The Basque Country is a land of mountains and valleys — and the sea. The early 16th century Basque navigator Juan Sebastián de Elcano accompanied the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on his historic sail westwards in search of the East Indies, and unlike Magellan, he survived. The Basques are among the oldest, if not the [...]
If you find this interesting you may want to visit the Dark Arches under Leeds station.
The Central Nursery is just outside my ward, next to Watergate Park in Gateshead. Until recently, it produced the vast majority of the bedding plants for the borough. It is now closed and Labour are very keen for this greenbelt site to be used for house-building. There is an on-going battle to ensure this area remains greenbelt in the Local Plan. Whether or not it is used for housing, the site is
With the birth of the royal baby, the newly named Prince George of Cambridge, the media has been full of royal trivia. This evening, a Labour Councillor friend, a former university comrade of mine, posted this on his Facebook: It's so good that I'm not even doing the research to find out if Paul's ...
A story in The Packet begins: It was a case of being in the right 'plaice' at the right time for the daughter of Porthleven fish and chip shop owner Roland Lowery when she bumped into former MP turned ex Mr Cheeky Girl Lembit Obik.It turns out that the former MP for Montgomeryshire is promoting "Southampton starlet" Rosie Anne Storer, soon (she and Lembit hope) to be better known as Rozii Chaos. And Lembit liked the image of Rosie Lowery, the daughter of the Porthleven chip magnate, so he has recruited her to help style Ms Chaos. What could possibly ...
The number of black university students has increased, according to UCAS figures published yesterday. Applications rates from black candidates aged 18 jumped a significant 14 per cent in under seven years – from 20 per [...]
[IMG: Water damaged and moldy basement wall] Last Thursday I went up to That London to take part in a seminar on the topic of Alternatives to regulation. I made a brief, somewhat speculative, presentation around the regulation of private renting, in the light of current debates about behaviour change and behavioural economics. Some of the ideas need plenty more thought and working through in more detail. You can find the text to accompany my presentation below the fold. Regulatory possibilities for private renting [IMG: Share]
Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD), who are responding to the Home Office's consultation on stop and search, have launched a new webpage to encourage members of the public to respond. The organisation have set up [...]
Readers of this blog will be familiar with the career of J.W. Logan, railway contractor, Liberal MP for Harborough 1891-1904 and 1910-16, and instigator of a mass brawl on the floor of the House of Commons. A few weeks ago someone bought this simple paperweight, cut from marble in the shape of a book, in an antique shop in Cornwall. He looked up J.W, Logan on the web and, inevitably, found this blog. He sent me a photograph of his find and we swapped a couple of emails. Then one day a heavy little parcel came through my door and ...
Dreamwidth's journal search indicates that I failed to ever properly announce that I volunteered to run BiCon 2013, so I should probably start from the beginning... At BiCon 2011, I was talking to two friends, Seph and Jess, and one of us said that we'd like to run a BiCon, but we didn't know anyone else in our home communities that wanted to, and we didn't want to do it alone. Somehow, this turned into the three of us standing up at the DMP, offering to run BiCon 2013 in Scotland (Seph's home) and being voted in near-unanimously, possibly thanks ...
Wed 24th
20:05
Lib Dem MP Sir Bob Russell slams Israeli parliament for "ethnically cleansing between 40,000 and 60,...
[IMG: bob russell_2] Lib Dem MP Sir Bob Russell launched a broadside in the Commons last week against the Israeli parliament for approving (in his words) "what can be described only as ethnically cleansing between 40,000 and 60,000 Bedouin". He went on to attack the US Government and the European Union for their inaction and the British media for its silence — but singled out for praise Jewish Voice for Peace, which is campaigning against what it terms "this massive violation of human rights". His call was echoed by the Conservative MP for Beckenham, Colonel Bob Stewart, a former British ...
..at least that's a viewpoint endorsed by whoever operates the Twitter account at the "Campaign For Marriage". My interest was piqued when I came across this tweet: Oh, I thought, what could this be? Well, it turned out to be this: Well, the pictures were pretty, if you like that sort of thing... In case the type is too small for you, it says: "I have already said that the sex education will follow to include Homosexual sex. I cannot believe I am saying this but we need to follow the example of Russia and ban homosexual propaganda." [emphasis added] ...
Amazingly post recession UK is less unequal than any time over the last 25 years as per the Office for National Statistics(ONS). As measured via the Gini index an internationally recognised method. This appears to be from wage stagnation but with benefits and tax credits rising by inflation helping protect the poorest. The ONS has just announced that 2011/12 tax year the gaps between the poorest and richest has narrowed. And to close a gap that for 25 years has been widening this is big. Using the Gini index Sweden is at 25%, US 40%, and the UK has improved ...
Downing Street wants our 'innovation nation' to work together to solve social problems, but don't assume we all agree on what the problems are, let alone possible solutions The classic children's book, The Prime Minister's Brain contains a sort of 1980s version of a hack day. Dinah, the brilliantly geeky heroine, gets invited to the Junior Computer Brain of the Year Competition. She thinks she's there to play the Octopus Dare game; in fact (spoilers) it's a front for hacking into the Downing Street computer network. This story provides a timely backdrop to Downing Street's recent plans to crack down ...
[IMG: Alan_Turing_photo] The campaign to pardon Alan Turing, the father of computer science who was convicted for acts of homosexuality in 1952, troubles me. I take as a given the good intentions of those Lib Dems such as Lord (John) Sharkey and Manchester MP John Leech who have led the calls in parliament. But I am struck by Matthew Parris's words in today's Times: Why only Turing? Many, many tens of thousands of gay men have been convicted for behaviour that was once against the law. Tens of thousands of careers, reputations and lives have been ruined. Innumerable suicides have ...
Put together by Simon Collister and colleagues, featuring a small contribution from myself, this guide to social media monitoring should be useful to many people in the industry: CIPR Guide to Social Media Monitoring from Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Fancy working for the Liberal Democrats? There are a fair few jobs to choose from over on Work for an MP website which includes both party jobs and jobs with parliamentarians. There are opportunities in the north, south and east of mainland UK. North There are two jobs in Scotland. Jo Swinson is looking for a caseworker in her East Dunbartonshire office: An empathetic, organised, highly efficient individual is sought for the role of Caseworker to Jo Swinson MP. The role is permanent, based on a working week of 37.5 hours. The position is based within a lively and dynamic ...
According to Nick Clegg's aides the summer will see the start of a concerted attempt to shift (further, some might add) the Liberal Democrats to the centre-Right, culminating in a series of binary choices at Conference in Glasgow on a...Read more ›
London Prime Property has become an international asset in the same way as any other tradeable asset from gold to bonds. It may be that the majority of properties in Zone 1 are now owned by foreign non residents. Syrians and other Arabs, Russians, Chinese: the London Property market has attracted speculators from around the globe. Increasingly, however, these new owners do not let these properties, they simply leave them empty. Walking in some central London neighbourhoods at night is a sobering experience- there are few lights on, and the economic impact is growing ever more severe. The reasons why ...
Wed 24th
14:01Exclusive...Liberal Democrats: "Go home" poster vans "disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective"
The Liberal Democrats, so I hear, had nothing to do with the poster vans sent by the Home Office into 6 London boroughs which have caused much anger in Liberal Democrat circles as I wrote earlier. I said that I had seen no evidence that Liberal Democrat ministers had cleared them and it seems that my instincts were right. A party spokesman told me: These poster vans were not cleared or agreed by Liberal Democrats in government. We are totally committed to tackling illegal immigration but this is a disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective way to do it. It so happens ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and David Rimmer, together with FOCUS Editor Jo Barton, are holding their next advice centre in Churchtown. We will be at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) from 10:30 to 11:30 am on Thursday 25th of July. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Crossens, at St John's School, Rufford Road, Crossens every month (except August) on the second ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... The Real Blog: Why radicals should welcome a royal baby I don't agree but as ever @DavidBoyle1958, a monarchist!, is worth reading: Why radicals should welcome a royal baby http://bit.ly/18ChqK7 Once again, the data shows everyone was wrong about tuition fees | Mark Pack .@MarkPack's right, y'know > Once again, the data shows everyone was wrong about tuition fees http://bit.ly/18CfSjc The growth of private renting in the UK can no longer be ignored by government | British Politics and Policy at LSE Double in 20 years » "The growth of private renting ...
I am a European. I woke up this morning in a part of Europe called Liverpool; Liverpool is part of the North of England; the North of England is part of England; England is part of Great Britain; Great Britain ... Continue reading →
David Cameron wants to get ISPs to force households to opt in to porn. This has received wide coverage and is the subject of much conversation on Twitter. My own opinion is, though it's not my thing, it clearly is to a lot of people. Therefore I tolerate it - as this is more about taste than anything else. I also think the idea of "porn filters" is quite unlikely to work, as people will use proxies and other IT workarounds to get around it. I'm also a liberal, so I'm pretty against banning things, but to argue porn has ...
I have always struggled to see the point of the government's 'Help to Buy' scheme. Yes, young people face a huge problem in affording their first home now, but the answer to that is allow prices to fall. Putting more money into the housing market will ultimately force prices up and make matters worse. So I was pleased to see Matthew Oakeshott making just this point in the Independent today: Help to Buy could soon become "Help to Boom and Bust".Indeed he extends it by questioning the wisdom of years of near-zero interest rates: UK house prices remain way above ...
Since my post on Monday about the Home Office's plan to send mobile billboards proclaiming that people who are in this country illegally should go home or face arrest, a number of bloggers and party members across various internet fora have expressed emotions ranging from horror to anger at the plan. Sarah Teather is, as far as I can tell, the only Liberal Democrat MP to have passed any comment at all, and just to remind you, she wasn't chuffed: Vulnerable individuals who are fleeing persecution and violence are treated with disbelief and a complete lack of compassion in a ...
An online book of congratulations has been opened for anyone wishing to send messages to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge following the birth of their son. Cambridgeshire County Council has opened the book following the birth of the Prince of Cambridge. Further books have been placed in the Reception areas of Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council for residents to leave their messages. Anyone wishing to convey their congratulations can do so in person by calling into The Guildhall in Cambridge Market Place, Shire Hall on Castle Hill or the Town Hall in Bridge Street, ...
I don't know much about the Conservative MP for Devizes, whose campaign against the easy accessibility of internet porn has brought her to the attention of internet freedom campaigners and civil liberties activists - amongst others. However, there is more than a hint that she doesn't really 'get' the internet from her comments thus far. That's fair enough, I suppose. After all, I have an awareness of the value of the technology but, if you asked me to explain how it works, I'd be fairly clueless. I like to think of it as witchcraft that doesn't require burning at the ...
One of the great success of the coalition has been to put both Royal Mail and our treasured Post Offices on a stable footing. Thanks to Vince Cable and the Lib Dems in government Post Offices have received a £1.3Bn support package, and plans are underway to turn the network into a mutual owned by the people who work in it. These plans have been welcomed by the National federationof Subpostmasters. This bright future is a vast improvement on the previous Labour government's programme of closures that saw rural communities suffer the loss of their Post Office despite the economy ...
Tracey questions Border Agency's decision In May of this year one of the FBI's most wanted was arrested in Victoria Road, Chatham, Kent. Sean Lopes who was wanted for kidnap and attempted murder and was convicted in absentia to 15 years in Prison had been on the run since 2005. Lopes has been in the UK for several years and even got a job at Gravesend Sainsbury's as a night manager - all under his name. Local MP Tracey Crouch had written to the Home Secretary, Theresa May to request details on how he managed to get past the ...
Wed 24th
11:45Opinion: Why Florence Nightingale should be in the National Curriculum and why Liberal Democrats sho...
The Secretary of State for Education has decided that Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), famous for the Crimean War (1854-56) and major founder of professional nursing should be thrown out of the National Curriculum. Mary Seacole, who is there now, is to stay. Many Liberal Democrats support this, probably thanks to misinformation in wide circulation from Seacole campaigners. Nightingale influenced not only Britain but the world on nursing and hospital safety. She brought trained nursing into the dreaded the workhouse infirmaries, beginning in Liverpool in 1865. She called for quality health care for all, including those who could not pay fees (no ...
Performance figures just issued by Hertfordshire County Council's Children's Services show that only 13% of children looked after by HCC managed to achieve the critical 5 x A* to C grades. This was against a target of just 25%. "If this was a specific school rather than children in the care of the authority it would have been put in special measures or closed altogether", commented Mark Watkin opposition spokesperson for Children's Services. "The Conservative run County Council is responsible for ensuring every child in its care achieves to his or potential. It has totally failed to do this and ...
...I wrote this for the New Statesman. It went down surprisingly well ! It being summer, when the world's thoughts turn to the key questions of the day, such as why does the unseasonably hot weather make the trains late and when will the royal baby turn up, in Lib Dem land we're all mentally skipping July and August and embracing the advent of conference season. Yeah, really. Trust me, it will be Christmas before you know it.While its unlikely that we'll achieve the chart topping heights of last year's conference (don't tell me you've forgotten already), Glasgow 2013 looks ...
Tory MP for Devizes Claire Perry has been one of the key forces pushing web filtering from ISPs. She has long maintained the very honourable view that her priority is not a prudish dislike of porn, but protecting children from abuse. Just last month, Labour used one of their opposition day debates to discuss the ...
This morning's Western Mail reports that the Welsh Government has become the first Civil Service department in the UK to scrap bonus payments for senior civil servants: The decision was taken in the wake of strong criticism over the past two years by trade union officials angry at bonuses of £7,000 paid to a relatively small number of already highly-paid managers while the rest of the workforce was enduring a pay freeze. Yesterday a spokesman for the Welsh Government told us: "We have taken a decision to stop paying variable payments to members of the senior civil service in Wales. ...
Seeing the above road sign, on the way to work, my initialed reaction was, what the hell does that mean, "modified speed cushions", naturally I quickly decided that Transport for London, had become car friendly replacing the cruel speed humps designed to cause pain and damage to vehicle suspension with something altogether softer and humane. Wrong, where there had once been manageable speed bumps, in this particular North London road, it appears to me that some sneaky mean group of road planners who probably don't drive have decided to inflict maximum hurt. The "cushions" are a cruel joke offering extreme ...
Following on from my blogpost last week about the carrier bag charge in Wales, the Daily Mail carried an interesting piece yesterday in which they report that it is the Tories in the Treasury were are being accused of blocking moves to bring in the charge in English supermarkets. They say that Liberal Democrats believe that there is conclusive proof that charging will cut the use of plastic bags, which there is, but the Treasury do not want to force a levy on supermarkets before the election because it would be unpopular with voters. England is the only part of ...
Next Wednesday the 31st July see's Halifax Happy Hounds taking place within Warley ward. This event will be going from 12-3pm on Ling Bob playing fields. This event is all about promoting responsible dog ownership and is being held in response to the growing concern surrounding dog fouling and responsible owners. The event is being organized by Calderdale Council and promises to be full of fun with activities for all the family. There will be a host of activities including free microchipping for dogs, with fun sessions on dog handling, with displays, activities and information from the Council's Dog Warden ...
"Those who pour scorn on the royal baby frenzy are being clever elitists who despise the feelings of the less clever .... and reductionists." So says Bryan Appleyard, as ever hitting the nail on the head. Though in this case the nail he was aiming at was the head of the Archbishop of Reductionists, Richard Dawkins, who tweeted: "I'm patriotically proud of British achievements like Shakespeare, Darwin & DNA fingerprinting. But royal baby nothing to celebrate." I agree with Appleyard. Dawkins is being snobbish, but then the purpose of the Positivist wing in UK debate is to boil everything down ...
Wed 24th
10:20
University application rates from disadvantaged areas: my 'grounds for cautious optimism' graph UPDA...
Six months ago I published a graph showing an important trend: the narrowing gap in university application rates between 18 year-olds from the most disadvantaged areas and the most advantaged areas. In the light of UCAS's latest figures it's time to update it. The good news is that the trend shows the same outcome — a greater proportion of young people from disadvantaged areas are applying to university than ever before: [IMG: university disdvantaged application rates 2013 fc 2011]
While the attention of the world's media was focused on an 8lb 6oz bundle of Royal joy, there was perhaps even more significant good news about young people that didn't garner quite so much coverage: demand for higher education from young people is at or near record levels for each country of the UK in 2013. This was announced by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) yesterday, an analysis of patterns of demand from over 20 million applications for higher education from 2004 to 2013 — if ever there were a day to bury good news... Here are five ...
posted The Blood is The Life 23-07-2013 http://t.co/vuhkRd1omk on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://ldv.org.uk/35430 ATOS lose monopoly on work capability assessments after audit shows up "unacceptable" standards http://t.co/up8VuAkbmn by @caronmlindsay (tags: (from twitter) ) This Government doesn't understand technology. The attempt to block porn proves it http://t.co/2A27lJI2mB >> nicely done by @christopherward (tags: (from twitter) ) Dilbert Dates a Straw-Feminist. (tags: ) Sexual history mitigates rape? It does in Scotland... The law gets it EXACTLY wrong. (tags: ) Jack Monroe: the face of modern poverty | Patrick Butler (tags: ) The problems with work assessments run ...
Keeping 3 Public Libraries in Bootle but only 1 in Southport is outrageous However the Bootle Labour cabinet try to spin their decision leaving only one Public Library in the Southport constituency whilst keeping three open in Bootle is wrong. It displays Labour's priorities and their contempt for our town. (The two constituencies have the same population) Far more books are borrowed from the branch Libraries in Southport that Labour want to close than the ones in Bootle they are keeping open. Many residents will be more than two miles from a library especially (but not only) those in Crossens ...
From suggesting that the Blackberry messenger service be shut down during the 2011 riots, to proposing that the food standards agency can monitor your home internet usage It's clear that Cameron, or those around him, have a limited appreciation of how the internet works. Yesterday Cameron announced another clanger – default internet filtering for every household in the country, so unless you tell you ISP otherwise, pornographic content would be blocked – or at least some porn, as Cameron was today forced embarrassingly admit that the Sun's Page 3 topless models wouldn't be blocked. So isn't it a good idea ...
Liberal Democrat County Councillor Malcolm Cowan (Handside and Peartree) is speaking out about the farce where County Councillors are not permitted to ask the Police and Crime Commissioner about policing and crime issues here in Hertfordshire. Malcolm said, "When we were forced to have an elected Police and Crime Commissioner, we were told it would make the position 'publicly accountable'. "Well, do you know anyone who is allowed to quiz him? David Lloyd was previously chairman of the all-party Police Authority, and thecounty council could question him. "No-one expected him to carry on as a county councillor, earning another salary ...
Something I note with some despair is the assertion that marriage equality is not a transgender issue. The argument goes that it's primarily an LGB issue and trans people only get consequential benefits from it. Well, that's not really accurate, as our history, and the history of others, shows. A known hypothesis about privilege is that transgender people lose their gendered privilege and their heterosexual privilege as they transition; that, no matter how they present themselves, they'll always be seen as the disprivileged gender (in this case, female) or homosexual in some way. And vice-versa; as a trans lesbian, I'm ...
I have posted about this problem before. In brief the steps up to the road from the Leeds Liverpool Canal towpath to Pilling Lane have been out of use for a long time and local walkers are getting very frustrated. So much so that every time the Canal and River Trust rebuilds the fence that is supposed to stop pedestrians using the steps it is broken down by determined folk wanting access. [IMG: I took this shot of the steps during the last snow to hit Lydiate] I took this shot of the steps during the last snow to hit ...
[IMG: University campus] Buried by the news of a mother giving birth, the latest data from UCAS about applications in the UK for full time undergraduate higher education shows a remarkable sequence of good news: Demand for higher education from young people is at or near record levels for each country of the UK in 2013. Application rates for 18 year olds in England have risen in 2013, resuming historical trends. Application rates for young, disadvantaged groups have increased to new highs in England. Analysis of application rates by English regions shows that whilst relative demand is highest from pupils ...
I have criticised the way the concessionary TV licence scheme for people in sheltered housing operates as it is being denied to significant numbers of people in sheltered housing in the city. The Sheltered Housing Concessionary TV Licence Scheme should apply to people in sheltered housing who are under 75 (all people over 75 do not have to pay a TV licence fee) and gives them a lower fee of £7.50 per year. However, there are numerous anomalies in this concessionary scheme which mean that some people in sheltered housing who it would have been expected would qualify are being ...
We dubbed it Aladdin's Cave but actually it was a lock up garage in the Team's area of Gateshead, packed full of equipment that had been used during the National Garden Festival, hosted by Gateshead in 1990. This treasure trove of equipment was being cleared out but what was on offer would be perfect for the community cafe I run at Marley Hill Community Centre. The cafe raises funds for the
There will be plenty of it between Durham and Consett next summer. I went to the County Planning Meeting today to speak up as a local member. I approve of the proposal for an anaerobic digester to be built beside the Thomas Swan plant as a way for an important and successful local business to secure its future energy supplies, and am convinced that most of the fears originally expressed in some parts of the community will prove to be unfounded. One fear, however, I think is very real. The material the plant will use will be freshly harvested green ...
