The Daily Echo has a live blog from earlier this evening of the dramatic political events in Southampton, where council leader Richard Williams quit in a controversy over claims that he made fictitious claims about a Labour councillor's resignation from the Cabinet. A report into the claims found he had been "economical with the truth" and "failed to meet the standards of openness and honesty expected of an elected member". The live blog is here.
A massive round of applause from me for Nick Clegg and his vetoing of the "Snooper's Charter" – alternatively known as the Communications Data Bill. But can anyone understand this paragraph in his email to Lib Dem members? There is always a careful balance to strike between security and individual liberty and I have always agreed that we must help our law enforcement agencies keep up with the challenge of policing in the internet age - like the technical issue of what to do when there are more mobile devices with not enough IP addresses to go round. While it ...
Subject line: This. Now. Dear Mark, Pitch in. Today. Right here. Yours, Austin's-name-for-today
The Kirk has its say on Scotland's Future Today, the Church of Scotland released a joint report from three of its Committees: the Church and Society Committee, the Committee on Ecumenical Relations, and the Legal Questions Committee. It concerned the constitutional implications of Scottish independence, and had a particular focus on the effect on church-state relations. However, the media seem to have closed-in on one particular recommendation of the report, which related to whether there should be a separate coronation for Scotland's future monarchs in the event that constitutional feature is retained. I should disclose at this point, that I ...
From the Wensleydale Railway website: The Railway in Wensleydale is a remarkable survivor. Having lost its passenger services in 1954, and almost half its route mileage by the early 1960s, the line survived until 1992 by carrying limestone to the smelters on Teesside. When that traffic finished, the MOD decided to use the line for the occasional transport of military vehicles, something which continues to this day, and this kept the line alive long enough for the Wensleydale Railway Association (formed in 1990) to build support and eventually form a company to take a 100 year lease on the 22 ...
Since the opening of the West End schools campus at Glenagnes Road/Blackness Road last year (the home of St Joseph's Primary School, Balgay Hill Nursery School and Victoria Park Primary School), I have raised concerns about pupil and parking safety around the schools' site. Recently, the situation appeared to have improved, but yesterday - as reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph - there were real concerns about the situation. I had a long conversation last night with our local community police officer about the situation and have made some suggestions this morning to the Director of Education and the Head of ...
Thu 25th
20:35
Clegg threat to block any further welfare cuts unless Cameron agrees to tax wealthy pensioners' bene...
It's 18 months since Nick Clegg first publicly aired the idea that some universal benefits given to better-off pensioners should be means-tested — an idea that's found favour with two-thirds of Lib Dem members. There have always been three problems with the idea. The first problem is that means-testing is bureaucratic and potentially expensive. However, there is an easy way around that: treat their cash value as income, and tax this income at the appropriate marginal rate, as proposed by CentreForum last year. Pensioners with annual incomes below the personal tax threshold would be wholly unaffected; those above it would ...
The news that Nick Clegg has vetoed the Communications Data Bill - or snooper's charter - as currently drafted is hugely welcome, and together with this week's reform of the libel law, has done much to restore my faith in the Liberal Democats as a liberal party. It is particularly welcome if you read the briefing activists were given on this bill a year ago. I find I said at the time that: My first impression was that it had been produced by a child who had been allowed too much Sunny D. Random phrases are underlined or rendered in ...
This morning, along with members of Community Spirit Action Group, council officers from the Environment and Housing Department and community wardens, and my ward colleague Cllr Richard McCready, I took part in the latest walkabout around the Pentland area to look at a variety of local issues. Here's some photographs outlining some of the local matters looked at today: Damage to stairs that has been reported for repair New planting on the embankment at Pentland Avenue - further improvement here is planned Damaged fencing at the Scott Street entrance to Balgay Park - the Environment Department is planning improvements After ...
Here's the new film from the Liberal Democrats: Also on YouTube.
[IMG: 6472876377_439c44e9f5_b] "Why I stopped the "Snooper's Charter" was the title of a mail from Nick Clegg winging its way to party members today. "Because we stuck a rocket up your bottom, Nick?" – came the response from a dry wit, albeit with an alternative anatomical name mentioned. If the answer to Nick's question is simply anal missile insertion then he would have stopped Secret Courts as well. We should credit Nick with using his own judgment in these matters. I am sure he does. It is just that his judgment only randomly and rather erratically seems to coincide with ...
Thu 25th
18:55LibLink...Nick Thornsby: The snooper's charter has reminded Nick Clegg, finally, he is a liberal
Yes, I know, it is Snoopers' Charter Central here on Liberal Democrat Voice today. I hope you will forgive us for being relieved and delighted that Nick Clegg has made sure that the Government will not be bringing forward an illiberal, unnecessary and intrusive measure. Over at the Guardian's Comment is Free, our Nick Thornsby has given his take on the issue, going back through the events of the past year since the idea first emerged. At that point the Party was furious that we could even contemplate such a thing: Their anger was such that a hastily arranged conference ...
Parliament has been prorogued, with a list of all the major new legislation released. The legislation passed in the 2012-13 Parliamentary session were: Justice and Security Act 2013 Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013 Succession to the Crown Act 2013 Partnerships (Prosecution) (Scotland) Act 2013 Crime and Courts Act 2013 Defamation Act 2013 Marine Navigation Act ...
This week it was St George's Day, a time when we in England reflect on what it is to be English – a few of us do anyway, especially when St George himself was so un-English. There was also a small flair in the ongoing campaigning over Scottish independence, when the British government poured cold water on the idea of a currency union between an independent Scotland and the what is left of the UK (which would no longer be a united kingdom...). As I have written before, it is a conceit that there is a Scottish problem for the ...
I wrote this column for the South Manchester Reporter last Friday, before today's judgement by the Law Lords, which you can read here. I hope the Home Secretary will ...
There are a number of people who could justifiably argue that they killed the Snoopers Charter Nick was of course the person who ultimately said no. So he has a claim. Plus it was Nick who originally insisted the bill was a draft only. Julian Huppert and Paul Strasburger did excellent work both in committee and behind the scenes pointing out what a disaster the bill would be for civil liberties. The grassroots as a whole did a first class job pointing out why it was just plain wrong - unfair to pick anyone out I think. And then there's ...
As Liberty's email to its supporters today says, "The Snoopers' Charter is dead" or as Julian Huppert has written over on Lib Dem Voice, I agree with Nick. He's right to kill the Snoopers' Charter. Understandably, lots of people are stake a claim to their share of the credit for this outcome, even if Liberty has gone a little 38 Degrees in implying in that email that all the success lies with itself. The key decision maker on all this has been Nick Clegg, so the credit lies directly with himself and then in turn with those who have had ...
Tonight I am going to a small event to celebrate the work of Cllr Sharon Sullivan who, in three weeks time, will cease to be Lord Mayor of Liverpool. I have now served under 30 Lord Mayors and there has ... Continue reading →
The Wellcome Trust is now one of the most powerful players in British and international science. What can we expect from its incoming director? April has brought with it a mini-reshuffle of some of the biggest jobs in British science. Three weeks into his new role, Sir Mark Walport is already stamping his mark on the Government Office for Science. Imran Khan has traded the cramped but energetic office of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) for a plusher berth at the British Science Association. Earlier this week, Sarah Main, a molecular biologist with experience at the Medical Research ...
Tonight's Party Political Broadcast by the Liberal Democrats repeats the message that we have delivered a rise in the tax threshold, showing how people will benefit from this. Nick Clegg says, If you earn the minimum wage we have halved your Income Tax bill. And if you work tirelessly in a low-paid job, you'll no longer pay any Income Tax at all. Video also available on YouTube. You can catch the broadcast tonight on BBC1 at 18:55 and ITV at 18:10.
Over on politics.co.uk I look at whether we've got out liberal Nick Clegg back, after he stopped the snoopers' charter on live radio. It was nice to see the return of the liberal that we many of us have stood by in difficult times doing exactly what we fought for him to do during the ...
A few weeks ago, The New Statesman celebrated its centenary with an omnibus edition. I'm not a regular reader, though I certainly have been in the past, but I was tempted enough to pick it up for old times' sake (as, I suspect, were many others). It's a really entertaining read. News-making coded commentary from former ...
Over at the Huffington Post, Lib Dem international development minister Lynne Featherstone has been talking about the importance of World Malaria Day. Here's an excerpt: Malaria affects over half the world's population, with a child dying every minute from the disease. In the worst-affected countries malaria has a devastating impact on health systems and economies. When faced with these stark facts it can often seem like there's no hope. But amongst the gloom there are genuine signs that we may finally be winning the battle against malaria. Across the world malaria is on the decline. Over the past decade governments, ...
After libel reform was sorted this week, Nick Clegg killed off the snoopers' charter on live radio, and now newspapers have rejected the Leveson Royal Charter. Apparently everyone has told Brian that he's not the messiah but a very naughty boy, with even the FT, Independent and Guardian, declaring that alternative proposals being made ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... The snooper's charter has reminded Nick Clegg, finally, he is a liberal | Nick Thornsby | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk Good stuff from @NickThornsby > The snooper's charter has reminded Nick Clegg, finally, he is a liberal http://bit.ly/15PMByS The snoopers charter is dead, long live the Clegg | Big Brother Watch Credit where it's due from @bbw1984 > The snoopers charter is dead, long live the Clegg | Big Brother Watch http://bit.ly/15PLVd2 Latest GDP figures show growth is triumphing over fiscal austerity - Telegraph Blogs Interesting take on latest GDP figures ...
So, finally the newspaper industry have come off the fence and joined magazines like The Spectator, New Statesmen and Private eye in rejecting the government's plans to regulate the press. They have published their own plans instead. So now what? Well the ball is firmly in Parliament's court. In one respect, although the preferred system envisaged by Parliament was 'voluntary' the mass abstention by publishers for it's scheme is a direct challenge to its authority. The only possible line for Parliament to take now if it wishes to carry on regardless, would be full on statutory legislation. A month ago ...
SEFTON'S £46 'GREEN BIN TAX' PROPOSAL COMES UNDER ATTACK Once again the ruling Labour clique in Bootle are seeking to imposing a 'tax' that will chiefly be paid by people living in Southport and by very few people in Bootle. This is on top of their proposals for an extra 'parking tax' 80% of which will be collected in Southport and once again few people in Bootle will have to pay. What makes matters worse is that they are using these new 'Southport Only Taxes' to fund such schemes as the building of a new Library in the Bootle constituency ...
Thu 25th
12:47
The Email I Just Sent to the Chief Executives of BT ( @btcare ) and TalkTalk ( @talktalkcare)
Ref: accounts for telephone number xxxx xxx xxxxI have a complaint about the appalling behaviour of both your companies this week, which has led to me not only losing internet service but being placed in a position where it appears you have messed it up so badly that I will not be able to obtain ...
Entitled: If media covered America the way we cover foreign cultures: jahanzebjz: Yet another massacre has occurred in the historically war-torn region of the Southern United States - and so soon after the religious festival of Easter. Brian McConkey, 27, a Christian fundamentalist militiaman living in the formerly occupied territory of Alabama, gunned down...
Thu 25th
12:35Nick Clegg: Snoopers' charter is not going to happen with Liberal Democrats in Government
Julian Huppert has already joyfully welcomed Nick Clegg's decision to veto Tory plans on web snooping. However, I thought I'd give you the chance to hear Nick Clegg's words from Call Clegg this morning. I certainly wasn't expecting such an unequivocal statement. He has given himself no wiggle room at all. This is what he said: What people have dubbed the snoopers' charter, I just have to be clear with you, that's not going to happen. In other words, the idea that the Government will pass a law which means there would be a record kept of every website you ...
Here's the new film from the Liberal Democrats: Also on YouTube. You can sign up to back the campaign or find out more about what's being called for at FairerTax.org.
The Birmingham Mail reports: Gurcharan Bedi appeared before Birmingham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a nomination paper on March 28 last year relating to a bogus address. The 58-year-old of Henwood Road, Wolverhampton, also admitted supplying false information on February 29. Bedi withdrew as Labour's candidate in Spring Vale ahead of Wolverhampton City Council elections in May after it was revealed he did not live in Hilton Road, as his official nomination papers said.
Whatever views you have over her policies, she'll have family and friends who will know another side to Margaret Thatcher who will feel a great sense of loss. Out of respect for them I have not written until the funeral had been held. Having known little of life before Maggie (I was 8 when she became PM), her exit from Downing Street back in 1990 felt strange. She had the Marmite qualities
I have knocked on a great number of doors to offer help in the months leading to next week's local elections and yesterday evening I was delivering leaflets to some of those houses. I don't do the usual political things like kissing babies. I do stroke cats and dogs but not in any political sense, so it was surprising to get two people coming up to me and shaking my hand. They were pleased that I had made the effort to knock on their door and told me that they had never had politicians do anything like asking their view ...
So Luis Suarez has been banned for 10 games by the Football Association for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic. I have been listening to one commentator tell me that the ban is excessive and should have been 8 games. How do they make a judgement like this? Does it depend on which part of the body they bite or how hard they bite? Does it depend on whether the person who is bitten falls over and rolls on the floor? I don't know whether the FA ban should have been 8 or 10 games or even 3 games as Suarez himself ...
Liberal Democrat County Councillors have been battling to make sure local people get the bus passes they are entitled to. Local residents from across the County have faced long delays for bus pass renewals, with some facing lengthy waits and having to resubmit documents. County Councillor Kareen Hastrick (Meriden Tudor) said, "I have had to intervene where local residents have had to wait so long their old passes have run out. Fortunately bus companies have granted people a grace period, despite their passes having expired. "I have raised this problem in County Hall repeatedly and asked why so many people ...
Thu 25th
11:35Relief as 0.3% GDP growth shows economy flat-lining not shrinking. Has the Coalition's mid-term slum...
Reading too much into quarterly GDP figures is, of course, a mug's game. They're noticed mainly by avid Westminster-watchers and frequently revised both up and down. None of that means they don't matter, though. They frame the way politics is reported in the here and now. And that can affect what happens in the future. They can create momentum, or they can stop it dead. A triple-dip recession, against market expectations of a modest 0.1% increase in GDP, would've been a severe blow to the Coalition's message that, surely but slowly, the medicine's working. As it is, the actual 0.3% ...
Although I served for two terms as a Liberal Democrat representative on our local Community Health Council CHC) I do not pretend to understand the ins and outs of NHS organisation. Even in that period (CHCs were abolished some years ago) my experience was that I'd no sooner begun to get the hang of things when the government of the day ordered a re-organisation and I had to start al over again. The current, unmandated, reorganisation continues that unfortunate tradition. But, although I do not fully to the implications, the point of view expressed in this letter to the Guardian, ...
This weekend sees one of the biggest sporting events for the region, the Greater Manchester Marathon return to the North. You can find the route here This is going ...
[IMG: phone] Amazingly the Met Police in 2011 requested access to 57,000 peoples phone and letters. This is the latest year Met released data. That close to 1% of Londoners being phone bugged. Its likely in 2012 with the Olympics the figure soared further. Big Brother Watch had obtained these numbers from Freedom of Information enquiries. They quote Scotland Yard as saying these were all "crucial" in solving cases "where there is an imminent life at risk". In 2009 51.000 such requests, 2010 56,000 requests. Clearly the Scotland yard statements are ludicrous. So its likely one out of every 132 ...
Further good news from the United States on marriage equality... Rhode Island's Senate has passed marriage equality and, barring some unexpected legislative change of heart in the Assembly, it will become law within weeks and marriages can begin from August 1st. The news from Colombia is sadly less upbeat, with a sliver of hope. There the Senate overwealming defeated a same-sex marriage bill. But there the situation is a little more complicated as the Supreme Court has ruled that if nothing is put in place giving same-sex couples all the rights of different-sex couples then they can begin registering their ...
Ollie & Sophie I've been becoming more and more disillusioned with the cuts and removal of services over recent years. What started as efficiency savings and the trimming of dead and dying wood was necessary. However as time has gone by the cuts have gone to deep and with misdirection of the banner of attacking the "benefit scroungers" they are starting to attack those who genuinely need it. Local Labour leader Vince Maple talked about governing bodies having different priorities in his recent article for the Medway Messenger and how they choose to act. He especially criticised the ruling Conservatives ...
[IMG: Mark Hunter MP- Notes from Westminster] Dear Resident, Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes from Westminster. The last month has been busy as ever - both in Parliament and in our local area - and as always I shall try to provide you with a brief summary of my activities as your MP: The Lib Dem campaign for a £700 tax cut for every low and middle income earner in the country has been successful! This will mean that since the Coalition Government came to power in 2010 the Lib Dems will have given almost 1 million ...
By Janice Turner, SLF Council member A joint campaign by the SLF and Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats has succeeded in persuading the government to back down over abolition of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's General Duty. The proposal was to abolish ... Continue reading →
This is a recording of yesterday's procedure committee. I make some comments relevant to secret prisoners at 15:42.
[IMG: Spainfloridatreasure2012220] 'The riches which should have brought wealth have brought poverty.' That is what the Spanish economist González de Cellerigo wrote around 1600, and it is worryingly relevant to our own time. Cellerigo was a lawyer in the chancery who worked in Valladolid, the landlocked city where Christopher Columbus died. We don't know much about him apart from that, except through his writings - mainly the Memorials he published that year, and especially the one with the least snappy title, About the policy restoration necessary and useful to the republic of Spain. Cellerigo's thinking was relevant to the middle ...
Is Britain a nation of lazy scroungers? | Politics | guardian.co.uk (tags: ) Labour cancels coalition agreement with Liberal Democrats at Calderdale Council - Local - Halifax Courier Oh joy. (tags: ) Labour List picks a fight with Ipsos MORI Ipsos MORI ask them if they want to take it outside. (tags: ) Like it or not, Anna Soubry has a point on 'girly jobs' and women in power | Sarah Ditum | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk (tags: ) Lottery could increase election turnout, says Labour Oh for fuck's sake. People don't vote because the choice son offer are ...
Thu 25th
09:35Julian Huppert MP writes...I agree with Nick. He's right to kill the Snoopers' Charter
On 18th March 2010 Nick Clegg gave a speech to Privacy International about Lib Dem plans to roll back the surveillance state. He said: The Conservatives talk a good game on privacy but scratch beneath the surface and it is clear they cannot be trusted to roll back Labour's surveillance state... Only the Liberal Democrats will bring an end to the endless snooping on innocent people. We committed ourselves at the last election to ending ID cards, curbing CCTV and stopping the Home Office encroachment into our lives. Enough of citizens as suspects. Enough of "endless snooping" by the Government. ...
Here's a blog from me on World Malaria Day. You can also read it on the Huffington Post website. Malaria affects over half the world's population, with a child dying every minute from the disease. In the worst-affected countries malaria has a devastating impact on health systems and economies. When faced with these stark facts it can often seem like there's no hope. But amongst the gloom there are genuine signs that we may finally be winning the battle against malaria. Across the world malaria is on the decline. Over the past decade governments, NGOs and multilaterals like the UN ...
The BBC reports that Vince Cable has agreed to outlaw caste discrimination after the House of Lords twice voted on an amendment incorporating it into the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. Those proposing the change argued that those considered to be of lower caste in some communities were discriminated against in employment or even at school. A government report from 2010 argued that a change in the law was the most effective way of dealing with this issue. Liberal Democrat peer Eric Avebury has been at the forefront of the campaign to outlaw caste discrimination and has written about it ...
My local hospitals have had more than their fair share of problems and back in September I was warning against job cuts despite all that has been made of ring-fenced funding for the NHS. My trust has had significant management problems and this caused me to write a blog. I do not feel that staff (and consequently those who use the NHS in my area) should be affected because of management mistakes and I could see a way around the financial problems without cutting jobs. The health care regulator, Monitor, came in October last year because of the well documented ...
Further to the meeting I had with council environmental health and transportation officers earlier this week about air pollution concerns at Lochee Road at the Cleghorn Street/Dudhope Terrace/Rankine Street junction, the City Council's Head of Transportation has updated me as follows with regard to traffic management: "Following on from our meeting earlier this week regarding Lochee Road and the consideration for introducing traffic signals at the junction of Lochee Road And Rankine Street in order to improve air quality in the area. It is considered that an additional set of traffic signals will introduce more delay on main road traffic ...
I have commented on both Wave 102 News and in today's "Courier" about the latest news regarding the caravans currently occupying the former Scottish Water site at Riverside Business Park. You can hear my interview on this morning's Wave 102 News here:
Did you hear the good news? Crime is massively down in the last 10 years! Hurrah! Violent crime is down by a quarter, a more rapid fall than the average across Europe. Rejoice! The number of people treated in hospitals after violent incidents is down 14%. Booyah! Did you not see all the front pages of the newspapers today leading with this story? You didn't? Oh hang on a minute yes, they didn't splash it all over their front pages my mistake. I learned about it on the BBC News at 10 last night. The story was at about 10:20, ...
[IMG: rsz_photo0176] I was delighted to be invited to the formal reopening ceremony yesterday in the presence of the Countess of Wessex. Whilst I no longer represent Aintree Village I am told that my efforts in pushing for the School's rebuild was remembered. When I was first elected to serve Molyneux Ward (which includes Aintree Village) in 1999 I picked this up as a major issue to be pursued along with the rebuilding of the Oriel Drive GP practice building. Thankfully both have been successfully completed. I met with Sefton's then Director of Education in 1999 and followed it up ...
I have used this blog on a number of occasions in recent weeks to highlight the growing rift within the Labour party over the demand by various Blairites that Ed Miliband tack right on issues such as welfare reform if he is to win the next election. Now the BBC reports that those tensions have erupted again in an extraordinary spat between the Labour leader and one of his biggest funders. They say that Ed Miliband has called the leader of Labour's biggest donor union "reprehensible", and accused him of seeking to "divide" the party. He was responding to remarks ...
Residents have complained to me about the very prominent and unsightly graffiti on the rail buildings at Riverside Approach, just as the rail line joins the Tay Rail Bridge. See photo - right. I have reported this to Network Rail, requesting that the graffiti be removed as soon as possible.
The Welsh Labour Government's failure to address ambulance response times are an 'absolute disgrace'. Figures show that only just over half (53.3%) of ambulances responded within the 8 minute target - the worst response times since 2010. This makes it the 10th successive month where the ambulance service has missed the important category A (immediately life-threatening) response target. The Welsh Labour Government's target is for 65% of category A calls to receive an ambulance response time within eight minutes. The Welsh Labour Government's failure to address ambulance response times is an absolute disgrace. This Welsh Labour Government has completely failed ...
So he says in tonight's London Evening Standard. Interestingly his article opens with a distinctly liberal appeal: "The great cliché — that all politics is local — will be played out next Thursday when all the shire counties of England, Anglesey and a tranche of urban boroughs go to the polls...The only way to get the entrenched political class to listen to the legitimate concerns of a disenfranchised electorate is to do the one thing career politicians cannot deal with: take away their votes, their jobs and their expenses."
Next year the voters of Scotland will have the opportunity to decide whether they wish to opt for independence. Opinion polls consistently show that unless there is a significant shift in mood between now and then the response will be a firm "no". The SNP would have preferred at least two questions on the ballot ...
