Brief YouTube clip of JF: https://t.co/d3Ctgifpih
From the Leicester Mercury today: The area surrounding St Mary de Castro church will be closed to the public from tomorrow after the building's spire was found to be in a dangerous state. Leicester City Council engineers revealed there was an imminent danger of the 15th century spire collapsing and agreed, with the church, to close Castle View - a pedestrian route - and surrounding area. Preparatory work will start tomorrow to make the spire safe, before the job of removing it begins. A council spokesman said its building control officers have written to the Parochial Church Council (PCC), which ...
Fri 6th
21:21
Government agrees welcome changes to Transparency of Lobbying, non-Party Campaigning, and Trade Unio...
[IMG: Polling station sign] I wrote before about how the problem with the Transparency of Lobbying, non-Party Campaigning, and Trade Union Administration Bill is that it seeks to regulate too little lobbying and too much campaigning. Good news, then, that at the end of the week the government let it be known that it will support changes to the Bill which do just that – make it cover more lobbying and less campaigning. Neither set of changes make the Bill perfect,* but they do make it an awful lot better. On lobbying, the definition is being expanded so that the ...
Mark Pack has details of a Liberal Democrat History Group fringe meeting in Glasgow marking 25 years of the party. Writing on New Republic, Elizabeth Weil says that American schools are failing nonconformist children: "'Self-regulation,' 'self- discipline,' and "emotional regulation' are big buzz words in schools right now. All are 'aimed at producing 'appropriate' behavior, at bringing children's personal styles in line with an implicit emotional orthodoxy." In a recent television programme Stephen Fry told us that the River Fleet flows beneath the Old Bailey. Not so, proves London Aspie. "Rather like the Shipping Forecast, the place names are evocative ...
Harry Zwierzanski and Darren Frost join MP Julian Huppert for the reception with Nick Clegg Cambridge apprentices, Harry Zwierzanski and Darren Frost were invited to meet Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg at a reception to celebrate their success. Harry and Darren, both 21, were guests of Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert at the event at the House of Commons for apprentices and their employers. The pair, who work for building company, Barratt Homes on its site in Trumpington Meadows, Cambridge were given the chance to quiz Mr Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats before having their photograph taken with him. They ...
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by EBuzzing (Wikio as was). One in, one out this time round: Nicc Prigg is back but Nick Thornsby drops out. 1 (4) Liberal Democrat Voice Up 1 2 (10) Mark Pack Up 8 3 (29) Stephen Tall Down 1 4 (38) Jennie Rigg Up 3 5 (58) Alex Marsh Up 5 6 (63) Paul Walter Down 2 7 (68) Lynne Featherstone MP Down 6 8 (74) Richard Davis Up 12 9 (77) Mark Valladares (Liberal Bureaucracy) Up 11 10 (81) Zoe O'Connell Down 24 11 ...
A few months back my wordpress account was compromised and spam links inserted into a couple of dozen of my more popular posts. I thought I'd got rid of them all but saw today that someone had clicked on an auto lender site from this blog. I've found and removed that link, but I'd like [...]
Australian researchers are starting to play a role in shaping science policy When cash-strapped governments go looking for savings, their gaze often lingers over science and research budgets. And it's been a pretty uncertain time for Australian scientists over the last few years. Science and research in Australia were already substantially underfunded by international standards. Then in 2011, the budget of the National Health and Medical Research Council was rumoured to be under threat of harsh cuts. In 2012, the government froze funding on all discretionary grants for months while they searched for areas to earmark for cuts. And in ...
Cambridge News reports: A UKIP candidate from Arbury who stood for election in Cambridge forged signatures on his nomination form because he thought people in his area were 'lacklustre about politics'. Hugh Mennie, 67, of Kingsway, pleaded guilty to forging three of the eight signatures... Mennie was fined £110 and was disqualified from the election process for five years. He will also pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge. Meanwhile in Camden Richard Osley reports: If violinist Nigel Kennedy has been worrying about what he may or may not have said to The Guardian in an interview last weekend, ...
Fri 6th
17:29
The Liberal Democrats and Republicanism: In conversation with Julian Huppert MP (PART 1)
# Julian Huppert MP interview On the 4th September, I interviewed Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge. Julian is an advocate of British Republicanism and supports the aims of the British pressure group 'Republic'. 'THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody [...]
Stockport Council is inviting job seekers to attend Stockport Jobs Fair on Tuesday 24th September. The event will take place at Stockport Town Hall on Edward Street, from 10.00am to 3.30pm and is open to anyone looking for a job or employment advice. Organised by Stockport Council in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, the Jobs Fair will offer the opportunity for jobseekers to meet a wide range of employers that are recruiting for current positions. There will also be two workshop sessions taking place at 11.00am and 2.00pm which will demonstrate how to access Jobcentre Plus services digitally. Councillor Iain Roberts, ...
[IMG: Satellite dish] Kent Trading Standards are warning of a call where an existing customer of Sky has received a fake call from a person claiming to be from "Sky Technical Support". The caller claimed they could reduce the cost of their Sky 'bundle' by removing the insurance 'Sky Digital Protect' from the account. The caller asked for credit card details 'for reference only' and promised not to debit any money from the card. The customer became suspicious when the caller phoned back to get further bank details. The customer contacted their bank to put a stop on the card ...
After the sensational rudeness of Dimitry Pleskov, "the voice of Putin" describing the UK as a small island that nobody listens to at the St Petersburg summit, it is hard to see how much further the Russians could descend into fiasco. The tasteless Marie Antoinette costume ball, the vainglory of the spectacular corruption of late Putinism, all add up to a thoroughly nasty and inept display. After all, Russia may be a large country, but the large numbers of Russians who prefer to live in London do so because no one likes or trusts the secret policeman who stole the ...
The Guardian and the Independent today report that the government will backtrack over parts of the Transparency of Lobbying, non-Party Campaigning, and Trade Union Administration Bill. The coalition has maintained that the bill does not impose undue burdens and restrictions on charities during election periods. A wide range of charities and Unlock Democracy have taken the opposite view. In a report yesterday, the cross-party Political and Constitutional Reform Committee also raised a number of worries and has advised the government to rewrite the bill: Our main recommendation is that the Government should withdraw the Bill following its Second Reading, and ...
[IMG: Trident] I firmly believe that we do not want Trident. We simply don't need the ability to blow up large parts of the globe. Frankly, the idea that we have spent decades with nuclear armed missiles cruising the oceans ready to fire on a moment's notice seems absurd to me. I look forward to a world where we do not have such weapons, and where no one else does either. Even those who believe that the MAD theory worked during the Cold War surely must accept that the world has changed - I am always amazed by those who ...
At last month's Edinburgh TV Festival, Kevin Spacey's McTaggert lecture warned television execs to 'embrace online or die'. I don't imagine that I will be changing how I watch Borgen anytime soon, but I can see from my own children how technology is changing the way they watch television. As Liberal Democrats, one of our strengths has always been our sense of duty to communicate; since the very first Focus leaflets were sent out. As an MP, I think that the technological developments that Kevin Spacey was discussing raise important questions about how technology is changing the way we engage ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Syrian intervention invokes Europe's history | Anatole Kaletsky Anatole Kaletsky on markets and the Peace of Westphalia » "Syrian intervention invokes Europe's history" http://bit.ly/18xtc3G Affordable Individual and Small Group Tuition: The Tutor Trust | Projects | The Education Endowment Foundation (And here's the @EducEndowFoundn project testing the impact of @TheTutorTrust's affordable tuition service http://bit.ly/18whQgv) 40% of pupils in capital have private tutors – Education – News – London Evening Standard "4 out of 10 state school children in London have had private tuition" reveals @suttontrust survey http://bit.ly/18whvdF BBC updates their iPlayer app ...
As all the world is talking about the G20, it's a sobering thought to wonder how many people can actually name all 20 members. At least there are 20 members (unlike the G8 - which has 9). But can you name them. Have a go - the scroll down for the list. For what its worth - I got a humbling 18.... Partly mind because I wrote down China twice. There, I've even given you one... 1. Argentina 2. Australia 3. Brazil 4. Canada 5. China 6. European Union 7. France 8. Germany 9. India 10. Indonesia 11. Italy 12. ...
I find this fact rather unnerving for some reason. On the Syrian presidency account you can find images like Asma Assad awarding a prize to a student who came top in the national science baccalaureate. And Iran's supreme leader posts photos like this: Hat Tip: New Republic Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Ali Khamenei, Bashar al-Assad, [...]
Last night, Lib Dem Steve Knightley was declared the winner of the Wadebridge East by-election triggered by the resignation (again) of Collin Brewer. Steve had missed out on election back in May by just four votes and won yesterday by 9 votes. It's a great result for an excellent local candidate. It also gives a further boost to our local MP Dan Rogerson. The Lib Dems now hold 16 of the 21 council seats in North Cornwall and this win - in Wadebridge - is in the supposed heartland of Tory PPC Scott Mann. The result also means that the ...
Fri 6th
12:14
Former Kingston Lib Dem leader charged with possessing 'thousands' of child porn images
The Surrey Comet reports former Lib Dem Leader of Kingston Council has been charged with possession of 'thousands' of images of child pornography - including 50 at the highest level 5 and more than 150 of bestiality. If found guilty at Southwark Crown Court later this month he is likely to face a custodial sentence of years rather than months.
[IMG: Housing completions by tenure] We used to be good at housebuilding. As the economy recovered after the Second World War, house building in England grew to reach a peak of around 352,000 in 1968. That level of housebuilding seems inconceivable now. The ugly truth is that we have not been building enough houses to cope with our growing population and shrinking household sizes since the late 1970s. We need something like 250,000 new homes a year, yet we are barely building more than 100,000. It is unrealistic to expect the private sector to boost its production by 150,000 dwellings ...
Dear readers, I can take a hint as well as the next person. I can see from the Stats bit of wordpress that you are reasonably interested in my posts on sharks, teenagers, Syria, health policy and cities. However, I can see what you really want are posts about Despicable Me's Minions. I understand and [...]
There are many great fringe meetings scheduled for party conference in Glasgow, not to mention the opportunity to see Vince Cable propelled at high speed along corridors, but the one I'm most looking forward to taking part in is on the Sunday evening, courtesy of the Lib Dem History Group: Survival and success: The first 25 years of the Liberal Democrats [IMG: LibDem HQ, 4 Cowley Street] This year, 2013, marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Liberal Democrats. From near-annihilation to entry into government, the years since 1988 have been a roller-coaster ride for the party. Discuss which factors were ...
The Independent reports that very welcome news that civil servants have been ordered to look again at the controversial Lobbying Bill and remove key sections which could prevent charities from campaigning on issues of national importance during an election. They say that the move follows widespread condemnation of the Bill that ministers have always claimed was only meant to prevent third parties from unduly influencing the result of elections. Oxfam, the Royal British Legion and the Salvation Army are amongst many organisations that warned that, as written, the Bill could have "disastrous unintended consequences" on their ability to speak out. ...
[IMG: Portrait of Martin Pantling] Martin Pantling This week my good friend Martin Pantling has resigned as a councillor on Luton Borough Council which means that there will be a by-election in the Barnfield ward. Martin is resigning so he can take up a new career opportunity which is incompatible with his role on the Council. As he himself says (in a statement on the local party website); "It has been a great privilege to represent Barnfield residents for the past ten years during which time I have met many people and made some good friends. I am taking up ...
Last night saw the first public meeting to discuss the council's budget for the coming year and the medium term future. It was held in St Austell and we had about 40 people present and a really good debate. The structure of the meeting is that I give a briefing of the challenge facing the authority - the need to save an extra £23.9 million in 2014/15 and as much as £196 million over the next four years. I also set out options available. To my mind we cannot simply chip away at services as has been done in the ...
Blackberry picking is one of those autumn delights that everyone should try. I guess now it's probably classed as foraging but if you can find a patch of common land with wild blackberries growing, it's well worth the odd scratch from the brambles and purple stains to clothes and fingers as nothing goes as well with an apple crumble as a few blackberries. This year, due to the heat, I've made blackberry ice cream as well as the family favourite jam tarts. A week of sunshine and hot temperatures has not only bought on new flowers but also allowed petals ...
There is a titanic struggle about the way public services should be organised. It is only just beginning in a serious way, and it is below the radar of the mainstream media, but it is tremendously important. It isn't the usual stuff - this isn't an argument between public and private. It is between the conventional thinkers, committed to economies of scale and the manufacturing model, and the emerging critique - based on the ideas of the great quality guru W. Edwards Deming - which proposes something much more organic. The news yesterday of the problems with the government's universal ...
posted The Blood is The Life 05-09-2013 http://t.co/HuDO4spvi9 on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://www.theguardian.com/p/3tgfc/tw A feminist, women's rights, reproductive rights activist is the new prime minister of Senegal: http://t.co/RcnO7k4QLd via @guardian (tags: (from twitter) ) http://p.ink.cx/13iuVu2 US: Batwoman writers abandon DC Comics after lesbian superhero's wedding is 'prohibited' http://t.co/BGifcfPhjM (tags: (from twitter) ) The Real Blog: Why are so many schools so staggeringly dull? http://t.co/4QxyUgHXsH (tags: (from twitter) ) labour Hessle leaflet - FAO @Scarletstand "lib dem bar charts", eh? :p cc @MarkReckons http://t.co/c5WigXJKPX (tags: (from twitter) ) @JMarkDodds OBJECT: Demolition of The Tumbledown ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: Also on YouTube.
New research from Operation Black Vote has concentrated minds across Westminster: it has revealed that the ethnic minority vote could have a major impact in 168 marginal seats at the next election. In all these seats - including nearly 40%...Read more ›
Writing in today's Financial Times, Nick Clegg reasons that HS2 is good for London as well as the north. He says that the capital's long-term status as an economic global powerhouse will be threatened if housing and transport infrastructure inside London are not upgraded, and the links to and from the city are not improved. He cites Germany and Japan where good transport links have allowed prosperity to "flow from one part to another". If we want to keep Britain among the world's largest economies, Clegg argues, we must find a better way to link London to the rest of ...
It strikes me that the Spanish government's current tactic of delaying crossings at the frontier of Spain and Gibraltar is illogical. If they maintain that Gibraltar is part of Spain, they should remove all frontier controls. People who often question the role of the EU in maintaining peace in Europe are missing the point. The dispute over Gibraltar is a small example. Traditionally
This morning's Western Mail contains an article on local Council performance data in which the Labour AM for Swansea East, Mike Hedges argues that performance data on Welsh local authorities shows that small councils can provide the best services. He says: "Once again the data shows that larger authorities do not necessarily perform better. "The Williams Commission [on Public Service Governance and Delivery, chaired by former NHS Wales chief executive Sir Paul Williams] has suggested in its interim report that bigger organisations perform better than smaller ones. "Yet the only all-Wales health body is the Ambulance Trust, whose performance has ...
There are two meetings at Blyth Town Council next week Both are at Arms Evertyne House, Quay Road, Blyth Tuesday 10th , 6:30 pm Events Committee Thursday 12th, Finance Committee And as a reminder, the Quayside Open Day ( Lifeboat Day ) is tomorrow, Saturday 7th September. The weather today is somewhat wet ...[irony], so we'll have to see if there's any improvement by tomorrow. Keep an eye on Facebook tomorrow to check for any announcements.
The Open University's foray into the world of MOOCs, FutureLearn, is to open for 'Beta' students later this month with the first courses due to start in October. FutureLearn is somewhat behind the pace-setters of edX, Coursera and Udacity, but that may be no bad thing. As Sally Roy of the US-based Online Schools points out in her excellent article and infographic, no-one quite seems to have cracked the issue of how these experiments in mass education will find a sustainable business model. She's kindly allowed me to reproduce her infographic below. Let's hope that FutureLearn can manage a successful ...
Until now I have kept my public remarks about the ensuing Syria crisis to a minimum. So horrifying and so complicated has been the ever-escalating conflict since the Arab Spring turned into the Syrian nightmare that I have been concerned not to over-simplify the situation or mischaracterise either facts or opinions in speaking about it. Suffice to say that the time for such caution has come and most definitely gone! The situation is horrendously complex, and not even the most flippant of commentators would pretend that there is anything like an easy solution to the predicament both the Syrian people ...
There were a number of by-elections yesterday. Congratulations to Stephen Knightley won in Cornwall for the Lib Dems, though press attention is bound to be on the UKIP win in Boston on miserable turnout of less than 14%. Cornwall Wadebridge East Stephen Knightley (Lib Dem) was last night elected as the new Cornwall Councillor for Wadebridge East with 408 votes. It was a close fought race with Independent Tony Rush gaining just nine votes less. The by-election was called after Independent Colin Brewer stood down - he was the councillor that said that disabled children "should be put down." The ...
Yesterday I had a delivery from a model company that I deal with. The delivery was made by a national courier company, who have delivered to me before. Now let me give you a bit of background. My house is on a road that has been here for 30 years at least. At the junction with South Newsham Road there are signs for Fulmar Drive , and the house number is prominently displayed. The back of the house faces on to Eider Close. Yesterday, expecting the delivery I made sure that I was about, and able to hear the doorbell ...
Last night the Liberal Democrats gained the Wadebridge East ward on Cornwall Council last night. The seat was previously held by the Independent councillor Collin Brewer, whose views on disabled children (quite rightly) gained him national notoriety. The full result: Steve Knightley (Lib Dem) 408 Independent 399 Conservative 217 UKIP 202 Labour 58 Following last night's result the strength of the parties on Cornwall Council is as follows: Liberal Democrat 37 Independent 36 Conservative 30 Labour 8 UKIP 6, Mebyon Kernow 4 Others 2 The Wadebridge East ward forms part of the North Cornwall constituency, held for the Liberal Democrats ...
Fri 6th
07:40
It looks like imprisonments have dropped by 90% since secrecy stopped (Another suspended committal)
This case was added to Bailii yesterday more than three months after the hearing. The hearing was a month after the new rules came in. It is clear that some of the judges are not very good at following the rules in a timely manner. With the Derby case we knew about it and had raised it at a more senior level. Historically there were around 60 actual committals per year. The rate we know
This year's Discovery Film Festival takes place from 19th October until 3rd November and is now in its tenth year. Based at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and touring to partner venues throughout Scotland, the festival screens films from all over the world which have been specially programmed for young audiences. The festival includes three exciting weekends of films, creative activities, and gala events, as well as two weeks of screenings and events for schools. Discovery aims to develop new audiences for the best in international film, improve media literacy and offer young audiences an insight into the lives of children and ...
Steve Knightley has won the Wadebridge East by-election for the Liberal Democrats. The vote was triggered by the resignation of the Independent Collin Brewer. In the end, the result was close: Steve Knightley (Lib Dem) 408 Independent 399 Conservative 217 UKIP 202 Labour 58 It was a particularly disappointing night for UKIP, who slipped back [...]
