This week I have diverted my priorities from knocking on doors and asking to help residents with council matters to delivering leaflets telling them what the Liberal Democrat team has done to help them. It makes sense as the elections are on Thursday. Helping residents should be a continuous process for any activist and even more importantly it should be a continuous process for the incumbent county councillor. This hasn't been the case in Morecambe South and I have discovered that virtually nobody knows their county councillor. He was a member of the Labour Party eight years ago and defected ...
Rutland is notable for more than cats. Today I visited Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham and bought An Empty Stage - a video documentary about the artist John Piper.
Years of financial doping appear to have finally caught up with Hearts. Here's tonight's Edinburgh Evening News front page:
I am borrowing a few history books from Morecambe library at the moment and one is called 'The History of Morecambe and Heysham' by R.C. Quick. If you want to borrow it I'll take it back to the library next week. I can't see a publication date but it does have lists of the great and the good which finishes in 1962/63 so I would guess it was published in the same year. On page 25 you can read about how Morecambe made progress as a holiday resort because the civic leaders took their opportunities which included an emphasis on ...
Nick Clegg fared better than Ed Miliband in his pre-local election grilling today by Martha Kearney on BBC Radio 4′s World at One. You can watch the 18-minute interview here: (Watch it on YouTube here.) The Guardian's excellent live-blog covered it here and summarised the highlights here. Meanwhile the BBC reports it here: Clegg defends budget ring-fencing amid reported unease among ministers Nick Clegg has said he is "adamant" the NHS, schools and overseas aid should still be protected from cuts, amid reports colleagues are unhappy about the effect on their departments. The deputy prime minister said ring-fencing budgets was ...
I used to feel a little sorry for developers in York: whenever they dug a hole to start building something they found a priceless piece of archaeology and were held up for months. It's getting like that in Leicester now, as the Mercury reports: The University of Leicester hit the headlines last year when it unearthed the remains of King Richard III which were buried under a city council car park. Now, archaeologists from the university have identified 13 sets of remains, thought to date back to about 300AD, at a car park in Oxford Street, near the Magazine. The ...
There seems to be a strand of thinking in some political circles that if you want to stop people doing something just ban it. But there is an often forgotten cousin to this strand of thinking that says if you want someone to do something then make it compulsory. There has been a lot of talk about banning things at the moment so hats off to the IPPR think tank for reminding us that the forcing people to do something strand still exists. You see, the IPPR wants for force young people to vote in elections. On one level the ...
There is apparently a 'story breaking' that backbench Tory MP Priti Patel's father may be a UKIP candidate. Last time I checked we didn't all have to be like the Johnsons or the Milibands and start dynasties in a single party. The idea that it matters which Priti Patel's father wishes to stand for council ...
Liberal Democrat peer Hugh Dykes sets out his (and mainstream LibDem) understanding of the vision that is needed for the whole of the European Union, not just filtered through the spectacles of apparent short-term national interest. This piece was originally published on the European Movement's Euroblog: What we need is a vision for the whole ...
[IMG: hs2] I was one of four candidates for Kenilworth Abbey Division interviewed on BBC CWR today. The fifth candidate, the Green, was absent. The interviews took place in Burton Green, at exactly the place where the planned HS2 route will bisect the village if it ever goes ahead. As the county councillor for the last eight years, I explained how I had been fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Burton Green community for the last three years to stop HS2 if we could, or to gain the best possible mitigation measures and compensation if the government presses on with ...
Those who know me well won't need reminding of the regard in which I hold Paddy Ashdown. Today he's shown why that esteem is well-merited. The front page of The Herald declares that Lord Ashdown has condemned the controversial £500,000 gift to Better Together from Ian Taylor, CEO of oil giant Vitol. Recently I asked whether accepting the donation was wise. I also questioned whether the actions of Ian Taylor and his company in apparently silencing a group of artists was in the interests of free speech and democratic debate. Finally, and most pertinently in my view, I queried why ...
Look what I got in the post this morning... Not only did that make it feel that all of my efforts in February had been noticed, but the growing number of photographs of them popping up all over the place brought back happy memories of how the party really bonded and worked together to get Mike Thornton into Westminster. I didn't even go to Eastleigh. All I did was at the end of a phone in the warm. Nothing compared to those fabulous people who worked pretty much 24/7 for weeks. If we get a badge, they should get a ...
There is no alternative – Henry Farrell on the post-democratic age. Review: Doctor Who: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS – A fascinating philosophical viewpoint on the dynamics of the latest episode from Ro Smith. An Unearthly Child – And a scientific viewpoint on the first one from Iain Coleman on his new blog. Nevermind the £53 p/w. How would IDS cope with the system? – Would he even be able to get his £53 a week after dealing with the bureaucracy? I Went Stop And Searching In Soho With The London Met – Out with sniffer dogs on ...
Life can be a bit fickle can't it? In the blink of an eye everything can change not only for you but also for many others. One small thing can lead to giant consequences and life altering situations. One of those situations happened to me today and to be frank I'm relatively lucky not to be in a hospital right now, at best. Many years ago (2000 or so) I should have died on a zebra crossing. There were four lanes of traffic and the green man was all lit up and I was walking across. In lane three there ...
Sir Mark Walport is no corporate stooge. The lesson to take from George Monbiot's broadside is to leave advocacy to advocates George Monbiot pulled no punches in his piece yesterday on Sir Mark Walport, the newly appointed UK government chief scientific adviser (GCSA). Responding to Walport's recent Financial Times article on bees and neonicotinoid pesticides, Monbiot accused him of writing a "concatenation of gibberish", and of deploying "the kind of groundless moral blackmail frequently used by industry-funded astroturf campaigns" He concluded that: "Less than a month into the job, Sir Mark Walport has misinformed the public about the scientific method, ...
A few weeks ago I put up some initial information on Cheadle and Gatley that came out of the 2011 census. We now have a lot more, and the Council has a website that tells us what the figures for Cheadle and Gatley are and how they compare to Stockport as a whole, the North West and England. Population, religion, health, housing, employment and whole lot more with summaries for a quick check and more detailed datasets for those who enjoy drilling deeper. So why not take a look here.
Far too many leaflets come up with the usual stuff, we'll make things better, make our streets safe etc. They never tell you how they will deliver these promises or where they're going to get the money from, just pointless noise aimed at appealing to everyone, without upsetting anybody. Labour love this kind of thing, perhaps too much. During this election they've put out lots of stuff about
The outgoing President of the Swaziland equivalent of NUS, Maxwell Dlamini, has recently been detained charged with sedition. Maxwell is a leading voice in the Swazi student movement and recently recorded a video message of support for the student movement, which was shown at the recent NUS Conference in Sheffield. The campaign to Free Maxwell ...
I don't know what happens to drivers when the visit the shops at the Grantham Rd/Guildford Rd junction but they to have a propensity to bash into the street signs. The new 20 is plenty sign was hardly erected before some one knocked it and the lamp post has also suffered damage. This was all brought to my attention by the proprietor of the most excellent Chip Shop-the best fish and chips in the town (other food choices are also available) Mr Stannard. The engineers are going to move the sign in the hope of preventing it being damaged. So, ...
For the past two years I have selected a leaflet to win the coveted prize of most dishonest leaflet of the year award here was the 2012 teaser, the 2012 worthy winner and the winner way back in 2011. Obviously I'll need to wait until the elections are over and I've seen leaflets from across the borough. But to commence the build up I have spotted a few bits to keep you going starting today with
Twitter / martinpetts: My jaw is on the floor! ...: Three years ago...
After months of opposing any changes at all to the Whittington Hospital, it seems some Labour members have finally realised that campaigning against any changes to the hospital will do more harm than good. See this tweet from Labour Cllr Martin Klute, for instance. When the Whittington Board announced that it would be making changes to the hospital in January, everyone was shocked. Politicians across the Borough all agreed that the Hospital's communications strategy had been appalling. But then, we disagreed. A good summary of the disagreements between the Lib Dem and Labour approach can be found in the news ...
Michael White has an interesting article in today's Guardian on the perils of the political interview. The article is clearly inspired by two particularly poor examples, the rather frank though unwise tone taken by the Tory MP for Hastings and Rye, Amber Rudd and the car-crash interview given by Ed Miliband to World at One. It seems that Amber Rudd's interview was the most entertaining: How much trouble is charming Rudd in after taking the Financial Times around her highly marginal constituency of Hastings & Rye (paywalled link), scene of recurring battles since 1066 - mostly against French raiders or ...
Supposedly Liberal Youth's funding is under threat. I've never seen anything official but I'm always being told by one person or another that our donors aren't overly impressed with our performance and are seriously reconsidering whether to let us manage our own finances any more. This has to stop. Uncertainty means that we cannot properly plan our spending. Perhaps it's fair to say that we haven't always done an incredible job with our money-management in the past but as liberals don't we accept that people do their best when they're trusted and supported to make their own decisions? I strongly ...
This morning, along with the council's Housing Officer for the area and two community safety wardens, I took part in a walkabout around the Blackness area - in particular, Corso Street, Abbotsford Place, Blackness Road, Peddie Street, Blackness Avenueand Abbotsford Street- to look at any local issues. A number were highlighted, including the damaged bin store behind the tenements on Blackness Road (see right) bin collections and similar issues.
Neither of us have ever had much to do with Liberal Youth. We are experienced activists and party officers who were impressed by the potential of Liberal Youth next year and thought we'd have a punt at being Finance Officer. We hope our experience and total lack of ambition will mean we can serve the organisation humbly and well, protecting and improving its finances as we have done together in our student branch. We met at Oxford University where we eventually ascended to the co-chairmancy of the university branch of the party. In those dim and distant years (2011) Oxfordshire ...
I am running for NPO because I believe I have the skills to help the rest of the exec out in a wide range of areas. My pitch runs on three themes: commitment, experience and ideas. For full details visit my website. Commitment Throughout my time in the party I have shown myself willing to help out at short notice on all manner of tasks. From getting up at 5am one Sunday a month to make sure an entire ward was delivered in a day to upping sticks to Eastleigh for 2 weeks this February I have a record of ...
Local election campaigns are in full swing across the country (although not here in Southend-on-Sea) and there is only one story that seems to be coming out. This story isn't about whether Labour will make gains against the Tories. The story isn't about whether the Lib Dems will stop the hemorrhaging of votes/councillors. The story isn't about whether the austerity will hurt the Tories. The only story I keep reading about is the surge of the UK Independence Party and what this means for the future. I must admit my gut feeling is that UKIP will be like a fast ...
In our debate tomorrrow the Welsh Liberal Democrats are putting forward ideas to put pupils first and transform Wales' education system. Based on a policy paper that was overwhelmingly supported by party delegates at our conference, the Welsh Liberal Democrat debate calls for the development of an individual pupil monitoring programme to measure pupils' progress. This would allow schools to target efforts at pupils who are not meeting their potential. We also calling for the school banding system to be reformed in order to ensure that it measures schools performance based on pupil achievement. This would include re-structuring the system ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Local elections: Tory leadership prepares MPs for the worst » Spectator Blogs Just how low can you lower expectations & remain plausible? Local electns: Tory leadership prepares MPs for the worst http://bit.ly/12JZR4z Send to Kindle
If you're campaigning this week, spreading the good news about the increase in the personal allowance, you might be surprised to find the odd person that isn't quite so enthusiastic. That may well be because they're a civil servant, and have discovered that the increase in the personal allowance is almost exactly cancelled out by the increase in their pension contributions... Nonetheless, in the round, it's a very good policy, and one that Liberal Democrats should be proud of.
Since I still have no home net access, I've decided to use my lunch break to post this tribute to two very different writers, since I can't submit it to any more markets for a while. GUYS AND DHOLES by Andrew Hickey With apologies to HPL and DR...I am sat in Mindy's one morning, about ...
Disappointing piece from Daniel Hannan today in The Telegraph which essentially boils down to: "Don't vote for UKIP, you'll let Labour in". Please forgive me if I am somewhat unsympathetic to the current Tory plight. If UKIP do surge and get as many votes as polls are suggesting then yes, it is very likely that eventually it will cost the Conservatives a number of seats that they would otherwise have won and yes the vote on the right could be split in a number of places allowing a more centrist or left-wing candidate to come through the middle. This section ...
Did you guess whodunnit in Broadchurch? Having saved it up, Richard and I binged on the whole series over the weekend, and I have a few thoughts on its themes and surprising quality below (with implicit spoilers if you're good at clues). Or what about other murder mysteries? Have you ever wondered how to spot the murderer in a TV detective series? Or specifically whoprobablydunnit in Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Father Brown, Inspector Morse and more? I reveal Richard and my (almost) infallible Rules of Suspicion: what's the number one biggest giveaway of the TV murderer attempting to divert suspicion? ...
[IMG: paydaytaxcut(2)] Today is pay day for millions of people across Britain. It will be the first pay slip since the Income Tax personal allowance was raised to £9,440. The personal allowance is the amount you can earn before being taxed. When Liberal Democrats came into power in 2010 this was just £6,475. Increasing the tax-free personal allowance is the Liberal Democrats' flagship policy. We have fought hard for this and secured it. Since we've been in Government, millions of low and middle income earners are now paying £600 less tax per year. The tax-free allowance will rise again next ...
[IMG: slflogo] On July 13th at a rearranged venue in the Central Manchester Friends Meeting House, we are organising the third annual Social Liberal Forum conference, in addition to the one in London on 1st June. The overall theme will be "Ownership and Democracy - where does power lie?". I came up with the idea for this theme after attending an excellent fringe meeting organised by CentreForum at the 2012 Federal conference on "What is Cleggism?". The debate included David Howarth's contribution which you can watch on this video. David Howarth made the point that whilst we all agree that ...
No, my work status hasn't changed, but something that has taken up some of my time has. Given that it did appear to distract me from blogging myself, you may see more here in the coming months, as I experiment with whimsy, train travel and the life of a country gentleman. So, no commitments, other than to try and have a bit more fun, and we'll see what happens...
Recently on Lib Dem Voice I wrote a short article arguing for equal reform emphasis between poverty alleviation through welfare, and longer term actual poverty reduction including inter-generational poverty reduction . It seems to me that in times of budget squeeze, the means for reducing the need for welfare – social safety net – in the first place, are worth re-thinking. (To pre-empt objections I am not arguing against the provision of welfare, or for a reduction in weekly welfare payments, or for exclusionary policies). The really difficult challenge for policy in reducing poverty and the need for welfare is ...
Writing for Pleasure (WFP) is for people who want to write, who derive pleasure from words and ideas, and who love reading. WFP is a writers' workshop where you can meet other writers, tackle writing activities with others, and share feedback. Everyone is welcome to attend. Suitable for all ages. For more information please ring 0161 217 6009 or visit www.stockport.gov.uk/libraries. Where : Cheadle Library, Ashfield Road, Cheadle, Stockport. SK8 1BB How Much : £0 When : Every month, on the First Thursday, between Thu, 05 Jan, 2012 – Thu, 05 Dec, 2013. Time : 18:00 - 19:45
In the future our police, lawyers and jails will be run by G4S (tags: ) Ukip don't like it up 'em LOL (tags: ) What happens when pirates play a game development simulator and then go bankrupt because of piracy? | Greenheart GamesGreenheart Games Interesting experiment. (tags: ) Susan Calman on being a Scottish comedian talking about Scottish politics ... although to be honest it reads more like "Susan Calman on being a woman who dares to voice an opinion". I listened to the episode of the news quiz she is talking about. I didn't hear anything controversial in what ...
Tory party chairman Grant Shapps and a colleague arrive at Downing Street yesterday evening. Thursday's local elections will prove a major test for the Conservative campaigning infrastructure that Shapps overseas. Was the party chairman briefing the David Cameron on the ground threat of UKIP?
We've reported a few pieces of graffiti to be painted out: - Graffiti on the green comms box on Altrincham Road between Lorna Grove and Carlton Drive - Graffiti and paint on the skateboard ramps in Gatley Recreation Ground (brought to our attention by a local resident via the Gatley Facebook group) - Graffiti on the old toilet block in Gatley Recreation Ground. If you see any graffiti around Cheadle and Gatley, please let us know. It's important to get it removed quickly. As an example of what happens when this isn't done, I found myself on Sunday morning walking ...
[IMG: TARDIS] Ubiquitous personal communication technologies are here to stay. Because of exponentially falling data storage costs, two contrasting states of society can be envisaged. The default will be either that individuals determine whether and when their history is recorded, subject to exceptions, or data will exist about everyone all the time. This is the policy choice between data retention and preservation, and it is a sharp dichotomy. Over two decades the UK has been in the vanguard of a core group of five European countries seeking systematic Internet surveillance. A blanket retention regime gives law-enforcement an "Internet Tardis" to ...
[IMG: street scene (2099)] Under the heading A One Nation programme with new ideas to begin turning Britain's economy around yesterday Ed Miliband outlined six bills that would appear in Labour's alternative Queen's speech. It is good to see him offering some policy detail, at last, but to what extent are we being offered new ideas? The focus of the housing component of his statement was the private rented sector, which in one sense is new. The idea that the political battle to be fought over housing was going to be fought over private renting is one that would have ...
Jen and I went to have a look at this building, which is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, and the model railway show held within it last Sunday. [IMG: rsz_photo0203] Have a look at Trust's web site http://www.oldchristchurch.moonfruit.com/ Jen has a degree in building conservation and I am keen on model railways so there was something for both of us you might say. It is a Grade 2* Listed Building that has been brought back into full community use and had over 31,000 visitors in 2012. Yes, I know, what's an atheist doing going about a church ...
Just to update people about the serious incident of fly tipping reported by a number of residents on Baguley Crescent. This has been reported to the Council, who have inspected the site. They are currently looking to see if it is possible to identify the source of the fly tipping (which they have not yet been able to do). I am awaiting a further update on this in the next couple of days and will keep people informed. In a separate incident local residents have been asking the Council to clear, and keep tidy the walk ways down subway under ...
[IMG: Crushing off-road bikes last year] Crushing off-road bikes last year Inspector Peter Smith from the Stockport West Police is asking local residents to report any illegal off-road bikes. They tend to be more of a problem in the warmer weather and are often seen around the Oak Road area of Cheadle. Police have already seized two bikes recently and want to get more, so please call the Police on 101 if you have any information that could lead the Police to the owners of any of these bikes. We were in Oak Road with our Cheadle and Gatley residents ...
Tue 30th
08:30
While David Cameron and Owen Jones unite in favour of universal benefits, I want us to get explicit ...
[IMG: owen jones david cameron] It's an odd coalition: left-wing commentator Owen Jones and Tory leader David Cameron united as one. Yet that unlikely alliance was formed yesterday, as both defended universal benefits for wealthy pensioners and both fought shy of asserting the importance of redistribution. David Cameron's defence was in response to Iain Duncan Smith's rather odd suggestion that the answer to millionaires getting a fuel allowance is that they should voluntarily hand it back to the government. Those trusty 'sources close to the Prime Minister' briefed journalists that IDS was on his own: Downing Street today distanced itself ...
Last Thursday, BBC Radio Shropshire's political correspondent, Liz Roberts interviewed five of the six candidates standing here in Ludlow North. The green candidate was unavailable. You can catch up on the interviews on iPlayer: The first segment is at 1:16 into the recording: Independent: Jennifer Leyton-Purrier UKIP: Chris Woodward The second segment is at ...
What is the difference between catching criminals and preventing crime, the distinction set out by the chief inspector of constabulary, Tom Winsor, today? The reason I ask is that he didn't seem that sure himself. Prevention seemed to be about catching criminals with new technology and getting the public on board to help you. Yes, but... The truth is that, when you look at it like this - apparently a mission to change everything just a little bit - the distinction between preventing crime and catching criminals is the 30 seconds or so between thinking about it and doing the ...
A couple of days ago, I published a blog supporting criticism by The Ramblers of swingeing cuts to Shropshire Council's rights of way budgets. In a discussion on Twitter, Council Leader Keith Barrow tweeted: "We have around 3,500 miles of footpaths. Well used ones keep clear." He is wrong. Well used footpaths don't keep clear. ...
As Harris Academy is due to decant to the Rockwell site between August of this year and August 2016, I asked the City Council about arrangements for the polling station for polling district WAL - most of the former Riverside Ward - a very large part of the west of the West End Ward, with over 4000 electors. All these residents vote at Harris Academy and finding an alternative local polling place is important. I am pleased to say that, subject to council committee approval, during the 2013-16 Harris decant period, voters will be able to cast their votes at ...
Tue 30th
06:28
Ban Neonicotinoids 2 HELP Bees! EU says "YES!" - Peterborough City Council said no a year and a half...
[IMG: Bees] Recent reports have announced that "The European Commission will restrict the use of pesticides linked to bee deaths by researchers....Neonicotinoid chemicals in pesticides are believed to harm bees and the European Commission says they should be restricted to crops not attractive to bees and other pollinators." Even the local Tory MP has been getting in on the act in recent weeks! But way back in December 2011, Cllr Darren Fower submitted the following motion only for the ruling Tory administration to refuse to support it, making claims that it would not be possible to introduce such a thing ...
On a beautiful evening yesterday, Alison McInnes MSP and I joined a group of LibDem colleagues in Broughty Ferry to speak with residents about the case for Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom. See photo of some of us below: From left - Alison, Daniel, Craig & me The reception was hugely supportive of Better Together (and I mean hugely supportive - 95-5!) I was also delighted that Alison joined me with joint ward surgeries at Harris Academy and the Mitchell Street Centre earlier yesterday afternoon.
From Sheena Wellington: On Wednesday 1st May at 1.15pm, the Friends of Wighton Lunchtime Recital, in the Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library, will feature Aberdeen singer and songwriter Bob Knight. Bob Knight is a singer from Aberdeen who has slowly but surely been making a name for himself in the world of folk music. He is well known in North East folk circles as a singer and writer of songs in traditional style, having performed at most of the local clubs, including many events at the University of Aberdeen's Elphinstone Institute. Bob doesn't just confine himself to his home patch ...
When a party loses two thirds of its Parliamentarians, more than half of its councillors and is struggling for a platform on the big issues of the day, one might think its spokespeople would use the limited opportunities that present themselves to promote some distinctive and well thought out proposals that might help reestablish the party. Not so the Scottish Lib Dems who clearly think the 5% of liberal Scots who stuck by it in the last two years should be driven from the fold with an announcement by Health Spokesperson and nanny in chief, Jim Muir, to promote legislation ...
