"Nick Clegg's ratings get a boost" is the headline in a report on Liberal Democrat Voice of its latest readership survey. It suggests that the fall in support for the leader amongst party members has been reversed, at least for now. Since the previous survey of members in March, Clegg's positive ratings are up 10% to 58%, while negative ratings are down 8% to 40%. We also learn that 55% want Clegg to remain as leader and fight the 2015 general election, compared with 38% who think he should resign before then. So, an increase in approval, but 40% against ...
This time on Oh No It Isn't!, the first Bernice Summerfield audio.
Southport residents fed up with nuisance calls should let the Government know about it. Residents complaints; top of the list used to be dog mess, it has been push into the number two position by nuisance calls. The Culture, Media & Sport Committee have launched a parliamentary inquiry into nuisance phone calls and text messages and want to hear the public's views on this. th whole population is fed-up with nuisance calls, and now it's time to take action. There is a Parliamentary Bill aimed at straightening things out, too. And now am delighted that the Select Committee is starting ...
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of chairing the latest meeting of the West End Christmas Fortnight committee at the Mitchell Street Centre. We are making excellent progress with the 2013 events and I can advise that the fortnight will include: Saturday 23rd November : Launch of Christmas Fortnight for the West End at Dundee West Church with a community fayre and the church's Christmas coffee morning. Tuesday 26th November : Christmas Concert featuring contributions from local schools, a pipe band and guest artists. Followed by Christmas Lights Switch On, Fireworks Display and other great activities. Saturday 30th November : ...
Our glorious Prime Minister has been thinking about porn So this past week David Cameron has announced plans to do two things. The first of these is to completely block 'rape porn' on the internet by getting search engines to show no results for certain search terms. The second of these is to introduce a nationwide porn filter which will be switched on for everyone by default and which adults will have to actively opt out of if they don't want the filter on. That said, the porn filter will apparently have several exemptions. For example, online Page 3 pictures ...
Ian Ridley suggests nine questions to ask would-be Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates. "The Archbishop of Canterbury shows more sign of thinking about how to abolish capitalism than many on the left," argues Stumbling and Mumbling. Michael Skey, writing on the LSE's Euro Crisis in the Press blog, finds UKIP are the English Tea Party: "Notwithstanding these important caveats, recent research on both sides of the Atlantic points to some interesting similarities between the two parties, both, in terms of their supporters' attitudes and experiences and the impact they may be having on the wider political system, as a whole. Of ...
Here's upcoming Edinburgh band The OK Social Club with Gezellig:
A version of this article appeared on Lib Dem Voice earlier today Winning a council seat in Merseyside off Labour would be a significant achievement. Winning two on the same day would be virtually unheard of. Yesterday, in Maghull, Sefton MBC, Merseyside, Lib Dems won two seats off Labour and came within 9 votes of winning a third. The by-elections concerned took place in three adjacent seats on Maghull Town Council. Now in Southport we seldom identify with 'Sefton'. I will make an exception for Maghull. For reasons too painful to explain we got put in the same borough back ...
I think it fair to say and I think I said it myself when it first became apparent, some months ago, that Sefton Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) wanted to take over the Library, that I was at best uncomfortable with the idea. [IMG: Cllr. Iain Brodie-Browne ] Cllr. Iain Brodie-Browne at Birkdale Library You see I look upon Sefton CVS as being there to support volunteers yet in Birkdale they went over the heads of the volunteers who had come together to try to save the Library and put in a bid of their own. This is hardly supporting ...
Sometimes a story write (or draws,) itself. Anthony Weiner's sexting is one of those times: You can read the artist explaining how he came up with the cover, here.
One of the low spots of attempts to reform the House of Lords was the claim that the Coalition was packing the chamber. It wasn't true, especially given that there had only two lists of new creations since the General Election, and one of those was Labour's Dissolution Honours List. However, we now have some data. At the end of the 2007-08 Parliamentary session, there were 733 members of the House of Lords, excluding those on leave of absence, disqualified, retired etc. At the end of the 2012-13 session, there were 763. That represents an increase of just over 4%. ...
Labour's Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls predicted that we would be back in recession by now. [IMG: millionJobsLogo2] Instead it's been announced that the economy has grown by 0.6% in the second quarter. That might not sound like much, but it's actually as much growth as was originally predicted for the whole year! So today is definitely a bright day for Britain and the Liberal Democrats. Sorry to disappoint, Ed! In Government the Liberal Democrats have helped deliver over a million new private sector jobs and a record increase in apprenticeships. But we all know there's a lot more to do ...
New footpath for Hallatrow residents The first stage of improvements by Bath & North East Somerset Council for people walking between Hallatrow and High Littleton are complete. A 290 metre footway lying along the A39 Hallatrow Hill between Langfords Lane and Rosewell Country Care Home is now in place. New lighting columns are in place, new drainage will take surface water away from the road, and replacement trees will be planted in Hallatrow Village to replace those removed to accommodate the new pathway which required extensive vegetation removal. Improving links for people on foot between different communities is an important ...
A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood Ward as detailed below:- Application number: 56518 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 15/07/2013 Location: 4 Barnard Avenue, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6TY Proposal: Single storey extension at side Please let me know if you have any queries. Plans can be seen on the Council's website here. Tim
A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood as detailed below:- Application number: 56524 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 25/07/2013 Location: 109 Heywood Old Road, Middleton, Manchester, M24 4QG Proposal: Single storey rear extension Please let me know if you have any queries. Plans can be seen on the Council's website here. Tim
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 101876/FO/2013/S1 55 ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] The very kind and generous Caron Lindsay wrote: The sort of blog post you want to learn by heart. Pure brilliance. A must read. That is all. . 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 - ...
[IMG: Maghull Victory July 2013] Winning a council seat in Merseyside off Labour would be a significant achievement. Winning two on the same day would be virtually unheard of. Yesterday, in Maghull, Sefton MBC, Merseyside, Lib Dems won two seats off Labour and came within 9 votes of winning a third. The by-elections concerned took place in three adjacent seats on Maghull Town Council. Maghull Town Council, 8 miles to the North West of Liverpool City Centre, is the largest civil parish in the country and levies a Band D council tax precept of nearly £90. LabourTown councillors in three ...
An excellent public meeting of the BLAG Library Campaign Group took place at St Johns Church Hall on Thursday night, attended by 100 concerned residents. I will be reporting more fully later, but in the meantime I thought it would be useful to share some analysis that my Birkdale Ward colleague Simon Shaw prepared and shared with the meeting. Simon was concerned about how many books would be actually available on display to borrow under the Sefton CVS Consortium proposal to take over our Libary Building. Last Monday he went along to Birkdale Library, effectively to do some measuring up, ...
Fri 26th
14:20
Lib Dem publish latest accounts, shows £410k deficit and party membership down to 42,500
The latest set of accounts for the Lib Dems have been published – I've uploaded it at the foot of this post. Here are 5 points that struck me I read through the document. 1) The party ended 2012 with a £410k deficit The party recorded a £410k deficit, with £6m income and £6.4m expenditure. This is noted as a "disappointing result" and ascribed to the late receipt of a substantial legacy donation "which would have brought the result down to something much nearer to break-even". Yet legacies are by their very nature unpredictable: it's not something we can rely ...
I have been a member of the Liberal Democrats for 22 years. I was usually happy to vote for the Lib Dem candidate on the grounds that if they had made it through the selection process, then they must be OK. OK. Naive I know. The Coalition and Nick Clegg's leadership have rudely jogged me ...
David Cameron wants to block certain "pornographic" search terms. He joins a long list of MPs who simply don't understand what they're talking about - like Claire Perry, Andy Burnham, and Helen Goodman. I've talked before about my time working as an "Adult Material Classifier" for Vodafone UK. In short, my team and I used to watch pornographic videos and classify whether they were suitable for inclusion on Vodafone live. There were the usual limitations (no more than two participants, all over 18 etc) we also had a list of banned words. It contained the usual sexual and racial slang ...
There's a big lesson to learn from the offensive poster van fiasco this week. Sometimes we Liberal Democrats, including me, can be quick to feel a dividing line between those inside the Whitehall Bubble and the rest of us. This week, we spoke with one voice. Liberal Democrats inside Government were every bit as livid as those of us outside at the presence of these vans on our streets. With their stark message "Go home or face arrest", illustrated by handcuffs, they can only inflame tensions in communities. We now know that the Tories have pulled a fast one on ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... More than half of Lib Dem members want a power-sharing deal with Labour in 2015 | Mail Online More than half of Lib Dem members want a power-sharing deal with Labour in 2015 | Mail Online http://dailym.ai/1dZtZw5 Economic history: God and mammon | The Economist Praise for @ABCJustin Welby from the Economist: "the Archbishop is right to pick competition over legislation" http://econ.st/13gMeqZ CentreForum Liberal Hero of the Week #43: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. (Our Villain is David Cameron.) | CentreForum Blog Meanwhile David Cameron is @CentreForum's Liberal Villain of the Month. ...
Resurfacing work will begin on the A41 Tring Bypass east bound on the section between Tring A4251 and A4251 Bourne End on Saturday 27 July. The £500,000 scheme to repair the worn-out road surface will take three weekends using night-time road closures and day-time lane closures. The road will also be closed on Monday 5 August between 9pm and 5am. Signed alternative routes will be in place. Full details about the works, including the times and dates of the road and lane closures, are available on www.hertsdirect.org/roadworks The work is weather dependent and from time to time unforeseen circumstances can ...
Fri 26th
12:34
Simon Shaw number crunches the results of Maghull's 3 by-elections and clearly his work shows a rath...
[IMG: Cllr. Simon Shaw who exposed Labour run Sefton Council's Green Bin tax] Cllr. Simon Shaw who exposed Labour run Sefton Council's Green Bin tax Winning a council seat in Merseyside off Labour would be a significant achievement. Winning two on the same day would be virtually unheard of. Yesterday, in Maghull, Sefton MBC, Merseyside, Lib Dems won two seats off Labour and came within 9 votes of winning a third. The by-elections concerned took place in three adjacent seats on Maghull Town Council. Maghull Town Council, 8 miles to the North West of Liverpool City Centre, is one of ...
In the Spring of 2011 I submitted a motion to conference. It was not selected for debate: Conference notes that: (i) The Coalition agreement states: "We will maintain Britain's nuclear deterrent and have agreed that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money. The Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives." (ii) Conference in September last year resolved, among other things, to: "Press for the extension of the SDSR to allow a full review of the alternatives to 'like-for-like replacement of Trident." (iii) The final decision on a replacement for the Vanguard-class submarines ...
Small white feeding on nettle Finally, the longer spells of hot, dry weather have brought more butterflies into the garden from the woods. There have been fleeting glimpses of ringlets, red admirals, small tortoiseshells and commas as well as a flurry of small and large whites. Of course, getting photos of them for this blog is quite another matter! Next week I am planning a butterfly count for the Big Butterfly Count survey, a national survey that helps to assess the health of our environment. Details of where, how and why can be found here. I am hoping that the ...
It appears the paywall over on the Times is down, giving free access to all the paper's content. While it's down, journalists at the paper have been rushing to promote their articles over social media, knowing everybody can for a brief time look at handiwork. Times paywall still down – read my post-humous letter to ...
The Consultation period for the proposed changes to the Warwick Road through Acocks Green (see my post on July 18th) has been extended and will now finish on August 16th not July 30th (as the Be Heard website still says). I am also told there will be a manned exhibition at Acocks Green Library during the consultation period – this is proposed to take place on Thursday 8th August and Saturday 10th August. I'll post again if these timings are changed.
Unemployment continued to fall in Birmingham last month, mirroring the national trend. Seasonally adjusted unemployment benefit count fell by 21,200 nationally to 1.48m (4.7%). In Birmingham it fell by 368 to 47,816 (10.5%). Overall unemployment fell by 57,000 nationally in the last three months to 2.51m. In Acocks Green, the unadjusted unemployment claimant level fell by 31 in the month to 1,114. This means it falls below the 10% mark to stand at 9.9%. In the past year it has fallen by 64 (or 0.6%). Across Birmingham it has fallen by 2,721 or 0.7%. The number of long term (over ...
So, who says the Liberal Democrats can't take seats off Labour in the north? Actually, we can. In Maghull, just north of Liverpool, two wards of the town council turned from red to gold and another came within 9 tantalising votes of doing the same. Our vigorous campaign won a 20% swing from Labour. And, it seems, those fabulous Liberal Youth people were on the case, too. Was great to be out earlier campaigning in Maghull. We had a full committee room with average age of about 25 – lots of @liberalyouth peeps. — James King (@jamesinoxford) July 25, 2013 ...
Today's Times reports on yet another one of those difficult issues for Ed Miliband, stating that Labour paid no corporation tax last year despite being in surplus for its sixth year. The paper says that three months after Ed Miliband criticised irresponsible tax avoidance, it has emerged that his party reduced its corporation tax bill from £561,000 to zero by offsetting expenses and tax losses held over from 2011: Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats paid tax in 2012, although the corporation tax bill for the Lib Dems was only £15, following a profit of £66 on their investments ...
Following years of almost complete Labour domination of the electoral scene across not only Maghull but Sefton Borough (except Southport), last night showed what many may find surprising, Labour losses. There were 3 by-elections held in Maghull across 3 separate Town Council wards - East, North and South. The Lib Dems took a seat from Labour in both East and North wards and came within 9 votes of doing the same in South ward. [IMG: Jen Robertson (2nd from left), Bruce Hubbard (3rd from left) and their team celebrate the Lib Dem wins at Maghull Town Hall.] Jen Robertson (2nd ...
posted The Blood is The Life 25-07-2013 http://t.co/hfB4rlO0F6 on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) @RozKaveney apparently Clegg on holiday http://t.co/nSGRgE6mUg @britishroses1 (tags: (from twitter) ) http://www.guardian.co.uk/p/3htvx/tf Happy birthday Rosalind Franklin http://t.co/AnMxCK8P42 (tags: (from twitter) ) Good round up on the terrifying new police powers going through parliament at the moment (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Fri 26th
09:50EXCLUSIVE: Nick Clegg's ratings get a boost & 55% of party members want him to lead party in 201...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. More than 600 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results. Nick Clegg's ratings recover to +18%, best in over a year [IMG: nick clegg] What is your view of Nick Clegg's performance as Lib Dem leader? 14% – Very satisfied 44% – Satisfied Total satisfied = 58% (+10%) 20% – Dissatisfied 20% – Very dissatisfied Total dissatisfied = 40% (-8%) 2% – Don't know / No opinion When we ...
[IMG: Posted Image] I described recently discovering Violet Bonham-Carter's lost classic of Edwardian political memoirs, Winston Churchill As I Knew Him. I sat on the edge of my seat (figuratively speaking - I was reading in the bath), as she described the rising crisis in Ireland, with the Conservative leader inciting troops to mutiny, and finally the run-up to war. Until then I hadn't understood, before I read the book, how much Violet and the Asquith family were involved in the Dardanelles campaign, with her brothers and friends on the frontline, utterly committed to it. History has condemned the Dardanelles ...
It is interesting to note in Peter Jackson's judgment here the following: (2) In this Court there is no disagreement in relation to legal matters. With the advantage of the decision of the Supreme Court published only yesterday in the matter of Re B (A child) [2013] UKSC 33 it is clearly understood that an order of the kind that was made in this case can only be made where it is necessary and
So the British economy "grew" by 0.6% in the last quarter, which I'm sure some Tory "perception managers" will shorty be telling us is an an improvement of 100% over the previous quarter. Wow! I leave it to to others to make the obvious points that, as students of the trade cycle well know, economies in recession do eventually recover, and that without George Osborne's oxymoronic "expansionary austerity" policy the recovery would have been much quicker. In the short run we must be thankful that those who are feeling the pinch most in this downturn will get a bit of ...
My last update regarding the works currently going on at the library and the progress with them referred to a site meeting that was planned for earlier this week. I have now been updated by Library and Information Services at Leisure and Culture Dundee as follows: "Here is the update from the site meeting on the 23rd. The sanitary ware is still not in place in the new toilets, nor is the new flooring.The contracted estimated this should be done by the end of this week. The ceiling in the adult library has been repaired and decorated. Decoration to the ...
Skill Share Dundee is looking for submissions for our RE: Sustain Fayre on Sunday 18th August 2013. Here are some brief details and you can find out more by downloading more information here: If you have a craft that celebrates the theme of sustainability that you would like to display or run demonstrations at the event, get in touch to book a table at our fayre. For further details, visit the blog or email re.sustain@outlook.com. Deadline : Friday 2nd August 2013.
Figures released yesterday that show the UK economy grew by 0.6% in the three months to June is welcome news. Our economy is showing strong signs of recovery, but we still have a long way to go and there can be no room for complacency. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are committed to finishing the task of recovery, creating jobs and making Wales and Britain's economy strong again. The UK Coalition Government was formed at a time when the country's finances were in complete ruins. After wrecking the economy, Labour spent the last years rubbishing the Coalition's growth plan. They were ...
The Beverley Ward by-election in New Malden has seen the first Tory gain from the Lib Dems in Kingston since the mid-1980s. Con 1,033 Lib Dem 760 Lab 717 UKIP 223 Green 207 There are a number of reasons for the loss - not all of them obvious - which I may return to in due course.
