This is a good illustration of why I would like to see anyone in any kind of public office do a course in economics before they are allowed to inflict their ideas on society. There is so much wrong with this it's hard to know where to start. But it is illustrative of our shambles of a drugs control regime in this country and many others around the world that some enlightened countries are beginning to challenge. Possibly the most egregious error is in this section: [Police Sergeant Blackmore of "Operation Bilbo" (sic)] said: "About 99 per cent of our ...
Happy new year to anyone tuning in. Vaguely political bloggers like me are expected occasionally to be a little like we frame ourselves - as wise seers, travellers in the future, bringing back news. We have to actually put ourselves on the line some time, and here we have an unfair advantage. When we predict the future wrong, as we invariably do, nobody remembers; but when we occasionally call it right, we are permitted to crow about it. It's a win-win deal. So here are my predictions for the way we will be debating politics in a year's time. We ...
The 20-odd years I spent working in Bush House as a freelancer for the BBC World Service were undoubtedly the happiest period of my diverse journalistic and writing career. The place was in some ways like an Oxbridge graduate college, only with the added verve of immediacy, in that its occupants were producing and broadcasting [...]
Today's Guardian has an interview with Sarah Teather by Rowena Mason. I don't agree with Mason's contention that Sarah is "a strong voice on the left of the Lib Dems". Until she announced her decision to leave politics, as I have argued before, she was determinedly loyal to the leadership. And we have heard little from her since she made that announcement, in part, perhaps, because her failure to support equal marriage alienated much of the party from her. But there is still much of interest in this interview on both a personal and a political level. I have always ...
Liberal Democrats in Hertfordshire welcome "Fill that hole", a phone app that will allow local residents to report potholes more quickly and simply. Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Lib Dem), Leader of the Opposition on HCC and County Councillor for Central Watford and Oxhey commented: "Potholes are a blight for us here in Hertfordshire. The Liberal Democrat Group has been battling for better repairs and reporting for over a year. This new mobile phone app makes it far easier for people with Android phones to report the problem to HCC. "This was initially developed for cyclists, and as a born again cyclist ...
*Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers, spoilers* 1. They got me I doubly fell for the fake solution in the first scene. I was feeling very smug when it came up because my theory had been that it was Moriarty's body that fell from the roof. 2. Gatiss and [...]
A Very Public Sociologist has published his list of the 100 independent bloggers with the most followers on Twitter. He explains: It's the list no one has been waiting for. We've had the list of bloggers who dominate the Twitter feeds of folk interested in UK politics. And, as we know, it has grown progressively colonised by professionals. The list below is of the normal bloggers, of those political people who write independently of any media organisation, think tank or party. ... I've also taken LabourList and ConHome out of the running this year. While they have their own stable ...
As far as I am aware there is only one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week Finance Committee , Thursday 9th January , 6:30 pm
Over Christmas a hole appeared in the road at Jackfield in the Ironbridge gorge. There are enormous problems with subsidence here. Older readers may recall that I once posted a British Pathe newsreel about them. Now comes news that a hold has appeared in the pavement of Wyle Cop in Shrewsbury. It is a tradition of the county for animals to plummet down abandoned mineshafts, but this appears to be a new threat. Mind how you go.
[IMG: image] "Tears were rolling down my cheeks" sounds a bit like one of those critic's quotes they put outside West End theatres. Then you realise that the critic's tears were those of distress. This afternoon I had tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks after seeing "Book of Mormon" at the Prince of Wales theatre. It really is the best show I have ever seen! It was well worth waiting several months to see it. I would strongly recommend seeing it at your earliest opportunity. It's really hilariously funny and the songs are fantastic. This is a similar situation ...
Did I dream this? At the very least it was like an out-of-body experience... We were walking along Coventry Street in London to see "Book of Mormon" (of which more, later) at 2pm today. We were playing a game of "First one to spot a famous person". I won. I spotted...ahem...Lembit Opik. He was brandishing a microphone with a TV cameraman at his shoulder. We had a few minutes to kill, so I orbitted around Astroid Lembit and was duly accosted by the cameraman. Being you could say "Montgomery", I was being hyponotised by Lembit's reassuring Ulster burr, as he ...
For some years I have been sponsoring an African Elephant called Grace. It was a birthday present that I have never had the heart to cancel. She is fortunate enough to live in a conservation area in Kenya. Grace is one of approximately 400,000 African Elephants still alive in the world, their population having been slashed by 50% since 1989, driven predominantly by the ivory trade. Despite an increasing shift in western attitudes very little has changed. Ever expanding globalisation and the economic crisis has resulted in several fluctuations in ivory demand, perpetuated by international ivory trade deals that have ...
Here are my 2014 predictions for the world of UK politics. 1. We currently have 12 MEPs. Post the Euro elections in the Spring we will have 3 or less (I take no pleasure in this) 2. However, I don't think we will come 5th on the popular vote. I think we will come fourth. 3. I think UKIP will not come top in those elections in the popular vote 4. Despite that, Farage will still be their leader by the end of the year 5. The Scots will not vote for Independence.....but the margin of victory will be less ...
Did not quite manage the email free period although I did resist looking at them most of the time! Water levels, behind the Turnpike, are problematic again but hopefully I have got things moving on that. Fingers firmly crossed. Most of the work done in the Tregeseal area does seem to have improved the situation, thankfully. I have also reported in flooding on the road to Trewellard, from North Road. I'm sure those in other parts of the Country (or even our own County) feel we have escaped without too many disasters but any level of flooding is a worry ...
Post the Catherine the Great thing - seems there's a ton of stuff that looks like David Cameron... 1. Catherine the Great 2. Cardboard Boxes Yes, Buzzfeed found 10 Cardboard boxes that look like David Cameron... 3. Gordon the Train from Thomas the Tank Engine Yep, he's the spitting image... 4. Stingrays Yes, the Poke found a load of Sting Rays that look like him... 5. Biscuits Come on - separated at birth..... 6. Odo from Star Trek Hat tip to http://cheezburger.com/4393968128 Where will it end? Well, there I think... Hams that look like David Cameron IS REALLY GOING TOO ...
So, the shortlist for Liberal Voice of the Year has been published over at Lib Dem Voice and I have voted. I was pleased to see 4 of my 5 nominations make the list - and not entirely surprised that the 5th (Ed Miliband) didn't make the cut.... So here's my rank order (I ordered all 10 tho I feel exponentially less bothered as we go down the list). A note of explanation for my choices follows... Malala was my first choice both this year and last (when she really should have won) and I genuinely hope she wins (though ...
[IMG: Poll piechart] The latest quarterly update to my spreadsheet of opinion poll data from 1943 is now up at: http://www.markpack.org.uk/opinion-polls/ You can also sign up on that page to get email notifications about future updates. Particular thanks this time to Survation for answering various of my queries and to Anthony Wells for blogging about some polls I would have otherwise missed.
For the 2nd January (LJ | DW) [IMG: [personal profile] ] herdivineshadow asked for my thoughts on how a Deep Space Nine roller derby league might go. (For my thoughts on Deep Space Nine itself, you'll have to hang on for a couple of weeks) Terok Nor Roller Derby is a co-ed league (in a world where co-ed leagues are the norm) which recently went through a major upheaval: the previous trustees were kicked out following a league-wide vote of no confidence, which left the League with very few experienced skaters. Appealing to friends and local leagues, a number of ...
This year starts with media attention turning towards European elections in the Spring, and will end with the political parties cranking through the gears in anticipation of a General Election. In between, though, there are two elections that matter, one in Brussels (or, in an interesting turn of events, Athens), one in the Liberal Democrats, each of which will serve as a marker towards future events. First, the European one. After the European elections, the European Council will vote, using qualified majority voting and bearing in mind the results of the elections, for a nominee to become the new President ...
As we all know, predictions are a mugs game...but if just a few of these came to pass 2014 would be very interesting indeed. Scotland will vote against independence
What education means to young people is a difficult grey area, which many attempt to claim ownership. This debate has formed the rhetoric around the meaning and purpose of education, a view that has become commonplace within our education system across the UK. Some will describe education as a transformative and liberating experience, allowing young [...]
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Is Ken's return good news for the Tories? | Stephen Tall From me 5 yrs ago: "Is Ken's return good news for the Tories?" http://bit.ly/19M5BQd Thought it was abt Livingstone – in fact it was Clarke How would you make the positive case for Europe? | Stephen Tall From me 5 yrs ago: "How would you make the positive case for Europe?" http://bit.ly/1hXambT A question we're still trying to answer... You're wrong. But do you want to be told? | The Times / @DAaronovitch on vg form abt need for MPs to ...
One of the oddest statements made by a Lib Dem in 2013 was surely Vince Cable saying that London was "draining the life out of the rest of the country"'. Odd not just because Vince is MP for a London constituency but because he was so clearly wrong - far from draining the life out of the rest of the UK, London is a huge contributor. The most obvious way is financially: London subsidises other parts of the UK which would have higher taxes or less public spending without the benefits of the London dividend. This subsidy is in large ...
If you have a (real) christmas tree that you want recycled then Cornwall Council will pick it up over the next two weeks. Collections will be made as part of the regular rubbish collection schedule, so put your tree out at the same time as your black bag rubbish either next week (ie starting Monday 6th) or the week after (ie starting Monday 13th). There is one - even better - way of putting your old tree to good use. If you can take it to Porthtowan, then a group there are using old trees to stabilise the dunes. Tweet ...
Over on ConHome, LDV's Stephen Tall has been gazing into his crystal ball. Here are his first two prophecies: 1) The four current main party leaders - Cameron, Clegg, Miliband and Farage - will still lead their parties in a year's time. They'll all face threats. Cameron will when Ukip beats the Conservatives in May's Euro elections; Clegg will when the Lib Dems likely suffer another disappointing set of results in both the locals and the Euros; Miliband will if Labour gets beaten in the Euros and he is forced into an embarrassing compromise with the union paymasters at the ...
[IMG: Osborne and Gaebler - Reinventing Government] Back in the early and mid 1990s David Osborne and Ted Gaebler's book, Reinventing Government, had its turn in the trendy policy wonk sun. Just as theories about nudging behaviour are now the in thing, back them their approach to a different way of doing government attracted interest from across the political spectrum and spurred a variety of implementations in democracies around the world. One way of reading the book is as a right-wing approach to government, as hinted at in its subtitle, "How the entrepreneurial spirit is transforming the public sector". However, ...
With Labour confirming what we have long-suspected, that the big six energy companies paid nearly £4bn above the average market rate for their electricity and charged customers about £150 extra over three years as a result, it is little wonder that the government remain under pressure to do something about this oligopoly. To be fair some action has been taken, with Ofgem introducing more simplified tariffs and the UK Government has cut fuel bills by £50 and are putting pressure on companies to do more themselves. Anybody who thinks that Labour's price freeze is the answer though should think again, ...
Steve Richards suggests Nick Clegg, as a pluralist in the Blair tradition and as a sincere and patriotic person, will be open to an agreement with either the Tories or Labour if a balanced Parliament results in 2015. Clegg is a pluralist, a pragmatic, a believer in good management as good politics and as such sincerely believes that Liberal Democrats in Government are beneficial to the county's future. However, his vision cannot be achieved under a Clegg-led Party in 2015. He remains a toxic ingredient and, waiting poll after poll for this to change, only endangers his own vision and ...
The Western Mail reports that the long-awaited scheme aimed at boosting the flagging house building industry will launch today, with the promise from the Housing Minister that it will fuel the purchase of 5,000 new homes in Wales. They say that the £170m Help To Buy Wales shared equity scheme opens today following months of speculation over when Wales would introduce its own version of the English scheme, announced in the March Budget: House builders said the scheme would allow "thousands" of first-time buyers on to the ladder with a 5% deposit and would also help existing homeowners move up ...
If you read some of the more fanciful pronouncements of labour you might think everything in the garden is lovely, messages from Clive Harts often end on an upbeat note as did his xmas message with "onward and upwards," when most of us are thinking downhill and backwards. Forgetting temporarily that Clive Hart's administration delivered a hitherto top secret 3.4 million pound debt, in the last year the fact is they cannot even do the basics such as empty bins. Large numbers of Thanet residents, found that their bins. were not emptied on Christmas eve, but were reassured by the ...
posted The Blood is The Life 01-01-2014 http://t.co/sYRmIsE6VP on #dreamwidth (tags: dreamwidth (from twitter) ) http://www.libdems.org.uk/join_us.aspx Come on, you know you want to! http://t.co/Bafj3Q4imU LibDem membership is minimum £12 or just £1 for students/u26s, £6 for claimants. (tags: (from twitter) ) Your Complete Guide to the Science of Hangovers (tags: ) New year, new laws: world will wake up to raft of changes in 2014 (tags: ) posted Bye bye 2013; Hello New Year http://t.co/ABZlH27bux on #dreamwidth (tags: dreamwidth (from twitter) ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Earlier this year, I received an offer from a sleazy marketing company to place adverts on this blog - on the express understanding that they were not identified as sponsored posts. I reported the company - Media Discovery - to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) who, after a perfunctory investigation, decided not to prosecute. They bought the unlikely story that Media Discovery had a rogue employee trying to entice bloggers into breaking the law. Well, the constant stream of visitors finding my blog by searching for "Media Discovery Blog Spam" would indicate that the ASA's investigation had no real impact ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 750 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. Currently MPs receive a salary of £65,738, have a generous final salary pension scheme, and receive a resettlement grant of around £30,000 if they stand down or are defeated at an election. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is proposing MPs receive a one-off uplift in basic salary to £74k which will then increase at the same ...
Under no circumstances connect A and B in a vain attempt to come to a positive conclusion. [IMG: Gloomy sky. Photo courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu/photo/753698 - some right reserved] Issue A: OMG! The world is ending! Our population is getting older! There aren't going to be enough workers to pay for all the pensions and health care our pensioners will need! Issue B: OMG! The world is ending! Young people might be wanting to come to our beloved country! We don't need them! This has been a public service announcement.
5.30 pm, -18°C with windchill, snow. We try to make sure that we give at least 1% of our net income to charity. That is not overly generous, but in our defence, we do normally give more. My policy with regards to charitable giving has been fixed for several decades: With some exceptions for local [...]
