Islam has a long history in Bosnia, but in the fratricidal war that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia there were attempts by the (orthodox) Serbs, in particular, to ethnically cleanse Bosnia Herzegovina of its Muslim population, demolish many mosques and divide the territory up with the (Catholic) Croats. I went to Sarajevo not long after [...]
Following my ward surgeries this afternoon at the West Park and Mitchell Street Centres, I took part in tonight's City Council meetings at which: * At Environment Committee, I asked questions about the issuing of fixed penalty notices for littering and asked about the success in getting a proper outcome when these are reported to the Procurator Fiscal due to non-payment (around 50% of the 300-400 fixed penalties for littering in Dundee each year end up being reported to the PF). * At Housing Committee, I welcomed the more reasonable rent increase proposals to be consulted upon this year - ...
Last year I was in the audience for a panel discussion at a professional conference. Every single member of the panel was a balding middle-aged man. It was as several members of the audience pointed out, cringe-making. It has reached the stage where the low number of women in the Liberal Democrat group in the Commons strikes me it the same way. You can say in our defence that we do not have safe seats into which we can parachute female candidates. You can say we had plenty of women candidates in promising seats at the last election - but ...
Across the country today, almost a million people are selflessly caring for friends and family with cancer. Their work is incredible and inspiring, and not only means the world to those they care for, but makes a massive contribution to our society. For far too long their role has been overlooked. It is why while I was Care Minister I made sure that the Care Bill enshrines new rights for carers in England. The Bill rightly puts carers at the centre of care - as equal partners in care planning who, for the first time, will have clear rights and ...
I wrote an article yesterday about the eclipsing of the amateur blogger by the mainstream media. I titled it Liberal Conspiracy is dead - and so too's the amateur blogger (more or less), which – at the heavy risk of scraping the bottom of the Daily Mail's barrel of excuses – is a headline that has to be read in the context of the whole piece. It would have been more accurate to call it, 'Blogging's alive and well, but it's a lot more competitive these days and, unless you've got something distinctive to say, it's hard to get noticed ...
The BBC and newspapers are reporting that proposals to upgrade the existing rail network instead of investing in HS2, would lead to 14 years of weekend closures and replacement buses. The cost of upgrading these main lines is not given, but it is worth reminding ourselves of the 1998-2008 upgrade to the West Coast Main Line which cost around £9bn after being scaled back due to technical problems and cost overruns. Meanwhile Labour continues its lukewarm positioning on HS2, floating the idea of a reopening of the Grand Central line at a cost of between £10bn and £15bn (Ed Balls ...
To my readers,I am sorry to say that I will have to take a temporary break from my blogging. I have had too much school work and I have found that I have had less and less time. My father has also had a stroke fairly recently and I am struggling to uphold all of my tasks. I will still be on my twitter and you can contact me via email at janem510@gmail.com . Maelo Manning
All of us living with HIV have to 'come out' time and again, telling another person about that we are positive as and when this information is needed. Today, I had to come out again, this time to the optometrist who was carrying out my eye test. It was a simple answer to his question...
[IMG: Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant - Some rights reserved by John O Dyer] It's been a week since Ed Davey announced the deal to build a new nuclear power station. After a week's reflection the financing of this deal, especially by the Chinese, has become the biggest talking point. The cheapest way to generate electricity is with coal-fired power stations fuelled with open-cast coal from North America. Cheap, that is, if you ignore the environmental cost. Unless coal is handicapped by a carbon-tax, all low-carbon technologies will need subsidising. We don't have a free market in energy in this country, ...
In "1984" George Orwell created the idea that the way we express ourselves has a fundamental effect on the way we also view the world. In the world of Newspeak, bad things could not be permitted, they could only be ungood. In such a way, the party restricted the ability of the individual to dissent. If the idea of dissent could not be expressed, then the very concept of opposition to the party line became impossible. In recent years the idea of political correctness has gained much traction in the way we talk about the world. Ideas deemed to be ...
The Council plans to make the "traffic order" around the parking restrictions by the IM Marsh campus tomorrow (29th October). There'll be an advertisement at the back of the Liverpool Post this week and then the actual regulations are due to come into effect on a date in December. This follows a committee decision, after quite some time of discussions, earlier this year. You can see the material from the committee at this link.
George Osborne is looking pleased with himself. The coalition believes it has been vindicated on the economy. Growth is now the fastest since - well only 2010, actually. One of the casualties of the last few years, with Osborne anxiously scanning the horizon for the rescue he felt had to arrive, is a saner approach to the word 'growth'. Most radicals since Bobby Kennedy have regarded the unadorned growth figures as wholly irrelevant - and sometimes downright corrosive - to prosperity. I think they are right, personally. If you can increase growth by spilling oil in the North Sea, by ...
Ann Clwyd's review happened because the Coalition Government took her harrowing story about the treatment of her husband seriously. Despite his mistreatment being in a Welsh hospital, the Coalition acknowledges that these problems are UK wide. Yet what has the Welsh Labour Government done? Nothing. Their inaction has been shameful. While the Coalition Government is acting to improve health care in England, the Welsh Labour Government continues to pretend all is well. Things won't improve until the Welsh Labour Government acknowledges the sheer scale of the problems our NHS faces. Ann Clwyd has explicitly said that Wales is behind in ...
This morning at the City Chambers, I attended the latest meeting of the Harris Academy Project Board. There was a useful discussion about the new school building project's progress and on transport issues and I raised several aspects of the latter matter. It was agreed that a sub-group will be formed to take any outstanding bus/transport issues forward, which is a sensible approach.
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Opinion: Russell Brand - a turgid mess of a manifesto Jack Wlliams to the point @libdemvoice this morning > Opinion: Russell Brand - a turgid mess of a manifesto http://bit.ly/1azT1mS 15 Award-Winning Photos From The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 | Bored Panda Awesomeness > 15 Award-Winning Photos From The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 http://bit.ly/1ca18G4 Ex-Lib-Dem MP Lembit Opik undergoes NHS surgery to fix his 'crooked' face | Latest News | News | Daily Star. Simply The Best 7 Days A Week No further comment: "Work began on Lembit ...
Some of the most rewarding – and effective – policy initiatives I have been involved with have been deliberately cross-party. As so many decisions need to be "future-proofed", and as Parliament becomes more multi-party and less tribal, more work of this kind is both inevitable and welcome. After producing draft bills on Lords Reform (with Robin Cook and Ken Clarke), on other constitutional renewal issues (encouraged by George Young and Lord Morgan) and the funding of democracy (aided by Andrew Tyrie, Alan Whitehead and others) my latest attempt took a significant step forward last Friday. The Voting Age (Comprehensive Reduction) ...
Jonathan Calder, aka 'Lord Bonkers', wrote on his Liberal England blog that all-women shortlists are better than the party's candidate leadership programme. The problem with that view is the leadership programme – which was an [...]
A few months ago, I met with Wise Thoughts, a Wood Green based Arts charity aimed at supporting the BAME and LGBT+ communities in Haringey and across the country. They hold a range of projects designed to raise awareness and promote social cohesion through the arts. Between the 7th and 9th November, Wise Thoughts are holding their Gaywise FESTival at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham. Everyone is welcome, and there will be a range of activities including performance art, film screenings, and debates. The full programme can be found at http://gaywisefestival.org.uk/. This is an excellent initiative, and I ...
You might not think that the Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey was key to Prime Minister's David Cameron's plans to "win the global race", but you'd be wrong. Davey is a key proponent of the need to work with allies in Europe to drive through EU reforms that benefit Britain in the world, something we feel strongly about at British Influence. While a Minister at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, he set up the Like-minded Group of EU ministers, to drive economic growth in the EU and cut back on red tape: David Cameron's ...
Mon 28th
11:55
Lessons from Dunfermline: A lot more conversation, a little less literature needed in future
[IMG: Campaigning on the doorstep - Lynne Featherstone] I stand by my view that the Dunfermline by-election result was pretty much the best that we could have achieved in the circumstances. As I said in my comment to that post: We were squeezed - that much was inevitable, but as Labour blogger Ian Smart said the other day, our vote did not crumble to the extent that had been expected. Both Labour and the SNP expected to be able to help themselves to all of it, and were surprised when they couldn't. They tried so hard and of course nobody ...
There are currently two opportunities for Liberal Democrats in the North West, details below: Stockport Lib Dems – Part-time Organiser (0.2 FTE) Stockport Liberal Democrats are seeking a paid campaigner/administrator to work approximately one day a week helping the local party return Stockport to majority Lib Dem control. The role will include canvassing, growing membership and activists and [...]
Something which is really pissing me off at the moment is the way that overt sexism can continue to get a free pass in the Liberal Democrats. I mean, the vast majority of liberals would say they're against sexism and would claim that they wouldn't tolerate it but actions speak louder than words. And when it comes to actions, things are pretty disappointing. Of course, this isn't unique to the Lib Dems as sexist double standards and hypocrisy are par for the course in every political party and across society as a whole but it still sticks in the craw ...
The Liverpool Post has today published an on line story about a load of jobs moving to Garston, and possibly more being created. It's to do with the Matchworks. You can read the story at this link
Political Betting reports a poll by Yougov for Nottingham University on satisfaction with MPs in general and with the local MP. The result that people generally rate their local MP higher than MPs in general is well known, and thought to be due to the fact that one perception relies on reporting, which is usually negative, and the other relies more on personal experience. But this poll also reveals that voters with Liberal Democrat MPs rate them significantly higher than those with MPs of other parties. [IMG: MP satisfaction] That's a net satisfaction of +14% for local Liberal Democrat MPs, ...
[IMG: julian barnes the-sense-of-an-ending] The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes We all know a Tony and an Adrian: the former an intelligent, decent guy who's made an ordinary, comfortable life for himself; the latter a brilliant, erratic guy who will either explode as success or implode in failure. Throw into the mix a spiky university girlfriend who dates Tony but falls for Adrian and you have the backdrop to a novella that examines life and loss and how we deal with both. But, crucially it does so through the lens of a trusty narrator whose memories we can't necessarily ...
[IMG: Russell-Brand-New-Statesman-2486033] As a New Statesman subscriber* I can't help wondering what they would have said if The Spectator had asked a non-lefty entertainer to guest edit – someone like Jeremy Clarkson, say – and his opening words were: When I was asked to edit an issue of the Spectator I said yes because it was a beautiful woman asking me. Then imagine if he went on to call for a revolution – not one instigated through the ballot box, obvs, but a revolution in support of Jeremy Clarkson's outlook because lots of people think like Jeremy Clarkson. And then ...
posted The Blood is The Life 27-10-2013 http://t.co/9v398NibBN on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24685617 Every pisshead should raise a glass to him RT @nipclaw: BBC News - Doner kebab 'inventor' Kadir Nurman dies in Berlin http://t.co/ln44cDnlyr (tags: (from twitter) ) On sex/gender controversies (one of them in particular but it's a great post that applies generally) (tags: ) Jonathan Calder makes a post about AWS ... Which is quite hard to argue with (tags: ) UK faces 14 years of weekend closures if labour fails to back hs2 Possibly slightly overblown, but the way hs2 is reported ...
Some may recall the somewhat controversial history of the Royal College of Psychiatrists when it comes to transgender issues, and the decade-long wait for their guidelines for treatment of Gender Dysphoria. Well, the wait is finally over and the guidelines were finally published last week. Given how potentially catastrophic they could have been, the positive nature of the final version is welcome and this is reflected in the long list of endorsements from trusted organisations. The document is broadly in line with the latest WPATH Standards of Care, and positive points include: (These are mostly clustered around pages 15-16 and ...
On Friday this week I was challenged by a friend to read Russell Brand's article in the New Statesman, after I went on Facebook to casually eviscerate his interview with Jeremy Paxman. I cursed my friend for making this request, which seemed too reasonable to refuse yet to tiresome to enjoy. Below is an edited version of my response. I have now read the piece and I think it is self-referential to the point of narcissism. Brand's intellectual ambitions literally reach for the stars. But his self-congratulatory ignorance is exposed by his failure to provide evidence beyond his personal experience ...
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. Don't make the dull middle class go to university - Dr AnonymousHouse of Lords reform in a 1950s whodunnit - Charles BeaumontThe difficulty of getting started in farming - Joshua MetcalfeWhy the British ...
Why a horrifying massacre twenty years ago should raise alarm bells about the potential repercussions of the Eurozone crisis Do you want to be scared about the Eurozone crisis? Then read a book about the war in Bosnia. The Greek journalist Takis Micas' Unholy Alliance: Greece and Milosevic's Serbia includes an account of how around [...]
Southwark Council owns a number of shops on Crossthwaite Avenue. One is a sub Post Office. For several years I've been campaigning to get a sign pointing to these shops and Post Office. This came from work trying to save Post Offices when the last Labour government was closing them. Identified that we needed to drum up business for those we have. I even escalated the issue to the council leader Councillor Peter John, whose ward this is in, several time but that seemed to make diddly squat difference. But now after all those years we've finally had a sign ...
.. as part of West End Christmas Fortnight ...
Liberal Democrats believe we should have a firm but fair immigration system that is tolerant to those who live, work and contribute here but intolerant of abuse. However, these vans crossed a line. They were divisive and, ultimately, counter-productive. The 'go home' poster vans were not cleared or agreed by Liberal Democrats in Government and we made clear we would not support any expansion of the scheme.
Aung San Suu Kyi was presented with the Sakharov human rights prize in the European Parliament last week. She told MEPs that in 1988, when she founded the Movement for Democratic Reform in Burma, many of the democratic countries now represented in the European Union were still communist dictatorships. It was a timely reminder that we too often take for granted the European Union's enormous achievement in promoting peace, democracy and the extension of human rights. UKIP people dismiss this and claim that the collapse of the 'iron curtain' was due to NATO. They ignore the values that inspire and ...
