[IMG: Consett Festival]
This evening saw hustings organised by the campaign group 38 degrees in Launceston on the subject of health. We have a good discussion about the new responsibilities that have been given to councils to work to improve public health. In addition, we talked about problems with the medical centre (and the lack of room to expand) and the recent closure of Launceston Hospital. My colleague Jade Farrington was very firm in her desire to get the NHS Properties Division (who own the hospital land) and the GPs from the medical centre round a table together to sort out the problems ...
The mop of blonde hair is unmistakable, and now it's where it has always felt it should be, in 10 Downing Street. It has just been announced that the MP for Orpington, Jo Johnson, will head up the No. 10 Policy Unit, which has lost a couple of leaders in quick succession. While some praised ...
[IMG: Opting out of the law to get round a legal problem is never good policy.] Opting out of the law to get round a legal problem is never good policy. For over ten years, successive Home Secretary's have wrestled with the problem of how to deport Abu Qatada, an Al Qaeda-linked Palestinian who was initially granted political asylum in the UK in 1994. The crux of the problem is that the Jordanian Government wishes to try Qatada, using evidence that may have been obtained through torture. Britain is a signatory of the United Nations Convention against torture and is ...
Since May 2010, Calderdale Council has been run by Liberal Democrats and Labour Councillors working together on a jointly agreed programme. Now the Labour group has decided unilaterally to end this arrangement although the Liberal Democrats were committed to seeing through the current two-year programme that was agreed last year. Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Calderdale Council, Cllr Janet Battye (Calder ward) statement is as follows: "The Labour Group have told us that they want to end the local agreement on running Calderdale Council so that they can campaign against Welfare Benefit cuts. However, they seem to have ...
And set to music by Georges Delerue too.
This still sends a shiver down me everything time I see it.... I love the way they get in a reference to every Premier league club (I assume – I haven't checked, but they get Reading in, so the rest must be in there). [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
[IMG: twitter] Blocking someone on Twitter is not as effective as it sounds. People, who Nadine Dorries has blocked, can still read her tweets and have their replies, to those tweets, read by anyone searching for mentions of her. Photo: Some rights reserved by stevegarfield [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/204366021.html Robert Edgar was a great, great man, one of the first politicians for whom the teenage me worked. The fields to which he gave his huge talent and boundless concern are almost excessive to list: Open Government, Civil ... Continue reading →
South Cambridgeshire has been declared one of the most peaceful districts in Britain by a new UK Peace Index. The research comes from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) which shows the most and least peaceful areas in Britain. It defines peace as the absence of violence or fear of violence. The findings, which cover the 10-year period from 2003 to 2012, show that crime is falling more rapidly in Britain than anywhere else in Western Europe. The murder rate has halved since 2003, from 1.99 per 100,000 people to one per 100,000 with the violent crime rate falling ...
Wed 24th
19:57
Fancy living on Mars for the rest of your life - or would you prefer to give your money to a Nigeria...
[IMG: mars] An organisation called Mars One is recruiting four people to send them to Mars to arrive in 2013 and never come back. They might send more people to join them two years later. Applicants need to be aged 18-40 and able to breathe in and thrive on air which is 95% carbon dioxide. Being clinically insane would be an advantage. Oh, and please send $38 with your application as a "processing fee". You dafty. Photo: Mars planet 1 (Nasa enhanced) – Some rights reserved by J.Gabás Esteban [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Anyone who knows David Ford knows him to be a person of great depth, a fundamental seriousness, and immense commitment. Commitment to many important things that contribute so much to life here in Northern Ireland. To the Social Services. To ... Continue reading →
The Lib Dems were leading Southwark Council 2002-2010. Recently officers have been saying that we had a headline figure of 7,800 net properties removed from council ownership. This is shocking until you find out how they've composed those numbers. 5,363 Right To Buy – which was as a result of the then Labour Govt. 2,753 recorded as demolished but 1,100 were Heygate decants where the property hadn't been demolished but is now being demolished under labour. 915 were built and bought, 134 Amos estate, 293 sold during the 8 years as beyond the economic repair by a council. Taking all ...
Wed 24th
18:58
Danny Alexander on Scotland Tonight: Currency union with post independent Scotland unlikely to work
[IMG: Scotland analysis infographic on currency] Yesterday, the UK Government issued a 100 page report analysing an independent Scotland's options for the currency it would use post independence. They also produced an infographic summarising its conclusions. Unsurprisingly, the report concludes that staying in the UK is the best option for Scotland. For the first time, there was a very clear warning that the Scottish Government's preferred option of a currency union may not be achievable. On the other hand, the Scottish Government produced its own report saying that a currency union could and should work as there are mutual advantages. ...
Proposals to make big improvements to Cheadle village are moving forward. Local councillors have been working to get much-needed improvements to the village, after work on Gatley's centre last year made such a big difference there. A consultation with residents last year brought forward lots of ideas and identified the key issues The Council will shortly be unveiling proposals based on that consultation for residents to have a final say on. They include: Re-laying the pavements through much of the village centre, including right along both sides of the High Street Additional pedestrian/cycle crossings in the village to improve safety ...
This afternoon, I took part in a very productive and positive meeting of the Harris Academy Project Board, the board that is overseeing the school's rebuilding project and the decant arrangements. The meeting took place at the Rockwell site, where the school will be decanted for three years from this summer. There was an update on the planning position following Historic Scotland giving permission to demolish the existing school buildings. The planning application is likely to be considered by the council's Development Management Committee on 13th May. There was a further update on the school transport arrangements, further to the ...
In Cheadle village we've seen a new building on the High Street – a Sainsbury's on the Ground Floor with apartments above. Unusually for a new build, it's been met with almost universal approval and the most common comment we've had is "The new building looks great, but can't you get something done with the telephone exchange next door". Quite right – the telephone exchange (correctly called "Gatley ATE") really lets down the High Street. We've been pursuing this on two fronts – the building itself and the pavement outside. It's now been confirmed that the building will be getting ...
We're too old to remember the original Potts' Clock, but take a proprietorial interest in the clock by the bus station. After all, it took a lot of pushing to get it back, so imagine our disappointment when we were told it had gone wrong. [IMG: 11.00 this morning] In fact, there may be a different explanation. It may be that works to the bus station have resulted in an interruption to the electricity supply. Lets hope so. For those who don't know the phrase, a less than flattering indication of idleness, according to "The Consett Story" published in 1963 ...
Yesterday France took the final legislative step towards marriage equality when the National Assembly voted it through. It still needs to get through an appeal with the Constitutional Court before the President can sign it into law, but they have already ruled in the past that this issue is in the hands of the legislature not the judiciary so it is likely to successfully overcome this last hurdle (cross those fingers!) Here are two images from last night showing some of the opponent's reactions to the vote. Violence and aggression have characterised the French opponents campaign. Now judging the opposition ...
This morning I purchased a coffee. Not a very eventful start you might think, but if you'll allow me, I'd like to dwell on the transaction. The deal with the establishment from which I purchased the coffee, was that in exchange for my ability to leave the store with their product, I had to exchange £3.50 for the privilege. In a functioning free market economy, such exchanges are made willingly by the buyer and seller alike. The key to this relationship is choice. Indeed, I had many choices - whether I needed the product, where to buy the coffee from ...
I'm fortunate to live in an area with a strong Liberal Democrat presence so (although I've not had a lot of time), I can have the satisfaction of helping some splendid county council candidates with a serious chance of getting (re-)elected. But for many thousands of party members this isn't possible. They live in areas where we have little or no chance of retaining or winning seats this time around, still less of having a major say in the council chamber. And this year more members than ever won't even have the opportunity to cast a vote for a Liberal ...
Liberal Youth are making a difference up and down the country this month to get more Liberal Democrats elected. Just as in Eastleigh, we're showing the potential for Liberal Youth to be an election winning organisation as well an internal policy pressure group. We've already had national action weekends in Sheffield and Cambridge, as well as national phone banking events with our shiny new connect account. But we're only just getting started. This weekend we're urging Liberal Youth members with no elections in their region to head to key target areas. We're holding action weekends in Somerset and Northumberland this ...
Dear Nick I fear I may have been a pain the backside in recent days, so apologies for that - but as you can probably tell, I feel passionately that we should veto any moves towards reintroducing the Communications Data Bill, unless and until it starts to roll back some of the State's powers in this area, rather than extending it. You'll be well versed in the detailed arguments by now so I won't rehearse them all again now; but the basic principle is important to restate. Any Bill that increases the State's ability to track, record and read a ...
Just to let you know about a new way of accessing ward maps via Flocktogether's API site. Enter your postcode or the name of a ward and it will let you link through to a zoomable, copyable map. Click on the link in the top left to get an extra large version. Use the selection box at the top left of the map to get a format suitable for printing. Comments welcome!
The Labour Party have always been proud of their socialist background. They look after the poor and downtrodden and their union links are based on the democratic rights of the individuals they represent. This championing of democracy now seems to have been forgotten by the leading Labour group on Sefton Council. An important part of local democracy and accountability are Sefton's Area Committees. Here in Southport our own Southport Area Committee meets every 2 months. At these meetings decisions are made on local issues. An important part of the meeting takes place in the Council Chamber where residents can ask ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... www.bbc.co.uk This is disturbing from @Peston: Govt banking regulation risks reducing competition > Will Co-Op pull out of banking? http://bbc.in/14OpmpT Untitled He's right but it'll never catch on > The AP Twitter hack hoax exposes the need for 'slow news' http://bit.ly/14OfaNY Untitled Why we shouldn't ban political ads on TV in 4 sentences | Stephen Tall http://bit.ly/ZN3JNQ < Me from last Aug. I still agree with me. Untitled Gdn article quotes @julianhuppert & @richardmorrisuk > Home Office fears Clegg will veto 'snooper's charter' http://bit.ly/15EJWZg Untitled Some fascinating Margaret Thatcher archive material here ...
This is a reminder that I welcome guest posts on Liberal England. So far 31 have appeared. And as you can see from the list of the 10 most recent guest posts below, I am happy to consider a wide range of subjects. If you would like to write a guest post for Liberal England yourself, please send me an email so we can discuss your idea. An economic liberal case for a consumer-driven economy - Matt BurrowsJohn Locke and Wrington - Lisa HardingSpelling out the reason to vote Liberal Democrat - Andrew BrownTommie Smith - The man behind the ...
"Rumours persist that the Government is going to try to sneak the Communications Data Bill into the Queen's Speech. There are so many reasons this is a bad thing it's hard to know where to begin ... but the whole idea of the bill is what I've previously described as a 'Despot's Dream', allowing the authorities free rein to monitor everything any of us does on the internet, to profile us in every detail." Paul Bernal on the lack of consultation behind the likely resurrection of the snooper's charter. The New Statesman interviews Duwayne Brooks 20 years on from the ...
A small Twitter storm has blown up around Nadine Dorries. (Yes. I know that is sooo unusual!)She has blocked some people (some of them Lib Dems) from communicating with her on Twitter. A good piece on this story can be read here. We now have, of course, the usual hand wringing and debates regarding if it is ever acceptable for a public figure to block someone, possibly a constituent on Social media. Personally I would hope our elected representatives don't take this course of action lightly. Back in the day I had my fair share of social media abuse and ...
As reported in today's Courier, I have welcomed the new bus services that will be run by National Express Dundee as services tendered by Dundee City Council. The services include a daytime (Monday to Saturday) service that will link parts of Perth Road, Scott Street and Pentland with Lochee and St Mary's, an evening service (again Monday to Saturday) that will link parts of Perth Road, Scott Street and Pentland with Ninewells Hospital as part of an Outer Circle Service and a Daytime Sunday service that will also link parts of Perth Road, Scott Street and Pentland with Ninewells Hospital ...
Pleasance Court Last night, I had the pleasure of chairing the latest meeting of the residents of Pleasance Court. There was a useful discussion on a number of local issues - seagulls nuisance, wheelie bins, door entry security and roof guttering to name a few. There was a very useful update from two representatives from the City Council on the review of parking restrictions in the area which will free up new parking space and there was also a helpful update from another City Council officer on the draft site planning brief for Queen Victoria Works. I am also most ...
Dear Nick, You got it right last time, vetoing the Home Office's attempt to get the Communications Data Bill into the last Queen's Speech and instead securing extensive Parliamentary scrutiny of the plans. Please, get it right this time too and veto it once more, as the press are suggesting you might. The likes of Julian Huppert haves spent plenty of time pointing out the flaws in the proposals from a policy point of view. There is also the issue that Theresa May's arguments in favour are just as applicable to keeping track of everywhere we walk, and we know ...
The UK research system has survived through a difficult period of flat-cash funding, but what are the prospects in the run-up to the next spending review and general election? In the five years I have worked at Research Councils UK the world has changed. As I joined in 2007, the Northern Rock collapse was unfolding, heralding the broader financial crisis that was to have impacts on all areas of society. From my perspective, the last five years in UK research policy have been a period of considerable change, driven by the broader financial environment. Much of this change has been ...
As I mentioned a few days ago, the prosecution over the 2012 Derby elections is finally in court. The net is also widening with a sixth person now charged: A 41-year-old man has been charged with perverting the course of justice and is due to appear at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on 2 May. The case focuses on allegations of fraudulent voting at the polling station in Rosehill Street, Normanton, in May. (BBC)
Wed 24th
12:23Opinon: The Liberal Reconfiguration. Thoughts inspired by the One Nation Labour conference
Last week, my job took me to the One Nation Labour conference at Queen Mary, University of London. There I saw a series of lectures followed by Q&A's on what the future direction of the Labour party should and should not be. It was a fascinating day – the Lib Dem baiting they have gotten used to falling back on has (mostly) stopped and there seems to be an honest appraisal under way within Labour's ranks about how they want to move forward. Of most interest to Lib Dems, and indeed liberals of all self-applied stripes, were ideas around liberalism ...
Yesterday was when the meeting took place in Ealing where Ealing Council makes its big decisions. A lot of interesting topics were discussed including the possibility of Ealing Council making a Judicial Review to stop the closure of Ealing Hospital's A&E and maternity wards was discussed. Good News on High Speed 2 (HS2) With the recent news that High Speed 2 (HS2) will now not result in the knocking down of a very large number of bridges, Ealing borough will have a tunnel to avoid noise and other problems as part of HS2. A tunneled High Speed Two train! The ...
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 ...
Wed 24th
11:42
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 ...
Those on the left have criticised the coalition for the welfare reforms many of which are now with us. The temptation for many Liberal Democrats is to do the campaign equivalent of hide under the duvet and talk about something else. We shouldn't. We should not forget that it was the Liberals who introduced free school meals in 1906, state pensions in 1908 and in 1911 sick pay and health
Here's my second blog from my ministerial visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo: Kasai Occidental, a landlocked province in DRC, seems cut off from the world. I flew into Kananga, its capital, this morning on one of the two flights a week. We flew over the railway, but didn't catch a glimpse of the train that runs once a month, give or take. Potholed road access isn't an inviting option. It's little wonder that the business leaders I met with later identified transport as one of their biggest problems. Kananga, a city of around one million people, seems an ...
It's official. The Secretary of State for Culture is a philistine. Maria Miller will deliver a speech at the British Museum today: British culture should be presented as a "commodity" and "compelling product" to sell at home and abroad, the culture secretary, Maria Miller, will argue in her first speech on the arts since taking up the job in September.It has taken Miller seven months since becoming culture secretary to deliver a speech setting out her philosophy, and it turns out that she knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It is this economistic outlook that is ...
The Independent reports on Nick Clegg's appearance on BBC Breakfast yesterday in which he talked about the local elections and the national situation. The Liberal Democrat leader contrasted the difference in approach between Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour councillors with respect to Council budgets: The deputy prime minister criticised "extravagant" spending on the "wrong thing" by Labour and Conservative councils. "Above all, what you shouldn't do when money is scarce, is waste money on extravagant or unnecessary expenditure – so the Conservative leader of the Leicestershire county council who spent over £200,000 on a chauffeur, or the Cotswold conservatives who ...
[IMG: Amnesty International - Trial by Timeline] Turns out I've been guilty of 6 crimes in 55 countries. How do I know? Courtesy of the very smart Trial by Timeline site from Amnesty International New Zealand. You have to give it permission to check through your Facebook content, and it then spots what things you've done that would be against the law in various countries around the world. I've come across a few apps that try to do similar things in the past, e.g. showing you the amazing holidays you could go on with your friends, taking their photos from ...
Well, now I really know what it's like to be the squeezed middle. There I was last night on Night Waves on Radio 3, squeezed between Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs and the historian of the working class Selina Todd, being battered about the middle classes But it was worth it because they were both very kind about the book (Broke: Who Killed the Middle Classes? is out tomorrow). They just didn't agree with me. Mark thinks things will get better and better for the middle classes, if only it wasn't for taxes and planning regulations (I ...
How the Ministry of Justice's proposal for the tendering of criminal legal aid is misconceived and illiberal (tags: ) How the Snooping Bill could end up dead in the water - sooner or later » Spectator Blogs We can but hope. (tags: ) BBC News - Comberton pupil Douglas Parr 'terrified' by Psycho scene "He's sensitive to noises!" well why was he in a music class in the first bloody place? FFS. (tags: ) Talking with the taxman about poetry — and deductions | MinnPost (tags: ) If you've ever wondered why politicians are terrified of, yet fascinated by, mumsnet ...
Back in February 2012, I became concerned about rumours of proposed new legislation which would put in place the means for monitoring all UK citizens' online and mobile communications - legislation which had previously been thrown out as unworkable by opposition parties when the last Labour government tried something similar. I wrote a policy amendment, appended to Julian Huppert's Spring 2012 Conference motion on civil liberties, setting out what I hoped would be a good Liberal Democrat position against those - then unseen - proposals. If I'd known then what was to be included when the proposals finally became public ...
The Office for National Statistics has published figures for national wellbeing, which show which parts of the UK are happiest, most relaxed and most fulfilled. The BBC summarises with a table of the top and bottom 5 places for each statistic. It turns out that the remoter parts of Scotland are the most laid back. There are a number of interesting graphs including this one which shows how
As a consequence of residents contacting me raising concerns and wanting more information about the proposals I thought the best thing to do would be to publish the letter that Sefton Council wrote to West Lancs Council back in October of last year as it covers virtually every angle. It is long but informative and it clearly shows that the Planning Dept. of Sefton Council had many significant concerns when the letter was written. ***** Scoping Opinion – Windfarm development comprising up to 24 turbines, access tracks, substation & ancillary infrastructure. Thank you for the notification of the above sent ...
[IMG: european court of human rights] This week saw the failure of the attempt by Animal Defenders International to overturn the the UK's ban political advertising on radio and television. The Guardian reports: By a narrow majority decision, judges at the European court of human rights in Strasbourg have ruled that preventing the broadcast of a commercial - showing a girl in chains in a chimpanzee's cage - did not violate freedom of expression. ... The animal rights group lost its appeals in both the high court and the House of Lords before taking the case to the ECHR in ...
Today's Independent reports: The Metropolitan Police has launched a formal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard. Scotland Yard said that detectives had moved from assessing the claims of a small number of women to carrying out "inquiries to corroborate those allegations". The Metropolitan Police set up a dedicated phone line for alleged victims of sexual misconduct after a number of women made claims in the media about inappropriate conduct by Lord Rennard. The peer, the party's former chief election strategist, has repeatedly denied any improper behaviour or sexual harassment. He said at the ...
[IMG: Francois Hollande] Surely the winner must be Francois Hollande, for having built up an email list of 1.5m people for the French Presidential election and then stopping using it. As I found out at the Contested Spaces conference last week, no emails have been sent to it since last June. Oops.
This is a story about a woman who was initially tried in absentia and then imprisoned in secret for the "crime" of taking her father to see a lawyer in Birmingham. This really is not on. There is complacency in government about this sort of thing.
Last December, I updated residents that the City Council had agreed to the request I had made on behalf of local residents and of visitors to Royal Victoria Hospital that the handrail at the Kelso Steps be extended up the brae north of the steps. The work has now been carried out (see finished result - right) and this will greatly help elderly people negotiate the brae, particularly in icy conditions in winter.
It is possible that we have not had such a straight-talking, plain-speaking minister since Edwina Curry so Anna Soubry had better watch out that she does not get egg on her face. The Guardian reports on an interview with the public health minister in which she says that she only got that post because David Cameron saw it as the "soft bloody girly option": Soubry said she privately questioned the prime minister's judgment when he offered her the post during a meeting in the cabinet room in Downing Street. "To be quite frank, when the PM said to me: 'I ...
In the wake of the Mid Staffordshire scandal, I am calling for a change in the law to require minimum staffing levels for nurses in Wales. The idea of setting minimum staffing quotas was put forward in the Francis Report, which looked at failings in the care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust and cited long-term low staffing levels as one reason which contributed to poor treatment. While the Francis report predominately dealt with the NHS in England, figures have revealed that Wales lags behind the rest of the UK in two key indicators of nurse staffing levels. Similar legislation ...
