in particular is a symbol of all that Margaret Thatcher stood for: Large crowds gather in Leeds city centre to watch Lady Thatcher's funeral
The tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq has provided an occasion for reflection on the pluses and minuses of that operation and its aftermath. Having been in Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG) last month I know that many Kurds there think of the War as a Liberation, and I can understand why, given the dreadful ...
Today, instead of pocketing my change, I put it into a charity box for the Railway Children, and I helped a woman struggling with her child's pushchair on the steps of the university railway station. I went to lectures on empathy and ethics, and I smiled at people who caught my eye. I held the door open for the person who was a few steps behind me as they came down the stairs, and I made my next appointment to give blood. Today was Margaret Thatcher's funeral. In the year I was born, she stated "there is no such thing ...
Danny Alexander writes in today's Scotsman about the benefit reduction which has become colloquially known as the Bedroom Tax. He argues that the Coalition had to take action after Labour mismanagement and failure to build houses: However, they may not know that Labour also left a legacy whereby hundreds of thousands of families in Scotland are waiting for a house that is big enough for their family to live in. The government has a responsibility to make sure that we change housing benefit rules in a careful, sensitive and managed way. But we also have a responsibility to those families. ...
The Welsh Housing Minister told an Assembly Committee today that a mortgage guarantee scheme, that has been under development for over a year, is being abandoned because the housebuilders they were working with on it have pulled out. This scheme was agreed as part of a budget deal with the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Having dragged their heels for so long, the Welsh Labour Government has now left first time byers with no way forward to get on the housing ladder until the UK's scheme kicks in in April 2014. This announcement comes in the same week that the Welsh Labour ...
Noisier than today. Many of the same faces Maggie didn't wear blue.
The Council meeting last night was jam packed. Here are some of the highlights... Ealing Council awards the Army's 562 Transport Squadron Freedom of Entry Freedom of Entry is a way for a town or city to give prominence to the locally based armed forces. They now can march through Ealing's streets with fixed bayonets playing their drums. As a drummer, I will look forward to when this moment will happen. I made a short speech about the importance of this squadron especially in their peacekeeping roles. Logistics in the army is crucial and I recalled about when I visited ...
There was a significant amount of chortling in LDV Towers over the Telegraph's report of Vince Cable's comments about One Direction's earnings. One member of our team even suggested photoshopping his head onto this photo of the boy band wearing onesies. Mercifully, copyright and lack of photoshopping skills on my part spares you that sight. Vince thought he was being asked about, I presume, a director's £5 million salary, which he described as "mad", "downright immoral" and "grossly offensive". It would be hardly surprising that he would take that view given his actions to curb executive pay. He added, as ...
Whether your interest is America, economics or clever presentation of data, this video is well worth a watch.
1) Francesca Montemaggi, former Cardiff councillor and blogger, has resigned. The last straw for her was Nick Clegg's recent anti-immigration rhetoric, although she is unhappy about a range of other issues, too. For her, 'The Liberal Democrats have failed to be the voice of liberalism.' I've added her thoughtful blog to the list; she also contributes to Open Democracy. I wonder if in retrospect this resignation, together with those left over the secret courts bill, will seem to be a watershed. Earlier resignations have centred on 'social justice' (university fees, the NHS, welfare etc). These resignations centre on much more ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... The Real Blog: Whose side is Toby Young on? .@davidboyle1958 reviews @toadmeister's 'review' of his book, Broke > Whose side is Toby Young on? http://bit.ly/17n7vSq Liberal England: Nick Clegg's outspoken opposition to libel laws as deputy prime minister Nick Clegg seems to have gone 'missing in action' on civil liberties, argues @lordbonkers > http://bit.ly/17n7xKe Labour's Lib Dem Dilemma: To be Tribal or Tactical? Aw bless. Some in Lab want to stop hating LibDems & start using us instead. They're just so... seductive #cantresist http://bit.ly/15kTMiK Win 2 free tickets to see Lembit Opik ...
AEE Renewables have submitted their application for a solar farm at Says Court Farm, in the countryside to the west of Nibley Lane. You can view the details and make any comments you may have on the South Glos website. The closing date for comments is 1st May. The best map is shown as "PLANNING STATEMENT(APPENDIX A: LOCATION PLAN)" - the South Glos location plans are muddy and not easy to locate the site from.
The caricature of an upstart blogger takes on a slightly different hue when he's a Fellow of the Royal Society Time magazine's person of the year 2006 was, famously, you. "Yes, you" they self-consciously assured; selling a story of a shift from the normal parade of "the few, the powerful and the famous who shape our collective destiny" to something more open. This is not "you" in a specific sense but a rhetorical you, a you-in-general. Because "America loves its solitary geniuses - its Einsteins, its Edisons, its Jobses - but [with the advent of the web] those lonely dreamers ...
Wed 17th
12:30
Sharon Bowles MEP writes: New EU rules make a more secure, sustainable and transparent banking syste...
Yesterday the European Parliament passed a historic package of financial legislation following almost two years of negotiations. The most widely publicised aspect of these new rules is the cap on bankers' bonuses, introduced in an amendment by the European Parliament and supported by Lib Dem MEPs. As well as the moral justifications, there are many good rational reasons for the cap. Significantly, it will realign the bonus to salary ratio to more reasonable proportions, thus reducing the kinds of excessively risky behaviour which contributed towards the financial crisis. It is important for banks to show restraint and take a more ...
I've talked before about advertising hoardings with combined NFC & QR codes. It looks like Clear Channel - the advertising behemoth - is getting into the game. Spotted all over London are these bus stops with built in advertising poster. Look on the right hand side, and you'll see the interactive element. [IMG: Bus Stop with QR NFC] [IMG: Clear Channel NFC QR] It's pretty well designed, although the disclaimer "standard network rates apply" seems a little redundant - and weirdly placed. The QR code is oddly rotated, but that's just my personal preference. The QR code is large enough ...
[IMG: Poll Swing] Edition #34 of Liberal Democrat Newswire came out last week, looking at the party's prospects for the May local elections. It's now also available online to read here. If you would like to receive the next edition of Liberal Democrat Newswire direct to your own inbox as soon as it is published, just sign up here. It's free! You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom of all the emails, and I won't pass your email address on to anyone else (except if required by law). And if you are already a reader ...
Well, I enjoyed being on the receiving end of a Toby Young review on Sunday. Kind of. Of course, I realise he is busy - probably too busy to take in everything he reads in all the books he reviews. But I'm absolutely sure he has taken in the back cover, perhaps some of the first chapter. And he definitely took in part of the last chapter, too, of my new book Broke: Who Killed the Middle Classes? What more can you ask of a busy man? You can see for yourself in last Sunday's Mail on Sunday, but it ...
Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, John Leech, has tabled an Early Day Motion (number 1265) which calls for action to be taken against homophobic chanting at football matches, pointing out that if the chants were about someone's race or skin colour, then they would be tackled. His EDM says: That this House welcomes the report from the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters' Club (BHASC), along with the Gay Football Supporters' Network (GFSN), that details evidence and a log of the level of homophobic chanting at both home and away matches; recognises the extent of the problem when Brighton fans ...
It seems sensible to follow on from transport policy, covered yesterday, to the environment. As a relatively recent transplant into the county, one of the things that I really value is our natural and built environment, and we need to ensure that we do all that we can to protect it. More and better focused environmental action Liberal Democrats will save money and cut greenhouse gas emissions by: cutting non-essential County business mileagepromoting LED lighting, insulation and natural source heating in domestic housing, County and commercial buildings encouraging use of the waste heat output from the Great Blakenham incinerator for ...
17 Questions From Pop Songs, Answered Definitively Sadly #17 is wrong, since Freddie passed away :( (tags: ) Diary of a Benefit Scrounger: Thatcher's Funeral - From the Most Vulnerable of All Polemical, but heart-string-pulling, I agree with this post. (tags: ) Transgender: not a challenge to feminist politics-unpicking transphobic tropes | Another angry woman Sterling article by Stavvers. (tags: ) In memory of Margaret Thatcher - Milena Popova Donate to a charity she would have objected to? That sounds like a good memorial to me. (tags: ) Dan blames the spads for the continuing policy cock ups by the ...
It was good to have a woman Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher demonstrated conclusively that women are more than capable of doing the job. Whatever people think of her policies – today is simply a day for respect. I wish her family strength and peace.
South West Liberal Democrat MEP Sir Graham Watson has this week used a speech in the European Parliament to call for the EU to designate more marine conservation areas to protect the UK's fragile aquaculture. Speaking on Monday evening in Strasbourg, Sir Graham said that only 0.001% of the sea area around the UK is highly protected or closed to fishing, with the coral-rich Lyme Bay in East
[IMG: European Union flag] It's good to know who your friends are, and when it comes to combating climate change they don't include Britain's Conservative MEPs and their UKIP collaborators. In a European Parliament vote yesterday they tipped the balance, securing the deferral and probable abandonment of attempts to ensure that the carbon market continues to function, and sending out a signal that the EU is no longer interested in promoting low carbon investments. Europe's emissions trading system is the largest in the world and is driving down CO2 emissions from power stations by 1.74% each year, but by putting ...
[IMG: ALL-NAMES-FINAL- (1)] Yes, you read that headline right. The Voice is offering 2 FREE tickets to our readers to see Lib Dem luminary Lembit Opik be interviewed on 'The Political Party' with Matt Forde. The event takes place TONIGHT, Wednesday 17th April, 8pm at London's St James Theatre in Victoria. As it's short notice, this is simply a first-come-first-served offer: simply email stephen@libdemvoice.org. First two readers to reply will get the tickets (please only reply if you know you can attend). And if you want to attend even if you don't win the tickets but want to attend anyway, ...
On the day of Margaret Thatcher's funeral, I'm going to show a little respect. I hope others do too. Not just respect for a former Prime Minister. Nor just respect for an elderly woman who suffered from various debilitating illnesses. Neither am I merely showing respect for her family, friends and supporters although I do respect them, even if our political views are vastly different. I respect our democracy. I respect society. I respect the values of tolerance and acceptance. I also disrespect hate, and I have no time for those who wish ill on others or celebrate at others' ...
Last night's Party Election Broadcast by the Liberal Democrats concentrated on the significant raising of the tax threshold that comes in this month. The "stronger economy in a fairer society enabling everyone to get on in life" mantra was repeated heavily. The work of local Liberal Democrat councillors in creating jobs and protecting services was also mentioned. The Broadcast had earlier been trailed to members in an email from Elizabeth Jewkes, the party member who had proposed its inclusion in the manifesto. She said: Just a few years ago, in 2009, I attended our conference in Bournemouth as an ordinary ...
I have written an article here.
I'm pleased to say that the Friends of Riverside Nature Park now have a website and its well worth a visit! You can access it by clicking here.
Yesterday we had the long-awaited statement from Edwina Hart regarding Cardiff Airport. , Very little progress seems to have been made and if it has, the Minister isn't giving anything away. I had hoped that Edwina Hart would bring forward the Government's long held plans for an express bus service from Central Cardiff to the Airport, but as with so many of the Government's other aspirations for transport, it seems to have been side-lined. This bus link is vital; a direct high quality bus service from Swansea to Bristol Airport via Cardiff will shortly be launched without any tax payer ...
Councillor Jane Brown from Consett South, supported by ourselves and councillors from Leadgate & Medomsley, and working with Chris Shield (the officer dealing with the issue at County Hall), has arranged a public session at Crookhall Community Centre from 3.30 – 7.00 on April 25th at which members of the public will be able to see the plans and discuss them with both the developer and the county council planning officer. We are delighted that this has been arranged in such a timely way given the interest that there has been in the matter on the western edge of this ...
Yesterday Lib Dem MPs were going to support Conservative amendments to the Defamation Bill designed to protect large corporation's ability to threaten individuals with punative libel damages. A party spokesman gave the Independent a bizarre quote, "Unfortunately we are in a Coalition and this was one of those areas where we could not get our Conservative colleagues to agree with us." Today Lib Dem Voice reports that Julian Huppert has pursuaded Conservative Ministers to put back in the bill the clauses that Lib Dem MPs voted to take out 24 hours earlier, If this was an isolated incident of elbowarseitis ...
