Alan Winter recalls on his blog today: I was at a Liberal Conference in Dundee in David Steel's time as leader, when I was first impressed by a "Stop Smoking Now" campaigner. Whoever he was, he stood outside in all weathers, including torrential rain, with very large banners and did his utmost to be in the background shots of all tv interviews that were broadcast outside.That campaigner must have been Stuart Holmes, the protester attacked by Iain Dale for disrupting an interview with Damian McBride this morning. The film above shows a much younger Holmes profiled in 1986, the year ...
Those words - from the UN's Special Rapporteur on Disabilities, Shuaib Chalklen - have stuck with me today on my second and final day at the UN General Assembly. He said them during a meeting at which I was trying to establish what more the UK could do to improve the lives of people with disabilities in the poorest parts of the world. We are driving disability up the agenda, initially focusing on improving data and evidence with a new commitment on making schools that are directly funded by the Department for International Development inclusive. But I am keen to ...
Don't forget Faith, Pride, and Chat, our informal social evening, is taking place on Friday, 27 September at 7 p.m in St George's Church on High Street. More detail....
I was at a Liberal Conference in Dundee in David Steel's time as leader, when I was first impressed by a "Stop Smoking Now" campaigner. Whoever he was, he stood outside in all weathers, including torrential rain, with very large banners and did his utmost to be in the background shots of all tv interviews that were broadcast outside. So good luck to anyone planning to try and give up in Stoptober. Across Central Bedfordshire there are special clinics in Ampthill, Arlesey, Biggleswade, Dunstable, Flitwick, Houghton Regis, Leighton Buzzard, Sandy, Shefford and Stotfold. Appointments can be booked by calling free ...
The instant reaction to Ed Milliband's speech to the Labour conference seems to go "Good on presentation but awful on policy." I disagree. On the whole I found his speech rather dull, but I feel this is mainly down to the sort of political rhetoric I like to hear. On the other hand the detail was remarkable. It contained enough policy snippets to spell out a clear direction of travel. Under Labour we will have higher taxes, a more interventionist state, confiscation of land from people who won't use it in a state approved way and price controls. In short ...
[IMG: Container Ship trade] When, just over a week ago, conference overwhelmingly backed motion F19, "Strengthening the UK Economy" (pdf), it voted for our party to lead the way on free trade, thanks to the following addition (in which I played a small role), which was "drafted into" the motion: 8. Increase trading opportunities by working in the EU to ensure that the success of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, doing everything possible to revive the World Trade Organisation led Doha Development Round and further integrating the EU services market. The party's leadership has sometimes been critcised for ignoring ...
So, David Blunkett thinks we should censor the internet, because Nazis. No, that is his argument: Drawing a parallel with Germany before the rise of the Nazis, he suggested a loose moral climate had fed the paranoia and fear that had allowed Adolf Hitler to flourish. "In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Berlin came as near as dammit to Sodom and Gomorrah. There was a disintegration of what you might call any kind of social order." Except Berlin didn't come close to Sodom and Gomorrah, or a breakdown of the social order. The 1920s in Berlin are known as ...
Reposted from Liberal Democrat Voice The following arrived in a brown envelope at Lib Dem Voice Towers, this morning. It is probably an early draft.[Check against delivery][Note to self. I will be speaking without use of the autoclue. Will need to deliver the speech entirely without a clue.]I want to start by thanking somebody from the bottom of my heart.Ella Philips, who fell off her bike and called me an action hero who mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. She called me suave and not geeky at all.I was pretty pleased with this until I realised she was concussed. So I ...
So Ed Miliband's big idea should he form the next government is to freeze fuel bills for 2 years until 2017. A grand headline grabbing pledge, but it is doable? Remember that Labour have been telling us for the last 5 years that this current financial crisis is a global situation that had nothing to do with their slack regulation of British banks. Or not spending all the taxation revenue on vanity projects rather than dealing with excesses in public budgets or dealing with improving infrastructure, indeed shipping spiraling debts on the public sector as a result of Private Finance ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and David Rimmer, together with FOCUS Editor Jo Barton, are holding their next advice centre in Churchtown. We will be at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) from 10:30 to 11:30 am on Thursday 26th September. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Crossens, at St John's School, Rufford Road, Crossens every month (except August) on the second Saturday ...
[IMG: Trident] The day after the end of Autumn conference in Glasgow, a letter appeared in The Times (£) (Sept 19) accusing the Lib Dems of having adopted a "reckless" defence strategy. Co-signed by former Labour Secretary of State for Defence and NATO Secretary-General, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, former Tory Party Defence Secretary Liam Fox and 14 other politicians and former chiefs of defence, the letter lambasts the Lib Dems for "hare-brained schemes for a part-time deterrent which in reality is no deterrent at all" and that is driven "by a Lib Dem desire to scupper Trident at any ...
Thanks Toby Young. Saved me doing it.
This wonderful collection of comics about depression brought together by Buzzfeed has been doing the rounds on facebook for a number of days now. It includes this classic post from Hyperbole and a Half on depression, which is the best thing I have ever seen online. Despite being so prevalent that it is described as [...]
[IMG: miliband] The following arrived in a brown envelope at Lib Dem Voice Towers, this morning. It is probably an early draft. [Check against delivery] [Note to self. I will be speaking without use of the autoclue. Will need to deliver the speech entirely without a clue.] I want to start by thanking somebody from the bottom of my heart. Ella Philips, who fell off her bike and called me an action hero who mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. She called me suave and not geeky at all. I was pretty pleased with this until I realised she was concussed. ...
With thanks to Jason Hunter
I agree. We can do much better than him
I think it very well might be. You see I'm one of those political activists that gets involved in politics not solely because of ideology but I like to think that I tackle the issues based on practically and reality even if it doesn't fully align with my ideology. I believe that it is better to take a small step towards your goals if it makes your end game more achievable and I'm not one of those that thinks it is better to do nothing if you can't do exactly what you want. I think life in general is about ...
[IMG: Gary Fuller at bus stop] Ticket to Ride Early? I've had a really positive response from Stagecoach to a request to start services from Sandgate to Folkestone a little earlier in the mornings. Currently, the first bus from Sandgate High Street "The Crescent" stop departs at 6.57am (weekdays - it's later on Saturday and much later on Sunday's and Bank Holidays). That bus therefore arrives in Central Folkestone after 7am, making catching the bus impractical for those starting work at 7am. In the opposite direction, the first bus from Sandgate to Hythe arrives in Hythe well before 7am. Having ...
[IMG: germany-flag] The exit of the Free Democrats [FDP] from the German Parliament for the first time since World War II is not just an unforeseen consequence of the spectacular success of Angela Merkel. It is a significant setback for European Liberalism, even if our German counterparts have for a generation been outriders on the right of the Liberal spectrum. Some detailed polling [German language] shows the significant movement of votes from the FDP to the Christian Democrats [CDU/CSU]. One significant difference to note here is that the UK Conservatives are notably more right-wing on the economy and environment than ...
Tomorrow is quite an important day for me in the Assembly as it will mark the final stage of my private members bill on Mobile Homes sites. It has not been an easy ride but I think that the bill as it looks now is a good one and will make a huge difference for mobile home owners across Wales. I should of course acknowledge the contribution of the Housing Minister and his officials in helping to shape the bill and to get it to this stage. This is the very first Private Member's Bill under the Assembly's new powers. ...
Watch the new video from Amnesty International UK: Also on YouTube.
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Will the real Damian McBride please stand up? - Telegraph Blogs I met @dpmcbride once for a drink. Instantly liked him. @tomchivers offers a grown-up look at our internal multitudes http://bit.ly/1gVLgI3 Twitter, that Old Media Darling – Scott Berinato – Harvard Business Review Twitter, that Old Media Darling (Scott Berinato at Harvard Bus. Review) on how trad a medium it is http://bit.ly/1gVjPhr h/t @VasilyKomarov Stephen Tall: How Germany's result could tempt me to vote Tory in 2015 | Conservative Home "How Germany's result could tempt me to vote Tory in 2015" http://bit.ly/1gVj5ZP ...
Those of you who follow me on twitter might have noticed that my journey home from work was somewhat eventful last night. ( details under the cut for those who didn't see live tweets ) Anyway, I just got a phone call from the driver's friend, who told me the driver's been discharged from hospital and the chest damage I was worried about was just bruising, not cracked or broken ribs/punctured lung which is what I was worried about. He's in a lot of pain, but his life's not in danger so hurrah for that. In terms of thanks: people ...
Watching F1 in reality is like being a spectator for hours of someone else playing scalextric. By contrast, watching F1 in Rush is such a visceral experience that in the cinema I was in virtually the whole audience was flinching and gasping at every bend on the track. Director Ron Howard has managed to break what [...]
An interesting calculation in today's Financial Times, that the costs of HS2 now work out at £160 million per mile. Warwickshire would get 43 miles of HS2 track – 32 miles in Phase 1 and 11 miles in Phase 2. That works out at a total cost of £6.9 billion for the Warwickshire sections of the route. As a county, we would get zero benefit from HS2 – no intermediate station between London and Birmingham and reductions in existing direct services to London, while incurring many years of disruption and major upheaval for our residents. So, if the government is ...
Tue 24th
12:44
Duncan Brack writes: Introduction to 'Green liberalism: a local approach to the low carbon economy'
This is the introduction to the recently published collection of essays, Green liberalism: a local approach to the low carbon economy. Similar collections are being published under Green Alliance's 'Green social democracy' and 'Green conservatism' projects as part of the Green Roots programme, which aims to stimulate green thinking within the three dominant political traditions in the UK. This collection of essays builds on two Liberal Democrat core beliefs: environmentalism and localism. As David Howarth argued in The green book: new directions for Liberals in government (Biteback, March 2013), Liberalism is not only compatible with environmentalism, it requires an environmental ...
Bloods Hb WBC PLT Neutrophils August 12, 2013 10.2 2.91 554 1.25 September 23, 2013 10.3 4.45 523 1.70 Blood test September 23. All values slightly better than last time, though only WBC within normal range
In no particular order... 1. Iain Dale um, 'protecting' Damien McBride... You know, because Damien really doesn't know how to look after himself.... (click here for the video) 2. The Prescott Punch 3. They're angry. They shout. They point. They throw things. A desk turns over... ...and then one of them pulls a gun. Live TV in Jordan 4. Pakistan Politicians Watch the guy in the middle. He can see what's coming. And he looks petrified. Then after the fight, he gets his glass nicked. And then, when the main protagonist in the fight has left the scene - he ...
Tue 24th
11:25
A trio of dictionaries of political quotations for your delectation: Liberal, Conservative and Labou...
[IMG: The Dictionary of Liberal Quotations - book cover] As I've had a small role in updating it, no surprises perhaps that I heartily recommend the new edition of the Dictionary of Liberal Quotations. What surprised me taking a look at the two companion volumes, the Dictionary of Labour Quotations and (you guessed it) the Dictionary of Conservative Quotations, is how many of the quotes in one volume are not only likely to be of interest to people of a different political persuasion but could even feature in other volumes too. For example, Dante's "The hottest places in Hell are ...
Hertfordshire County Council were successful in bidding for the DfT Cycle Safety funding and are working together with Sustrans to improve the cycle safety and drivers awareness of cyclists at a number of sites in the county the St Peters St A4147 roundabout in St Albans was one of those highlighted in our collision analysis as a site where cyclists are particularly vulnerable. The proposals are to make slight changes to the approaches to the roundabout to improve the safety of cyclists and increase the usability for cyclists at the junction. Initially, the intention is to carry out a trial ...
Tue 24th
10:49The Independent View: Endgames - International lessons for the Liberal Democrats in the final phase ...
[IMG: institute for government] In Nick Clegg's party conference speech last week the Deputy Prime Minister made it clear that he wants the Liberal Democrats to remain a 'party of government' beyond 2015. This requires the party both to make a success of the next 18 months, and to plan effectively for the period beyond the next election. Based on research into coalitions in other countries - and the specific question of how smaller parties have fared - the Institute for Government recently published a paper setting out five lessons for the Liberal Democrats as they move towards the final ...
I have had a number of bank accounts with the Co-op for some years now. I've complained about them occasionally but, overall, they are light years ahead of the service you get from any one of the big banks, which are like a brontosaurus in comparison, unaware of activity from their own tail. I believe the difference is that the Co-op is part of a mutual. I am theoretically part owner, and that word 'theoretically' is part of the problem. It means far too little in practice. It also failed to prevent the Co-op's previous management from buying Britannia Building ...
To the Bonkers' Arms, which is simply chock-a-block: as soon one barrel of Smithson & Greaves Northern Bitter is breached it is time to tap another one. I get talking to some the throng and discover that they are all civil libertarians - sound chaps to a man and, indeed, woman. Some are outraged by Clegg's support for secret courts, while others take a dim view of his support for the smashing of the Manchester Guardian's computers. (A woman called Miranda also comes into it somewhere, but I am afraid I did not grasp that bit. Still, I am sure ...
"Socialists ignore the side of man that is the spirit. They can provide you shelter, fill your belly with bacon and beans, treat you when you're ill, all the things guaranteed to a prisoner or a slave. They don't understand that we also dream."
Here's a further blog from the UN General Assembly in New York, also available on the Huffington Post The biggest disability rights meeting in five years takes place in New York this week as part of the United Nations General Assembly. People with disabilities have long been the forgotten people when it comes to overseas development. This is a landmark opportunity to give them a voice and put their needs centre stage. More than one billion people worldwide live with disability and suffer huge discrimination as a result. They face unequal access to education, employment, healthcare, social support and the ...
[IMG: Voting at Liberal Democrat conference. Photo courtesy of the Liberal Democrats. Some rights reserved If you thought the paperwork at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow was harder to find your way round than usual, you weren't imagining things, for an experiment was being tried. The idea was to save on paper and time by not repeating the relevant extracts from Conference Extra in each day's Conference Daily. As a result, if you were sat in the hall trying to work out what was going on, you often had to shuffle the Agenda, Conference Extra and Conference Daily. ...
The Biblical invocation against usury, making loans for interest, has been discarded by the two older Abrahamic religions, the Jews and the Christians, though it persists in Islam. I used to think the prohibition was another obsolete idea, based on a misunderstanding of the usefulness of finance. But as time goes by, the more I come to see that the biblical fathers, or God if you prefer, were on to something. The dysfunctional nature of financial markets is one of the modern world's most pressing problems. This reflection comes on the fifth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which ...
Don't mess with Dale! And definitely not when he's in protective publisher mode and wants to ensure a hassle-free interview for his latest political author, Damian McBride. Just a still photo and the link to the video for now, but it's bound to be on YouTube soon enough... [IMG: iain dale no nukes] VIDEO: The moment Iain Dale decides he's had enough of the anti nuclear protestor on Brighton seafront. #lab13 http://t.co/OBwskDZXvw — Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) September 24, 2013 Update: Iain has blogged about his experience here. * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, and editor of the ...
posted The Blood is The Life 23-09-2013 http://t.co/pV2mulo7Dz on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) How ATOS is taking over the NHS by stealth - under a different name: http://t.co/Z8jJ3TtNta (tags: (from twitter) ) Via @libdemvoice: Miliband: I really hate what Nick Clegg has done [Telegraph] http://t.co/38lp17f5aU - entirely unsurprising article. (tags: (from twitter) ) http://thndr.it/19xJ0Vp Happy #BiVisibilityDay twitter-friends! Raise the #bisexual flag & click to learn more: http://t.co/gJsXV3hlkX (tags: (from twitter) bisexual bivisibilityday ) Stupid sanctions If anyone doubted that the job centre is more about punishing the poor than finding jobs... (tags: ) Lovely lovely ...
As Stephen Fry – who turns out to be a member of the Sherlock Holmes society – explained in an interview for STV: Talking about the dinner that took place at the very hotel they were speaking in, Fry said: "Well, there was an American literary magazine called Lippincott's Magazine, which I think was in [...]
Last night, following my two Monday ward surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and the West Park Centre, I took part in Dundee City Council committees at which : * At Education Committee, in a discussion on the condition of the school estate across the city, I asked questions about the need for continuing improvement to the fabric and physical condition of the older school estate - specifically the Victorian-built primary schools like Ancrum Road Primary and Blackness Primary. Earlier this year at the council's budget meeting, I attempted to have further capital monies devoted to further improvements at these ...
[IMG: rwanda] Young people are full of aspirations and energy, but our potential is often stymied by depressed economies, insecurity and limited opportunities to have a say in the decisions that affect our lives. The issue of youth unemployment has crept up the political agenda, with little resultant action. There is a feeling among young people that our concerns and hopes are overlooked and our voices ignored. The way we see it, power still rests disproportionately in the hands of leaders, mostly men, twice our age or more. Young people in Rwanda face many challenges, but the Government has made ...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking with the folk at City Church Dundee at the Friary in Tullideph Road and to drop in at their weekly "Community Bridge" which takes place every Monday between 11am and 1pm. The Community Bridge seeks to build community, promote social integration and provide support to individuals and families in need. The Bridge was launched in August 2012 and is based in The Friary's Community Halls. Not only does this excellent initiative provide help and support in a friendly and relaxing environment, all attending get a light lunch and tea/coffee free of charge. It ...
Last week at a meeting of Liverpool City Council I moved a resolution which reiterated the support of the council not only for HS2 but also for other links which are needed, particularly the link across the Pennines to Manchester, ... Continue reading →
[IMG: germany-flag] A lot of people have focussed on the FDP's failure to surpass the 5% hurdle to gain representation in the German Bundestag, following elections this weekend. While a quirk, there is another way the FDP could have maintained representation in the German Parliament. This is the first time since 1949, when the new German constitution came into force that the FDP have not held seats in the German Bundestag. Since 1949, the party has only been out of office in five sessions out of 17, the least of any other party – effectively anchoring German politics to their ...
This is a reminder that I welcome guest posts on Liberal England. So far 33 have appeared. And as you can see from the list of the 10 most recent guest posts below, I am happy to consider a wide range of subjects. If you would like to write a guest post for Liberal England yourself, please send me an email so we can discuss your idea. Spelling out the reason to vote Liberal Democrat - Andrew BrownTommie Smith - The man behind the image - Matt RoebuckDon't make the dull middle class go to university - Dr AnonymousHouse of ...
Episode 77 of the House of Comments podcast "2013 Labour Conference Special" is out. Recorded in a restaurant on Brighton seafront myself and Emma are joined by Rob Marchant, Andy Harrop and Christine Quigley to discuss all things Labour including party reform, immigration, the full employment target, housing and Damian McBride. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here. Other podcasting software e.g. for Android can be pointed here to subscribe. You can download the mp3 for the latest episode directly from here. Or you can listen to the embedded episode below here: listen to 'Episode 77 - 2013 ...
What can we learn about participation in European scientific and technological collaboration from decisions made by Wilson's government? At the beginning of this year George Osborne committed the UK to increased investment in a large European organisation. Given more recent developments in Anglo-European policy this might sound somewhat out of place. The organisation to which I am referring to is not the European Union (no surprise there), but the European Space Agency. The ESA has a long history, founded in 1973 out of the merger between two separate organisations: one run by scientists and engineers with government money, concentrating on ...
Great War Dundee will host a public Open Day at the Steps Theatre tomorrow - Wednesday, 25th September from 2pm. Many of the partnership organisations involved with the project will be available for consultation. Admission is free. Great War Dundee, a city-wide partnership of organisations believed to be the first community co-operative in Britain to plan for the start of next year's commemoration. At the partnership's launch last month, the programme planned by Great War was highlighted. This includes: • a major public event in City Square on August 4, 2014 - 100 years on from the moment the war ...
Progress on the Active Travel (Wales) Bill has been much better now that the Minister has adopted a key Lib Dem priority on a duty to promote active travel. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been calling for stronger measures on education and promotion and submitted amendments at stage 2 to ensure local authorities take steps to promote active travel. As the Active Travel Bill heads towards the end of the legislative process, the Welsh Government has brought forward amendments on the Bill, which will require local authorities and Welsh Minsters to exercise their functions under the Active Travel Act in ...
