I'm working on some new fun stuff, some of which will start turning up here later this week, but for now, have links: Leonard Pierce has a new fad diet Charles Stross discusses Baboon Fart Odyssey John Scalzi on petitions. There's a specific one that prompted this, but it's good general advice. Radio 4 without [...]
This evening's town council saw the start of the nomination process for next year's mayor and deputy mayor. I was delighted to be able to second the re-election of Dave Gordon to be mayor for a second year and Brian Hogan to be deputy. I think both have done a great job - representing the town with honour and coming up with fresh ideas to take us forward. Both have been ably supported by their partners acting as Mayoress and Deputy Mayoress. I have heard every mayor I have known say that they could not have done the job without ...
This story in the Daily Mail reports on This case (Re NL (A child) (Appeal: Interim Care Order: Facts and Reasons) where Pauffley J has looked at the issue of a case in the FPC where the Justices basically rubber stamped a document from the local authority. Another important case is Re C (A Child) where the president of the Queens Bench supports a call for proper procedure to be followed in
Mark Pack reports that the police have been called in amid claims of "fabricated allegations" and a "smear campaign" over Haringey Labour candidate selections. "Water cannon in London would be a 'big mistake,' warns pensioner blinded by them" - David Churchill's report in the Evening Standard. "Remarkably unreported this month ... is that four of private work provider A4e's staff who ripped off the taxpayer and lone parents have pleaded guilty to 30 acts of fraud and forgery." David Hencke has the story. "Just as child porn is used to justify broader porn filters, beheading videos appear to be the ...
Here it is: [IMG: IMG_0458] Sorry, wrong one. This is the new one: [IMG: IMG_0460] Oops. I meant this one. This one's the new one: [IMG: IMG_0464] Wrong again. I meant this one: [IMG: IMG_0461] Okay, last attempt. This is definitely the BRAND NEW poster showing the party's BRAND NEW policy of equidistance: [IMG: lib party 1979] (With thanks to the Bodleian Libraries for allowing me to take the pictures, above, from their political collections archives.)
From the Leicester Mercury: Doctor Who star Colin Baker is to play the lead in a film featuring the discovery of the remains of King Richard III. Finding Richard follows a boy who, on hearing the bones have been found under a Leicester car park, begins his own quest. Helping Gull on this journey is his grandad, himself a dreamer, who sees something of himself in the boy. What Gull finds is not quite what he or his grandad expected.Colin Baker plays the grandfather and the short film will be shot on location in Leicestershire.
I have just listened to the second part of Steve Richards' Radio 4 documentary Nick Clegg: The Liberal Who Came to Power. The press coverage beforehand concentrated on Jeremy Browne's opposition to the idea of selling ourselves as the party of the centre and on Shirley Williams observation that Nick likes to surround himself with young people, not all of whom are particularly competent - Simon Titley's belligerent youths. I agree with both, but Shirley Williams said something else important that the pre-broadcast coverage missed. She said that Nick Clegg has a low opinion of the House of Lords. I ...
I have been receiving complaints about the road surface in the South Tehidy area since my time as a candidate for this ward in 2011. Driving through the area most days, I have been disappointed to see the surface continue to degenerate, with no apparent action taken by either of the two Cornwall Councillors who have represented the area since. A main thoroughfare such as this needs a regular programme of resurfacing and maintenance. In the absence of action by local elected representatives, I will be writing to the Council to take up this issue.
The fifth Gatley Mile for Sport Relief is back, and this year there's a new venue. The event will be at Cheadle Kingsway Sports Club and incorporated with a Family Fun Day. It's on Sunday 23rd March and people can sign up now and get full details at sportrelief.com
This article first appeared on Liberal Democrat Voice I find myself bemused by this report from today's Times (£) which suggests that Liberal Democrats would steer clear of any policies that both the Conservatives or Labour disagreed with in our manifesto for ... Continue reading →
Today I have resigned from the London Regional Executive of the Liberal Democrats over the behaviour of one of its' leading activists, Pete Dollimore. Mr Dollimore's reaction to an email sent this morning by my [...]
I wrote this morning about an article in the Times which suggested that our manifesto would ditch policies that both the Conservatives and Labour disagreed with. Manifesto Working Group Chair David Laws has responded to the Times article with an unequivocal posting on the party's new website. He says: Nothing could be further from the truth. As Chair of the Manifesto Group, I see it as our role to set out a clear Liberal Democrat vision of where we would like to take Britain in the next Parliament - this is why our Manifesto themes paper at the Glasgow conference ...
For some years now, I've been pedalling the idea that 'evidence-based policy', as described by Whitehall, is often a means of avoiding doing anything. Our official standards of evidence are somewhat naive. Because it relies on hard objective evidence in numerical form, which - because the objective numbers are chained to descriptions (anything but objective) - is pretty much impossible to find. Evidence-based policy can so often be the endless search for evidence which will never be forthcoming. A recipe for permanent inaction. This is not to say that we need policy without evidence, of course. But that is another ...
Sherlock may have shown how to make a series with such an in demand cast It certainly should but will it? Despite the show's resilient popularity and fervent fan base, a revival has always seemed unlikely. The practical difficulties of doing so are that most of the cast and crew have moved onto other projects. [...]
Manchester Council should use part of the £14million windfall it received from Airport shares to introduce 20mph limits on Manchester's residential roads say local Lib Dems. Nearly two years ago Chorlton Lib Dem Cllr Victor Chamberlain put forward a successful Council motion calling for 20mph limits on all of Manchester's residential roads. Cllr Chamberlain has now applied to use part of the Council's Clean and Green fund established from the airport dividend to see them rolled out across the city. Cllr Chamberlain said: "20mph limits not only help save lives and prevent road injuries but they also make our roads ...
In the debate about Britain's membership of the EU, we shouldn't forget science. Here, Mike Galsworthy argues that Europe offers clear benefits for science and innovation.
Cllr. Lester Holloway last week described female genital mutilation as "at worst, unacceptable". Today he features prominently on the new Lib Dem website. Sutton Lib Dem councillor Lester Holloway was
Due to delays to securing an Asset Protection Agreement with Network Rail to allow work on the footbridge, repairs are unlikely to take place until August and September 2014. The site was investigated in October 2013 and changes to the proposed designs were requested. These new designs have now been completed, but fabrication of the [...]
Nothing like speedy service: @haringeycouncil @HarringayKJA Resident has just told me that Homes for Haringey say their toppled fence can't be fixed until January 2015!! — Richard Wilson (@richardjswilson) February 17, 2014 Storify by Mark Pack Mon, Feb 17 2014 15:08:54 How Haringey is letting down Noel Park Local MP Lynne Featherstone organised a meeting to discuss local housing issues with residents on the Noel Park estate. Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email [IMG: lfeatherstone] Lynne Featherstone@lfeatherstone At Shropshire hall in Noel park for public meeting ...
See on Scoop.it – London A German pensioner blinded by a water cannon travelled to London for the first time in 50 years to warn introducing them in the capital would be a "big mistake". Chris Richards's insight: I think the state should first prove guilt before enacting punishment, don't you? How many more Ian Tomlinson's are ... Continue reading »
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] Last week saw two principal by-elections. In Kingstanding, Birmingham MBC the Conservatives won a shock 138 majority over Labour in what is traditionally a safe Labour ward (the Conservatives last won it in the 1960s). The Tory candidate was elected on his fifth attempt after a heavily localised campaign concentrating on issues affecting individual streets, reminiscent of how the Liberal Democrats have campaigned over the years. The other parties failed to make an impact. UKIP came third on 7.9%, the Liberal Democrats fourth and National Front last. In Richmondshire an Independent candidate retained Reeth ...
Following research highlighting that almost one in three families spend 30% or more of their available earnings on childcare, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the Welsh Labour government to do more to improve access to affordable, quality childcare. In Wales, parents of 2 to 3 years olds in Flying Start areas are eligible for 2.5 hours a day of free childcare provision, 5 days a week, and a minimum of 10 hours a week of free early years provision for 3 to 4 years olds under the Foundation Phase. In England, the UK Government has introduced 15 free ...
Imagine, just for a moment, you were a computer. Take a look at the following sentence and try to work out where and how you should hyperlink the text. He said "You should visit http://example.com/!" Obvious, isn't it? Except, of course, it's not really that simple. There could well be a file named "!" on the webserver. Infact, there could be file named "!"" on there. And yet, to my tastes, it looks so ugly to write something like: Visit my blog (http://example.com/blog ) The space before the closing parenthesis looks misplaced to me. Without it though, how are we ...
[IMG: lib dem manifesto tax cut] I find myself bemused by this report from today's Times (£) which suggests that Liberal Democrats would steer clear of any policies that both the Conservatives or Labour disagreed with in our manifesto for next year's General Election. The article reports a conversation with a Liberal Democrat source: He conceded that the party was not going to win a majority at the next general election, but said it was vital that it left open the opportunity of working with either of the other two parties. "We need to be equidistant from both the Tories ...
Tue 18th
11:18
Labour hatch 'secret (but very public) plan' to unseat Nick Clegg in 2015′ aren't they cute?
It is a bit like your granddad telling you about his plan for how he's going to woo Katy Perry or your old man talking about how he's still ready and able if Roy Hodgson calls on him for the World Cup squad. We all have dreams and we certainly all have daydreams but the thought of Labour beating the Lib Dems in Nick Clegg's Sheffield Hallam is fanciful at best, at worst it is a waste of resources and a short-term PR exercise. Like most of the new breed of activist, I'm a believer in electoral math, or as ...
The Isles of Sodor had to adjust to nationalisation too As a toddler watching Thomas the Tank Engine, I was blissfully unaware of the intrusions of twentieth century history into this apparently blissful world. However, intrude it did. In the first two books, Sir Topham Hatt was known as 'the Fat Director.' The books author [...]
I have considerable sympathy with Alex Salmond's view that the forces of reaction are using "bully boy" tactics in the debate on Scottish independence. First there was the threat to take Royal Navy shipbuilding orders away from an"independent" Glasgow on the spurious grounds that we couldn't rely on a "foreign country" to supply our defence requirements; then the unanimous declaration by all three major British parties that an independent Scotland would not be able to keep the pound, no ifs, no buts, no discussion; and now a declaration by José Manuel Barroso that it would be "almost impossible" for an ...
One of the neat features of the now-not-so-new Liberal Democrat campaign database, Connect, is that way it lets you use barcodes for quick data entry. Barcodes of course require barcode scanners, which is where this recommended device comes in, the Xett Professional*: [IMG: Xett USB barcode scanner] [IMG: Buy now from Amazon] Available from Amazon and all good barcode shops. * A particularly egregious use of "professional" as almost by definition this product is designed for sale to amateur barcoders. Professional barcoders will, however, be reassured that, unlike some American barcode scanners, it comes with both EAN-8 and EAN-13 compatibility. ...
Cambridge residents fighting to save the leisure centre at the city's Doubletree by Hilton hotel have been given a glimmer of hope. After lobbying by Cambridge City Councillor, Rod Cantrill and objections from residents, planning officers have accepted that a scheme to convert the hotel's existing swimming pool and fitness building into extra bedrooms is contrary to the city's planning policy on leisure facilities. They have asked the Ability Group which runs the hotel in Granta Place, Mill Lane to provide evidence as to why the leisure centre cannot be provided on site. If it fails to do so it ...
As many of you will know, February is LGBT History month. Around the world, events are held that look our collective history in the face and try to reach some kind of understanding about where we've come from. More often than not, these events focus on educating young people about people or events they might not know about. I'm happy to admit that I didn't know much about Harvey Milk's work before the film was produced a few years ago. And that's the issue, if we're to get anywhere, we need to know where we've come from. All of this ...
See on Scoop.it – London Almost everyone knows that the cost of a property in London has increased but by just how much? This Tableau interactive uses land registry data to show how prices have changed in the capital since 1995, broken down by borough Chris Richards's insight: The 'London house price bubble' – the ... Continue reading »
Tue 18th
10:18
Danny Alexander on porn, always wearing the same tie, Scottish independence and Lib Dem achievements...
[IMG: photo] Danny Alexander was in relaxed form on last night's The Agenda programme on ITV. Host Tom Bradby had a bit of a gentle go at him for always wearing the same tie, showing numerous photographs to back up the claim. It was the very tie that Danny had on. He was able to completely disarm Bradby by saying that his 6 year old daughter chose it so he likes to wear it a lot. By far the funniest moment was the look on his face, pictured above, when fellow panellist Germaine Greer was talking about her experience of ...
[IMG: Labour's housing shame]
A You Gov poll yesterday found that of those asked 39% thought the Welsh Labour Government are doing a bad job with education, 24% thought they have a good record did not know. That poll is the first indication that the general public are beginning to recognise whose responsibility this is and how Wales is trailing England and many other countries in outcomes for pupils. Today, as if to back that up, the Western Mail reports that the £100,000 a year position of managing director at the Central South Consortium, which presides over 426 schools and 144,000 pupils - has ...
The Evening Standard reports: [IMG: Labour candidate criticises his party on housing] A Labour parliamentary candidate has attacked his party's record on housebuilding when it was last in government in the Blair-Brown era. Will Martindale, who will stand for Battersea, told a conference: "I think one of the biggest mistakes of the 2010 time was the lack of housing that we built." ... Only 6,330 council houses were completed from 1998 to 2010, against 17,710 in 1990 alone. In 2004 just 130 council homes were built. That echoes what Labour's London housing spokesperson has said too: [IMG: Labour's housing shame] ...
That's what the Liberal Democrats are risking. That, at least, is the view Jeremy Browne expressed on last night's Radio 4 programme about Nick Clegg. Chris Huhne wasn't much more complimentary about the current strategy of trying to situate the party between the two major parties. Huhne felt that defining the party negatively - at least we're not as bad as Labour on the economy or the Conservatives on just about everything else - isn't really a very appetizing message. A more positive case for what the party stands for needs to be made. We could dismiss these views as ...
Brawl over pork pie ruins couple's wedding reception in Bradford - because clearly pie > marriage (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
One of the many horrible injustices faced by people in the throes of a mental health crisis is that, rather than get the medical help they need, they're locked up in a police cell. Norman Lamb and Nick Clegg have been doing something to ensure that these people have better care. A new Crisis Care Concordat between Police, paramedics and health services should deliver important changes: Health-based places of safety and beds are available 24/7 in case someone experiences a mental health crisis Police custody should not be used because mental health services are not available and police vehicles should ...
Note the way the FCC spokesperson completely misses the point about the way they failed to reorganise drivers' rosters:
[IMG: Poll piechart] Anything other than an exit poll in a Parliamentary by-election runs the risk of being undone by a large, late swing of the sort often found in those very sort of contests. So even if a poll is accurate at the time, it can look inaccurate by the time the votes are counted a few days later. Armed with that caveat, it is still useful to look at the trend across the Parliamentary by-elections in this Parliament. Polling is a little sparse, but overall there are enough polls to spot a consistent trend if one exists. And ...
St Albans City and District Council is asking that a decision by Luton Borough Council's Planning Committee related to the expansion of Luton Airport be called in*. St Albans Council has written to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, making a formal request for a call-in. On 20 December 2013 Luton Borough Council Planning Committee granted permission for proposals which would increase capacity and passenger throughput at London Luton Airport. Simon Rowberry, Interim Head of Planning and Building Control at St Albans City and District Council commented: "Luton Airport is severely constrained by its geography ...
