It had always been my plan that once I retired as a councillor I would get this blog up and running again. Well here I am trying to make it happen and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it lasts. I always enjoyed blogging, but after a steady decline in the frequency of posts through [...]
Take your chance to have a say on these proposals which affect healthcare in North West Durham. We've previously alerted you to proposed changes to Urgent Care provision locally, which involves local surgeries and Shotley Bridge Hospital. You can read the full proposal and the reasons for them here In essence they are: 1. Increase appointments and resources within primary care (GP Practices) through further development and better use of: Weekend opening and extended opening during the week from 6:00pm to 8:00pm The Primary Care Outcomes Scheme, which will support GP practices to meet urgent and emergency care needs 2. ...
Click on the picture above to play this game from UsvsTh3m.
The loss of the Euston Arch is mourned by many, but its equivalent in Birmingham still stands. Birmingham Curzon Street (originally plain Birmingham) was the other terminus of the original London and Birmingam Railway. It finally closed to goods traffic in 1966. Very uses have been proposed for it, but at present it looks as though it will be incorporated into the Birmingham station on HS2.
Wed 11th
22:04
Scotland: Where the First Minister's Special Adviser tells lies about political opponent - and gets ...
On Monday, there were various events to mark 100 days to go to the referendum on Scottish independence. At the main Better Together event in Glasgow, Clare Lally, a Scottish Mum of the Year winner and advocate for carers who also happens ... Continue reading →
There will be a celebratory opening of the new bandstand this Saturday 14th June at around 10am when a Jazz Trio from Carshalton Boys School will perform for an hour or so. This is also Farmers Market Day so there is more than one reason to visit the Wallington Library Gardens this Saturday. The [...]
Wed 11th
21:37
Duncan Hames asks prime minister to institute independent inquiry into the sexual abuse of children
The following exchange took place during prime minister's questions today: Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD): The Prime Minister will have heard calls from all parts of this House for an independent inquiry on the Hillsborough model into organised child sexual abuse in this country. Can he truly be satisfied that current police investigations are sufficient for the public to have confidence that we are both willing and able to get to the truth?The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I have looked carefully at the matter with ministerial colleagues, because we have a series of inquiries taking ...
Earlier this evening, I attended the latest meeting of Harris Academy Parent Council. Mr Thewliss, Head Teacher, gave a very useful update on curriculum development, including literacy and numeracy initiatives aimed at S1 pupils. There was also a discussion about developing the calendar facility on the school's website - now with a wealth of useful information for pupils, teachers, parents and carers - including details of parents evenings, sports events, study leave, Parent Council meetings and other helpful information.
This afternoon, I attended the latest steering group meeting of Time2Give, the West End's Timebank at Blackness Library. It was a very positive meeting - between full members and pending or new applications, the timebank is fast approaching 40 members. There's also been presentations to a number of local organisations and information sessions at the Mitchell Street Centre. Timebanking is a means of exchange used to organise people and organisations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency. For every hour participants 'deposit' in a timebank, perhaps by giving practical help and support to others, they are able to ...
Lib Dem Councillor Charlotte Barnes, a regular blood donor, and a one-time bone marrow donor, spoke to Jim Hawkins on BBC Radio Shropshire this morning (listen here, starts around 1:20). She describes how she once saved someone's life as a bone marrow donor. After that adventure, Charlotte raised the issue of organ donation in a [...]
After the recent elections I was going through lots of old papers in post election clean-up. I cam across lots of stuff from when I first stood as a councillor in 2005/2006 with Richard Thomas and Jonathan Mitchell. We stood on a promise to fix the following six things: 1. New secondary – East Dulwich Harris Boys Academy – OPENED 2. Modernise all street lighting – COMPLETED 3. Longer opening hours – Dulwich Library opened on Wednesdays making it open 7 days a week – COMPLETED 4. Modernise the Dulwich Leisure Centre - COMPLETED 5. Fight to keep East Dulwich ...
The long-standing agreement that on Calderdale Council the Chairs and Deputy Chairs of Scrutiny Panels should not come from the same party as the Cabinet member has been torn up by the other parties as Conservative and Labour Councillors voted to appoint a Labour Deputy Chair for the Children & Young People Scrutiny Panel. The agreement has worked well for over a decade, and helped ensure the scrutiny was an independent voice. I'm concerned that the Children and Young People's scrutiny panel with have a Labour deputy Chair, when it's Labour who are also making the executive decisions in this ...
[IMG: Julian Huppert MP] A few weeks ago, I wrote about how my friend had been traumatised after her former partner published explicit images of her online without her consent. There was nothing that she could do to stop him. "Revenge porn" as it is known is becoming a bigger problem and is essentially a modern, legal form of abuse. How would you feel if it happened to you? I suspect you would very quickly learn the meaning of the phrase "spine-chilling" as you saw your personal details shared online, if your mutual friends were tagged in intimate images which ...
What a #bitch after we gave her shelter in our city when she was a single mum. http://t.co/6hYglHV2sk — The Dignity Project (@DignityProject) June 11, 2014
From the Council: Please be advised that contractors working on behalf of Virgin Media will be undertaking works to lay a duct and install chambers in the carriageway on Schools Hill, Cheadle, between the A34 roundabout and the junction with Turnfield Road. These works will require the use of Stop/Go boards from 19th June 2014 to 20th June 2014, between the hours of 9.30am and 3.30pm only.
Conservative Councillors have voted to appoint a Labour Councillor as Leader of the Council. Labour does not have a majority on the council, so the election of a Labour leader was not a certainty. However, the Tories made sure that it did happen by backing Labour and Cllr Tim Swift as leader of the Council. Although Labour won nine of the 17 seats this year, they got less than one-third of the votes cast. Their vote went down by about 3,000 and their share of the vote by about 7% compared to the last elections in 2012. That's not exactly ...
From the Nottingham Post: East Midlands Euro MP Roger Helmer has replaced party leader Nigel Farage as the head of UKIP MEPs. Mr Helmer was voted into the position on Tuesday evening by all 23 UKIP MEPs.
[IMG: Greg on Cotopaxi] There could hardly be a greater contrast than the one I experienced recently- from the hustle and bustle of the local and European election campaigns to scaling volcanoes in Ecuador to raise money for the Royal British Legion's Battle Back Centre. Our challenge to climb Cotopaxi, a 19,347ft active volcano, was almost derailed due to bad weather and the mountain being closed the days prior to our climb. However, our successful Cotopaxi summit attempt was carried out despite fresh snow and treacherous conditions; I knew this was the only chance to climb Cotopaxi and I didn't ...
Wed 11th
15:30
Perhaps, instead of demanding that someone do something, have you thought of being that someone?
There is, not unexpectedly, much debate on what needs to change after the fairly ghastly events of the past three weeks. A change of leader, a change of policy (or perhaps an adherence to the policy we already have), a reorganisation of Party structures, withdrawal from the Coalition, I've heard them all. And, in fairness, some, maybe all of them are necessary. But they aren't going to be easy, as some are beginning to discover. Gathering signatures in the hope that a beleaguered Leader will see the light having failed, and a bid to obtain a leadership contest by dint ...
Andrew Soloman's writing and speaking could so easily, go so wrong. He deals with emotionally charged and often rather bleak topics. I've previously shared his thoughts on depression and to pick examples more or less at random has also written about the parents of school shooters and political prisoners. Such material would potentially be mawkish [...]
Wed 11th
14:59
Scotland: where the First Minister's Special Adviser tells lies about political opponent - and gets ...
[IMG: st Andrews flag saltire scotland Some rights reserved by Fulla T] On Monday, there were various events to mark 100 days to go to the referendum on Scottish independence. At the main Better Together event in Glasgow, Clare Lally, a Scottish Mum of the Year winner and advocate for carers who also happens to be a member of the Labour Party, spoke about why she wanted Scotland to stay in the UK. Clare has met politicians from all parties in the last few years and, in fact, Willie Rennie has been a friend of hers since he stayed at ...
[IMG: From the latest Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties]
There is an interesting article on the BBC at the moment which reports the views of Robert Epstein, a senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, who suggest that Google has within its power, whether intentionally or not, to give a winning push to a political candidate in a close election. The article says that Mr. Epstein concedes that there is no evidence that Google is currently tampering in the electoral process, but thanks to how it ranks search results the company can have a meaningful influence on how an increasingly large portion of the ...
This morning it was announced that Harry Potter author J K Rowling had given £1 million to the campaign to keep Scotland in the UK. That's her perfect right in exactly the same way as it's the perfect right of ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Taxis on Oxford Street] There's been much in the media today about the Hackney Cab blockade/strike in London this afternoon, protesting to TfL and Boris Johnson about the licence that TfL have given Uber to set up an app for hailing minicabs. This isn't a turf war. It's much more serious than that, and there are some highly political issues here too that affect anyone who uses a taxi. I won't rehearse the cab drivers own concerns - they are much better at expressing that themselves as with today's Comment is Free piece by Ian Beetlestone at the Guardian. ...
This afternoon I am meeting with Felix Alvarez OBE and others from the Equality Rights Group group to talk about provision of support services for people living with HIV in Gibraltar. I have missed the regular support from Positive Life back in Belfast, and hope that we can find a way of making something work for...
This time last year I proudly blogged about the fact that Erica had been sworn in as Deputy Lord Mayor and would, in time, become the Lord Mayor of our adopted hometown of Liverpool. That time is today. At 5.00 ... Continue reading →
Here's the new film from the Liberal Democrats: You can also watch this on YouTube.
[IMG: Kingsway Open Day] You are invited to The Kingsway School Community Open Day on Thursday 8th July from 5.pm to 7.30pm in celebration of the anniversary of the two campuses. You will have the opportunity to walk around both campuses, which have recently undergone some refurbishment including the re-opening of the Broadway entrance. The school will also be putting on a display of the talents of current students for you to see including musical performances, demonstrations of sporting and artistic excellence, drama pieces and presentations of students' work across a wide range of subjects. There will be refreshments available ...
The local Police are tackling the problem of misused off-road bikes and the problems they cause local residents. They've issued advice to residents on reporting incidents: Are off-road bikes making your life a misery? Call Greater Manchester Police on 101 and report the incident providing the following details: Description of who is riding the bike Where the bike is being used When is it being used (time of day, e.g. evening, daytime, weekend) Details about the vehicle (e.g. make, model, colour) Who owns the vehicle (if known) Where the bike is being stored The Police do often have a good ...
Had some information from the Highways Agency about forthcoming roadworks on the M4 locally. Please note, some of them appear to overlap with the period 23rd July – 3rd September, when Wokingham Borough Council is planning major works on the A 329 (M). So there is a possibility of extra delays. M4 Junction 8/9 to 10 Resurfacing Works: Resurfacing approximately 3 miles of the M4 east and westbound carriageways between Junction 10 (Wokingham) and Shurlock Row Dates: 13 June to 9 July on the eastbound carriageway and 18 June to 3 July on the westbound carriageway Traffic Management: Work on ...
Many two-year-olds across Stockport now qualify for hundreds of hours of free childcare – watch this short video to find out who qualifies.
[IMG: Libby - Some rghts reserved by David Spender] Michael Gove says that schools should promote the values of democracy, mutual respect and tolerance. Who can disagree with that? They are not just British values, they are liberal values. Extremism is allegedly being promoted in some schools by a small minority within one religious faith. That's the context in which Michael Gove makes his statement. The values he wants to promote though are universal, to mean anything they must be applied as rigorously in one school as in another, and to one faith as to another. Some people will use ...
A few weeks ago we reported that Gatley Post Office is planned to get much longer opening hours as part of its move into the Newsagents next door. We've now had a letter from the Post Office to let us know that Cheadle is also proposed to open for longer. The current Cheadle Post Office will close for refurbishment at 5.30pm on Tuesday 8th July 2014. It will stay closed for a couple of weeks and reopens at 1pm on Friday 25th July. The new opening hours will be 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday (and closed on Sunday). That ...
Not actually about Cerebus, but about Illuminatus!
This post first appeared on Lib Dem Voice One thing about Nick Clegg, rather like those inflatable Humpty Dumpties some of us had as kids - thump him and he bounces right back. Monday seems to be one such...Read more ›
Expenses Returns for the Local Elections 2014 We all know that they have to be done but getting round to the election expenses is most activists least enjoyable election task. Your local authority should supply you with a set of election expenses forms. There are 3 basic forms to be submitted for each candidate: 1. [...]
Wed 11th
11:19
Disciplinary dilemma: working across research silos is harder than it looks | Andy Stirling
The 'nexus' is the latest buzzword intended to lure researchers out of their disciplinary comfort zones and get them working together on the big challenges of the day. But how easy is it in practice? Andy Stirling investigatesOne of the loudest buzzwords in current science politics is interdisciplinarity. Government extols its virtues. Research councils clamour about its value. Academics parade their credentials. Continue reading...
Cornwall Council is asking for local opinions on plans to introduce 20mph zones in various areas around Launceston. Key areas affected include: - St Johns/Moorland/Meadowside - St Stephens Hill There are also proposals to change parking restrictions around Tavistock Road and upgrade two pedestrian crossings on Roydon Road. In St Johns Road, Moorland Road and Meadowside, the plan is to formally extend the 20mph zone and to introduce two new chicanes to slow traffic on Meadowside. In the St Stephens Hill area, the plan is to introduce a 20mph zone and to add speed cushions in order to slow traffic. ...
[IMG: key_plastic-bags] The Queen's Speech represents the Liberal Democrats' approach to government, focusing on putting Britain securely on the road to economic recovery, doing so in a way that is fair to all. By sticking to our economic plan, we have been able to create jobs, boost growth and reduce the deficit. Liberal Democrats want the many to feel the benefits of this recovery, not just the few. The Queen's Speech is a programme for continued recovery and shows the strength and values of Liberal Democrats in government. Key Liberal Democrat policies reinforced in the Queen's Speech include: The biggest ...
[IMG: 101 Humpty Dumpty, Lindt Big Egg Hunt Covent Garden 26-3-2013] One thing about Nick Clegg, rather like those inflatable Humpty Dumpties some of us had as kids – thump him and he bounces right back. Monday seems to be one such occasion. An upbeat, earnest speech, designed, it seemed to most commentators, to speak to the party as much, if not more, than to the country. For the Social Liberal Forum, the immediate reaction to his commitment on increased infrastructure spending was, while welcoming it, to wonder why on earth he and Danny had railed against it to the ...
I have a funny way of relaxing. For the past few days when childcare duties have allowed I have spent an hour or so a day reading Mishkin's "The Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets". It is a fantastic introduction to the topic of money, and useful signpost to the significant works of the [...]
They don't really make the connection at the BBC, where they are not used to making connections in case it is too political, but there is a storm brewing about what we call these days 'accountability' The coalition inherited a vast and ferociously expensive edifice of reporting, targets, standards and inspections. They articulated a critique of it in 2010, but failed to understand their critique enough to drive through the necessary changes. Now the edifice is coming apart. Not just in the ridiculous spectacle of Ofsted putting schools in Birmingham into special measures sometimes only months after they judged them ...
Gallery of Bearded Gentlemen - because sometimes one just needs Beard Porn (via @leftoutside) (tags: ) A first-timer's guide to the gym (tags: ) Financial hardship can make people more racist, scientists claim (tags: ) You can now register to vote online. (tags: ) Rik Mayall Gets The Best Blue Plaque Ever (tags: ) Plain packaging has backfired in Australia - don't bring it to the UK GodDAMN reading that made me want a fag. [/whinyexsmoker] (tags: ) Rats are capable of feeling regret, scientists say Stuff that rodent/dog/cat owners have been saying for years, and scientists have been telling ...
I always find the post election period hard work. With the adrenalin gone it always takes me a lot of effort to pick myself up and get going again. This year, luckily, I had to get straight down to finishing off the writing of the LaunchPad 2015 training and deliver it to around 80 activists [...]
[IMG: Refugee-Day1-1] A few weeks ago, a person I hadn't spoken to in a very long time came out of the woodwork. To tweet me. How 21st century. The tweet read: "That's what we need to hear more from, Canadian Lib Dems". Now, this person and I had never seen eye to eye politically, so him slagging off the Liberal Democrats was no surprise. If it had been contained to a slant against the party, I would have let it slide. But something about the "Canadian" jibe stuck in my teeth. So we traded heated remarks, over Twitter, on the ...
[IMG: nas-logo] Being diagnosed as having High Functioning Autism can come across as a bolt from the blue. However, a few weeks ago I was told that I have the condition at the ripe old age of 24. I am not alone in the country facing this issue; across the country there has been an increase in the number of people diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum Disorder range. Until around 18 months ago the Government provided funding to the National Autistic Society to allow them to assist people with Autism Spectrum Disorder into full time meaningful work. Despite ...
[IMG: Nepal flag] The Gurkha Peace Foundation is organising a charity Gurkha Walk this Sunday 15th June 2014. The distance will be 13 miles in memory of 13 Gurkha VCs. Address: Eastwell Manor Park, Ashford, Kent TN25 4HR (at Boat House) Start: 10:00 hrs (Registration starts at 09:00 hrs). Gurkha Peace Foundation logo printed ''Gold medal'' will be given if you take part on this walk. Registration fee only £10. Food stall will be there to purchase food along with entertainment. Gurkha Peace Foundation Chairman Brian Staley says: "On our recent trip to Nepal we identified several projects which we ...
As announced earlier this year, online electoral registration has arrived in the UK, allowing people to join the electoral register online with checks against other public records in order to guard against fraud: [IMG: Electoral registration form] A new website allowing people to register for a vote in three minutes will help wipe out the kind of electoral irregularities alleged to have happened in the London borough of Tower Hamlets and other areas, Greg Clark, a Cabinet Office minister, has said. Under the system, prospective voters will have to provide their national insurance number and date of birth to verify ...
While I was in Shropshire last week making my own psychogeographical investigations, Iain Sinclair was speaking at De Monfort University in Leicester. The Leicester Centre for Creative Writing blog says: We're delighted to have had Iain Sinclair up at De Montfort University talking about — amongst other things — walking, waywardness, madness and creeping privatisation of the landscape. Iain was a wonderful, generous-spirited guest, and it was a fascinating talk. We're very fortunate that the wonderful Ambrose Musiyiwa from Civic Leicester was on hand to record much of what went on. Here's the Youtube video of Iain talking about his ...
Wed 11th
08:15"What should the political parties promise on education in 2015?" - What I told Policy Exchange...
[IMG: stephen tall px edu] I was one of the speakers at this weekend's Policy Exchange conference which posed the question, 'What should the political parties promise on education in 2015?' Though I work in the education sector, I was there in a personal capacity to offer a Lib Dem perspective; very kindly Policy Exchange had invited Michael Gove and Tristram Hunt as warm-up acts for my seven minutes. You can watch what I had to say in the video at the foot of this post, starting at 2 mins in, or just read on... (If you check against delivery ...
Wed 11th
07:44
Merseytravel/Merseyrail – 20 years of big local railway ambitions many of which have hit the b...
This is the 3rd and, for now, final of my reviews of Merseytravel and its rail achievements and failures. The first two reviews can be found by following the links below:- The starting point for this final review is an article in Today's Railways Magazine of June 2009. The first and highly significant point made in this article is that the Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for Merseyside, which had been published a few months before the article by Network Rail, looked at the 'journey to work area' for Liverpool and it had concluded that it went well beyond ...
In support of Carers Week 2014 (June 9th-15th) Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for an awareness campaign to encourage self-identification and public understanding of the role of carers, with more flexible access to education and work. Speaking ahead of today's debate, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams said: "In Wales there are over 370,000 unpaid carers who offer invaluable support in looking after family members, friends and loved ones, in what is very often an extremely challenging role. That's around one in every eight of us, yet there remains a lack of understanding of the vital role that carers play. ...
A second round of kerbside electrical collection has been agreed for the 12th June 2014. If you have any old electrical items and would like them removed and recycled please put them out on this day. They will collect anything with the logo on the right from unused McDonalds kids toys to old TV's and computers. Just leave it on the kerbside clearly visible from the road and it will be picked up.
