Today something happened that I genuinely did not believe I would live to see. A British man won the singles title at Wimbledon. I can remember a time in the late 1960s when Mark Cox and Graham Stilwell could beat a lot of top players on their day. In 1973, when most of the best players were not playing, Roger Taylor got to the semi-finals. And Cox was still around to play doubles in the late 1970s when John Lloyd and Buster Mottram took us to the David Cup final. (Imagine that now!) But we never really looked like have ...
In honour of Andy Murray's fantastic, superb win at Wimbledon today, I have changed my header image from my normal image of Newbury, Berkshire to one of Dunblane, Stirlingshire. (Dunblane, is, of course, Andy Murray's home town). Image from Flickr, some rights reserved by janetmck [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. 1. Grass Cutting Petition Thank you to everyone who has signed this petition. My colleagues Stan Heptinstall and Jacky Williams will be presenting the petition to the County Council at their meeting on 11th July 2013. At the Bramcote CAT meeting last week the County Council did attend and accepted that something had gone wrong, but significantly they would not ...
Today was the 7th day of the 7th month. It was 77 years on from the last time a British man had won the singles at Wimbledon. It was 1977 that a Brit, Virginia Wade, last won a senior singles title at Wimbledon. I was the 7th time that Andy Murray was contesting a Grand Slam Final. He was however, trying to prevent his friend who is just 7 days younger from winning his 7th Grand Slam title (he has four Australian Open, one each in the US and Wimbledon). Oh and he had only lost 7 singles games in ...
Harriet Harman apparently told the Andrew Marr show that the problems in their Falkirk branch were a 'one-off' and 'played down suggestions that the problems went wider than Falkirk.' So why then have the Labour Party taken into 'special measures' (in effect suspension) at least 14 constituency parties? Many of these are also in the process of selecting parliamentary candidates. The Labour List blog describes the process as a 'Kafkaesque farce'. The 14 parties are: Bethnal Green and BowPoplar and LimehouseBrentford & IsleworthEaling SouthallFalkirk WestFeltham & HestonOldham East and SaddleworthOldham West and RoytonBirmingham Hall GreenBirmingham Hodge HillBirmingham LadywoodBirmingham Perry BarrWarleySlough ...
This Bible, which is displayed in York Minsters' newly refurbished undercroft; has translations in Syriac, Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin. It is a beautiful and fascinating thing to study. York, 07/07/2013.
British winners of the men's title at Wimbledon only ever happen when there is a Conservative Prime Minister leading a coalition government...
I switched on the radio this morning as I went into the kitchen to get some breakfast ( a pair of Port Lancaster smokehouse kippers) to be greeted by a choir singing Benjamin Britten's Jubilate Deo, and a joyful song it was. (you can hear this morning's version on iplayer hear at 19mins 05secs) Then I was off to the Civic Service at St Francis of Assisi at Kew. I was met by the Mayor Maureen Fearn (Lib Dem, Kew Ward) who had arrived in her new mayoral car the 100% electric Nissan Leaf Car The service was conducted by ...
Let's hope next Sunday is as sunny as this one for Middle Street's musical explosion. Here's the programme for Sunday 14th July 2013 between 12pm and 4pm on Middle Street, Consett. Performances (Stage) 12.00pm Pauline Cook School of Dance 12.10pm Heart of Kings Rap Group 12.20pm The Puppets 12.35pm Open mic Session 12.50pm Ebchester Spirit Drummers 1.05pm CBS Musical and Stage Society 1.25pm Pauline Cook School of Dance 1.35pm Media Junkies Band 2.35pm Spotlight Community Theatre 3.00pm The Dust Town Dogs Band 4.00pm Event Close Workshops (Gazebo) 12.15pm Learn how to 'hip hop' – dance workshop 12.40pm Become a puppet ...
I've been off-line for a family graduation & wedding. Despite the marvels of modern communication they just don't work so well for this blog as the local grapevine, so I'm pleased to be back and online again – at least until the annual summer break when the council closes down and so does this blog.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 333rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (30 June-6 July, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Is Tom ...
"Equality is not the same as sameness" was the arrogant war-cry of the Apartheid regime and, shamefully, now of Liberal Democrat Queen Mum-equivalent Baroness Shirley Williams. Reports by Pink News and Lib Dem Voice of grandstanding homophobic action are finally bringing into the open the nasty side of her that many of us have had personal experience of over the years. There are many things to admire about Shirley Williams, but her 'commitment to equality' isn't one of them. It's an extremely narrow one: proposing only her own programme of equality for women; and only the 'right sort' of women. ...
During prohibition in the USA in the 1920s many people were poisoned and died due to alcohol that had been produced in sub-optimal conditions and in some cases had been adulterated with various chemicals. It was an obvious consequence of the fact that the trade in a substance that millions of people wanted had been driven underground. People like to describe this sort of thing as an "unintended consequence". Their argument is that they are trying to stop the trade in substances they have decided to outlaw and that they do not intend people to die as a result. In ...
I have mentioned the long wait for a British Wimbledon champion in this blog many times. I also mentioned last December how 2012 was surely the greatest year for British sport and that it will surely never be repeated. Well this weekend, Andy Murray's spell-binding straight sets final win followed barely 24 hours after a famous Lions Test Series win in Australia. After a 77 year-long wait since Fred Perry's win in 1936, I suppose we couldn't begrudge a few more minutes of delay when Andy failed to convert his first 3 Championship points and then had to fight off ...
Derby doesn't have a wealth of great public art, so when I went for my walk around the city at the end of June I was relieved to find that the Boy and Ram statue is in good condition and in a rather pleasant setting in the Riverside Gardens. Created by Wilfred Dudeney, the statue was unveiled in 1963 and originally sited in the Castlefields Main Centre until it was demolished a few years ago to make way for the Westfield Centre. The Derby Ram folk song suggests it should be somewhat larger in size than the statue depicts! [IMG: ...
[IMG: Andy Murray] This afternoon, I heard some information on the BBC wireless as I entered Newbury after a long journey from Cornwall. I took a detour to the Granary car park, walked calmly to the centre of Newbury's Market Place and went utterly bloody ballistic. Yooooooooooohoooooooo! - was the gist of what I screamed as I stood arms aloft, and then ran along, attracting some uncomfortable looks from pub and restaurant clientelle. I then returned calmly to my car and paid double the asking rate for three minutes of car parking. West Berkshire Council are welcome to it. It ...
There are many a red line for Lib Dems, and we have had our share of swallowing hard during the past 3 years. I have never been a fan of the co-alition, and I remain so. This weekend a couple of announcements from Shirley Williams has made me even more angry than usual at the Party's stance on issues. 1) On the NHS - she is suggesting charges for GP visits and prescription charges for pensioners (if the situation in the NHS worsens) and 2) she has tabled amendments to the same sex marriage bill. 1) http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/publications/nhs-65 2) So ...
There's no doubt Shirley Williams has many admirable qualities. For example, her passionate belief in free-at-the-point-of-use health-care, her passionate defence of excellent education for all, and her quite staggering propensity for appearing on BBC1′s Question Time. But even the best of us err. First, there was her casual dismissal of sexual harrassment ("we have got somewhat obsessed about getting very exaggerated reactions to what is silly and impolite and discourteous behaviour"). And now there's her attempt to de-rail same-sex marriage legislation. As PinkNews reports: Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Williams has tabled a new amendment urging for a legal separation between ...
The Liberal Democrats celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary this year. Watch the film and see some glimpses from our history. Today the Liberal Democrats are working for a stronger economy in a fairer society enabling every person to get on in ... Continue reading →
I doubt that any member of the Rolling Stones needs the money, so thank you for continuing to entertain the public and still being at the top of their game after 50 years. I can't think of any performers of the Stones vintage that could appeal to young'uns through to pensioners in the way they can. It's only the second time I've had the privilege, my only regret, not being able to secure more than two tickets, as clearly for many this was a family event with grandparents throu to grandchildren. Going off on a tangent I had this thought, ...
Many thanks to the 10,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... ++++Breaking News: Liberal Democrats gain Abingdon & Broadland seats from the Tories (26 comments) by Caron Lindsay Evan Harris writes... Speak out against the marriage tax allowance (34) by Evan Harris Nick Clegg's Letter from the Leader: "Our central purpose: Getting the economy back on track" (62) by Stephen Tall Opinion: Where is the Liberal Democrat influence over drugs policy? (10) by Adam Corlett Norman Baker MP writes... Peter Mandelson is wrong: HS2 is vital (35) by Norman Baker MP Opinion: ...
Was the Pet Shop Boys' single Absolutely Fabulous spoofing Culture Beat's Mr Vain (or 'homaging', or outright nicking)? I doubt I've given a thought to the massive Eurodance hit - Europe's biggest-seller of 1993, Wikipedia tells me - for twenty years, but suddenly hearing it again the other day I thought, 'Isn't that the Pet Shop Boys?' But no: Mr Vain was released in April 1993 and PSB's Comic Relief single a year later, with a slightly sharper but essentially identical synth riff. Surely a 'Mrs Vain' comment on Eddy and Patsy along with all Jennifer Saunders' spoken pop references ...
I heard the local band The Sea Above play a good cover of this at Foxton Locks last Saturday and have had it on the brain all week.
Ed Miliband won the Labour leadership by gaining the support of the unions. And you don't win that support without giving the impression that you are against pluralism in politics. Now the excesses of Unite are filling the newspapers and Ed Miliband is suffering. It would take a heart of stone no to laugh.
Not that there was ever any doubt, but the process has been done and Lynne Featherstone has been reselected to stand for Hornsey and Wood Green at the 2015. She said on her website that she was delighted at the decision: I am simply delighted by the confidence the local Liberal Democrat members have shown in me. It was a fantastic evening, and I'd like to thank the members, the local party, and fellow Lib Dem MP Ed Davey for making such a great speech. It was also so special to have my political heroine, Baroness Shirley Williams, in attendance ...
So Abu Qatada is back in Jordan, to widespread rejoicing in Britain. But one thing puzzles me... For years we have been told that Abu Qatada is "a fanatic who, everyone seems to agree, is hell bent on destroying our way of life". Yet at no point in his nearly 20 years in Britain did he do anything that meant he could be charged and convicted of a crime in a British court. How was this possible?
Further information from the district council What is an asset? An asset can be either a building or piece of land which is considered to have community value if: the use of the land or building currently, or in the recent past, contributes to the social well-being or cultural, recreational or sporting interests of the local community this use (as described above) of the building will continue to further the social well-being or interests of the local community the use of the building or land must not be deemed 'ancillary', i.e. of secondary purpose. This means that the use of ...
So Charles Saachi is divorcing Nigella Lawson because she hasn't come forward to defend him after he was photographed violently assaulting her in public1. How does he let her know he is divorcing her? By printing an article in the Fail on Sunday. If Charles Saachi wants to stop people speculating that he is a domestic abuser, this is REALLY not the way to go about it. I haven't read the article in the Fail because I refuse to give them my clicks, but just the extracts in the Torygraph2 article linked above reek of the sort of entitled and ...
posted Last Day For Sponsoring Me in the Race For Life http://t.co/b0a2Wd2nmT on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) posted The Blood is The Life 06-07-2013 http://t.co/XdOjHMoXza on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) When domestic abusers wield family finances as a weapon of choice | Money | The Guardian Eurgh. Universal credit. (tags: ) I've #justsponsored Bradford Batman's page on @JustGiving. Support them and BCFC Burns Unit Appeal @ http://t.co/DTzbRVYK8x (tags: (from twitter) justsponsored ) Free Justin Carter Now | National Review Online (tags: ) If Films Were Reviewed Like Video Games (tags: ) Lib Dem ...
I'm heading off for Devon today, to Dartington and the Ways With Words Festival - and with some trepidation. This is the first time I have dared to articulate my thesis about the middle classes in public since the publication of my book Broke: Who Killed the Middle Classes? at the beginning of May. Since then, there has been huge publicity - not all of it very polite. My favourite among the emails I received culminated in this peroration: "Instead you defer to your sad obsession with class, and in fact your boo-hoo story about the nouveau-pauvre middle class will ...
You could not make it up. The Observer reports today that: The government has refused to publish risk assessments of danger to the public during England's imminent night-time badger shoots because doing so "could have an adverse affect upon the health and safety of the public" I think that just about sums up this whole sorry policy.
The council is about to close Combe Hay Lane in the middle opposite St. Gregory's main building. As part of these proposals there will be no left turn into Sulis Manor Road. We support this proposal as it will stop cars coming out on to the Wellsway and turning right, and those few people that have used as a rat run going the wrong way down Combe Hay Lane.
Today's Observer leads on the Army coup in Egypt with the following sentence: Tony Blair says the Egyptian army had no alternative but to oust President Morsi from power, given the strength of opposition on the streets. Funny, he never said that when millions of ordinary Britons took to the streets to protest against the Iraq war.
Sun 7th
09:15
Would-be Labour candidate attacks Unite's "autocratic monopoly" and role in Lewisham and Haringey se...
Last night a would-be Labour Parliamentary candidate, who contested the Hornsey & Wood Green selection, hit out on Twitter at the "autocratic monopoly" produced by Unite's influence on selections. Mandy Richards singled out selections in Hornsey & Wood Green and Lewisham, arguing that they have not been getting the media attention they deserve and that Unite's influence is blocking a "progressive Labour agenda". [IMG: Twitter - Mandy4PPC_2015- complaint about Unite] [IMG: Twitter - Mandy4PPC_2015- Unite autrocratic monopoly] In Hornsey & Wood Green the selection was won by Unite member Catherine West, who was personally congratulated by Unite's Len McCluskey on ...
As an update we have received this email from the council. I have checked the Index which lists all Traffic Orders for Double Yellow Line markings around B&NES. There was an order for Double Yellow Line markings to be placed around the junction of Bloomfield Drive and Frome Road in mid-2011. For some reason these markings have never been painted on site. I have therefore arranged with Atkins our
Sun 7th
08:45Miliband vs McCluskey: 2 points that strike me about the Labour/Unite row over alleged candidate sel...
Looking in from the outside, albeit as a former Labour member myself, two points strike me about the Labour/Unite row over the alleged attempt by the union to rig the selection of the party's general election candidate in Falkirk. What's the opposite of nominative determinism? Asking on behalf of Unite. — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) July 5, 2013 The first is this: How lucky is Ed Miliband in his opponent, Len McCluskey? Yes, you read that right. Ed is lucky in Len. The reason why is simple: Len McCluskey has gone about his attempted putsch of Labour in an extraordinarily cack-handed ...
Well it seems so according to yet more leaks from the beleaguered Sefton Central Constituency Labour Party, who presently lurch from one internal crisis to the next. Bill Esterson parachuted in to fight the newly created Parliamentary seat for Labour all the way from Kent, where he was a local councillor in Medway, just a few months prior to the last General Election. Having won the seat handsomely in 2010 and held all before him for a good two and a half years suddenly the wheels have started to come off in recent months, as my previous postings have detailed ...
130939: Demolition of existing building and erection of new residential properties, Priory Street. 131224: Advertisement consent for new signage, Culver Square. 131258: Listed building consent for external refurbishment, East Hill. 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 19th April Castle Ward planning applications, up to 12th April Castle Ward planning applications, up to 5th April Castle Ward ...
As part of the celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Liberal Democrats, the party has produced a lively short film, including a tactfully brief mention of the idea that it might be called the Democrats. Mostly the talking heads are Lib Dem party leaders. The one non-party leader who gets a special mention for their work in the film? Lynne Featherstone and same-sex marriage. Also on YouTube here. For more on what the party believes, see my Liberal Democrat beliefs infographic.
Twenty-five years ago this month Paddy Ashdown was elected the first leader of the Liberal Democrats. Our party, born from the merger of the Liberal Party and the SDP, was just three months old and was already being written off by many. But thanks to the dedication of our members and supporters, the vision and skills of leaders like Paddy, Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell, we have grown into a party of government. I'd like to share a short video with you which tells this amazing story. We also held an anniversary ball this week – attended by members and ...
Ancrum Road Public School, Dundee
Attempts by UKIP Leader, Nigel Farage to modernise his party's approach to devolution in advance of the Ynys Mon by-election have been quickly undermined by UKIP's Welsh MEP, John Bufton. According to the Western Mail, Mr. Bufton has rejected Farage's views and suggested that a new party could be formed to continue the previous policy of abolishing the Welsh Assembly if UKIP changes it view: Mr Bufton said in a television interview: "Well, I'm part of the old school. I've been opposed to the Assembly from its inception and remain so. "If the party changes its policy, which I think ...
