David Cameron has displayed staggering over the last few days by vowing there woudld be no more coalitions. On Monday the Telegraph reported that David Cameron is rather over this
I posted part 1 the other day. This second part introduces the strange concept of Glastonbury as an industrial centre, and there is plenty about the flooding and drainage of the Somerset Levels. The third and final part will appear soon.
Wed 26th
20:59
Lib Dems alternative budget would increase spending on roads and pavements and cancel the Garden Tax
At an Ealing Council meeting last night Liberal Democrats put forward an alternative budget which would have meant an extra £1.6 million would have been spent on roads and paving across the borough, as well as getting rid of the garden tax. Sadly the Ealing Labour Party voted against our fully costed and approved budget it will mean that residents will still have to pay £40 to have their garden waste collected on top of the Council Tax. On the doorstep we are constantly are told that people are sick of having to pay the garden tax. It is a ...
Friday 28th February, 7:30pm, St Luke's Church, Victoria Road, CB4 3DZThe Lib Dem Spring Conference in York is fast approaching, and that means that this Friday the Cambridge Lib Dems will be holding a Pre-Conference Policy Forum. The event is open to all members, whether or not you are coming to York. The event will be held at St Luke's Church, Victoria Road (not pictured above), starting at 7:30pm. The Liberal Democrats are the most democratic of the major parties, reflected in the fact that our policy is set in debates at our conference that all members can participate in. ...
Wed 26th
17:28
Please, Scotland Tonight, don't put us through this Debate Hell again. #indyref #scotnight
I have now given 4 hours of my life to watching the Scotland Tonight referendum debates. And probably twice that moaning about how useless they are. Mike Moore, Anas Sarwar, Alistair Carmichael and Johann Lamont have all now come up ... Continue reading →
[IMG: A Liberal Youth training session] Part 2 of my quick guide to Conference features the training programme that's on offer on Saturday. You can read Part 1 on the debates here. The biggest problem with Conference is that there simply isn't enough time to do everything you want. There aren't enough hours in the day, even if you dispense with sleeping to catch up with friends and go to all the debates and fine meetings and training sessions you want. That's not just because many of the things you want to go to will be on at the same ...
The storms seem to be abating and spring is in the air. Here at the ALDC office, we've chosen two things to do right now in order to stand the best chance in May. 1: CONTACT, CONTACT, CONTACT You need to call on all of your supporters as often as possible to maximise their turnout. [...]
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and David Rimmer, together with FOCUS Editor Jo Barton, are holding their next advice centre in Churchtown. We will be at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) from 10:30 to 11:30 am on Thursday 27th February. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Crossens, at St John's School, Rufford Road, Crossens every month (except August) on the second Saturday ...
This DCMS administered fund has been running for some years but as a result of a Liberal Democrat initiative, real practical and financial support is now available through party sources to promote more council candidates with disabilities with mentoring support and real money grants (approved by the Electoral Commission as not encroaching on election expenses rules) to help [...]
I was in a queue in the Halifax this morning and I overheard a conversation in which a couple of customers were told that their transaction would take three working days. They shouldn't count today at all (that would be unthinkable was the non-verbal communication) and don't count weekends. I think they were suitably admonished for not knowing a simple axiom of banking. It should have been self-evident that banks will take your money, do nothing with it till next week and then spring into action and move it to where you want it. The reason that I was in ...
I got so cross with the internet campaigners 38 Degrees over the Lobbying Bill, for their half-truths and infuriating ability to concentrate useful political energy on a chimera. But they were right that the Lobbying Bill was much less than perfect, and particularly in its failure to tackle the funding of political parties. In fact, it is hard to see how restricting money that goes into electoral campaigning will make any difference when there is the loophole, shouting at the top of its voice. Any passing billionaire who wants to impose his views on UK elections only has to fund ...
Edward McMillan Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament with responsibility for human rights and democracy has been writing about how David Cameron's European policy has enabled Russia's President Putin to develop his strategy for a Eurasian Union based on illiberal and anti-democratic values. He opens by outlining the problems faced by Angela Merkel with the rise of the eurosceptic right wing AFD: Events in Ukraine may still overshadow Thursday's trip to London by Angela Merkel, during which David Cameron will seek her support for EU reform. She will not be pleased that Cameron has allowed his Eurosceptics to continue ...
This week I have taken the very unusual step of asking for two independent enquiries into activities of Liverpool City Council. The cases are related and refer to the tangled web of relationships which surround the Liverpool/Liverpool Direct Ltd/Lancashire/One Call ... Continue reading →
Yesterday, Cornwall Council formally agreed its budget for the coming year. The key decisions were taken back in November but the rules state that a vote must also be taken in late January or February each year after the formal local government settlement is announced. Thanks to the superb work of our finance officers, the provisional figures were only £12,000 out - only 0.001% of the overall budget - meaning that we did not have to make time consuming and costly changes to the plans already agreed. But, once again, there was barely a peep from the council's Conservative group. ...
The population of Ukraine has dropped by 6 million since the fall of Ukraine. Why does nobody in the media mention this? The world is currently very focused on the hunt for one missing Ukrainian: former president Viktor Yanukovych. However, I wonder if when historians look back on recent events they might attach greater significance [...]
One of the most common things we hear at ALDC is that what we say is OK for those with large local parties but it wouldn't work here with the resources we have. But each individual area needs to plan a campaign that maps out their individual road to success. Much of this is not [...]
David Boyle introduces his new report on payday loan companies and their effect on the local economy for Liberal Democrat Voice. The comments are entertaining too. "The problem is that a regime characterized by increasingly draconian job search requirements and increasingly punitive sanctions is denying people access to the support needed to keep them from destitution." Alex Marsh writes on Medium about David Cameron and the bishops' argument over welfare policy. Property prices and rents in London are causing more people to try living on a boat on the Thames. It is not as pleasant as it sounds, says Sam ...
Chris Moncrieff reports [An unsettling result as PM shrugs it off Blackpool Gazette 18th February] that the Leader if UKIP, Nigel Farage, ' - - has pointed out , only three weeks ago his party had no presence whatsoever in this constituency [Wythenshawe & Sale East] and had never fought it'. It should come as no surprise that Farage is either ignorant of the facts or economical with truth or both. At the General Election in 2010 Chris Cassidy stood in this seat for UKIP & polled 1405 votes. What can really be deduced from this result? The one unarguable ...
ALDC is aiming to put together some drop-in artwork for our members to use. This artwork will be based on your stories of how Liberal Democrat policies have helped make a difference to our lives. As a party we do a great job of explaining the facts and figures around our successes, but we are [...]
Nothing in Sochi did more to honour and advance the Olympic ideals than the worldwide fight for equality unleashed by Russia's infamous homophobic law. My post-Olympic analysis in the Toronto Star.
[IMG: Jo Swinson Opening Glasgow Conference] In just 9 days' time, Liberal Democrats will gather in York for Spring Conference. If you haven't been to Conference before, Spring Conference is smaller and shorter than the main event in Autumn, but it's no less intense and interesting. I thought I'd take a wee look around what will be happening next weekend in terms of debates, fringe and training. But let's get one thing out of the way first. When the agenda first came out, I had a bit of a wail on Twitter. If there is one thing I don't want ...
Valve have announced the availability of Portal 2 beta for Linux! It's exciting to see such a fantastic game coming to the platform. Luckily, some developers can get it for free :) Interestingly, there's also a public bug tracker, which also hosts the public bug tracker for a number of their linux engagements, and also quite a bit of code for things like voglperf, steam-runtime, halflife and the source-sdk. Additionally, Valve's logo also now appears as a gold sponsor for DebConf14, in Portland. A huge thanks I think to Valve for putting in the effort!
One of the most popular blog posts I have written is called "I Don't Want To Be Part of Your Fucking Ecosystem". In it, I rant against service providers trying to lock their customers into a monoculture. Companies are always looking for the edge which will make them stand out - they think that restricting what their users can do is the answer. It is not. Openness and network effects are the biggest drivers of usage - an MP3 bought from Amazon works on an iPod bought from Apple, and an MP3 bought from iTunes works perfectly on a Kindle ...
There will be a coffee morning in support of McMillan on 12th March. It will be open between 10 am and 2 pm, at Blyth Community Enterprise Centre on Blyth Quayside It is hoped that there will be someone from Neals Yard Remedies will also be there sellng their organic products See you there .....?
With the new multi-storey car park open by Stockport Station, Stockport Exchange (formerly Grand Central) is set to change beyond recognition over the next couple of years with a new public square, hotel and Grade A offices. Here's the brochure
Three interesting and promising figures from committee reports to the forthcoming Liberal Democrat spring conference: Overall Lib Dem party membership rose by 950 in the 2013 calendar year, ending the year on 43,451. The federal party budget was for a £2,000 surplus in 2013. It has come out at £480,000. 38% of Westminster Parliamentary candidates selected in strategic (i.e. target) seats, excluding held seats, are female, compared to 27% of approved candidates overall being female. (Plus the situation in held seats where MPs are retiring is rather promising.)
Julian Huppert MP has written over at the Party's shiny new website about moves he has made to ensure that child detention has gone for good. One of the very first things the Coalition did, at the instigation of the Liberal Democrats, was to change policy so that children were not detained in horrible places like Yarl's Wood and Dungavel for immigration purposes. That has now been put on a statutory footing, again thanks to the Liberal Democrats: Working closely with Norman Baker in the Home Office I was able to secure a commitment from the Home Secretary that the ...
Gosh, this is complex. I had forgotten that the Devolved Administrations have powers that are impacted by this legislation, and in Wales, the list is as follows;Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (Wales) Regulations 1998Care Homes (Wales) Regulations 2002Registration of Social Care and Independent Health Care (Wales) Regulations 2002Leasehold Valuation Tribunals (Fees) (Wales) Regulations 2004Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2004Adult Placement Schemes (Wales) Regulations 2004Selective Licensing of Houses (Specified Exemptions) (Wales) Order 2006Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010Residential Property Tribunal Procedures and Fees (Wales) Regulations 2012
Now I am feeling a little better, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kindness during my recent illness. I am making slow but steady progress, having been discharged from hospital just over a week ago. It'll be a bit of time until I am well enough to return to full duties but arrangements are in place to ensure all constituents' issues and queries can be progressed and assisted with as normal. I am very grateful to the excellent members' support staff at the council who are ensuring that service to all constituents continues as ...
The farce that is the Department of Work and Pension took centre stage again yesterday when civil servants and Ministers took the decision to stop outsourcing company Atos from carrying out repeat assessments on people currently claiming work-related disability benefits without telling anybody. An internal memorandum told the department's staff to leave all current employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants on their benefit, without repeat medical checks, until another company can be found to do work capability assessments (WCAs). However, 'as this is an operational decision and not a policy decision, MPs and claimants do not need to be told'. ...
Wed 26th
09:29Nationalist outrage as Labour's Lamont says "We are not genetically programmed in Scotland to make p...
Social media has come alive with nationalists expressing outrage at a comment made by Johann Lamont in last night's Scotland Tonight Referendum debate. The first of these debates got 190,000 viewers in May last year so if we assume the ... Continue reading →
Some fresh tabloids from Portsmouth. Different versions target for different areas depending on the opposition. The targeting goes down to polling district. Labour facing stories: Front page - Fight for jobs and services Inner pages - Special Report -Helping local families – Surestart and pupil premium, Community Toilet scheme, Jobs at Portsmouth Port, Cost of living box, Pyramid Centre, Ukip talk Portsmouth [...]
This morning's Western Mail contains criticism by Welsh language campaigners of the First Minister's use of Welsh. Cymdeithas yr Iaith have revealed that none of 198 emails written by the First Minister in a two-week period in October were in Welsh despite an exhortation by him that Welsh speakers should endeavour to produce five e-mails in Welsh each day so as to encourage the everyday use of the language: Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Robin Farrar said: "The First Minister should be very embarrassed he isn't taking part in his own campaign. His credibility is in tatters. "As a group, ...
Our Headline of the Day Award goes to the Lancashire Telegraph.
Lib Dem proposals win cross party support at Calderdale budget meeting Nice to see grown up consensual politics on my patch (tags: ) 'Dredd 2' Update: Karl Urban Says 'Conversations' Are Happening fingers crossed for this one (tags: ) Is failure to promote the wearing of cycle helmets "irresponsible"? | Richard P Grant | Science | theguardian.com (tags: ) Calderdale Hospital A&E recommended for closure under trust plans - Oh Dear. (tags: ) Public Meeting to discuss the future of the Pellon Network Centre tonight - do go if you can (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
In his regular Conservative Home column, Liberal Democrat Voice co-editor Stephen Tall looked at the rationale behind two things that Nick Clegg had done last week, the debate challenge to Farage and his comments on Steve Richards' programme which were interpreted as showing willing for a coalition with Labour. So what does Stephen think it's all about. Firstly, about getting the best deal in 2015 if there's another hung Parliament: In part, he's preparing the ground for what may be. In part, he's reaching out to those 2010 Lib Dem voters who've peeled off to Labour. And in part, he's ...
Predictions for what is about to happen to the economic system, or even more narrowly the financial system, are notoriously unreliable, as shown by this newspaper front page from just before the US stock market plunged again in 1929: [IMG: New York Daily fails to predict the stock market crash of 1929] I took that photo at the Museum of American Finance, which also has a hard copy of the Dodds Frank financial reform act. Even excluding the regulations made subsequent to it, the act is hardly short – illustrating by weight of paper the problem of financial regulations not ...
I adore going to the cinema. I love the whole thing. All the way from the anticipation of going, watching the trailers to the credits and chatting about what you've seen. For some time I've been encouraging cinema companies to consider East Dulwich. We recently had three chains consider East Dulwich and previously I'd even approached a real independent cinema Bermondsey Shortwave. Finally the long awaited cinema company who have agreed, subject to planning permission, to open a cinema in East Dulwich on Lordship Lane is Picturehouse Cinemas – the people who run the Brixton Ritzy. Next week they have ...
The University of Cambridge's investment in creating a strong sense of place at the North West Cambridge Development reached a milestone today as proposals for the local centre and landscaping along the Western Edge of the site were approved by the local planning authorities. Significant amounts of landscaped green open space along the Western Edge, adjacent to the M11, will see extensive planting, pathways and a series of swales and lagoons integrated to create a soft landscape as an amenity for the public to enjoy. The Western Edge, designed by Aecom, will be the repository for rainwater in the local ...
I have just seen the BBC's political battlefield for 2015. This isn't news but it does go a long way in explaining our political apathy. Take a look at the map of the seats in which there is a majority of 10% or less and this is where the country will decide the fate of the next Government. Now take a look at all the constituencies that are not coloured in on the map, and this is where you will get an MP of the same colour that you have always had. No wonder members of the public will tell ...
Today, Nick Clegg has laid out our record on higher education.It's a record that demonstrates that we are committed to helping everyone to get on in life, whether that's through university, apprenticeships, or work. And it's a record that shows that the difficult decisions we made back in 2010 are having a positive effect on those students we most need to encourage into university.I know that tuition fees have been hard to discuss on the doorstep. We have expressed regret that it was not possible to deliver in office a commitment made in opposition. But we have, in government, created ...
