[IMG: Economics economists] An interesting discussion about academic economics and its role in public life has sparked into life while I've been away (eg Simon here and here; Chris here and here). This discussion touches on many of the things that are closest to my academic interests - in particular, thinking about economics as a set of social practices as much as bodies of knowledge. Just before I disappeared for a few days I finished Lanteri and Vromen's recently published edited collection The economics of economists: institutional setting, individual incentives, and future prospects. It's a volume that speaks to many ...
At midnight Berlin time when the deadline for the Germans to respond passed they were young men in Westminster who were MPs who knew that their duty was to return to their regiments and take up arms. The following is a list of the young men who were Members of Parliament* from all parties who fought and died in World War I: Arthur Edward Bruce O'Neill 19 Sep 1876 - 6 Nov 1914 KIA Klein Zillebeke ridge, Belgium Unionist MP Mid Antrim Jan 1910 - 6 Nov 1914 William Glynne Gladstone 14 Jul 1885 - 13 Apr 1915 KIA near ...
Not much to write today because I had insomnia last night and had to work late today, so you get links: Labour are attacking the Tories from the right over immigration and benefits Jennie describes the Labour Party's normal thought-processes Korzybski's Science And Sanity is free to read online — I've never read this, but [...]
In October 1164 Thomas Becket was put on trial at Northampton Castle and convicted for contempt of royal authority and malfeasance. Fearing the consequences, and further charges possibly including treason, he fled to France. He returned in 1170, only to be martyred in Canterbury Cathedral. Legend has it that, while fleeing Northampton, he stopped to drink at this well. It is certain an ancient well, but there is no evidence for this connection beyond local tradition. Today you will find Becket's Well beside the Bedford Road. It's Gothic surround is not medieval but was put up by the town's mayor ...
One of my favourite things in this world are books. Old books, new books, fiction, non-fiction, comic, serious, classic books, Sci-fi books, fantasy books, intellectual books.... Sadly my wife prefers that I buy - Kindle books. Reading has always been a big part of my life, it was my crutch as a child. I was fairly shy and I was always a fan of sitting down day dreaming with a good book. By the age of 11 I had read all the local libraries Doctor Who books and was working my way into the teenage section. In my late teens ...
Yesterday Liberal Democrat Voice announced the categories for its 2014 Awards. These are the successors to the Blog of the Year Awards that were first made by the party in general and Liberal Democrats Online in particular in 2006. At some point over the intervening years, Liberal Democrat Voice took the awards over. I didn't get the memo when this was decided, but it's hard to be too critical of this coup because self-promotion is an important part of blogging if you want to enjoy a reasonable number of readers. I have indulged in it myself when I had the ...
[IMG: mail lesbians] A couple of weeks ago, Nick Clegg poked fun at the Daily Mail's everyday sexist approach to reporting the Cabinet reshuffle. Today the Lib Dem Twitter account has had a pop at the paper's stablemate the Mail on Sunday for its widely-mocked front page headline, 'NHS to fund sperm bank for lesbians' — the new Health department-backed centre is in fact open to everyone (lesbians included) — using the delicious Twitter hashtag #AddForLesbiansToAHeadline: Lib Dems record of delivery for lesbians #AddForLesbiansToAHeadline pic.twitter.com/0bM39NS2RS — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) August 4, 2014 It might have been worse for the Mail. ...
In her biography of her husband Charles, Lucy Masterman quotes from an article he wrote for the Daily Chronicle in 1915: It was a company of tired men who for twelve hot summer nights, without rest or relaxation, had devoted their energies to avert this thing which had now come inevitably to pass. No one who has been through the experience of those twelve days will ever be quite the same again. It is difficult to find a right simile for that experience. It was like a company of observers watching a little cloud in the east, appearing out of ...
Liberal Democrats have gone further in safeguarding children from being detained for immigration purposes, ensuring that no future government can ever do it again. Prior to 2010, thousands of children were being detained in prison-like conditions. During Labour's last 5 years in government, over 7,000 innocent children were held in adult detention centres, sometimes for weeks and months at a time. Ending this injustice was a major priority for the Lib Dems coming into the Coalition Government and we quickly acted to deliver this. While child detention ended over two years ago, the policy could have been reversed with a ...
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending the Great War memorial shrine time capsule ceremony at the City Chambers. This hugely well-attended event marked the opening of the time capsule which contained the records and services of Dundee postal workers during the First World War. The time capsule, designed to commemorate the 240 Dundee postal workers who served in the Great War - and in particular the 36 who did not return. The inscription on the shrine is : "To be opened on 4th August 2014 by the Postmaster in the presence of the then Lord Provost" and, so, ...
Watch the new video from Amnesty International UK: You can also watch this on YouTube.
Stockport Lib Dems have published the first chunk of our budget proposals for 2015-17, covering the vast majority of the £39.5 million savings Stockport Council needs to find over the next two years. The budget will be finally decided at the Budget Full Council meeting in Feburary – more than six months away. By publishing our proposals now, we want to give everyone as much chance as possible to look at our ideas and – if you want – suggest changes. Local Council budgets have to balance – that means if want to spend more in one area, we have ...
Over the past few weeks I have been contacted by a number of people about the 'additional sites' that Sefton Council is presently consulting upon – that consultation ends on 9th August, I would add. To recap we have a draft Local Plan in place and readers will know how I have fought against Green Belt and high grade agricultural land being built upon. The 'additional sites' are those which developers and land owners want brought into the Local Plan before it is finalised. I suppose you could say they want their sites brought in either as an alternative to ...
Trewellard Sunday School to be auctioned on 9 September in Exeter through Stratton Creber. People will know that, with my Chair of Lands End Peninsula Community Land Trust hat on, and as a local resident, I have been watching the sad demise of the Sunday school and had conversations about either temporary or permanent transfer of the asset for community benefit. Back in 2010 through to 2012, the Trust's interest was in work spaces and allotments. Legal complications and the need for the Methodist circuit to maximise their assets meant no real conversations took place but the building deteriorated. Earlier ...
In an unexpected intervention – an interview on BBC's "Countryfile", Nick Clegg has suggested that existing homeowners in areas where new garden cities are to be built could be compensated for any fall in value that might be caused by the building work; We could maybe give deductions on [homeowners'] council tax over a period of time during which the garden city is being built, we could possibly also say to those homeowners where they think the price of their homes will be effected, we will guarantee the price of their home, by buying it, if you like, up front." ...
[IMG: single candle crop] The lights will go out between 10pm and 11pm on Monday 4 August at Hemel Hempstead Civic Centre as part of a nationwide event to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Just a single light will remain burning in the building, coinciding with hundreds of other events taking place across the country as part of the Royal British Legion's aim to 'create a unique national moment'. Details about Lights Out can be found here: Lights Out is promoted by the First World War Centenary Partnership Programme 14-18 NOW The Royal ...
Mon 4th
15:42
Conversation on Douglas Arriving at the the Office Today, or: Why I've not Been Blogging
"Have you seen this news story? Clegg urges restrictions on migrants?" "Yeah, that's a thing that's made me angry" "Have you blogged on it?" "No. It'd not bring anything to the debate if I just posted a great long stream of invective" And that, ladies and gentles, is why I ain't been blogging much. Because, at the end of the day, if what you've got to say brings more heat than light there's not much point in saying it. And I'm feeling VERY heated these days. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
For a very long time I have been of the view that the outcome of Scotland's Independence Referendum this September will be a 60:40 split for the Union. Of course, it's possible that something dramatic will happen in the next few weeks to change this, but I doubt it. I get the impression that most voters have made up their mind, and despite a higher than usual number of undecided, I can't see the Yes campaign succeeding. That does not mean however that nothing will change. It seems to me, as a committed Unionist, that everything must change post referendum, ...
The Rome Statute is the founding document for the International Criminal Court. It is the ICC which enforces International Humanitarian Law. Because the USA and Israel have not ratified the Rome Statute it does not have any enforcibility in terms of the behaviour of those two nations. In the long term we need to strengthen the Rome Statute. As far as Europe is concerned a pre-condition for
Stephen Williams, Lib Dem Minister at the Department for Communities and Local Government, has written a letter reviewing some key Lib Dem achievements in recent months: Dear colleague, As we break for summer recess, I wanted to write a brief note to update on you on the progress that has been made at DCLG in recent [...]
I was very pleased to be able to attend this touching event marking the centenary of the start of World War One. The ceremony also unveiled the new World War Two memorial stone. Members of the public were invited to float poppies on the ponds in memory of those who had lost their lives in [...]
[IMG: Norman Baker] It is, perhaps, unusual for a minister to declare that he or she would like to see the end of part, or all, of their job. But then, Norman Baker isn't necessarily your average minister. It is ironic that, given his record as an anti-vivisection campaigner, he was given responsibility for the regulation of animal experimentation. In an interview with BBC News, he said that he wants to see an end to such testing, although he understands that it "would not happen tomorrow". Unexpectedly perhaps, the number of experiments using animals has increased by 52% since 1995, ...
I'm in no position to be dispensing medical advice but with that caveat here's a reality check on Ebola. The short version is that it's not about to become epidemic like Spanish flu. It's just not that contagious. Declan Butler of Nature explains that catching Ebola is actually rather more difficult than you'd imagine: Though the [...]
[IMG: Tim Gordon looking serious] Over on the party's official website, Chief Executive Tim Gordon last week put up a short post just after the party's official accounts were published by the Electoral Commission, explaining their highlights, providing some context and thanking those who contributed to the surplus. Nothing too exceptional, save that it's new. In the past, the party didn't use to communicate with its members and supporters at the time of publication of the accounts, relying instead on Lib Dems to pick up an opinion about whether the accounts contained good or bad news filtered instead via a ...
[IMG: ba3.JPG] WWI memorials are the rage at the moment, the centenary of Britain joining what remains possibly the world's most horrible conflict being today. The Prime Minister has given a speech on the matter, citing the fact that Britons a century ago went into battle because there was "an important principle at stake", that being the Germans' defiance of Belgian neutrality. The tone of Cameron's speech is that WWI was important, a conflict that Britain had no choice but to enter in to. I think this need to create something good out of the war of 1914 through 1918 ...
[IMG: RosieCowRoastsmall] Local residents are justifiably asking when the county council will instruct Ringway, its Highways Contractors, to fix this long-standing problem on the A4251 at Cow Roast, Tring. Although some work has been done to the drains in this area, they are still not flowing freely. Either the outflow to neighbouring land and ditches is obstructed, or if the storm water runs into a soakaway, then that needs to be cleared or reconstructed. After continuous rain or a sharp summer storm, flooding builds up right across the road. This is not only a traffic hazard but also constitutes an ...
[IMG: (C) Manny Begum Yasadein Photography] It's less than 9 weeks until Federal Conference in Glasgow. And late on the Saturday night of Conference, for the 9th year, Liberal Democrat Voice will be holding annual awards. As usual, they'll be awarded in a budget lavish and deliciously random ceremony in Castle 3 at the Crowne Plaza between 10 and midnight. The dress code is "imaginative." There will be a fantastic selection of Liberal Democrats presenting the awards. You can read about last year's ceremony, where Nick Clegg called us infuriating and inspiring here. We revamped the Awards last year and ...
I have a great respect both for the views and communication skills of the Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang. However his claim in an article in last week's Guardian that "[p]rivatisation was halted under Labour" is an over-simplification too far, and surely he must know it. True Labour sold only 51% of Air Traffic Control, but that means they privatised over half of it. They also continued Norman Lamont's policy of Private Financial Initiatives, PFIs, using them to finance the London Underground, hospitals and schools. Most of these contracts now turn out to be greatly in the favour of the private ...
When is a coalition not a coalition? Depends which branch of the labour party you're talking to (tags: ) Former DWP staff go rogue to help benefit claimants (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Today is a day of vigils for me and I suspect many other people. In the evening I will attend a vigil in Woolton and then at 10p.m. will join constituents at a vigil in St Barnabas Church, Penny Lane. ... Continue reading →
In a typically thoughtful piece about the Liberal Democrat election strategy, Stephen Tall made this point about the risks of fighting the next election as a series of Parliamentary by-elections: [IMG: Liberal Democrats Winning Here poster] As MPs come to realise that their brand is more important than the party's there will be ever more temptation to project themselves as independent Lib Dems. Sometimes this will be for entirely principled reasons — disagreements over policy — other times because it's the locally popular thing (the two may may or may not always be the same thing). Either way it could ...
Mon 4th
09:00
Incumbency and the sophomore surge: why these two effects will matter for the Lib Dems in 2015
[IMG: Lib Dems winning here] With the Lib Dem vote at least halved in the polls since the last general election, there's been much focus within the party on what's known as the 'incumbency effect' – the personal vote that benefits Lib Dem MPs. This typically boosts Lib Dems by 8%, compared to 1-2% for Tories and 1.5-2.5% for Labour MPs. It's this effect which, Lib Dems hope, will enable the party to buck the national trend at the next election. It is, however, limited to those seats where the current MP will re-stand: currently nine Lib Dem MPs, 16% ...
At 11pm on August 4, 1914 Britain declared war on Germany and as the moment approached, the British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey made the famous remark: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life-time". [IMG: A simple stone at Halsall War Memorial listing the dead from WW1. A second stone full of names stands close to this one. And this in a small rural Lancashire community.] A simple stone at Halsall War Memorial listing the dead from WW1. A second stone full of names stands close to this one. ...
With thanks to Suzy Scott, who produces the www.dundeebuses.info website, details of the August 2014 bus changes can be accessed here. The significant changes affecting the West End include Stagecoach Service 96 no longer operating along to Ninewells Hospital (service now 42A/42B Dundee City Centre - St Andrews only) and the opening of the new Bus Interchange at Lochee Bank Street, affecting services such as the 28/29 that run through parts of the West End Ward. PDFs of timetables for services relevant to the West End are available as follows : Services 5 and X5 - download timetable here: Some ...
There apparently comes a time when all good folk must come to the aid of the Party. Admittedly, not everyone would describe me as good (best to get that in before someone else does, methinks) and it is Liberal Democrat Voice and not the Liberal Democrats who have attracted a desire to assist, but the principle is the same. The volunteer team who gallantly maintain this organ for the debate of Liberal Democrat ideas are a bit short-staffed this month, and I thought that it might be nice if I lent them a hand. Besides, it makes a pleasant change ...
[IMG: image] Games triumph 'will put Scots on path to independence': SNP declared the Observer yesterday. The text underneath included this: Sturgeon isn't, she insists, making any overly grand claims, but she is a straight talker. "I think it (the Commonwealth Games) will inevitably leave a feelgood factor," she says. "I think confidence not only in Glasgow but across the country is high. "I think there is a very significant momentum behind the 'yes' campaign and I feel it everywhere I go in the country. The momentum is with us and as we come out of the Commonwealth Games at ...
Mon 4th
05:52
Death toll from heart disease is falling but Welsh Government still missing its targets
A Welsh Government report has found that the number of people suffering heart disease is falling, but people in the poorest areas are making up a disproportionately high number of victims. The Western Mail says that the Welsh Government's first annual report into coronary heart disease services in Wales has found that more than 4,300 are dying from it each year, while a total of 125,567 were living with it in 2012-2013, down by more than 8,000 on 2006-2007, amounting to 6%: The number of emergency admissions for cardiac disease also fell by more than 2,500 between 2010-11 and 2012-2013. ...
The line between the authentic and the knock-off is a thin one sometimes... Phil Sloan was a session guitarist, backing vocalist, and songwriter who served as a jack-of-all-trades in the LA music scene. He'd been particularly successful working with Jan & Dean, replacing Dean's falsettos on many of their hits (most notably The Little Old [...]
