In which I argue that actually the TV Movie is more like the current series than you think.
Tomorrow the Northumbria in Bloom judges arrive in Whickham so tonight a group of us met to do a final tidy up of the centre of the village. I was given the job of watering all the flowerbeds planted last week. As a beekeeper I couldn't help but spot the huge number of bumble and honey bees on the big lavendar bed on the centre of Church Green. I have 4 hives in Whickham but there are at least
Last December I reported on the taskforce set up to review the Public Sector Equality Duty, noting how it was un-diverse and dominated by Conservatives it was. I now hear the taskforce, led by ex-Tory [...]
If you like this then you may also enjoy St Mungo's Medals from last week. The music here is "Sing" by Travis.
Yesterday came news of the government's latest wheeze to reduce illegal immigration. The Home Office is planning to send large billboards round six London boroughs on the back of advertising vans, carrying the slogan "Go home or face arrest". For the full sordid details, read Caron Lindsay's report on Liberal Democrat Voice, the report in last night's London Evening Standard, and a statement issued by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, which is worth quoting in full: This is the latest in a string of Home Office announcements that are designed to make the Government look tough on immigration. But I ...
Working as a press office in my day job, I well know the desperation of journalists faced with the problem of coming up with a new angle on a story that has been running for days. So well done, I think, to the Evening Standard for this take on the royal baby story: Forget about the name of our future king. There is another delicate question that hasn't been answered. Will the young Prince of Cambridge be circumcised?This reminds me of a story I read the other day on Castle News - "Independent news for Bishop's Castle, Shropshire" - about ...
Alex's Archives is not impressed by market fundamentalist talk of a "takeover" of the Liberal Democrats: "One of the great virtues of liberalism is tolerance. Many within the Liberal Democrats value the fact that the party has been a broad church, encompassing a broad range of perspectives across the left-right axis. However, it would seem increasingly evident that that view is not shared by all." "The Home Office's "Go Home" poster is the kind of divisive stunt I would have expected if the BNP were in government," says Lester Holloway. panGloss demonstrates the fatuousness of David Cameron's war on porn. ...
News today that a man, Nicholas Jacobs, has been charged with the murder of PC Keith Blakelock in the 1985 Broadwater Farm uprising in Tottenham should be a reminder to The Sun newspaper to apologise [...]
Though it wasn't the only incident of its type in the first test, Stuart Broad's decision not to walk after edging a catch and being given not out by the umpire gave rise to a lot of outraged comment. A good example was Charles Crawford on The Commentator - which has nothing to do with cricket, but is a blog of right-wing opinion. Crawford wrote: In earlier years it was part of the moral code of cricket that a batsman 'walked' (ie left the field without waiting for any formal umpire decision) when he knew that he had been caught ...
Tue 23rd
20:22
Random Thoughts for July 2013: Social Liberal Forum conference, Pratap Chitnis & Boney M
[IMG: Random Thoughts logo] In this edition we have some posts inspired by the Social Liberal Forum conference, some history, and a couple of (contrasting) music videos. My last post was a catch up of Random Thoughts for June. This post brings us up to the middle of July. This is the latest in my series of Random Thoughts posts with links, things found on the web and other stuff that has occurred to me between 1st July 2013 and 16th July 2013: Bloggers comment on the SLF Conference | Social Liberal Forum While I had attended their previous ones ...
A few days ago I was delighted to receive a communication from Lord Bonkers, formerly the Liberal MP for Rutland South-West between 1906 and 1910 and the only survivor of the 1906 General Election landslide that sent the Liberals storming back into power. His request was quite specific – he asked me to write about two of the books I'll be (re)reading this summer. So far, with help from his alter-ego Jonathan Calder, three of his excellent summer reading round-ups have been published: here, here and my two choices are included here. Anyway, this is what I wrote back in ...
The Home Office's "Go Home" poster is the kind of divisive stunt I would have expected if the BNP were in government. Touring the multicultural boroughs of Hounslow, Barking & Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, and Brent today [...]
Like many Liberal Democrats - actually make that virtually all Liberal Democrats who have commented - I am absolutely fuming about the Government's plans, announced by immigration minister Mark Harper, to send billboards around 6 London boroughs with a message on them urging illegal immigrants to submit themselves for deportation - by text message, it's oh so simple. This is the sort of thing that could lead to anyone who looks or sounds a little bit foreign, regardless of their immigration status, being harassed, or feeling uncomfortable. The BBC reported on this today, quoting a Labour Councillor's condemnation of the ...
A note has arrived from Bonkers Hall: what am I reading this summer? I am not alone, so far Liberal England has published three Summer reading lists from bloggers. Round up 1 was Alan Wyburn Powell (Liberal History to you and me), Linda Jack and Gareth Epps. Round up 2 was Iain Dale, Mark Pack and Iain Sharpe and joining me on Round up 3 Nick Barlow and Tim Holyoake. Broadhurst Bookshop in Southport -you don't have to buy from Amazon With only two choices it is quite a challenge. There are books I have put aside to read over ...
I have written previously about how Labour in Manchester is making the wrong choices for Manchester. Unlike nearby Labour Salford, they have turned down £1.5m in Government money to freeze the [...]
Stockport is over half way to meeting its ambitious target of creating 100 apprenticeships in 100 days. Stockport Council, in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service, launched the 100:100 apprenticeship scheme at the end of June. A total of 59 apprenticeship jobs so far have been pledged by employers. The full list is, in alphabetical order: Aldi 14, Aquinas College 2, Cheshire Scaffolds Ltd 2, Davis Blank Furniss 1, Dodd Group 2, Kids Allowed 8, MAN Diesel 1, Manchester Digital 10, Mercedes Benz 1, Montrose Properties 1, Pure Innovations 1, Railforce 2, Stockport Council 11, Stockport Homes 1, Tangerine 1, ...
Local art groups and artists are invited to submit their exhibitions for display at Stockport Art Gallery. Over the last two months, Stockport Council has worked with local art organisations who wish to use Stockport Art Gallery to display their high quality artistic works. A summer exhibition programme, displayed and curated by artists and art groups, has been organised. Following this success, the Council and its partners are extending the arrangement until 31st March 2014 and are inviting local art groups and artists to submit exhibitions in the Art Gallery's three distinct exhibition spaces. The selection of exhibitions is made ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg and David Cameron] Steve Richards, writing in the Independent, has a thoughtful analysis of the three main parties and their level of unity. He claims that the Liberal Democrats display "the greatest sense of unity and discipline" and yet they have the greatest level of internal differences. I like to think that is because we are a broad church that tolerates and even celebrates differences, because we do unite around the fundamental principles of fairness, liberty and equality. But, according to Richards, those differences make it unlikely that the party will agree to another coalition with the ...
Debate on the Internet takes the form of a many-tailed temporal worm: many different segments of argument persisting across time and yet standing in relation to a particularly obstreperous character as their starting point. This post is in response to a post by Mark Wallace, which in turn was in response to an article by [...]
[IMG: SteamRoller] Hertfordshire County Council are making an Road Traffic Order to allow their contractor Ringway to carry out road works for the purpose of repairing repair the highway in Stocks Road, Aldbury. This Order will prohibit all traffic from using Stocks Road, Aldbury from its junction with Station Road north eastwards and north westwards to a point in line with the access to 'The Walled Garden' sometime during the period 5 August 2013 and 5 February 2014, when signs are in place. This is a distance of approximately 1236 metres. In addition all vehicles are prohibited from waiting at ...
Tue 23rd
15:00
Caroline Pidgeon writes: Setting our cities free from the stranglehold of the Treasury
[IMG: City Hall and Tower Bridge] Reforming local government finance - a phrase that is enough to send many of us to sleep. But put a different way, devolving financial powers to our great cities, allowing local innovation and genuine localism, may keep your interest for longer! May saw the launch of an excellent policy report called Raising the capital. The report was produced by the London Finance Commission, an authoritative wide ranging group of experts from both inside and outside politics, but crucially including experts from Birmingham and Manchester. The commission was chaired by respected Professor Tony Travers of ...
Tue 23rd
15:00
ATOS to lose monopoly of Work Cabability Assessments after audit shows up "unacceptable" standard of...
Those of us who are concerned about the fairness of the welfare system often cite the Work Capability Assessment, which claimants of Employment and Support Allowance are required to take. It seems that every few days there's a story in the press reporting how someone has been marked fit for work when it is clearly inappropriate to do so. Yesterday the Daily Record carried the story of a woman who lived just a couple of miles away from me who was told she was fit for work weeks before she died of a brain tumour.Concerns about the WCA appear to ...
UK Dividend payments have risen by one fifth. Chief Executives of FTSE 100 companies saw their median earnings rise by 31% to £3.5million in 2013. This is on top of one in four of them getting a 41% increase in 2012. Archbishop John Sentamu notes that " The holes in millions of pay checks[for ordinary workers] are being plugged by in work support to the tune of £4bn a year" [of taxpayers money]. He quite rightly asks why is government having to subsidise businesses who don't pay their employees enough to live on. Meanwhile the EU haters & the Daily ...
Pacific Rim 3D (12A) Director: Guillermo Del Toro Website: Pacific Rim Godzilla meets Transformers in 3D. Four out of five stars. ***** (Is that my shortest review yet? Enjoyable monster mayhem and a good diversion to extreme weather outside. Would have liked to have seen this done as a manga anime.) Searching for Sugar Man DVD (12) Director/Producer: Malik Bendjelloul Website: Searching for Sugar Man Completely uplifting documentary movie about the search for a singer/songwriter called Rodriguez. The first ten minutes are a little confusing so stick with it, it's best thing I've seen for ages. A big, warm, huggable ...
The Mayor in Bristol has been making waves - first with his approach to his first budget earlier this year and subsequently with his plans for a rapid roll-out of Residents' Parking Zones across the city - regardless of the needs or wants of residents in various disparate parts of the City. Whilst some parts of the City undoubtedly did need local schemes, many patently don't. As the only City to have opted for a Mayor in last year's referendums, the workings of Bristol will come under political and academic scrutiny over the next few years. Opinion will, I'm sure, ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Every opinion piece you're about to read about the royal baby The ultimate speed-read from @rafaelbehr > Every opinion piece you're about to read about the royal baby http://bit.ly/18A9BEX Channel 5 edges past Channel 4 in weekly share of viewing | Media | guardian.co.uk The Big Brother effect > Channel 5 edges past Channel 4 in weekly share of viewing | Media http://bit.ly/18A7C3s Enjoy this Con-Lib union while it lasts. Come the election it will all be over – Comment – Voices – The Independent Astute take by @steverichards14 on prospects of ...
Tue 23rd
13:29ATOS lose monopoly on work capability assessments after audit shows up "unacceptable" standards
Those of us who are concerned about the fairness of the welfare system often cite the Work Capability Assessment, which claimants of Employment and Support Allowance are required to take. It seems that every few days there's a story in the press reporting how someone has been marked fit for work when it is clearly inappropriate to do so. Yesterday the Daily Record carried the story of a woman who lived just a couple of miles away from me who was told she was fit for work weeks before she died of a brain tumour. Concerns about the WCA appear ...
MP Julian Huppert has backed a cross-party Parliamentary report calling for a gold standard of care for older breast cancer patients. The report "Age is just a number" outlines proactive measures to tackle the inequality of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and support for women over 70 which has been a long suspected problem in the NHS. It says that older women should be entitled to routine breast screening invitations and breast cancer patients should be judged by their fitness to undergo treatment and not by their age alone. Julian attended the launch of the report by the All Party Parliamentary ...
I need to make something clear - in my head, in my logical brain, I'm not a Royalist. I don't believe that it's right that great wealth and status should be handed down through the gift of a lucky birth. That said, I also don't believe that it's right to use the birth of a child to score political points. Jacqui Smith, who I'm not usually a hater of, decided to mark the occasion yesterday by putting her congratulations in parenthesis and using the opportunity to attack Nick Clegg. Similarly, a lot of others used the chance to talk about ...
[IMG: homelock1] Hertfordshire is one of the safest counties in England and Wales but when crimes are committed, the victims still suffer. Just hearing about crime can make others feel scared. Hertfordshire Home Safety Service (HHSS) helps by providing a range of free and low cost services, using Proceeds of Crime funds. This means money recovered from criminals will go directly to helping secure your homes and making you feel safer. HHSS provides: A Home Security Service Providing security measures such as: Advice on home security and safety and rogue trader advice Fitting/maintaining locks on external doors, windows and garage ...
I sometimes feel I am the little boy in the Emperor's New Clothes. I am probably flattering myself outrageously in this, but a wave of Emperor's-New-Clothes overwhelmed me as I listened to the report on internet pornography yesterday. The Prime Minister, who is clearly keen to have some kind of bust-up with the internet search engines - and I have no problem with that - has agreed with them that there should be a moment of decision in every household whether internet filter controls should be set on or off. I agree with him. My children are encouraged to search ...
So last week (you know, that time when only most of the news coverage was of the royal baby rather than all of the news coverage) the review of alternatives to Trident was published. Trident being our nuclear weapon system. The review came about because Trident needs renewing at a cost of £20 to £100 billion and the Lib Dems oppose the renewal of it. So this review is meant to come up with nice alternatives which prove we can have our cake and eat it - the ability to start world war three and pay next to nothing for ...
It is customary for the UK to get a bit Maiden Aunt at the news of a royal birth, and sure enough the pages of saccharin nonsense that cover the front pages, and indeed most of the middle pages, of the London press today completely conforms to type. Steely-eyed literary bitches with the morality of Caligula and a usual turn of phrase as uncompromising as nitric acid have suddenly turned into cooing imbeciles around the Royal pram. At least you know that these journalists are being moved to such soppy heights by something they hold most sacred of all: money. ...
A poll of Unite members reveals today that only 12% would like to join the Labour Party. Following the public debate about whether union members should be offered the option of opting-in to the political levy, rather than opting-out as at present, only 30% of Unite's members would choose to opt in. The Lord Ashcroft poll surveyed over 700 members of Unite, the UK's largest union, which draws its members from across a wide range of industry sectors. It seems that one third of them didn't know whether they paid into the political fund and over half would prefer an ...
Christiania Hartley is well known in Southport as a Liberal councillor, the first women mayor and social welfare activist. She was the answer to a question in the Liberal History Journal's quiz last year. Her influence spread beyond Southport as this plaque shows.
. Towards the end of the SLF's Manchester conference, held again on the Saturday closest to Bastille Day, Michael Steed stood up to speak. He was introduced by the Chair, Gareth Epps, as a past President of the Liberal Party. Michael reminded the conference that he and I had been in Manchester 40 years ago when he was the candidate in the Manchester Exchange by election - he came within 2000 votes of winning. Now that is a thought to conjure with; what impact would he had if he'd have won ? (I know with an absolute certainty that the ...
As everybody is still speculating about the names for the royal baby, there are two distinct approaches: one is to find the name that would seem silliest with the royal number I behind it, and the other is to speculate, on the basis of family tradition and genealogy, what the name might really be in the end. This post goes for neither of these options: I look at the genealogy, and the resulting suggestion is certainly not silly, but quite impossible. But why should it be? Throughout history, 'East' and 'West' have been much more connected than many would like ...
Steve Webb came along to the Social Liberal Conference to give the William Beveridge lecture. As Minister for Pensions and a Professor of Social Policy he is eminently well qualified to do so. He has the advantage of having read Beveridge rather than just assuming he knows what the great man thought. I should begin by saying that there is a Southport connection with Beveridge as he made clear in a letter to Robert Martin the Liberal candidate in the 1945 election 'I am more than sorry not to able to visit Southport during the Election because I will miss ...
Crime in Medway, Police often too late to help Yesterday my wife was slapped about the head by a member of the public twice in a public restaurant infront of our three year old daughter. It started in a busy lunchtime MacDonald's in Gillingham when her friend accidentally knocked a tray sending an empty happy meal box into the lap of a child at another table. The mother of the child confronted my wife's friend angrily and she apologised for the understandable accident. My wife then made a comment about how she would prefer it if the woman could refrain ...
Those responsible for getting the introduction of individual electoral registration right face some significant administrative challenges, but it's all quite easy compared with the need to get an electoral register of some sort ready for the 1945 general election. As The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1945 recounts: [IMG: Winston Churchill] There had been no Parliamentary register of electors compiled by the normal method since 1929 and this election was fought on a war-time emergency register compiled from national identity cards ... There were many accidental omissions of names from the the register – Mr Churchill's amongst them. ...
Wipes away the cobwebs... I have been absent for a long time. There are reasons, and I hope to blog about that sometime in the future. In short, I haven't been very well, but I hope things are getting better now. It's a topical post which got me to come back....
Our new LibDemVoice members' survey went live last Friday: all 1,500 of those who are signed-up to our private members' forum were emailed with a unique link asking questions about a range of current political issues. Over 500 have already completed it, and today's your last day to fill it in and make sure your views count. A few people have mentioned, here or on Twitter, that they've not received the email. If that's you, please be assured this isn't a conspiracy to deprive you of your chance to have your say! The three most likely reasons you'll have heard ...
[IMG: StephenWilliams] The Liberal Democrat commitment to take the low paid out of the tax system is starting to build a fairer Britain. Commenting on the Office for National Statistics' annual report on the effect of taxes and benefits on household income, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee , Stephen Williams MP said: "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 ...
[IMG: Jeremy Browne - Some rights reserved by Foreign and Commonwealth Office] Jeremy Browne, the Liberal Democrat Minister at the Home Office, is launching a public consultation on the proposal to make Tramadol a Class C drug. You can read the consultation paper and respond to it here. Tramadol is a prescription only painkiller used to treat a number of painful conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is a synthetic opioid, which is why it has developed a following as a recreational drug. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) says that Tramadol was mentioned on 154 death ...
You can see my summer reading choices at Liberal England.
At the recent Holyrood Ward 'PACT' meeting ('Police and Communities Together'), our local police discussed priorities for the coming months. The following three issues were identified: - Traffic calming measures on Blueball Lane. 7am – 10am & 4pm – 7pm Monday – Friday, agricultural vehicles only between these times. Residents of Simister have brought this up as a priority previously. - Speeding around the Ludlow Avenue, Derby Road and Tamworth Avenue junctions. vehicles are hurtling around whilst children are playing out. And speeding traffic on Heywood Road on the hill down between Bury Old Road and Heys Road. - Issues ...
The three party leaders tweeted their congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: I'm delighted for the Duke and Duchess now their son has been born. The whole country will celebrate. They'll make wonderful parents. — David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 22, 2013 Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Good news to make ...
posted The Blood is The Life 22-07-2013 http://t.co/1LCaEHcLfz on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Liberal Democrats launch 'Save our Pubs' Campaign http://t.co/swKtX1Hhw4 #Calderdale (tags: (from twitter) calderdale ) We believe vital support to young people may be at risk, if a scheme like 'default-on' is introduced http://t.co/1Zuy8Vxsln (tags: (from twitter) ) posted Cameron Wants to block your porn: how will the lib dems respond? http://t.co/FCZP1mmITd on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) I wonder how many views I'd've got for this if O2/GiffGaff weren't blocking it... http://t.co/50UZBZRiaY (tags: (from twitter) ) Porn-blocking: The views ...
[IMG: john leech] Any of us who have been elected to public office will have received letters, emails or even phone calls that shock us into realising that not all our compatriots are liberal and fair-minded. Rascist, homophobic or simply personally offensive rants, expressed in highly charged language, remind us that we still have much work to do. When it has happened to me I have initially been quite upset, then dealt with it by distancing myself from the contents and refusing to respond. But maybe there is another way to handle such communications. John Leech, the MP for Manchester ...
Here's how Lib Dem MPs responded to the news of the new addition to the Royal Family... Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Good news to make the whole country smile — Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) July 22, 2013
Tue 23rd
08:37
Minimum pricing will reduce harmful consumption by a pint a week ~ Sheffield university
So, away from all the whining and wailing in the aftermath of the government not going forward with minimum pricing for alcohol, Sheffield university have produced a study revising down their estimates on how much a minimum price for alcohol would reduce consumption. They now say A 45p minimum price was estimated to lead to an overall 1.6 per cent drop in consumption, with a 3.7 per cent reduction for harmful drinkers (137 units per year compared to 3 units for below cost selling). Let's think about this statement for a moment. The research says that selling at cost would ...
I am not normally in the habit of quoting from the Adam Smith Institute website but their letter to the Archbishop of York in response to his call for a Living Wage is well-worth reading if only for learning how a small tweak in the tax system could leave somebody on the minimum wage better off than their equivalent on the higher rate. There has been a sustained campaign by Liberal Democrats in government to take the low-paid out of tax. The tax threshold will rise to £10,000 from 1 April 2014 meaning that since 2010, the Liberal Democrats will ...
Being a Liberal Democrat means that I deliver many, many Focus leaflets and have been doing so since 1980. In this time you certainly come across some across some odd situations. Take the guy who politely came running after me and asked me to take back the leaflet I had just put through his door. Now you would think that this meant he was not a Lib Dem supporter but what it actually meant was that he really did not like anything coming through his letter box from anyone! Indeed, he then asked me for one of our 'bogus caller' ...
[IMG: Baby shoes. Photo courtesy of madlyn. Some rights reserved http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1343419] You are hallucinating this morning if you think you've seen or heard the news that the Royal baby is a boy. It's not. It's a girl. Honest. Look, I've got all this press coverage to prove it: "Kate Middleton dropped a big hint that she is having a daughter" – The Sun "It's a girl!" – Daily Mirror "The uncle of the Duchess of Cambridge has given one of the biggest hints yet on the sex of the Royal baby, and says he suspects the couple will have a ...
The Western Mail reports that the Welsh Government is facing severe criticism after it emerged that offices used by Ministers and civil servants are being refurbished over the summer at a cost of £3.2m: The work is being carried out at Ty Hywel, the Cardiff Bay office block formerly known as Crickhowell House which housed the National Assembly's debating chamber before the adjacent Senedd building was opened in 2006. The Western Mail has been told that internal alterations are being undertaken on the fifth floor of Ty Hywel, where members of the Cabinet have their private offices, as well as ...
Last week I joined Lib Dem Group Leaders from across Greater Manchester to meet with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester – Tony Lloyd. Mr Lloyd updated us on a number of issues around his first eight months in office, and the challenges facing the police going forwards. This included talking about the recent re-appointment of GMP's Chief Constable, the challenge of reduced funding and the need to maintain police numbers wherever possible. I asked about three things: Prestwich Police Station 'to let' We discussed the closure of Prestwich Police Station and also the potential of shared use ...
Further to my article yesterday (and in the Courier), I spoke on Radio Tay News about the matter too. You can hear the interview by clicking 'play' below:
Last week was the regular meeting of the Prestwich Township Forum which is the regular meeting which brings together councillors, community reps and members of the public. There were three main items being discussed: Parklife The organisers of the Parklife Festival in Heaton Park came to give feedback of some of the issues from the festival and some of the issues raised by residents. The most important issues that members of the public raised was problems caused south of the park – particularly on roads going off Bury Old Road towards the Sedgley side of Prestwich. I have also fed ...
The Friends of Balgay Summer Meeting takes place next Saturday - 27th July - at 2pm at the Mills Observatory. Guest speaker is Professor Geoff Squire of the James Hutton Institute. Please come along and bring a friend! Entrance is free for members and only £1 for visitors. Refreshments will be provided.
I was delighted to take part in a debate at Sutton Council's Full Council meeting last night (22nd July) on the question of independence for local government. The motion to "rewire local services" was proposed [...]
