The Southfield Liberal Democrats have never been impressed by Ealing Council and their contractor Enterprise. I was joined by Councillor Andrew Steed and Gary Busuttil to help clean up some of Speldhurst Road when the Council has failed to do so! One resident thought that Andrew was an actual street sweeper (his bright jacket gives that impression). Taking turns, we collected bags of swept leaves, which because we had no car, we took back to our homes. Sadly Ealing Council has not, so far, had the gumption to get the huge amount of compensation that Enterprise owes Ealing Council for ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. First may I thank everyone for your messages of support and offers of help after our house flooded a few days ago. I have been deeply moved by the kindness and generosity of people. We have had to move out of our house for the next few months whilst drying out and building work takes place, and so we have moved to a property on Seven Oaks Crescent in Bramcote. Second may I apologise that ...
The Telegraph carries a story which should make any liberal ask a lot of questions. To summarise, a pregnant Italian woman was sent to Stansted for a training session. She was sectioned under the Mental Health Act after becoming distressed. But worse was to come: By now Essex social services were involved, and five weeks later she was told she could not have breakfast that day. When no explanation was forthcoming, she volubly protested. She was strapped down and forcibly sedated, and when she woke up hours later, found she was in a different hospital and that her baby had ...
[IMG: image] I have read through this astonishing report from the New York Times on the technical implementation of Obamacare. I'm not a "tecchie" but I have worked for 32 years in the IT industry. There's a technical term for what happened here. It's called a complete balls up. This wasn't just a question of not having enough servers wheeled in at the necessary time. The whole system was fundamentally not fit for purpose. The actual system architecture, the actual system coding was completely screwed up and didn't work. The organisation of the network of companies and personnel who built ...
Sun 1st
21:37
Three wise mice, Frankenstein and chocolate raisins: Count Arthur Strong's Christmas message
UCLA student Derek S. Hernandez tells us of events that are happening around LA for World AIDS Day 2013, and asks what each of us can do to stop the global HIV-AIDS pandemic.
The Guardian reminds us: In August, Cameron said: "If we don't back this technology, we will miss a massive opportunity to help families with their bills ... fracking has real potential to drive energy bills down." In July, Osborne said: "This a real chance to get cheaper energy for Britain ... a major new energy source that can reduce energy bills."But they were wrong, as the article shows by quoting the former BP chairman Lord Browne: "We are part of a well-connected European gas market and, unless it is a gigantic amount of gas, it is not going to have ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 355th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (24-30 November, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. The wandering and ...
Welcome to the new resident of Downing St. The kids have called her Lola pic.twitter.com/FXyM96acg1 — George Osborne (@George_Osborne) December 1, 2013 Update It appears not everyone is happy with the new arrival... You must be f*****g joking RT @George_Osborne Welcome to the new resident of Downing St The kids have called her Lola pic.twitter.com/7yXln1e7Qa [...]
Was pleased to take part in Better Together campaigning in Broughty Ferry today with colleagues - nearly 3000 newspapers delivered and good to speak with residents on a lovely winter's day!
In the faux 1950s rose tinted world of the Daily Mail, lives a columnist called Liz Jones. Her job appears to be to offend as many people as possible on a weekly basis. she's remarkably good at it. Today, she's cast her net particularly wide by writing a column about shared parental leave that is guaranteed to offend all women and any man who isn't a sexist idiot. As a sub-plot, she's also creating division between those in society who think that tea towels should be ironed (like former Liberal Democrat co-editor and regular contributor Mark Pack who admits to ...
Many thanks to the 14,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... "Nick Clegg is an idle f****er says David Cameron" (12 comments) by The Voice Launch of Scottish Government's White Paper on Scottish Independence (11 comments) by Mary Reid It's "Immigration Hysteria Day". Again. Here's how Lib Dems need to respond (44 comments) by Stephen Tall SNP's white paper on Scottish independence: some first reaction and three initial questions from me (37 comments) by Caron Lindsay Free school meals for infants – the controversy over Nick Clegg's pledge rumbles on (42 comments) ...
In the second of the guest posts from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, we read the story of a wonderful young woman Momima. Like me, she wants to live her life without "crying over spilt milk." Do read on, it is a moving story of courage in the face of difficulty. Meet Momina Momina is a...
Exactly one year ago I was selected to fight the European Election in London as a Liberal Democrat candidate. One year on, here are a few thoughts on my candidacy and the wider election... The first thing to note is that I consider successfully being selected to fight the election in the first place - with all the trials and turmoil which come with a selection contest of this kind (including an all-member selection ballot across the whole of London) - to be one of the greatest achievements in my life thus far. This is partly because when I made ...
My Huffington Post article: Political corruption kills 140 000 children annually, by depriving them of medical care, food, and water. Yet, far too often, the perpetrators of the most outrageous acts of corruption are able to use their illicit wealth and power to pervert the very laws and institutions that should call them to account. This past week, my GOPAC colleagues and I presented the United Nations UNCAC with a plan to bring them to justice.
We are very strict at LDV Towers. There must be no mention of Christmas before 1st December, but now that we're hear, the holly, baubles and tinsel are being dusted off. Rumours that we were going to have a lights display spelling out Stronger Economy, Fairer Society have proved wide of the mark, though. We thought we might help you with some of your Christmas shopping with a few suggestions. The first suggestion comes from Stephen Tall: [IMG: An officer and a spy] Book: An officer and a spy, by Robert Harris available here. This is a gripping historical political ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... feedly.com Biggest? No. "20 reasons why Russell Brand is the biggest hypocrite in Britain" http://bit.ly/183k5MS Why Movember isn't all it's cracked up to be New Statesman proves that post-Russell Brand it'll publish any shit "Movember is divisive, gender normative & racist" http://bit.ly/1gsY4rc
Nick Clegg's message for World AIDS Day reflects the National AIDS Trust's Fact Up campaign. They want the UK to learn five facts about living with HIV in the UK. These are: 1. People living with HIV live a normal life span if diagnosed and treated in time 2. There is no job which someone can't do specifically because they have HIV 3. Treatment can mean that people living with HIV are no longer infectious 4. Men and women living with HIV can become parents of an HIV-free baby. 5. BUT people living with HIV still face stigma and discrimination. ...
I am so down with the kids that bands follow me on Twitter. You can read all about Narrow Plains in this interview on I'm All Ears Music Blog.
"Liberal Democrats will allow parents to share the allocation of maternity and paternity leave between them in whatever way suits them best." That's what the party's 2010 manifesto said would happen – and this week it actually did happen. Here's what Nick Clegg had to say about the party's policy success... [IMG: libdem letter from nick clegg] A short one this week: just to say a huge well done to all Liberal Democrats. We've finally landed our flagship policy on shared parental leave. Help us share the news about our shared parental leave! After a lot of work - not ...
Nigel Farage has sacked the leader of UKIP in Scotland, Christopher Monckton, by email and the Scottish party's chairman and chief fundraiser have quit in protest. UKIP's national executive has also wound up the party's ruling "Scottish committee" and an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for today has been scrapped. This is the latest stage in a faction fight in UKIP in Scotland that has already seen six of the party's nine shortlisted candidates for the European parliament elections resign. A Sunday Herald report says: Speaking to the Sunday Herald, Monckton said Ukip had been "slow" to deal with "a very ...
Yesterday we had a marvellous day in Allerton Road. The Christmas Market was the best event we have ever had with some stalls selling out before midday. The stall holders were largely people from the locality or Merseyside with the ... Continue reading →
I don't often play games - and I rarely pay for Android apps. Blackbar got me to spring a couple of quid based on a single screenshot. [IMG: Blackbar screenshot] That's it. Read a letter, type in which words have been redacted. If you get it right, you're rewarded with the next letter. I can't understand why this game hasn't been made before. There's literally nothing to have stopped this game being developed on early 8-bit microcomputers. It is interactive fiction - but unlike any I've played before. Rather than changing the plot with your decisions, you merely have to ...
Sun 1st
10:05
Botched deportation of dying man highlights need for humanitarian overhaul of asylum system
On Wednesday, Roger Roberts wrote an extremely moving article about the fate of Isa Muaza, a Nigerian asylum seeker who had been on hunger strike for 90 days in protest at the conditions in which he was being kept at an immigration detention centre. His removal from the UK, even in his frail, close to death condition, was planned for Friday morning. Through Thursday, many of our readers signed the petition asking for Theresa May to reconsider her decision to deport Muaza. Huge effort was put in by Liberal Democrats including Sarah Teather, Julian Huppert and Tim Farron as well ...
Mobile mapping, 19th century style (for the 1851 Great Exhibition): Leather glove with hand painted map of London designed to help fashionable ladies find Great Exhibition held in 1851 pic.twitter.com/UVDcllf9LN — Sean Fagan Books (@SeanFaganBooks) November 30, 2013
Moving amendments to legislation in the Lords can often feel like an interesting and worthy – but ultimately pointless – activity as often nothing changes. Not so this week!. I was one of the cross party group of peers who moved an amendment to the Children and Families Bill last week to introduce powers to bring in regulations on standard packaging for cigarettes. My fellow peers were Ilora Finlay (crossbench), Richard Faulkner (Labour), and Ian McColl (Conservative). In the Commons it has also been genuinely cross party endeavour, the campaign being led by MPs including Paul Burstow and Stephen Williams ...
posted The Blood is The Life 30-11-2013 http://t.co/oXJ6W6n6Xq on #dreamwidth (tags: dreamwidth (from twitter) ) Old-style politics will collapse like the Berlin wall | Neal Lawson | Comment is free | theguardian.com (tags: ) Apple forcing operators to buy phones - even when they can't sell them. (tags: ) The Ian Watkins case: who decides if the sins of an artist negate their art? I would argue the consumers of the art. I'll certainly never watch a roman polanski film again. (tags: ) Biker gang protects child abuse victims so they feel safe ♡ (tags: ) Government outlines how ...
Orwell warned that the sorry state of the English language was damaging politics. The weird way Christians talk about their faith is doing the same to religion The video above pokes gentle fun at some of the strange words and phrases that only Christians use. To be honest, many of them are specific to the [...]
This is a post about an aspect of the benefits for immigrants debate last week which has gone without comment - and it isn't really about immigration, but let's get that bit out of the way first. Not everyone has found themselves supporting Nick Clegg's qualified support for Cameron's proposal on benefits for East European immigrants in the first three months of their stay. Including some people I usually agree with in every nuance, like Jonathan Calder. I understand the argument that politicians should try to change perceptions not pander to them, but there may be moments where making that ...
A short one this week: just to say a huge well done to all Liberal Democrats. We've finally landed our flagship policy on shared parental leave. After a lot of work - not least from Jo Swinson - we've secured a package that will transform the opportunities open to parents when their children are born. Instead of two measly weeks for fathers and an assumption that mothers should automatically take the rest, parents will be able to divvy up the first year however suits them best. If they choose to, women will be able to return to work earlier or ...
Sun 1st
06:00
Blackness Primary School Christmas Fair and more West End Christmas Fortnight cheer! @wendchristmas
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Blackness Primary School Christmas Fair - really well attended as always! - and the staff and service users of Jericho House sang Christmas Carols on Perth Road outside Nisa Extra too! Here's some photos from yesterday's West End Christmas activities: The well-attended Blackness Primary School Fair! Trying to guess the weight of the Roseangle Playpark campaign's cake! Jericho House Carol Singing!
I don't often look at the disclosure log on the Welsh Assembly website, detailing the responses to Freedom of Information requests. It makes a fascinating read, not just for answers but for some of the queries too. As we have just celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who I particularly focused on the question as to how much the Welsh tax payer received as a result of renting out the Senedd for filming Dr Who episodes? The answer it seems is not a great deal. The response is that the Assembly is keen for the Senedd to be used as ...
