Last week saw council by-elections in Merton, Redcar, Swindon and Waveney in Suffolk. And the Lib Dems polled 196 votes - not in any one of the contest, but in all four put together. Swindon saw the highest share of just 3%. This week there are four more by-elections in Hartlepool, West Devon, Walsall and West Berkshire. The Lib Dems are standing in just half - Walsall and West Berkshire. The result from West Bershire will undoubtably be better than anything last week or the others this week - but it shows how weak the party's infrastructure is if it ...
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am fanatical about my music. Indeed, any regular reader of this blog will have struggled to have failed to notice the many blog posts dedicated to my musical loves. But what I find amazing about my musical life odyssey is that every so often, I'm introduced to an old sound that suddenly grows on me. Often I have found myself listening to music that I had long derided for not being to my musical pallet to find all of a sudden, out of the blue...that actually, it's bloody brilliant! It has happened before. ...
On Monday, I spotted on the BBC News website that thieves had targeted Holy Trinity Church in Torbryan, Devon, stealing two fifteenth century panels from the screen which had survived the puritanical zeal of the English Reformation. The screen was considered the most complete screen of the period left in England, making it truly a national [...]
This is Mike Clarke's video petition to the queen. A petition to the Monarch is protected under Article V of the 1688 Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is here. and Article V states: Right to petition. That it is the Right of the Subjects to petition the King and all Commitments and Prosecutions for such Petitioning are Illegall. This is also referred to in the first amendment of the US
Community volunteers are being called on to help an annual family fun day go with a swing on Sunday 4 August at Milton Country Park. A great free family day out, the ever-popular Park Life is organised by South Cambridgeshire District Council in partnership with Cambridge Sports Lake Trust. Last year's event attracted over 4,000 residents, with volunteers helping the event run smoothly. Two shifts will run on Sunday 4 August from 9.30am to 1.30pm and 1pm to 4pm. Volunteers will act as stewards, pointing people to different activities, gathering feedback and booking people onto water sport sessions. Full briefings ...
New mothers have received kitchen fire safety advice from firefighters as part of a drive to make people's kitchens safer in the city. Firefighters from Cambridge's White Watch have been cooking up 10 tips for a safer kitchen and delivering them to residents in and around Cambridge as part of a month-long safety campaign. On Wednesday (August 14) the crew visited a group of new mums at Chesterton Children's Centre to promote the fire safety messages. Jo Shippey, firefighter at Cambridge White Watch, said: "More than half of all accidental fires in Cambridgeshire start in the kitchen, so it is ...
There is still grant funding to help employers within Cambridge and the A10 and A14 corridors to provide workplace sustainable travel initiatives Last year The Travel for Work Partnership received funding from the Government's 'Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF)'. Part of this is being used to fund the Workplace Sustainable Travel Grant scheme. Employers based within the LSTF areas (Cambridge - Huntingdon and Cambridge to Ely corridors) can all apply for up to £6,000 of match funding for facilities to help staff commute sustainably. To find out more contact TfW on 01223 715550 or email: info@tfw.org.uk. The last chance to ...
From King's: Further to your recent outpatients appointment and bone density scan, I am writing to you with the results of your investigations. As we discussed in clinic, the scores obtained on bone density assessments represent the number of standard deviations (sd) below the mean bone mineral density for 30 year old women in the King's catchment area. A person is diagnosed with osteoporosis if their bone density lies more than 2.5 sd below the mean, or if they are 1.0 sd below the mean with a fracture suggestive of the condition. I have included your bone density results from ...
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray's games with his mother Judy 20 years ago have formed the basis of family fun sports sessions in Cambridge next month. The special sessions, for children aged 3 to 8, will take place at East Barnwell Community Centre on Saturday 7 September and illustrate how parents can use simple household objects to create fun games that help their children improve co-ordination, balance and agility, without the need for expensive kit or apparatus. Mrs Murray, who launched Set4Sport two years ago, said: "I played games with sons Jamie and Andy almost as soon as they could walk. ...
I'm sure you know the drill by now. An annual tradition of mine. 1) Chelsea 2) Man City 3) Man United 4) Tottenham 5) Arsenal 6) Liverpool 7) Everton 8) West Ham 9) Sunderland 10) Swansea 11) Aston Villa 12) Newcastle 13) West Brom 14) Norwich 15) Fulham 16) Stoke 17) Cardiff City 18) Southampton 19) [...]
Using the form of words favoured by comedian Adam Hills, Stuart Wheeler, the UKIP treasurer, needs to stop being a dick. The latest drivel he's reportedly spouting is that because women, in his opinion, are "nowhere near as good as men" at games like chess, bridge and poker it should somehow disqualify them from being properly represented in the ranks of business leaders. Now, I've no idea how being good at games correlates with being an effective leader (nor where he gets the evidence to substantiate his claim – after all, Judit Polgar is a pretty decent chess player) but ...
The working group focusing on the party's policies on immigration, asylum and identity, chaired by Andrew Stunell MP, has just released its consultation paper ahead of next month's conference. The paper's introduction sets out its aims thus: 1.1.1 The policy working group Immigration, Asylum & Identity aims to craft a practical, liberalpolicy which rebuilds public confidence in an immigration system that should be robust, efficient,and fair. 1.1.2 This consultation paper focuses on the future of migration as it affects the UK, theoperation of the asylum process in the context of our obligations under international law, and theintegration of immigrant communities ...
I asked twitter if one could actually write 500 words on word count and got about 5 replies which made me think I'm going to have to do this thing, write a piece of that length without hesitation deviation or repetition, and as @MissMillicent said it should be in the style of Just A Minute. Here goes: So, what is a "word count" and why is it such a tough master ? Is it that hard to get around? Two eminent journalists - Isabel Hardman ofthe Spectator and Dan Hodges of the Telegraph both talked about the superfluousness of "that" ...
This case which is Johnson v Bank of Scotland [2013] EWCA Civ 982 is an appeal in which a Mrs Johnson, as a litigant in person, won an appeal against the Bank of Scotland for harrassing her to pay a debt to the bank. She won the appeal because it was concluded by the court of appeal that she had an arguable case that the bank had been harrassing her. I am surprised this has not got any
Someone contacted me today to say he'd found out about a Government scheme (Warm Home Discount Scheme) helping with fuel bills over the winter. It turns out that it's one of those schemes not a lot of people are aware of. It's aimed at pensioners but also some people on low incomes. The details are at this link.
Hearing the news that the UK Department of Health is relaxing the current restrictions on healthcare workers living with HIV working in the NHS, I contacted the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the DUP's Edwin Poots MLA, asking what plans he had for introducing this here in Northern Ireland. Whilst I was [...]
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. 50% of Lib Dem members say Leaders' Letter is effective — but with concerns about its tone It's nine months since Nick Clegg began sending a weekly email to party members, or indeed anyone who signs up at www.libdememails.co.uk/nick. Do you read them — and, if yes, what do you make of them? Do you read Nick Clegg's weekly ...
In an interview with the BBC News Channel, Sir Menzies Campbell said that the international community, led by the US, should work to bring an end to the violence in Egypt. He described yesterday's events as barbaric. He said that the US was best placed to use its leverage, based on its funding to the Egyptian army, to initiate the process towards a sustainable political settlement. While in the long term there were strong arguments for those funds to be reduced, doing so at the moment might do more harm than good as it would remove the ability to set ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... FactCheck: is there a cost of living crisis? | The FactCheck Blog | The FactCheck Blog C4′s FullFact: "wage stagnation a) began under Lab and b) cd be the reason why unemployment isn't as bad as it cd be" http://bit.ly/1d9n9qf Naturist hotel wins right to serve alcohol despite residents' concerns | Life and style | The Guardian Fab quote! "I would submit that if we were all naked now it would not be a sexually charged atmosphere." http://bit.ly/1d9kGMp Should I Read The Daily Mail? Should I Read The Daily Mail? http://bit.ly/1d8c09d < ...
Northern Ireland's only HIV-dedicated support organisation, Positive Life, has recently launched a research report highlighting the positive benefits that complementary therapies can have on the physical, emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing of people living with, or affected by, HIV. The research, carried out by the Institute for Conflict Research shows that complementary therapies can have [...]
Thu 15th
13:02
Rennie: "Everyone who believes in robust defence of our shores should think carefully before backing...
Today's Guardian reports that if Scotland votes for independence, the new Scottish Government might have difficulty joining NATO: It is understood that Nato officials said it might be possible to allow Scotland to start fast-track talks - but in a blow to Salmond's anti-nuclear strategy, the Scottish delegation was also told that no new member would be allowed to join Nato if that state had unresolved military or territorial disputes with other countries. Under article 10 of the Nato treaty, one assistant general secretary of Nato said at the meeting on 6 July, new applicants also have to show a ...
This case on Bailii is an unusual thing to find on Bailii as it is a refusal of permission to appeal. Quoting from the judgment: 2. Again, offering no more than a summary, the reasons for that decision, which was the removal of the three children from the mother who had been caring for them, and a decision that (a) the threshold criterion section 31 of the Children Act were satisfied in relation
In the last hour I have been told one of my old group, Martin Uzzell, has passed away. Martin cared deeply about the city and was never afraid to take me to one side and tell me to my face if he thought I was going down the wrong track He also performed many acts of kindness for me and was a rock of support when I needed it. I noticed his wife put this up on Facebook a couple of days ago. It not only sums up his (and her) humour and philosophy but it sums up an attitude ...
The economic crisis in the developed world drags on, posing fundamental political and economic questions. And yet politicians here in Britain argue about not very much. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, is currently attracting a lot of criticism for his lack of progress. But the real problem is that the political left has run out of ideas, while the Right complacently defends the status quo. This state of affairs will continue until we learn to look at our problems in a radically different way. Nobody should doubt that capitalism is still in crisis. We have been cheered in Britain by ...
Further to the current roadworks on Perth Road east of Roseangle and Nethergate west of South Tay Street (see photo right), I have received the following update from the Roads Maintenance Partnership this morning: "Works are still pretty well on programme although we suffered a slight delay yesterday and could not complete the resurfacing of the Roseangle junction as planned due to the number of vehicles requiring access which was far greater than anticipated. Surfacing works are programmed to complete tomorrow with road markings being applied on Saturday although currently the weather forecast is not encouraging and therefore rain may ...
Tuesday Meadowcroft finds a youth, dishevelled and wet through, sleeping in his potting shed and hales him before me for judgment. "Please don't send me back," sobs the accused, "I have escaped from the Liberal Youth Activate weekend. I thought it would be fun, but all we got was endless canvassing drill and lectures on the perils of self-abuse." I give him a hot bath, square meal, suit of clothes and ten bob for the train, but am left troubled. "What has happened to the Spirit of Liberalism, which was first brought to these shores by Joseph of Arimathea?" I ...
Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, A level students find out their results today. Will their grades be enough to get them into the university course that they want? For those who don't, it's likely that they'll feel that their whole lives have been blighted and their opportunities for career success blighted. This is because we have come to equate success with a university education when in fact there are many other routes to a happy, fulfilling, lucrative career. Do we put too much pressure on our children to go to university? Christine Jardine, former Special Adviser to Nick Clegg ...
Life Leisure, in partnership with local community groups are running summer multi-sports activities for children across Stockport on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, bringing local communities together. Qualified sports coaches will be on hand each day, between 4.00pm and 6.00pm, ensuring participants enjoy a range of sports, with something on offer for all of the family. All abilities are catered for. Sports include rounders, football, cricket, basketball and athletics. Local community groups will be on hand to support people. Local events are: Weds 21st August, Gatley Park, Northenden Road 4pm - 6pm Friday 23rd August, Manchester Road Park, Heaton Chapel ...
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – a new piece of research by Phil Cowley and Rosie Campbell, looking at how voters react to various hypothetical candidates. The research involved giving different groups of people descriptions of two imaginary candidates and asking them which they prefer. The descriptions were varied between the groups so that the impact of changing, for example, their profession can be seen. What do they find? That being local matters: [IMG: British birth certificate 1912, via We compare the impact of candidates' sex, religion, age, education, ...
I am happy to announce that this year sees the return of the Ripplestone Review Biennial Awards. Postponed from 2012, all the nominees from 2010 ~ 2012 will be included in the 2012 ~2014 awards meaning that I have a fantastic four year selection of reviews to whittle down into a worthy set of winners. Just to clarify, the Ripplestone Review is a blog where occasionally I review stuff. Films, music, places visited, exhibitions etc and then, every couple of years, I decide which have been the best and send them a nice homemade certificate of appreciation. I shall be ...
The party's Federal Policy Committee has recently decided to commission policy working groups on the implications of an ageing society (to be chaired by Paul Burstow MP) and on equalities (covering all the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act). These groups will be writing policy papers intended for debate at the party's Autumn 2014 conference and will need to start work as soon as possible. We are very dependent on the voluntary efforts of our members to bring their time, fresh ideas and clear thinking to our policy working groups. I'd like members, especially those who can often ...
It has been a while. My rage-o-metre has been pretty low in recent days and weeks. I have been serene. Cruising along the path of life not worrying about things – certainly with regards to politics. However I saw Brentwood Lib Dems tweeting ferociously this morning about disassociating themselves with the comments of a fellow councillor so I did some investigating. When I say did some investigating I meant clicked on the link where a Brentwood councillor had made some shall we say 'interesting' comments. Cllr Chris Hossack, who is a Conservative councillor on Brentwood Borough Council has had an ...
Great to see that over 100 pubs have now been registered as community assets - http://t.co/Z7UO1LJtTE #Calderdale #CAMRA (tags: (from twitter) camra calderdale ) Texas Board of Education Revises Textbooks: Slaves were "Unpaid Interns" http://t.co/2z06yCKKJJ (tags: (from twitter) ) posted The Blood is The Life 14-08-2013 http://t.co/3Qg3Et6AxB on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Pls RT: Looking for a graduate job in #Leeds 2 opportunities available starting this autumn: http://t.co/OOSaqf0eUK (tags: (from twitter) leeds ) YAY! Louise J is awesome :) RT @VerityPodcast: This week: an interview w/ @Lou_Jameson! #DoctorWho #podcast http://t.co/VPW1WeUgCd (tags: (from twitter) ...
[Originally posted at LSE British Politics and Policy blog, 14/08/13] [IMG: New build, increase] This week has brought a slew of news about the UK housing market. Industry commentators are telling us the sector has "turned a corner": levels of market activity increased significantly in July alongside a sharp upturn in prices. Average prices are now near or above those reached prior to the 2007-8 crash, although experience is diverging across the regions. While some news outlets are reporting these developments in decidedly positive terms, the commentary is more mixed and critical than perhaps the government would like. As prices ...
I have been brought up for most of my conscious life with a vague knowledge of C. P. Snow's controversial 1959 lecture 'The Two Cultures'. It was this which inspired the staggering rejoinder from the literary critic F. R Leavis, who attacked Snow bitterly without actually reading what he said. "To read it would be to condone it," he said. Even so, I am probably more on Leavis' side than Snow's. Snow assumed that somehow the arts and the sciences were equal and opposite, when they are not. Important as science is, there is always a danger that morality, art, ...
When Patrick Leigh Fermor died I mentioned that the Leicester suburb of Eyres Monsell is named after his father-in-law. Artemis Cooper's biography of him, which I quoted from about Weedon the other day, says of Fermor's wife Joan: Her mother, Sybil Eyres, had inherited a fortune in woollen manufacturing. On marriage, her husband Bolton Monsell added her name to his, becoming Bolton Eyres Monsell. He pursued a successful career in politics, holding the posts of Chief Whip for the Conservatives and First Lord of the Admiralty; he was created the 1st Viscount Monsell in 1935.The land for Eyres Monsell was ...
As a member of the Welsh Assembly I am very used to working within the rules of debate. In fact there are several booklets kept by the Presiding Officer's chair containing all the rulings made by holders of that post since 1999, including what is and what is not acceptable language. I was interested therefore in this article in the Telegraph outlining some of the traditions and rules of the Houses of Parliament. Some of these are fairly modern, others date back to another age, so much so that one wonders why they continue with them. Chief amongst these is ...
Thu 15th
08:55
Good news: campaigners can expect electoral register and postal vote lists within 5 working days in ...
[IMG: Electoral Commission logo] It's a common complaint from election candidates and their campaign teams that local electoral returning officers (EROs) can be very slow to supply the copies of the electoral register and postal voter lists that they are legally entitled to. That not only hinders their own campaigning, it also undermines the fight against postal vote fraud (as it is often the scrutiny given to these lists by one party which exposes questionable activity by another for the police to investigate). The Electoral Commission has however been taking action over this, and in its 14 August 2013 Electoral ...
In the last 24 hours there has been a political row about an old lady's will, and Ed Miliband was pelted with an egg. It's not just silly season this is about, but the horrible rise of anti-politics. After the above mauling by the Mail, the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have handed £520k that had [...]
Over the past couple of days I have had a number of useful meetings regarding West End issues, including speaking with constituents on a number of local matters. On Tuesday morning, I had a very useful discussion on local policing matters with Inspector Alistair Black of Police Scotland, our local police inspector. I also met with Iain MacKinnon, the new President of Dundee University Students' Association and thereafter, along with Angela Mehlert, the Chair of the Friends of Magdalen Green, I met with Dr David Rodley of the University of Dundee's School of Engineering, Physics and Maths, together with four ...
I was recently contacted by local resident Kelly Marr who has made what is, in my view, an excellent proposal for Dundee Waterfront. To quote Kelly: "My suggestion for the development of Dundee's Waterfront is a sequence of manhole covers that can be referred to as "Discovery Walk", similar to the "Writers' Walk" in Sydney's Circular Quay. The main difference with Discovery Walk is that rather than focusing on writers, it would be acknowledging famous Dundonians and Dundee's contributions in the Arts, Sciences, Literature, Politics, and so forth. Obvious suggestions could be Brian Cox, Admiral Duncan, and Mary Slessor. While ...
I have today called on the Health Minister to investigate and review the number of prescriptions being dispensed for drugs which typically treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in young people in Wales. I have serious concerns with the huge increase in prescribing rates in Wales and I believe this is something the Minister should investigate as a matter of urgency. The drug in question is Methylphenidate, a psychostimulant which can be prescribed in either the Ritalin or non-Ritalin form. My recent Written Question to the Minister on numbers of non-Ritalin forms of methylphenidate prescriptions issued in the last ten years ...
Back when I was Editor of New Nation I decided to run a piece to mark the start of the football season by getting editorial staff to give their predictions for the top and bottom [...]
The ever excellent David Boyle has recently been ruminating on the nature of public service and the general uselessness of particularly the Labour Party in overseeing their provision. His '450 bus theory' - named after a friendly local bus service in the Cyrstal Palace area of south east London is about how human scale is missing from many public services leaving the users disempowered and at the mercy of bureaucratic indifference. Well what to make of St George's Hospital in Tooting who have launched a version of Google Maps for their patients and visitors? Sounds very sensible and helpful you ...
(Chapter one here. As I said then — This is all first-draft stuff. I'm getting the story out in these blog posts. Prose style can come later.) Holly had to wait until the weekend before she had a chance to see her Granddad, but on Saturday morning she got up, got dressed, and then got [...]
