News reaches Liberator that the Federal Executive tomorrow (Monday) is being asked to support a proposal to reduce the Liberal Democrats' Spring Federal Conference to - well, precisely what is not exactly clear. The good news for those who responded to the Autumn consultation - including the Federal Conference and Policy Committees who responded in favour of the status quo - is that the FE is being asked to reject not just the scrapping of Spring Conference entirely, but the idea of a one-day conference in London. That particular idea came under criticism for removing such income as the Party ...
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. I hope that everyone survived the winds on Thursday. We lost the fence at the house that we moved into last week! (Given the disasters that are following me around at the moment may I inform my new neighbours that for a sizeable donation to party funds I will consider moving somewhere else.) 1. Car ParkingFirst may I correct a typo in last weeks newsletter and apologise for any problems that this has caused. When ...
The survey has passed 150 responses (to give you some idea how significant that it I think the A14 survey managed about 30) - it would be nice to get this to over 200 before the Parish Council meeting which will be setting the budget, and therefore the Precept (Council Tax), for next year. Local residents responses will be key for the Parish Council to determine funding for the next year - if you haven't completed the survey yet I'd urge you to go to the link below, it's only a few questions and should take less than a minute ...
Peter Black, quoting Toby Young, criticises Labour's record on education (and much else) in Wales: "Parental choice in Wales is limited to deciding whether to send a child to a school where lessons are taught in English or Welsh. The country has indulged in ... 'producerism's last hurrah'. Hardly surprising, then, that 26 per cent of the Welsh population over 16 have no recognised qualifications, according to the 2011 census." Freedom from Command and Control has fun with councils' straplines. "The old school headmasters were right; it is both desirable and possible to build character," says Stumbling and Mumbling. Amy ...
Martin Stone hopped, pre-dawn, through the Cheshire street market, scavenging books. Winklepickers, tourniquet trousers, mildewed beret, bulging swagbag: Blind Pew impersonated by Max Wall. Cigarette grafted to trembling, prehensile fingers, he was an anthology of retro fashion. And in his wake there shimmered a vortex of gossip and, amazingly, goodwill. The stallholders, having been swiftly dispossessed of their choicest treasures, reminisced so wistfully about him that he was granted a prematurely posthumous status. His regular disappearances were eagerly anticipated: nobody speaking to him could believe he was actually there. Conversation seemed to be post-synchronised. If I now revisit Ron with ...
As a teenager my first public political act were in opposition to apartheid. As Young Liberals back in the late 1960's were all deeply involved in the campaign against the all white South African cricket team and in protests against the visiting Springbok rugby side. I remember Rev David Sheppard, then Bishop of Woolwich, coming to Coventry to protest against the rugby match at the Coundan Rd ground. Peter Hain told the story in his book 'Don't Play with Apartheid'. No other issue galvanised young people in the way the anti apartheid movement did. In Britain at that time David ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 356th 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 (1-7 December 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. "There isn't any ...
[IMG: Richard Wilson, not pointing this time] Practical, relevant advice on the sort of issues at the front of most people's minds – that makes for a really good local newspaper column from a councillor. Leading with the issues that matter to people (and yes, with some political points along the way) is much better than simply talking politics. Cllr Richard Wilson's latest piece for one of his local newspapers is a really good example of this – zooming in on cost of living issues, giving advice and pointing out how the Lib Dems would give extra help were it ...
Based on observations of habits and preferences in my own writing recently. I SUPPOSE that what I consider the pinnacle of great writing isn't necessary EVERYONE'S perfect writing style. So if you want to take a pragmatic view, then you might want to think of this as "how to write like Debi." But really, it's more "how to write, by Debi." Aaaand as some of these things are currently 'unpublished' (i.e. designed for anonymous exchanges) I can't share examples. Oh well! Ask anyone who's ever read my stuff, really. 1. If your protagonist's name lends itself to puns, it is ...
I've been asked if, tomorrow, I will do a phone interview with Lawrence Miles for a radio station based in London. I'm still not 100% sure it's going ahead, but it seems very likely now. I'm a little nervous about this, partly because Miles is one of my favourite authors, but also because I want [...]
In his latest column on Conservative Home, Stephen Tall feels the pain of those who wanted a modern, inclusive Conservative Party. When they had their way, the Tories actually did quite well. When the nasty lot take hold, their poll ratings plummet and they don't appeal beyond their hardcore supporters. And that's not enough to win a general election, especially when the Liberal Democrats are keen to woo those who would once have been called the "wets." I've written here before about the Lib Dems' 17.5 per cent strategy, the optimistic end of the party's share-of-the-vote forecast for 2015. To ...
We would like this application to come to committee if recommended for approval. Currently there is huge overspill car parking from the existing office blocks. We are concerned that this development has not provided enough parking for the operation of the home, staff and visitors. There should be a contribution towards the bus services such as the 42 or 20a/C both being council subsidised
Today is not 'Margaret Thatcher Day'. And if it was, I would not be doing cards for anyone that's for sure. But in one of the ideas floating around the head of your average Tory stalwart is the idea that every year we should mark her life whether we liked her or not. Some will argue Mrs T did enormous amounts of good, others the opposite. Lets not forget of course that the most unique thing
Many thanks to the 16,600 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Opinion: Child taken from the womb by social services. Really?( 137 comments) by Evan Harris Jo Swinson takes on Daily Mail's Liz Jones, who thinks she shouldn't be "procreating" (11 comments) by Caron Lindsay Hemming helps woman in forced caesarean and adoption case (28 comments) by Caron Lindsay Times: "The increasingly confident and powerful Mr Clegg" (28 comments) by Newshound Opinion: Women must stop stepping into the political shoes of men (45 comments) by Andy Boddington Nelson Mandela: the long walk ...
Here's my latest piece for the New Statesman. They went with the headline 'why the Lib Dems will struggle to get any credit for the recovery' which in truth is probably a more accurate reflection of the piece - but the headline above is more the question I'd like to answer - or have an answer to. " 'Without the Liberal Democrats, there wouldn't be a recovery.' That's Clegg's election line there", tweeted the very astute editor of this blog during Nick's stint at Prime Minister's Questions this week and there's every indication that he's right to say that's what ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... feedly.com "How sustainable is the UK's economic recovery?" http://bit.ly/1dccl9d « Robert Peston's analysis feedly.com "Race and politics: How I figured out my racism | The Econ" http://bit.ly/1eYWqfR incl Q: how far does racism animate criticism of Obama. Secret memo shows key role for Blairites in Labour's election team | Politics | The Observer "Secret memo shows key role for Blairites in Lab's election team" http://bit.ly/1iL0lCu Only an indep judge-led inquiry into leak will do. Liberal England: Peter Cook nearly fought Hampstead for the Liberal Democrats Glenda vs Cookie, would've been fascinating! > ...
A Guardian article from last week highlights the very real dangers of job losses if the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union. The paper reports that investment bank, Goldman Sachs has said it would move much of its European business out of London if Britain leaves the EU. They say that international banks such as Goldman and Morgan Stanley employ thousands in Britain working on projects and trading assets across Europe. Goldman employs 6,000 of its 7,000 European staff in the UK. Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles said Sherwood's comments to Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung showed there would ...
At the end of last month, I met with Sara Girvin, a reporter with The Sunday Life — Sunday newspaper of the year — to talk to her about living with HIV. Sara had contacted me earlier in the month via Twitter suggesting an interview in the future. As before, with the Belfast Telegraph, and Ulster Television, and anyone...
We've fallen a bit behind with our Christmas present ideas, so here we catch up with 3 ideas. The first is from party president Tim Farron who wants us to look up. Literally. He suggests that a telescope would be an amazing gift because: It opens up the awesomeness of everything. Regular LDV contributor Alisdair Calder McGregor suggests this Doctor Who laden page. He says: I don't think I really have to explain why do I? [IMG: ALDC christmas pressie] And co-editor Caron Lindsay has a more serious suggestion which she sees as an ideal gift for any party member ...
Danny Alexander went on the Andrew Marr Show this morning to talk about the Autumn Statement and the Liberal Democrats' contribution to the economic recovery. If I had to pull him up on anything, it's not getting in any mention of shared parental leave. No Liberal Democrat interview should be complete without it. It ticks all the stronger economy, fairer society, enabling people to get on in life boxes and is one of the best practical demonstrations of Liberal Democrat values in action that we've delivered in government. He said that the proposed MPs' pay rise would be wholly inappropriate ...
Note from the County Council More than 10,000 residents have already responded to the Future of Hertfordshire Libraries consultation, launched on 21 October 2013. We are sending out a new wave of publicity this week to remind people that there is less than a month to go before the closing date of 31 December 2013. This exercise provides a unique opportunity for us to seek the views of Hertfordshire residents on their priorities for the library service over the next 10 years. The results will inform the development of a new strategy, which will set the future direction of the ...
Watch the new video from Amnesty International UK: You can also watch this on YouTube.
Church schools are a curious concept. The theory is that a faith that preaches 'go and make disciples of all nations' should sequester its young people away from the society they are supposed to represent it in. In practice they are even more gristly. The Guardian reports research on their impact on social segregation: The [...]
A very brief note this week, devoted to Nelson Mandela. Nick highlights his statement and points us towards the debate that will take place in the House of Commons tomorrow. We also discover that Paddy spends time on his phone at the dinner table. He wouldn't get away with that in LDV Towers. [IMG: libdem letter from nick clegg] A very sad week. I never met Nelson Mandela but, like many of you, I've also never known the world without him in it. This weekend it feels like an emptier place. I was having dinner with Ming and Paddy when ...
posted The Blood is The Life 07-12-2013 http://t.co/fAZal2C36V on #dreamwidth (tags: dreamwidth (from twitter) ) BBC News - 25 readers' designs for a new union jack Kris Taylor, aged 32 1/2, is my favourite I think. (tags: ) Heavy Metal Carols | Calendar - ITV News (tags: ) Supermarkets selling chicken that is nearly a fifth water | World news | The Guardian (tags: ) How to stay monogamous, in six easy steps (I fail miserably at several of these) (tags: ) BBC News - Women MPs 'face sexist gestures' in the Commons (tags: ) Stumbling and Mumbling: Ten ...
We have asked that this application be considered by the planning committee. It will be up to the chair of the committee to decide whether this is allowed. We would like Reference:13/04683/FUL to be considered by committee if recommended for approval, although there are some changes which are welcome, such as, moving the building a little further away from 480 Wellsway. I feel that there are
Yesterday, the final events of the 2013 West End Christmas Fortnight took place with a really well-attended and enjoyable Soup and Pudding Lunch at Dundee West Church - run by our Friends of Magdalen Green team - and the "Broken Puzzle" play - again at the church - by the Jericho House team, ably directed by Claire Bee. Unfortunately, our planned Primary 5s football competition at Riverside had to be postponed as the pitches were unplayable due to the cold conditions, but we will be rescheduling this, probably during WestFest 2014. Here's some photos from yesterday's activities: Setting up the ...
Toby Young had a particularly scathing comment piece in Friday's Telegraph in which he takes a long hard look at 14 years of Labour hegemony in Wales, and decides he does not like what he sees. More importantly for Ed Miliband he extrapolates Labour's disastrous record on health, the economy and education and suggests that it makes them unfit to form the next UK Government. In many ways Mr. Young is advancing the UK Coalition government agenda but you have to admit, he does have a point: The poor showing of Wales in the Pisa international league tables published earlier ...
