Rather than writing a big introduction arguing that Nick Clegg won the EU debate this evening, I'm just going to do an *insert debate about the debate here*. For me, we could argue until we're blue in the face about whether Nick or Nigel won, but realistically I'm a LibDem and it's probably clear who I'd support. The issue for me is wider than that. The issue for me is about who is likely to be Prime Minister after the General Election in May next year. Whilst I'm not a betting man, I'd bet that the man stepping onto the ...
Atmospheric film from 1959 of two Birmingham branch lines that, even then, had long since lost their regular passenger service. Both were closed not long after this film was made. Wikipedia has good pages on both the Harborne Railway and the Halesowen Railway. The latter included the extraordinary Dowery Dell viaduct - that link will take you to a video of it in an earlier post on this blog.
Nigel Farage just showed his true colours. In the first European debate with Nick Clegg he attacked gay marriage, dismissed the 3 million British jobs that depend on Europe and admitted that he had simply made up his claim that 75% of our laws come from the EU. Only the Liberal Democrats are prepared to fight for our place in Europe and protect those jobs. If we're going to win this fight, we need your help. Will you join today and help us fight back against UKIP? As Nick said, we believe in Great Britain, not little England. By joining ...
The Harborough Mail reports the resignation from the ruling Conservative group on Harborough District Council of Colin Golding. He is the member for Broughton Astley's Broughton ward. The paper has his resignation statement: "I wish to make public the fact that I have withdrawn with immediate effect from Harborough District Council Conservative Group and for the remainder of the current council term intend to sit as an independent member representing Broughton Astley (Broughton ward). "I regret that my personal standards and those of certain members of the current Conservative administration do not align and I cannot compromise my principles by ...
What the tragedy of MH370 has revealed about our global society...The unexplained disappearance of flight MH370 continues to perplex the global community. The flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China, vanished from radar on the 8th March 2014. 18 days later and search teams have pinpointed a crash zone in the South Indian Ocean but the journey to this conclusion has been confused and chaotic. I'd like to consider some of the developments of the search for MH370 and what it has revealed about our global community. I have included some twitter posts in italics because I think the ...
This was Mr Angry v Mr Reasonable. Nick Clegg started with one advantage – he's a veteran of leaders' debates – and one big disadvantage – his pro-Europeanism is unfashionable. Tonight, though, the Clegg of 2010 was back on show. He looked directly down the camera lens at the viewer, hand nonchalently in pocket, first-named the questioners. It was (and yes, I would say this wouldn't I but it doesn't make it any less true) a class act from Nick. His crisp opening statement framed the key point we wanted to make: staying in Europe is about jobs, jobs, jobs. ...
Tony Robertson, a Liberal Democrat councillor from Sefton, says we are all poorly served by the current low standard of political debate. I often wonder how many politicians of genuine independent thinking may be left as year on year their all-controlling political masters churn out and then demand that silly sound bites are used during every media interview or are placed within every press release. 'The squeezed middle' comes to mind as a present favourite but there others which are just as meaningless. Ed Miliband, poor chap, seems to be fed a diet of them and looks so wooden as ...
I agree with Nick – Britain is better off IN Europe #NickvNigel #iagreewithNick http://t.co/kuHs8FZuN8 http://t.co/XO5giwtQgc — Mark Pack (@markpack) March 26, 2014
The art exhibitions at Vernon Mill Studios are always great – there's so much to see and so many talented artists. For the first time, the studios are putting on a Spring exhibition over the weekend of 4th-6th April 2014 – if you can get long, I'd thoroughly recommend it. [IMG: vernon mill]
In just over half an hour, the #NickvNigel debate will be on. There have been many amusing tweets throughout the day. Here are some of the best: No hyperbole here as The Times anticipates #NickVNigel > "This is Godzilla versus King Kong." http://t.co/K7KCz4ve7b — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) March 26, 2014
"Putin is on the wrong side of history" - Obama(See: I think if anything, history is laughing at both sides and the entangled, aggressive mess, driven by pride that constitutes the U.S. and Russia's relations and epitomises humanity's flawed perception of existence. To claim that history is on anybody's side shows a foolish and dangerous accumulation of ego. History shows us that nobody can truly master the future; every rise is followed by a fall and all 'greatness' is relative to a time and a place. Far too often, swept away by the confident moment of our existence, we ...
London Bridge is ungoing many years of beung rebuilt to enable Network Rail to serve long distance commuters better. Long distance commuters are more profitable and they spend more at concessions. It has already seen the South London Line closed to make way for the rebuild and seen no increase in other rail services to Southwark rail stations. To add insult to injury while the building works go on the services have become so unreliable that British Transport Police have had to deploy a visible presence during rush hours: [IMG: Police at London Bridge] Next week the new platform 14 ...
It's just over an hour to go until Nick Clegg takes on Nigel Farage to debate whether Britain should be in or out of the EU. Here's where you can watch: It's being streamed on both the Liberal Democrats' website or over at LBC If you have Sky News, you can watch the build up, debate and aftermath from 6pm. LBC at one point today had their own drinking game. They did warn that you should do it with ginger beer, but someone obviously thought better of it. [IMG: LBC Drinking Game] [IMG: LBC Drinking Game text] A few hours ...
It is with great sadness that ALDC reports the passing of Alderman William Borrow of Preston, known to friends and colleagues as Bill, on Sunday 23rd March. Bill Borrow joined the Liberal Party in 1945 and remained a member for the rest of his life. His distinguished record of party and public service began during [...]
I popped into The Atkinson today after being alerted that they had new stock. The information/ticket office doubles as Tourist Information and they have always had old railway posters and other Southport memorabilia. It was good to see they had lots of postcards, mugs etc of some of the art works in the gallery -pride of place was clearly given to Lilith by John Collier. What caught my eye was a black and white notelet of a Prime Ministerial visit to Southport allegedly in 1910. I am just re-reading Roy Jenkin's biography of Asquith( the Prime Minister he 'truly loved' ...
Wed 26th
16:10
#NickvNigel: Charles Kennedy: I couldn't get the Liberal Democrats to fight a pro-European campaign
[IMG: Charles Kennedy] This morning, Charles Kennedy went on the Today programme to talk about tonight's debate. There was just a trace of frustration in his voice as he remembered that he, as a "down the line unashamed unalloyed pro-European" he couldn't get the party to campaign on that basis, so when Nick took the initiative: I was absolutely delighted and f I'd been in his shoes I'd have taken the same initiative but I might have been blocked or thwarted. We are the down the line pro-European party and Nigel is the direct opposite. It's a good clash that ...
To help make your campaigning as easy as possible, we've gathered together some of the essential campaign tools, paperwork and information that you'll need as the campaign goes on. Do let us know if there is anything else that you need and we will add it in. Campaign artwork tools and advice Useful fonts including [...]
Wed 26th
14:32Stop and search nonchalance from Justice Secretary shows why Scotland needs the Liberal Democrats
In January, I wrote about the worryingly high police stop and search figures in Scotland, which is proportionately much higher than in England includes over 500 children under 10 years old. Now it transpires that these figures may not be accurate. And may be made up. According to the Edinburgh Evening News: Official figures show a huge number of incidents where stop-and-search powers have been used since the creation of a single police force. Critics claim officers are under pressure because the number of stop-searches has been made a "key performance indicator". It came as the Chief Constable of Police ...
Our friends in Oldham have copied us into three motions going to council on April 2nd: Personal Taxation Acknowledging the Liberal Democrat achievement of the £10,000 income tax threshold and supporting our Spring Conference call to move the threshold to match the minimum wage (currently £12,500) in the next parliament. Jobs and Europe Supports the [...]
Blog Categories: Economics My Degree Vote: 2 votes + Vote up! - Vote down! Last week we got the news, hot out of Cambridge, that nutritionists could no longer say that giving up or cutting down on well reared, fatty red meat, and dairy fats would do us any good. Over the years they have extolled the benefits and alternately the dangers of red wine. Eggs were rehabilitated after several decades on the naughty step. I distinctly remember in the seventies that we were told that kippers and smoked fish, coffee (particularly black) and toast were carcinogenic. Carbs good, fats ...
With equal marriage about to be a reality there have been quiet few reminiscences in the media about the journey from pre Wolfenden days to the success of Lynne Featherstone's Bill. Rev Richard Coles can still be heard on iplayer fronting a Radio 4 program Gay Rights: Tying the Knot and Mathew Parris writing in The Times about his plotting 25 years ago along with Ian Mc Kellan and Peter Mandelson to advance the cause. I want to go back before that -not as far as the Wolfenden Report or Roy Jenkins 1967 legislation- but to the Winter Garden's in ...
It may be a mess but it's a gloriously entertaining one The new Muppet film begins with a song about sequels that includes the line: "everybody knows the sequel is never quite as good." Following on as this film does from the excellent previous outing of the Muppets penned by Jason Siegel, this feels like a [...]
Wed 26th
13:00Your essential Nick v Nigel debate reader: 15 articles to get you match-fit ahead of tonight's live ...
Today's the day of the first Nick v Nigel debate. Here's your essential reader ahead of tonight's first encounter between the Lib Dem and Ukip leaders... Three LibDemVoice articles... First, let's recall how the debate came about – Nick Clegg challenged Nigel Farage to the debate live on his LBC radio phone-in last month: "It's a brave, maybe audacious move," said my co-editor Caron Lindsay, "but Nick has never been one to shy away from a challenge. He's also honed his already good debating skills since his success in 2010." And as I pointed out then, it was a smart ...
I've an interesting use-case, that I don't think is met by Android. I want my tablet to have access to my Google Play account but not have access to my emails. I recently acquired a cheap Android tablet to act as a remote control for my entertainment equipment. The tablet sits in my lounge where it can be accessed by all and sundry - my wife, guests, the plumber, etc. Occasionally, I want to buy apps for the tablet - some of the fancy remote-control apps cost money - so now I have a problem... Create a brand new Google ...
A "Flying Start" leaflet is a great way to kick off the intensive phase of your local campaign. A glossy, multi-page leaflet with lots of good high-res photos makes for a high-quality product that catches the eye and sets out the key messages that local voters will see repeated over the remaining weeks of the [...]
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 March. 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 ...
[IMG: Mark Pack letter in The Guardian re Labour policies] There is a simple solution available to the 19 thinktanks who have written to Ed Miliband with a policy wishlist. There is a party already delivering the policies they are asking for all. All they need do is vote for it next time in order to strengthen that party's influence so that even more of them can be delivered. It's the Liberal Democrats. Yours etc.
National Grid have a programme of replacing low pressure gas mains in the area. We have received the following information from Balfour Beatty, who are the contractors for this work. "We have a programme of works in your area that are due to run from 1st April to the end of August 2014. "The work will be carried out by BALFOUR BEATTY in partnership with National Grid, the works are essential to improve local supplies. "The project involves replacing the metal gas mains with new plastic pipe. For gas users, this may involve interruption to their gas supply. "We are, ...
Quite a few people have commented that the amount of graffiti around Cheadle and Gatley has gone down in the last few years – it's not perfect, but it's a lot better than it used to be. We've followed a deliberate "zero tolerance" policy: where we spot graffiti, we report it. In the last few days I've reported graffiti on the alleyway from Gatley Station to South Park Road (now painted over) and on the cycling sign at the end of Foxland Road (should be done soon). We're keeping an eye out for faulty streetlights too – I've reported two ...
[IMG: Alex Cole-Hamilton Edinburgh Western] The Scottish Liberal Democrats are cracking ahead with selections for the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections. Alex Cole-Hamilton has been selected for the constituency of Edinburgh Western. This seat is part of Mike Crockart's Westminster constituency and was held by Liberal Democrat Margaret Smith from 1999-2011. From the Edinburgh Evening News: Despite this year's independence referendum and next year's Westminster elections, Lib Dems in Edinburgh Western have already chosen their candidate in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections and are promising a "relentless" drive to regain the seat from the SNP, who took it from them three ...
Over the past six months, and thanks to Baroness Kramer, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, and some others, I've immersed myself in the issue of local banks. I've always been interested in why, almost uniquely, the UK has such an over-centralised banking system. The answer is largely Barclays, because they led the extraordinary process of consolidation between 1870 and 1920. Only in 1919 did the government step in and say the last big five banks standing must stay. We still have a Big Five, and they have 85 per cent of the current account market, but they are a different ...
Wed 26th
11:10
My column for ConHome: How Balls & Miliband let Osborne & Clegg write their story for them
[IMG: con home cartoon] Here's my latest The Other Side column for ConservativeHome, published here on Tuesday. It was my attempt to highlight how distorted the economic debate has become... All the blame for the Great Recession heaped on the last Labour government for spending plans all parties were signed up to. And the continuation of the Great Recession blamed on the Coalition's Plan A, ignoring other factors and assuming the Coalition has actually stuck to Plan A (they haven't). To my surprise (and to their credit) readers' comments were much less mad than usual. My thanks as ever to ...
[IMG: Dominion by CJ Sansom] What if Winston Churchill had not become British Prime Minister in 1940? His appointment turned on a small number of face to face conversations involving a handful of people. It's an eminently plausible jumping-off point for an alternative history to have Halifax become PM instead and subsequently sign a peace treaty with Germany. Sansom's spy thriller set in 1952 starts then with a plausible premise, yet later has problems of plausibility. Choosing my words carefully so as not to give away any spoilers, the big secret which the British resistance to the country's pro-Nazi regime ...
Emergency ambulance response times in February were the worst they have been since a new system was introduced in 2011, figures published today have shown. 52.8% of emergency responses to Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls arrived at the scene within 8 minutes. This is despite the target being for 65% of ambulances to arrive within that time. These figures are the worst since a new classification system was introduced in 2011. They are a national disgrace. It would seem our ambulance service has reached crisis point. People deserve better than this. To have only half of immediately life-threatening calls responded ...
My name is James Taylor and I'm a bookaholic. The other day a friend came over to the house and we were talking about the books we had been reading. Over the years I've accumulated thousands of books on subjects ranging from philosophy and business to biography and classic non-fiction works. So he suggested I film a little 'bookshelf tour' to talk about some of the books in my collection. What I noticed when filming the tour was that there a around 5-10 books I keep coming back to year after year. I can tell which they are by their ...
Postal votes arrive in just over a month's time. The exact date will vary depending on your local authority, but it is likely to be early May, what with the later polling day this year. As the date can vary from local authority to local authority it is essential for you to contact them to [...]
Well, today's the day. The first Nick v Nigel debate takes place on LBC tonight. I've already been on the station this morning batting for Team Nick against a UKIP MEP who suggested that Nick using facts might be a problem and that Nick had agreed to the debate. Everyone knows it was Nick who actually issued the challenge. Nick has been writing for the Mirror on the reasons why he believes Britain needs to stay in the EU. He knows it's not perfect but who's going to invest here if we are not part of that much larger market: ...
From the BBC this morning: "The way a woman was assessed for benefits led to her suicide less than a month later, according to a mental health watchdog. "The woman had a history of depression and was on significant medication, but scored zero points in a Work Capability Assessment (WCA), carried out by Atos. "A Mental Welfare Commission report said it could see no other factor "in her decision to end her life". "The Department for Work and Pensions said correct procedures were followed." That 's the point, isn't it. The correct procedures are killing people. I wonder how this ...
Headline of the Day stays in the county, thanks to the Leicester Mercury.
Last week's Budget saw the Chancellor renege on the Government's commitment to tackle the problem of cheap alcohol by scrapping the alcohol duty escalator. This move is a step that society simply cannot afford; not only will these duty cuts result in a shortfall of £290 million to the Exchequer when Osborne admits we are still going to be in deficit until 2018, but with the cost of alcohol harm in the UK exceeding £25 billion each year, our public services - particularly the NHS – can't cope with further demands as a result of increases in drinking levels. In ...
22 Venn Diagrams Only British People Will Understand - 4 should clearly be #ldconf not Glastonbury (tags: ) FAO @EverydaySexism women not allowed to serve lunch at the Nuclear Security Summit in the Hague? SO much sexism fail in this, but I think the worst bit is "little dresses wouldn't be appropriate" - SO HAVE WOMEN IN TROUSERS THEN. (tags: ) The NSA is burning down the web, but what if we rebuilt a spy-proof internet? (tags: ) Britain To Deport 19-Year-Old A-Level Student - this is despicable, counterproductive bollocks. (tags: ) Authors blast Chris Grayling's 'vindictive act' of banning ...
Nick Clegg also announced a £50m extension in 2015-2016, of the Liberal Democrat Pupil Premium to help the most disadvantaged early years children. This Early Years Pupil Premium can be spent by providers, how they see fit. They could, for example employ more highly qualified staff or increase access to services such as speech and language specialists. Universal credit85% of childcare costs will be met under Universal Credit. To help more families move off benefits and into employment, the Government intends to cover the bulk of the cost of childcare for around 300,000 families making sure work always pays.
Wednesday: Did you miss me? I've been EVER so busy (definitely NOT sulking. JUST because I'm a TEENAGER now!) Tonight we'll be supporting a POSITIVE case for IN, cheering on Captain Clegg when he faces off against evil former-banker Mr Farrago, aka Dr Nigel No, Chief Kipper of the UKPNuts. And HOORAY! for that! It's been AGES since I was so PROUD of the Liberal Democrats*. Just watch the video: Doesn't that WARM your FLUFF! It's certainly woken Daddy Alex up. He's written some NEW words to help the Captain out: Putting #WhyIAmIN Into What the Lib Dems Stand For! ...
The ongoing row about the Government's ban on relatives sending books to prisoners is a classic case of how a perfectly reasonable measure is distorted out of all proportion and then misrepresented so as to provide a stick to hit Ministers over the head with. What is particularly sad is that some Liberal Democrats have fallen for the hype and jumped on the bandwagon. Reading this Telegraph article, it seems that the facts are very different to the narrative, which a number of prominent authors are signing up to. Firstly, prisoners have not been banned from accessing books. Prisoners continue ...
Wed 26th
08:30
West End Events : Carnaby Market Fair at Roseangle Cafe Arts this Saturday @RosangleArtCafe
As far as I am aware there is one meeting at BTC next week Planning and Development Committee, Thursday 3rd April , 6:30 at Arms EverTyne House
On Saturday the 29th March Parish Councillors who are looking at building a new Skate Park her in Bar Hill are looking to meet with local residents and skate park users to try an determine what people are expecting from the new park. We'd love to see as many people as possible at the this event. It's being held between 10:30am and 12:30pm in the Octagon (next to the parish Council Offices). Alternatively if you have any views you'd like us to consider you can drop me an email at; andy.pellew@gmail.com I look forward to seeing as many people as ...
Nick Clegg goes head to head this evening in a debate on the European Union with Nigel Farage. Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm not particularly enamoured by Liberal Demcorats' performance in government. However I do not hold Nick particularly culpable for our inadequacies. Rather I think he has and is being badly advised. I suppose that's a convenient excuse for the poor performance of any organisation when one wants to remain loyal to the leader, but it has some credence. Even Ming Campbell, an experienced and sage former leader not prone to scaremongering, has revealed that ...
Just a quick reminder that tonight at 7pm LBC will be hosting a debate featuring Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage on Europe. The debate is available via Digital Radio or online via the LBC website; http://www.lbc.co.uk/ LBC has a section it's website in relation to the debate which allows you to send in your questions prior to the broadcast; http://www.lbc.co.uk/clegg-v-farage-the-eu-debate-86749 Looking forward to it!
