If your business is part of Camborne's Business Improvement District, you may find the following seminar useful. BID Camborne's latest newsletter details: "In partnership with Cornwall College, BID Camborne is putting on a drop in event at the Lowenac Hotel for you to come along and discuss what training requirements you have. The event is called Spring Forward. There will be opportunity to sign up to fully funded workshops, learn more about apprenticeships and say what training would benefit your business. Even if you can only spare 5 minutes, if you are interested in training it will be time well ...
Our latest Look at Life film is "The City's for Living".
With half term approaching, parents are reminded by health experts at Cambridgeshire County Council the threat flood waters can pose to themselves and their children. Flood waters can contain many hidden and submerged dangers. Parents are advised to keep children away from flood waters and to be aware of where they are playing. Dangers include - Contaminated water and mud: water can contain sewage and harmful chemicals. If you need to touch flood water, use rubber gloves. Mention the flood if you or child see your GP within 10 days for abdominal complaints or diarrhoea.Risk of drowning from hidden dangers: ...
With more wet weather on the horizon, Cambridge City Council officers continue to work with partners from the Environment Agency and the emergency services to monitor parts of Cambridge that may be at risk of flooding. With levels at their highest for some years in recent weeks, and more rain forecast, officers and partners have been monitoring river and watercourse levels in the city as well as clearing out any debris and blockages. Residents and businesses can check if they are at risk of flooding and receive pre-emptive warnings by registering online with the Environment Agency Floodline information service at ...
The recycling collection crew made an extra special trip to Millington Road Nursery in Newnham to explain the journey their recycling makes once it's been put in their blue bin. The children were excited to see the blue recycling bin being lifted onto the back of the lorry and hear the loud noises it made as the items were tipped in. They then watched the recycling being crushed to ensure as much as possible can fit in. The crew explained how the recycling is taken in the lorry to Waterbeach before it is sent to a recycling sorting machine in ...
In an interview with The Conversation Lord Owen - Dr David Owen, the former SDP leader - explains his support for the disastrous war in Iraq: "This guy lied to me. I had two meetings with Blair in identical circumstances. It was in Downing Street, with our wives, the four of us. The second was in June 2002 and it was clear he had decided to go to war. I asked him whether in Iraq nuclear weapons were being built and he replied 'yes'; Chemical weapons? - 'Yes,' he told me. No qualification or doubt. I now know what he ...
At the last general election, as Chris Mason points out on BBC News, the Liberal Democrats polled 22 per cent in Wythenshawe and Sale East - a share of the vote that almost mirrored our national performance. So it was not encouraging to see the party lose its deposit by failing to reach even 5 per cent in yesterday's by-election. And Stephen Tall's conclusion on Liberal Democrat Voice that the result is a reflection on the impact on joining the Coalition, "especially in northern areas like Greater Manchester," is more depressing when you recall that we hold two of the ...
Hmmmm.. or is it all that light-hearted...? As a management-type I cannot but be boggled by the outdated and outmoded PPC assessment process that the party uses.. The process clearly throws up some interesting candidates and we have (and have had) some very "original" MPs (Clement Freud, Ludovic Kennedy). However the antiquated nature of the process speaks to another age. It goes to explain a lot about what happened in 2010. It clearly is designed to have councillors jump through some familiar hoops to produce Über-councillors for the national stage. The fact that this process does NOTHING to line up ...
The Financial Times reports: A prominent Indian backer of the UK Liberal Democrat party and his son were the two suspects arrested earlier this week in connection with an investigation into allegations of bribery by Rolls-Royce. Sudhir Choudhrie and his son Bhanu were arrested on Wednesday as part of the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into alleged bribery in Indonesia and China by the engine and turbine maker. ... A spokesman for the Choudhries confirmed that the pair had been arrested. The pair deny all wrongdoing and are co-operating fully with the investigation, he said. They were granted bail without conditions ...
I was out this lunchtime in Looe to help hand out sandbags to home and business owners worried about the impending bad weather and the possible flooding that may occur. Looe was one of four locations where Cornwall Council was making 1000 sandbags available - the others were Penzance, Helston and Bude. These locations were picked by council officers working with the Environment Agency and other partners based on the weather forecasts and potential for flooding. I was working alongside three Police officers, just one of the many agencies who have come together to work for Cornwall. We had a ...
UKIP and other European populist parties have been crowing about the recent referendum in Switzerland, by which the Swiss very narrowly voted to introduce immigration quotas, which will put the country in conflict with several aspects of its relationship with the EU, notably regarding the principle of free movement. Although Switzerland is not a member [...]
Last week, I hosted a visit by Nick Clegg to Manchester. Before the main speeches, I spent some time with the alumni of UpRising. UpRising is a charity who aim [...]
A planning application has been received to change the the current use of the Bridewell, on the junction of Dockacre Road and Kensey Hill, from a shop and restaurant into four single bedroom flats. The current use of the building is La Bouche Creole restaurant and Just So fabrics and furnishings. There are also two flats above. If you want to comment on this application, use the reference number PA14/00588 here. Tweet
I had the pleasure to attend an event on Wednesday where hundreds of Primary school kids got to try new sports – and hopefully will give some of them a go by joining clubs. [IMG: This photo would have even better taken half a second later when the instructor kicked the wood into two pieces.] This photo would have even better taken half a second later when the instructor kicked the wood into two pieces. The event was sponsored by Sky and volunteers who work in the call centre in Stockport took a day out to work with the kids. ...
This post first appeared on Liberal Democrat VoiceThe currency in an independent Scotland has been the subject of much frenetic debate in recent months. The Scottish Government's White Paper on independence is clear that their preferred option is to continue to use sterling within a monetary union with what would remain of the UK:The Commission's analysis shows that it will not only be in Scotland's interests to retain Sterling but that - post independence - this will also benefit the rest of the UK.Under such an arrangement, monetary policy will be set according to economic conditions across the Sterling Area ...
With the previous young children's play area becoming so old as to be beyond economic repair, a new play area was installed a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there have been ongoing drainage problems at the new location and we've been pressing hard to get it sorted – it's no use having kids playing in mud! We've been very pleased to hear that the problem should be finally fixed, with the sand taken up and a new safety carpet surface being laid in the next few weeks. We'll be keeping a close eye on this, but hopefully Bruntwood Park will ...
That the SNP would dismiss yesterday's announcement on currency by George Osborne should not come as a surprise to any of us. Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have taken to the airwaves to complain of "bluff, bluster and bullying" by those nasty big boys from Westminster. It's actually quite brazen to sit there and say, having been told a very firm "no" that the answer was really yes. But their aim was to whip up fury amongst their own supporters, to incite an emotional reaction in those who don't like English Tories telling things like they are. That was always ...
Fri 14th
15:30
Newsletter from the European Parliament, Friday 14 February 2014 - Sir Graham Watson MEP
Sir Graham Watson MEP A group of school students from Thomas Hardye school in Dorchester were my first victims this week, when they visited the European Parliament on Monday. Others who had to suffer me were TV viewers in Switzerland (Monday), Gibraltar (Tue and Wed) and Austria (Thursday). The Swiss people's vote in a referendum on Sunday to pull out of free movement treaties with the EU, by the narrowest of margins (50.3%), will cause their government a major headache: they have three years in which to try to renegotiate their treaty agreements with the EU which will involve abrogation ...
Stockport Council has launched a new 'Jobs with Training' programme to provide financial support for employers when they recruit unemployed 18-24 year olds. Open to all Stockport employers looking to recruit staff on a permanent basis, the scheme – part of the Greater Manchester Commitment to Youth Employment – pledges to offer more job opportunities to long-term unemployed young people who live in the borough. Through 'Jobs with Training' employers can access wage incentives of £5,275 after six months of employing an eligible 18-24 year old. The young person should be working at least 30 hours per week, earning at ...
The Lib Dem proposal to spend £100 million properly repairing and relaying hundreds of roads and pavements across Stockport was formally presented as part of the Lib Dem budget on Tuesday. The budget also sees significant savings but, because these were part of a two-year plan consulted on last year, there's little new on that side. We're proposing to freeze council tax this year – if we get that through, it will be the third freeze in four years in Stockport – already the lowest-spending authority in Greater Manchester. The Stockport Council budget will be decided on Thursday 27th February ...
Given the severity of the winds, it's remarkable that just hours after the first really windy period on Wednesday everything was more or less back to normal. There are some trees which were cut up and still need to be taken away, and some minor damage but – thankfully – little more serious in our area. We'd like to thank the Fire Service who worked through the night attending incidents and the Council workers who have been out clearing everything up. If you do see something that needs sorting out – please let us know and we'll pass it on. ...
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams AM has launched a campaign for 'Minimum Nurse Staffing Levels.' If successful it would put a legal duty on NHS managers to ensure that that nursing services were properly staffed at all times throughout the country. At the moment, Wales has the lowest level of nursing staff levels [...]
Kudos to YouGov for coming up with the most outrageously crow-barred poll finding to mark Valentine's Day – that Lib Dem voters are least likely to think that penis size matters. [IMG: yougov poll - 14 feb 2014] The findings are not surprising. After all, we've always wanted proportional representation. We've always been wary of sudden swings to the left or right. And throughout the Coalition, Lib Dems have argued it's not the size of our parliamentary party that matters, but what we do with our honourable members. We must now gird our loins, though, for the coming campaign. Our ...
Hard-hitting messages were sent out to Peterborough teenagers on Valentine's Day when firefighters created a fatal collision scene at a college. Fire crews, paramedics and police descended upon Peterborough Regional College today (Feb 14) as part of the For My Girlfriend campaign, run by the SaferPeterborough Partnership. The scenario involved a young male driver in a car crash, which kills his girlfriend and lands him in a police cell. The campaign urges young drivers to take responsibility when behind the wheel and highlights the personal and legal consequences of being involved in a road collision. Lynn Betteridge, Community Risk Manager ...
The Guardian reports that the proposal to recall MPs who have committed serious wrongdoing has been blocked by David Cameron against the wishes of Nick Clegg. A Lib Dem source said news that the legislation had been dropped was broken to the party's MPs at a meeting on Tuesday. "Tom Brake, the deputy leader of the house, stood up and told MPs it was off the agenda. It seems that the Tories have argued that there is too much to deal with and something had to give. But it didn't wash: they are pandering to their backbenchers," he said. Under ...
Despite the date I'm not going to blog about Valentine's Day today or try and link it to my post! Today I want to talk about vulnerability. Davina McCall has impressed many this week with her determination to push on through her Sport Relief challenge of a 500-mile (805km) journey under her own steam from Edinburgh to London . This is indeed very impressive and it's a very important cause she is raising money for. (I was moved to sponsor her myself) What's also impressed me is that she is willing to be vulnerable, something people, especially people in Britain ...
This week I wrote to all MPs, in my role as Ministerial Champion for tackling violence against girls and women overseas. Violence against girls and women is one of the most systematic, widespread human rights abuses in the world. One in three women will experience it in their lifetimes. The UK Government believes this can change, that every woman and girl has the right to live free from violence and abuse. In the letter, I outlined my priorities for this year. In short, they are: Defending/securing the rights of girls and women to live free from violence, through international negotiations ...
Fri 14th
11:52
LibLink: Stephen Tall: It's 8 May 2015, Cameron's won a majority and here's some advice from his Chi...
Our Stephen Tall has been turning his hand to fiction in his regular column for Conservative Home. As he says on his own site: 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. You do actually have to read the whole thing to see all the well-crafted little digs in there, and you can do so here. Here are some of the highlights: The first piece of advice ...
While writing my post about the refurbishment of a local Post Office yesterday I came across the following graph. It is taken from a briefing note prepared by the House of Commons Library and I think it clearly demonstrates that the coalition government has been responsible for a genuine change in policy towards the Post Office network. [IMG: Number of Post Offices in the UK] Throughout the 80′s and 90′s the trend in the number of Post Offices is downwards. During the later years of the Blair and Brown Labour governments this trend accelerates. But under the coalition government it ...
[IMG: [banknote-The+Royal+Bank+of+Scotland-1-Pound.jpg]] My great-aunt, who was a foreign correspondent in 1938 and therefore an expert on rising nationalism, used to say that Liberalism and Nationalism were opposite ends of the political scale - in some ways, far more fundamentally opposed than simple left and right. But there are two exceptions to that law. One is that, in the UK, British Liberals have traditionally turned a blind eye to the limitations of Irish nationalism. They may not have turned a blind eye to its dark side, but they were allies of the Irish Nationalists in Parliament for most of the second ...
An exciting opportunity has arisen for the position of Clerk's Assistant at Sandgate Parish Council. This is an interesting and varied post supporting an active, community and business-focused council. The successful applicant will be required to work with the Parish Clerk to provide professional support and guidance in respect of all aspects of the council's work. The role will commence in April 2014 and will be part-time at 16 hours a week with additional evening meetings. The successful candidate will also assist with running Sandgate Library. Salary will be £8.11 per hour in accordance with NJC scale SCP points 13 ...
Danny Alexander's photograph has been used by a con-man as a device to extract money from an American woman. From the Independent: Francis Rains received a phone call last September telling her she had won $2.5m and a Mercedes-Benz. A man called her a couple of days later, apparently from a Jamaican number, saying she needed to send money to pay off the tax on her prizes. In order to convince her to send the money, he sent her a picture of 'himself'. The picture he sent was a smiling picture of Chief secretary to the Treasury,Danny Alexander. Two other ...
At the last election, we promised to raise the income Tax threshold to £10,000. Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron said it could not be afforded. But in Government the [...]
Over at Click on Wales, Daran Hill has blogged on the 'self-inflicted wound' of Andrew R. T. Davies' decision to sack four Tory rebels from his front bench team. He gives four reasons why this is not a good decision for the Conservatives of which the second is, in my opinion the most relevant: Secondly, Antoinette Sandbach, one of the four removed AMs, has already tweeted the most damaging consequence of the reshuffle: "it is regrettable that he has chosen to divide his party." The choice to do this is of course entirely Andrew's as group leader, but the consequences ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention in the past couple of days... Who'd be an MP? | LabourList Yep. This, from @EmmaBurnell_, on the self-fulfilling cynical public suspicion of MPs' motives is excellent http://bit.ly/1mbvqRA feedly.com The declining Labour core vote by @atulh » http://bit.ly/1dJa9EJ feedly.com Peter Blatchford highlights problems remain: "Addressing the bigger picture on teaching assistant interventions" http://bit.ly/1nuT4nu Decentralisation - easier said than done | The Institute for Government Some good advice for Ed Miliband from @instituteforgov here: "Decentralisation - easier said than done" http://bit.ly/NDvavH What lies behind the spectacular collapse of the British far-right? ...
An interesting article from the Washington Post that outlines the demographic and political shifts that appear to tilt the US electoral college in the Democrats favour...
Fri 14th
09:10Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election: Labour win easily, Ukip beat Tories to 2nd, Lib Dems lose dep...
Labour comfortably won yesterday's Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election, caused by the sad death of Paul Goggins just five weeks ago. Here are the results: Labour: Mike Kane – 13,261 (55%, +11%) UKIP: John Bickley – 4,301 (18%, +15%) Conservative: Daniel Critchlow – 3,479 (15%, -11%) Liberal Democrat: Mary di Mauro – 1,176 (5%, -17%) Green: Nigel Woodcock – 748 (3%, +3%) BNP: Eddy O'Sullivan – 708 (3%, -1%) Monster Raving Loony: Captain Chaplington-Smythe – 288 (1%) Turnout: 23,961, 28% It's clear there were two winners from the election – though the very low-turn-out (barely one-quarter of the registered electorate bothered ...
One of the best pieces of advice to give anyone who wants to engage on the internet is "don't feed the trolls". Admittedly, it isn't always easy to detect trolls, as there are those who define 'troll' as 'anyone who doesn't agree with me', but the general rule is still a wise one to adhere to. And it now appears that the theory that such people are merely firestarters has some basis to it. Research done in Canada suggests that Internet trolls are more likely than others to show signs of sadism, psychopathy and "Machiavellianism": a disregard for morality ...
Bloody hell. An article on LabourList I agree with every single word of. (tags: ) Thoughts on Doctor Who: The Daemons - holy crap this makes sense (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
There's an outside chance you've not seen this already. If so, watch it NOW! You'll thank me! Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Benedict Cumberbatch, Humour, Sesame Street, Sherlock, TV
A record high number of people have been waiting over 36 weeks for the start of their treatment in the NHS, according to figures published yesterday. By the end of December, a total of 415,518 patients were waiting for the start of their treatment. Of those patients, 86.6% had been waiting less than 26 weeks and 96.5% had been waiting less than 36 weeks from the date the referral letter was received by the hospital. The Welsh Government has a target for 95% of patients to wait less than 26 weeks until the start of their treatment and a target ...
In the latest of a succession of federal court judgments that have overturned states' bans on same-sex marriage, a federal judge in Richmond, Virginia ruled that the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage is a violation of the United States Constitution. Her decision has been stayed, pending an appeal. Leaving little room, it has to be said, for doubt as to on which side of the fence she stands herself, Judge Arenda Wright Allen opened her judgment with a quotation from Mildred Loving, one of the plaintiffs in the now famous U.S. Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virgina that ...
A scheme encouraging healthy walks is looking for volunteers to go the extra mile for their community. The healthy walks initiative is expanding in East Cambridgeshire with volunteers needed to lead walks and support around 200 walkers. Ideally, volunteers will be passionate about walking and their local area. People who volunteer will receive free Health Walk Leader Training, First Aid Training, insurance and other resources. The scheme is particularly looking for volunteers in Ely, Fordham and Lode and Bottisham. The healthy walks were set up by East Cambridgeshire District Council and are supported by Cambridgeshire County Council's Public Health team. ...
Headline: What can charitably be described as "bollocks" Today's Herald front page leads with the headline "Yes does not mean Yes". The byline claim was that "A Referendum Yes vote would not guarantee Scottish independence and the 'status quo' would be maintained if talks do not go smoothly, a senior coalition source has warned". Explosive stuff. Cue Twitter going into a frenzy with Nats expressing mock horror at the suggestion that the UK government would not respect the result of the referendum and that Westminster was being bullying and abrasive and backtracking on its commitment in the Edinburgh Agreement. Except, ...
Cornwall Council will issue free sandbags to households who are affected or at risk of flooding from this morning. The process of filling and distributing the bags will take some time, but the council will be using all of its resources and those of partner agencies to make sure that sandbags and flood prevention advice is available to any household at risk as soon as possible. Together with my Lib Dem colleague Geoff Brown, the cabinet member for homes and communities, and colleagues from the Environment Agency and Cormac, I met with the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg yesterday evening ...
