Today's – tomorrow's – front pages are full of news that 43 bishops and over 600 religious leaders in Britain have co-signed a new letter calling for urgent Government action on food poverty. The letter, in support of the End Hunger Fast campaign, marks the biggest ever Christian intervention on UK food poverty in modern times and comes as other faith groups join the campaign. The letter comes as Trussell Trust statistics to be released on 16th April show that over 900,000 people received three days emergency food aid in the 2013/14 financial year, nearly triple the number helped in ...
The Social Liberal Forum, which backed the motion on Food Poverty passed unanimously at Liberal Democrat Spring Conference earlier this year, applauds and welcomes further pressure by End Hunger Fast and faith leaders on this issue which so gravely concerns...Read more ›
Today's winner is Teddy from Leicester, who makes good use of a bird table.
Asked at his press conference yesterday about the allegations of serial child abuse against Cyril Smith, Nick Clegg said he had known nothing of them when he paid tribute to Smith on his 80th birthday as a "beacon" and an "inspiration" on his 80th birthday in 2008: "Cyril Smith stood down as an MP 13 years before I became an MP. Many of the actions, the repugnant actions, which we now learn about took place well before the party I now lead even existed - in fact, took place before I even existed."Given those facts and that chronology, it is ...
Tomorrow night the Council is debating the proposed changes to local health services, which most notable include a threat to Calderdale's A&E department. The following motion has been submitted by the Labour party This Council :- Notes that the Strategic Outline Case produced by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, Locala Community Partnerships, and South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust, and particularly the 'preferred option' identified by CHNT, has generated wide spread public concern and debate about the future of hospital services in Calderdale; Further notes that in November this Council called on all partners "to develop the longer-term strategic means ...
I am fascinated by the announcement of three new garden cities by the government yesterday. I'm aware that this was finessed by Nick Clegg in the teeth of opposition from some Conservatives who fear that their own constituencies will provide the sites. After all, the fear of fear itself is quite enough when it comes to large scale developments. The garden city idea, as almost everyone must know by now, was originated in 1898 by Ebenezer Howard to simultaneously stop the overcrowding and overheating of cities and to regenerate rural areas. His ideas were backed by important sections of the ...
Last year a relative of my husband's asked him to get a genetic screen done with the company 23andMe. His results were more interesting than I expected, so I ordered one for myself. 23&Me testing is affordable; I paid USD $99. It is also easy: they send you a kit, you spit into a test [...]
With Passover celebrations starting today, Nick Clegg wishes the Jewish Communities, within Britain and around the world, a happy Passover: Transcript: "I want to wish Jewish Communities, within Britain and around the world, a happy and peaceful Passover. This is a time when families and friends gather round the Seder table to remember the struggles of the Jewish people to secure their freedom. Every year, they tell this story to their children so it is never forgotten. And what this ancient journey shows us is the enduring power of people to overcome even the greatest of adversity and build a ...
Headline of the Day goes to This is Wiltshire.
Tue 15th
17:45
The verdict of Philip Collins, chief speech writer for Tony Blair, on Nick Clegg: "the Deputy Prime ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg Q&A 19] Philip Collins uses his column in today's Times to write something not often written on that paper's pages (or anywhere else for that matter): praise for the Lib Dems in Coalition. Here's the paywalled link, and here's a glimpse behind the paywall of what he has to say: It is therefore a serious defence of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats to commend them for things that would have happened had they not been there. It is in the nature of things that have not happened that we often do not know what they are. ...
To most Liberal Democrats the name Nigel Jones means the former LibDem MP for Cheltenham and latterly Peer. But this lunchtime, thanks to the Kettner lunch club, another Nigel Jones spoke in the David Lloyd George room: the writer, broadcaster and historian Nigel Jones, who came to talk about his latest book: Peace and War [...]
In 1989, the Liberal Democrats (or the Social and Liberal Democrats, as they were known at the time) polled only 6.2%, coming fourth behind the Green party (Ecology, at the time) and winning precisely 0 MEPs under the FPtP system used at the time. That's really bad. I'm sure many readers will actually remember the election and the disappointment and frustration that must have followed. Five years later, things went a bit better and the party nearly tripled its share of the vote and managed to win 2 MEPs. It wasn't until 1999 that PR came in and the party ...
I would appreciate comment from any lawyerly folks out there. I haven't been following the Pistorius trial very closely (hardly at all), but is it just me or are the media getting somewhat mixed up by the fact that he appears to be trying to argue, in two completely different ways, that there was not the necessary intent to be convicted of murder? ("I fired the gun accidentally" [no intent] and "I intentionally fired the gun mistakenly believing that there was an intruder behind the door" [putative/mistaken self-defence]). The fact that the media seem to be quite confused by it ...
New from the Deputy Prime Minister's office: You can also watch this on YouTube.
[IMG: TGOC 2011: NW Highlands (gp027)] When Russell Johnston, that stalwart of liberal democracy, first ran for parliament for Inverness in 1964 he made a point of holding public meetings across the constituency. And when I first met him, in the 1980s, he was still following that old tradition – small gatherings, inviting all-comers to engage in open debate, determined that he could persuade the communities he served so energetically to follow him on the best path for the Highlands. Over the subsequent years, politics has perhaps lost a little of that traditional engagement. In the modern world where 24 ...
It would appear that the rumours are true: AC/DC are to call it quits due to the ongoing health problems of one of the guys. I have always had a soft spot for the Aussie/Scot hard rocking, no-nonsense boogie of AC/DC, it was just good end of the week let down the hair and rock music you need to shake off the pent up anger at the end of a terrible 5 days at work. Their anthemic song titles that cried for audience participation and the sheer showmanship of Bon Scott, Angus Young and Brin Johnson was a sight to ...
It has been announced today that extended opening hours and enhanced local care for the elderly will soon be available at doctors' surgeries across many parts of the country, thanks to a new drive to improve local GP services. Millions of people will now be able to see their family doctor outside of working hours, including late night and weekend appointments, while the elderly and those with more serious health complaints will get tailored care, coordinated by just one local GP. The £50m GP Access Fund will support 1,147 practices covering every region to offer extra services for those who ...
[IMG: emnc] The next election, everyone who talks about these things often will concede, is a very, very tough one to call. The Conservatives seem to have going for them the fact that economic confidence is growing, and this is usually a decider for incumbent governments. But Labour have been ahead in the polls for more than two years now, so if the Tories are going to push ahead it had better happen for them sometime soon. We saw them get a bump in the polls post-budget; that predictably fell back within a few weeks and now we're back to ...
Last weekend I proposed a motion to the Welsh Liberal Democrats' 2014 Spring Conference on mental health provision in Wales, with a focus on national provision and community provisions, waiting times and quality, the transition from adolescent to adult services, care in the workplace and in educational institutions, and care for prisoners. We were so pleased [...]
As the Inside Out blog suggests it is certainly starting to get nasty out there, with recriminations flying around the Conservative party over the failed prosecution of an innocent Nigel Evans, unbelieveable and unsustainable mud being thrown at Nick Clegg over Cyril Smith and of course the latest alleged expenses scandal, this time featuring Nigel Farage. So, in the interest of a bit of light relief here is the latest episode of 'have I Got News for You' in which the UKIP leader bit off more than he can chew:
From the latest ONS property prices data: [IMG: Property prices]
The Western Mail reports that Welsh MPs are continuing to buy first class rail tickets, according to the latest figures which show they spent more than £27,000 on the fares between April and November 2013: Former Labour foreign minister and Rhondda MP Chris Bryant claimed the highest total (£3,421) of a Welsh MP, making 17 claims. Aberconwy Conservative MP Guto Bebb had the highest number of individual claims (55), costing £3,419.76 - the second biggest amount. Conservative Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Simon Hart claimed the third highest (£3,030), followed by former Labour Wales Office minister and Caerphilly Labour MP ...
Interested in Cornwall's history, archaeology and culture? Want to get involved with shaping the future of the service that cares for the millions of records including documents, photographs, books, maps and databases that capture this information? Then why not have your say on the development of the Kresen Kernow project? Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Cornwall Council, the new centre will house Cornwall Council's archives and historic collections, and will be built on the old brewery site in Redruth. The scheme is due for completion in 2017 and members of the project team are now offering people the ...
[IMG: Liberty] While the Commons grappled with the latest wave of backbench Euroscepticism, quietly and without fanfare the Home Secretary introduced an amendment to the Immigration Bill which strikes at the heart of our national conscience. The impetus for this power came not from the urgent necessity of fighting terrorism, but is rather the result of a six year legal battle. In October last year, the Supreme Court held that the executive could not remove British nationality from an individual where to do so would render him stateless. A frustrated Home Secretary now seeks a broad, discretionary power to remove ...
As part of my "National Hack The Government" win, I was awarded 100 DogeCoin! Although not my first foray into the exciting world of CryptoCurrencies, I'd never received DogeCoin before. I decided to set up an online wallet to temporarily store my loot while investigating more secure options. More or less at random, I went with DogeAPI.com. After registering, I received this email. [IMG: DogeAPI Screenshot-fs8] Let's take a look at the code behind it... <h1>Thanks for registering with DogeAPI.com, edent!</h1> <p>You are almost done registering!</p> <p> <a here to verify your email and log in!</a> </p> Ah... Yeah, ...
65 YEARS AGO DR B.R. AMBEDKAR WARNED THAT A RAMPANT INEQUALITY COULD DESTROY INDIA'S NASCENT DEMOCRACY. COULD IT DO THE SAME TO PRESENT DAY WESTERN DEMOCRACIES? Yesterday would have been the 123rd birthday of the Indian Jurist and political activist Dr B.R. Ambedkar. He is one of the most remarkable figures in the history [...]
To be performed the day after tomorrow: What is an angiogram?An angiogram is an X-ray image of blood vessels after they are filled with a contrast material. An angiogram of the heart, a coronary angiogram, is the "gold standard" for the evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD). A coronary angiogram can be used to identify the exact location and severity of CAD.How is a coronary angiogram performed?Coronary angiography is performed with the use of local anesthesia and intravenous sedation, and is generally not significantly uncomfortable.In performing a coronary angiogram, a doctor inserts a small catheter(a thin hollow tube with a ...
On Tuesday 25th March residents in West Watford's Benskin Road were disturbed by a loud bang. On investigation they discovered that a lamp post had literally just fallen over. No cars were involved and it later transpired a resident had reported the danger of the wobbling concrete light that morning. [IMG: emergency phone] Local Lib Dem Activist, Susan Gaszczak a Benskin Road resident, responded to the bang and googled 'Herts Highways Emergency' number to be greeted by the appalling county website. The first hit comes up with a generic number not suitable for an emergency at a time when when ...
Do you know what? Call me strange, but I think it's pretty weird that five weeks away from Local and European Elections, there have been a slew of articles (some from people I have a great deal of respect for) engaging in a hypothetical debate about who the next leader of the Liberal Democrats should be. A few articles have suggested that Danny Alexander is being a shrewd fellow and positioning himself - mainly by going to the papers with a change to Mansion Tax policy and showing a pretty blatant disregard for party process. Another, last night, was from ...
When an application for opencast mining was submitted to Gateshead Council in 2011 at Birklands, in Lamesley ward, neighbouring mine, I was the councillor who put together the campaign to defeat the proposals. I wrote the petition and with Lib Dem colleagues, we delivered it to a large part of Lamesley ward and to my ward. I also arranged for the petition to go on-line. Labour were noticeable for
[IMG: 8-5-10: They did] A couple of things have struck me in the wake of the publication of Race Plan, Jeremy Browne's personal liberal manifesto. Don't worry - this isn't an article about the book itself. We've had enough of those over the last few days (as I write this, the top 5 most read articles on LDV are about it!) - I'd wager there have been more angry comments about the book on LibDemVoice than there are people who have actually read the thing. Rather, this article concerns the nature of Liberalism. The two things that have struck me ...
With 5 weeks we have a long Easter weekend The four-day weekend is perfect to get your final pre- expenses literature out. But don't forget to take so some time with the family/friends - it's going to be a tough five weeks. Depending on your religious convictions, Good Friday is perhaps a day for doing [...]
Harold Wilson had a phenomenally good memory and, whenever a good idea came along, he was usually able to say that he had proposed that very thing umpteen years ago in a speech on the Xth of Y in Ztown at 2.30 in the afternoon. I cannot compete with that, but, now that the Liberal Democrats have decided to abandon our proposal for a Mansion Tax and substitute an additional Council Tax Band I can reveal that I wrote to Vince Cable with that very suggestion over two years ago, viz: 27thSeptember, 2011.The Rt Hon Vince Cable M.P. I believe ...
One of the opportunities we get at Council Meetings is to ask questions of the Greater Manchester 'Joint Authorities' (Transport, Fire, Waste etc). At the last meeting I asked a question about the timing of the last buses up Heywood Road to Simister. The current timetable is the last 96 leaving Manchester at 5.46 and the last 495 leaving Heaton Park metro at 5.23. In both cases this is going to be too early for many people's jobs. The answer, perhaps not surprisingly, is 'we've no money to do this' – T4GM have to save money like other people (and ...
As I've mentioned before, The Guardian's ICM poll is the one I wait for each month. The latest figures are now up, and the figures are... well, I'm not sure what to make of them really. [IMG: icm april 2014] In the snapshot of Westminster voting intentions, the Lib Dems are unchanged from last month on 12%, ahead of Ukip on 11% (+2%). Labour lead the Conservatives by 37% (-1%) to 32% (-3%). All the figures are within the margin of error. The party will be relieved to see that there's no sign of ICM putting us anywhere near the ...
When is CCTV not CCTV? - interesting comment on the #calderdale proposals by @jamesdbaker1 (tags: ) Nick Clegg calls for new Garden Cities - Liberal Democrats (tags: ) Sarah Wollaston might be a tory but she is utterly correct on this (tags: ) It's ok to say Council workers are germ-ridden because they are Labour Party members (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
At the last meeting of Bury's Full Council I asked a question about whether the Council was willing to sign up to the 'Ethical Care Charter' which as been produced by UNISON, the public services Trades Union. I have raised concern about home care services before, when we were investigating what proportion of Bury Council's home care visits are '15 minute care slots' (the answer was 37% of all home care visits in Bury are 15 minutes). My personal view is that in most cases 15 minutes is too short too short to provide meaningful care for people, especially if ...
World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of volunteers gift specially chosen and printed World Book Night books in their communities to share their love of reading. Last year, over 5000 books were given out across Cambridgeshire, thanks to 270 volunteers. This year, Cambridgeshire libraries are once again being used as pick up points. Visit your local library to find out more about the 20 World Book Night 2014 titles being collected and handed out, from authors such as Nora Roberts, John Grisham and Adele Parks.
Just to wish all the Jewish members of the local community a very happy and peaceful Passover. Passover began yesterday evening and and runs through to the evening of 22 April 2014. Nick Clegg has produced a short video message to wish people a happy Passover here. Could I also wish people a happy Easter for this Sunday. Hope that people have a good extended weekend. Best wishes Tim
Today is the twenty fifth anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster when 96 football fans died in circumstances which were preventable. (from the Guardian: (From This Is Anfield: It is also the twenty fifth year of one of the longest running scandals in the history of British policing, media and politics. The vindictive response of the authorities is symbolised by the readiness of the police forces of the day and since to break their oath to tell the truth and instead to lie and cover up persistently for decade after decade. It is symbolised in the nastiest campaign ever ...
Another day, another mess up by Labour-run Haringey Council. In the past we've seen yellow lines painted days before the entire road was dug up and potholes filled days before resurfacing work. And they still haven't learnt. This new roundabout below might look fine at first glance (apart from the cones) but take a closer look at the arrows and which way they point. [IMG: Wrong way roundabout - Stapleton Hall Road, Stroud Green] It is, unfortunately, what we have come to expect from the Council. But there is a serious point here about both road safety, first and foremost, ...
Over the past week or so there have been a number of newspaper reports about Labour planning to bring back regional Government Ministers if it becomes part of a new Government next year. Though some have attacked this idea, I believe there is a liberal case for regional Ministers. A progressive Government of Labour and Liberal Democrats could work on such a project together, building up the various regions of the UK to ensure that all of our regions can compete in the global economy, as well as making sure that all of our people have a chance to make ...
From Sheena Wellington : Friends of Wighton's Cappuccino Concert on Saturday 19th April features Paul Livingston, on the violin/viola. Perth born Paul Livingston is one of Scotland's finest young musicians, a multiple prize-winner recently awarded the Bayreuth Scholarship 2014 (Richard-Wagner-Stipendienstiftung) by the Wagner Society Scotland. He auditioned at the master classes of the Franz Liszt Hochschüle and was accepted in the class, and later as a private pupil, of Prof Ozim at the prestigious Mozarteum in Salzburg. After four years at Aberdeen School of Music, Paul was awarded, in 2006, the Stevenson Scholarship to continue his studies at the Royal ...
[IMG: red-carnation_2311789] www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster Maghull Community Radio asked Maghull's Councillors to display a red carnation on 15th April and I am happy to support their request. [IMG: rsz_photo0190]
A quick follow up to yesterday's post highlighting the fact that Warley Labour Party think their Council workers all carry germs. The Branch Labour Party 'clarified' their position via Twitter letting us all know that it's ok to claim Council workers are germ ridden because they are members of the Labour Party. Well, that's ok then. Thanks for the clarification guys
Communities with ideas for a new generation of garden cities will receive support from the government to turn their ambitions into reality, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced today. A prospectus published today will help communities work up proposals for ambitious new developments, which are locally-led, include at least 15,000 homes and have the backing of existing residents. There is enthusiasm and ambition for growth in communities across the country, but new developments must be well-designed, and bring together high-quality homes, jobs, and green spaces in communities where people want to live and raise their children. These locally-led developments will ...
