[IMG: 3926498118_0426baaf33_m] What to say about Ed Miliband's big speech last week? I've been thinking for a few days now and I've not come up with anything of great insight that hasn't already been said elsewhere. He's clearly trying to steer a course through some treacherous waters. He's seeking to reclaim some vestige of fiscal credibility in the face of the continuing political damage being done by the outgoing Chief Secretary's missive of May 2010. He's seeking to appease those who feel that our social security system too often offers something for nothing, and offers not enough to those who ...
When I got off the bus at the Talbot Inn the queue for the festival bar in its garden was a long one, so I slipped away to find Gretton railway station. Gretton is a large village with three shops, a post office stores and even a little coffee shop. For the traditionalists, there are stocks and a whipping post on the village green. The station used to stand on a viaduct at the edge of the village. I don't know when it closed, but it is on the line north of Corby which is still open to freight and ...
... so says the Beeb
Mark Pack writes on rediscovering and modernising community politics. Labour was lazy in the South Shields by-election, but Strange Thoughts says it was the electoral system that was to blame: "Where was the incentive for Miliband to spend time and energy building a top notch campaign machine when he knew that his re-election was guaranteed? His energies would be much better spent elsewhere." "The stand-off in Ankara about the future of a public park that is about to be handed over to developers has been treated by the media for what it says about the Turkish government and its relations ...
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched herself onto Twitter, showing everyone else how to do it in the process. Her bio is probably one of the best on the site: Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD... The ...
A quote from Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera during a session at the EMLD/SLF Race Equality conference last week. I have been reflecting on that, particularly given the news today that Michael Gove is approaching education with the typical reforming zeal of a blinkered idealog - I wait with interest to hear what the party response to this will be. For anyone lucky enough to attend the conference to launch the Taskforce report on Race Equality, it was a truly brilliant day - all credit to EMLD and SLF - and I personally thought it was important to get the message out to ...
On Sunday we brought you news of the dinner in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, to celebrate Malcolm Bruce's 30th anniversary as MP for Gordon. [IMG: Malcolm Bruce dinner] We can now bring you a photograph of the assembled company taken on the night. VIPs included every leader that there has ever been of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Malcolm, Jim Wallace, Nicol Stephen, Tavish Scott and Willie Rennie, David Steel and Navnit Dholakia, our Deputy Whip in the Lords and our Commons Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael. You can also just about see the top of LDV co-editor Caron Lindsay's head in the middle ...
While Britain seems set for a long period of debate about our continued membership of the European Union, other countries are strengthening their position in the European family of nations. Last year I went on a double MP delegation to help Macedonia in its preparatory stages for EU membership. Last week I returned from a [...]
On Sunday I went to the Cathedral to join the service that commemorates the 60th Anniversary of the accession of H M Queen Elizabeth II to the throne. I caused some controversy by saying how sad I was that not ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Ballot papers] Back in April I'd written here about the inevitability of the Labour Party winning the South Shields by-election using it as an illustration of how the phenomenon of the safe seat corrupts our politics. I didn't write anything in reaction to the result last month as it went as expected. However, I did find a couple of pieces of commentary on the result that I thought backed up what I was saying and I think it is worth using them to restate the case. There was this piece on The Guardian's Northerner Blog which highlighted the by ...
I was shocked - shocked - by this story from the Guardian last week: Two of Britain's leading free-market thinktanks have been criticised for taking money from "big tobacco". The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) have received tens of thousands of pounds in funding from leading tobacco companies. Their admissions have dismayed health groups, which question the degree to which both organisations have influenced government thinking, especially on plain packaging for cigarettes. It also highlights the entrenched links between "big tobacco" and the libertarian strand of British politics that has been strengthened by the ...
[IMG: 'In every aspect of life in which women are undervalued, under-represented or exploited we are dedicated to achieving equality.' (from the Preamble of the Constitution of Liberal Democrat Women) John Stuart Mill would have been outraged that, in the second decade of the 21st century, women are still under-valued, exploited and under-represented, for it was he, speaking in the House of Commons in May 1867, who advocated votes for women. Yet, here we are 150 years later, still trying to have equality in our society. Yes, we have women's suffrage, but at the present rate of change, we ...
You know those excuses for the obscenely huge amounts of money handed over to company chief executives? It's a reward for high performance and all that? Turns out to be complete bollocks. Here's the abstract of an academic paper published earlier this year, Performance for Pay? The Relation Between CEO Incentive Compensation and Future Stock Price Performance: We find evidence that CEO pay is negatively related to future stock returns for periods up to three years after sorting on pay. For example, firms that pay their CEOs in the top ten percent of excess pay earn negative abnormal returns over ...
The coalition's equalities work programme has failed to include a single measure to address race inequality. I have seen the (so far unpublished) 26-point programme and it is dominated by gender equality and a smattering [...]
[IMG: Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America] It is no great secret that what I most want to do in life is write history books. I've written about Richard the Lionheart's journey in disguise, about the strange hidden history of money, and I'm finishing a short ebook about the submarine passage of the Dardanelles in 1915. Where someone like me can find a new angle on old stories, it seems to me, is by putting familiar stories in context. When I published a book about the 'discovery' of America in the USA five years ...
[IMG: web snoopers charter] You may be forgiven for being confused over whether the Snoopers Charter (aka the Communications Data Bill) is in or out. Back in December Julian Huppert reported that the Joint Committee that was looking at the Bill had unanimously agreed that it would have to be significantly amended to be acceptable. In an article in the Independent he wrote: "We have gone through the Home Office proposals - and the results are damning. The Bill as it is simply cannot proceed. " In April, Nick Clegg vetoed the Bill, and Julian Huppert greeted the announcement with ...
I asked this morning if North East Fife MSP Rod Campbell would put constituency over party over court closures. Sadly, we now know the answer. He, like his SNP colleagues and John Finnie who is technically an independent voted down a Labour motion to annul the orders closing the courts. I am certain he won't be allowed to forget that choice in a hurry. It was depressing to watch the SNP MSPs criticise the closures and then vote for them. It was as though they were too scared to defy Kenny MacAskill. It was also depressing how few of them, ...
I have heard of people falling asleep whilst at work and even slumping across a computer keyboard but never with the sort of consequences outlined in this article. The Independent reports on an employment tribunal in Germany, which determuined that a supervisor should not have been sacked for failing to double check a €222,222,222.22 transaction made when a clerk fell asleep with his finger on a keyboard. A junior clerk started dozing at his desk with his finger resting on the 'number two' key. He had been attempting a transfer of just €64.20 at the time. Fortunately for the company, ...
From Amazon US — presumably UK will have it shortly. The important bit of the description: Made In California's previously unreleased and long sought-after recordings include 'Goin' To The Beach,' 'California Feelin',' 'Soul Searchin',' 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,' and 'You're Still A Mystery,' among others. The set also debuts 17 unreleased live recordings, including [...]
[IMG: drugs] The 2011 Liberal Democrat conference passed a motion calling for all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs to be scrapped, the introduction of a regulated market in cannabis, and the expansion of heroin maintenance clinics for the most fervent users. The UK Drugs Policy Commission (UKDPC), published its final report in 2012. According to UKDPC, the cost of implementing current policy on illicit drugs is at least £3bn a year, but a lack of evidence for what works and provides value for money, and politicians' unwillingness to act on available evidence, means that much of this money ...
Chipping Sodbury Festival is well under way, and it's Music in the Street tonight from 7.30 pm - all free! Opening with winners of School Battle of the BandsPure Dance CrewMain act - Vegas performing Beatles music and other songs from the period Broad Street will be closed to traffic during the evening. More Festival details here Day-By-Day events listings
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Ukip support falls back but main parties remain weak on economy | Politics | guardian.co.uk Interesting: trust in Labour to manage the economy falls below 20% for first time ever with ICM http://bit.ly/11sLrSR David Cameron: The Good European "David Cameron: The Good European" Yes, really, says @RafaelBehr » http://bit.ly/19i2Wy4 The BBC's hi-tech failure: Don't Mention It | The Economist Economist speculates that BBC Trust may be casualty of £100m digital media cock-up to be replaced by OfCom http://bit.ly/114DEiG Ed Balls is right: it's time to think again about pensioners » Spectator Blogs ...
I wrote this last year for a proposed publication that didn't make it to print. As it's still very relevant I thought it worth sharing now. What was Community Politics? [IMG: Theory and Practice of Community Politics - cover page] Since the 2010 general election, and in particular since the May 2011 election results, it has almost become a cliché in many parts of the party to call for a rediscovery of Community Politics. The idea that Community Politics is both relevant and the correct course of action has the occasional critic, but as the muted debate and overwhelming vote ...
Tue 11th
13:08
The strange case of the UKIP councillor who believes he was elected because the voters thought he wa...
After the surprise election of many UKIP councillors across the country there have been some stories in the press about some of those elected. In Cornwall I've been disappointed that our contingent of kippers (or shoal as my search for a collective noun decided) have been less colourful than elsewhere. But today my patience was rewarded with the story of the councillor who believes he was elected because the voters thought he was a woman. The West Briton has the full story. Sadly, the paper didn't ask another Vivian (Hall, the new Tory councillor for Altarnun) for his opinion on ...
Episode 62 of the House of Comments podcast "Taking an Interest" was recorded yesterday and is out today. This week in a slightly shorter episode than normal myself and Emma Burnell are joined by author Carl Packman to discuss payday lenders and what can be done to provide loans from alternative sources, the US PRISM scandal and how it relates to privacy questions in the UK and Labour's repositioning on pensions policy. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. Other podcasting software e.g. for Android can be pointed here to subscribe. You can download the mp3 for the ...
It's only a silly number - and not a very accurate one - but it makes me happy. [IMG: One million views on this blog] Thank you for reading - it has truly been my pleasure to write for you. [IMG: flattr this!]
Well, it took long enough, but it looks like some semblance of a summer is finally here! This means its time for the local Lib Dems series of summer socials. Camborne, Redruth and Hayle summer socials are usually an informal event, taking place over a couple of hours of an evening or weekend . These range from coffee mornings to cream teas, pizza and politics to pasty and a pint. There will be a little light political discussion centering on your priorities for the local community and a chance to get to meet and know other members and supporters. All ...
Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has launched a review of the North Sea oil and gas industry, headed by Sir Ian Wood. In the Financial Times, Ed Davey is quoted as saying: I expect it to say tough things to industry, as well as be supportive, and say tough things to government as well. Our offshore infrastructure is getting older, and we are seeing a decline in the rate of exploration and in the amount of oil and gas that is being recovered. Whilst the main thrust of the review will be to maximise production, ...
All Peers have just been alerted by the Clerk of the Parliaments that there will be a "Hereditary Peers' By-election on 16 July: "The death of Lord Reay on 10 May 2013 has created a vacancy among the excepted hereditary peers who sit in the House of Lords." Because he was a Deputy Speaker "under Standing Order 10(3), his successor will be elected by the whole House." You will recall that the continuation of any Hereditary Peers was agreed at the last minute by the Labour leadership in 1999, when most hereditaries were sent packing, on the understanding that comprehensive ...
The newspaper photographer is dead! Long live the newspaper photographer! I remember - many years ago while I was still at school - being interviewed by BBC Radio. A nice man came in, set up a feindishly complicated tape recorder, positioned microphones, checked the tape, and - on his nod - gave the signal to the interviewer to begin her questions. Nowadays an interviewer is likely to shove an iPhone in your face when talking to you. If they're very highly trained, they'll fit a spoffle first. The newspaper's sub-editor has had half her job replaced by Microsoft Word's wriggly ...
A few people have asked me what my attitude to tweeting and blogging will be now that I am on the cabinet. I'm keen to try to carry on using both platforms much as I have been until now - to give my personal views on the key issues affecting Cornwall as well (on twitter, mainly) to rabbit on about almost anything. Being on the cabinet, there are lots of discussions which have confidential information. I'm not going to break that confidentiality. But where possible, I will be seeking to make that information public in the right way through the ...
When the Royal Society commissions research of this type it endorses the idea that diversity should be argued on economic grounds Yesterday afternoon an innocuous tweet floated innocently along my timeline. It was from the Royal Society, advertising a current funding call for some social research. OK. That's a good thing, right? The RS works in science policy, and evidence is always good... isn't it? When I read the subject of the call, I started to wonder. The Royal Society is soliciting bids to articulate the business case for diversity in the scientific workforce. Specifically, 'What evidence is there that ...
A couple of weeks ago I wrote on Liberal Democrat Voice asking if it was time to lose the lads' mags in light of a new campaign set up by UK Feminista and Object. Even though my article was quite mild, and suggested no legislative change whatsoever, merely urging a think about the damage lads' mags and our hypersexualised culture does to women, it attracted some quite aggressive comments. Any time a woman speaks up about these things, there is a queue of mostly men waiting to shout her down and call her names, so it wasn't entirely unexpected. As ...
This is a video of part of my conversation with Leah McGrath Goodman on the terrace of the House of Commons. She has had people look to find out how many other journalists have been banned from the UK. In the past 10 years she has not found one case. There remain a number of issues to be sorted out relating to how she got banned and the delays in giving her a visa. Liberty (the NCCL) also
If you believe our opponents, not very much. The truth is different. [IMG: What the Liberal Democrats have achieved in Government] What the Liberal Democrats have achieved in Government
Tue 11th
11:15
Lib Dem MP Sir Robert Smith takes Yeo's place as Energy and Climate Change Committee chair
[IMG: sir Robert Smith] Sir Robert Smith, Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, has been named today as interim chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee following Tim Yeo's decision to step down while allegations he used the role to help a private company influence Parliament are being investigated. Here's the committee statement issued this morning: The committee has unanimously accepted the chair's recommendation that he absent himself from committee business for the duration of the investigation of the parliamentary commissioner for standards, following his self-referral at the weekend. The committee expressed confidence in Mr Yeo's chairmanship ...
Tue 11th
10:46LibLink: Lynne Featherstone - Gender equality and empowerment are crucial in the fight against world...
[IMG: Make_Poverty_History] Lynne Featherstone, the International Development Minister, has written an article for The Herald, reflecting on progress since the G8 in Gleneagles in 2005. She writes: In 2005, Scotland hosted the G8 in Gleneagles where world leaders made the historic pledge to "Make poverty history". Eight years on, the UK is again hosting leaders, this time in Northern Ireland, so it seems appropriate to reflect on how far we've come in reaching that goal. I am particularly proud that we have helped 5.3 million children have a primary school education and will have improved access to security and justice ...
The modification of the 2C climate target will put an end to the vision of a "science-based" climate policy This Friday, another frustrating round of negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ends in Bonn/Germany. It is highly doubtful that the international community will be able to agree on a treaty that would commit all industrialised countries and emerging economies to binding emissions reduction targets by the end of 2015. With global emissions still rising, it is even more unlikely that such an agreement would be compatible with the overarching target of international climate policy: to ...
posted The Blood is The Life 10-06-2013 http://t.co/PPcnIfrOJk on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) prosecuting your rapist is not fun. stop thinking it is. "let's end that constant idea that, hey, if a woman drops out of a prosecution, that means the guy was innocent all along. I would love to be able to drop out of this, but I can't. If I could, I would, but I can't live the rest of my life wondering what he's doing to someone else and knowing I didn't even try to stop it." (tags: ) https://twitter.com/SciencePorn/status/333703047148617728 @kateordeath (see https://t.co/Rl64QzpBvM) @Ginnheim ...
Fascinating:
On Saturday 11th May 2013 PCSO Mark Ball hosted a Residents Meeting at All Souls Church Hall. Residents as well as local Councillors attended in order to discuss the issue of Anti-social behaviour surrounding Cheriton Park. Several key action points were established. On Monday 13th May PCSO Mark Ball attended a Road Traffic Collision (RTC) on the A20 involving two vehicles. Appropriate road closure signage was implemented and traffic management put in place. No persons were injured. PCSO Mark Ball attended Horn Street in relation to a report of Theft of a pedal cycle. Associates of the suspect provided details ...
Kent Police and the local PCSO team have arranged a Cheriton Residents Meeting to held this coming Saturday (15 June) at Cheriton Library on Cheriton High Street which will start at 11am. This meeting was set up as a result of the high volume of Anti-social behaviour coming from Cheriton Rec into Chilham Road, where criminal damage was being conducted to residential property, and has now been opened up to all Cheriton residents. Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
This is my most recent column published first in the Ham & High. Every week, at least one local resident contacts me about the state of their roads. This comes as no surprise to me. I regularly walk and drive around my constituency, and am constantly making mental notes of the new, hazardous potholes which have appeared on the road surfaces. Along with local residents, the Haringey Lib Dems and I have run a long campaign, calling on Labour-run Haringey Council to do something about this urgently. After all, we do pay one of the highest Council Tax rates in ...
The other day I was exploring loose ends in my family history, in particular the Appleyard branch of the family in Bridlington and Scarborough. I was actually trying to find a link to Bob Appleyard, the Yorkshire and England cricketer, who hailed from Bradford but may have been related. As yet, no connection that I can find Anyway, I knew that several of my forebears had been Harbour Master at Scarborough, and had moved into the house attached to the lighthouse at various times. I therefore "Googled" George Appleyard who died in 1862 to see if there were any references ...
Picture from Parklife.uk.com Saturday and Sunday saw the biggest event of the year in Heaton Park, the two day 'Parklife' music festival, largely aimed at a student market. I would be really keen to hear local residents feedback on the event, so that I can feed this back to Heaton Park management and to the event organisers: - Parking – did the transport put on by the organisers, and the parking deterrent measures near to the park make it better for local residents parking? - Noise – how was the noise from the festival? Acceptable or too loud? (Personally the ...
Yes, it's true. The financial section of the Mail on Sunday published a report with the headline: Staying in the EU is vital for business, warn two-thirds of small firmsWell, it's in the Mail, so it must be true. But it obviously hasn't convinced the Mail's readers, as the pig-headed comments beneath the article demonstrate.
One thing we know about SNP MSPs is that they're a pretty compliant bunch who don't give their whips much bother. The biggest rebellion to date is over an internal party issue, NATO, which led to the resignation of two SNP MSPs from the party, although they continue to vote with the Government in practice. Today, though, all eyes will be on the four SNP members of Holyrood's Justice Committee as they vote on a report which, if implemented, would see the closure of ten sheriff courts around the country. It's typical of the SNP's desire to centralise anything that ...
Late last year I reported on an initiative by the Greater Manchester council's to encourage people to take up some of the 'energy efficiency savings' that were being funded by a special Government grant. This was an official council backed scheme, and not to be confused with some private companies that have been busy knocking on our doors offering similar things.... Overall Prestwich Toasty Figures Following door knocking campaign in October 2012 there was a dramatic increase in the number of installs that took place in January 2013. Total number of installs in Prestwich Township area for the whole of ...
[IMG: Prison fence] This week, the Supreme Court is considering the legality of the Government's ban on prisoner voting. A majority of MPs are set against even limited suffrage for prisoners. The idea makes David Cameron "physically sick" and Jack Straw believes "those who break the law cannot make the law." Many supporters advance the same perfectly sound arguments, particularly from a human rights perspective. But a strong, pragmatic case for full prison enfranchisement can also be made by assessing this most populist of policies against the aims of sentencing in the criminal justice system that the Government has laid ...
Tue 11th
08:41
Meadows Leisure Centre, Maghull - Just who is supposed to maintain the planted areas around it?
This was a question put to me recently via my involvement with Maghull in Bloom but sadly I had already noticed the weed infested garden areas. [IMG: rsz_meadows_garden_area_06_13] When I was Leader of Sefton Council I also happened to be the Sefton Council Cabinet member responsible for the construction of the Leisure Centre. Indeed, I led the community campaign to get it built over many years. My point is this, I distinctly remember agreeing with Maghull Town Council, who own the land on which the Leisure Centre is built and who have leased the land to Sefton Council, that it ...
[IMG: rsz_lydiate_hanging_baskets_2] What a colourful display – 70 or more hanging baskets for Southport Road and Liverpool Road in Lydiate Parish in the greenhouse and soon to be making Lydiate look great.
Launched yesterday, The Spectator Archive is a marvellous new online resource. Every issue of the magazine from 1828 to 2008 has been scanned and digitised, and each article tagged and extracted. That means you can search the whole archive by content, keyword, topic, location and date. Best of all, it is free to use.
[IMG: Screen Shot 2013-06-11 at 08.26.30] Do you live in Bury? Do you want to play a role in improving health services in Bury? About NHS Bury CCG NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is a new NHS organisation, made up of local GPs and other local healthcare practitioners. The CCG became formally established on 1st April 2013 and it plans and purchases health services for the people of Bury. Patient Cabinet The CCG sees the patients' voice as central to the new ways of working and the Patient Cabinet has a key role to play in ensuring that local ...
The speeches last week by Ed Balls and Ed Milliband on what Labour's economic policy will be if they win the 2015 election have been something of a damp squib and will probably do their prospects of victory more harm than good. Of course their views are filtered through a violently pro-Conservative press, but the main impressions that remain are that they will: stick to George Osborne's spending plansplace a cap on welfare benefitsend the principle of universality.All this is in a bid to gain respectability with a Tory-dominated media, and give the impression that they are responsible and competent. ...
I have today launched my June 2013 Update to West End Community Council. Subjects covered include : • Road Safety - Riverside Drive• Seating at Sinderins • West End Christmas Fortnight 2013 You can download my Update here. The Community Council meets tonight at 7pm at the Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall in Shaftesbury Terrace. All residents welcome.
During WestFest, the Magdalen Artists have their exhibition taking place at the Vine in Roseangle, opposite the Roseangle car park. This Saturday, the exhibition is on all day along with a crafts fair - don't miss it! A high quality PDF of this poster can be downloaded here.
Nothing makes me angrier than seeing someone held back or held down just because of the circumstances of their birth. I passionately believe that the job of government is to enable everyone - and that means everyone - to get on in life. So I was delighted this week to launch the Opening Doors Campaign to unlock opportunities like jobs, apprenticeships, and work experience for as many young people as possible. I'm asking every business to sign up to my Opening Doors pledge – making sure they recruit fairly and openly, looking at people's talent not their background. It shouldn't ...
