Now admittedly, this isn't a programme I'd go out of my way to watch, but an old friend of mine was one of the 25 young people in the BBC documentary last night. For anybody who didn't see the show, it was a documentary surrounding Mental Health disorders within young people, an issue that doesn't [...]
If you were looking for a moral critique of our unequal society you would not naturally look to the incoming head of Ludlow Rotarians. But the words of Michael Symonds, as reported by the Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser, are spot on: Michael Symonds, a former headteacher at Bedstone College, has pledged that two key commitments for the coming year will be to help tackle homelessness and people going hungry. The club has launched Ludlow Cares - an initiative that will culminate in more than 100 people sleeping rough in the grounds of Ludlow College in September. The event will ...
An interesting story from this morning's Independent: Senior Whitehall mandarins repeatedly warned former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher against knighting Jimmy Savile because of long-standing concerns over his private life. Previously unseen Cabinet Office papers reveal that suspicions about the DJ's "strange and complex" personality were known at the highest level for decades. Lady Thatcher - who invited the presenter to Chequers - made four attempts to appoint Savile to the knighthood before eventually succeeding in the final year of office in 1990.This supports the impression that Mrs Thatcher was never very good at spotting a wrong 'un. Like many people, ...
Wed 17th
20:01
Baroness Shirley Williams writes... Trident review is a remarkable accomplishment for the Liberal De...
The Trident Alternatives Review is a highly informed and detailed study of the effectiveness, sustainability and cost of this country's nuclear deterrent. Trident has been based on a rota of four submarines which between them ensure that there is always one nuclear-armed submarine at sea every hour of the day and every day of the year, a deterrent that is undoubtedly expensive but also, as the Review points out, "as close as each system can get to an assured second strike capacity". Trident was developed in close co-operation with the United States and in that sense is not, unlike the ...
"When the legislation is passed there will still be work still to do. No doubt the groups who have campaigned against the Bill will dig into their deep pockets to bring legal challenges. They must be opposed and reminded that religious organisations will, of course, be under no obligation to act in ways which are incompatible with their own doctrine." Liz Barker writes on the successful campaign for equal marriage for Liberal Democrat Voice. Dr Alun Wyburn-Powell asks if 'safe seats' are safe only because no one attacks them. At Gawker, Cord Jefferson sets out the lessons of the Trayvon ...
The government's proposed register of lobbyists will exclude most lobbyists as it excludes (1) those who are employed directly by a firm to lobby on its own behalf (in house lobbyists) and (2) those who work for PR firms and similar if the majority of their work isn't lobbying. Or in simple picture form, this is what the proposals are like... [IMG: Sieve] (Note: I have, and do, worked for firms that are covered by the industry's current self-regulation setup. It's striking that this covers a significantly wider range of firms and activities than the government's proposals do.)
The Ring of Roses is Yorkshire Ridings Society's biggest and most exciting Yorkshire Day project yet. The Yorkshire Ridings Society (YRS) would like to arrange for a Yorkshire Flag to be flown in all the settlements on, or very close to the Yorkshire Boundary, on Yorkshire Day. The Yorkshire Ridings Society will provide the flags and post them out free, but need someone in every settlement, on or very near the boundary, to display the flags on 1st August. Will you help? All YRS need is the name and address of someone living in each settlement to whom we can ...
Remember how much press was given whenever Cardinal O'Brien used to totter out to declare homosexual relationships as grotesque or some such tomfoolery? When the Church of England issued concerns about the same-sex marriage bill it was given prominent place on almost every news site, including the BBC. Yet over these last three exciting days barely a whisper can be heard of the good news that same-sex marriage is now legal (if not practicable just yet). In fact Google trends suggest there was more coverage last year, before any of the debates, than there has been of it's successful passing. ...
The politics of hope - exactly the sort of thing that Liberal Democrats should be supporting.------------------From: OneVoice Europe <john@onevoicemovement.org.uk> Sender: "OneVoice Europe" <john=onevoicemovement.org.uk@mail89.us2.rsgsv.net> Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 12:33:57 +0000To: Matthew<matthew.harris2@orange.net>ReplyTo: OneVoice Europe <john@onevoicemovement.org.uk> Subject: Groundbreaking "Two States Bill" introduced in Knesset [IMG: the OneVoice Newsletter] Knesset Caucus Chair introduces bill for two-state solution Months of hard work by OneVoice Israel at the grassroots and political-elite level have paved the way for a bold move in the Knesset today. Members of the Knesset (MKs), including Caucus for Ending the Israeli-Arab Conflict Chair MK Hilik Bar (Labor), submitted a bill today ...
Wed 17th
17:00
Hornsey High Street (Depot), 20mph limit and questions for the police commander-on the agenda for me...
Hornsey High Street (Depot site) proposals for a new 20mph limit and the development plans at Park Road Leisure Centre are to be discussed at a meeting next Monday, 22nd July. At the meeting in Hornsey a question time session with the police borough commander for Haringey, Victor Olisa, will also be on the agenda. The important local issues will be discussed at the Local Area Forum Meeting at Hornsey School for Girls, Inderwick Road, London, N8 9JF. The meeting, which starts at 7pm, will also look at the proposal for a development on the Hornsey Depot site on the ...
This may seem a funny question to ask and particularly to do so on a day when we have a full council. I am sure that Labour colleagues will wish to express an opinion on this and will do so ... Continue reading →
Today, the Government published its Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill. It marks a major and rather unexpected advance on the position only a couple of months ago. As the Bill goes through Parliament, we will be arguing that the new information it brings into the public domain must be coupled with much better access to the information which the Coalition has already published. This Government is the first to proactively publish information on who ministers meet. Yet at the moment the information is too difficult to find, and not much use when you find it. ...
Wed 17th
14:42
Labour MP calls for removal of all public services for those not on electoral register
Occasionally I will have the House of Commons on in the background whilst I am working. No, I am not a sucker for punishment, but its always useful to keep an eye on them! You see, no one really listens, or reports, on what our honourable members think outside of major bills or PMQs. It is these times, when the spotlight is off, is when we find out what many back benchers would do to us if they ever get their chance and the best time to catch them doing some, errrrm, blue sky thinking are ten minute rule bills.... ...
[IMG: mark and ros at equal marriage vigil] As the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act, which I'm reliably informed will be around now. I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate those people in the Liberal Democrats whose work made it happen. I know that such an endeavour is fraught with danger because I am bound to leave somebody out and they will be upset, or hate me forever, or both, but I thought it was worth the risk – and if I do leave someone out, please tell me, either ...
Responding to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's statement on early borrowing powers for the Welsh Government and the Stamp Duty Land Tax consultation, Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: "I welcome today's announcement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to give the Welsh Government early access to borrowing powers for the improvement of the M4. Borrowing powers, like what we have been calling for in our response to Silk, will give the Welsh government more scope to stimulate the economy. "The consultation on Stamp Duty Land Tax will be a way of gauging the opinion ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Ed Davey and secret company 'used to hide election expenses' | Political Scrapbook Amusing to read the comments on @PSBook's "story" on Ed Davey printing costs http://bit.ly/13iJLQJ Nice try, guys. Labour Market Statistics, July 2013 ONS carefully talks about (un)employment rates. So why does media/pols insist on using 100% meaningless raw numbers? http://bit.ly/1dEa8lT Andrew Neil – these are your climate errors on BBC Sunday Politics | Dana Nuccitelli | Environment | guardian.co.uk "Ed Davey deserves kudos for doing a very nice job explaining the science to @AFNeil throughout the show" http://bit.ly/18n574c Every ...
Sandgate has produced its Village Design Statement, and on Wednesday 19th June, Shepway District Council Cabinet resolved to adopt it as the district's first Design Statement as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). Details are available at (see item 12) or call 01303 853266. 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
All over the country, thousands of 11 year olds are preparing to make the big step up to secondary school. Some will be excited and raring to go, while others will be anxious about the new challenge that lies ahead. Every parent knows that this is a crucial time for a child. To go from the safety of your primary school into a new and unknown world can be daunting for many children. The experience is even more difficult if you start at an immediate disadvantage. A child who has failed to grasp the basics of English and Maths in ...
Chinese Liberal Democrats Vice Chair Merlene Toh Emerson invited Vicky Wong, a freelance journalist, to attend the Chinese Liberal Democrats recent business networking event, attended by Vince Cable. Here's Vicky's account of the evening... Dr Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills was keynote speaker at an "East-West Business networking event" organised by Merlene Emerson of the Chinese Liberal Democrats at the Roux at Parliament Square last week. Dr Cable praised the work of Chinese Liberal Democrats and their role in promoting closer relations between the party and the Chinese and South East Asian ...
Another fun history movie from CGP Grey, although of course where it says "for no particular reason at all", you can read "because Lynne Featherstone had taken up the issue".
[IMG: Polling station sign] Starting in October, local councils in Great Britain will be carrying out their statutory obligation to review polling district boundaries and locations of polling stations. The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 requires each council to carry out a review within 16 months of 1 October 2013, and subsequently at five yearly intervals. The decision over how many polling stations to have is often considered from the perspective of administrative convenience. That certainly matters, but it is also the case that more polling stations means higher turnout in local and European elections. The case for increasing ...
NHS is in trouble but Politicians haven't been listening Yesterday was a sad day for our Democracy and the House of Commons. The Secretary for Health Jeremy Hunt made announcements relating to the Keogh commission report and on going problems with the Nation's hospitals, especially dealing with unnecessary deaths. Twitter exploded with comments about what was being said in Parliament and most party members and supporters that I follow were horrified by the level of partisan tweets and comments in Parliament. Tories going after Andy Burnham, Labour blaming the Coalition for deep cuts and mismanagements. Both sides of the house ...
Equal Marriage has been passed, with campaign group Stonewall lauding it from the rooftops. What a shame it took them so long to get on board. At all the recent equal marriage vigils Stonewall have been there decked out in red t-shirts and banners (pictured), taking in everyone's praise and thanks. This included senior politicians ...
Wed 17th
10:24Nick Clegg gives an extra £400 to disadvantaged kids - so why is this turning into a story abo...
[IMG: Nick Clegg in a London school] You have to feel for Nick Clegg. He's doing the media rounds this morning with some really good news. Primary schools are going to get an extra £400 in Pupil Premium, bringing the total per child per year to £1300. Impressive, surely? It makes sense that the money is directed so that if a child is struggling in primary school, they get the help that they need then. Early intervention has to be the name of the game. The last thing you would ever want is for them to go from a primary ...
The community shop set up and run by Launceston Rotary has been hugely successful. They have raised and donated more than £50,000 for local groups and organisations. Now they are on the look out for new volunteers to help in the shop. If you can spare a few hours on a regular basis, please pop into the shop and speak to Peter or Alan. Tweet
Last night Launceston Town Council backed an idea from the mayor, Dave Gordon, for a Launceston Big Clean group to work to tidy up our town. The idea stemmed from a community clean up organised by local accountants Hodgsons last month. The primary responsibility for cleaning our town lies with Cornwall Council and contractors Cory. The general view is that the town centre - which is cleaned every day - is very good. The rest of the residential parts of the town and pretty clean in the main but there are problems from time to time. When we are made ...
posted The Blood is The Life 16-07-2013 http://t.co/TY8CmAwnYN on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Women offered as perks in a job ad (tags: ) People who don't like cricket are wrong, say experts (tags: ) That's enough fantasy politics. 'Margaret Thatcher Day' is not a vote-winner - Lord Ashcroft Polls (tags: ) Liberal England: Tories make their new policy on single mothers clear (tags: ) McDonalds' suggested budget for employees shows just how impossible it is to get by on minimum wage | Death and Taxes (tags: ) Labour's plan for Tea and Coffee prohibition (tags: ) BBC ...
A fuller tribute to Alan Whicker, now I've had a delve into the bowels of YouTube. The world really is a poorer place without Alan Whicker. He had such style. He was so suave. Handkerchief in his top pocket. Hair greased back. The very essence of urbanity. Yet, when I look back on his clips, I can't help but think that he captured an age which has now passed. It was an age when world travel had an exotic glamour about it. We saw these jets taking off, Whicker in a bar in Sydney and in a sampan in Hong ...
[IMG: 110301-N-7237C-009] Yesterday the Lib Dems published The Trident Alternatives Review. According to Danny Alexander, "it is the most thorough review of nuclear systems and postures the UK has ever made public. It is ground-breaking - thanks to the Liberal Democrats and our insistence that Trident alternatives must be examined." That may be: but this is a war the party will not win. Here's the party's sound-bite version of the policy: We oppose the like-for-like replacement of Trident. We believe there is a 'nuclear ladder' of capabilities. Alternative systems or postures could bring Britain down that 'nuclear ladder'. We believe ...
What are disabled people cutting back on as a result of the 'bedroom tax'? Thanks to the Same Difference blog (via the Liberal Democrat Disability Association) for this very stark illustration: More information is available from the Papworth Trust, which explains why the government's Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are not providing adequate compensation to disabled people.
The historian Ronald Hutton described fairies as 'the British religion', and - although I spent the daylight hours agonising about public services - I am very interested in this British religion and what it means. Even so, it is hard to over-estimate just how unfashionable fairies have become in the UK during the 20th century. They had a good start thanks to the combined Edwardian talents of Arthur Rackham and J. M. Barrie. Peter Pan was first shown to rapturous applause in 1904. In fact, there is some evidence that fairies tend to enjoy their revivals at the turns of ...
Wed 17th
08:56Sarah Teather: Liberal Democrats must tell positive story on immigration because nobody else will
Ex-minister Sarah Teather made an impassioned plea to Liberal Democrats yesterday not to give in to fear of the Daily Mail on immigration but instead to "stand for something" on the issue. Delivering the Gladstone Lecture in Westminster the MP for the heavily-diverse seat of Brent Central repeated her call in a recent Guardian article to bravely challenge popular language that "dehumanises and degrades" immigrations who make a positive contribution to British life and culture. She accused the coalition government of splitting up thousands of families just so that David Cameron can boast about reducing numbers of immigrants at the ...
Lydiate Parish Council, as I posted recently and as many folks also read about in a recent edition of the Aintree & Maghull Champion, has challenged Sefton Council's plan to stop making 'Double Rating' payments to the 4 Parish Councils in the Borough that maintain their own parks and gardens. Residents should not be paying twice The challenge is of course right because if Sefton Council goes ahead with its plan Lydiate, Maghull and Aintree Village residents (and to a lesser extent Melling) will find that they are paying Sefton Council to do a job in their community (maintain parks ...
Those obsessed with the number of followers they have on Twitter may have considered at one time or another offering incentives for people to follow them. Other just attract followers through their magnetic personality. Personally I am content to scrape along with whoever I can get. One Tweeter though has at his disposal the ultimate incentive. According to the Guardian the Vatican has let it be known that following live events on Twitter which involve the Pope could see you get to heaven much quicker. They are offering of "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets: The church's granted indulgences ...
Blankets is a book I would never have come across if I hadn't heard it discussed and recommended on Radio 4's A Good Read (you can hear the episode in question here, UK only, I think...) Aside from loving the work of Raymond Briggs as a child, particularly Fungus the Bogeyman and When the Wind Blows, I had never read a Graphic Novel nor had they ever appealed. The radio discussion intrigued me though and so I found myself looking for the book in the library. Having come across a copy of the aforementioned When the Wind Blows, my vision ...
Paths from Barnes Hospital to Mill Lane, and from Brook Road to Mill Lane, are being improved over the summer to make them suitable for walkers and cyclists. The work is being paid for from money that came from a previous plan to develop the Barnes Hospital site. Because of the nature of the work, the paths will probably be closed over the summer. [IMG: Cheadle Paths]
Both my fried John Cole and I heard Vince Cable's address to last week's Social Liberal Forum meeting in Manchester with very mixed feelings. Here is John's "open letter" to Vince. I'll be interested in the reply. Dear Dr Cable I was present when you gave your presentation of the Social Liberal Forum in Manchester on Saturday. Thank you for that presentation - with much of which I wholly concurred. We do need to re-balance the economy in the direction you pointed to and you are quite right to advocate a proactive business strategy for government. However, there were points ...
Three random thoughts for today: 1. I took over the Seattle Green Lake Running Group twitter account. It's been really fun to try out what I've learned by watching the social media experts and to connect to other runners. It's a small start, but I know I've already recruited at least one new runner for the group! I'm also pretty excited to see how we manage the twitter beast for the Ragnar Relay this weekend...I'm working on coordinating it with our fearless group leader. 2. Rangar is this weekend. I'm not going to lie - I'm pretty nervous. I'm not ...
I have welcomed feedback from the City Council that the improvements taking place at Blackness Library are on track and it is hoped that the library will re-open around the end of July. The Library has made a temporary move to Logie and St John's (Cross) Church whilst the last of the improvements at the library, that primarily consists of disabled access facilities to the upstairs meeting and reading rooms being provided for the first time. The City Council has recently advised me : "The project at Blackness is still one week ahead of schedule. the lift to the upper ...
The Welsh Labour Government's incompetence on delivering a food strategy has led to three years being wasted. In 2010 the Welsh Government announced it was to launch 'Food for Wales, Food from Wales' - a food strategy for the next 10 years. However, after three years of promising a 'delivery plan', it was announced yesterday that the strategy was 'not fit for purpose' and is to be cancelled. It's all very well for the Minister to describe his own Government's strategy as 'not fit for purpose', but once again it is his Welsh Labour Government's incompetence that is letting everyone ...
by Áine McGrath Here we are more than 15 years after the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was signed and I, like many others, am left with the feeling that what we were promised isn't what we've ended up with. The 1990s ... Continue reading →
I've not been able to write a single piece of usable prose in about two weeks thanks to this godawful heat — I've barely been able to keep awake. I have lots of things *planned* — I need to review More Tales Of The City, for example, and would like to review The Thinking Person's [...]
I did embed this slideshow here, but the advertisement that comes first is so irritating that instead I am sending you to the Harborough Mail website, where it first appeared.
