Well months ago I did some blogging about online dating. It was fun. Well as part of this I set up a fake male and a fake female account. I did not contact or reply to anyone on either account but used them as the basis for my research/blog. Well anyway I logged into the fake male account today and there were a tonne of messages there. So I read them all and decided that I should share them with you all. As an overview my profile is short and not so sweet which shows the person as a bit ...
The other week I asked Calderdale's leader what he thought about ensuring whoever proposes and seconds motions on scrutiny panels is properly minuted. Part of Cllr Swift's response was to say "I've never been in favor of Cabinet saying how scrutiny is run." [IMG: scrutiny_tweet] Yet only four days later on the 26th June a local news website carried a story 'Council Leader asks scrutiny panel to support his calls for Government action on flooding'. Yes, it appears the same man who says that executive cabinet members should not be telling scrutiny panels how they can be run is now ...
There's been a little media splash in the UK as we gained our third bisexual MP (although one of the three has left Parliament) this weekend. Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury, had left his wife about two years ago and now decided to go public about his new male partner and not being a heterosexual. The media have been relatively calm - he wasn't especially high profile like a government minister or what have you, which probably helped, and appears to have come out of his own volition rather than having been embarrassed out by some incident or other. The ...
It is the Summer season for hi jinx among the youth and it is interesting to see how the class distinction operates. Students from a private school called Mill Hill County School trashed a £2 million home in Hampstead, London, and caused havoc on the streets too. The school charges £9,038 a term for full boarders. It is shocking that these students think that it is acceptable to rent a house and trash it just because they had paid for it. These middle class types show a sense of entitlement that is destructive and lacks respect for person and property. ...
[IMG: Post meeting photo] The East Dulwich area is facing an increasingly dire primary schools admissions crisis. In the recent round of school admissions half of all the families who didn't get one of their six possible preferences came from the SE22 area. By Sept 2016 the shortage will reach 235 reception places So we were delighted today to host Lib Dem Education Minister David Laws. He met with concerned local parents, Harris Federation chief Sir Dan Moyniha, local councillors and GLA Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon. A really useful, wide and open discussion about school admissions. I'm clear it has ...
I was pleased to hear Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg calling for a review of police stop and search on his LBC radio 'Call Clegg' show this week. Disproportionate use of stop powers against Britain's [...]
One of the greatest things about Colchester Zoo is their new lemur exhibit, and as I'm a huge lemur fan from my childhood days watching 'Animal Magic', I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to spend some quality time with them. My new best friend. He only loves me for my raisins... I had already met the two red-ruffed lemurs, stroked their fur and made a fuss of them, and discovered that their snouts are like the softest leather. They're patient little fellows too, although they're a bit timid if you rush at them. Luckily, my years of ...
Just another Market Harborough street scene, you will say, but there is a point of interest here. On St George's Day last year I posted a video of Border morris dancers - "from the English-Welsh border: a simpler, looser, more vigorous style" - at Clun and discussed where their traditional blackened faces came from. Another Border morris side was in town on Saturday and I noticed that its members had got around this ticklish debate by painting their faces blue - think Avatar or a bunch of Smurfs with a love of accordion music. Political correctness gone mad? No, but ...
It is fun to laugh at the fruitcakes, but Nigel Farage is nobody's fool. Here he is talking to the Eastern Daily Press today: "Whatever anyone thinks of Lib Dem politics, Ashdown was a brilliant leader of the Lib Dems and they focused on building up by winning by-elections, by building up clusters of district and county council seats and once you hold a number of council seats that you won on first past the post at county level, the perception that you are a wasted vote and you can't win at Westminster goes. "The Lib Dems build up to ...
Last week the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond expressed surprise that the Liberal Democrats did not want to have a defence minister. Though this Daily Telegraph interview suggested that Hammond is no fount of original ideas, he may be on to something here. Because Nick Harvey's departure from the Ministry of Defence was not the only disappointing thing for Liberal Democrats about the last cabinet reshuffle. We also lost our hold on the Foreign Office when Jeremy Browne was moved to the Home Office. I, for one, was pleased and proud that we had Lib Dem ministers in these two important ...
Cheadle Area Committee is next Tuesday, 9th July starting at 6pm at Bolshaw Primary School, Cross Road, Heald Green. As always, all are welcome. Items to be discussed include: Consultation on proposed route for A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road Planning application for Barnes Hospital development – converting the hospital building into apartments and building homes around it. Decision on Cheadle Public Realm improvements, including better pavements, pedestrian crossings and cycling improvements. Cheadle markets
From the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors: Well we all knew it was coming but now it's confirmed. A statement in the House of Commons... confirms that the 2014 local elections will be on the same day as the European elections in the UK – Thursday 22nd May 2014. We'll send out a draft timetable shortly. The full statement: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis): As I informed the House on 26 March, Official Report, column 84WS, we published a consultation document inviting views on whether or not we should, subject to Parliamentary approval, ...
[IMG: Scaffolding. Photo courtesy of Morley. Some rights reserved http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=844837] Following a series of problems with scaffolding contractors failing to clear up properly after themselves in Islington, Partners for Islington has decided to introduce photographic checks after scaffolding is removed. The idea of staff taking photos after they complete a piece of work in order to document that it has been done properly is widespread in other fields. Previously, however, it was not the norm for work being done by scaffolding contractors on properties where Islington Council own the freehold. News about this new approach came in Islington Council's response ...
Vodafone wants to replace the phone mast roughly opposite 88 Long Lane with a higher version and some extra cabinets. This is an amendment to a planning application that came in earlier this year. The mast at the moment is 12 metres and the proposed new one is 17 - with more "antennae". You can see the details, and make comments, at this link.
Summer news and information on funding for community groups and charities. If you're looking for money for your group or community project, take a look and see what's available.
The story of whether or not to introduce parking restrictions (apart from for residents) near IM March campus has been a long and drawn out one with at least two sessions at the City Council to date and some legal measures. I've now heard that there will be a decision making meeting to hear all the various objections etc on 9th July at the Town Hall. The agenda should appear at this link by the end of the day (1st July)
MPs' pay is in the news today with suggestions that IPSA may agree a 10% or even a £10,000 increase, while other public sector pay remains frozen. Stephen Williams writes IPSA was created in the aftermath of the furore over MPs' expenses four years ago. It sets the terms of Parliamentary pay, pensions, budgets for staff and office costs and MPs' personal employment expenses such as travel and accommodation. We MPs have absolutely no say in any aspect of the regime, including our salary. So MPs (nor meddling party leaders) cannot instruct IPSA to set MP pay at any particular ...
[IMG: IckWay_gulley] Hertfordshire's Liberal Democrats continue to find numerous problems with drainage and street light faults. Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, who leads the official Opposition and is the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Highways, has complained to the County Council who concede that there is a problem with "day-burners" on the main A and B roads. It appears that the county does not bother to check which lights are left on even when members of the public and Councillors report them and rather unfairly, blame it on their controversial contractor, Ringway. County Councillor for Tring, Nick Hollinghurst, commented "Highways maintenance is slowly ...
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, and Lib Dem colleague Julian Huppert have been nominated for the Internet Service Provider Associations Internet Hero of the Year award. The nomination comes after both led opposition against the Communications Data Bill – the snoopers' charter much covered on this blog. Other nominees include Edward Snowden, the fugitive whistleblower ...
Following the resignation of Derek Osbourne, Kingston Liberal Democrats are be defending the ward of Beverley in a by-election. Beverley is a three member Liberal Democrat Ward but this will be a tough election. We are out canvassing every weekday evening meeting at New Malden Station (High Street exit where K1 bus leaves) at 6pm and all day Saturday from 10am (committee room will change so please indicate interest in advance) The virtual phonebank is - F125BF-9603 for no data - 2B45BB-9892 for Soft Cons - 3B45BC-6491 for D&P If you would like more information on how to help please ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Labour enters the danger zone "Labour enters the danger zone" says YouGov's Peter Kellner – a 5% lead probably won't be enough for a majority http://bit.ly/11TXzkC What to do about MPs' pay | Stephen Williams' Blog .@swilliamsmp sticks his head above the parapet on MPs' pay http://bit.ly/18qarmB – accept IPSA settlmnt but not til 2015. By the time HS2 arrives, we'll no longer need it | The Times Very good from @TimMontgomerie in today's Times (£) "By the time HS2 arrives, we'll no longer need it" http://thetim.es/18q6oqf The Gove guide to composition ...
Britain today lies in the grip of austerity. Welfare cuts, unemployment, a shrinking public sector and hostility to the poor are some of the aspects of this austerity. This period of economic difficulty is only the latest chapter in a...Read more ›
David Cameron has finally given in to his backbenchers and promised to introduce a tax break for married couples in the next few weeks. Even David Cameron does not really support the policy. As Iain Dale put it in a blog last week "David Cameron and George Osborne keep paying lip service to this idea in the vain hope that it will keep Peter Bone and Mrs Bone happy if somewhere at the end of the rainbow this promise is ever introduced, but the truth of the matter is that neither Prime Minister or Chancellor gives a monkey's cuss about ...
Episode 65 of the House of Comments podcast "The Spending Review Review" is out. This week myself and Emma Burnell are joined by Conservative liberal campaigning organisation Bright Blue's Kate Maltby to discuss the spending review and the related fortunes of the parties in its wake, the double dip that never was, royal spending, ministerial no shows and violent porn. 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 latest episode directly from here. Or you can listen to the embedded ...
My colleague Cllr Pat Moloney was so appalled at the dismal performance of Minister Esther McVey on the Today programme that he has tabled the attached resolution to the next meeting of the City Council. Lib Dems know that major ... Continue reading →
Julian presents the Discovering Cambridge certificate to Vivienne Watson at The Cambridge Toy Shop MP Julian Huppert found a treasure trove of children's toys when he visited the winner of this month's Discovering Cambridge competition. The Cambridge Toy Shop in Sussex Street opened in 2004 and is run by Vivienne Watson. She describes it as: "a truly fabulous shop offering a brilliant selection of toys for all ages and within a broad price range - from pocket money and party present prices to gifts for very special occasions." A loyalty card and deliveries by cycle courier are also available and ...
The LGA Liberal Democrat Group have announced the result of their electronic ballot of all LD councillors from member authorities. This is now their Group for 2013-2015. We'll post the full results (ie with votes) when we have them). Leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson Deputy Leader Dorothy Thornhill Chris White Group Chair Jill Shortland Group Whip Howard Sykes Children & Young People Liz Green Lead David Bellotti Peter Downes Sub Community Wellbeing Katie Hall Lead Jason Zadrozny Doreen Huddart Sub Culture, Tourism and Sport Flick Rea Lead Mike Bell Stewart Golton Sub Economy and Transport Heather Kidd Lead Roger Symonds Ian Stewart ...
Mon 1st
11:55
Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga - by Jo...
[IMG: Language Intelligence by Joseph Romm] This American book has a typically understated quote from an admirer on the cover: "This book changed my life". Will it change yours? That depends on whether or not you already know the basics about rhetoric. Joseph Romm's book is a good, easy to read introduction to standard rhetorical advice, such as the value of short words, the impact which repetition makes and the power of metaphors. If this is all new to you, it's a great book as it covers the basics clearly, making it easy for you to start thinking about how ...
Here are the five posts published on this blog between April and June 2013 that recorded the most hits: Curbing the welfare hate (6th April) Who is social housing for, and who should it be for? (10th April) Uncertain terrain: issues and challenges facing housing associations (11th May) Is a little economics dangerous? (2nd April) Universal Credit: Some observations on policy and politics (19th June) I was clearly on a bit of roll at the beginning of April! One thing that strikes me about this list is that all the posts apart from Curbing the welfare hate are links to ...
Today sees Croatia's accession as the 28th member of the European Union. Croatia joins Slovenia, of the former Yugoslavia, which acceded in 2004. [IMG: Some rights reserved by Fenners1984] We can sometimes forget in our arguments over EU budgets, CAP reform and the repatriation of powers, just what the bigger picture is. With this accession, the EU is serving to bolster democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in a part of Eastern Europe recently emerged from civil war. It is serving British interests by bringing Western influence to the East, in a manner which, had we been offered ...
Both Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS) failed in the private sector and had to be rescued by massive injections of government money.. So we, the public, now own 39% of Lloyds TSB and 81% of RBS. Astonishingly our government, rather than planning to do something constructive with the two banks we now, serendipitously, own, intend to return them to the private sector in which they failed.* Here are two suggestions: Our 39% holding in Lloyds TSB could well be used to introduce elements of commercial democracy, with employee, customer and community representation on the board, ...
I've been reading William Morris in the bath. A satisfying venue, I can tell you. Specifically, I've been reading his Dream of John Ball, written in 1888. Morris dreams that he has hurtled briefly back to the Peasants Revolt and encountered the preacher who inspired it, John Ball - and spent the night with him in a darkened church, surrounded by the bodies from the first brief encounter with the enemy, talking about the future. This is what he tells Ball about his own time: "Yea, friend," I said, "but in those latter days all power shall be in the ...
[IMG: Nick_Clegg_signature-1.png] Nick Clegg
Mark Pritchard: "A lot of MPs take a paycut [when they come in to Parliament] particularly on the Conservative benches" — PoliticsHome (@politicshome) July 1, 2013
[IMG: Richard Davis] This week saw MEPs, the European commission and national science ministers agree a deal on the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 for €70.2bn. This deal will make it easier to access funds with more emphasis being put on innovation as well as a dedicated instrument for small businesses. Since Ireland took over the presidency of the EU this year, economic growth has been their top priority and innovation and research is seen as one of the main drivers to create jobs and growth across Europe. Horizon 2020 is structured around 3 pillars: Excellence in science ...
Starfury Events Makes a "joke" about Colin Baker That'll be me not ever going to one of their conventions then. (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Age Concern Liverpool and Sefton are involved in a scheme which can provide free boilers for older people who own their own homes or who are in private rented accommodation. It's part of a system of Government rules which say that energy companies have to put something back by funding things like this. I've pasted below a press release about the scheme. It's a bit wordy but the contact details are at the end: Free Boilers to older people across Merseyside Liverpool Construction Company, Fletchrose, has teamed up with Age Concern Liverpool & Sefton to deliver a programme of free ...
This is a post which it is hard to write without using lots of planning jargon! In seeking to avoid it, I think I am going to sound like a Ladybird book, but here goes...... Wokingham Borough Council has to have a set of planning policies to say what it would prefer development to look like and where it wants it to go. A lot of those policies are in a document called "Managing Development Delivery", or the MDD for short. The MDD has to be crawled all over by a planning inspector to check it is in line with ...
The decision by both Labour and Liberal Democrats MPs to boycott a vote later this week on a private members bill, which will call for a referendum on membership of the European Community, was further justified today by an official House of Commons analysis that warned that the legislation, if passed could have little legal relevance as it could be ignored by a future government. In other words, what we have been saying all along, that a Parliament cannot bind its successors. The Telegraph says that the analysis concludes that it "would not appear possible to hold the referendum" without ...
Some more photographs from my walk around Derby on Saturday 29th June 2013 – this time focusing on redundant signs. Starting where yesterday's post left off at Laurie House, this is what little remains of the animated Rank Bowling sign which can be seen in the "This is Derby" film at around the 13 minute mark. [IMG: Rank Bowling - Laurie House] What's left of the animated Rank Bowling sign under Laurie House Just around the corner is the former Pennine Hotel, now the Metro Inn. What looks like a particularly unsuccessful attempt to remove the word "Pennine" from the ...
Mon 1st
08:45
Layla Moran writes... Child Detention still happens: Boy held at Campsfield for '2-3 months'
It is my belief that in a civilized society we should protect children. That they should not be punished for the actions of their parents or grandparents and that they should be given every chance of leading a fulfilled, healthy and normal childhood. And they most certainly should not be locked up without cause because of their family's decision either. [IMG: Celebrating the end of child detention with Citizens UK #LDConf] Photo: Helen Duffett on Flickr. Sadly for many years, this was not only true but also prevalent. Children who were here illegally were held in immigration deportation centres for ...
Well the answer is both yes and no. Clegg and Cameron were right to bring the Coalition Government together, of that I have no doubt despite my lifelong opposition to Conservatism. They were right because:- * the UK was teetering on the brink of economic collapse * a world recession was hitting hard * we had been spending and borrowing beyond our means for far too long * Labour had not only run out of steam they were responsible in no small measure for the state we were and presently still are in. But don't times change! Cameron, a slightly ...
Just two listed building consents this week: 131208: Listed building consent for replacement window, East Hill. 131263: Listed building consent for replacement signage, High Street. You can make a statement in favour or against any of these applications on the Council website, or if you want to discuss it further with one of your councillors then please contact me or my ward colleagues Bill Frame and Jo Hayes. Related PostsCastle Ward planning applications, up to 12th April Castle Ward planning applications, up to 5th April Castle Ward planning applications, up to 29th March Castle Ward planning applications, up to 22nd ...
Back in May, I had the pleasure of helping to choose the shortlist for the "Tree of Liberty" competition from projects submitted by teams of third year environmental design students at the University of Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. From the shortlist, the winners have now been chosen and the prizes went to the following students: Runners up - Craig Gilroy and Eilish Victoria for 'Red Ribbon Garden' (back right and front below) Winners - Nicole Tennant and Min Hee for 'Infinite Freedom' (back middle and back left below)The winning design is now being drawn up professionally by ...
This photograph by Alexander Wilson shows the junction of Dundee's West Port (leading westwards to the left) with the Brown Street, which ran northwards to Lochee Road. The Great Northern public house, owned by David Mackie, is listed as No. 2 North Tay Street and No. 1 West Port. The West End Clothing and Hat Co., owned by Joseph Hynd, was Nos. 5-7, and William Mather, pastrybaker, was No. 9. The general dealer at No. 6 North Tay Street was Samuel Ronder, the loan office was most likely Elizabeth O'Farrell, a pawnbroker, at No. 14. Dundee Royal Infirmary can just ...
This week, and much to the surprise of many political commentators in Wales, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and I held a joint press conference announcing that we are to join forces to negotiate with the Welsh Labour Government on next year's budget settlement. In the National Assembly, the Welsh Government has exactly half of the Assembly Members. Therefore, each year the Welsh Government needs the support of at least one of the opposition parties to pass their annual budget. In the past, this has given the Welsh Government the opportunity to encourage opposition parties to compete against each other ...
In exactly a year's time I'll be crossing the Atlantic for the last time. My original intention for this blog was that it should be about Canada, but since my own interest in this country was exhausted after about six months, my blogging on my temporary domicile has mostly been limited to railing against its [...]
