The coalition has relented on plans to scrap a fundamental pillar of Britain's equality law following a second defeat in the House of Lords. Lib Dem equalities minister Jo Swinson performed a u-turn this morning ...
It's excellent news that face to face Citizens Advice has returned to Consett, provided by Wear Valley CAB. [IMG: CAB returns]
[IMG: image] Semi-Independence, that is. I haven't taken much of an interest in the Scottish debate. The Scots can do what they like, as far as I am concerned. But I was absolutely astounded to hear that Alex Salmond wants to keep the pound. On yer bike, mate! Pound sign by StockMonkeys.com [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
So it appears that Second Donegore Presbyterian Church in Antrim want to turf out one of their elders. The problem of course comes when that elder happens to be the leader of one of the parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly and also the Minister of Justice. For it is the church of David Ford that apparently has some calling for him to step aside as an elder. Of course being involved in religion and politics doesn't mean you have to take the churches line on everything does it? I mean we live in a democracy and not a theocracy. ...
Star Wars in 60 seconds | The Poke: via @thepoke - This is genius An open letter to Jeremy Browne MP...Part 2: Problems at the Home Office Stumbling and Mumbling: On disgust Local elections: it's not just the Tories who should beware Ukip | Andrew Rawnsley | Comment is free | The Observer We know you want power, Ed. Now tell us how you'd use it | Comment is free | The Observer The big dirty stinking baseline trap | Hopi Sen 5 answers for Labour | Scarlet Standard Teachers! What would evidence based practice look like? - Bad Science ...
Ján Mathé can justifiably lay claim to be Slovakia's preeminent modern sculptor, though his work is hardly known abroad. Indeed, until tonight he had never been the subject of a solo exhibition outside the borders of the former Czechoslovakia. Alas, he died last June, just days before his 90th birthday, but his widow, Eva, was ...
Don't forget Faith, Pride, and Chat, our informal social evening, is taking place on Friday, 26 April at 7 p.m in St George's Church on High Street. More detail....
At a packed Gatley Village Partnership meeting from local PC Mark Shaw. PC Shaw told us that most crimes are at a similar level to this period last year, with anti-social behaviour being 25% lower (a continued fall – anti-social behaviour has now been falling significantly for several years). As the weather starts to get warmer, PC Shaw reminded us to keep doors locked – even when we're at home. He noted that most thefts from homes, cars and sheds were opportunistic with thieves spotting something left open, making their job easy. Mark also told us that the police organisation ...
I was contacted by a concerned resident yesterday about loose masonry on the facade of the former Tay Rope Works on Magdalen Yard Road. I immediately contacted the City Council and am pleased to have had the following very prompt response from the Team Leader Building Standards: "I refer to your earlier communication regarding the above and would like to update you as follows. Following an inspection of the property Building Standards have taken emergency action in order to reduce the immediate danger to public safety, barriers have been erected. The marketing agent has been contacted and advised of the ...
Keith has got the new gate for Gatley Rec Ground play area installed. The gate – at the Co-op side of the play area, now closes automatically and gently, making it far less likely that small children will run out, or that fingers will be trapped. [IMG: Rec Ground gate] The Council will also be adding in new play equipment soon – probably replacing the elderly slide and climbing apparatus.
There is a tremendous post about the folly that is HS2 on Jones the Planner: HS2 is not a good idea; in fact it is a catastrophically bad idea and a fatal distraction from what really needs to be done to improve our railway system. I have always been suspicious of grands projets which seem to be strongly related to male pride (or inadequacy) and national chauvinism. If the Frogs have got TGV and RER then we must have them too or we are not pissing high enough up the wall of international prestige. This extremely grand projet has been ...
Yesterday, I noted that Suffolk Conservatives have decided that improving their incredibly poor performance on education is not one of their key priorities. Here's their top 5 pledges, courtesy of Colin Noble... Our top 5 pledges are [IMG: Blue Tick] No increase in council tax for the next four years [IMG: Blue Tick] High-speed broadband across Suffolk [IMG: Blue Tick] County-wide 'No Cold Calling' Zone [IMG: Blue Tick] A new Travel Card for young people [IMG: Blue Tick] £270million investment in care facilities. Looking for education... looking for education... not finding education. Ah, but I now have a leaflet from ...
Tue 23rd
20:00
Timothy Garton Ash is right: there is only one logical way for me to vote in 2015 - for the Conserva...
Timothy Garton Ash wrote recently in the Financial Times of the looming — and profoundly paradoxical — choice facing the British voters at the 2015 general election in two years' time: If ... your priority is the unity of the Conservative party, you should vote Labour or Liberal Democrat. If you want Britain to make up its collective mind about staying in the EU, rather than remaining Europe's fence-sitting mugwump, vote Conservative. His logic is irresistible — by which I mean to say I agree with him. And by which I mean to point out that I said as much ...
A conversation on twitter regarding THAT Ed Balls link descended into discussion of the solitary Lib Dem mentioned in the list, one D Alexander:jpshaddock 18:04 @stackee @AAEmmerson @miss_s_b I'm not sure I'd want to know, either way. Though I'm sure Danny is a considerate lover miss_s_b 18:05 @jpshaddock even if he's not I'd happily raid his record collection. @stackee @AAEmmerson stackee 18:06 @miss_s_b @jpshaddock @AAEmmerson Please tell me that's not a euphemism... jpshaddock 18:07 @stackee Stace, what could that even be a euphemism for? Then again, it is Jennie @miss_s_b @AAEmmersonI believe my work here is done LMAO [IMG: comment ...
[IMG: David Laws] The Pupil Premium has had an impact on the educational achievements of many children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Indeed, the gap in attainment between them and the rest of the pupil population is the narrowest it has been for many years. However, in an interview with the Independent, David Laws highlights the, perhaps surprising, differences between performance in deprived and in affluent areas of the country. It seems that disadvantaged children in well-off areas are not achieving as well as similar children in deprived areas. David Laws, the Schools minister, described the record of schools in "some of ...
Today is St George's Day, the national day of England. It is worth asking why the English do not celebrate it the way other countries celebrate their national days. Two Liberal Democrat MPs, John Leech and Greg Mulholland, have asked the same question. Most countries have a national day, which usually commemorates a key date in the birth of the nation (for example, Bastille Day in France or Independence Day in the USA - indeed, independence day in any country that was formerly a colony). England cannot do that because it has no 'birthday'. What event would we commemorate? The ...
Or you could listen to Richard Thompson.
I was really pleased to hear this news via the Humanist and Secular Lib Dem Group today. ******* I'm delighted to pass on the following news, which we've just received from the National Secular Society. Last night, the House of Lords defied the government and voted for a second time to outlaw caste discrimination. After two successive defeats in the Lords, the Conservative side of the coalition has finally backed down, and caste discrimination should now be outlawed within months. HSLD's position is clear: caste discrimination is simply race discrimination taken to a lower level. It's appalling that thousands of ...
[IMG: Libel Reform campaign logo] I've been working on the Defamation Bill for years and now we are near the end phase. Last week, I wrote here that we'd managed to secure a concession from the Government on something we'd argued for for a while – requiring companies to prove serious financial harm to take any libel action. There were skeptics – lots of people saying they'd believe it when they saw it. Well, today the Lords discussed the Government amendment we won, and supported it. The Bill can now proceed to Royal Assent. We can be proud that we ...
The Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser, by introducing us to the gritty reality of life in rural Shropshire, wins our Headline of the Day Award.
It may probably not come as much surprise to some of you but I am no longer going to be taking part in the Belfast Marathon in less than a fortnight's time. The month of February was wiped out due to a little excursion to Hampshire. Although I lost weight and was on my feet all day, every day I didn't do a great deal of moving, beyond a small area of floor. Therefore my legs were not able to pick straight back up with the required training. As some of you may recall towards the end of that period ...
Negotiations are currently taking place deep within the coalition that could change our relationship with the internet forever. The second draft of the Data Communications Bill, or Snoopers Charter is currently being negotiated and if it's anything like the 1st draft that was rejected in December, it could effectively spell the end of privacy as we know it on the internet. The Data Communications Data Bill will force internet service providers and other internet businesses to collect and store all of your electronic communications for at least 12 months. This will include all your emails, websites you've visited, Skype calls, ...
[IMG: 812] I wrote a little article on 9th April that related to sports funding and its relationship with the nation's health. If I'm honest, I really just pointed out that there were things that simply didn't add up. A new post-Games review was published over this weekend, which for the first time sees the government considering and attacking the impact of funding. The report indicates that as an inspiration the games was a huge success, and its narrative is one that wants to build out from this. This strategy has to use a volunteering legacy to achieve this, and ...
The only jewellery it seems acceptable for a modern man to wear is a discreet wedding ring, and a corporate necklace. I've long since given up wearing a tie - why trust a man who voluntarily wraps a noose around his neck? - but as a sop to modern work-wear I have a security badge dangling from a lanyard. The lanyards that work hands out are unspeakably corporate - and the ones I've picket up at conferences are strewn with logos of companies who couldn't pay me to advertise them. I need something... special. Luckily, my friend and neighbour runs ...
In the previous posts in this mini-series, we've looked at how Alasdair MacIntyre's approach to ethical questions can provide an interesting way of examining contemporary politics. Today I want to look at the political theory most influenced by MacIntyre: that of Ed Miliband's One Nation. MacIntyre advocates political communities bound together by a shared conception ...
[IMG: Folkestone West result bar chart: It's Tim Prater or the Conservative] With the election campaign in Folkestone West in full swing, we're now well into planning our polling day work, and could really use your help! We'll be telling at the polling stations across Folkestone West, which are open from 7am-10pm. Tellers essentially sit outside a polling station and asking people who vote for their voter number or name and address. We don't ask who they voted for or canvass them in any way: our only intention is that we can then cross them off our list of people ...
The Independent reports on what are actually shocking comments by Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google when he suggested that his company's contribution to the British economy was more important than paying its fair share of tax. According to the paper, Mr. Schmidt defended Google's use of loopholes to minimise its UK tax bill. They say he insisted that Google would comply only with the letter of the law, despite paying only £6m of taxes on £2.6bn of revenue generated in the UK in 2011. Apparently, Google uses anomalies in international law to move profits into low-tax jurisdictions even ...
It doesn't look much to the untrained eye: [IMG: Hexham bus stop] Nor indeed does it look that much to the eye of a bus stop expert. Yet Hexham Town Council is claiming in its accounts that the bus stop is valued at £176,000. Liberal Democrat Derek Kennedy has the story: Councillor Derek Kennedy pointed out the figure, along with several others including a Mazda van for £169,000. When Councillor Kennedy challenged the figures the senior Conservative Councillor told him it was a "photocopier slip". A further challenge by Councillor Kennedy resulted in Tory claims that Councillor Kennedy has "always ...
[IMG: EU Parliament Brussels - Some rights reserved by Poetografie] Edward McMillan-Scott MEP is the only British Vice-President of the European Parliament and has been leading the campaign for a single seat for the European Parliament. On the British Influence website he writes: For four days each month, the European Parliament leaves its working base in Brussels, the EU's political capital, and descends on Strasbourg, its official 'Seat' for debates and votes. In addition, half of the Parliament's staff work in Luxembourg. This arrangement costs €180 million and 19,000 tonnes of C02 every year – €1.2 billion over the EU's ...
The archbishop of Canterbury warned on Monday night that Britain was mired in an economic depression and called for major steps to drag the country out of it, including the breakup of a major bank in order to create regional lenders. So reports the Guardian this morning-it then goes on into a peon of praise for Labour who never thought of the idea in office and ignore those (chiefly Lib Dems) who urged them to do just tells us more about the Guardian than it does about the state of politics. the recent Lib Dem policy drawn up after the ...
[IMG: Rotten Boroughs Logo (ERS campaign)] When I was writing about the South Shields by-election the other day, talking about how safe seats marginalise those who live in them, I pointed out the dominance that the Labour Party have on the local council there. In fact Labour on South Tyneside council have 88.89% of the seats. Which according to the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) makes South Tyneside a 'One Party State'. The ERS have launched a 'Rotten Boroughs' campaign to highlight what they see as being wrong with the state of local government in England and Wales. New analysis that ...
I'm currently in the DRC in my capacity as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development. Here is a blog following my meetings yesterday: It is sometimes hard to comprehend the health statistics in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a country where one fifth of children born do not reach their first birthday. And part of the story is that only one in four people have access to basic healthcare. Here in Kinshasa yesterday, I sat alongside the DRC Minister of Health and formally launched DFID's access to primary healthcare programme, "Accès aux Soins de Santé Primaires" ...
I remember growing up. FA Cup final day was magical. Always the end of the domestic season. There was hours of coverage. Cameras on the coaches. Saturday 3pm kick ...
[IMG: Binary data. Image courtesy of Ilco. Some rights reserved. http://www.sxc.hu/photo/965906] A big part of 101 Ways To Win An Election is about data: why it matters, how to get it and how to use it. So it was interesting to hear the views of Obama 2012 Deputy Campaign Manager Jen O'Malley Dillon on the subject as part of the Contested Spaces conference in London last week. We were both on the same panel, during which she said: There is nothing more important than data collection. For more on my take on the subject, and tips on how to make ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black is to raise with Ministers on Tuesday, his concerns about a private healthcare company that is targeting the Swansea and South West Wales area on its website so as to sell single measles vaccinations. Mr. Black will use the business statement to ask the Welsh Government to investigate the activities of the Children's Immunisation Centre, which uses its website to promote the sale of a single measles and a single rubella vaccine. He is particularly concerned at the appearance of a telephone number for inquiries on the site ...
Tue 23rd
13:32
The Independent View: Tax threshold changes - why the gains don't reach the pockets of low earning f...
[IMG: Money] Increasing the personal tax allowance to £10,000, to allow workers to keep more of their earnings before they start paying tax, sounds like a no-brainer as a way of helping hard working families trying to manage. However, a closer examination tells a different story - many poorer working families will keep only a fraction of the increase in net pay. This is because most of it will be deducted from any housing benefit or council tax support they receive. Higher income families in contrast keep all the net gain. A single person earning £30,000 a year will keep ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Untitled From a partisan, non-Lab pov I do hope Lab listens to Dan Hodges and doesn't make Alistair Darling shadow chancellor http://bit.ly/11yo2me Confusion reigns over London Labour Euro-list selection as candidates dispute senior official's story « Labour Uncut Wow. They do things differently in Labour » Confusion reigns over London Labour Euro-list selection http://bit.ly/128pvzs Untitled A LabourUncut post which shows just how little the party gets localism » Regional VAT, an idea for Ed Balls http://bit.ly/17LCHeh Untitled Very interesting article by Jonathan Todd on the complexities of Syria » Syria: Where is ...
Tue 23rd
13:20
Lords defeat 'farrago of nonsense' scheme to swap rights for shares. More Lib Dem Peers needed next ...
Congratulations to the House of Lords who last night voted down -for a second time- Osborne's batty scheme to allow employees to swap shares in excahnge for their employment rights. Beecroft by the backdoor as it has been called. I note that the majority against the scheme was bigger second time around. If I'm reading the lobby list properly the opponents included: Paddy Ashdown, David Steel, Shirley Williams, Dick Taverne, Mathew Oakeshott, Ros Scott and Ronnie Fearn. Sal Brinton made the key Lib Dem speech opposing the move. I was also struck by : Baroness Warnock: My Lords, noble Lords ...
Episode 55 of the House of Comments podcast "Paris Blues" was recorded on Sunday and is out today. This week I was joined by Labour activist and councillor Grace Fletcher-Hackwood to discuss the case of Paris Brown the 17 year old who was forced to stand down from her position as youth advisor to a PCC, Labour's position on cuts and public finances and looking forward to the local elections in a couple of weeks time we consider whether there is likely to be a UKIP surge. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (note - this is ...
I was taken to my first Trevithick Day in a pushchair by my mother and father. Years later, I have yet to miss Camborne's festival day and am looking forward to the 29th annual event, taking place this Saturday, April 27th. Raising civic pride and bringing the community together are two of the Trevithick Day Association's main aims and these are two of the reasons why so many Camborne people and their families enjoy the event. I tend not to have the best luck on the tombolas, but enjoy supporting the local organisations and their stalls! As for the dancing, ...
Cornwall Council will be increasing the charge for a three-year Blue Badge to £10 from 8 May 2013. The following is a briefing note I have been sent by the council to explain the change: The national Blue Badge scheme is run by the Department for Transport (DfT) and allows individuals with severe mobility problems to park nearer to where they need to go. Each local authority has the responsibility for processing applications, and to assess people's eligibility against a set of national criteria. In Cornwall, approximately 33,000 people hold a Blue Badge at any one time, and 13,000 new ...
Shortly off to watch @nigel_farage at the Press Gallery Luncheon. Memo to self: remain looking poker faced & don't cheer on anti-EU remarks! — Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) April 23, 2013 Fabricant previously produced a paper on how the Conservatives should work with UKIP.
Hatch Farm Dairies is a Bovis scheme which has already received outline planning permission for 433 houses on land between King Street Lane and Lower Earley Way in Winnersh. Access would be from King Street Lane on the Winnersh side of the motorway bridge, with a new road that runs to Lower Earley Way. The original plan when the scheme was proposed was that a new two-form entry (420 pupil) primary school would be built on the site and that Bearwood Primary School would relocate there. The plan was for the new school to be open by now. In fact, ...
I'm not normally a fan of Amnesty due to their approach to Israel, but their new Trial By Timeline tools is one of the most effective digital campaigns I've ever seen. If you haven't seen it pop up on your Facebook page yet, Trial by Timeline is an app produced by Amnesty International in New ...
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 Rufford-Hesketh Arms. In the picture of that event Charles Brumm is ...
Last week's bombing of the Boston marathon received blanket coverage here in the UK. In a world where there is still plenty of death and destruction, it seemed to be particularly shocking. But the strangest aspect of the episode to me was that nobody claimed responsibility. We were left to speculate as to whether it was Islamic jihadis, right wing extremists or some tortured loner. What's the point if nobody knows why you did it? It turns out that it was the jihadis: but this still leaves us with the question of what their cause is all about. Describing the ...
Tue 23rd
11:58LibLink: Greg Mulholland - A day to celebrate England, Englishness, and all things English
[IMG: st george] Today is St George's Day, and Greg Mulholland has marked the occasion with an article in Endeavour Public Affairs. He writes: St George's Day is an occasion when we should celebrate England, Englishness, and all things English. Yet how many English people actually take the time to celebrate, to commemorate the event, even by that most English of pastimes, by popping for a pint of England's national drink, beer, in one of our most distinctive of English institutions, the public house? It often seems to me, surely strangely, that the answer is fewer than the number of ...
Just a quick update on two issues regarding the 'lanes' between Simister and Bowlee. Fly-tipping – I have had to report fly-tipping in the area on at least two occasions recently to the Council, and hopefully have been able to get this cleared fairly promptly. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if fly-tipping occurs again an I feel it is important to make sure this doesn't become commonplace in the area. Road Surface – My understanding is that the Council is going to be making some remedial 'filling in' of the worst holes on Blue Ball Lane over ...
Just an update for residents on the Parrenthorn Road / Turnbull Avenue estate. As people will have noticed the Council took action last week to fill in the 'worst' of the muddy grass ruts on the Parrenthorn Road after a long period of complaints from both residents and myself as your Councillor. The Council has taken this action as a temporary measure, on safety grounds, as some of the ruts had become dangerously deep. After the initial work was done I got back in touch with the Council and asked them to make a return visit to make good some ...
Just an update to the various residents who have been in touch about the 'waste land' on Rectory Lane in the village centre, broadly opposite St Mary's Primary School. I know the site has been a bit of an eyesore for some time and from time to time it has been necessary to contact the Council to take action. On my request the owners of the site were contacted by the Council and and asked if they could clear up the site. I understand that this has now been done which is a great improvement. I will continue to monitor ...
[IMG: Income Tax square on Monopoly board. Photo courtesy of Images of Money on Flickr. Some rights reserved] A little quietly, the good ship HMS Tycoon Tax slid off the policy speculation slipway and into the waters of the real world* with the start of the tax year earlier this month. The full details are over on the official HM Treasury website of how the March 2012 budget announcement has now become law. In short, the ability of rich people to end up paying only a very low rate of income tax on their earnings by claiming huge sums in ...
Some would say I write a lot of crap on this blog. Some may be right. However today, instead of writing crap I'd like to write about it, namely dog mess. A while back I wrote about spitting in the street in comparison to allowing dogs to foul the pavement and since then I have started to pay a lot more attention to both in my daily life. Usually I trundle along in my Apple sponsored bubble listening to loud 90s music or surfing the net trying to build the family tree yet some how manage to get home on ...
The Birkdale blog has covered the contribution made to Southport Liberalism before by David Bentliff. Today we bring you the front page of the Southport Guardian that reported his death. He died on this day 21st April 1953. It was his unfortune luck to come on the scene at a time when the party was still in electoral decline. He fought the 1951 General Election along with only 109 other Liberals. Most of them lost their deposit. Bentliff did not he polling 8,000 votes. His by election vote in 1952 was the lowest by a Liberal candidate since 1886. Nevertheless ...
I'm sure you have seen the news about the outbreak of measles in Wales. Though it's many miles away, we know from past experience that these outbreaks can spread. And there's certainly no harm in being prepared. That's why my Haringey Lib Dem colleague, Cllr David Winskill, started asking Haringey Council a few questions. David is the Haringey Lib Dem lead on Health - so was well placed to ask. We asked the Council if they thought that the historic vaccination rate in Haringey has been adequate to prevent an outbreak in the borough. The Council said that Vaccination rates ...
[IMG: Piles of money. Photo credit: czbalazs - http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1236662] Last Friday's Independent splashed on the story, Exclusive: Labour bets the house with pledge to outspend Tories. The story itself is disputed: Ed Balls rushed on the radio to rebut it: "Is it the policy of Ed Miliband and me Ed Balls that we will decide now to bet the house with a pledge to outspend the Tories? No, that is not our policy, that is not our position." (Note to Ed Balls' handlers: speaking of yourself in the third person is rarely a good sign.) One aspect that I looked ...
Happy St Georges's Day. One of the first things I did after being elected an MP was to sign a parliamentary motion calling on St. George's day to become ...
To extend the service we offer to residents, Liberal Democrat Councillors are holding an extra advice centre in Churchtown this month. Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, David Rimmer and Nigel Ashton, together with local FOCUS editor Jo Barton, will be at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) from 10:00 to 11:30 am on Thursday 25th April. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Or just pop in to say hello or have a chat with us. Our ...
According to my County Councillor, one of his five pledges is super-fast broadband for every business and household in Stowmarket, Stowupland and Creeting St Peter. And naturally, he expects me to be grateful for his hard work and that of his colleagues. Yet, it could have happened sooner, as the Ipswich Star reported on 4 June 2011;Last month the Government announced the county had missed out on £20million from its Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK).Had it proved successful, the investment would have been coupled with a further £20m from the private sector and £2m from other sources to deliver superfast broadband ...
Reading yesterday that Chris Huhne was back in court fighting an award of punitive costs of £110,000, on the grounds that he took a long time to plead guilty, I was suddenly overtaken by a wave of sympathy for him. It is true that I am not unbiassed. I know Chris and admire him a great deal. As far as I know, there is no law against self-incrimination - quite the reverse - so I don't see why he should be punished twice in this way. But then, I am not a lawyer either. The really extraordinary thing is that ...
Update on the government's determination to remove the EHRC's general duty. Last night the House of Lords insisted on its amendment to keep the duty. Ping Pong continues. Come on Liberal Democrat MPs ! Wake up ! You can see how the Lords voted here at Column 1294. Surprising how the Lib Dem Lords split. Not entirely predictable.
The Labour Party which runs Sefton Council is afraid of anyone challenging their decisions. The following article explaining the situation was written by Cllr Iain Brodie Browne, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Sefton Council. Iain is a councillor in Birkdale. By Cllr Iain Brodie Browne None of us were surprised when the ruling Bootle Labour Party started to downgrade the routes that allowed scrutinising of their actions. Firstly they took the chairs of all the scrutiny committees and filled them with their placemen and women - they even took the chair of Audit which even in 'one party states' ...
Leveson: Who's in? Who's out? | THE FREE SPEECH BLOG If you're exempt as a "micro-business", aren't you supposed to be protected from exemplary damages anyway? (tags: ) The Police State vs. The Internet: If You Aren't Afraid of CISPA, You Aren't Paying Attention | Scriptonite Daily (tags: ) BBC News - Review Show loses 80% of its audience on BBC Four (tags: ) Ban on political TV adverts survives in knife edge 9-8 court vote | Mark Pack (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Einfamilienhaus in der Abendämmerung] Over the last few years Policy Exchange has been a prolific contributor to the debate over the direction of housing policy. As regular readers will know, I have not always been entirely complimentary about those contributions. In particular the PX regularly exhibits an unhealthy fixation with the planning system as the source of Britain's housing supply woes. I'm not aware of anyone who thinks the planning system is perfect, but to lay the blame entirely at its doorstep is too simplistic. I suspect PX knows that full well: its work on other aspects of housing ...
Small business interests ought to enjoy more sympathy from Liberal Democrats. After all, they represent a Liberal ideal of small-scale, local economic power and are a preferable form of enterprise to large corporations. Why do Liberal Democrats retain a lingering suspicion? The probable reason is a fear that small businesspeople are not just Tories but Poujadists, the sort of people Eric Idle moaned about in Monty Python's Travel Agent sketch: "...you get cornered by some drunken greengrocer from Luton with an Instamatic camera and Dr. Scholl sandals and last Tuesday's Daily Express and he drones on and on and on ...
It seems that both Government and Opposition have taken to screening films and TV shows in the House of Lords in order to try to persuade peers to stay for evening votes. So far, peers have enjoyed the Bond film Skyfall, a film on Clement Attlee and Downton Abbey. If films and discussions are needed in order to persuade their Lordships to do their job, then the case for reform just gets stronger and stronger. Tweet
The Faversham Creek Trust is inviting people across Faversham and beyond to participate in a 'Shakespeare-in-a-day' production of Henry V.Henry V in Faversham is a fundraising event for the Trust, which hopes to raise £1500-£2000, and involve lots of local people, either as cast, crew or helping out in some other way.Daringly, they will do the whole thing - rehearse and perform - in one day, Saturday, June 15th. The script will be abridged, running at sixty minutes and the performance will take place at The Assembly Rooms (Drill Hall) in Faversham.They are recruiting a full technical crew as well ...
Yesterday I published a new government amendment to the Defamation Bill which will strengthen the "serious harm" test already in the bill to make it more difficult for corporations to sue for libel. This new amendment makes it clear that a body trading for profit will only satisfy the serious harm test if it is able to show that the statement complained of has caused or is likely to case the body serious financial loss. This is almost identical to the original clause Anthony Lester proposed in his private members bill. This will make it clear that bodies trading for ...
I've been contacted by the Scout Leader from the local Scout Group, 25th Prestwich & Whitefield (St Bernadette's) who are asking about their Scout Community Week 3 – 9 June 2013. This is a national week where thousands of Scouts across the UK will take part in an array of exciting community projects. It also gives us a chance to the scouts to fundraise for their Group, ensuring that young people continue to have access to Scouting. They wil also be donating funds to fellow Scouts with disabilities and additional needs. They are interested to hear any suggestions for for ...
[IMG: Tree down just south of Bells Lane swing bridge, Lydiate] Tree down just south of Bells Lane swing bridge, Lydiate No sooner had I raised the need to clear a tree from the tow path following the high winds of last week than the work was done. My thanks to whomever cleared it away yesterday be that the Canal and River Trust or the neighbouring land owner. [IMG: rsz_cleared_tree_south_of_bells_ln_10_13]
Your local Lib Dem team have welcomed the announcement by Government that an extra £150 million a year is to be invested in primary school sport as part of the legacy from the UK hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games last year. The money means an extr £567,935 for school sports in Bury from September. Every state primary school in Bury will receive funding for sports in 2013/14 and 2014/15, roughly - £9,250 per primary school. The funding is the equivalent of around two days a week of a primary teacher's time to provide more sport for their pupils. ...
[IMG: Empty and boarded up council home in Beatrice Road] I've contacted the Chief Executive of the Council's housing arm Homes for Haringey demanding an explanation after it was revealed that a council home in Stroud Green has been left empty for 8 months. Neighbours on Beatrice Road have told us that work to renovate the home and bring in back into use only started 6 months after the last tenants left. Haringey has one of the longest housing waiting lists in the UK so it is outrageous that homes are left empty like this. It is also completely self-defeating ...
Ugh. It is "St George's Day" yet again. This blog was, once upon a time, created more as a reaction to nationalism than anything else. I know that is hard to imagine as I moan about marriage equality so often now, but yes indeed the posts I actually received the most response on (including being invited to speak at conferences(!), something I turned down as I'd be absolutely useless) were about nationalism. I explained why I'm a unionist, why you shouldn't call me English, and asked why those who bang on about flags never seem to treat them with respect. ...
You can download a higher quality PDF version of this poster about the excellent Cinnamon Trust charity here.
Ah. Who doesn't love a good Nadine Dorries story? It has been a while since her name has even passed into my consciousness. No doubt she has been extremely busy doing great things and saving the world. Or something. Anyway tonight there seemed to be a bit of a stir on my Twitter Timeline about her and the fact she was blocking Lib Dems from communicating with her via the medium on account that they were 'Lib Dem.' Please see the screenshot below. [IMG: Nadine Dorries Lib Dem Twitter] Nadine Dorries Twitter – 22/04/2013 Now blocking someone from communicating with ...
