Following a consultation, First Bus have announced new fares for our area. This Friday, 27 June, a roadshow to explain the changes will be in Yate shopping centre, from 10am to 4pm. The main changes are: The cost of single tickets will be based on the distance you travel within your chosen area.There will be no return tickets but First Day tickets will still be available and are probably the best option for multiple journeys.Up to 2 children under five travel free with each fare-paying adult or young person.There will be a 50% discount for children aged 5-15.There will be ...
MP Julian Huppert has pushed the Treasury to tighten tax laws such as those which allowed Starbucks, Amazon and Vodafone to cut their tax bills by millions. Julian raised the issue in the Commons yesterday (Tuesday, June 24) calling on the government to tackle laws including those covering transfer pricing which allows multinational companies to attribute their profits around the world to avoid corporation tax. He said: "It is a huge frustration to people to see wealthy individuals and large companies avoid paying the taxes that they ought to be paying." Julian called on David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the ...
Thank you for not killing my fellow LGBT brothers, sisters and anyone in between. However, the fact that your state allows them to live and exist is not the same as being anti-gay. Like your nation I come from a socially conservative part of the world, but here in Northern Ireland which only decriminalised homosexuality 10 years before Russia there are other protections to LGBT people which are lacking in your nation. Firstly there are laws in place that prevent discrimination against LGBT folk in any area of live whether education, access to health service, their employment or accommodation. While ...
The medieval castle is in the foreground and the 17th-century gatehouse is in the background.
In view of the events of the past two days, I think it worth repeating this observation made by Dominic Sandbrook on high50 three years ago: The truth is that Chipping Norton could hardly be a less appropriate headquarters for a Dan Brown-style international conspiracy. In a wildly overwrought column, the Telegraph's Peter Oborne laid into the "louche, affluent, power-hungry and amoral" conspirators, but none of those words really apply to poor old Chippy. Of all the popular Cotswold towns, it is easily the most unpretentious. You want louche? Try Stow on the Wold. Amoral? Bourton-on-the-Water. Power-hungry? You don't know ...
MP Julian Huppert is backing the launch of a campaign by the Cambridge branch of Amnesty International to Stop Torture across the world. Julian will join supporters of Amnesty, local members of the Freedom from Torture group and Cambridge WDM (World Development Movement) n in Cambridge Market Square tomorrow (Thursday, June 26) for the launch. They will drive home the message that torture is unacceptable in a modern world and call on governments to act to end it. Julian said: "This is a hugely worthwhile campaign. Every day in countries across the world men, women and children are being subjected ...
Let me see. There's: Mathew d'AnconaGuido FawkesBoris JohnsonJenny JonesDavid CameronKit Malthouse
"If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out! Out of service, out of Africa. I wouldn't hang about."
There are three types of captain: those with tactical nous, those with great man-management skills, & those who lead from the front. — Samuel Honywill (@SDHoneymonster) June 23, 2014 This tweet was discussed on the Geek & Wilde podcast on the evening of the fourth day of the Headingley test. They argue that the great captains have all three qualities and that quite good ones can survive on only one. Coming to the conclusion that Alastair Cook at present offers none of these three qualities, they call on him to resign. I have been interested in the parallels between cricket ...
Mark Pack looks at the lessons of Lord Ashcroft's poll of Conservative-Liberal Democrat marginals. "The Labour party's capitulation on social security for the young is not an appropriate response to the modern world, but a dangerous step into the past," says Stuart Weir on Open Democracy. Jennie Rigg enjoyed her day at the Headingley test match. While Stumbling and Mumbling ponders the use of nightwatchmen in cricket and much else in "Liam Plunkett and the tragedy of social science". "Charlie Chaplin was famous in a way that no one had been before; arguably, no one has been as famous since. ...
The 2014 AGM of Friends of Abney Hall Park will be at 7.00pm on Tuesday 8th July at the Scout and Guide Centre in the Park. The Friends Group has formulated a strategy to improve the facilities for Park users, and it needs people to join the Group and help with Marketing, Funding, Projects and Events. If you can't get to the AGM but are interested in helping, then visit www.abneyhallpark.com and follow the "join us" link. Alternatively telephone The Secretary on 01614289946.
As the Orange Book has been in the news thank to its 10th anniversary, this question has been puzzling me: Post by Mark Pack.
Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series of detective stories are set, unsurprisingly, in the 87th Precinct of the fictional American district of Isola (essentially Manhattan) are often cited as an inspiration for future crime writers. For that simple reason I've long intended to start reading them, but had always thought, logically, that I should start at the [...]
I have entered the Walking Out Of Darkness 25 mile overnight walk around the London Thames Path fundraising for the charity CLASP. CLASP raises awareness, support and funds for those suffering the stigma surrounding mental and stress related illness and suicide. The charity states that suicide is preventable with help and support. I have set up [...]
New from the Deputy Prime Minister's office: You can also watch this on YouTube.
"If it wasn't for us white Caucasians sorting them out they would still be swinging through the trees" No. Don't worry this is not my view nor I am going off on one. It was a tweet made on Chuka ... Continue reading →
Residents are being asked to put forward topics for consideration by St Albans City and District Council's Scrutiny Committees. The Council wants to provide the best possible services for residents and the Scrutiny Committees help check that this happens. Councillors take an overview of all the activities that the Council is involved in, and can decide to scrutinise and examine in depth particular issues. They can review policies, decisions made and suggest improvements. The Council has two committees dedicated to looking at local issues affecting residents Local Services Scrutiny Committee scrutinises public services provided to residents in St Albans District ...
I have recently visited China. It was not, strictly speaking, my first trip to the Middle Kingdom, since I visited Shenzhen last year and have visited Hong Kong twice before. However, it was certainly the first time to visit the heartland of China- Ningbo in the Yangtze delta and Beijing. I had always felt somewhat reluctant to visit an officially still Communist state, since Soviet Socialism remains in my mind the moral equal of National Socialism. Both systems embody a contempt for the individual, whether that contempt is manifest as race hatred or class hatred is rather beside the point. ...
[IMG: 090103-M-6058R-012] This week saw the Second Reading in The Lords of a Bill welcomed by the Liberal Democrats. It bears the unattractive title 'Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill' but builds towards our manifesto pledge to create a fair deal for our service personnel. A promise that has particular significance ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday. The Bill deals with three matters: the creation of a Service Complaints Ombudsman; the reform of the service complaints system; and ensuring financial assistance to charities and other organisations which support the Armed Forces community. The heads of the three ...
Given I have exams next week I can't say I've followed the ins and outs of Lib Dem internal politics recently but I was surprised to see yet another internal party grouping dedicated to ousting Nick Clegg. Now leaving aside whether this is the people's front of Judea or the Judean people's front, the name of the group, Lib Dem fight back, is quite revealing. Fight back against who you may ask? Well looking at their objectives it's a fight back against people within the Lib Dems - Nothing like a circular firing squad less than 12 months from a ...
[IMG: food_shopping] Inflation fell more sharply than expected in May, driven by a sharp drop in air fares and retail prices, with food prices at their lowest level in eight years. Figures show that inflation has fallen to 1.5%, lower than it has been in nearly five years. This has marked the fifth month in a row that it was below the 2% target. These figures show that the Liberal Democrat plan for a stronger economy is working. Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander commented on the good news: "As a result of our role in Government, ...
Stephen Tall today celebrates the tenth anniversary of the much-maligned, much-magnified and in my view surprisingly dull Liberal Democrat essay collection The Orange Book with a provocative article: "Why looking back on the 2005 Lib Dem manifesto depresses me. And why The Orange Book means the 2015 manifesto will be better." So... Dear Stephen, you'll be delighted to know that you've provoked me into thinking (and so much that it would be overdoing it a bit to submit this as a comment to you). You may be less delighted to read that I didn't agree with very much you said... ...
The most recent statistics are out, and they show yet another dramatic fall in unemployment. From February - April this year, 46,000 extra people were employed in the capital alone. 103,000 people have found work here in total since April last year. London really is bouncing back! Nationally, the numbers are just as good. Across the UK the increase in employment averages out at 1.6% (2.8% in England). That means, since the same time last year, 445,000 men and 315,000 women have found a job in the UK, the great majority of them full time. The numbers are clear: there ...
And let it dive deeper into the weeds of political fiscal choices. Today Ed Balls has called a debate on allowing the OBR to look at Labour's fiscal promises, as well as those of the serving government. Interestingly, he appears to have the cautious support of both Danny Alexander and Robert Chote. This move is generally [...]
[IMG: Earth Day 2007 - Atlantic Reflection] It's so commonplace for politicians to publish their thoughts on policy for public debate now that it's hard to understand the furore which prevented the Orange Book having a public launch when it was first published in 2004. Yesterday's Orange Book – 10 years on conference finally celebrated the way in which contributors to the Orange Book raised the standard of debate about liberalism by exposing their views to rigorous scrutiny and by doing so challenging others to do the same. Amongst a very tempting variety of excellent speakers Maajid Nawaz was for ...
I don't like shibboleths. I don't like this particular shibboleth of the Liberal Democrat party "Where We Work We Win". I understand that we need to motivate our support to come and campaign for us. I don't think generalisations are the way forward - both because they can be counter-productive and also in this particular case, it could lead to burn out. For me, the phrase more irritates me due to inaccuracy than depresses me but I have met activists who are depressed by this attitude. More depressing to me is blank looks when you raise that there may be ...
[IMG: Vince Cable, Business Secretary at the launch of the joint government and UK automotive industry's automotive strategy] Vince Cable has introduced a Bill which will ban zero hours contracts that prevent people from looking for other work. These "exclusivity" contracts are particularly unjust. It's one thing to not offer work in a particular week. It's quite another to prevent an employee doing another job to supplement their income. He spoke about this and other things that he had done to encourage fairness in the workplace in this video including increasing the Minimum Wage, enforcing it and curbing high executive ...
Yesterday's debate on the constitutional implications of the Scottish independence referendum naturally highlighted the profound and shocking potential impacts of a 'Yes' vote on 18 September. However, there was a consistent theme - growing in intensity as the evening wore on - that there were important implications for the whole of the UK, whatever the outcome of the Scottish vote. I had (with unusual modesty) asked to be left to a very late stage in the discussion, and I was scheduled to be the 35th speaker. I planned to discuss the impact on England and Cornwall in the light of ...
A simple photo quiz: Haringey Council says it has sent someone to the location on Crouch Hill shown in the photo below and they could not see where a road name sign was missing from. Can you do any better? [IMG: Missing road name sign, corner of Tregaron Avenue and Crouch Hill]
I have previously posted photo's of the wall-art in the former railway tunnel of Bootle's Langton Dock Branch which is now a pedestrian walkway under the present Bootle New Strand Station. This is the last of my shots of the wall-art but considering it is the 100 anniversary of the start of WW1 in 2014 I thought it appropriate to give this final shot the individual consideration that it deserves. [IMG: rsz_wallart_on_former_railway_tunnel_-_bootle_4]
[IMG: Bread loaf. Photo courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/photo/917179 - some rights reserved] Judging by the relative amount of media outrage generated, an MP supposedly showing they are out of touch by not knowing what their last loaf of bread cost is far worse than being cautioned by the police for common assault. Sigh.
I'm currently away watching Mike Love's Beach Boys, and didn't have a chance to get the post I was going to get up today finished, so have some YouTube videos of ten very good songs until I get back tomorrow: Judee Sill — Lady O Kristian Hoffman and Rufus Wainwright — Scarecrow The Monkees — [...]
Only 48 hours to go All election expenses and agents declarations for the May 22nd principal council elections must be submitted by close of play on Friday – 27th June for elections declared after midnight. This if for "nul" declarations as well as for those where money was actually spent. Within 7 days of submitting [...]
Wed 25th
11:44
Opinion: "Orange Bookers" are the boldest thinkers in the party. They need also to be the most progr...
[IMG: David Laws speaking at Lib Dem Spring conference, Liverpool 2008] "No return to soggy socialism" was the message that David Laws chose to end his keynote address to Centre Forum's Orange Book Ten Years On conference yesterday. It's a message that is bound to antagonise people in the party who define themselves in opposition to the Orange Book and its endorsement of liberal economics. However much Laws and his co-editor Paul Marshall emphasised that their support for economic liberalism was predicated on the belief that it would promote progressive ends there will still be those who hear "free market" ...
[IMG: A whale. Photo courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/photo/796423 - some rights reserved] The best thing about the first time I went whale watching was the whales (and hence the fact that it was the first rather than the first and last time). But the most instructive was what it showed me about my attitude towards taking photographs. I was surrounded by people desperately trying to snatch a piece of a whale on their camera. (Yes, it was long enough ago that photos were indeed being taken with cameras not phones. Video cameras containing tapes were even being wielded too.) But I ...
The party has produced it Summer Campaign Pack, using a famous old Liberal slogan, a Record of Delivery, A Promise of More but this time on the national level. The Liberal Democrats have achieved a great deal in government - but not enough people know about the things we have made happen, or the things [...]
[IMG: Christian Aid's Poverty can be eradicated poster] This is the third and final article in my series on why and how Liberal Democrats can claim the social justice agenda which has been abandoned by both Labour and the Conservatives. The first part is here and the second here. I argued we should abandon the notion of helping only the "deserving" poor, which defines our current welfare system, in favour of two new principles to define our approach to welfare: The role of the welfare state is to guarantee for every person the minimum standard of living needed to be ...
Ed Balls agrees with Lib Dems' mansion tax - Liberal Democrats (tags: ) QTWTAIN: Has This British Engineer Discovered the Secret to Infinite Clean Energy? He's got a nice cheeky smile, though (tags: ) Huppert attacks move to force students to leave or forfeit degrees (tags: ) Hipster Ipsum | Artisanal filler text for your site or project. (via @MorganGD) (tags: ) Useful site to work out exactly how much the NSA/GCHQ know about you. (tags: ) For bisexual activists, what is most tiring? TBF I think this is a bit harsh on transfolk, who, lets not forget, can be ...
North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell has written to the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond to request an update on the Army's move to the military base at Leuchars. The text of his letter is as follows: "Dear Philip, As you may be aware 6 Squadron based at RAF Leuchars has now redeployed to RAF Lossiemouth. 1 Squadron will do the same in the Autumn. As yet there is no clear public indication of the date when all the Army units proposed for Leuchars will finally take up residence. You will know from previous correspondence not only from myself but ...
North East Fife Liberal Democrat MP Sir Menzies Campbell has welcomed the news that 380 entrepreneurs in Fife, including 60 entrepreneurs in Sir Menzies' constituency of North East Fife, have received support from a UK Government scheme that is helping create new Scottish businesses. The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme offers financial and mentoring support to people on jobseekers allowance, lone parents and people on sickness benefits who want to start their own businesses. New statistics show that 3,300 businesses have been created in Scotland with support from the scheme. Commenting, Sir Menzies said: "It's not easy taking an idea ...
[IMG: Orange_Book] For years, I have been arguing that there is no real division inside the Lib Dems, who are (in my characterisation) - both the Orange Bookers and the Social Liberal Forum - uniformly uninterested in economics, its constraints or its possibilities. But I went to the Orange Book knees-up conference yesterday, run by CentreForum, and have begun to realise that I have been wrong all this time. And on nearly all counts. For one thing, listening to David Laws - the co-editor of the original collection of essays - I realised that he is certainly interested in economics. ...
Wed 25th
09:25
Why looking back on the 2005 Lib Dem manifesto depresses me. And why The Orange Book means the 2015 ...
What did the Lib Dem manifesto in 2005 propose? I asked myself the question when reflecting on the legacy of The Orange Book 10 years after it was published. I remember Paul Marshall, the book's co-editor, dismissing it at a Lib Dem fringe debate a couple of years ago as a combination of unrealistically high spending commitments and "bribes" to constituencies such as students. He read out the list of 10 pledges around which the party's election campaign was framed, and I recall there was an uncomfortable shifting in seats as even those not particularly keen on The Orange Book ...
Members of the South Planning Committee yesterday asked for plans for up to 215 houses in Ludlow to be revised and clarified before they will consider granting outline planning permission. Referring plans for the site off the Bromfield Road back to officers, councillors said they wanted to know more about plans for a new roundabout [...]
25 June 2014 I am sorry that members were unable to see this site properly this morning. If you had, you would have seen that it comprises a large flat plateau, ideal you might think for housing. You would have seen that it falls away steeply to the River Corve. You would have seen why [...]
[IMG: Screen Shot 2014-06-24 at 21.30.52] Many long standing members of the party will be very sad to hear of the death of Anthony (Lord) Jacobs last Saturday. Anthony was a lifelong supporter of the party and served in many roles including Economics and Taxation Advisor from 1973 to 1978. He twice fought the Parliamentary Constituency of Watford increasing the Liberal share of the vote from 6% to 24%. In 1984, he was elected Joint Treasurer of the Party and was returned unopposed each year until he stepped down in 1987. He was a keen supporter of the merger of ...
And - more about Magdalen Green! Last night, I took part in the latest Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting. We had very positive updates on the Roseangle playpark campaign - with the (hopefully) final playpark plans having been submitted to Sportscotland yesterday. These should be made publicly available soon and take into account community input from the numerous consultation opportunities that have taken place, including at the recent WestFest Big Sunday. We also discussed arrangements for this Friday's Queen's Baton Relay as it passes Magdalen Green on Friday - more details here.
There are some great examples of Liberal Democrats around the Country campaigning to protect their local pubs. We have previously mentioned in this blog campaigns such as those by Calderdale and Southwark Liberal Democrats, and there are probably many more out there. Since covering these campaigns Liberal Democrats in government have been successful in bringing [...]
This Sunday's band concert on Magdalen Green features the City of Discovery Brass Band. It starts at 2pm on Sunday 29th June at the bandstand. Further details available here.
On Monday I posted a 1939 photograph of a group of Kettering schoolchildren and, according to Getty Images describes as "a walking talking robot" built by local electrical engineer Charles Lawson. Cyberneticzoo.com has a couple of posts on Lawson and his robot. The one shown in Monday's photo was the 1938 model. Later in 1939 he built an improved model that, it was claimed, could control traffic, sing, light and smoke a cigarette and sit or stand. Was it for real? I don't know, but Kettering has a history of being at the cutting edge of technology. They used to ...
Following the news that two men from Cardiff appeared in an apparent recruitment video for Jihadists in Iraq and Syria, Wales needs its own anti-extremism strategy. Two years ago the Wales CONTEST Board recognised that there were particular issues relating to increases in incidences of radicalisation here in Cardiff. In the chamber yesterday I challenged the Welsh Government on what it had done since the specific problem in Cardiff was identified. We have a proud record as a nation as a tolerant and open society that has long embraced other cultures and faiths. However, clearly Wales is not immune from ...
The Telegraph reports that the Liberal Democrats Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander is set to annoy some Conservatives by unveiling an official government analysis that shows that more than three million British jobs would be at risk if Britain leaves the European Union: Mr Alexander's intervention could lead to a major Coalition row and is part of continued Lib Dem attempts to differentiate themselves from the Tories ahead of the next election. Speaking in Washington today, Mr Alexander will say: "When the focus is on jobs, and growth, and wider risks we take with our prosperity through isolation ...
[Note: This was written before the European Elections and the attempted regicide against Nick Clegg. I think that the lack of enthusiasm for the botched coup strengthens, rather than weakens, my argument about the loyalism of party activists.] One of ... Continue reading →
