The Liberal Democrats have always prided themselves on their belief in the value of education. The question is, what do we mean by 'education'? Do we mean earnest and studious reading in the university library? Or do we mean something that promotes more free thinking and a genuine spirit of enquiry? It is a question raised in the Spectator by Rory Sutherland of advertising company Ogilvy, in an article titled Why I'm hiring graduates with thirds this year. It is one of the most life-affirming articles I have ever read: It's hard to tell the difference between a university and ...
Tue 30th
22:55
Vicky Pryce stripped of her honour - but who are the Honours Forfeiture Committee to decide?
[IMG: Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce-1756679] Vicky Pryce — the former wife of Chris Huhne, who was imprisoned earlier this year for perverting the course of justice after admitting taking speeding points on his behalf — was today stripped of the honour she was awarded by the Queen in 2009. As the BBC reports: The economist, who was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 2009, was found by a committee to have brought the honour into disrepute. Some people will have no sympathy for Vicky Pryce and stop there. "She went to prison, serves her right," ...
Following the success of the South Cambridgeshire Business Support Service, a series of free workshops is re-launching to help business-owners in South Cambridgeshire become more successful. The 15 half-day 'how-to' workshops are delivered by experts and have been designed to address specific issues of businesses in the local area, including business planning, improving profit, finding new customers and maximising market awareness. The workshop programme begins with 'How to plan for success' on Wednesday 4th September and concludes on Thursday 12th December. The workshops will be held in Cambourne, Melbourn, Fulbourn and Over, and are free to attend for anyone in ...
[IMG: info signage] Something's been bugging me, but I've not fully thought it through. That may well become apparent in a bit. I've a sense there is a link that isn't being made as effectively as it needs to be. Within the housing policy community there is a widely shared presumption that housing supply in the UK has been inadequate for at least the last couple of decades. The detailed numbers can be debated, but there is broad agreement that the number of homes constructed annual falls well short of the numbers needed to meet the growth in the household ...
A Cambridge man has been stung with over £1,000 in fines and costs after waste from his home was found dumped in the countryside. Mr John Seeley, 41, who owns a property in Kelsey Crescent attended Cambridge Magistrates' Court on Thursday (25 July) where he pleased guilty to failing to take reasonable measures to secure that the transfer of his waste was to an authorised person. South Cambridgeshire District Council investigators tracked the waste, which included kitchen units and a worktop, back to Mr Seeley's property in Kelsey Crescent and when interviewed he confirmed he had paid £160 cash to ...
I happened to be listening to Richard Bacon on Radio 5 Live this afternoon. One of the topics he covered was the recent flaming and trolling incidents on Twitter. A couple of times I thought that he or one of his contributors was going to point out that abusive behaviour has always been an unwelcome feature of "computer mediated communication" (CMC), but this was never explicitly stated. One of his contributors suggested that by improving (ICT) education, such abuse and bullying could be eradicated within a couple of generations. Sadly, abusive behaviour has always seemed to be a feature of ...
This is the grave of Colonel Claude Lancaster who rebuilt the cottages at Kelmarsh that we saw yesterday. It is a family plot and was originally erected for his father, so Claude's name appears on the back of the angel's plinth. (Incidentally, if you think it is in poor taste you ain't seen nothing at St Denys, Kelmarsh, yet.) Claude served as Conservative MP for Fylde and then Fylde South between 1938 and 1970. He was not a great contributor to the Commons and seems to have been chiefly concerned with the coal industry, parts of which he owned before ...
Tue 30th
21:57
The problem with Twitter's abuse report form: you have to agree to passing information to your abuse...
There's a rather unfortunate, to put it kindly, tick box waiting for you if you try to report abusive tweets to Twitter via its official online form at https://support.twitter.com/forms/abusiveuser. Here's the tick box that comes up near the end of the process: [IMG: Twitter abuse report form] Requiring you to agree that all the information you have provided (which, in detailing the background to your complaint, may need to include personal information) can be passed on to the person you have complained about is an approach stuffed full of problems. All the more so when the form goes on to ...
@lordbonkers Really! That is the most wonderfully cynical comment I have read in a long time. Genuinely laughing out loud. — Martin Veart (@Martin_Veart) July 26, 2013 Having had this exchange with the writer of Martin's View only a couple of days ago, I was not surprised by David Howell's bizarre contribution in the House of Lords today: "Would you accept that it could be a mistake to think of and discuss fracking in terms of the whole of the United Kingdom in one go? "I mean there obviously are, in beautiful natural areas, worries about not just the drilling ...
An idealist (obviously wearing sandals) votes against the government position. Isn't it by time he grew up? Debate is currently raging about whether the Liberal Democrats are "ready" to be a "grown-up" political party. Our leader demands it and we're just not prepared for it, apparently. The Spectator has reported this so it must be true. "Grown up" is a term Nick Clegg likes. He uses it a lot - in fact, he used it a lot even before we were in government (the epitome of grown-upness in Clegg's book). Now, when I think of "grown up parties" I've clearly ...
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. 54% of Lib Dem members say 'No' to MPs taking second jobs Which of the following best reflects your view? 29% – Some MPs continuing to do second jobs (in medicine, law, business etc) keeps them in touch with working people, and is better than having a House of Commons made up of just full-time politicians 54% – MPs ...
Throughout the last year one in five bike hire docking stations were empty for at least three hours each day, according to new figures released by the Mayor of London following probing questions from Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group. Between 1st July 2012 to the 30th June 2013 the level of empty bike hire docking stations included: 107 docking stations empty for 3 hours or more each day76 docking stations empty for 4 hours or more each day54 docking stations empty for 5 hours or more each day29 docking stations empty for 6 hours ...
Tue 30th
19:37
My column for ConHome: Why the Lib Dems have no alternative but to fight the 2015 election from the ...
[IMG: con home cartoon] My third column for ConservativeHome — The Other Side — ran this morning. You can read it here (and enjoy the comments from readers who aren't, in the main, Lib Dems) or below. I'm enjoying the gig, and kudos to ConHome's editor Paul Goodman for allowing a Lib Dem a regular slot on the site. The night the Coalition was formed I was sat in a hot, airless BBC studio in Oxford taking part in a live Radio 4 discussion about what it all meant. I was on my own, with the presenter and other guests ...
The green movement must ensure its relationship with science helps open up ideas of progress, not limit them "The Greens are finished" chants Tim Montgomery - his Times editorial joining heavily orchestrated wishful thinking last week. But an opposite concern is ironically more serious. If judged by its roots, the greatest danger for the green movement lies more in the trappings of success, than in Montgomery's asserted "failure". And there also emerge here some important implications for Enlightenment traditions of science. Myriad strivings for "liberation", "equality", "internationalism" and "nonviolence" flow vibrantly in "environmentalism". Remember "peace" alongside the "green"? Roots of ...
Tue 30th
18:02
Sumner Road car park, Formby – Why no decision by Formby's own councillors about the proposed ...
Today I spoke to a Formby resident who was more than a little angry about parking charges being proposed by Sefton Council for this particular car park. It presently has 'Limited waiting' for 2 hours between the hours of 09.00 – 18.0, Monday – Saturday. Her concern was that charges may well have a detrimental effect on local business and shops, the very thing that continues to worry me about a parallel situation Maghull's main shopping centre where charges have already been brought in (all be it by a private developer) and which I have posted about previously on this ...
Every summer my good friend ( yes I am joking) Eric Pickles comes out with something so absurd that you know that it totally incapable of implementation and is designed to appeal to the outer reaches of loony conservatism - ... Continue reading →
As Dear Constant Readers know, I've an unhealthy obsession with less mainstream religions. Scientology is one which, though not mainstream, a great many people have at least heard of. So some of you may well know what a Suppressive Person (SP) is. For those that don't, here's the Church of Scientology's view: "the Suppressive Person seeks to upset, continuously undermine, spread bad news about and denigrate betterment activities and groups. Thus the Anti-Social Personality is also against what Scientology is about—helping people become more able and improving conditions in society. As anyone can think of many examples of a Suppressive ...
Today's Courier highlighted my concerns about the graffiti vandalism that took place in the Blackness Road and Glamis Road area overnight Sunday/Monday, and the action I took informing the police and asking the City Council's Rapid Response Team to assist with the graffiti removal. I was on Radio Tay News and Wave 102 News today and will be speaking about the situation on STV News this evening. You can hear the radio interviews by clicking 'play' below. I am grateful to all the many residents who have been in touch with me about the vandalism and to the Rapid Response ...
[IMG: eric avebury] Eric Avebury has written before about the need to outlaw caste discrimination, and about the legislative processes as proposals within the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill went through the Lords. It is therefore disappointing to learn that the campaign has suffered a serious setback. In 2010 the Government commissioned independent research into caste discrimination and harassment in the UK. The summary (pdf) of that research reported that between 50,000 and 200,000 people in the UK are culturally identified as low caste. It found evidence of caste discrimination in work and in the provision of services, and evidence ...
If we are to win against climate change, greens need to replace spin with sober analysis Do many environmentalists hold anti-scientific positions? This idea, put forward by environmental journalist Fred Pearce and others, may have received some pushback (eg Anne Chapman earlier in this series but for me, it is merely a statement of the obvious. Consider that great scientific battleground of the early 21st century: embryonic stem cell research. Here is an issue where too many greens hold views indistinguishable from those of the Vatican. Greenpeace brought and won a lawsuit against the German scientist Oliver Brüstle who wanted ...
Vince Cable on the recent Government trial of "Go Home" Poster vans in London: "It was stupid and offensive. It is designed, apparently, to sort of create a sense of fear in the British population that we have a vast problem with illegal immigration. We have a problem but it's not a vast one. It's got to be dealt with in a measured way dealing with the underlying causes." Quite. Incidentally, to the Home Office spokesman who said it was "clear that this is already working": really? Care to back that up with some facts? How many people have called ...
As part of our series on science and the green movement, Warren Pearce looks at how science is used by their opponents Since climate change came to prominence in 1988, the role of scientific knowledge - especially an idea of scientific consensus - has played a starring role in the ensuing academic enquiry/political debate/trench warfare (delete as preferred). Beyond a depressingly binary characterisation of simply pro or anti-science, I'd argue sceptics cannot simply be written off as anti-science or conspiracy theorists (although I am sure one or two may fall into that category). Rather, they see themselves as upholding the ...
The arguments over the so-called Bedroom Tax have been rehearsed on this site on many occasions and it's been in the news today, with the judgement that it does not discriminate against disabled people.The Department of Work and Pensions has separately announced extra money to help those worst affected. This will be given to Councils to give to those most in need. I understand that ministers did consider further exemptions but felt that it was fairer to allow councils to make the decisions because they were dealing directly with the tenants concerned and knew more about their circumstances.The extra money, ...
Liberal Democrats want to create a Stronger Economy in a Fairer Society. In order to do this it is vital that no one section of society is unnecessarily prevented from starting a new business should they wish to do so. However, evidence suggests that people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are often keen to start a business but for a variety of reasons don't go through with it. The National Audit Office estimates that the cost to our economy from the failure to fully use the talents of people from our ethnic minority population could be more than ...
The arguments over the so-called Bedroom Tax have been rehearsed on this site on many occasions and it's been in the news today, with the judgement that it does not discriminate against disabled people. The Department of Work and Pensions has separately announced extra money to help those worst affected. This will be given to Councils to give to those most in need. I understand that ministers did consider further exemptions but felt that it was fairer to allow councils to make the decisions because they were dealing directly with the tenants concerned and knew more about their circumstances. The ...
Yesterday a friend got in touch with regard to a spare ticket he had to one of the launch events of a series of "#BristolProms" season being hosted by the Old Vic. Inspired by Promenade concerts held in the historic theatre in the early 1800's, each performance also features a twist designed to open up the music to a wider audience - and to encourage to feel and experience it new or different ways. It may seem odd to perform music in a theatre space, but the intimacy of the 18th century space was perfect for a Piano recital, allowing ...
What should the Liberal Democrats do if they hold the balance of power at the next general election? The answer is that we shall probably have no choice. The first reason is that the experience of coalition in this parliament may, rightly or wrongly, lead whichever is the largest of the parties - Labour or Conservative - to decide to govern as a minority and try their luck at another general election soon. We could even force this decision on them by refusing to form a coalition, but we Lib Dems are supposed to believe in coalition and would find ...
[IMG: Stephen Lloyd] The former Conservatives MP for Eastbourne, Nigel Waterson, has been pursuing a libel action against the Lib Dem victor Stephen Lloyd over comments made about his expense claims in election leaflets (e.g. see Stephen Lloyd wins defamation judgement appeal). The most recent stage, a High Court appeal ruling, went decisively in Stephen Lloyd's favour. As the ruling explains: The applications raise the question of whether it is capable of being within the defence of honest opinion to describe, as a scandal, the fact that the claimant claimed £70,000 from taxpayer funds for a family home, 60 miles ...
The ALDE Group in the Committee of the Regions has launched the third edition of the awards for key liberal players at regional and local level. This year's awards ceremony will be held on 4th of December in Brussels. Both the national board of ALDE and EDP member parties as well as their local branches can submit nominations of persons that are considered to be suitable candidates for such an award, accompanied by a small motivation. Nominations need to reach the ALDE Secretariat by 30th September 2013. There will be 2 categories of awards: Local Leader of the Year Regional ...
This morning I was on Radio Cornwall talking about the council's approach to setting care home fees. This follows the announcement yesterday that a care home in Hayle is to close in two weeks and that 19 residents will have to be found new homes. Normally, care homes need to give at least 28 days notice if they are to close or evict a resident. This allows relatives, the council and other care providers the time to find the most appropriate alternative accommodation. It is disappointing in this case than only two weeks notice has been given but the council ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... We can make Twitter better, but never perfect – Index on Censorship | Index on Censorship Excellent sense from h@mePadraigReidy > We can make Twitter better, but never perfect – Index on Censorship http://bit.ly/16gMHyu Lessons of Coalition: what do the Lib Dems need to learn from the first 3 years? | Stephen Tall What are the top #LessonsOfCoalition for the Lib Dems? That's the question I'm kicking off today. Views? http://bit.ly/18Ox1X2 RICHARD KAY: Sad exit for Badar Azim, footman star of Prince George's royal birth | Mail Online Daily Mail's Richard Kay ...
I posted last week about a questionnaire which had been produced by Tony Hogg the Police and Crime Commissioner. The point I was trying to make was that the monitoring questions - about disability, sexuality, age and so on - seemed to have greater prominence but were not linked to the questions about crime and community safety. There is a real point to having monitoring questions like this. They can help to identify whether services are used by and responsive to the needs of different sections of the community. The point I was trying to make in my previous post ...
Watch the new video from Amnesty International UK: Also on YouTube.
click to enlarge The headline should really read, The government is a heartless bastard who think the disabled should just go somewhere and fucking die, because we really don't care. But I thought that would be too provocative. The full story on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23503095. It is apparent that as long as the arseholes in charge of this policy seem to think it is bringing in fairness with the bedroom tax , the fact that there are not enough social housing to downsize or even 'upsize' is an irrelevance - as long as the government can squeeze more juice out of the ...
The government's decision not to go ahead with "plain" packaging for cigarettes was welcomed by most sane reasonable people as an indication that we may finally be seeing a beginning of an end to the madness that is government by pressure group. Only true public health disciples believe that the campaign is anything more than a vanity project intended to bash "big tobacco" and show just how powerful the activists have become. There is no credible evidence of any likely health impact whatsoever and one can be forgiven for concluding that some activists are so wrapped up with winning their ...
Thursday: The good news is that there has been a small but significant increase in Great Britain's output in the second quarter, meaning that there will be call for more of the new tenners when they come in. Unemployment remains at almost exactly the same place it was when the Coalition entered government, and inflation has been at about 3% for the last year (a bit too high, but - crash of 2009 aside - lower than it's been since before Mr Frown was Prime Monster). We're even a little HAPPIER than we were last year! And in a reversal ...
Livingston Road Canyon. One of the things to come out of the Rochester Airport debate at last weeks full council was a plea from freshly defected Labour Councillor Andy Stamp who in his report stated that a couple of roads in GillinghamNorth had now reached such levels of deteriation that they were now unsafe. If has been something of a common complaint around the Medway towns, our roads are in a dire straights and I have as many pictures of potholes on my phone as I have pictures of my kids. Some have been there for a long time and ...
I got all my best lines from comedians and opponents. It began on Oleg's yacht, when I bet the Prince of Darkness a grand he couldn't invent me a policy more blatantly bogus than "Neo-Classical Endogenous Growth Theory". After a few vodkas, Peter came up trumps. "Expansionary Fiscal Contraction!" he spluttered, between giggles. I cunningly insisted on sole rights to the phrase, and paid up. Next - gulp - we won. We were in The Thick of It – you remember, that comedy Tony wrote under an Italian pseudonym, which he kept secret until his trial at The Hague in ...
There's always a lot of jockeying for position in any political party, but it appears to be particularly strident within the Lib Dems in the lead-up to this September's conference in Glasgow. In the blue corner, there is much talk of anti-Clegg "lefties" and "socialists" trying to scupper the 2015 manifesto by making it skew too far left for coalition to be possible with anyone other than Labour - ignoring how left-skewed our manifesto was in 2010, and yet we still managed coalition with the Tories. In the red corner the talk is of "the leadership and their lackeys" trying ...
In the news this week is the story that the Conservatives want to allow parking, for up to fifteen minutes, on double yellow lines and, to do this, they want to order councils not to enforce parking fines for people parking on yellow lines for fifteen minutes or less. The idea being that this will help local shops by letting people stop easily to quickly nip in and out. Now the Liberal Democrats aren't so keen on this idea while most Conservatives seem to be. I imagine part of this is that Liberal Democrats don't like central government dictating to ...
Residents will be aware that this weekend was the second 'Festwich' event in St Mary's Park. If you have any issues or comments that you would like me to feed back to the Council or the organisers please just let me know. Tim (tim@burylibdems.net)
Note from the the county council: NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using that length of A5183 (Folly Lane/Verulam Road/High Street), St Albans from its junction with A4147 Folly Lane south eastwards to its junction with A1081 Chequer Street, a distance of approximately 1000 metres, except for access. The purpose of the Order is to enable highway maintenance works to take place. The section of road will be closed between the hours of 09.00am and 06.00pm for approximately 1 day ...
posted The Blood is The Life 29-07-2013 http://t.co/hGYBEEtGQD on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://open.spotify.com/track/72JXmVYLGHUdbZkJZ9H3fi Best weight lifting track EVER. Am rocking the gym this morning :) http://t.co/9b5F0kby3t (tags: (from twitter) ) talk radio host talks to two self confessed Internet trolls and is shocked at what they espouse (tags: ) 'Go Home' vans: When stirring up immigration anxiety can suddenly seem like a serious mistake http://t.co/B89UVkCSB8 via @migrants_rights (tags: (from twitter) ) Campaign for a "report this to their mum" button starts here? RT @tweeter_anita: Trolls have mums... http://t.co/1rjSZxcYtE (tags: (from twitter) ) UNISON ...
[IMG: Phil Willis] Phil Willis has praised the 111 service in York for the excellent service he received recently. Speaking in the House of Lords yesterday he said: On June 9 I had reason to call 111 because I was having a heart attack. The response from 111 was not only excellent in York – not only at the same time did they call the paramedics, but they had me in hospital within 25 minutes to an absolutely superb accident and emergency. He was responding to a Private Notice Question posed by a Labour peer: "To ask Her Majesty's Government ...
Bin collections in South Cambridgeshire have been given a big thumbs up, with 97% of residents agreeing that the service is as good as, or better than, 12 months ago. The South Cambridgeshire District Council satisfaction survey showed that, overall, 89% of residents are satisfied with the service, a one per cent increase from 2011. Householders were also asked what could be done to improve the service, with the largest number of comments calling for an increase in the capacity of green and blue bins so that residents can recycle even more. Asked about their local environment, dog poo not ...
I have been informed by the Council's Highways department which roads in Holyrood Ward are going to be partially resurfaced in the current financial year. These are: - Hampden Road - parts of Polefield Circle - Guest Road I know in all three cases that local residents have been concerned about the state of their roads for some time, so good news for those streets. My understanding is that even though the Government gives Bury a grants towards this work, this is all that can be afforded this year. Less good news for other areas – I do not need ...
Bury Council is currently in the process of preparing a new Local Plan that will guide future development in the Borough up to 2029. The Core Strategy is a key part of the Local Plan and sets out how much new development, such as housing and employment, they are seeking to promote within the Borough and where this development will be focused. The Core Strategy also identifies those parts of the Borough where built development will be restrained, and it will be used as the basis for making future decisions on planning applications. Bury Council has consulted on two previous ...
Very clever: shoes with lights on them which point you in the right direction to get home. No Place Like Home from Dominic Wilcox on Vimeo.
[IMG: ldv coalition lessons] We're more than three years in. What started in the Rose Garden has turned into a bed of thorns. The quieter summer weeks are as good a time as any to reflect on the key lessons the Lib Dems need to learn from this stint in government. Who knows? We may have a second chance after 2015: best to plan ahead now to avoid the obvious pitfalls we fell into this time (tuition fees, NHS Bill, secret courts) as well as to max-out the successes we've delivered (tax-cuts for the low-paid, the 'pupil premium', new apprenticeships). ...
After Saturday night's events it seems appropriate to repost this vintage newsreel.
[IMG: rsz_swans_llc_27_07_13] This was the scene last Saturday at the end of our Lydiate garden.
Tue 30th
07:54
Pope Francis Reminding His Flock That They Actually Have To Follow The Tenets Of Christianity
The media and Twitter exploded in gushing over some quotes from an in-flight press conference by Pope Francis. Among some gay tweeple you'd think we'd had the Second Coming. But the most interesting thing to me was that we should be surprised at all by what the Pope said. "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge? The catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says they should not be marginalised because of this but that they must be integrated into society." Isn't that basically how anybody ...
[IMG: Just what Bootle needed!!] Just what Bootle needed!! Driving down Aintree Road in Bootle yesterday and what do I see but two huge posters that could not be more inappropriate in a community with more than its fair share of gun crime! What do posters like this say about our society when guns are being so overtly promoted. I despair.
This coming Saturday sees the start of the second Dundee Blue Skies festival, a week of kite flying, stargazing and rainbow chasing starts - and it runs until 11th August. Blue Skies brings together cultural agencies from across the city to present you with an exciting mix of free events for all ages. Events include : * Blue Skies at Celebration in the park - launch activities on Saturday 3rd August. * Make Paper come alive - on Monday 5th August - at DCA. * Top Gun - with extra guitars - on Saturday 10th August - at Dundee Airport. ...
The Western Mail reports that an independent review of the Foundation Phase by leading academics has unearthed 'varying interpretations and attitudes' towards the initiative that appears to influence practice within classrooms. It found that the attitudes of headteachers and senior management were 'pivotal' to the extent to which it had been adopted in schools and the emergence of contradictory policies had 'diluted' its impact. The first in a series of reports evaluating the implementation and impact of the Foundation Phase also warned that key aspects had been 'misinterpreted' by practitioners and successful delivery varied between local authorities: Researchers from the ...
Join local bat watcher Jerry Sorfleet and Prestwich Clough Centenary Group on a Bat walk watching and listening to the Bats of the Clough as they hunt for food. Numbers are limited so please ring to book a place on the walk. Telephone 07955755088 or davidstanley@prestwichclough.co.uk To of the walks have already happened, but two more in August and Septembe [IMG: Screen Shot 2013-07-30 at 05.44.20]
Hat Tip: Liberal England
This is an old Financial Times blog but it brings back some memories of Liberal Democrats Federal Conferences of old and those of our predecessor parties. Number one of the top ten conference moments is the 1992 resolution to ban goldfish prizes at fairgrounds. Although this seems like one of those kooky Liberal Democrats ideas, it was a Labour government that implemented it. I was also there for the David Steel 'Go home and prepare for government' speech, although the least said about that the better. I was also there for one of the events mentioned in number 4, namely ...
[Originally posted at Social Liberal Forum blog, 29/07/13] [IMG: Suits] It's being billed as a set piece set-to. The rapidly approaching Autumn Conference in Glasgow is of great significance. Discussions that shape the content of the next General Election manifesto will be at the core of the agenda. It would appear that Nick Clegg and his aides are aiming to use a string of votes at Conference to push the party in his preferred direction. The major Clegg-sponsored motion on the economy - which basically asks voting reps to sign up to Osbornomics as official party policy - is likely ...
Tuesday: The arrival of a BABY* who is going to receive the entire United Kingdom in spite of not even writing a FAMOUS DIARY begs the question: is it RIGHT that so much of the wealth of this country is bound up in a few families and handed down generation after generation? The PROBLEM isn't whether this is SELF-EVIDENTLY WRONG (it is) but that the people who HAVE all the wealth have a VERY GOOD trump card when anyone dares to suggest taxing them: "People who've worked hard for their money should be allowed to give it to their children!" ...
