Our series on the precautionary principle has revealed some important lines of debate Precaution, like any policy idea, means little until we give it substance. Of course we should take precautions. Of course we should be cautious. The questions, as ever, relate to how, when and who. The three blog posts so far this week on precaution, from Andy Stirling, Tracey Brown and Steve Fuller, have opened up some of the lines of debate. Andy Stirling began by describing the thinking behind the precautionary principle - the idea that we should emphasise uncertainty rather than risk and shift the burden ...
There has been another major step towards equality tonight, as the Lords report stage of the equal marriage bill was completed. This means that the historic piece of equalities legislation is now just one vote away from becoming law. That vote will be held in the House of Lords on Monday, when the Bill receives ...
Norman Baker, the transport minister, was in Rutland today to carry out the official launch of the Shorelink bus service. This has been running around the shores of Rutland Water for a few weeks now and I intend to use it myself one day soon. The photo is borrowed from the Department for Transport's Twitter feed. There are more from today's event on Martin Brookes's Facebook page.
I was off down to the Pier this morning to meet journalists who wanted to know of the situation. Yesterday, after a routine inspection, cracks were noted in the structure. As a result the council took the precaution of stopping the tram trundling up and down until after a survey had been undertaken. That inspection was underway whilst I was there. I hope to have news soon. It was good to see so many people of all ages enjoying the Pier. There was a big school party from Leigh, lots pensions and a goodly sprinkling of pre school children and ...
I've had many requests for imformation about the Pier. The up to date position as I understand it is outlined below. I will post more as I get it. I received this report earlier this evening: Just to advise that following identification of the problem as part of a routine inspection, a full survey of the pier has found that 14no cast iron columns have been affected by vertical splits. Our consultants are considering the cause of the splits and will advise tomorrow. Around 11 of the columns affected are clustered a significant distance out. As a result, on our ...
Imagine, if you can bear it, that you're Ed Milliband. You inherited a party that had reclaimed its sense of moral purpose, however misguided, in opposition to cuts to a managerial state that it had spent thirteen years building, a state that provided many benefits and services to a population grown accustomed to its largesse. [...]
There is something about Michael Gove's appearance and views of education that puts you in mind of a chaplain at a dodgy prep school. Which makes it appropriate that he played just such a part in the 1994 film A Feast at Midnight.
I've been extremely unwell for a few days, so haven't been able to update here as much as I'd like. Hopefully the next few days will have more new content. That said, I've been thinking about my idea for Kickstartering my music books. I'm not going to do the Nilsson one — at least not [...]
[IMG: GMB] Plans to change the way union members donate to Labour could "end rather than mend" relations, says the leader of the UK's third largest union, the GMB. Paul Kenny told the BBC that Labour leader Ed Miliband's "bold move" was "as close as you can get" to ending the link between Labour and the unions. He predicted a fall in Labour funding. Mr Miliband wants union members to have to actively opt in to join Labour, rather than being automatically affiliated as part of union membership. Mr Kenny said the move could see a 90% drop in the ...
Are you a fan of kerning? Are all your letters running together? Do you want your documents in LibreOffice to look normal again? Try turning off hardware acceleration: Tools -> Options -> View -> Use hardware acceleration. Brought to you by the handy department of readable text.
Wed 10th
19:00
Income inequality at its lowest since 1986 - a good result for the Liberal Democrats in Government?
The Office of National Statistics has released information showing that income inequality is at its lowest rate since 1986. From the BBC: The largest fall during this period was a 6.8% drop for the richest fifth of households. They still had an average income, before tax and benefits, of £78,000 in 2011-12. This was 14 times greater than the poorest fifth of households, who had an average income of £5,400. However, this group has seen their average income rise by 6.9% since the economic downturn. After all taxes and benefits were taken into account, the top fifth of households had ...
Wed 10th
18:31
A few random events – Maghull Council meeting cancelled, thoughts for Library staff & what...
I got a call this morning to tell me that the Maghull Town Council meeting due to be held tonight was to be cancelled due to the Acting Town Clerk being unavailable due to illness. I can't recall a meeting being cancelled before because of officer illness in all my years as a Maghull Town Councillor but let's hope that our Acting Town Clerk is well soon. Tomorrow is the day, I am told, when Sefton's Library staff will find out the employment consequences of the Labour run Council's Library closure programme. I came across many helpful friendly library staff ...
[IMG: Labour Party Red Rose logo] I've mentioned the attack on UNITE's "autocratic monopoly" from a London Labour activist, and the way another Labour councillor and cabinet member has condemned Ed Miliband's union reform plans as "panicky". Now another complaint has sprung up from within Labour's ranks: Ed Miliband today faced calls to rerun the London contest to select Labour candidates for European elections after it was branded a union "stitch-up". As Labour's crisis deepened, officials from the Unite and GMB unions were accused of blocking strong party contenders to clear the way for their own preferred candidates... London activist ...
I have no way of knowing whether today's report in the Independent – about English MPs' role in the House of Commons – is accurate, since it is evidently a leak from those in the Conservative Party who are clearly seeking to demote those who represent Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland constituencies. What I do know is that the remit of the McKay Commission concentrated solely on the mechanics of the Commons. When I and my colleague Lord Marks gave evidence we pointed out that any constraint on the role and responsibilities of MPs would have implications for our House ...
The Tory "perception management" machine has scored another triumph by diverting the odium of questionable party funding and consequent influence from themselves to Labour. I cannot see anything particularly terrible in the Unite union trying to encourage its members to sign up individually to the Labour Party and influence the selection of a candidate. Yes, the payment of the membership fees by a single cheque sounds a bit "iffy" but, as Chris Hitchins's father apparently used to say : "Worse thing s happen in big ships." When we ask ourselves what actual connection David Miliband had with South Shields, Ed ...
Wed 10th
16:14Wanted: Liberal Youth Regional Chairs, English Council Reps and Conference Committee members
After a lively and successful Activate weekend, which included campaigning in the Fitzherbert ward in Abingdon, gained in a by-election last week, Liberal Youth are looking for some more people to complete their team. Full details are on their website. First of all, there are some places up for election – and I, as Returning Officer, thought it would be good to spread the word a bit further. Regional Chairs for North East and South Central regions Regional Chairs are responsible for organising and assisting local Liberal Youth branches in their region and working directly with the Lib Dem regional ...
We'd like to thank the organisers of Gatley Festival and everyone who got involved to make it another great success. The weather helped the Festival hold off stiff competition in the form of tennis history being made (the tennis was showing in the Scout Hut, and I've never seen it so busy). I did manage to take a few fairly mediocre photos, but far better is this video of the Parade and Fun Day taken by Derek Brennan. Enjoy!
It's hard to get away from them in Consett just now. So this is to update you on some progress. The issue with the blocked drains at the end of Ashdale should be resolved as following a partial collapse of the carriageway remedial work has been carried out. [IMG: Overflowing manhole] Meanwhile, down at the bottom of the cemetery the overflowing manhole which has been flooding over the Derwent Walk and flowing across the entrance to The Links Estate has been partially cleared – but only to uncover serious infestation with tree roots so that is currently on the jobs ...
As a Lib Dem, I obviously write as neither a Labour party member nor supporter, but I was genuinely stirred by Ed Miliband's speech at the St Bride Foundation yesterday. It was bold, gutsy and liberal minded - qualities the Labour leader's critics often accuse him of lacking. The announcement that Ed will push forward plans to change the current arrangements in which all union members across the country are automatically affiliated with the Labour party, to one in which union members will have to voluntarily opt in to Labour affiliation, was brave to say the least. It potentially throws ...
Today Vince Cable announced, to no surprise whatsoever, that the Royal Mail is to be privatised. Key points This does not affect the Post Office – although options on mutualisation will be considered. No Post Offices will close. A majority stake will be floated on the stock exchange The 6 day a week flat rate service is set in stone. 10% of shares available for employees, free to the employee, to either give them a cash windfall or a say in how the company is run. Why privatise? Under public ownership there is simply not the freedom to raise capital ...
A new report from the Office for National Statistics shows that Liberal Democrats tax policies are starting to have the desired impact on income inequality. In Government, Liberal Democrats have been working hard to build a stronger economy in a fairer society even while we have had to make difficult decisions to bring the deficit down. Today's figures show that our manifesto pledge to take the poorest out of tax and give millions of low-earners a £700 tax cut is making Britain a fairer place. We know that over a million workers in Wales have seen the benefits of an ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke's dirty YouTube tactics | Culture | guardian.co.uk The Gdn's poe-faced moralism re explicit Timberlake & Thicke vids wd hv more credibility if it hadn't embedded JT's http://bit.ly/12WCSEP How the Miliband reforms may give even more power to the unions | Westminster blog Not may, will. Trade unions have reason to smile » How the Miliband reforms may give even more power to the unions http://on.ft.com/1aWxDtD Miliband recasts Labour relationship with unions | Storytracker | PoliticsHome "The current status quo isn't acceptable" says Len McCluskey. Worse than the ...
A quick note, ladies and gentlemen, about how you can join in our campaign to save Elms Field from being built on by the Tories. This is the second such campaign. The first time was in 2007. The Tories claimed the silent majority was on their side then too. It was nonsense then and it's nonsense now. You can read about our campaign here: http://www.getreading.co.uk/all-about/wokingham And you can sign our online petition here: http://tinyurl.com/SaveElmsField And if you would like a hard copy petition form so you can get your friends and neighbours to sign, send me an email or comment ...
[IMG: Julian Huppert, Lib Dem PPC for Cambridge] You would think, wouldn't you, that when an MP presents a bill on such a serious subject as protecting people from sexual assault, the House of Commons would act in a grown up fashion? After all, the shouting and jeering is all for the pantomime of PMQs, and the rest of the time people behave like cuddly teddy bears, don't they? Let me take you back to 21st October 2008, when Willie Rennie introduced his Bill (which eventually became law) enabling driving instructors to be suspended from the Register if they were ...
Reblogged from : I had an interesting meeting last week with George Thomson, the general secretary of the National Union of Subpostmasters to discuss what steps would need to be taken to create a viable network of post offices if Post ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Twitter - ITVLauraK - ONS stats] [IMG: Twitter - ITVLauraK - income inequality] The other figure – or rather long-term trend – that rather caught my eye was on the effective tax rate which people pay. This calculation takes into account both direct and indirect taxes and has been on a long-term downward trend since the early 1980s. Although it's picked up a bit in the last couple of years, the effective tax rate is at levels last seen in the early 1970s. That's very much at odds with a lot of the rhetoric about tax burdens. [IMG: ONS ...
I've been thinking this week, about being a Londoner. I wasn't born there, and I no longer live there, but I experienced a weird feeling of being home when I stepped off my coach at Victoria on Saturday. I first declared that city my second home half a decade ago, and it feels like nothing and everything has changed. I was so engrossed in my book that I hadn't noticed our pace slow as we left the motorway, and I looked up and out of the window somewhere near Finsbury Park, and seeing a familiar red bus, and roundels everywhere, ...
Wed 10th
11:55Opinion: 20 years of going nowhere, Liberal Democrat gender balance in council elections
Twenty years of progress, followed by twenty years of stalling. That's the overall picture of Liberal Democrat (and before that Alliance / Liberal Party) progress towards gender equality at local government elections, whether measured in terms of candidates or people elected. Looking at local elections in England, a mere 20% of the Liberal Party's candidates were female in 1973 and the figure was even lower, 18%, amongst those elected. By 1991 both figures had risen to 34%. Since then, however, the figures have bounced up and down around a long-term flat trend, with both hitting 30% in the latest figures ...
[IMG: Steve Jobs] Back in the days of telephones that were plugged into walls and phone books that were multi-volume printed affairs, each time the new London phone book* came out there was a few moments of fun to be had looking at the start of the As to see what unusual names people had adopted in an attempt to appear right up front. Mr Aaron-Aardvark was always my favourite. Such naming tricks were also popular for some businesses, especially minicabs where the Yellow Pages used to be stuffed full of AAA1 Minicabs and the like. It was search optimisation ...
Congratulations to my colleague Tony Robertson. There is no higher accolade amongst Lib Dem bloggers than to be mentioned in one of Liberal England's 'Six of the Best' . This prize does nor result from some crude digitalised calculation as with The Golden Dozen ,but is an exercise of judgement and discernment on Lord Bonker's part. Take a look at Tony's posting that caught his Lordship's eye
I've just read through Richard Grayson's apologia for leaving the Lib Dems on the Compass website, and feel sad about it. It hardly needs saying that I don't think he is right, but I've known Richard and enjoyed sharing a committee table with him for so long now that I can't remember when I first met him - but I think it was 1997. I remember having a cup of tea with him for the first time when he was running the Centre for Reform, as it was then, in the wonderful Tevere cafe, since unfortunately gone the way of ...
Statistics don't vote - should we care if they are abused? Statistics are essential to our wellbeing and the bane of our future. We need numbers to understand what is happening in our world. Yet day after day, they end up abused in our media, distorted by our political leaders and muddled in our heads Yesterday the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) published a cute survey that looks at the difference between statistical perceptions and reality. Let's look first at those people who are satisfied with their experience of local council services. That's 38% of us. This is not great applause, ...
public perception at odds with reality shocker the royal statistical society had commissioned some research which provides evidence for what most of us in politics already knew. (tags: ) UK Government Surveillance Faces Legal Challenge.. In Secret Court http://t.co/FxsUDpmNKa (tags: (from twitter) ) posted The Blood is The Life 09-07-2013 http://t.co/1mTw40uRnN on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Doctor Who at Lakeland I suspect nobody in our household would object to receiving bakery goods in a Doctor Who stylee (tags: ) Farewell Comrade Grayson | Digital Politico "This reveals the lack of logic at the heart of the ...
Episode 66 of the House of Comments podcast "Falkirk Fallout" is out. This week myself and Emma Burnell are joined by Liberal Conspiracy's Sunny Hundal to discuss the fallout from the Falkirk selection debacle, how Ed Miliband's proposals to respond to this might affect the future of the Labour Party and the further recent discussions about an EU referendum. 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 episode ...
'Connected councillors - a guide to using social media to support local leadership' doesn't sound like the most exciting read in the world and, indeed, it isn't likely to be hugely sought after by the populace. However, it has suddenly become interesting, not because I have an urge to be difficult, but because I want to be absolutely sure that, as a parish councillor, I don't do anything stupid. But, having given some thought to my parish council's new social media policy, I wanted to know more about the background to such documents. My first thought was to visit my ...
At Cheadle Area Committee on Tuesday, councillors voted to adopt the options for improving Cheadle village centre that had been supported by residents in the recent consultation. The plans were drawn up following a consultation with over 3,000 businesses and households around the centre, along with surveys of traffic and pedestrian flows. [IMG: The crawl through Cheadle in the 1960s] The crawl through Cheadle in the 1960s We're really pleased to see this, and we'd like to thank everyone who got involved. Strategy As with most similar places, Cheadle has a problem bringing together people's desire to drive through the ...
If you are the sort of idiot who would intimidate a mother on a train, telling her to go and feed her baby in the toilet, watch this and get over your ignorance. I hope the tearoom manager who screamed across the room at me to "stop doing that in case a man came in and got embarrassed" watches it too.The irony is that she had The Sun newspaper on hand for her customers to read, so it was fine for someone to show the naked breasts on Page 3 around the place, but not to look at the back ...
Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP, writes a regular column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition. Wimbledon First of all I want to say a huge congratulations to Andy Murray for winning Wimbledon last weekend – the first British man to do so since 1936. It was a fantastic match and as Scots and Brits we can be extremely proud of his achievement. Queen's visit to Abbotsford It was a great honour to attend the official re-opening of Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott, by Her Majesty the Queen last ...
Very desperate seems to be the answer as yesterday I was handed a personalised letter that had been sent to a Maghull North Ward resident from the Labour MP for Sefton Central and a real old rant it is too. Why it was even ranting enough to have been penned by an angry Unite official! Obviously, similar letters are doing the rounds across Maghull and each one will have outlandish statements in them. How about the desperate claim of Labour that we Lib Dems are privately happy to build on the Green Belt? Where on earth did they get this ...
It's now two years since the Conservative-run county council starting turning off most residential roads street lights at midnight. Readers will know that Liberal Democrat councillors fought against this ill thought out policy that allowed for no local decision making or variation of policy despite the Conservatives pledge to believe in "localism". At the last two years budget meetings we have proposed funding to turn lights back on and also pressed for an early review. The Conservatives promised one this summer having voted down our budget plans. Now the long awaited review will take place, first at the Highways and ...
Tuesday's Cheadle Area Committee recommended the Barnes Hospital development for approval, with the final decision to be made by Stockport's Planning and Highways Committee later this month. The challenge has always been to save the fanstastic listed Barnes Hospital building. If someone just converted the building into flats, they'd never get their money back (it just costs too much to do it). So various plans have come forward over the years to convert the hospital building and add "enabling development" – houses and apartments which are cheaper to build and so, overall, make the scheme stack up financially. Barnes Hospital ...
There was overwhelming cross party support among Cornwall councillors at yesterday's meeting for a motion opposing plans from the Home Secretary to hand control of the fire and rescue service to the Devon and Cornwall Police Commissioner. The principle reason for this opposition was the loss of local control. Cornwall's fire service is unique. It is built around our towns and villages and in response to the needs of each town. There was a significant fear that moving control to Exeter would lose this tailored approach and also result in cuts to our brigade in order to support the less ...
Wed 10th
07:25
"Looks panicky": what top Labour Islington councillor thinks of Ed Miliband's union reform plans
The controversies over UNITE's influence in Labour selections started in Falkirk but, stoked by a leading Labour member in London attacking UNITE's "autocratic monopoly", naming selections in Haringey and Lewisham, the story has spread rather wider. Labour Islington Council Leader Catherine West, a UNITE member and personally congratulated by its leader on her selection, is one of the people whose selection is under fire as a result. Perhaps not a huge surprise then that it looks like her Islington colleagues don't want to see the sort of rules that benefited her changed, judging by this tweet from Islington Labour cabinet ...
Has the time come for a 'proactionary principle', as a foil to the power and problems of precaution? What is the most prominent science-based principle that influences international law today? The answer is undoubtedly the precautionary principle, which aims to promote only those policies whose likelihood of harm to both target and collateral populations is relatively small. The principle is "scientific" insofar as it invites scepticism towards ambitious claims, typically about proposed innovations, which are sufficiently uncertain that their worst outcomes would be catastrophic and possibly irreversible. Thus, applications of the precautionary principle tend to be accompanied by "risk assessment" ...
A final photograph in this short series shows Perth Road at St Peter Street. You can see many more photographs of Dundee's rich history on the City Council's excellent Photopolis site. It shows the north side of Perth Road running eastwards to the right towards the city centre, with St Peter Street leading north to the left. Alexander Sutton, The West End Supply Stores, was at No. 121 Perth Street. Notice the peculiar barrow in St Peter Street. Sutton lived at No. 4 Gowrie Street. The confectioner at No. 199 was David Kermack. No. 117 was George Pickles' West End ...
A letter from consultants at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor concludes that they have lost confidence in their local health board and that the internal structures are "not fit for purpose". The letter paints a picture of the Health Board being in utter chaos. It is of utmost importance that the Health Minister responds to these claims with urgency. The people of North Wales deserve a health service that is fit for purpose If NHS staff have been told to keep their concerns about patient safety quiet, then it is essential this is to be looked at immediately. NHS staff should ...
Nobody in the music business polarises opinion like Mike Love. To some he's the essential element in the Beach Boys' success — the nasal-voiced singer of their biggest hits, "Mr Positivity", the hardest working man in showbiz. To others, he's the evil monster who killed Smile, the reason for the Beach Boys' descent into artistic [...]
