[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] John Pugh has written an excellent posting for Lib Dem Voice and Stephen Hesketh (also of this parish) has added some important thoughts. John and I had a discussion at the weekend about this-and how it should impact on our leaflets. I went away thinking of doing a blog posting and had in my mind a quote from Jo Grimond which I have now found. 'The salient feature of British politics is not the conflict of class and class or Tory and Liberal and Labour, though these conflicts exist, it is the conflict between ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] So appalled are some folk at UKIP that it has driven them back into the Lib Dem fold. Now a couple of chance encounters on a bank holiday afternoon don't amount to scientific evidence of a swing but they are interesting indicators never the less. First up I was walking back from Ainsdale after delivering postal vote letters when a car drew up beside me. 'I've got over the coalition, get me a poster board for the garden' said the driver. It didn't take moments to discover I had Mr Farage to thank for ...
There is a parody of a Ukip poster which may be seen on social media. To save you looking for it I will let you know the 'ten great reasons' that it mentions for voting Ukip. It is supposed to be a parody. The trouble is that I am willing to throw down another gauntlet (see previous blog), this time to Ukip and see if anyone wants to debate any of their policies. Here they are... Scrapping paid maternity leave Raising income tax for the poorest 88% of Britons Scrapping your holiday entitlement Speeding up privatisation of the NHS Cancelling ...
It is now nearly 5 years since I gave up my PAYE existence to spend my time growing my own food and being self-sufficient. I'm always on the outlook for events near to where I live which can help keep us self-sufficient. The Hop Garden is a community project in High Spen, a village in western Gateshead and only a few km from where I live. Yesterday they hosted a seed and plant swap event. I
"You might want to ask the relevant authorities what plans they have to downgrade services at Shotley Bridge Hospital". That was the email I received last week, and I guess it was referring to the proposals raised at this morning's Adults, Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee today under a "Review of Urgent Care services in North Durham" of which I became aware last Friday. In essence the long term plan is to make the Urgent Care facility at Shotley nurse-led during daytime hours, doctor-led out of hours. The logic used is that 68% of the users of the ...
This evening, after my weekly surgeries at the West Park Centre and the Mitchell Street Centre, I took part in this week's City Council meetings. The Development Management Committee did not have any planning applications from the West End to consider. After this committee, the Policy & Resources Committee discussed Fire & Rescue and Police matters. I raised concerns about the rise in the number of deliberate secondary fires across the city and the Fire & Rescue service representative detailed steps the service (and the police) are taking to hopefully reduce this problem in the coming months. I also highlighted ...
This afternoon, along with my ward colleagues, Mr Laidlaw (Depute Head Teacher at Harris Academy) and Dundee City Council transportation officers, I took part in the latest meeting of the Harris Academy Transport Sub Group. The meeting is a sub-group of the Project Board overseeing the Harris New Build Project and looks specifically at the school transport issues. What is pleasing is that many of the issues about transport for West End-domiciled pupils have been tackled and bus operations are working well. However, if any parent/guardian has any concerns about the bus arrangements, do please contact me at home on ...
At the start of the month I showed you a nuclear flask train passing Appledore in Kent. The safety of these trains used to be a major concern of environmentalists. I remember one group standing on a suburban platform as one trundled past and waving a cardboard tube at it. They then said they could have been terrorists with a rocket launcher and this proved these workings should be stopped at once. So in 1984 the nuclear and rail authorities decided to stage a mock accident it which a derailed flask was hit by a locomotive going at full tilt. ...
At lunchtime today, I was delighted to be joined by Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, and Dundee Liberal Democrat colleagues, as we collected more signatures from local residents, calling on the Royal Bank of Scotland to save the well-used Perth Road Branch of the bank. See photo below:I was interviewed today by Radio Tay News, Wave 102 News and STV News about the issue. For the next 24 hours you can see the STV interview here. Please support the campaign by signing the petition here.
Just got details for a webcam on the Academy site via which you can follow progress. [IMG: A View from the top] I don't want want to post the username and password on the web, but if you're interested in accessing it to keep up with progress just drop me a line.
Having advertised this blog as a source of information on the career of Roger Helmer, I had better pass on a link kindly sent to me by a reader. In 2006 the Lincolnshire blogger Fair Deal Phil reported that Helmer (still a Conservative MEP in those days) had written to a schoolgirl supporting the clubbing of baby seals. You may dismiss this as a minor point, but seals can come surprisingly far inland. My mother and late stepfather saw them following their boat on the Witham above Boston. And the same reader tells me that they have been seen on ...
Apparently there was some concern that the last Cornwall Council cabinet meeting was not told about spending on consultants and agency staff. There was a thought that this might have been because the spending had actually gone up. Fortunately, I can confirm that the Lib Dem/Independent administration continues to cut this wasteful spending, an area where the former Tory administration was happy to throw money. February figures: April to February 2013/2014 £4,695,563April to February 2012/2013 £11,173,910Reduction in spend: £6,478,348February Monthly spend 2014 (4week month): £246,605February Monthly spend 2013 (4week month): £836,477 March figures:April to March 2013/2014: £4,966,824April to March 2013/2014: ...
Launceston's town hall will be flying the Cornish flag of St Piran every day in the future. The decision was taken at the full council meeting last Friday. I was an enthusiastic supporter of the move put forward by Cllr Rob Tremain, the town crier. As the historic capital of Cornwall, I think it is important to reflect both our history and our position within Cornwall. It also reminds some that Cornwall continues east of Bodmin! The move was opposed by Cllr John Conway who pointed out that only 7% or so of Launceston residents wrote on their census forms ...
Let's start with the okay-ish news... ICM, the 'gold standard' pollster, has the Lib Dems at 13% in the Guardian's latest monthly survey. That wouldn't usually be much to write home about – it is after all 10% lower than the party scored at the last general election – but after a string of polls showing the Lib Dems in single digits, there will be something of a sigh of relief from Great George Street. [IMG: icm poll - may 2014] In fact, there's a second bit of okay-ish news, which I'll come to in a minute. Let's first note, ...
Edition number 84 of our email newsletter eFocus has just been produced. It goes to 1600 households in the Whickham area of Gateshead. This edition features the return of the iconic butterfly beds to Whickham, an update on proposals for opencast mining, my rescue of 3 feral honeybee colonies from a building being demolished in Sunniside, improvements to Cross Lane Meadows in Swalwell and lots of
There are many challenges that face Britain today. Social and economic inequalities are still rife in society from people having to use food banks, to the issue of low wages and the problems caused by welfare reforms. Britain needs to rediscover its spirit of social justice, and its concern for the most disadvantaged members of society. When I first got interested in politics it was over the issues of civil liberties and my opposition to the War in Iraq. There was only ever one party that spoke to me on these issues and that truly inspired me, the Liberal Democrats. ...
Research published on Friday shows that the salaries of permanent employees are growing at the fastest rate in 7 years. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs finds that growth of permanent salaries accelerated in April, the most marked increase since July 2007. There was also a sharp increase in temporary pay in April, compared with the previous month. The report also shows fast growth in the number of permanent staff placements. Commenting on the report's findings, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "This is yet more encouraging news. It is more ...
The closure of Westerleigh Road between Cookes Lane and Coalsack Lane - roughly the stretch from Henfield Crossroads to the motorway - to enable drainage works to be carried out was postponed because the original date clashed with the Church Road closure. It's now been rescheduled for one week starting from Friday 30th May. StreetCare will be working through the weekend to get the road reopened as soon as possible.
Mon 12th
19:19
Comment is Free: Will community service hurt Silvio Berlusconi's image more than prison?
I have a piece on the Guardian website today looking at celebrities and community service, occasioned be the sentence given to Silvio Berlusconi: He will be working with elderly patients, among whom a classic test for judging confusion is to ask who the prime minister is. Unless the doctor is well briefed, answering "The last time I took an interest, it was that guy mopping the floor" could lead to misdiagnosis.
It was good to see the English Democrats' broadcast showing their ignorance in spreading the common misconception that England goes from "Lands End to Hadrian's Wall" There are over 50 miles of England north of "The Wall", in Tyneside and Northumberland, villages, towns, a city and beautiful countryside. Good to see us being written off. Again
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 375th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (4-10 May, 2014), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Are we heading for a wipeout in ...
9 years ago I lead the battle to defeat proposals for opencast mining at Skons Park near Whickham. The site overlooked the historic Gibside Estate and was on a prominent location in the Derwent Valley. The campaign was a success. The plans were rejected by Gateshead Council's planning committee and the applicant was all set to mount an appeal but withdrew at the last moment. Thousands of people
Remember of course all the margin of error caveats as you digest this finding from YouGov, who gave people a list of politicians from each party and then asked them who they disliked the most, including the option "Not applicable. I do not dislike any [party name] politician". Here are the results for that last option: 20% – I do not dislike any Lib Dem politician 19% – I do not dislike any Labour politician 13% – I do not dislike any Conservative politician
So the Giro d'Italia was in Ireland this weekend, though some of the UK press you would be hard pressed to realise that one of the three Grand Tours in the UK was taking place in part of the UK. Indeed some of them devoted more space to another of them coming to Yorkshire 2 months hence than the action going on in Northern Ireland for 2½ of the three days that the Giro spent on Irish roads. However, that was not the same for Northern Irish media. All the papers had pink headers and front pages and back pages ...
The Labour candidate in Luddendenfoot Ward a Charlotte Brady makes the following claim in her latest election leaflet "In October 2012 the Sure Start Children's Centre my two youngest children go to was threatened with closure. I led a successful campaign to keep it open, but that was just the start." How does this tally with the current Labour for the ward Councillor Simon Young's claim made in a leaflet produced around April/May 2012 "Labour in Calderdale have made sure that no Children's centres and no libraries will be closing in the coming year." I've asked the lead member for ...
[IMG: Police on Horse Back] In February, I reported that Danny Alexander had spoken out about the use of Police horses in his Highland constituency. As a native of Inverness I shared his sense of horror that anti-riot policing techniques were being used in the peaceable and safe Highland capital. Danny had written to the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to express his concern about such unprecedented, heavy-handed policing, to to mention the cost of bringing the horses up from Ayrshire at a time when the service is closing local control rooms. He's now had a reply from Kenny MacAskill ...
Nick Clegg has screwed up being Lib Dem leader but he's an admirable failure. Quite a few of my Lib Dem friends who share my discontent with our current leadership have been (with some glee) sharing an opinion piece by Andrew Rawnsley arguing that Nick Clegg's leadership is again in danger: In the end, it [...]
In February, I reported that Danny Alexander had spoken out about the use of Police horses in his Highland constituency. As a native of Inverness I shared his sense of horror that anti-riot policing techniques were being used in the peaceable and ... Continue reading →
The message for my local community in Parkside, Houghton Regis, is Grow it, Cook it, Share it. I'd have thought Grow it, Cook it, Eat it, would have been more to the point, but never mind, it's a great idea to try to involve people in cooking better food, especially when their diet might otherwise be quite poorer. If you are applying independently please contact Vicky or Tillie at Groundwork on 01582 720147 or email at vicky.duxbury@groundwork.org.uk
[IMG: Labour broadcast Shrinking man] The word appalling doesn't even begin to cover Labour's most recent campaign video. It's a spiteful attack ad on the character of Nick Clegg, and in case you haven't seen it, you can find it here. Feel free to grab something to vomit into beforehand. I'm a 16 year old student, and I joined the Liberal Democrats in 2013 for three reasons. I believe passionately that democracy in Britain is failing, and the Liberal Democrats are the only party that seek that cause with integrity. I couldn't deal with Labour's ridiculous opposition rhetoric, and I ...
Cllr Mary Burstow and assistant: Post by Mary Burstow.
[IMG: Palestine_Jerusalem_Geopoint_Right_of_Return_NK24131] Two weeks ago the Israeli Cabinet declared that the peace negotiations over Palestine were halted in view of the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. The fact that the Cabinet Meeting took six hours perhaps suggests that this was not a unanimous decision. Was it a reasonable decision? Background on Hamas can be found here. The essentials are that it was founded with the aim of liberating Palestine from Israel and had an armed wing that has indulged in terrorism. (Sound like Sinn Fein and the IRA?) Nonetheless it won Parliamentary elections in 2006 and for a while worked ...
A (very minor) privacy issue I found with the iTunes API - disclosed on 7th April. Apple provide an API to allow users to search the iTunes store. Let's suppose that a user wishes to search for Music Videos from The Beatles. The search itself is performed over HTTPS. This means that anyone sniffing the connection won't see what the user searched for - nor will they see the response from Apple. The only fly in the ointment is that some of the resources returned in the results are not served over HTTPS. For example, here's the response from ...
Mon 12th
11:28
Devo 15: Rennie and Williams speak on 15th anniversary of Scottish Parliament's and Senedd's first s...
[IMG: Willie Rennie - Some rights reserved by Liberal Democrats] It's 15 years today since MSPs and AMs took their seats in their new devolved Parliaments. Today's leaders of the Scottish and Welsh parties have marked the occasion in very different ways. Willie Rennie is upbeat about the impact of the Parliament and the measures it's passed since devolution. He said that every person in Scotland could be proud of what it has achieved: Fifteen years ago I was thrilled to head up the first Scottish Liberal Democrat Scottish Parliament office and assist our party to form the first Scottish ...
Quite a lot has been happening, but being in the middle of a local election campaign, it has been hard to find the time to update this site. So, better late than never, here are three pieces of recent news: 1 The news that Sainsburys are not interested in the supermarket planned by the council for Elms Field means that it can be said without exaggeration that the wheels have come off the Conservatives' unpopular £95 million scheme for Wokingham town centre, The fact that Sainsburys have pulled out appeared to come as a shock to some – but not ...
How the world learnt of Clive Harts resignation, in a lengthy resignation address, following a storm of criticism, and even a few humble question from Bignews Margate, Clive Hart has authored perhaps the longest resignation letter ever available on his Facebook page. I've no doubt that Clive and Labour have worked for benefit of Thanet but bad luck or the wrong direction cannot be ignored.
[IMG: Conchita Wurst, Copenhagen May 2014 Eurovision winner, Photo: Albin Olsson License: CC-BY-SA-3.0] Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst's smiling face beamed out from my TV late on Saturday, and like so many people I thought her victory was great. As Lib Dem Voice's own Caron Lindsay put it shortly after the show had ended, the Austrian's song might not have been the best on offer tonight, but her personality, her embodiment of liberalism and authenticity, combined with a pan-European desire to stick two fingers up to the illiberal east triumphed in Copenhagen... And maybe, just maybe, people start to understand a ...
[IMG: Immigration vans - better res] Over the weekend, both Cameron and Boris said some things in the media around immigration. Cameron sounded like he was trying to talk to two different audiences at once. That's because he was. He said that Britain should not put up barriers to EU migrants coming here to work, that freedom of movement was important. But then he fell over himself qualifying this statement. And said that an In/Out referendum was of paramount importance and that if Europe wouldn't listen to his demands post-2015, he may campaign for a No vote in said plebiscite. ...
Alexander defends Clegg attack ads as " factual, policy-based critique" Well here's a factual, policy-based critique of Douglas Alexander: he's a poo-poo head and he smells. Cos let's face it, that's about the level we're at here, isn't it? (tags: ) Awesome science news of the day - Self-healing plastic mimics blood clotting (tags: ) Clegg follows party policy shock (not really a shock) (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Steve Bradley] At the weekend, Bath Liberal Democrats selected Steve Bradley as their parliamentary candidate in place of Don Foster who has been the city's Liberal Democrat MP for 22 years. From the Bath Chronicle: More than 180 local party members met yesterday afternoon at the Salvation Army hall in James Street West to debate, discuss and vote from a shortlist of six contenders. After a lengthy five-hour event they selected Mr Bradley, who is a a former Lib Dem councillor in Lambeth. Mr Bradley, who first moved to the city in 1991 as a student at the University ...
The latest Frome Vale Area Forum meeting takes place on Thursday 15 May, 7pm, Frampton Cotterell Primary School, Frampton Cotterell . The Frome Vale Area Forum covers Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Frampton Cotterell, Laddenbrook and Westerleigh wards. The meetings will include an open session where you can have your say on any issue affecting our area and you can also join in the discussions before any formal decisions are made. Councillors will be making decisions on the latest New Homes Bonus applications and receiving progress reports on local transport schemes. For more information visit www.southglos.gov.uk/areaforum
[IMG: Antony Hook in SE region] For me and many other people, being a Liberal is about politics based on hope. One of my favourite definition of hope is that it stands for "Helping Other People Evolve". Helping, not forcing. Evolving, because almost everyone can see some scope for change for the better in their life. We are not talking about forcing people to change their lives against their will. Nor do we say, "each to their own, I'll sort out my life and if you have no chance of a better future that is not my problem." Liberal leadership, ...
Since Southwark Labour took over Southwark Council in 2010 they've had a policy of selling council properties if valued at more than £300,000 when they become vacant. But the housing market is such that in East Dulwich ward no properties have been offered for sale at less than £300,000> I only realise this on Friday while preparing for a hustings. SO at the weekend I spoke to estate agents confirmed prices have risen to this degree for some time. It means over time that East Dulwich will be socially cleansed of all council social housing tenants. Typically council tenant churn ...
I have today launched my May 2014 Update to West End Community Council. The Update covers the following issues: • Lack of progress regarding parking improvements • Pavement - Perth Road at Ninewells Avenue roundabout • The Friends of Magdalen Green Annual General Meeting and Public Lecture You can download the Update here. The Community Council meets tomorrow night at 7pm at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall in Shaftesbury Terrace. All residents welcome to attend.
A Freedom of Information request has found that some of the country's biggest police forces reported a rise in the number of animals seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act last year. The figures come as an amendment to the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act comes into force tomorrow enabling owners to be prosecuted for dog attacks on private property. An opinion piece in The Daily Telegraph questions whether the new rules will be adequate. In today's Daily Mirror Page: 17, The Daily Telegraph Page: 19, Daily Express Page: 30 Having been bitten by a dog whilst delivering leaflets (the ...
The split in the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group widened into a chasm this morning as a fifth AM stepped up to publicly berate his leader. The Western Mail reports that the South Wales West regional AM Byron Davies has hit out at Andrew RT Davies' decision to replace Nick Ramsay as chair of the Enterprise and Business Committee, saying the committee chair appointment system was open to "moral corruption" by leaders and should be overhauled. The paper adds that he has also criticised the sacking of four Conservative AMs for refusing to vote with the party leadership criticising UK Government ...
Further to my article last week regarding concerns about fallen rubble sitting on the west pavement of Easson's Angle, I have been updated by the City Council as follows: "The debris which had been dislodged from the wall coping and was lying on the footway in Easson's Angle was uplifted by Tayside Contracts on 6-5-14. The Road Maintenance Partnership inspector has reported back that the wall appears to be secure."
The Spectator argues that the UK giving 12 points to Austria's Conchita Wurst is an example of "an out of touch, unelected euro-elite" defying the will of people. In fact, it's a pretty good example of why popular polls are not necessarily the right way to make decisions. Much to the inexplicable delight of [...]
Today, 12 May, is St Pancras Day. As I said two years ago, it really should be a public holiday in the East Midlands. That post will tell you all about St Pancras himself, so this time allow me to draw attention to St Pancras Old Church, which you will find close to the railway station. Its website has details of its public lecture series and its restoration appeal: The church is one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in London. The altar houses a 7th century altar stone and medieval fabric survives although much of the visible church ...
This is a church of some significance and age and it is a Grade 1 Listed Building. Have a look at its Wikipedia page for interesting historical facts:- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Michael%27s_Church,_Aughton This link is also informative about the Conservation Area status and other West Lancs Conservation Areas:- www.westlancs.gov.uk/PDF/A%20Brief%20History.pdf [IMG: I took this shot at the end of the day as the light was fading.] I took this shot at the end of the day as the light was fading. Click to enlarge it. The photo above is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/ The Stanley Arms Pub is just across the road ...
The first plenary session in the National Assembly took place on 12th May 1999. Since then, either in coalition or as a minority government, Welsh Labour has continuously been in administration in Cardiff Bay. In that time, Wales' education system has dramatically fallen in the international rankings; Wales' health system has targets that are rarely met; and Wales' economy continues to lag behind the rest of the UK. I am proud that our great nation has its own National Assembly. Liberals campaigned for decades for Wales to have its own parliament and our enthusiasm has not wavered. I still believe ...
Consett's new Academy is beginning to look very impressive. [IMG: View from the bottom 500] This huge open space will be a large and airy atrium in the heart of the new school building, with theatre, learning areas and cafeteria clustered round it. It will create a space quite unlike the schools that any of us experienced, and taken with the new facilities will be capable of offering our children and community opportunities not experienced before. It doesn't mean that I've changed my view on the choice of the site, or that local residents are any happier about the congestion ...
