I think it might be... For what it's worth, Norman is actually a really good skater. He'd need to be filming round me, on an ice rink. I nearly had him over twice, entirely by accident.
The Liberal Democrats are unpopular, but things can change argues Neil Monnery: "Labour now lead the polls just ten years after going into a very unpopular war and five odd years after overseeing the tanking of the economy. They are doing that with a leader who has zero personality or political nous and a shadow Chancellor who is, to be frank, vastly out of his depth. That says a great deal about how politics can ebb and flow...." Ian Smart on the wide appeal of the Anti-Apartheid movement and how he didn't meet Nelson Mandela. "When Mandela donned a Springbok ...
LD seat. Resignation. Prospective Candidate: Niknam Hussain Contact for Helpers: Mike Smith 07854 178012
Con seat. Resignation.
Con elected unopposed. (100.0; +25.2) [LD (0.0; -25.2)] Con hold. Percentage change is since May 2011.
LD seat. Resignation. Prospective Candidate: Peter Chapman
Lab seat. Death.
Liberal Democrats in Redcar and Cleveland Borough are delighted that unemployment in the Area is at its lowest since April 2009, following another fall in October.Research also shows that unemployment in the area fell each month since February this year.Lib Dem Council Group Leader Glyn Nightingale said:"It is great to end the year with some good news like this. The fall in unemployment across the year means a happier Christmas for many local families. I am sure that the economic recovery will continue next year."There is still more to do, but it shows that the Government's policies are working to ...
For some time we've been working to get the potholes around the former Tatton cinema repaired. If they were on Council roads it would be simple and would have been done long ago, but the road in front of the Tatton is private and the road to the side is unadopted (as far as we can tell it isn't owned by anyone). The owners of the Tatton site are now working with the Council. They've agreed to patch the potholes in front of the site, and the Council is working to get the potholes to the side sorted out. Development ...
Good news from the Oxford Mail: The Department for Transport has given its support to plans for the reopening of a rail link between Oxford and Cambridge and says it is now starting work on the proposal.Oxford to Bletchley is open for most of its length but for freight only; Bletchley to Bedord has a passenger service; and Bedford to Cambridge closed in 1967 and has been built on in places. You can read about the proposals to revive and rebuild the line on the East West Rail website. And there's more good news in the Coventry Telegraph: a new ...
Over on his blog, North West MEP Chris Davies explains why he is backing former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt to continue leading the ALDE grouping and be the group's nominee for president of the European Commission. Over to Chris to explain why: He is a man who can provide the European Union with a degree of leadership and inspiration that it has been missing. I am seriously concerned that Europe is stagnating while countries elsewhere gain greater economic influence. Verhofstadt is absolutely right in saying that we must break free of our self-imposed shackles and move forward. National governments ...
[IMG: john railway] I was thrilled to hear the news today that the Government had approved the £5 million funding bid for Kenilworth Station. With the rest of the £11.3 million funding already secured, this means that we have a final go ahead at last! I've been campaigning for a station since 2003, and some others for longer than this, so today is really a "red letter day". The station should be opened by 2016. What I'm now pushing the County Council to develop further are plans to ensure accessibility for walkers and cyclists to the station from all parts ...
Ah the Lib Dems. The sandal wearing, beard loving, irrelevance of a political party. When Millwall chanted 'no-one likes us, no-one likes us, we don't care' they did so as a badge of honour. For the Lib Dems it was all very different, it was 'no-one worries about us, no-one particularly dislikes us, no-one cares' as the party bumbled along being relatively popular at local level across the country but when it came to national governance, people wanted to see the two big parties battle it out. There was no third way. Then things changed. In the space of a ...
Last week saw a Lib Dem near miss in the wonderfully named Splott Ward in Cardiff, where Labour held on by 100 and also comfortably saw off Plaid in Riverside. In the other city contests Labour held on comfortably in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester with the Lib Dems polling 148 votes in total, but the party did have the - ahem - satisfaction of seeing its vote double in the Glasgow Shettleston contest to 1.4%. Outside of the cities all the seats changed hands with the Independents gaining from the Tories in Chelmsford, the Tories gaining from Labour in Nuneaton ...
A generation ago, the former Bank of England director Sir Charles Goodhart developed what is now known as 'Goodhart's Law'. It was originally a principle in macro-economics, but it is now more usually used about the distortions of public service targets. The principle is that numerical measurements will always be inaccurate if they are used to control people. The reason is that, however incompetent staff may be, they will always be skillful enough to make targets work for them rather than against them. Take for example, the original response - more than a decade ago now - to the rule ...
So David Cameron's keeping a little black book of the things Lib Dems have stopped him doing in Government - things he wants to put in the next Tory manifesto. A copy has been found, and it's scary reading:
The meeting of the Blyth Town Council Allotments Committee which was postponed because of the Quayside floods of 5th December , has been rearranged for Tuesday 17th December, at 6:30 at Arms Evertyne House
Via Benedict Evans comes this example of a drone being used to film riots in Bangkok: Of course the media already has access to helicopters, but they are expensive and the ease of getting a helicopter in the right place varies hugely depending on where a story is happening. Covering a London traffic jam is far easier than a Central African Republic human rights disaster. The Arab Spring showed how the easy availability of footage can make a huge difference to how events play out. The availability of drones takes it one step further, both as the perspective from the ...
Thu 12th
13:54
Lib Dems should aim for a budget surplus not because the Tories want to, but because it is right
All parties have a mixture of deficit hawks and doves – those who believe in balanced budgets and those who aren't too bothered. The Lib Dems are no exception, but I think we are different in the motivations underlying these positions. Many Tories often seem to see deficit reduction as an end in and of itself, not even necessarily because they want to see a smaller state and lower taxes, but simply because their ideology teaches that budget deficits are Bad Things. And in recent years, some Labour figures have begun to sound like their ideology teaches that budget deficits ...
This article was first published on Lib Dem Voice. The passing of Nelson Mandela is a moment in history which has touched almost everyone as we reflect on the momentous achievements of the great man and compare them to his ... Continue reading →
News that the Imperial War Museum Visitor Services department has been outsourced to Shield Security has already hit the newspapers. I have to be careful what I write as I am still an employee of the Museum and can thus face disciplinary... Until 1st April. The Museum like many other has been forced to face up to a hefty budget cut (caused by the financial deficit) from the Treasury and the Department of Culture and Sport as well as trying to save money for costly regeneration works for the World War One centenary in July next year. Museums as a ...
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Pupil premium funding – Written statements to Parliament – GOV.UK Pupil premium funding – Primaries to get £1,300 for every FSM pupil, Secondaries £935 http://bit.ly/IR1uYB Maggie's daughters: The five Tory MPs the Labour Party should fear | The Economist A good list (like my endorsement will help) » Maggie's daughters: The five Tory MPs the Labour Party should fear http://econ.st/1f8ldy7 My cunning plan for crashing Ed Miliband's Christmas party - Telegraph Blogs This is rather brilliant > My cunning plan for crashing Ed Miliband's Christmas party | @DPJHodges http://bit.ly/1dq9WYQ POLLWATCH: Where have ...
The IPSA recommendation that MPs' pay should rise to £74K has illustrated how toxic the debate around politics has become in the UK. The backlash to IPSA's recommendation of an 11% pay rise was swift, and inevitable. Our political discourse has become so toxic that it was never going to go any other way. Members [...]
Back in 2008, when I was Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, I spoke out about poor diagnosis rates for dementia sufferers, saying that "the NHS must do more to ensure people are encouraged to seek early help and that they have access to care from their GP, specialist assessment and accurate diagnosis." Dementia diagnosis rates across the country vary significantly - and although they are improving, they are still not good enough. And, while there is some excellent dementia care - there has also been much that is inadequate. I could never have imagined then that - 5 years on ...
Recently, Nigel Farage rejected the overtures and offer of alliance from the French Far Right party, Front Nationale, led by Marine Le Pen, stating "Whatever Marine Le Penn is trying to do with Le Front National, anti-Semitism, is still deeply embedded in that party, and for that principle political reason, we are not going to work with them now, or at any point in the future". The alliance also included the Dutch Freedom Party, led by blonde bombshell, Geert Wilders – famous for his anti-Islam tirades. This attempt by Farage to place Ukip in the 'respectable' wing of European politics ...
Sadly, the works to Church Street are still continuing this morning. The indication I have had from the gang there is that they may well still be working on site tomorrow. When permission for these works was sought, the council granted road closure rights for the period 5th December to 11th December only. And so the current road closure is without permission. What makes this all the more calling for local businesses is that there were no workers on site for much of the past two days. I am chasing up to get the works completed as quickly as possible. ...
Tonight at 8PM on Resonance FM — Clear Spot:Novelising Doctor Who I did an interview with Lawrence Miles for this show, on at 8PM today. About ten minutes of the programme, starting at the half-hourish mark, is the interview segment. An hour-long podcast version of just the interview will be available next week. The podcast, [...]
[IMG: Non Party Campaigning Ahead of Elections] The new report from the Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement makes some valuable recommendations for improving the controversial Transparency in Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill. However, two of its proposals – made for understandable reasons – risk entrenching flaws with existing legislation. First, there is the deeply flawed exclusion of staff costs from many existing election expense rules. Back in 2000, just after the then new rules had been introduced, I was working at party HQ and rang the Electoral Commission to confirm that their understanding of the ...
Well, it was too good to be true, the Yanukovych government did sent the riot police back into the Maidan overnight, but two bad things happened to them. The first is that even where the police pressed hardest, the crowd did not give way. The Berkut were simply not strong enough to get the crowd to move. The second was that the police themselves are now obviously divided. The most loyal forces of the government are wavering in the face of the spectacular size and determination of the crowds. Meanwhile Yanukovych is getting desperate- the attempt to extort €20 billion ...
Alistair Geddes and Jonathan Mendel: Poverty statistics matter. The DWP need to improve how they communicate uncertainty. Jonathan Mendel
Thu 12th
09:18LibLink: Tim Farron - Only a fool could trust in the 'oversight' provided by the intelligence commit...
Over on Politics.co.uk party president Tim Farron has a piece on the ramifications of the story that has dominated much of the past year: the extent of the powers held by states to snoop on our communications. Tim sets out some thoughts about the oversight of these systems, which he thinks are presently inadequate. Here's an excerpt: Our democratic process is built upon a system of checks and balances. Those who exercise power over the individual are held to account by others. For all the faults of the Westminster bubble (and there are many), the quiet revolution in the way ...
[IMG: universities_uk logo] I've just heard the Chief Executive of Universities UK be put through the mill on BBC Radio 4′s Today Programme following its decision to publish advice that gender segregation might not necessarily be discriminatory as long as "both men and women are being treated equally, as they are both being segregated in the same way". The guidance – which you can read here – is specific to invited external speakers at meetings on university premises. I do not like gender segregation. At all. Maybe it's the result of having gone to a boys-only CofE secondary school. It ...
Favourite moment from recent episodes of Sleepy Hollow (tags: ) On Feminism, Anti-Feminism, and the Things That Mystify Me | Kelly Barnhill (tags: ) Bradford Lib-Dems plan 'meet-up in a brewery' (FTW Geoff LOL) (tags: ) The death of the Almighty Johnsons Not surprising but sad. (tags: ) BBC News - Lib Dems hit back after PM's 'little black book' remarks Is anyone else vaguely squicked by the idea of being in pork-pie-filling-face's little black book? (tags: ) What PS3 and Xbox 360 can do that next-gen can't There will be no PS4 in our house, then. The media server, ...
Yesterday we teamed up with more than 100 organisations for a mass lobby of Parliament to launch the Civil Society Commission's second report calling for changes to the Lobbying Bill. It was a fantastic day of action! We brought our supporters together to show that objections to the poorly-drafted bill are not going away. It was inspiring to see the impact of ordinary people talking to peers and MPs. We know not everyone could make the lobby of Parliament. This is why we are calling on you to make it a week of action. A day of action is not ...
[IMG: Policy Unpacked logo] In 2012 Elected mayors were very much on the political agenda in England. But after the largely negative outcome of last year's referendums there was a debate over whether mayors are now off the agenda again. However, in 2013 the debate about mayoral governance seems to be as vibrant as ever. In this podcast I discuss the debate over Elected mayors with my colleague David Sweeting. We touch on the debate at local, national and internal level. (Running time: 28′ 30") It's my first podcast – so it's a little rough and ready. You know that ...
The BBC reports: The new polling option is meant to "empower the voter to reject all candidates", The Times of India reports, adding that it got a mere 0.63% of the votes in Delhi, followed by 1.9% in Madhya Pradesh and 1.92% in Rajasthan, though its tally was higher in the insurgency-affected Chhattisgarh, where 3.07% chose Nota. The Wall Street Journal adds: Political analysts said the number choosing to vote for "none of the above" was low in Delhi because there the AAP acted as a protest vote against the country's two main parties... The provision, which was introduced following ...
A Christmas card arrives from the Wales Office, signed by all three Ministers. On the front is a very Welsh photograph of sheep being herded from a field in snow. What can it mean?
Thu 12th
07:55
David Cameron's black book shows why it's a coalition government for the full Parliament
The recent flurry of coverage about David Cameron's little black book of his policies that the Lib Dems have blocked reinforces a point I've previously made. The almost certain 5-year length of this coalition government is partly due to there being enough areas of policy agreement. It's also partly due to there being enough areas where the two parties are happy to disagree in public, because disagreement suits them both. Europe is the most obvious example. The difference of views helps David Cameron appeal to Tories and helps Nick Clegg appeal to Lib Dems. Being seen to disagree with each ...
[IMG: 273956623_19e0a02264] Plenty of amusement for those long dark winter evenings... 1) "I sold my only car to help pay for gas money, but now gas has come down in price. How do I get my car back?" 2) "HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPSLOCK? I ACCIDENTALLY TURNED IT ON YESTERDAY AND I DONT KNOW HOW TO TURN IT BACK OFF." 3) "I wanted to see if my computer would read my credit card so i put it in the cd rom and it got stuck, how do i get it out?? I tryed toothpics but lost them in the ...
Dear reader, I have been remiss of late. I know that you expect I high level of Minioness from this blog and frankly of late I've not been delivering. It's been almost two months since we last had a Minion post. Frankly that's not good enough. So by way of recompense here's a a Facebook [...]
So, if press reports are to be believed, it seems likely that when the Davies report delivers its interim findings next week, all of the options will include a third - and even a fourth - runway for Heathrow. If this is true - then far from kicking the issue into the long grass, Heathrow expansion could become government policy overnight. Bad news for both the Tories and of course ourselves. But Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park (including Ham Common) has been pretty clear what his response to that will be. As he said in April 2010.. "I said ...
Earlier this year, in a council committee discussion about the council's winter maintenance policy, I suggested that a useful addition to the council's winter maintenance service would be the addition of a freephone number for the public to report snow and ice problems. I was pleased therefore to be advised recently by the City Engineer that: "Just to advise that we have now implemented a Freephone number for customer telephone enquiries for Winter Maintenance. The number is Freephone 0800 145 6897." You can download the council's winter maintenance leaflet for 2013/14 here.
The news that major reforms aimed at rebuilding Europe's depleted fish stocks were agreed by MEPs meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday is very welcome. The new EU Common Fisheries Policy legally requires long term management plans and will ban throwing perfectly edible fish back into the sea. It also devolves day to day decisions about fishing practice from Brussels to countries who share fisheries. This new policy demonstrates the importance of Britain playing a constructive role in Europe to achieve sensible decisions from countries working together. There are no borders in the sea, or if there are, the fish don't ...
Last night I saw Roy Wood, in the half-empty Warrington Parr Hall. It could have seemed a little depressing, seeing one of the great songwriters of all time play to a half-empty hall, but Wood was so fantastic it was still a wonderful gig. As this was a Christmas nostalgia night for the Christmas party [...]
St Albans City and District Council asks for drivers' patience whilst it arranges repairs to damaged Pay and Display machines. Six machines have been damaged in a series of attempted thefts in the city. Witnesses, or anyone with information about either of these incidents, should call the police on 101, or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
