Lib Dem Voice (among others) reports Danny Alexander has ruled out a post Scottish independence currency union in the strongest possible terms. He states: "a currency union would create unacceptable risks both for Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom." This surely can't be the same Danny Alexander as press spokesman for the pro european currency union campaign Britain in Europe who told the Guardian in 2002, "When the euro fell below dollar parity, anti-Europeans were rubbing their hands with glee. There's egg on faces now," Now I don't know whether Danny actually now believes currency unions 'create unacceptable ...
George Eaton on the New Statesman's The Staggers blog picks up on the rebellion by several Liberal Democrat MPs last night: Largely unnoticed, there was a small but significant Lib Dem rebellion over cuts to local government last night. Party president Tim Farron, former defence minister Nick Harvey, Andrew George, Stephen Gilbert and Adrian Sanders all voted against this year's funding settlement.He goes on to quote Nick Harvey's speech in the debate: The whole model of local Government funding is now so fundamentally broken that there needs to be a cross-party endeavour to rebuild something from scratch on a blank ...
[IMG: Policy Unpacked logo] The Coalition government has embarked on a wide-ranging and far-reaching programme of change to the UK welfare system. Several components of the agenda have already been implemented. Some are still to come. The Coalition is pursuing policies on welfare benefits, rents and social housing development that have potentially significant implications both for household poverty and the future of housing providers. In this podcast I discuss a range of issues around welfare reform – and some of ways it links to social housing – with Jules Birch, housing and social policy blogger at Inside Housing and his ...
LD Seat. Disqualification Lib Dem Candidate: Jacqui Carwardine Contact: Lucy Hurds, 07827 011611, lucyhurds11@btinternet.com; Kevin Tillett, 01432 226528, chair@herefordlibdems.org.uk For more information and the Connect VPB code please see: http://www.flocktogether.org.uk/event/9354
Labour seat. Resignation. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/local-elections LD Candidate: Graham Lippiatt
Independent seat. Death.
Lib Dem Candidate: Jayne Norman Returning Officer; Eastleigh.
When I heard that Shepperton - home of J.G. Ballard, the author of The Drowned World - was flooded, I realised that fantasy fiction provides the best map of our new landscape. Richard Cowper published The Road to Corlay, the first volume of his trilogy The White Bird of Kinship, in 1978. It is set a thousand years in the future when Britain is a theocracy and low-lying areas of the country have been flooded. The map on the endpapers - and ever since discovering Malcolm Saville I have believed that every book should have a map on its endpapers ...
A student at a sixth form college I teach at, part-time, has just asked me if I can help her learn French. Of course, I'm happy to help. It's easy to recommend a course, but what music or film can I recommend? Music? That's easy; France Gall. Totally French, easy to follow and comprehend. But a Film. That's not so easy because, you see, so many French films are actually not that "French". Jean de Florette, a modern classic is set in the deep south (where people would have spoken Occitan not French). Films like La Haine are riddled with ...
I haven't written anything about dating in months. Either that means I am on the quiet doing exceptionally well on this front and have chosen not to write about it as not to jinx it or absolutely sod all is happening so there is nothing to write about, I'll let you have a think about that for a minute. Yeah it's the latter of the two. I mean seriously... Anyway tomorrow is the day for couples to feel pressurised into being romantic and for those with a secret crush on someone to kinda reveal themselves in a 'well I'll dip ...
An independent Scotland would be better off using the pound without permission, argues the Adam Smith Institute. Women You Should Know tells us that the little girl from this widely retweeted 1981 Lego advertisement has grown up and has something to say: "Doctor kits used to be for all children, but now they are on the boys' aisle. I simply believe that they should be marketed to all children again, and the same with LEGOs and other toys." Wembley Matters on how an Oxford college destroyed a pop-up library and dumped the books. Two psychiatrists debate whether attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ...
More good news from the Shropshire Star: Local councillor for Chirbury, Heather Kidd, had sought assurances from Post Offices bosses after the postmaster in Pontesbury, Brian Simmonds, announced his wish to retire. The outreach post offices in Marton, Stiperstones and Wentnor come under his jurisdiction and there were fears for their future should he leave. But, according to the Post Office, following a series of lengthy discussions, a new option has now been found - securing the outreach services for the time being.The story also quotes her fellow Liberal Democrat councillor Charlotte Barnes. The photograph shows Stiperstones post office - ...
Thu 13th
19:00
LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott MEP: Tories are playing into Putin's hands in high stakes game
[IMG: Edward McMillan Scott] Yorkshire and the Humber MEP Edward McMillan-Scott has a longstanding interest in human rights. He's travelled all over the world to make the case to governments who don't respect their citizens' freedoms. He's understandably not wildly chuffed about the Winter Olympics taking place in Sochi and how this might fuel Putin's ambitions. He explained why in the Yorkshire Post. Putin has international ambitions for Russia: this is the new Great Game, the 19th century strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Eurasia. He is trying to build a ...
This is the debate: This is me arguing my view that spending cuts should be in proportion of spending power. John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD): I thank the Minister for meeting MPs from Birmingham to look at this issue, and I congratulate hon. Members generally on highlighting
Here's how the Guardian previewed Ed Davey's speech this afternoon to the Institute for Public Policy Research: Britain's climate change policy is under threat from a "diabolical cocktail" of nimbyism, denial of science and fear of Europe from politicians on the right, the energy secretary will say on Thursday. Amid growing warnings about a potential link between global warming and extreme UK weather, Ed Davey will raise concerns that the politicial consensus about the need to tackle climate change is in danger of breaking down as some in the Conservative and Ukip parties try to discredit the science. He will ...
KCC Trading Standards has received a report of a male knocking on doors in the Whitfield area of Dover last Saturday. The man claimed to be an ex-serviceman and was selling dusters to raise funds for the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA) Charity. The man was scruffily dressed, has a foreign accent and was carrying an A4 placard with SSAFA's details on it . BE WARNED: WHEN REFUSED A SALE THE MAN BECAME ABUSIVE. SSAFA have confirmed that the man is not a representative of the charity. Remember: Anyone selling goods at the door is required to be ...
Yorkshire radio station The Pulse reports: Yorkshire should be given a regional assembly like Scotland and Wales, according to a group of Calderdale councillors. The idea is being discussed at the Liberal Democrat conference next month and would see decisions on things like Education, Health and Agriculture made away from Westminster. Yorkshire, which has roughly the same population as Scotland, would be offered the chance to take control of such powers instead of having them controlled from London. The proposal will be debated at the Liberal Democrat spring conference, which will take place in York on the 7th-9th of March. ...
I don't do Valentines. It's not that I don't have anybody to love; on the contrary, my cup runneth over, both with friendship-type love, familial affection, and the love one more usually associates with Valentines. This is the joy of being poly. And it's not just that I'm a tight-arsed Yorkshire lass and won't spend money on my various partners for Valentine's either. I don't have huge amounts of money* but what I have I am pretty free with. My objections have been elucidated on this blog before:I don't generally object to the idea of love, but I do object ...
I have no doubt that should Scotland's voters decide to plump for independence on 18 September, Scotland would become a functional nation state. For unionists to claim that Scotland isn't capable of governing itself, or that it would immediately become a celtic version of Greece is insulting, inaccurate and unlikely to marshal any votes into the No column. Though I believe we are better together, unionists need to make a positive case in addition to exposing the SNP's wilful distortions and wishful thinking. That is why I welcome the clarity from the Chancellor (pdf), Ed Balls and our own Danny ...
With the news that all three UK parties have ruled out a formal currency union in the event of Scottish Independence, the SNP have been dealt a blow to their credibility. For some time now, I've warned that a clear contingency plan needs to be in place in the event their preferred currency proposal (which may not in any case be the best option for Scotland post a Yes vote anyway) fell through. This being the case, however, my instinct is that this move is driven more by a political calculation than an outright hostility to a currency union. By ...
Lib Dem Minister Lynne Featherstone has been one of the leading voices against the awful practice of female genital mutilation, but a Lib DemLondon councillor has branded campaigners as anti-African.
Thu 13th
11:29Danny Alexander: currency union would create unacceptable risks for Scotland and the UK
Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury, Danny Alexander, released the following statement commenting on the Treasury's analysis of a proposed currency union were Scotland to vote for independence: Today the Treasury has published further analysis of the SNP's proposed currency union in the event of Scotland voting for separation. This analysis is crystal clear – a currency union would create unacceptable risks both for Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. For Scotland separation would already be the riskiest and most uncertain step our country has ever taken. To take that step and then give up control over ...
[IMG: Post Office logo] It seems that the Labour MP for Luton North, Kelvin Hopkins, was asked to officially open the newly modernised post office in Hockwell Ring this week. See the report here. This is a good news story and Kelvin is right to welcome this improved community facility. But I wonder if he also thanked the coalition government whose decisions made it possible? Perhaps not. But he should. Up until the last general election the only thing that was happening to Post Offices in Luton was them being closed. I had one forced to shut in the ward ...
Advice and background from ALDC and Lib Dem HQ on how to approach UKIP in the forthcoming local elections on May 22nd. With just under 100 days to go UKIP have the ability as to destabilise the established dynamics of many local elections campaigns up and down the UK. They are not the first group [...]
A spokesman for Lord Rennard has just released the following statement to the media: There will be no court action if the party simply follows its own rules, or if there is a realistic prospect of mediation succeeding. In the meantime, Lord Rennard is still waiting to see the report of Alistair Webster's investigation, as was promised to him. He was, however, informed by Alistair Webster personally that the report's only decision was that there should be no further action, as there was insufficient evidence to hold a disciplinary hearing. Any lawful party action and any mediation will have to ...
The problem with writing a blog, particularly when it concerns your study plans and ambitions, is that it creates hostages to fortune. For example, in December I wrote the following words: As an experienced distance learner, I've always found it absolutely essential to use this time of year to get ahead of the schedule, so that the inevitable issues that crop up in my working and home life don't totally derail the study effort. Well, that didn't work out terribly well. I'm currently less than 48 hours away from my module assignment deadline with the smallest of the two parts ...
Christine Jardine, who was recently selected as PPC for Gordon, has been interviewed by the Deeside Piper – the newspaper she used to edit – about her selection and her journey from journalist to politician. Here's an excerpt from the interview: DEESIDE PIPER: What do you hope to achieve if voted for by the people of Gordon? CHRISTINE JARDINE: Over the last 30 years, Malcolm has been a strong voice for the people of Gordon and that is what I would want to be as well. For both the urban and rural communities. I believe rural communities need a strong ...
The temperature is steadily rising in the debate over Scottish independence on 18 September this year. Today the three main Westminster parties will say no to a currency union between an independent Scotland and rump Britain. Last week the UK Prime Minister David Cameron made an emotional appeal for the union. But still not enough searching questions are being asked by the English on what this all means for them. At least Mr Cameron's remarks were directed towards the English, though the British media ignored this and only sought reaction from Scottish politicians and voters. He urged the English to ...
Thu 13th
09:35
My column for ConHome: It's 8th May 2015. Dear Prime Minister... a confidential memo from his Chief ...
[IMG: con home cartoon] Here's my latest The Other Side column for ConservativeHome, published here on Tuesday. It's a piece of fiction, not least because it imagines a scenario in which the Tories have won an outright majority. That starting point appeared to confuse ConHome's Ukip-infused readers, who didn't know whether to laugh or cry in the comments. My thanks as ever to the site's editors, Paul Goodman and Mark Wallace, for giving a Lib Dem space to provoke – constructively, I hope. From: Chief.Whip@dominatrix.gsi.gov.uk To: David.Cameron@chillaxing.gsi.gov.uk Date: Friday 8 May 2015, 07.45am Subject: CONFIDENTIAL: A blueprint for the future ...
In 2013 when Lib Dem turn out was so low across Somerset John Dyke's result was achieved by galvanising the postal voters - especially before the UKIP 'bubble' hit. There are 2,099 postal voters in Crewkerne County Division in south Somerset - 30% of the electorate – with a significant amount of those as supporters. Cllr [...]
The Astoundingly Brilliant Doctor Who Art of Matthew Savage (tags: ) Vince Cable: Barmy UKIP policies could be a disaster for Britain | Western Morning News (tags: ) Kansas Bill Allowing Refusal of Service to Gay Couples Passes House | TIME.com Eurgh. Losing side of history. (tags: ) Grandstanding by both sides om Scotland's Post-independence currency is futile (tags: ) Adding Insult to Injury: The Media Coverage of the Bisexual Asylum Seeker Case - Milena Popova (tags: ) New Robin Hood series in development - WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK? LMAO!! (tags: ) Rennard legal action threatens individual officers of the ...
[IMG: Alan Turing: Unlocking the Enigma] The Lib Dem peer Lord Sharkey introduced a private members bill last summer to give the great mathematician, code-breaker and pioneer computer scientist Alan Turing a royal pardon. He had been convicted under the Labouchere Amendment which criminalised homosexual acts between consenting males. He was put on probation, on condition he underwent chemical treatment, and found himself isolated by the establishment. He killed himself two years later, in 1954. I have been writing about Turing for years, and have now written a short biography of him, published yesterday as a Kindle Single. He is ...
One person tweeted the question last night: how can Andrew R.T, Davies bring the opposition parties together when he cannot even unite his own group. And indeed that has been the story of the fourth Assembly, a divided and dysfunctional Tory group who have struggled to vote together on key issues and have not been prepared to work with other groups so as to properly hold the Welsh Labour Government to account. Last night Andrew R.T. Davies acted. He sacked the four refuseniks who had failed to vote against the lockstep in the draft Wales Bill, effectively creating a dissident ...
There was some leftie love showered on this ConservativeHome article by Peter Franklin this week: Right-wingers should stop boasting about how much income tax the rich pay. His point was absolutely right, as he laid into the supposedly slam-dunk argument glibly tossed around by unthinking capitalist Tories like Boris: The richest one per cent of Britons contribute 30 per cent of all the Income Tax collected in this country. This, supposedly, is a 'killer fact' - deployed with devastating complacency by the free-market right: Rising inequality? No need to worry about that! The rich are kindly paying your taxes for ...
In 2002, the Guardian reported on declassified papers Ted Heath's produced at the height of the Troubles. Revealed in official papers released today by the Public Record Office, the plans reflect the crisis in the province fol lowing the Bloody Sunday shootings, the torching of the Dublin embassy and the imposition of direct rule from [...]
I held a debate in the House of Commons yesterday morning about the Work of ATOS as a service provider, following increased numbers of constituents making representations to him with concerns in delays in the process, and whether the assessment process it fit for purpose. During the debate, I made the Minister aware of a number of cases bought to him by constituents had experienced sever delays in their claim and appeal process, which left them waiting in limbo, on basic allowance, for months and even years for a resolution. I also raised examples from constituents and charities who question ...
From the comfort of my armchair in Washington and no longer inhabiting the ivory towers of academia, I had no idea what a shitstorm of debate, both in Ireland and in the social sciences, I was wading into with my blog post commenting on 'Pantigate' and use of the word homophobia. A slightly edited version of it appeared as a column in last Friday's Irish Times. It certainly provoked mixed responses: @Cripipper@IrishTimesOne of the finest contributions yet to this whole debate. Brilliantly written and argued — Mark Paul (@MarkPaulTimes) February 7, 2014 (my mum on the Irish Times comment section, ...
Thu 13th
00:30
SPEP Thermal Imaging Camera - Your Chance To Check Your Property For Heat Loss! ** TONIGHT **
Thermal Imaging Camera (Image Courtesy Wikipedia) South Cambridgeshire District Councils' Energy Projects team have made available to Bar Hill residents their Thermal Imaging camera. The main use for this will be to spot area of your house, like roof spaces, windows, doors, etc where you're losing the most heat. There will be a short training session on the 13th February between 7 and 8pm at the Parish Council Offices. If you'd like to attend please contact Bunty Waters via email.
