Maybe I didn't get the memo, but this is news to me. It is revealed, amongst many better known family relationships, in a Daily Mail article. For the benefit of my younger readers, who will know that Nandy is the Labour MP for Wigan, I had better point out that Frank Byers was the Liberal MP for North Dorset between 1945 and 1950. As Lord Byers he remained an influential figure in the party until his death in 1984. Anyway, this is a clear winner of Trivial Fact of the Day.
Another monument in the city's Welford Road cemetery.
Interviewed by the Huffington Post, Lorely Burt scoffs at the idea that she lost the Liberal Democrat deputy leadership election because her fellow MPs saw her as Nick Clegg's candidate. But I wonder. As the Post explains, her defeat by Sir Malcolm Bruce was a bit of a mystery: At the end of January Lib Dems chose veteran parliamentarian Sir Malcolm Bruce to replace Simon Hughes. The decision caught many observers off guard. The result was also not one Burt saw coming. "Yeah. I was surprised," she freely admits. ... "Malcolm came into the race quite late, so there was ...
This recovery would not be happening without the Liberal Democrats. Our economy is growing because of the hard work of people and businesses throughout Britain. The Coalition's economic plan is the rock on which our recovery is being built. Three and a half years in, and the Coalition's priority is still the same: fixing the economy and cleaning up the mess Labour left behind. That task has never been simply about balancing the books. We inherited an economy that had become profoundly unbalanced. Growth was driven almost entirely by one industry: financial services. Almost exclusively from one city: London. And ...
If you are into spring cleaning, approaching end of winter tidying etc you might like to have a good cause to give your old clothes, unneeded bric-a-brac etc , out grown toys to. Here is your chance! I can collect if necessary (email to arrange) up to the day before, but if possible please bring on the morning, before 11.30. If anyone is free to help and/or buy you would be very welcome too. Hope to hear from you!
That's the view over at Labour Uncut, where editor Atul Hatwal reckons Labour is scaling back its key seat targeting strategy to an extent which means that – even if it works – Ed Miliband will only be able to govern with the backing of the Lib Dems. ... it is the scale of reprioritisation which effectively means Labour has abandoned thoughts of governing alone and is now aiming for coalition with Lib Dems. Labour's struggle in the south in particular is crippling the party's ability to push for a clear majority. ... One seasoned campaign professional with knowledge of ...
[IMG: Lib Dem website] Yes. Oh, ok. The longer answer... All five of the previous incarnations of the Liberal Democrat website have involved largely bespoke technology, with the code either specific for the Liberal Democrats or at least specific to that website supplier and their clients. Looking back on the two occasions where, working at party HQ, this was in effect was my decision, that still seems right given the range of options, suppliers and costs then available. However, the world has moved on since then, and now using off-the-shelf packages as the core of a website is common practice, ...
Wed 19th
18:24
Graham Watson MEP writes: The time has come for the EU to take decisive action over Ukraine
The past twenty four hours has seen the situation in Ukraine escalate from serious to critical. We are only now seeing the true extent of the clashes between police and anti-government protestors, with the number of fatalities standing at 26 but set to rise as the violence continues. What is clear is that last night's attack on protestors by the police was at the direct order of the Ukrainian government. While the government claimed it was simply aiming to restore law and order, the underlying motive was for President Yanukovych to reassert his legitimacy. As far as I am concerned, ...
Last week the Federation of Small Businesses launched its European Elections manifesto in Brussels and this evening I will be taking part in a panel discussion organised by the FSB at University College London (UCL). Here's what the FSB Europe Team has to say, in brief: MEPs must be the voice of small businesses by [...]
A source close to the Debian Project has informed me that the project will break from it's long running tradition of Pixar codenames for their releases. Going further than this, in what is surely a contentious move, the project will also use multi-worded code names. This is as they feel jealous of the extra exposure that Ubuntu and Fedora have with double barrelled release names. Thus, the next version of Debian will actually be called Debian 8dot0 "phoronoix-will-believe-anything". For those without a satirical radar, this may all be a complete lie
As a native of the peaceable Highland capital, I was quite shocked to see the words "police horses" and "Inverness" in the same sentence. Why on earth would there be any need to employ such an expensive resource, normally associated ... Continue reading →
The Edge in Chorlton, runs JUMP, an Arts Club for unemployed people and people on a low income. The courses are designed to build self-confidence and emotional well-being, as being a step towards finding work. Funded by Manchester City Council and the Skills Funding Agency, they are keen to get the information out so as many people as possible can take advantage of these courses, all run by professional practitioners. Courses include: Singing for Fun, Painting & Drawing and Writing for Theatre. Singing for Fun is run by The Edge's Musical Director Simon Waters. This ten-week course is designed to ...
So a few episodes of Star Trek ago, Becca asked me: "Have you caught up on Elementary yet?" and I said "NO! But I know the most recent episode involves DINOSAURS." And she said "I WANT TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN YOU DO SEE IT." So there resulted an email "chain" that was really just me emailing her every five minutes while she was asleep, but then she work up and said "You should post this email chain so the whole internet can read it!" This isn't that post. But this post DOES contain SPOILERS for the episode called Dead ...
I remember vividly when I first became interested in psychology. It was 1985 and I was a final year computer science undergraduate. One of the modules I took covered artificial intelligence and expert systems. The module was aimed at two distinct audiences – people like me, who'd spent the previous two and a half years being taught the fundamentals of programming, computational theory, electronics and robotics and MSc psychology students who'd spent their academic careers studying ... well, I had absolutely no idea what they'd been studying if I'm honest. At the end of the first lecture, with all the ...
[IMG: Sandgate Beach replenishment works (heavy plant moving shingle)] Work on coastal flooding protection has started following the winter storms which have tested the sea defences of Folkestone and Hythe beaches. Heavy plant and machinery has been brought in to move some 180,000 tonnes of shingle between Folkestone coastal park and Fisherman's Beach at Hythe. Shepway council engineers say the beach was damaged by the loss of shingle following the battering of wind and waves in the storms but the sea defences did their job. Over the next two months, the council has arranged for local contractors to restore the ...
Wed 19th
15:25
Watch and laugh: Clarke and Dawe - A Broad Understanding of Australia in Its Many Aspects
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe: You can also watch this on YouTube.
[IMG: Sandgate Farmers Market logo] Tomorrow! Sandgate Craft Club at Sandgate Library. From 10am - 12noon. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Opening tomorrow and running to Saturday 22nd: Miss Saigon at The Tower Theatre, Shorncliffe. Phone Box Office on 01303 223925. Monday 24th Feb, 11am - 12noon: PCSO Lis Jepsen's surgery at Sandgate Library. Saturday 1st March, 10am - 12.30: Sandgate Farmers' Market at Chichester Hall, Sandgate. SANDGATE IS ALSO ON FACEBOOK! Have a look via this link: https://www.facebook.com/SunnySandgateKent Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 ...
Today's Times highlights a new faux row within the Liberal Democrats which goes to the heart of the way that Nick Clegg has sought to reposition the party as a one of government. The problem last time of course was the manifesto. It was not properly costed but more importantly key proposals did not have the wholehearted support of senior members of the party. As a result we got the tuition fees fiasco. The least said about that the better, but if we are to learn lessons then we have to get the manifesto right next time. Acccording to the ...
As a native of the peaceable Highland capital, I was quite shocked to see the words "police horses" and "Inverness" in the same sentence. Why on earth would there be any need to employ such an expensive resource, normally associated with serious trouble? It's not as if they were even taken from a stable down the road. The animals were transported 200 miles from Ayrshire for a pre-Christmas show of police strength. They were even used to police the Inverness Caledonian Thistle game on the Saturday afternoon. I cannot imagine, as someone who goes to Caley games when I can, ...
Just seen the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite the presence of Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt, I can't say I'm that impressed. I mean a film in which the lead characters include a racoon and a tree. That just looks dumb! At least it won't be crossing over with the Avengers.Filed under: [...]
[IMG: Electronic voting in Parliament - article by Mark Pack in Ad Lib] The latest edition of the Liberal Democrat magazine Ad Lib contains this from me arguing against the introduction of electronic voting to the Westminster Parliament: Technology isn't just about making things easier. For once something is made easier, it's often rapidly followed by changes to make it harder in order to protect us from mistakes, misdemeanours and rushes to judgement. Hence the reminder prompts, confirmation questions, warning signs and extra security hoops we encounter all the time. So although electronic voting would make voting easier in Parliament, ...
Wed 19th
13:44
Really proud of my Council Group - @battyejanet @jamesdbaker1 @Pauline_Nash11 @SocPol_AE & other...
It's not often you'll see me post to my blog officially in my capacity as chair of the local Lib Dems - mostly because I know it's not something that most of my readership is interested in - but today I'm making an exception to that. First, a little background. Calderdale council is currently run under a cabinet system by a minority Labour administration. There has been frustration among all the OTHER councillors (Lib Dem, Tory and Independent alike) about the levels of secrecy and lack of transparency this entails for some time. This has recently come to a head ...
Lorely Burt has given an interview to the Huffington Post. The lengthy report is dominated with discussion of the Liberal Democrats' attitude towards women in the wake of her defeat by Malcolm Bruce in the Deputy Leadership election. She said that the party was desperately trying toe how that it was welcoming to women: At the last general election we had women in 40% of our most winnable seats," Burt explains. "We just didn't win them." Which is a bit of a problem. "At the next election there are eight Lib Dems who are standing down, of those six selections ...
Today's labour market figures are, it must be said, pretty encouraging. They're not 'great', because having more than two million unemployed scars the lives of those individuals who are out of work, and I'm not one of those who do triumphalism. However, they augur well for continued economic recovery, for closing the budget deficit, and for spreading the benefits of both so that as many of us as possible benefit. We are particularly lucky here in Mid Suffolk, in that unemployment is half that of the United Kingdom as a whole, 4% as opposed to 7.7% at the end of ...
George Lakoff: 'Conservatives don't follow the polls, they want to change them ... Liberals do everything wrong' – Interesting perspective from a psychologist, which is in line with some of the comments Drew Westen made in The Political Brain. Remarks on climate change – A speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry, where he appears to be committing the US to action. Of wind farms, birds and global warming – Guess what's mozt hazardous to birds: wind turbines or habitat destruction from climate change? Recent developments in the United States vividly illustrate inequality's threat to democracy – from Democratic ...
Wed 19th
12:23
Two things about #indyref that haven't made me want to punch a pillow or hide under the duvet
It's not been a great week in the Scottish independence referendum. The Codswallop Quotient has gone through the roof since word got out last Tuesday night about George Osborne's plan to rule out a currency union with an independent Scotland. ... Continue reading →
Only the Liberal Democrats can be trusted to anchor Britain in the centre ground by building a stronger economy and a fairer society, enabling every person to get on in life. That's why in Government the Liberal Democrats have fixed the mess left by Gordon Brown's Labour Party by reduced the deficit by a third, keeping interest rates low, and creating over a million jobs. In addition Liberal Democrats have eased the squeeze on household budgets by cutting income tax by £700 for 24m people, giving every 5, 6 and 7 year old a free school meal daily, giving 15 ...
Figures released today show that the rate of employment has grown with over 7,000 more people in work across Wales. The Economy is picking up and along with a rise in wages people are beginning to feeling it, employment figures are on the up and the number of people claiming unemployment benefit is on the way down, but there is still work to be done. The Welsh Government must redouble it's efforts to tackle youth unemployment and press ahead with job creation around Wales' Enterprise Zones. We want to see Welsh businesses thrive and have the confidence to take on ...
The new electoral registers were published on Monday 17th Feb. The process for getting them onto Connect is already in progress with the first batch ready to roll over in Connect on Monday 24th. Check which batch you are in. Many target wards in England will be in the first batch. That means that, for [...]
In January, it was revealed that there was a loophole in the Government's welfare reforms. The loophole relates to those people claiming Housing Benefit whilst in the same property for at least the past 17 years. The government have indicated they will reverse this loophole as soon as possible. Reports suggest legislation will be brought forward in March. I would call on the government to hold on closing this loophole until the independent review, ordered by Nick Clegg, has reported back on the implications of the spare bedroom subsidy. I base this on my own experiences. Although I lost my ...
As Ed Maxfield and I wrote about political campaigning photos in 101 Ways To Win An Election, "Numerous photographs have triggered the reaction 'Who is that blob in the distance?' However close a photographer is, they can always take an extra step forward". Our point was that you don't want a photo in which your campaigners look like small lonely souls in the distance. Get in close and show the voters who they are and what they're doing. But as with all rules, there are the exceptions. The massively flooded paths in several Haringey parks have demonstrated the power of ...
Wed 19th
10:29Times reports Lib Dem "infighting" but misses out David Laws' dismissal of their "highly misleading"...
Yesterday, the Times reported that the Liberal Democrat leadership were preparing to ditch policies from our manifesto which wouldn't get agreement from either the Conservative or Labour parties. I wrote of the dangers of such a move, arguing that our manifesto needed ... Continue reading →
Apparently without anyone noticing the Government's has just published its response to the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee's recent report House of Lords Reform: What Next? The report effectively gave cross-party endorsement for making a little progress with 'tidying-up' the Lords, pending more wide ranging reform. A Private Member's Bill, which could give effect to the small changes suggested, is presently going through the House of Commons. If passed in both Houses, it would permit Peers to resign from the House, and it would evict those who either never turn-up or who have been imprisoned for a year or ...
Years ago, my friend Iain King cast my horoscope in return for an omelette. "Yes, I see this in a lot of Lib Dem charts," he said. "I think it means unreasonable optimism." Which is a way of explaining that I've always been optimistic. I don't feel comfortable as Cassandra. I don't believe in disaster. I certainly don't believe in extrapolating disastrous trends. Yet really, sometimes, the middle classes could try Cassandra's patience. There they are in the UK, staring oblivion in the face in less than a generation, happily shelling out for their indentured servitude by mortgage, and taking ...
National Apprenticeship Weeks take place across England and Wales from 3rd-7th March and in Scotland from 19th-23rd May. This gives local Lib Dem campaigners a great opportunity to promote the growth in Apprenticeships - one of the real achievements of the Lib Dems in Government - and to make sure we are associated with this [...]
Wed 19th
09:55It is in the event of a balanced Parliament that compromises shall be made — not before
[IMG: Times letter] I'm one of the signatories on a letter in The Times today: Sir, At a time when political leadership and vision are in short supply, to present a manifesto devoid of either, as you report some Liberal Democrats as planning ("Lib Dems axe pledges for coalition deal", Feb 18) would be an act of folly. Thankfully, the democratic nature of the Liberal Democrats means that our elected Federal Policy Committee has the final say over what goes in the manifesto. It is in the event of a balanced Parliament that compromises shall be made — not before. ...
Wed 19th
09:52Times reports Lib Dem "infighting" but misses out David Laws' dismissal of their "highly misleading"...
Yesterday, the Times reported that the Liberal Democrat leadership were preparing to ditch policies from our manifesto which wouldn't get agreement from either the Conservative or Labour parties. I wrote of the dangers of such a move, arguing that our manifesto needed to be brimming with liberalism. David Laws, who chairs the manifesto group, wrote on the party website that the Times story was highly misleading. The latest example of this is the highly misleading article on the front page of today's Times (18 February) under the headlines 'Lib Dems Axe pledges for coalition deal' and 'Lib Dems seeking policies ...
See on Scoop.it – London The Thames Barrier is being closed with increasing frequency to protect central London and at-risk areas upriver. Now, some experts are asking if it is still fit for purpose Chris Richards's insight: "Since the beginning of this year(!), the Thames Barrier has closed an unprecedented 40 times - close to ... Continue reading »
Wed 19th
09:00
18 posters in which the Conservatives promise to build more houses. The last one appeared in 1979
The Conservative Party: the party of house-building. Really. Don't believe me? It's true. They used to talk about little else. Of course you have to go back a little way... Here we are in 1950, the year before the Conservatives began 13 years of continuous rule... [IMG: con house poster 1950] A one-off? Nope. Here's 1951... [IMG: con house poster 1951] By the time it got to 1954, one poster just wasn't enough... [IMG: con house poster 1954] So they did a second... [IMG: con house poster 1954 - 2] Then a third... [IMG: con house poster 1954 - 3] ...
Claire Halliwell and the Cheadle constituency have put together this letter and insert to reconfirm old poster sites. Many of our targets this year are defences. You should ahve logged old posters sites into the system. Extract a file and mail merge into the covering letter and double deliver, or simply post. NB remember to pull [...]
The best bit of the new LibDem website - read the url (click on the photo too) (tags: ) The Times, "Coalition Deals", and Our Manifesto - David Laws puts a rocket up the Times (tags: ) Money makes people right-wing and inegalitarian (unsurprising but it's nice to have evidence) (tags: ) New Lib Dem website MP profiles page is comedy gold You can totally see who hates having their photo taken. And I LOLed at the "this MP didn't turn up to the photoshoot" selections. And I love Lynne. But you all knew that anyway, right? (tags: ) [IMG: ...
Wed 19th
08:56Two things about the independence referendum that haven't made me want to punch a pillow or hide und...
It's not been a great week in the Scottish independence referendum. The Codswallop Quotient has gone through the roof since word got out last Tuesday night about George Osborne's plan to rule out a currency union with an independent Scotland. If the CQ has a similar effect on the human body as the pollen count, there will be lots of people sneezing across the country this week. It was a huge gamble on Osborne's part and it will be a while before we know whether it's paid off. I'm still not getting any sense that it's doing any more than ...
Members of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee – together with Social Liberal Form Council members – have written to the Times reasserting the party's democratic and independent manifesto process. This letter is reproduced here in full (the letter and...Read more ›
