From the Daily Mirror website this afternoon: A Ukip regional chairman has stepped down over alleged racist comments made on Facebook revealed by the Sunday Mirror. The party's East Midlands chairman and Lincoln councillor Chris Pain, who blamed the remarks on a hacker, will remain leader of the Ukip group on the county council. Mr Pain is reported to have branded illegal immigrants "sandal-wearing, bomb-making, camel-riding, goat-f******, ragheads" on his Facebook page, though he has strongly denied making the comments. Ukip's National Executive Committee said it was suspending its judgment on Mr Pain until the police complete an investigation. A ...
Life, I am told, is mostly about being there. And, being married to Ros, I am fortunate in being slightly more likely to be there than most. Tonight, however, was one of those moments of pure, delightful, chance.My visits to London are somewhat infrequent these days but, occasionally, I come to the big city for some social event or other, or to see my family. Today, it was for dinner with Ros and our guest. By sheer coincidence, I arrived just as the Lords divided on the Dear 'wrecking amendment', so I headed over to the rainbow festooned group to ...
In 1981, the Beach Boys were a shambles. They'd just put out a terrible album, Dennis Wilson was spiraling down into the self-destructive spiral that would soon lead to his death, Brian Wilson was ballooning in weight, and the band were putting on poor shows, joylessly grinding out the hits yet again. So it was [...]
Last summer I visited Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend in Newcastle upon Tyne. As I wrote then, the site of the fort was covered with terraced housing until the 1970s. Looking at the neat visitor attraction Segedunum is today, that episode in its history is hard to picture. But this video (after the opening titles,which must surely belong to some lost sword-and-sandals epic) shows those houses empty, derelict and on the point of demolition - as well as a group of very 1975 young archaeologists.
No-one's suggesting it's a solution for the parking problems on St Ann's Road North, but councillors approved some safety improvements on Tuesday which should reduce the problems caused by people parking right up against the chicanes. There's been a problem when people restrict the chicanes that buses, ambulances, coaches and fire engines can't get through and this should help with that. As for stopping people parking along the road altogether, we know that's a trickier problem. Parking there is legal and the police don't see it as obstruction. We could put down yellow lines or limited parking bays, but that ...
Following complaints from residents and a local consultation, councillors have approved painting yellow lines around the junction between Schools Hill and Brackenwood Drive in Cheadle. There have been problems with cars parking right up to the junction, and other junctions (e.g. Daylesford) have had yellow lines, which has helped. The lines, which enforce the Highway Code rule of no parking within 10m of a junction, now have to be advertised. If there are objections, they'll come back to committee for a final decision so realistically they may not be painted until the autumn.
Today has been a good day for the LGBT community the Lord were not content with Lord's Dear's amendment to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill one that would have stymied progress. But no doubt I'll be hearing Peter Tatchell going on about how this is one small step which needs to go further. The thing is earlier today I read Peter Tatchell about a spat that Peter Tatchell was having a go at Jeff Dudgeon for remaining within the UUP. Now I'm sure when Peter was up outside the Lords yesterday and today he would have looked around him ...
At Tuesday's Cheadle Area Committee, councillors approved spending just over £25,000 from local developments in new play equipment for Gatley Recreation Ground. The new equipment will replace the ageing slide and climbing frame, and include an improved safety surface on the ground. We're also looking for ways to fund an improvement to the tennis/basketball court area. Resurfacing and refencing that will cost around £40,000 which the Council doesn't have, so we're looking at the possibility of securing external grants.
The planning application to allow a hot food takeaway in the former Nat West building in Gatley was granted at Cheadle Area Committee on Tuesday. I was opposed to the plan, but was struggling to find valid planning grounds to refuse it. Because I'd already made my position public, I didn't take part in the decision and left the room. I've already set out the issues around the application here. I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the discussion on Facebook and here, who sent in objections to the application and especially Claire Forrest and Mark Lees who worked ...
"I hope that at least some of our parliamentarians vote against a cull tomorrow. I don't hold much hope that the cull will be prevented by this motion, however, and I am disappointed that once again our parliamentary party has failed to properly assess the evidence and vote accordingly." Dr Craig Brown from the Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists gets it right on Liberal Democrat Voice. What is happening in Istanbul? İnsanlik Hali explains. "We are not dancing bears," says Critical Faculties, opposing the establishment of the Rate Your Lecturer website. Vice has a skinny latte at the ...
[IMG: Brian Moston on the Brookside Close Speedway, 1952] Brian Moston on the Brookside Close Speedway, 1952 When I first moved to Gatley a little over a decade ago, I was quite excited to see on an Ordnance Survey map that there was a cycle track just down the road on Gatley Carrs. I went down to take a look and was frustrated to find that the track was no more -long since gone as private land used for other things. So I was interested when Paula Isherwood from the Gatley Carrs Community Group passed on some of the history ...
[IMG: Battersea Power Station] An amendment to the Energy Bill which would have set a target for carbon emissions target for the power industry was defeated by just 23 votes tonight. 16 Liberal Democrat MPs backed the amendment while 30 voted against it. 10 of the 16 are already on the Friends of the Earth website (plus Mike Hancock, who temporarily withdrew from the Whip last night). They are: Andrew George Greg Mulholland Julian Huppert John Hemming John Leech Martin Horwood Roger Williams Andrew Stunnell Mark Williams Adrian Sanders In addition, Charles Kennedy and Gordon Birtwistle supported it and Mike ...
beeishappy: TDS | 2013.02.06 [x]
[IMG: mark and ros at equal marriage vigil] The Same Sex Marriage Bill received its Second Reading in the House of Lords this evening after Lord Dear's wrecking amendment was defeated by a much larger than expected majority of 390-148 after two days of debate. While this is obviously welcome news for the Bill's supporters, there is still virtually limitless potential for their Lordships to make mischief with its provisions. It will be very important to keep talking to Lords in the run-up to the next stage of the Bill. It will now be considered line by line by a ...
Today I felt inspired to write after discussing "cis" as a word with some twitter pals of mine, including @AAEmmerson (who all Lib Dems should follow, because he's often right) We started talking about "cis" as a word, and I would say almost all of us debating were in fact "cis", I believe because someone had stated they found the word offensive. I don't find it offensive, but I did it find it an odd sensation when I first heard it, finding out that there was a word for me, defined by a group that didn't include me. However, that ...
Equal marriage has tonight taken another huge step towards becoming a reality, with a wrecking amendment defeated 390-148.
Tomorrow, our MPs will have the opportunity to vote in an Opposition Day debate on government plans for a badger cull. It is almost unheard of for the government to lose an opposition day motion, the last one being on settlement rights for veteran Gurkhas in 2009 - the first time since 1978. I have it on good authority that our parliamentary party has made up its mind that badgers are to be culled in the UK. I would like to make a few things clear before I get into the meat of this post. Firstly, I'm not an 'animal ...
The Council will be refurbishing the 300m long retaining wall between Wilmslow Road and Brookfields Park, Cheadle. Residents living in the immediate vicinity have been informed of the work.
[IMG: barbecued-chicken] Parliament's International Development Committee, chaired by Lib Dem MP Sir Malcolm Bruce, has been turning its attention to global food supplies. According to The Independent the committee reports that even in the UK we are never more than few days away from a significant food shortage. You can read the full report on Global Food Security here. We all throw away far too much food – up to one third of all food produced globally – so the committee is urging the Government to develop strategies that will help us to reduce the amount of food wasted in ...
Tue 4th
15:49
Opinion:The Ministry of Justice's latest reforms to legal aid will cut access to justice, not the de...
[IMG: Scales of Justice - Some rights reserved by Citizensheep] Tuesday 9 April 2013 was Be Kind to Lawyers Day - it was also the day that the Ministry of Justice launched its consultation on proposals to further reform the legal aid system in England and Wales. The proposals will affect both civil and criminal legal aid and, while the changes to criminal legal aid have attracted some media coverage, the changes to civil legal aid have received scant attention. The civil legal aid changes fall into two categories and they represent a fundamental shift in the relationship between the ...
The Ministry of Justice consultation Transforming Legal Aid closes today. At the last minute I decided to submit something reflecting on the economics of the proposals. You can find the substance of what I wrote on my page at Scribd.com. It can be accessed below the fold. Reengineering the Market for Criminal Legal Aid by Alex Marsh [IMG: Share]
As the Liberal Democrat Voice Lords Correspondent (self-appointed and erratic, admittedly), I spend more time than most studying Hansard and perusing the Parliamentary website. And, married to a Member of the House myself, I tend to take a more tolerant view of its 'foibles', for perhaps obvious reasons.It must be admitted that the Second Reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill has not demonstrated the Lords at its best, but the response of some to the nature and tone of the debate has been equally poor, with some sweeping, and rather insulting, generalisations being sprayed around about those who ...
If you are prepared to join a political party then you should broadly agree with what that party stands for and it would be nice to think that you could assist in the political process by supporting that party whenever possible. This particularly applies to those who are elected under the party banner. So if the MP of the same party wants support from their councillors then it would be nice to think that help would be forthcoming. Life isn't that simple and sometimes people just don't get on, for whatever reason. Still, a councillor can help their party in ...
Combine equal marriage, unelected peers and the internet, and you expect to come across some interesting comments. But Lord Hylton* has it by a mile**: There is ample evidence that public opinion, including medical opinion, is against the [Same Sex Marriage] Bill. Medical opinion, hey? * He does, however, sport a damn fine beard. ** I would say kilometre, but I fear Lord Hylton wouldn't approve.
This is my 6,000th post on this blog, so it is entirely fitting that I use it to repeat myself by supporting the case for lobbying reform at the Houses of Parliament. I saw a tweet yesterday suggesting that as no lobbying company was involved in the resignation of Patrick Mercer then clearly there was no case for regulation. It is a fair point but one that misses the intent behind reform. Lobbying regulation should be there to protect politicians as well as the lobbyists. Of course there will always be elected members who go too far in pursuit of ...
[IMG: wedding rings] It has been said that people who vote against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill will be 'standing on the wrong side of history' - as those of us who know and study history accept, only time will tell. But yesterday, as we led the Equal Marriage Vigil outside the House of Lords I was struck that we were witnessing and perhaps even making history. What occurred at our Vigil can be variously described as glorious, fashionable, tuneful and positive. In short we gathered together the LGBT+ communities and their families - and we sang, we danced ...
Garston Library and One Stop Shop is to change its weekday opening hours to 9 to 5 (as opposed to 10 to 6). This is because there is demand for earlier opening at the One Stop Shop but there is little use of it in the 5 to 6 period. The change comes into effect on 1 July. Saturday times (10 till 4) stay the same. This does mean that people with 9 to 5 type jobs won't be able to pop to the library after work.
Cllr Gillian Risso Gill From our "sister blog" for West Hampsteadhttp://westhampsteadspotlight.blogspot.co.uk/ "To gain planning permission, writes Cllr Gillian Risso-Gill, developers are often required to provide additional monies for amenities that will benefit local communities in the form of Section 106 obligations. The developer of the new student development nearing completion in Blackburn Road has contributed £500,000 to Camden for various items including pathways, health services and community amenities. Your Councillors have campaigned to ensure that the monies are spent in the local area and not siphoned off to other parts of Camden. Despite having two public meetings, it is ...
On 17th April, I and some colleagues in the other parties were due to host a cross-party seminar on a Draft Bill to reform party funding regulations. Then Baroness Thatcher died, and her funeral was scheduled to begin in Westminster Hall - right next to where the seminar was planned to take place - that very same day. Since she may not have approved of such cross-party liaison, this was further evidence of her lasting influence. We postponed the meeting until 16th May. We then got a lively attendance of about 50 people, in a room only designed for 30, ...
We hope this is good news, but still some fears for the future! Latest bulletin from GARA (Gondar and Agamemnon Residents Association): "Dear GARA members and supporters, Fantastic news, at least temporarily ... the 'frontage' appeal is dismissed for reasons of poor detailed design. But the impact on Open Space, SNCI, views, parking etc are all considered acceptable. As you know, having won one appeal, the developer appealed against refusal of its second planning application for this site. The first scheme allows destruction of a large part of the protected Open Space and Site of Nature Conservation Interest. The second ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... It's not a register we need to keep politics honest. It's a free press – Comment – Voices – The Independent Odd argmnt by @johnrentoul against recall – "it's bad bec governing paties don't gain seats". But they do defend them http://ind.pn/133qrEL My Google Reader Alternative – Internet Marketing For Schools Useful shakedown of contenders by @schneiderb > My Google Reader Alternative http://bit.ly/11dubAQ (I agree with his choice: Feedly) Send to Kindle
A lot has been discussed in the past few days about The Sunday Times expose "Cash For Access" and Panorama's yet to be aired (but seemingly similar) expose. The Sunday Times alleges that "PEERS have been caught offering to ask parliamentary questions, lobby ministers and host events on the House of Lords terrace for cash". The Panorama expose is yet to air but has resulted in Patrick Mercer MP resigning the Conservative Whip. The allegations seem similar. This has prompted a surge of cries for Government to clean up parliament and for Ministers scrambling to "do something". In this instance ...
[IMG: wedding rings] Yesterday, the Lords debated the Marriage (same sex couples ) Bill. Outside, a well attended good humoured vigil took place, with singing from the London Gay Men's Chorus filtering into the Chamber. Having seen them brighten up a wet and freezing cold evening at a hate crimes vigil last year, I can attest to their talent. Only three Liberal Democrats took part in the debate last night so we are publishing their speeches in full. Liz Barker's is here and John Alderdice's is here. The vote is not taking place until around 4:30 this afternoon so there ...
I don't know about you, but over the past few months I've noticed a recurring theme, within the Lib Dems as well as the other political parties. Whether it's the allegations against Chris Rennard or the new developments regarding the Member for Portsmouth South, the whole thing smacks of a party which isn't very good at keeping it's own house in order. And it isn't just us. There were allegations this week that a Labour Councillor was basically bullied by Luciana Berger, the MP for Liverpool Wavertree and I've lost count of the number of scandals the Tories have been ...
What a difference 10 years makes. It is exactly 10 years since we were told that Liverpool would be European Capital of Culture 2008. I remember where I heard the news. I was on a Train to London. You could ... Continue reading →
During 2013 the council is extending its 'part-night' lighting scheme throughout South Gloucestershire. A fifth of South Glos street lights successfully converted to part-night operation so that they are switched off between midnight and 5:00 am GMT in order to reduce carbon emissions and conserve energy. There is a rolling programme to convert the lights - Yate will be converted during August, and other local areas are also being converted. All street lights will be switched to part-night operation except: Places where South Glos consider they help mitigate crime and anti-social behaviour, or improve road safety and reduce accidentsLights that ...
Episode 61 of the House of Comments podcast "Total Recall" was recorded yesterday and is out today. This week in a slightly shorter episode than normal myself and Emma Burnell discuss the latest parliamentary scandal and ask whether we need a clampdown on lobbying and also the ability for MPs to be recalled as well as Labour's latest announcement on means testing pensioner benefits. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (note - this is a new feed so if you used to subscribe to the old feed a couple of years ago you'll need to do so ...
Tue 4th
12:46
Maghull Town Council – 3 more Labour Councillors resign bringing the total to 7 in just 2 year...
Bizarre is about the best description of what has been happening on Maghull Town Council in recent times but with 7 resignations in 2 years, all from the ruling Labour Group, what other comment could you make? As an opposition member of the Town Council even my mouth was agape when I heard that another 3 had put their cards in on top of the 4 that had already thrown in the towel. What's more one of the resigning number was the Council Leader until last week's AGM (and had been Town Mayor just a year ago) and another had ...
There is still uncertainty about how many dwellings will have to be accommodated in South Gloucestershire in the next five years and where they should go. Local residents were delighted when the Engine Common appeal was dismissed but there was a sting in the tail. The Inspector dealing with it accepted the developer's evidence that South Gloucestershire Council has not identified enough housing sites that are available during the next five years to meet Government requirements. The Core Strategy Inspector has recognised that this means that he has to give further consideration to the housing figures. South Gloucestershire Planning Officers ...
The Archbishop of Canterbury intervened in the debate over same-sex marriage with this little gem. "The concept of marriage as a normative place for procreation is lost. The idea of marriage as covenant is diminished. The family in its normal sense predating the state and as our base community of society is weakened. For these and many other reasons those of us in the churches and faith groups, who are extremely hesitant about the bill in many cases, hold that view because we think that traditional marriage is a cornerstone of society and rather than adding a new and valued ...
Sue Carpendale and Kathy Pollard, Babergh District Councillors Here is May's report – a bit late and the next one will be posted shortly. New Constitution Council agreed to adopt its new constitution at a special meeting in April, which will see increased joint working between Babergh and Mid Suffolk. There will be some joint committees including Scrutiny and Audit, but they will both have separate committees so that each council can address its own issues. The structures mirror each other in order to facilitate the servicing of both councils by one officer team. The extent to which Babergh and ...
[IMG: images] This weeks Local Transport Today has an interesting article about Dutch style roundabouts called a turbo roundabouts. They provide 1-1.5 time more capacity than traditional 2 lane roundabouts but with 50-70% less serious crashes than respectively traffic signalled & give-way junctions. Struck me as a possible model for Paxton Green. You can see a 70second video of the concept here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMYib3IR43I Do you think it would help solve the problems at this intersection?
[IMG: wedding rings] As only four Liberal Democrat Peers spoke in the equal marriage debate last night, we are publishing their speeches in full as this is an issue that many party members are interested in. Liz Barker's speech is here, and Sal Brinton's will appear later. If you want to say anything to them ahead of the vote, expected at around 4:30 pm today, those nice people at Out4Marriage have created a site where you can lobby them or any other Lords. John Alderdice's remarks reflected his deep concerns about the Bill, although he said that he wasn't going ...
We all know that support for the Liberal Democrats remains low. It fell from the giddy heights of Cleggmania to a poll average of about 10% by the autumn of 2010 and has been stuck there ever since. The question is 'why' rather than 'what', and simply answering with "the coalition" isn't good enough. People's attachment to parties is a reflection of their values, and one organisation has analysed this in depth: Cultural Dynamics. The remainder of this post won't make much sense if you are unfamiliar with Cultural Dynamics's methodology and its world 'Settlers', 'Prospectors' or 'Pioneers'. If so, ...
Chipping Sodbury Youth Club will reopen this Thursday 6th June from 7.00 pm. Then: Wednesday 12th June 7.00pm (Music Night)Thursday 13th June 7.00pmWednesday 19th June 7.00pm (Music Night)Thursday 20th June 7.00pmMonday 24th JuneWednesday 25th June 7.00pm (Music Night)Thursday 26th June 7.00pmThe Club will be closing for a week at August Bank Holiday, 2 weeks at Christmas and a week at Easter.
Tue 4th
11:15Ed Balls shifts Labour's position closer to the Lib Dems: is this the start of a Lib-Lab realignment...
[IMG: Ed Balls and Vince Cable] Ed Balls' speech to Thomson Reuters yesterday grabbed headlines for its concession that paying a winter fuel allowance to the wealthiest 5% of pensioners could no longer be justified. The likely saving — at c.£100m a year, no more than a rounding error in the national accounts - may be modest, but the symbolism is significant. This is Labour accepting (at long last) the new normal of austerity: current departmental spending will continue to be reduced in the next few years even as the long-hoped-for economic growth returns. Though Labour's shadow chancellor is hard-wired ...
Tue 4th
10:29Sarah Ludford writes ...Creating EU Data Protection rules that safeguard both privacy and jobs
As those who read this LibDem Voice article by Peter Bradwell of Open Rights group will know, I am currently the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) group 'shadow rapporteur' on the draft EU Data Protection Regulation in the European Parliament. I was not originally expecting to play a major role on this particular piece of legislation. But when my German FDP colleague Alexander Alvaro unfortunately suffered a serious car accident in February, the ALDE group appointed me as his interim replacement. I unwisely promised a response to Peter's article 'soon'! – but the last few months of ...
The really appears to be a blindness among frontline politicians about the banks, even many of the Lib Dem ones - though Vince Cable appears to be pretty clear-sighted about it. If so, he is in a tiny minority. It isn't that some of them somehow think the banks are effective generators of economic success. Nobody could think that. Or even that the big bankers are right that there is no demand for business lending. Nearly everybody recognises that is nonsense. No, the big politicians' fantasy is why there is a problem. They maintain themselves in the delusion that somehow ...
It's not child "porn". It's child rape. I have a lot of issues with Louise Mensch, but on this? On this she's absolutely spot on. (tags: ) posted There was an article in The Daily Mail and it said something HORRIBLE! http://t.co/FGNzfubJcu on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/index.php/Cheerful_Fairy @StaceyUK @matgb http://t.co/nRGQK2EQp6 (tags: (from twitter) ) http://open.spotify.com/track/3K4HG9evC7dg3N0R9cYqk4 Somehow finding angry playlist necessary on the way home. Could be annoying screaming child 2 seats back... http://t.co/bITgchOlob (tags: (from twitter) ) why non-victims should be bothered by rape jokes too (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Big Ben - Parliament] In recent days the rhetoric regarding lobbyists has notched up a few gears. These attacks have come from a surprising range of critics. Yesterday morning Lorraine Kelly on Daybreak suggested to Tom Brake MP that we should ban lobbying altogether and shortly afterwards Lord Oakeshott likened lobbyists to mosquitoes. I am a lobbyist. My job requires me to talk and debate issues with politicians, civil servants and others on a daily basis. There is a great deal of twaddle talked about lobbying. Some of the nonsense is puff peddled by practitioners keen to myth-make about ...
Against vigorous opposition from a substantial section of his party, David Cameron has stuck to his undertaking that Britain will keep and soon achieve its promise (made in the 1960s!) of devoting 0.7% of our GDP to aid to the poorest countries. The aid agencies, of which I am an enthusiastic supporter, have not been all that effusive in publicly applauding him for this. Now there are further reasons for applause. Last week Cameron co-chaired, with President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and President Sirleaf of Libera, a UN panel which aims to set the pattern for post-2015 development in the poorest ...
WestFest 2013 starts on Sunday coming, 9th June, with Big Sunday on Magdalen Green! The WestFest programme is now available and can be downloaded here. (Please note there is a typing error in a phone number for Wednesday Art Walk and Thursday Poetry evening - to book, the correct number is 07581 383615).
The rural economy faces significant challenges that do not arise in urban areas. This has contributed to a rural recession which is different in tone to that in urban areas. It is characterised by longer-standing levels of low economic activity and an older profile of employment. Some of these challenges include the need to spend more on fuel (a problem which has increased in recent years), the lower numbers of skilled young workers and the distance from core urban areas. Perhaps the difference between the rural and urban economies that best typifies is digital infrastructure. When I became an Assembly ...
On the Remembrance of the Daleks novelisation, and Alan Moore
A new Liberal Democrat report into race equality in education and employment received positive feedback at a conference headlined by the business secretary Vince Cable. Over 100 delegates gathered on Saturday for the party's first [...]
