In memory of Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes, who died earlier this week, here are the band with their biggest hit 'The only one I know' which wouldn't have been out of place on the Stone Roses first album.
Linda Jack on Liberal Democrat Voice argues that it's time for the Lib Dems to restate who we are and what we stand for. Read the comments too. "It is hard to characterise the ban on "gay propaganda" that the Putin regime has decreed as being anything except a witch hunt against a small, unpopular and vulnerable minority in Russian society," says Cicero's Songs. Next New Deal shows that Franklin D. Roosevelt was a late convert to Keynesian economics. "Women may have actually invented overarm bowling and could be the first cricketers to use a non-red cricket ball, long before ...
The Shropshire Star returns to form and wins my Headline of the Day Award: Police drop dead bats investigation at Shrewsbury bridge
This article, a fascinating insight into a piece of Cheadle history, is written by David Hulme and printed here with permission. CHEADLE ARCHERS - a Victorian archery club. When Cheadle Archers was formed in 1871 they were to include among their ranks one of the most prominent men in the region - someone who forms part of Stockport's industrial heritage, and whose family played its own part in the industrial revolution. Another member was one of the most active sporting women of her generation - a crack shot with a rifle as well as a bow. And a descendant of ...
According to Professor Veronica Hope-Hailey, Dean of Bath University's School of Management, leaders need to demonstrate four key characteristics to really establish and maintain trust.Ability - demonstrable competence at doing your job.Benevolence - a concern for others beyond your own needs or motives.Integrity - adherence to a set of principles, such as fairness and honesty, that are acceptable to others.Predictability - a consistency of behaviour over time.And, thinking about it, that seems like a pretty fair set of criteria for would-be political activists. There is, however, a catch, in that they need to be accepted, and understood, by journalists and ...
In what is a legal first for the United Kingdom, today a High Court judge sanctioned the the sterilisation of a man with learning disabilities. The BBC has the story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23721893 A ruling such as this will understandably create a great sense of unease, especially given the almost routine sterilisation of people with learning disabilities in the all too recent past. Nevertheless, on first impressions the case seems to have been dealt with in the best possible way, with the central concern being the welfare of the individual concerned, known only as DE. Crucially, this consideration as to DE's ...
[IMG: Urban Rainbow Tunnel] Via the magic of BBC iPlayer, I have just caught up with Wednesday's Steve Wright show on Radio 2, and, in particular, an interview he did with Johnnie Walker and Keith Skues about pirate radio in the sixties. The interview was interspersed with sixties music and clips from Radio Caroline, Radio London etcetera. It's a particularly joyous piece of radio and is worth listening to, if you haven't already, here at about 1'37". Johnnie Walker mentioned that he is doing a series of interview shows at the Edinburgh Festival. This week he interviewed Tony Benn, who, ...
What Haydn had to say to the Council From the initial proposals put out to consultation the Cabinet have never considered any other proposal than Option B. We view the cabinets decision to turn down proposals from local campaigners to run Southports libraries with a mixture of Sefton Libraries and volunteers as unsound. Cllr Dowd said he was open minded and would consider feasible and sustainable proposals. The local campaigners met very right deadlines set by the officers after a great deal of work.and quality input. During this period I called a meeting with Council Officers April 22nd at the ...
(Yes, I KNOW this is like six months late. Oh, well. In my defense, I couldn't actually write this recap at the time of the race anyway, because the things that made this race special to me were not public knowledge....) I will start this by stating, for the record, that I met absolutely none of the goals that I'd set out for myself at Disney Princess (well, other than my goal to beat my time from 2011). But, the memories from that race are ones that I will cherish forever. Rewind to Thursday morning in the main dining room ...
[IMG: Mobile phone] Kent Trading Standards are reporting a "recent flurry" of unsolicited telephone calls in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge & Malling from a man with an Indian accent. The man claims he is from a Citizen Advice Bureau and is calling about the consumer's recent car accident. REMEMBER Citizen Advice Bureaus NEVER cold call people. Using a charity or public body's details to gain your trust is just one tactic a scammer will use to convince you to part with your money or personal details. If you have any doubts, HANG UP the phone and call your local Bureau. ...
Local Lib Dem candidate Jo Barton has hit out at Sefton Council for what she sees as a patronising attitude towards recycling. Jo saw red when she found out that a Sefton Cabinet member was boasting about Sefton achieving a 40% recycling rate. Jo, who is recycling enthusiast, said "I believe Southport should be leading the way as a Green Town and recycling should be at the top of that agenda. Cllr John Dodd and Jo Barton support recycling "Recent figures published by Sefton Council claim that we now recycle 40% of our waste, but I take issue with the ...
I have huge respect for the NHS blogger Roy Lilley and follow his blogs avidly, almost the only one I read every time it is published. He is extremely influential, by virtue of his enormous readership, and rightly so. In recent weeks, he has been asking rhetorically how the NHS needs to change. This is an important question. There have been a string of high-level NHS reports saying non-specifically that the NHS has to change, and warning of imminent system breakdown, but there are precious few answers to the question: how? Few of them dare do more than tweak. Even ...
[IMG: Electric light bulb] Thanet District Citizens Advice Bureau has been funded to assist clients with applications to the EDF Energy trust fund. You DO NOT need to live in Thanet to receive help with an application. The EDF Energy Trust fund will consider making a payment to repay a person's gas/electric debt. You must be currently supplied by EDF. The Trust MAY also consider payments for gas/electric debts to other utility suppliers, bankruptcy/DRO fees or energy efficient white goods The service is free, confidential and impartial and you will not have to pay back anything if an award is ...
This blog is no fan of the regime of Vladimir Putin. Russia has suffered enough authoritarian government and it has repeatedly ended in crisis as the inherent corruption of unchecked power brings the system to breakdown once more. At various points in Russian history, from the burning of the proto-democratic city of Novgorod by Ivan the Terrible in 1570, to the Great Terror of Stalin in the 1930s, the country has suffered catastrophe at the hands of a state appointed "gangster elite", whether called the Ophichniki, the Okrana, or the Cheka. Vladimir Putin thinks that he is a man in ...
The Premier League football season starts this weekend with a report warning that fans face being priced out of the game before they even reach the turnstiles. And Manchester City's [...]
Attempts to manage the performance of individual university scientists by metrics reflect the misguided belief that universities can be managed from the top. But universities need leaders, not managers. In a much-discussed opinion piece in this week's Nature, Colin Macilwain rails against the 'avalanche' of performance metrics threatening to damage our universities. The themes of the piece are familiar ones: the decline of the university as a self-governing body of academics and increasing threats to the autonomy of individual researchers. Macilwain is right that metrics for research, teaching or impact are overwhelmingly proxy measures, and often poor proxies at that. ...
When Frenchay Hospital closes most of its services, most patients from our area will need to find their way to Southmead Hospital instead, through some of the worst traffic in Bristol. There are plans to improve some of the bus services to Southmead, but all our area is being offered is a bus to parkway Station, then you would have to wait for another bus to Southmead. Imagine trying to get there for an appointment, if you haven't got a car or you acn't drive at the moment, especially if you're feeling unwell. And what about visitors and staff who ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Carl Minns – Thoughts from Hull: How to tweet like a Lib Dem This is all true > "How to tweet like a Lib Dem" (via @CarlMinns) http://bit.ly/16gJjDo Party donation daylight robbery? It was Fleet Street wot done it | Michael White | Politics | theguardian.com Good on @MichaelWhite for this > Party donation daylight robbery? It was Fleet Street wot done it http://bit.ly/16ekKGX Over to Polly...
For those of you fortunate enough to be at the special conference in May 2010, you may remember my visual aid. For those fortunate enough to miss it - my point was that we had had a choice between one clapped out old guy who would never deliver and a bright young thing who was whispering sweet nothings in our ear but before we knew it would have us locked into all sorts of things that would turn our stomachs. My visual aid? A pair of pink fluffy handcuffs. Unsurprisingly my view hasn't changed, yes Stephen, the bed of roses ...
Dan Hodges and Tim Stanley have both written in the Telegraph giving advice on how to tweet like Labour (Hodges) and Tories (Stanley) So to address the balance here is my guide to tweeting like a Lib Dem 1. "Out on the streets delivering Focus leaflets and talking to local residents" ~ This tweet is mandatory and must be sent once a week if you wish to stand for office in the Lib Dems or be a Lib Dem candidate. It is also good practice for MPs to send these tweets to show they are still down with the ground ...
Along with most of my politically conscious compatriots here in Britain, I am deeply shocked by the massacres perpetrated by the Egyptian security forces on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood over the last couple of days. A deeply shocking, and depressing, revelation came from an EU mediator in a BBC interview yesterday. Apparently he was very close to achieving a negotiated way forward, before hardliners in the Egyptian government overruled the people he was negotiating with to press ahead with the violent crackdown. This episode deserves more attention that it got (I have failed to find any report of it ...
Hat tip: Here is a very interesting report compiled by the Centre for Policy Studies looking at BBC online reporting of think tanks. The report appears robust, relying on objective quantitative methods to examine reporting slant. And the results are pretty conclusive. BBC bias is there for all to see. If you are a left-leaning think tank you are more likely to be reported without qualification or described by the BBC as "independent"; if you are a right-leaning think tank then you are much more likely to receive a "health warning" ( an indicator of the think-tanks ideological viewpoint e.g ...
The government have allocated Sandwell 740K and as at end July they have spent 133K and allocated 93K. That is a third of the year. If you go by the spending they would spend 399K and spending plus allocation (which is toppy) it would be 678K. There is the uncertainty about the benefit cap, but otherwise Sandwell don't look like they are going to spend beyond the government allocation.
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. 81% put in time for the party Including campaigning, leafleting, social events, meetings and any other party activity, how much time do you think you spend on party activity in the average month? 22% – Up to 5 hours 12% – 6-10 hours 15% – 11-20 hours 12% - 21-30 hours 5% – 31-40 hours 17% – More than ...
Is Eric Pickles scared of bins? I only ask because his latest rant - about the terror of waste receptacles - seems even more bizarre than usual. He goes so far as to describe having to exist within sight of a bin as making 'lives hell'. Come off it Eric. To be forced to live in an abusive relationship with no hope of escape might be described as a living hell. To be suffering with a painful medical condition with no hope of cure might be described as a living hell. To occasionally catch sight of your neighbours bins is ...
Today the steady rain reminds me that Autumn isn't too far away. Mowing the lawn yesterday I spotted the first yellowing leaves falling and now the calendula and crocosmia are beginning to flower. Among the leaves of the hop vine are this year's comma caterpillars, strange, spiky creatures, bright with splashes of orange and white, munching their way to adulthood. The garden is also being visited by young jays, still without their full wing plumage and tails. Evenings are arriving sooner, filled with cricket song, dragonflies and the odd hornet and wasp checking out the table for any late suppers. ...
My job is to ensure Manchester's businesses both big and small have a direct line to Government ministers to help create local jobs and growth. Last week I [...]
In a staggering piece on the New Statesman website today, blogger George Eaton - writing The Staggers column - claims that the Lib Dem's "mounting debts" will force the party to end the coalition ahead of the 2015 general election. Really? The argument is presented that because the party is running a deficit, it cannot fight the election without the Short Money paid to opposition parties. Really? The source of this idea appears to be "several in Westminster" - not necessarily Lib Dems, or even people who are well informed. The author seems not to recognise the absurdity - in ...
This is a judgment in accordance with the Practice Direction of 3rd May. The case was on 19th June and the initial view of the court was that they did not need to produce a judgment. I raised a concern with the office of the President, he produced the more recent circular and we pointed that at Derby County Court who produced a judgment. However, there would going by past history have been at
Wednesday The morning finds me in a clearing in Rockingham Forest. I am surrounded by Liberal Democrat knights and their horses. Here is Sir Bob Russell, though if I am honest I think his brother Earl should have received a knighthood for his services to jazz. Here is Sir Robert Smith, about whom little is known, except that he is a knight. Here are Sir Alan Beith, Sir Malcolm Bruce and Sir Menzies Campbell - Sound men all. And here are Sir Nicholas Harvey and Sir Andrew Stunnell, who are among our newer knights. Indeed, they are so new that ...
The results (courtesy of Vote UK Forum) from the two elections the Lib Dems fought last night and the 'good news' is that four and a half times as many people voted Lib Dem this week than last: Hungerford: Cons 810 Lib Dem 751 Lab 86 Other 28 Walsall: Cons 1,254 UKIP 615 Lab 470 Lib Dem 114 Eng Dem 72
Reading the flood of negative comments which greet any mention of the Lib Dems in social media or the press, a small number of themes occur over and over again. The "broken promise on tuition fees" is always well represented, and I hope that we have learned the necessary lessons from that one. Other common complaints, point to a fundamental lack of understanding of what coalition government involves and how it functions. If we don't confront this directly and forcefully between now and May 2015, we are simply storing up trouble for ourselves in the event of another hung parliament. ...
Posters against abusive language (tags: ) posted The Blood is The Life 15-08-2013 http://t.co/FFQ7LZrBnM on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) Finally, a reason to be in favour of racial profiling http://t.co/jmZCnb1pnl (tags: (from twitter) ) Do Not Link allows you to ethically criticize bad content | Skeptical Software Tools OMG! I might actually be able to click on links to the Daily Fail now! How long before this tool gets banned or taken down in some way...? (tags: ) All five of Respect's Bradford councillors resign from the party http://t.co/jy4gBdx8bx (tags: (from twitter) ) http://pinterest.com/pin/164803667587100206/ Livia: ...
My name is Julian Jarrett, I am reading Law with Politics at Manchester Uni. I am currently on a work experience at John Leech MP's office. As part of [...]
Way back in October 2010 I broke the news about paperwork having gone mad at the Ministry of Justice, courtesy of its policy on safe driving: Despite the government's rhetoric of cutting bureaucracy, the Ministry of Justice - one of the largest Whitehall departments and responsible for many important administrative systems - is spectacularly failing to set a good example with its own hugely bureaucratic approach to health and safety when people are driving as part of their work. The MoJ has two specially produced full colour booklets, a flowchart, an FAQ document, more than six different forms and training ...
For many years local residents in Chiswick have campaigned for the Piccadilly line to stop at Turnham Green station on a regular basis. The Liberal Democrats are the only party to campaign for this, year in, year out. Like a terrier we will not give up until residents get what they deserve. The other parties tend to only raise the matter in and around elections. Councillors Andrew Steed and Gary Malcolm with Caroline Pidgeon at a TG demo This morning, we have received confirmation that the consultation will start on 27th August. Those to be consulted will include Piccadilly line ...
This JR judgment (which I have anonymised) is about an American woman: She was living here and her child was taken into care. Now she is to be deported and her child kept for adoption. An application was made for judicial review which has failed (this documents the failure). I am surprised that the US government are comfortable about this (if they know). It also raises a question for her
There must be better ways for Liberals to support families that the marriage tax allowance. Politics has always been about compromise and pragmatism and in a coalition Government we are seeing the impact of this in a very public and often painful way. For every moment of joy there are two where I want to bury my head in my hands and weep for the future of liberalism. [IMG: Don't Judge] Whether we like it or not the coalition agreement set out a commitment to introducing a married couples' tax allowance. I don't know what the logic was at the ...
One of the working groups submitting policy to Federal Conference in Glasgow next month will probably have a harder time than the other groups. The "14+ Education" policy which looks at school leavers, Further Education and Higher Education and presents its...Read more ›
The Western Mail reports on the conclusions of the Welsh Assembly's Health and Social Services Committee that up to to 30,000 children in Wales are not fully protected against measles and are still at risk of catching the potentially fatal virus. In a letter to Health Minister Mark Drakeford, the Committee said there is no room for complacency in driving up MMR vaccination rates in the wake of the recent outbreak: The letter states: "We believe...that there is a clear need to avoid complacency during periods between outbreaks; it is vital that the general population is aware of the need ...
Elisabeth Flett Latest news from Friends of Wighton, with thanks to Sheena Wellington: Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library - Cappuccino Concert Saturday 17th August, 11am (coffee available from 10.30am) Elisabeth Flett, violin : Tickets £5 (includes coffee) Six years after she made her Wighton debut, aged 11, gifted young musician Elisabeth Flett returns to the Wighton on Saturday 17th August, prior to her journey to London's prestigious Guildhall. The daughter of a violin teacher and an amateur viola player, Elisabeth was destined (or doomed!) for a life involved with music. She started playing the piano and violin aged four, and ...
On Saturday 24th August, I am helping the fundraising effort for the MS Society's Dundee Branch by taking part in an abseil down the University of Dundee's Tower Building. I'm extremely grateful to everyone who has already sponsored me and, if I include sponsors who have used the traditional "paper" sponsor forms, as well as those who have sponsored me through my JustGiving page, already £550 has been raised. If anyone wishes to help the sponsorship effort for the MS Society's Dundee Branch, you can go to my JustGiving page here - many thanks!
After months of raising residents' complaints about the restriction on recycling facilities at the Riverside Civic Amenity facility, the City Council administration has finally climbed down over the issue, with the following agenda item being added as an urgent item to next Monday's Policy and Resources Committee: "10(b) REVIEW OF RECYCLING CENTRES (AN98-2013) Reference is made to Report No 51-2013 agreed at Policy and Resources Committee on the 14th February, 2013. The report provided for a reconfiguration of the city's recycling centres including the closure of the Marchbanks centre in order to achieve revenue savings of £316,000 per annum. The ...
Last night, my weekly ward surgeries resumed at Blackness Primary School after the school summer break. You can get details of all my weekly surgeries here, including the new location (West Park Centre each Monday during school term time). After yesterday's surgery, I attended the August meeting of the West End Local Community Planning Partnership (LCPP) that took place at the Tartan Coffee House on Perth Road. The LCPP brings together West End councillors and representatives from the council, other public sector bodies, voluntary/communitiy group representatives and the third sector - all of whom work in or live in and ...
As far as I' m aware, there are no meetings scheduled at Blyth Town council next week
Further to my article last month about the possible timebanking project in the West End, an informal discussion meeting is now planned for 23rd August at the Volunteer Centre at 10 Constitution Road. The focus of the discussion will be about: • Timebanking and how it could work in the West End. • Getting older people in the area together to discuss how they can be involved in their local area. Please let me know if you are interested in taking part (timebank@frasermacpherson.org.uk) and I'll pass on your interest to Gill Bain, Timebank Development Officer - many thanks.
[IMG: image] Very well done indeed to Denise Gaines for slashing the Tory majority from 338 votes in 2011 to 59 votes last night in the Hungerford by-election for the vacant seat on West Berkshire Council caused by the sad death of David Holtby. Denise proved herself to be a superb candidate, and the team worked unbelievably hard. As young Mr Grace used to say: You've all done very well! Figures were: 810 Tory 751 LD 86 Lab 29 Ind 2011 Hungerford – results Election Candidate Party Votes % Paul Owen Hewer Conservative 1315 33% Elected David John Holtby Conservative 1178 29% Elected Denise Anne Gaines Liberal Democrat 840 21% Not elected Rhona Anne Sherwood Liberal ...
There was an interesting development in the last few days on the UKIP front when it transpired that two former Conservative MPs, Rod Richards and Neil Hamilton, who had been considered by some to be certainties for selection to represent their new party in next year's European Elections, had failed to be selected. It was a sign perhaps that their membership was asserting itself, something that occasionally happens in more mature political parties. Their problem however, is that the membership more often puts its collective foot in it than it does sensible things like reject leadership favourites. Incidents like this ...
Councillors on the Bristol's Overview and Scrutiny Management Board met yesterday to follow up a motion passed at Full Council in June that called for the council to explore the possibility of seeking the powers for an additional Business Rate Levy on large retail units. The proposal was rejected by all of the committee bar the Green Councillor, and the report back to full council will be, it seems, a brief affair. No matter, here a few comments by way of history and analysis. The original motion, which was proposed by Greens, was as follows: Bristol City Council notes the ...
(Continues from the introduction) Before I start explaining what Liberalism is, it's probably a good idea to explain what it isn't — why the Liberal Democrats are perceived very differently from the reality, and why some of what you think about them is probably wrong. Since at least the French Revolution, there has been a [...]
