News today from the Open University about the launch of a new postgraduate module. Too late for me to be interested, but perhaps it's an encouraging sign that the social science faculty is re-engaging with people wanting to study at this level after withdrawing all of its masters-level qualifications a few years ago. The Faculty of Science, in partnership with the Faculty of Social Sciences, is offering a new Masters level module starting in February 2014. SD815 Contemporary Issues in Brain and Behaviour: Psychosis and Dementia, is particularly relevant to psychology graduates who are interested in neuropsychology, biological psychology and ...
Earlier this evening, I was delighted to attend the Dundee Better Together Launch at Discovery Point. A large audience heard Professor Chris Whatley (who chaired and gave an excellent address), Willie Rennie MSP, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Jenny Marra MSP (Labour) and Alex Johnstone MSP (Conservative) - and there was a lively Q&A session thereafter. The great enthusiasm for the positive campaign to keep Scotland as part of the United Kingdom was again evidenced tonight. Here's a few photographs from this evening: Willie Rennie addresses the audience Q & A session Part of the large audience Some of ...
I saw a useful initiative mentioned recently that will help to make people think about not drinking and driving, or not travelling with people who are drunk. After all these years of campaigning, it seems that some people never get the message, but we've got to keep trying. To win an iPad, people need to make a video up to two minutes long. It need not be professional. You can even use your mobile phone to record it. Just remember to highlight the don't drink and drive message. In my younger years I can recall crowding obliviously into a mini ...
So earlier this week Sky announced that their NowTV service offers the ability to live stream several of their channels, plus get on demand with some back catalogues. It's an additional monthly cost on top of the Movies or Sport, but at £4.99 a month with no contract it seemed like a worthwhile trial. The current channels available are Sky 1 Sky Living Sky Atlantic Gold Comedy Central Fox MTV Sky Arts 1 Discovery Channel Disney Channel It doesn't include any of the sub channels that these might have like the 2s or +1s, and some programmes have rights restrictions ...
[IMG: HS2 Brick Wall] High speed 2 easily cleared its first parliamentary hurdle yesterday, with just 34 MPs voting against the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill - 350 voted in favour. Here Penny Gaines argues the case against HS2 is still strong. High Speed 2 will cost £50bn, including the trains. But it is an environmentally damaging vanity project, with a constantly shifting rationale for building it. The current argument is that speed is irrelevant for the case for HS2, but that our existing railways are nearly full and the only option is to build a new high speed railway. ...
Belfast's Waterfront Hall is set to host a photographic exhibition to mark World Aids Day 2013 and help raise awareness of HIV in Northern Ireland. The exhibition is part of a series of events co-ordinated by Positive Life (Northern Ireland's only HIV-support charity). There is a launch event with light refreshments on the evening of Monday...
Tuesday dawned sunny, and I got ready to go to work. At the usual 7.55, my Suffolk Links bus arrived to take me to the station where, upon arrival, it became clear that my community bus was the only thing working well. No 8.11, no 8.29, the 8.45 nowhere to be seen but presumably eaten by desperate residents of Elmswell, I had no choice but to read my copies of The Times and the East Anglian Daily Times and find out just how bad things were. The answer, particularly in Suffolk? Very. I got to work eventually, stopping for some ...
[IMG: LYE small] Liberal Youth England has vacancies for 3 regional chairs in the following areas: London Western Counties Yorkshire and the Humber By-elections for these positions will be held at the Liberal Youth Winter conference in Cardiff next weekend. Regional chairs are am responsible for establishing, organising and supporting Branches and Societies in the region, acting as a regional point of contact for the Executive, media, campaigns, events and Federal Party purposes. All members of the party in England under the age of 26 are eligible to stand. If you'd like to stand for election, simply email me (for ...
[IMG: Fireworks in the sky] KCC Trading Standards would like to make sure you all have a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night. Fireworks are a traditional part of Bonfire Night celebrations, but they are dangerous explosives and cause many serious accidents every year. To help you enjoy responsibly please be aware that: If you let off any fireworks in a public place, you can be fined up to £5000 or issued with an £80 Fixed Penalty Notice. You may not set off fireworks between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am (extended to midnight on Bonfire Night, and 1am on New Year's ...
Available on You Tube here.
"More accountability and responsibility"Walesonline reports: "The UK coalition leaders have today announced a series of new measures to enable the Welsh Government to invest in transport infrastructure, such as an upgrade of the M4, and the devolution of stamp duty. The announcement follows the news last night that the Celtic Manor, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010, will be the venue for a major Nato summit next year." Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, comments: "I am very pleased that we will be able to make advances on the Silk Commission's recommendations. It is no secret that ...
Friday: Age: 16 Stories: 81 Awesomeness: Dalek Killer Cuddles: In Leather AKA: Sophie Aldred
Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford is under serious pressure as allegations of him smoking crack cocaine continue. It appears he phoned up his local talk radio station under the alias of 'Ian', and defended himself... As soon as one of the presenters asked if he was indeed the Mayor, he hangs up. He has now [...]
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Wood burning stove brings authenticity to middle class man's life I'm 36, called Stephen and bought a wood burning stove this week. This ain't funny. http://bit.ly/1aOhe9l How we could all get better deals on our energy bills | Stephen Fitzpatrick | Comment is free | theguardian.com I like Stephen Fitzpatrick > How we could all get better deals on our energy bills http://bit.ly/1aLF9pZ
It is commonplace to suggest that economics, as taught in our schools and universities, badly failed prior to the great financial crisis of 2007/08. But beyond this, things get a lot less clear. People tend to pipe up and attack aspects of the discipline that they have never liked; in the circles I move this tends to be the "neoliberal" ideas of well-functioning markets. This does not seem to be based on any real analysis, though. And universities plough on teaching the same old stuff as if nothing had happened, no doubt because nothing particularly coherent has replaced the old ...
New from the Deputy Prime Minister's office: You can also watch this on YouTube.
[IMG: Welsh Dragon Swag Bag] Today, the Coalition Government has committed to reaching the next great milestone in Welsh devolution by taking forward the key recommendations of the Silk Commission. As a party that believes in devolution and has campaigned for decades to deliver more power for Wales, this is a huge win for the Liberal Democrats. Can you imagine a Tory or Labour Government devolving these powers from London? Currently the National Assembly of Wales is unique amongst the rest of the world. It can make laws, spend money, but it can't control how much it raises through tax. ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: You can also watch this on YouTube.
With the announcement today that Wales is going to be given more borrowing powers and there will be a referendum about greater tax powers, I think fair it time we discuss a parliament for England. I truly believe in allowing politicians making decisions at a local level befitting the decision. The down side with this is that there could possible create a Postcode Lottery of services. I
And so, the big day came for our local Ryman League Division One North team, as the big boys from the Skrill Conference National came to town for their FA Cup, Fourth Qualifying Round tie. To put it in perspective, there's a three division gap between the two teams - think Premiership and League Two - and Cambridge United are top of their league, having gone sixteen games without defeat. But, where there's life, there's hope, as they say, and Needham Market had only lost their first game of the season less than a week earlier. A crowd of 1,784, ...
[IMG: Pensions Road Sign 200] This week brought welcome news for millions: Lib Dem minister Steve Webb wants to introduce a cap on pension fees. Who cares? With 12 million people not saving enough for an adequate income in retirement, forcing charges to be capped could substantially improve the standard of living for pensioners without requiring an extra penny of their income. The government is consulting on three different caps for workplace pensions: a 0.75 per cent cap, a 1 per cent cap, or a "comply or explain" cap, which would allow providers to charge between 0.75 and 1 per ...
I have written before over my head and heart issues over HS2. I am beginning to wonder if part of my quandry is that the Pro HS2 team are just not very good at making their case... Simon Jenkins wrote a very good good 'anti' case on Wednesday in the Guardian, so yesterday I was interested to see the other side had been given the opportunity to make the pro case. Paul Maynard is the Tory MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys and a proponent of the scheme. Unfortunately, his piece seemed - well, full of holes. First off, he ...
I thought I'd end this blog's excursion to the Balkans with one of the more hopeful stories to come out of the wars in the nineties. Discussions of those wars – including my own – tend to refer to these conflicts as though they were all about ethnicity and/or religion. Yet for many people they [...]
[IMG: Childcare Centre] Childcare in the UK is expensive. In 2011 the OECD reported the UK having the second highest costs of childcare for any OECD country in terms of average family incomes. According to the Daycare Trust, full-time nursery care costs parents an £11,000 per year on average and around £4,000 for care for two school-age children around the start and end of the school day. Many parents have to choose between leaving work to care for their kids, sacrificing much needed income or continuing in work and struggling with the costs of childcare. If they're lucky their household ...
Dear Resident, Thank you for reading the latest edition of my Notes from Westminster. I'd like to take this opportunity to say that my family and I have been overwhelmed by the messages of condolence received from friends and colleagues in the local community following the sad passing of my dear wife, Lesley. The messages I have received from across Stockport, and across party divides, amply demonstrate the abundance of kindness and mutual support in our community and I have been helped immensely by them. Since returning to Westminster in October I have been keeping busy representing Cheadle constituency; I ...
[IMG: Alistair's Highland Park] Ok, so it's not the most exciting headline in the world. After all, nocturnal imbibing of spirits is pretty commonplace. However, when the man in question is Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael breaking his month long abstinence having raised, at the time of writing, £4,235 for Macmillan Cancer Support, it is appropriate to mark the occasion. The last time Alistair had a drink, he wasn't in the Cabinet, Scotland still had an outside chance of qualifying for the World Cup finals and the third Bridget Jones book was still under lock and key at ...
As you may have heard by now, Colchester Borough Council's Planning Committee voted last night to reject the latest proposal for Jumbo. I was at the meeting and spoke against the plans, so I'm glad the committee agreed with me, but I thought I would expand on my views here. Firstly, I would recommend reading this blog post by architect Hana Loftus on the proposals, which sets out some very good arguments against them. We always have to be careful about falling into what Yes, Minister called the politician's fallacy: Something must be done, this is something, therefore it must ...
Yesterday evening, Lord Steel delivered a lecture on Lords reform and the forthcoming Scottish referendum. Here is the speech in full. Stone Memorial lecture, Strathclyde University 31 October 2013 Scotland and the Lords after 2014 My intention in this lecture is to look forward and discuss what fundamental changes and improvements could be made to our parliaments at Westminster and Holyrood once we get past the Scottish referendum this time next year. But before I do that, considering that this Sir Alexander Stone memorial lecture is decreed to be broadly on the subject of rhetoric I want as a prelude ...
[IMG: David Steel 200] Yesterday evening, Lord David Steel delivered a lecture on Lords reform and the forthcoming Scottish referendum. He called for a wide constitutional overhaul, including reforming the House of Lords into an indirectly elected chamber. Speaking earlier to Scotland Tonight, he called for a grown-up debate about whether Scotland wants to be a separate nation or not. He rejected David Cameron's assertion that an independent Scotland would be more vulnerable to terrorist attacks and Nicola Sturgeon's claim that fuel bills will come down, saying such comments obscured the real issues of the campaign. In his lecture, Lord ...
G4S security guard bludgeoned woman to death weren't these guys on the gates of the last LDConf? (tags: ) willy-shaped church responds to going viral "The phallus shaped church also has the slogan "rising up" as its motto." LMAO (tags: ) Slimby Slimming Picture scientifically proven to aid weight loss (tags: ) That list of lib dem broken promises in full (tags: ) There's going to be a Christmas ep of Last Tango In Halifax :) (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
It is a tradition for LDV to bring its readers copies of our new MPs' and Peers' first words in Parliament, so that we can read what is being said and respond. You can find all of the speeches in this category with this link. Last Thursday, Lord Wrigglesworth made his maiden speech in the House of Lords during a debate on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. His words are reproduced below. My Lords, it is a great honour and a great pleasure to address your Lordships' House for the first time. I do so with some ...
There are two things you should know about me. The first is that I like to complain about poor service, and the second is that I'm a hoarder. These character flaws have finally proved useful! Let me explain how you can claim hundreds or even thousands of Euros in compensation for delayed flights. A couple of years ago, we took a holiday to Turkey flying with Thomas Cook. The flight out was delayed - normally I wouldn't complain about a short delay; but this was 5 hours! Stuck in Gatwick Airport for 5 hours - urgh! Not the greatest start ...
The Western Mail reports that a letter written by a council leader has exposed a bitter and damaging split within Welsh Labour over education policy and local government reorganisation: Written by Blaenau Gwent council's Labour leader Hedley McCarthy to party colleagues across Wales, the letter rips in to the Welsh Government's handling of key issues and suggests that Labour councillors faced with losing their roles will not campaign for the re-election of Labour AMs at the next National Assembly election in 2016. Complaining about what he sees as an attack on small councils like his own, Mr McCarthy writes in ...
West End Nursery & Primaries Campus entrance area I have previously raised, at the City Council School Parking and Pupil Safety Working Group - and elsewhere - constituent concerns about road safety at the West End campus (St Joseph's PS; Victoria Park PS; Balgay Hill Nursery School). I recently asked the council's Head of Transportation for an update on proposed actions and he has advised: "The main areas of concern were around the Glenagnes Road entrances (to the school and car park) with parents accessing and thus mixing with the pupils as they were leaving the school and using the ...
This is a good deal for consumers, energy security, the environment and for low carbon investment and jobs. 25,000 jobs will be created during the construction of the plant and 57% of the £14bn investment will be spent in the UK. Many old and dirty power stations are closing down over the next decade. This agreement will provide power for nearly 6m homes, an area almost twice the size of London. Once built, it will provide a clean source of home-grown energy, helping to keep the lights on, cut emissions and reduce bills by £75 a year by 2030. The ...
I have just been watching the Channel 4 programme Embarrassing Bodies: Live from the Clinic which has Dr Christian Jessen as one of its presenters. Having been told about a new STI Risk checker which they have developed, I went and investigated it. Having got to the end of the test, there was the opportunity to...
