[IMG: FM, Alex Salmond Address] Alex Salmond is a gambler. His BBC profile says: Mr Salmond has also put his love of horse racing to good use, appearing as a pundit on Channel 4′s The Morning Line programme, as well as offering tips and insights through the pages of the Racing Post. What is remarkable is that Salmond is bringing his gambling instincts to the Scottish independence proposition: Gamble 1 – the pound. Any reasonable person can see that Scotland will not use the pound if it becomes independent. In a remarkable show of unity, all three main UK parties ...
Opened in 1903 in an attempt to aid the local economy, this line runs for eight miles from Welshpool to Llanfair Caereinion. It never made money and was closed to passengers in 1931. Freight services lasted long enough for the line to become part of British Railways, but they ceased in 1956. The first few miles out of Llanfair were reopened by enthusiasts in 1963 and the line reached Welshpool once more in 1981. The building at its new Raven Square terminus there originally served Eardisley station in Herefordshire. Originally the line ran all the way to Welshpool's mainline station, ...
Earlier tonight, I attended the June meeting of Community Spirit - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Pentland, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area. The meeting took place in the Mitchell Street Centre. Guest speaker was Craig Stocks of City Church, Dundee. City Church has owned the former Friary in Tullideph Road since 2012 and Craig gave an interesting presentation on the work the church has undertaken since, including the physical improvements to the building but also the very significant and very positive community activities that the church undertakes. You can read more about ...
This is a beautiful, humbling and happy story of a family accepting and embracing the fact that their son, Ryland, is transgender, enabling him to transition at the age of 5. Like they say, they signed up for the parenting lark with no strings attached. They say they wanted to share their story to help the world become a "more loving and accepting place for Ryland and the LGBTQ community." The video has gone viral with over 5 million page views since its release two weeks ago. It's where I saw it, though, that I wanted to point out. An ...
A big, new supermarket for Ludlow could be in the offing, if plans presented to the town council tonight go ahead. Retail consultant Simon Hoare tonight told the town council's representational committee that his client, Blackfriars Property Group, is looking to develop a site adjacent to Rock's Green, behind Dun Cow Cottage. The proposal is [...]
[IMG: Children Walking on Trail] Earlier today, in a Speech from the Throne, the Queen announced that the Government will take forward measures to tackle child neglect. Quite simply, this is a momentous achievement. I am proud to have supported Action for Children's campaign to update the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, alongside other Liberal Democrat colleagues including Mark Williams MP and Annette Brooke MP. The criminal law should be able to protect children from all forms of abuse. For too long we have viewed non-physical harm of children as less serious than physical harm. In the 81 years ...
Kenneth Baker has a stimulating column in today's FT. If you believe in practical education you should nag the headmaster to install a 3D printer (unless he's behind on the repairs and there's rain coming down the walls). Baker starts with a bold statement: Britain's most inventive period was from 1700 to 1850. Not only did we [...]
Welshpool was known as Pool until 1835. Its name was changed to avoid confusion with Poole in Dorset.
This article has been reprinted from Liberal Democrat Voice I was engaged in a twitter argument yesterday with someone who was disputing the progress we have seen in employment, putting the improved figures down to a million people enslaved on zero hours contracts. The Office for National Statistics have provisionally estimated the number of zero hours contracts to be between 583,000 and 1.4 million. There isn't an established data series for this that would enable historical comparisons, but there are such statistics for full time and part time workers. According to these the number of part time workers is up ...
Here are the latest planning applications in the Cressington ward area (L19 and L18) If you want details of these sent to you directly in future, e mail me at paulakeaveney@yahoo.co.uk and I'll put you on the list for my bulletins. When you look at any of these, bear in mind that most of the info is in a section called Related Documents - so scroll down and click. West Farm B and B on Greenhill Road wants to change to housing. Info here Shop/office on St Mary's Road to be changed to flat? Info here House on Broughton Drive ...
[IMG: Clegg on Osbourne] I'm not going to lie, I bet a lot of you are thinking Sam who? Chances are if you live in Scotland, you'll be less curious because you will know that he was a Senior Special Adviser to Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy First Ministers Jim Wallace and Nicol Stephen. As such, his perspective on who the Liberal Democrats should proceed in the run up to the General Election is highly relevant. In a recent Scotsman column, he said that Nick Clegg needs to get out there and shout about our core beliefs. Some of the headlines ...
Recycling rates to slump? [IMG: index] Rates of recycling rose by just 0.2% in 2012/13 and are predicted to fall by 2% in the year 2013-14, according to waste firm SITA. The firms blames the use of multiple bins for the collection of recycling. "Rates of overall recycling, especially in high density urban areas, are undoubtedly higher when councils and their contractors run a mixed collection service", said SITA chief executive, David Palmer-Jones. A Defra spokesman said it was working to ensure it meets the EU's 50% target of recycling half of all household waste by 2020. [IMG: Lib Dem ...
[IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Wed 4th
16:28
Baroness Kate Parminter writes....5p charge on "icons of throwaway society is a victory for the envi...
[IMG: Welcome to Portreath.] It's great to see the Queens Speech include a commitment to reduce the use of plastic bag carriers to help protect the environment. It's an issue I've campaigned on since I came to the Lords in 2010. We used 7 billion single use carrier bags in UK supermarkets in 2012. Plastic bags are highly visible litter on our streets and in our countryside; pose a threat to wildlife and their disposal contributes to our green house gas (GHG) emissions, taking 500 to 1,000 years to degrade. Following the introduction of a charge in 2002 in the ...
The summer months with their light evenings are the perfect time to get back out on the doorstep with some surveying. Contact now will pay dividends in May 2015. Here at ALDC we've taken a fresh look at this tried and tested formula and given it a new twist. We are launching two new surveys [...]
The Queen has today set out the Government's agenda for the fourth and final session of this Parliament, which will run until 30 March 2015. The LGA have produced a response detailing the new Bills announced today that the Government intends to bring forward and which will be of relevance to local government. Further details from [...]
Only 15 out of a 100 students at the University of Beijing can identify the iconic 'tank man' photo from the Tiananmen Square uprising – and most of them think it shows an escaped psychiatric patient Vox's Max Fisher commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre by inviting its reader to imagine a [...]
[IMG: Liberal democrats] The main criticism of the party leadership after the terrible European election results has come from those who see themselves on the 'Fairer Society' wing of the party. Over the last 4 years the Conservatives in the Coalition have swung more and more to the right on the NHS, welfare and immigration, making the decision to enter the coalition more and more untenable. Liberal Democrats in Government have continued to feel themselves constrained by 'cabinet collective responsibility' (CCR) even as the rightward shift has undermined the Liberal Democrat position on a 'Fairer Society' There is a very ...
ALDC is about to launch two versions of our summer survey. There will be a version to mail merge and deliver and a simpler knock and drop one. The latter is a great way to get out on the door-step and start your voter contact now. Along with early candidate selection, starting voter contact now [...]
[IMG: paddy book 2] Paddy Ashdown's ubiquitous presence on the media these days is not entirely an accident. I suspect, though, he wanted to spend more time talking about his new book, out tomorrow, than about Liberal Democrat plots and leadership crises. The Cruel Victory: The French Resistance, D-Day and the Battle for Vercors is currently making its way to my Kindle and I'm looking forward to reading it, harrowing though it will be. Paddy knows how to tell a story with intelligence and emotional punch. He has been talking to all sorts of media outlets, but I came across ...
This morning I listened to the dulcet tones of the Shadow Leader of the House (the MP for Garston) predicting that today's would be a Zombie Queen's Speech for a Zombie last session of Parliament. In truth it is rather ... Continue reading →
The new UKIP MEP for Wales, Nathan Gill must be a little red-faced today after it was revealed in the Western Mail (courtesy of a Welsh blog) that he employed "dozens" of eastern European and Filipino workers in a care company: It has emerged that Mr Gill, who lives in Anglesey, was a director of a number of family businesses that owned property and provided care services on contract to Hull City Council in Yorkshire. He yesterday confirmed he had employed "dozens" of immigrants from new EU countries like Poland and others from the Phillipines. He also said he had ...
[IMG: article-2485612-0DFB940200000578-49_634x1094.jpg (634×1094)] Here is a little calculation you can do about what happened to our pensions. We have been through a generation where the British system of occupational pensions all but disappeared as a reliable prop for retirement, and where the institutions created to make it possible to have that comfortable retirement have all but disappeared too - partly thanks to over-regulation, partly thanks to an outrageous and disastrous political fix. We have entered a new world where people save less than half as much as they used to for their retirement, and where they are systematically fleeced by ...
[IMG: Her Majesty The Queen] Well, the Imperial State Crown is on its way back to the Tower of London and the Queen is having a well earned rest after her annual trip to Parliament to unveil the Government's Legislative Programme. There's something in me that thinks all the pomp is a bit strange and anachronistic but also weirdly comforting at the same time. I guess it's like whenever I go to a Church and hear the familiar rites that I knew off by heart as a young child even though religion has no part of my life now. As ...
According to Twitter, this post of mine got the most attention this week. I do wish developers would consider the future. The number of homes in Houghton Regis is set to double. New people will need furnishings and current people need household goods. While Poundstretcher serves this type of product, in Bedford Square, with smaller shops offering bits and bobs, more retail choice is needed locally. The nearest B&M store is in Luton, 4 miles away. Read the PLANNING story I wrote up here:
This is a Queen's Speech that represents the Liberal Democrat approach in government - putting Britain securely on the road to the economic recovery, and doing so in a way that is fair. Lib Dem Pensions Minister Steve Webb has been the architect of the radical pension reforms that feature in today's Queen's Speech. We can be proud that these reforms will give people both freedom and security in retirement. Let us be in no doubt: this is a revolution in our pension system and the Liberal Democrats have been the driving force behind these reforms. I am delighted that ...
The government has announced a £5 million fund to help cut vehicle pollution. Grants of up to £500,000 are available for authorities to apply to. The money can then be used to adapt Council vehicles to ensure the emit less pollution. I'll be asking questions to ensure that Calderdale Council makes use of this fund if any of our local fleet of vehicles need adapting. Air pollution from vehicles is a problem across parts of Calderdale. There are several hot spots in areas like Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Hipperholme. According to Public Health England it's estimated that around 5% of ...
Independent seat. Resignation
Wed 4th
10:55
"If you think Princess Diana was murdered, you're [also] more likely to think that she's still alive...
My general impression is that conspiracy theorists like to imagine themselves to be more sceptical than the "sheeple" around them who just blindly follow the official narrative. Unfortunately for them, research indicates that the opposite is true: they are defined by their credulity. For example, in the video below Ezra Klein interviews Cass Sunstein, a [...]
Wed 4th
10:43
It's all about Margaret: why Thatcher remains an electoral millstone around the Tory neck
[IMG: Margaret-Thatcher-_2530710b] The cliché about Margaret Thatcher is that she is like marmite, and that Thatcherism is an intrinsically love it or hate it concept. I'm an odd one out on this one. There are things about Thatcher that I liked, admired even, but a great deal I intensely disliked about her policies and her style of government. Perhaps this is the split-the-middle centrist in me coming to the fore, but I don't think so. Because I think Thatcher was a fundamentally paradoxical character. And this is what I liked the least about her. I'll start with the things I ...
[IMG: 3D Employment Graph] I was engaged in a twitter argument yesterday with someone who was disputing the progress we have seen in employment, putting the improved figures down to a million people enslaved on zero hours contracts. The Office for National Statistics have provisionally estimated the number of zero hours contracts to be between 583,000 and 1.4 million. There isn't an established data series for this that would enable historical comparisons, but there are such statistics for full time and part time workers. According to these the number of part time workers is up 356,000 since May 2010, and ...
Here we come to the first of the difficult subjects for these Hugo blogs — what to do about works that aren't in the Hugo Packet in full? One of the three (count 'em!) major controversies this year around the Hugos has been that some books (notably those by Orbit) are not included in the [...]
[IMG: LF FGM Kids] Nick Clegg gave a speech about Britain's stance on international development. He spoke highly of Britain's generosity, but mentioned that people's ideas of how much the Government gives to foreign aid are distorted. On average, the British public believe that around 20% of all the money the UK Government spends in a year goes on foreign aid. In reality, we spend 0.7% of our nation's income, which in itself is an achievement as we are now the first of the world's wealthiest countries to meet this long-held promise. In his speech, Nick paid tribute to the ...
One of my constant gripes with economic debate is how it gets reframed in moralistic terms. All parties tend to be guilty of this. For the Left, it was about some sin at the heart of capitalism, about the wicked behaviour of certain bosses and bankers. For the right, we all just consumed too much, [...]
Launchpad is a series of regionally based, Election and Skills training day/s to build towards the 2015 elections and beyond. They aim to: How to get more members, activists and supporters How win in wards and constituencies on the same day Connect – using it better, using it more Launchpad is designed to work for [...]
23 Words That Have A Totally Different Meaning In Scotland Warning: contains bagpipes. TBF pub is the same in Yorkshire (tags: ) A Fairer Deal for your Local - Gareth Epps details a victory (tags: ) Jenny Willott encourages Cardiff Girls to Get Coding (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Enter these in the Google Search box 1. DEFINE Define: wordUse this to find definitions. 2. EXACT QUOTE "word word word"Quotation marks get you the exact quote. 3. REDUCE NUMBER OF RESULTS word -nounFinds references to word and not noun 4. GET A PRICE RANGE clock £10..£12Finds clocks on sale between two prices. 5. SEARCH A WEB SITE site:hrnd.co.uk bypassFinds references on HRND.co.uk to bypass 6. USE A WILD CARD nelly the * packed her *searches for something using * as a wildcard 7. LOOK FOR A FILETYPE building bypass filetype:pptlooks for a powerpoint presentation about building bypass 8. TIMER ...
[IMG: Libby - Some rghts reserved by David Spender] Most participants in the post-election debate have concentrated on specific changes they want now: the Leader, his advisers, the communications team, the detail of policy issues etc. I firmly believe that the underlying issues are systemic rather than one-off and that we should use the opportunity to establish structures for the future which minimise the likelihood of problems arising and improve our capacity as a democratic Party for dealing with them. Some key targets: Agreement by the Party in advance on the elements which underpin construction of a coalition agreement: what ...
Boundary signs always make me wonder about the messages that are being delivered and how the visitor may see them. The one below is in Tosside in the Trough of Bowland – its seems to mix the messages of welcome and crime in one place. [IMG: rsz_mixed_messages] Not so long ago there was a boundary sign as you left Lydiate (Merseyside) and were entering Lancashire and it read 'Lancashire a place where everyone maters'. It has now been replaced by another one that reads 'Lancashire welcomes careful drivers', like the one in the photo. Apart from the cost of changing ...
Residents have complained to me about the deteriorating state of the roadway in both Fort Street and in adjacent Richmond Terrace. The Fort Street road surface is pictured - below:I have reported this to the City Council's Road Maintenance Partnership (RMP), requesting improvements. Updates on other road repairs required that I have recently raised on behalf of residents : Norwood Crescent : RMP has responded - "With reference to your email, an order has been raised to fill a number of potholes in Norwood Crescent with a timescale for completion of twenty eight days or sooner." Seymour Street : RMP ...
The new indian restaurant - Indian Valley - on St Mary's Road has an application in for the hours it can be open and serve alcohol. The restaurant is where the old Sports Bar used to be. The Council's licensing committee meets next week (16th June) to make a decision. There have been some objections/comments from neighbours (although not from local councillors) The paperwork for the committee is at this link.
Five years ago today, on 4 June 2009, Shropshire Council was elected for the first time. Within a year, the Conservative administration was faced with a financial crisis due to government expenditure cuts. It has used this as an excuse to undermine local democracy. The transition from four districts and a county council to a [...]
If the Welsh Labour Government was serious about improving primary and community care then it would end the frequent use of 15 minute care visits. I welcome the new £50 million care fund, negotiated by the Welsh Lib Dems, however the Welsh Labour Government need to do more. Figures show that more than 80% of local authorities in Wales are currently commissioning 15-minute care visits. That means that care workers are asked to provide person-centred care in a time frame that does not allow for them to necessarily be supported with dignity. The Intermediate Care Fund, set-up through the Welsh ...
This is to remind you that the A14 consultation closes on 15 June 2014. The Highways Agency is keen for all those who use the A14 and who live or work nearby to have their say on the scheme before the consultation closes. There will also be an opportunity to talk to members of the project team during the second and final web chat. This will take place between 4pm and 5pm on Wednesday 4 June. To find out more please visit the schemes web chat page. To find out more about this scheme and comment on the consultation please ...
