Chris Ayriss, whose video this is, has left a comment on a post of mine on swimming and poverty.
Sitting in The Three Tuns in Bishop's Castle reading the Shropshire Star is usually one of my favourite occupations. But the experience was rather spoilt by this story: Council chiefs have refused plans to delay the closure of a countywide rural bus service. Shropshire councillor Roger Evans, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, had attempted to formally 'call in' a decision made at cabinet on July 24 to axe the ShropshireLink. If accepted, it would have temporarily stopped the service cuts from being made. The bus service, which serves hundreds of passengers in Shropshire, will cease to operate from December ...
We are not quite at the excitement levels that Project Chanology caused, but there are two very big events (one newsworthy and one less so) that are likely to make Scientology pretty interesting for those of us who find the Church so fascinating. The first news-friendly story is the ongoing fallout from Leah Remini's defection from the Church. John Sweeney's excellent Panorama documentary "Scientology and Me" was the first time I'd ever heard of Leah Remini. In it Remini is shown as a loyal member of the Church aghast at the evil BBC's distortion of source. But we now know ...
Like all activists (I suppose I can claim to be semi active), I sometimes ask myself what it is all for. You stuff envelopes, you deliver leaflets (and every time you do, you think "There must be a better design of letter box"), you talk on doorsteps, you get buckets of abuse from people who know that all disabled people are faking it and all foreigners are living in million pound mansions at our expense, and all LibDems are liars (that one's really good, coming from some of the people who say it....). You get fed up to the back ...
So the currently in vogue moral panic is internet bullying. First twitter, and now ask.fm have become the focus of the old media due to tragic events of varying description. What is it about the internet, ask the commentariat, that leads to such disgusting behaviour? I've got news for the commentariat. It's not the tool, it's the users. A certain number of people have always been bullies. People have always written - and received - poison pen letters, some of them anonymous. People have always been pushed into suicide, scared and alone, because of the behaviour of their peer group. ...
[Introduction | Supers | Bats | Wonders & Lanterns | Solo Heroes | Justice | The Grey Area] We are a little bit out of my area of expertise again, here. Because none of these books are particularly ones that I have followed to any great extent. Although I am most definitely pleased this corner of the universe exists! This is another area where other people's input would be great. 33. SEVEN SOLDIERS is a team book that becomes a hybrid of a team book, a showcase and an anthology, with six of the main characters getting regular stories of ...
Dear Resident, Thank you for taking the time to read this month's edition of my Notes from Westminster. The last month has seen some great news for our local schools. Thanks to a new Department of Education initiative, there will be an additional £820 million spent to provide an extra 74,000 school places in areas of need - including 785 here in Stockport. There has been a steady rise in the number children of reception age enrolling at our schools and this will enable the local authority to provide for them near to their family homes. Further good news came ...
Follow Sam on Twitter - @SamPhripp Bodger and Badger - nothing weird happening here at all... You know what, as a vegetarian, I don't like killing live things. There are exceptions - I do believe that if it's in my house, the only good spider is a dead one, but there aren't many living things I dislike enough to kill them. That includes badgers. I am one of the Bodger and Badger generation - in a tiny part of my mind, badgers are cute things, making mashed potato and living in a house with a middle aged man called Simon. ...
[IMG: sexism] With the number of female software engineers standing at 20.9% [1], recruitment of females into the industry is a major concern. A friend of mine, Rosemary Francis who's MD of Ellexus, has a great talk about this issue. It mentions various methods you can use to tailor your job applications to be more attractive to females, by simply being careful not to exclude or put off potential applicants. However, there is also a very poor way of doing so, which is highly sexist and plays to stereotypes. As we can see from Bloopark's hiring page, this is exactly ...
The Helena Morrissey report was incredibly difficult reading for our party. Facing up to the reality that the party that I love and joined at 16 had not always lived out its values is painful. But throughout this process my top priorities have always been the people affected, getting to the truth, ensuring justice and making certain that we enact every single recommendation of Helena Morrissey's report. That's why I wanted to give you an update on the work we have done to put Helena Morrissey's recommendations into practice. Since the report was published, I have made efforts on a ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Ballots & bullets » Polling Observatory #27: Labour in crisis? Tories resurgent? Not really. If you're going to read a polls analysis, read @NottsPolitics » Labour in crisis? Tories resurgent? Not really. http://bit.ly/176Ieg7 The fact that Labour's poll lead is disappearing is as surprising as the fact that the night follows the day - Telegraph Blogs Dan Hodges is a fab writer. But the Telegraph realy shd keep him away from poll analysis. Here's his quality nonsense http://bit.ly/19bFSlS Premier League preview No6: Everton | Andy Hunter | Football | theguardian.com Honestly? I'd ...
The recent furore over the home office 'go-home' billboards has put immigration back in the headlines and highlighted the divide within the coalition over immigration. It was Sarah Teather who first voiced objections to the billboards, with a number of Lib Dems including Nick Clegg condemning them since. There has been little or no such criticism from Conservatives, who approved the billboards without consulting any Lib Dems. This is not too surprising given Conservative immigration policy over the past three years. The Conservatives have been promoting anti-immigration policies and rhetoric since the start of the Coalition, including pledging to bring ...
This annual cycling event on 18th August offers a choice of 30, 60 and 100 mile routes starting and finishing in Chipping Sodbury. It's organised by the Members and Friends of the Rotary Club of Chipping Sodbury. All profits from this classic sportive event will be given to charity. Challenging climbs and flowing descentsQuiet roads and rewarding flat sectionsExcellent food stopsMechanical backupHot food at the finish included There are just a few more places available so sign up now at the Sodbury Sportive web page. More details also on the Sodbury Sportive Facebook page.
This case which was in the European Court of Human Rights was recently pointed out to me. Paragraph 87 states: The Court reiterates that where the opinion of an expert is likely to play a decisive role in the proceedings, as in the case at hand, the expert's neutrality becomes an important requirement which should be given due consideration. Lack of neutrality may result in a violation of the
National Grid will be undertaking works to install a new domestic service on Styal Road, Gatley; opposite no.126, in between Styal Grove & Osborne Grove. The works will take place from Monday 12th August 2013 through to Friday 16th August 2013. These works require the use of temporary two way signals for the full duration.
So not only did Conservative MP Anna Soubry act in defiance of UK parliament when she hot-footed it over to Luxembourg to negotiate on behalf of the UK at a meeting of European ministers. We now know that her support for the European Commissions proposals at that meeting was decisive in giving the green light to the Tobacco Products Directive. In a letter (dated July 31st) to Bill Cash MP (Chairman, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee) Soubry says: "The committee asked whether the UK's support was vital to a General Approach being agreed" (at the Council of European health ...
There's an interesting conclusion in the latest research into varying levels of electoral registration amongst the population, this time from the Cabinet Office: The regression result did not find, however, that BME groups were statistically less likely to be registered that their white peers who share otherwise the same characteristics. These results imply that a BME individual who is in privately rented accommodation is just as likely to be registered as a white peer who is in similar accommodation for example. This is most consistent with the EC's most recent Winter Tracker which suggested that there was no significant difference ...
posted The Blood is The Life 07-08-2013 http://t.co/aQ7v33QKo7 on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) posted Two Delia Derbyshire Campaigns, one via @BenGoldacre http://t.co/pmIWdKfwdz on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://www.bistropierre.com/ @Gally_Freya @museofchaos The Egg: http://t.co/Om7OQGWWyY Bistro Pierre: http://t.co/YG8sj8mRZ9 (tags: (from twitter) ) http://www.eggcafe.co.uk/ @Gally_Freya @museofchaos The Egg: http://t.co/Om7OQGWWyY Bistro Pierre: http://t.co/YG8sj8mRZ9 (tags: (from twitter) ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
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. 58% say scrap Trident, just 26% back leadership line of reduced deterrent Currently the Trident system has FOUR nuclear armed submarines. This means that at least one nuclear armed submarine can always be on patrol, even if others are undergoing maintenance or training, and therefore the country has a continuous nuclear deterrent. One way of having a less expensive ...
[IMG: DRL123] There is a kind of experiment you can do with public services where I live in Crystal Palace, and I was reminded of it today when the bus driver for the 450 waved at me as he drove by. I wondered at the time whether it might be part of my answer for Mark Pack (see below). There are lots of buses where I live. If I get the 450, it is a small single-decker bus. It is usually packed full of pensioners hanging onto the supports for dear life as the driver swings them round. When everybody ...
Many thanks to everyone who has already given their views on how Cornwall Council can make next year's budget add up. I want to listen to all the views expressed and to give some feedback where possible. BBC Radio Cornwall have kindly passed on some of the comments they have received, so here they are and some of my initial thoughts: Suggestion:I was disturbed to hear about cuts to libraries - we need the libraries in order to have an educated population - they're also centres of the community. When I'm in Liskeard library I always see many youngsters using ...
Greater Sport – who support sport across Greater Manchester – are running two workshops for sports clubs on how to find and secure funding. The first is on the evening of Wednesday 25th September 2013, the second on Tuesday 4th March 2014. Both are in Oldham and there's a £15 fee to attend. For more information and to book your place, see here.
Whatever one might think of the Welsh Tories' new policy announcement that they want to divide up children at the age of 14 into academic and vocational streams, they certainly made an impact. They might also have started a debate. After all, no matter how this is characterised it is not a return to Grammar Schools and they have ruled out reintroducing the eleven plus. How unfortunate therefore that today's Western Mail reveals that elements of the new policy have their origins in a party focus group session: Results of the focus group have been leaked to WalesOnline and showed ...
[IMG: ldv coalition lessons] LibDemVoice is running a daily feature, 'Lessons of Coalition', to assess the major do's and don'ts learned from our experience of the first 3 years in government. Reader contributions are welcome, either as comments or posts. The word limit is no more than 450 words, and please focus on just one lesson you think the party needs to learn. Simply email your submission to voice@libdemvoice.org. Today Richard Morris shares his thoughts. Make the red lines deeper and wider Do you remember the 'What have the Romans ever done for us?' sketch from The Life of Brian? ...
New from the Deputy Prime Minister's office: Also on YouTube.
This morning I have announced a series of public consultation events to encourage Cornish residents, businesses and visitors to have their say on budget proposals for next year. The next few years will be no ordinary times. The council has to save up to £40 million next year and up to £100 million over the next four years. This cannot be done by making changes in administration and back office staff alone. There will have to be cuts to services as well. So the council wants to hear from Cornwall as to where they think savings can be made and ...
Yesterday afternoon, along with two representatives of the Bonnie Dundee group and a representative from the City Council's Environment Department, I took part in a site visit to the stepped area at Seabraes to discuss improving the area. The "top" part of Seabraes is beautifully maintained by the Environment Department. However, the stepped area below is very overgrown and unsightly, despite the steps themselves being well-designed. Scottish Enterprise (who own the stepped area and the digital media park to the south) has reached agreement with the City Council to transfer ownership of the stepped area to the Environment Department. At ...
Better Together News Release: The campaign for Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom will take its positive message on the benefits of the UK to the doorsteps this week. This week, 9th to 11th August, Better Together will hold its sixth National Campaign Weekend as thousands of supporters across Scotland knock on doors, deliver leaflets and speak to voters by phone. The theme of the campaigning will be the benefits to Scotland's pensioners of remaining in the United Kingdom. The campaign comes days after it was revealed: - A report by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed ...
For Cable's response to John Cole's original letter see previous post. Dear Dr Cable Thank you for your letter of 26th July, in reply to my earlier letter. I am grateful that a busy cabinet minister finds time to respond at some length. I do not wish to extend this exchange beyond your patience or time constraints. However, I make the following points: 1 I have now re-read your NS article of March 6th which is more nuanced than your remarks in Manchester. Shall we agree that the article represents your thinking better? 2 May I draw to your attention ...
I have received complaints from constituents that the footpath that runs from Hawkhill along Wilkie's Lane past the old St Joseph's school building and meets the main part of Wilkie's Lane at the church is in a really poor state - see photo below:The path is well-used by people attending the church and also as a route to/from the housing in the Larch Street/Blackness Road area to the north. I have reported the poor conditioned pathway to the Roads Maintenance Partnership and have been advised that an inspection will take place. It is clear to me that repairs are needed ...
Welsh Conservatives' proposals to extend grammar schools are a rose tinted Tory view of the past. Once again the Welsh Tories are throwing around policy ideas without any idea how they would implement them. They are refusing to operate in the here and now, instead reflecting on their rose-tinted Tory view of the past when many children were written off at 11. Their current proposal would instead see children cast aside when they're 14. A recent report showed that the odds of pupils entitled to free school meals securing a place at a grammar school were nearly five times lower ...
So. This evening I was out on the radio so I was unable to sit here and watch the Hampshire v Lancashire T20 Quarter-Final but I was full of confidence. I kept away from the interweb including twitter, Facebook et al as I didn't want to know the result. I did see a tweet early in proceedings so I knew Hampshire were batting first and James Vince had batted really well but apart from that I knew naff all. So I sit down to watch the game when I get in and oh my word. Talk about going through the ...
As the largest opposition group on Redcar & Cleveland Council, Liberal Democrats are concerned that the insecurity of Labour's grip on power caused by recent defections will be disastrous for the borough. Labour have now lost their overall majority. Lib Dem Group Leader Councillor Glyn Nightingale (pictured), said: "The Liberal Democrats are opening talks with other opposition councillors to explore ways of steering the Council to more stable ground. The Council should be listening to what the public say and putting people's needs before politics. "I hope that opposition groups can come to an agreement which will work for the ...
