The Coalition Government have already announced that they are going to invest £64 million in upgrading the A1 in Gateshead between Lobley Hill and Dunston. More recently, ministers have said they are prepared to look at extending the improvements to upgrade the road from the south of the Team Valley to Lobley Hill and from Dunston to the Metrocentre as well. The Highways Agency held a
A good post from Obiter J's blog: Law and Lawyers: Mark Duggan Inquest: Mark Duggan 1981-2011 The evening of 4th August 2011. At Ferry Lane (Tottenham, London), the Police intercepted and stopped a taxi (or ...
I just bought the Our Mathematical Universe ebook and the publishers haven't uploaded it correctly, so you don't actually get a download link. Kobo say they don't know when the problem will be fixed. It's available from other epub shops just fine — I bought it from waterstones.com instead without a problem — so just [...]
Thu 9th
21:29
Issan Ghazni calls on Government to help Councils cope with Romanian and Bulgarian immigration
[IMG: issan-ghazni-profile] PRESS RELEASE ISSAN GHAZNI - who is a European parliamentary candidate – has backed calls for the Government to introduce a 'settlement fund' to help local Councils which experience clusters of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants. Issan Ghazni (who is in 2nd place on the East Midlands Euro list) predicted that the overall numbers of arrivals from Romania and Bulgaria are likely to be small, but past experience shows that immigrants tend to cluster in a few areas. He said: "The scare stories about waves of Romanians and Bulgarians 'swamping' Britain will prove to be widely inaccurate. The media, ...
[IMG: High-Peaks-AGM-500] East Midlands Euro candidate Issan Ghazni said that Britain must be a critical friend to Europe and continue to push the case for reform. On a recent visit to the High Peaks local party AGM in Chapel-en-le-Firth in North Derbyshire, Ghazni stressed that the UK should use its' influence to reform issues like the Common Agricultural Policy rather than abandon Europe as UKIP and many Tories want to do. He said: "On balance Europe has been good for Britain. Good for job creation, good for human rights and good for the environment. It's important to be a critical ...
It's been a crazy busy start to the new year. I've been working on so many different work projects that I've barely had the chance to sit down, and think. I love to stay busy, but I really miss my cat when I am working long hours. I know it's not normal to miss an animal this much! Speaking of cats, I found this amazing rose gold cat, and fish necklace on the Jasper Jewellery website. PHOTO CREDIT: Jasper Jewellery I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, and I am going to order it in ...
Armour-Plated Liberalism is right to point out that the debate over the origins and morality of the First World War is more nuanced than Michael Gove or his critics would have you believe. "This year will see many of these myths recycled on all matter of platforms by all manner of people. It is important that we challenge them when they make these assertions; not just because what they say is often wrong, but because those who fought in the war are no longer here to speak against them." "By the end of this year, I believe, we will begin ...
Apologies for the lack of posts recently. I've been working on stuff, but also distracted by personal nonsense. I'm hoping at the very least to get some book reviews posted soon, and with any luck the next California Dreaming post on Saturday. But for now, links. A woman from Liverpool sued her divorce lawyers for [...]
[IMG: kenilworth ford] Following a feasibility study last year, Warwickshire County Council has agreed today to go ahead with an automatic flood warning system for Kenilworth, at a cost of £52,000. The system will comprise a flood detection sensor at the Ford in Castle Road, electronic warning signs on the approach roads to the Ford, and a new method of controlling the existing traffic signals at the junction of High Street and Bridge Street. When the sensor detects the water at the Ford starting to rise above a pre-determined level, it will activate both the warning signs and the traffic ...
A benefit cheat from Cottenham has been given a six month suspended prison sentence at Cambridge Crown Court. Zoe Shipp, 46, of Orchard Close, Cottenham, admitted 12 counts of dishonestly failing to report changes in circumstances to obtain benefits between July 2005 and November 2010. Miss Shipp had previously denied the offences, but pleaded guilty at the start of the first day of a trial in November last year. South Cambridgeshire District Council investigators acted on a tip-off to uncover over £20,000 of payments into Miss Shipp's bank account and that of her partner during her claim for benefit. These ...
It may be a tiny authority, but Rutland has triumphed in Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs Awards 2013. Here is the magazine's citation in the Legal Bullies of the Year category: Winners Rutland county council,which set aside £90,000 of taxpayers' money to seek an injunction against three of its own councillors (the "Rutland Anti-Corruption Party") who had been asking awkward questions. The council tested the water by prosecuting another critic, blogger Martin Brookes, for "harassing and stalking" chief exec Helen Briggs. District Judge John Temperley found Brookes not guilty, declaring: "freedom of expression is an essential function of a democratic society. ...
Thu 9th
19:37
Cambridgeshire Councils Launch Social Lettings Agency To Help Find Homes For Homeless People
Five Cambridgeshire local authorities have clubbed together to form a "social lettings agency" to help homeless single people and families get a good home in the private rented sector. Based within, and led by, Cambridge City Council, the service will be open for business, and looking to work with good Cambridgeshire landlords, from 13 January 2014. Landlords will be offered a guaranteed monthly income - with no fee taken out - and a full management service in a package the councils are describing as an "unbeatable, worry-free deal". In return, landlords will provide homes for tenants who would otherwise be ...
Mobile working technology has been introduced by the Estates and Facilities team who deal with responsive repairs for Council tenants and leaseholders. On 6th January 2014 the service replaced a paper-based repairs system with wireless enabled hand-held devices, and this will transform the way the service is managed in future. The Council's housing software is now updated in real time enabling staff in the customer service centre to answer residents' queries more efficiently. Appointments will now be offered for a wider range of repairs, and a text will be sent to the tenant's mobile telephone as soon as the tradesperson ...
Scotland may be involved in a long and often bad-tempered referendum campaign, but there are still some issues that unite people across the political divide. You can guarantee that at least once a fortnight, I'll complain on Twitter about yet another panel of men in suits who have been brought together to opine on the relative merits of Yes Scotland and Better Together. And people from all sides of the referendum campaign, whether they believe in devo plus, devo max, Jacobite or Hanoverian monarchs, euros, groats or pounds (in or out of a currency union) agree with me. Too often ...
This week has seen the submission, by Julian Huppert, of EDM 907, LEGAL RECOGNITION FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH A PARTICULAR GENDER. If it sounds familiar, that's because a similar EDM was introduced by Simon Hughes last month but had to be withdrawn when he became a minister. The subject, of course, will be unfamiliar to most of those who come across it, and that's why it's so important to explain how deeply it impacts those affected. I work for a charity called Trans Media Watch which aims to improve media understanding, and thereby social understanding, or transgender ...
The tabling this morning by Lib Dem Minister William Wallace of amendments to the Lobbying Bill seem to be getting a broadly positive reception. (Postscript: there are still some significant areas of concern, particularly on staff salaries) After reports that charities would become 'collateral damage' in legislation that suffered from poor conception and a lack of consultation, small charities in particular will benefit from the raising from £5,000 to £20,000 of the threshold for scrutiny under the Act. This also shows that those, including shamefully some Lib Dems who took the 'nothing to hide, nothing to fear' approach to the ...
For the 5th January (LJ | DW) [IMG: [personal profile] ] bjornwilde asked what global or cosmic hero/es I like, based on the correct assumption that I tend to prefer street level superheroes (The Question, Black Canary, Daredevil) So here's three powerhouses, from three different publishers. [IMG: Power-Girl] Power Girl I'd been dabbling a toe into the Super books since Kelly-Sue DeConnick's run in Supergirl, which for a while was the only Super book I read. I really really did not like Man of Steel in a way that was eye opening about what I thought was important about Superman ...
Mark Pack provides a set of automatically updated campaign buttons for use on Liberal Democrat websites. You can find out more about these buttons on Mark's website. Setting up the buttons on a self hosted WordPress website is really pretty simple but I have now made it even easier. Over the Christmas break I finally sorted out something that I had been meaning to do for ages which was to put the code for these campaign buttons into a simple WordPress plugin that creates a widget for use in sidebars. Installing the plugin removes the need to manually paste the ...
[IMG: Cecile Park potholes] As The Sun reports: Road to No10: 91% back party that will fill the UK's potholes... FIXING potholes is now a bigger issue than cutting fuel duty, according to furious motorists.
The Red Cross Healthy Homes project provides information and support with: keeping warm at home, energy efficiency and affording your energy billspreventing fires and fallsmaintaining independencepromoting well-beingIf you would like a free home visit and free winter warmth pack or if you would like them to visit a centre or group you attend to give a general talk about the Healthy Homes Project please contact Ellen Devine at H&SCWAG@redcross.org.uk or 0117 9415041.
LED street lights are to be installed in Charfield this month as the first stage of a South Glos-wide roll out of the new technology. Nearly 300 new lights are being installed in Charfield during January, reducing the parish's street lighting costs from £11,000 to £3,500 per year and cutting related carbon emissions from 45 to 10 tonnes. Over the next decade, the new technology will be gradually installed in all of South Gloucestershire's 30,000 street lights from May 2014, as part of a rolling investment programme. Local councillor John O'Neill said, "Charfield has led the way with part night ...
Nibley Lane is expected to close for cleaning from 9.30am until 2.30pm on Tuesday 14th January 2014.
Economic policy is always a mixture of fiscal, monetary and political policy. "Nick, George has come up with another of his jolly good wheezes. You remember that Plan A malarkey ..?" Well, dear reader, you do remember Plan A, don't you? Eliminate the deficit by 2015; keep fingers crossed Expansionary Fiscal Contraction (EFC) works; use a 20:80 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts; provide monetary stimulus; flush out the Labour Party, and keep Vince and the 'SDPers' in their box. Well, it put a spanner in the recovery-works and, with no sign of EFC or King's stimulus working, it ...
Just to let you know that Colchester Council's 2014 Trees For Years giveaway will be taking place on Saturday February 1st from 10am at Rowan House. Borough residents and community groups will be able to get free trees and shrubs from a variety of different species to help green the borough a little more. For more information, click here.
There's an application in for a change in the hours that alcohol can be sold from the convenience shop at 81 Garston Old Road. My colleague Richard Oglethorpe has written to addresses very near the shop to see if they want to comment but even if you didn't get a letter you are still entitled to send a view in. The deadline is the middle of next week though. You can see the proposed hours at this link (scroll down). There is also a handy word document form here for people who do want to comment and would rather use ...
I publish an e mail bulletin roughly once a fortnight. This includes news about L19 and L18 (as well as some info from a bit furthe afield). While the blog covers some local news, the e bulletin can be a lot more detailed. If you want to start getting these, do fill in your e mail on the form at this link. And if you have news for us to pass on (perhaps you are involved in a charity running an event for example) do let me know at paulakeaveney@yahoo.co.uk.
The Friends of Garston Library are having a General Meeting later this month (January) to give people a chance to have their say about this years, and next years, plans and activities. So far the Friends have organised a series of literary evenings and a writing competion. But we are very keen to hear from local people who have thoughts and ideas. The meeting is on 23 Jan at 7pm at the Enterprise South Liverpool Academy. Coming along doesn't commit you to a role, although you might find you want to take something on! If you can't be there, but ...
The verdict into the shooting of Mark Duggan was announced yesterday to much furor. Basically the Jury agreed he had had a gun but must have disposed of it by the time the Police entered their final confrontation so he was unarmed when he was shot dead. The killing was wrong but the Police are not to blame. This is a tragic result for his family and supporters but one that I support. Let's be honest, by all accounts he was no saint, a self styled gangsta who was under investigation by Trident for gun crime and was suspected to ...
We wanted to honour those Liberal Democrats that our readers felt were true stars of 2013. We sought out nominations and have a rather impressive list that we've been publishing in instalments during this week. Here is the fourth part. Their names come with the comments made about the contribution they have made. Some are parliamentarians, some are councillors, most are grassroots activists. Let's celebrate them and the many others who are fighting for Liberal Democrat values and victory. These are our Liberal Democrat stars of 2013. You can read part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here. ...
Southfield ward Councillors met with Council Transport officers and have agreed a 20 mph zone for Southfield. From the consultation that took place in autumn, 69% of respondents wanted to see a 20 mph zone. Some of the key points are: Southfield Councillor Andrew Steed We do not think having two roundabouts is feasible or needed at the Southfield Road / Fletcher Road / Acton Lane junction. Officers have agreed to redesign and come up with a single roundabout option.Two sets of improvements are to happen this month due to the high support from residents - including a new raised ...
For a few days there is a window in the weather, between the departure of the torrential rainstorms and high winds over Christmas and the arrival of the Arctic cold from America. So, it's on with the old coat and gloves and out into the garden to try and repair any damage and wrap up the more tender plants before the cold arrives. willow and blue sky In comparison to the dreadful flooding suffered by many this year, we have got away lightly this winter (so far). Just a broken bird bath and garden table, a few pots overturned, piles ...
Today's Guardian reports that Tim Farron and Julian Huppert are behind a move to get Liberal Democrat conference to adopt policy which would stop intrusive mass surveillance of personal data. Judicial oversight of state surveillance and a regular release of the number of data requests made by the security services should be among the issues examined by a government "commission of experts" into all the recent allegations raised by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, theLiberal Democrats are to propose. They will also call for the commission to review the effectiveness of all legislation surrounding the security services, including the system of ...
Conservative seat. Resignation There is not a Liberal Democrat candidate
Conservative seat. Death Prospective candidate: Ken Rolph
Thu 9th
12:32
Lord Roger Roberts writes...Focussing attention on the humanitarian cost of the Syrian civil war
This afternoon, the House of Lords will discuss the tragedy of the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Syria. Lord Roberts secured the debate, and here he sets out his views exclusively for LDV. The crisis in Syria, which the UN has described as 'the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of modern times' is now reaching overwhelming levels. The total number of Syrian refugees is now estimated to be 2.3 million, of whom 0.5% – around 12,000 souls – are spread across the whole continent of Europe. Bulgaria, the EU's poorest country, is bearing the brunt of this: an estimated 100 ...
I have been reading a wonderful account of how The ANC in South Africa developed and used encryption to avoid persecution by the Apartheid regime. The article is a good 15,000 words and will take you some time to read. It is a fascinating account of how an ersatz encryption technology was developed by enthusiastic amateurs using acoustic couplers, DTMF, tape recorders, and early mobile phones. I'm going to ignore the technical aspects - which are wonderful to read - and talk about the human aspect. Security is usability. The story starts with the problems faced by the ANC before ...
Already, this year has seen a rush of commentary on the upcoming centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Amidst all of this, the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has landed himself in hot water with comedy writers and Cambridge professors alike for his views expressed in this article for The Daily Mail. Mr Gove was not helped by his widespread unpopularity, especially among those who devote their life to commenting on things, and his message has been slowly picked to pieces in a series of different newspapers over the next few days. Yet much of ...
Several majorly reported cases have thrown the debate around jury service into general discourse. Clearly the decision over the Mark Duggan enquiry sparked fury from some, however this was deemed to be about the decision. I see that the construction of the jury was part of the issue. The case involving Vicky Pryce earlier last year, who was in court over the Chris Huhne speeding fiasco, had the jury asking questions that many were surprised and shocked at them having to ask (my favourite being if the jury can examine and consider evidence that was never presented to them). I ...
Thu 9th
12:12
Lib Dem conference motion calls for mass surveillance by security services to be reviewed
First press coverage for motions due to be debated at the Liberal Democrat spring conference in York: Post by Liberal Democrats for Civil Liberties. It's worth noting the positive comments about the motion being made on Nick Clegg's behalf to the media.
I hear on the grapevine that Labour in Gateshead had a very unhappy group meeting before the last full council meeting. Discontent was bubbling to the surface from some of those with a less than average span of time on the authority. My source only gave me a short burst of light so I am forced to speculate on the causes though, whatever the reasons, we know it caused the Labour group to drag on
[IMG: Obama website screenshot] Sorting through some old documents over Christmas, I came across again the 2012 Obama Campaign Legacy Report. Even allowing for it being a public document written by the Obama campaign about its own performance, it is well worth a read, not only for explaining what happened in 2012 but also its tips on the best way to run elections in the future. I was particularly struck by the figures for polling day itself: More than 100,000 Obama for America canvassers knocked on more than 7 million doors and twice as many volunteers called voters to make ...
There's been a bit of controversy over the issue of breastfeeding in the House of Commons and taking babies into the voting lobby sparked by comments by Jo Swinson, who gave birth to her son Andrew on 22 December. The argument goes that you can take a sword into the Commons voting lobby, but not a baby. On face value, it sounds like yet another way in which Westminster needs to be dragged into the 21st century. Jo said to the Guardian: "I think it's been lovely the way people have been really supportive in parliament of my pregnancy," she ...
There are people in this world who like to be nannied. To turn their brains off and let other people do the thinking. To let someone else make all the decisions and have everything handed to them on the plate. These people are traditional statist Labourites. There are people in this world who like taking orders. Who like the smack of firm Tory Government. Good luck to both those sets of people. I'm a Liberal, I don't understand them, but I can dig that that's what they like. It's not what I want, though. I want hot sexy liberalism, pure ...
With fighting, hated and discrimination still present in the world, it is vital that we never forget some of the horrors of the past, and keep working to prevent them occurring again. Holocaust Memorial Day is an annual event (27th January) dedicated to the remembrance of Holocaust victims. This year, there are three events in Haringey to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. There is the annual multi faith commemorative gathering, taking place on the 26th January at Bruce Castle Museum. There will also be an exhibition at libraries across Haringey about the role of the Righteous Muslims in the 2nd World ...
[IMG: 1973] The hundredth anniversary of the start of World War One has led to historians tortuously drawing parallels with the global rivalries of today. For Britain, the useful lessons from WW1 lie in European policy – and the rather lame campaign to stay in the EU. After decades of anti-EU vignettes in UK newspapers, often with scant basis in fact, much of the British public have become emotionally negative towards 'Europe'. There is receptiveness to the EU being blamed for all manner of problems; from perceived 'illegal immigration' to bureaucratic over-regulation. The anti-EU camp has achieved an astonishing supplementary ...
Quite a few local residents have contacted us, having received plausible-sounding phone calls from a company saying that they are due a refund on overpaid council tax. This is a scam. You cannot get a refund on past council tax. If you want to get your council tax band checked, you can do it without having to pay a company. However, you should only consider it if you're very confident that your band is too high, as the valuers will more often than not actually find that houses are in too low a band, meaning the householder ends up with ...
I know, I know, bloggers are endlessly vain about being proved right - and we so rarely are, that you have to hand it to us when one of our predictions turn up. I have been arguing for some time that the whole system of transparency and accountability in public services is about to unravel - because Goodhart's Law is a good deal more ferocious that anyone expected. And yesterday, it seemed for a moment as if I was going to be proved right. A historic moment. Goodhart's Law, as I may have said before, was formulated in the 1980s ...
The Western Mail reports that a hike in the minimum wage could be on the cards after Treasury minister Sajid Javid admitted there was a "strong case" for an increase: The Conservative minister's comments came amid speculation that a substantial rise could be on the way to counter criticism over what opposition parties have called a "cost of living crisis." It is understood Downing St analysis suggests a 50p an hour increase could save the Government £1bn because people would pay more tax and claim fewer benefits. Last year Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable asked the Low Pay Commission ...
The first really controversial parliamentary vote happened last night, on the Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which I wrote about yesterday. The Government suffered a pretty comprehensive defeat, by 306 votes to 178 on their Clause 1. However, the amendment on which they voted wasn't much better as it kept the "capable of causing annoyance" threshold for housing situations. Now, given that the people most likely to fall foul of this are the most vulnerable people with addictions and conditions which affect their behaviour, there is a high chance that incidents will happen at or near their home. ...
The correct response to condescending arseholes when you're taking photos (tags: ) Young and Unemployed? You could become a Pornographer, says DWP. (tags: ) 15 Tweets To George Osborne That Will Cheer You Up [NSFW] (tags: ) Bradford International Film Festival 2014 passes are on sale now Can fully reccommend the 70mm print of Big Trouble in Little China, which we saw at the FFW a couple of years ago. It's STUNNING. (tags: ) This Comic Perfectly Explains What White Privilege Is (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Our Headline of the Day judges did not award nul points to News in English.no. A bereaved moose writes: What is so funny about this?
[IMG: Polling station sign] The Electoral Commission's call yesterday (as predicted) that voters should have to show some sort of ID at polling stations before voting in future in Great Britain has a theoretical logic to it. However, elections are run not just in the world of theory but also in the real world, and there are some very major practical potential problems. First, what sort of ID would be acceptable? Once you get beyond passport and driving license (and not everyone has one or the other) you quickly get into either having to set standards that are inconvenient or ...
Residents have brought to my attention a bad pothole on the south carriageway of Logie Avenue at its eastern end - see right. I have reported this to the Roads Maintenance Partnership requesting this pothole is filled in as soon as possible.
The Guardian reports that the Liberal Democrats Party President is to co-sponsor a motion at our next conference that will propose judicial oversight of state surveillance and a regular release of the number of data requests made by the security services. The motion will propose that these should be among the issues examined by a government "commission of experts" into all the recent allegations raised by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. It will also call for the commission to review the effectiveness of all legislation surrounding the security services, including the system of parliamentary accountability. The paper says that the motion ...
Photopolis is a major photographic resource in Dundee City Council's ownership that I have, with the permission of the Leisure & Communities Department, featured photographs from in the past. It consists of a significant selection of quality photographs from various collections in the Central Library and the City Archives that can be accessed via the City Council's website, allowing easy access to large numbers of historical photographs. By popular request, during this month, I'll again feature some of the superb West End photos on Photopolis. As a start, pictured below is Grosvenor Terrace - 307-313 Perth Road - and to ...
Proposals to reduce licensing fees for street trading are being recommended by St Albans City and District Council's Local Services Scrutiny Committee. At a meeting on Tuesday 7 January, the Committee recommended that the Licensing and Regulatory Committee implement a new two-tier licensing fee structure for street trading. This follows a review by a Task and Finish Group after concerns were raised by local businesses and councillors that street trading fees were unreasonable. The proposed fees are based on the actual cost of providing the licensing service. They are in line with a recent ruling in the case of Hemmings ...
