Now that Scotland has its own internet domain - .scot - you can now access this site at www.dundeewestend.scot. The original www.dundeewestend.com still works and the blog's mirror site is still accessible at www.westendblog.org.uk. The Dundee Liberal Democrat website is now also available via www.dundeelibdems.scot - again its original www.dundeelibdems.org.uk still works too!
11 years after the American led invasion of Iraq the Chilcot Inquiry has not been published. The Inquiry was established to learn lessons from the 2003 invasion and the bloody aftermath. They were to look at the way decisions were made and actions taken. Amongst the questions we can reasonably expect to be explored are; how clearly were the war aims agreed, what was the exit planning like, how effective were the various phases of the war, was there mission creep etc. In addition have we a policy towards the Kurds? The Kurds appear to be the one coherent group ...
Legal journalist and blogger, David Allen Green, appears to have got hold of a press release detailing Tory plans to repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. It's not an encouraging read as it becomes clear that despite the rhetoric the purpose is to curtail human rights. I [...]
[IMG: House being built] We're most of the way through the Party Conference season, with only the Liberal Democrats left to play. So far it's been a bit underwhelming on the housing policy front. Labour offered a number of proposals. Some of them had been announced previously. Many of them were rather vague and aspirational. Some of them looked kind of familiar - the Mansion Tax proposal most specifically. However, the proposal that many were hoping for - the big prize – relaxing the fiscal rules so that local authorities were allowed greater freedom to borrow for new development – ...
This is very clever. It is a trailer for the BBC's peerless 1979 adaptation of John le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy based on that produced for the 2011 film. I reviewed the film when it came out, but found it wanting.
#3252100 / gettyimages.com Variety reports: A nearly 100-year-old silent film version of "Sherlock Holmes" starring famed Holmes thespian and American actor William Gillette has been discovered at the Cinémathèque Française, the French film archive announced Wednesday. The rediscovered film is the only one Gillette ever appeared in, and is the actor's only surviving appearance as the Baker Street detective, a role for which he was world-renowned in stage portrayals. It was Gillette who first donned the deerstalker hat that has remained popular through generations of Holmes performers.
We all know that writer's block can be a very real problem. I've not got it quite that bad — in fact I'm having a fairly productive few weeks — but I do have a problem. I've mentioned recently that I'm writing a second novel. I won't go into too much detail (and those of [...]
Northampton Liberal Democrats have announced their parliamentary candidates for the 2015 general election. In Northampton North, a ballot of local members has selected Angela Paterson. In Northampton South, the ballot selected Sadik Chaudhury to contest the seat. Both candidates are Northampton locals and experienced campaigners, having served as councillors and taken up many issues on the behalf of residents.
Liberal Democrat seat. Death. LD Candidate: Dyan Jones Contact for help: Paul Trollope, Agent & Organiser, paul.trollope@libdems.org.uk or 01539 723403
Liberal Democrat seat. Death. Candidate: Colin Jones Contact for help: Paul Trollope, Agent & Organiser, paul.trollope@libdems.org.uk or 01539 723403
Labour Death. For more information contact sarah.elliott@haringey.gov.uk
Conservative seat. Resignation Lib Dem candidate Steve Scarrott (steven.scarrott@ntlworld.com; 0118 962 0131)
Labour seat. Resignation Ann Rowland-James is the Liberal Democrat candidate. For more information contact: info@cardifflibdems.org.uk
Independent seat. Death Carole Troupe is the Liberal Democrat candidate. For more information contact info@northeastlibdems.org.uk
I am, I admit, whatever the opposite of svelte is. Despite some vaguely good intentions, I am slightly too fond of beer, cheese and pork, and not fond enough of energetic pursuits. This has not, over the years, distracted me from the serious business of enjoyment, and I am rather keen on being pampered from time to time, something I discovered on a trip to New Zealand about a decade ago. A day of zorbing in the morning, and the spa in the afternoon was just the thing for a recovering bureaucrat, and since then, if the opportunity arises, I ...
The painter Mark Edwards, who has a solo exhibition at the Catto Gallery in Hampstead until 21 October, has been exploring a mysterious imaginary landscape, the White Wood, for the past seven years, the result of which is a captivating, eerie series of images of stark trees, empty buildings, steam trains, crows and a black [...]
This morning, party members registered on our members' forum were sent an email giving them a link to vote on the shortlists for our Awards, due to be presented in Glasgow on Saturday night. Before I go any further, I want to say a massive thank you to Mary Reid for doing most of the work on this year's event while I was distracted with some little thing going on here in Scotland. Also thanks to Stephen Tall and Ryan Cullen for doing the technical stuff. And, without further ado, here are the lists. Drum roll, please... Liberal Democrat Blog ...
Lib Dem run Clitheroe Town Council have written to the DWP vigorous opposing the withdrawal of a Job Centre Office in Clitheroe In their resolution they said: 1.. Whilst the Town Council accept that the existing building is not fit for purpose they urge the Department of Work and Pensions to investigate , in consultation with the Lancashire County Council, Ribble Valley Borough Council and Ribble Valley Homes, whether it would be possible to relocate the service to other suitable premises in Clitheroe before the Lowergate office is closed. In addition there are several empty shop premises in Clitheroe Town ...
Along with more than 100 others, I attended the Future Fit workshop in Ludlow last week. My report on it is here. But it seems that it doesn't matter what we said on that day, Future Fit is unlikely to take Ludlow's views into account. Future Fit consultants, Participate Ltd reported on the consultation events [...]
If you have a child due to start in reception, move to secondary school or move to a school that has its first admission in year 10 (for example, the Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy), you can apply online now. The closing date is 31st October for secondary school applications and 15th January for primary school applications.
Every tonne of waste tipped at Sort It! Centres by people who don't live here or commercial traders costs the council £100 to process. That's something the council can't afford with the increasing pressure on finances. Unauthorised use can also create delays for genuine residents using the site. To try to stop unauthorised use, SITA are stepping up residency checks at the site. From 1st October, you may be asked for proof of residency - one or more official documents that together prove who you are (photographic ID) and that you live in South Gloucestershire. Suitable documents include driver's license, ...
The Wildlife Trust will be holding a workday on Saturday 4 October at the Kennedy Way Pond, which recently won an award in South West in Bloom for its range of flora and fauna. Volunteers will be carrying out general management works including vegetation clearance at this local wildlife haven. Meet at the Kennedy Way Pond, Link Road, Yate Shopping Centre at 10.00am (parking is available at the Yate overflow car park also on the eastern side of Link Road, BS37 4AY).
It appears that the Federal Executive has caught itself with its constitutional trousers down, as is about to become apparent in some form in Glasgow. In a rather desperate attempt to evade the <a reference back set out by Mark Pack</a>, who has set out in the same post the shortcomings of the proposals, the FE has submitted a lengthy set of further amendments to the constitution and Standing Orders. They make for interesting reading, partly as they contravene the Party's constitution by introducing new material, and partly because they fail to deal with some of the key shortcomings ...
[IMG: Simon Hughes MP. Photo courtesy of - some rights reserved] Former Liberal Democrat President Simon Hughes is backing Linda Jack in the contest to succeed term-limited Tim Farron as party president: Linda Jack, who leads the Liberal Left group in the party, has won the support of Hughes despite the fact she opposed the Lib Dems going into coalition with the Conservatives and suggested Clegg should hand over the role of party leader while carrying on as deputy prime minister. Given Simon Hughes's high popularity with party members, this is a major boost for Linda Jack's campaign, although ...
[IMG: School library] Wales Online reports: A deal between the Welsh Government and the Liberal Democrats has been struck to allow budget plans announced later today to pass through the Assembly - with a pledge that there will be no M4 construction before the next elections. The Welsh Liberal Democrats said they had struck a two-year deal worth £223m which sees the party's flagship Pupil Deprivation Grant - a spin on the "pupil premium" in England - rise from £800 per pupil to £1,050 next year and a further £100 the year after, and it will also be extended to ...
Visit to St Thomas's eye clinic this morning where after various tests Dr N H confirmed cataracts and macular degeneration in both eyes. 'Right eye doesn't look too bad' its 'predominantly on the left. Vision is now 6/9, just within the limit for driving. Surgery isn't recommended for the cataracts because so far the deterioration isn't serious enough to outweigh the minor risks, one in 20 patients experiencing some complications, some of which can be corrected by further suger. Nothing can be done about macular degeneration. When pressed, the doctor said that the median time between diagnosis and blindness was ...
Another day, another war and I've been thinking a lot lately about evil systems versus evil individuals. When it comes to doing evil, individuals that carry out, or are perceived to be carrying out, evils are more readily demonized than systems that carry out larger evils. Take, for example, Hitler versus the Soviet Union. Despite the number of dead in the Soviet Union surpassing the number of dead in Nazi Germany, Hitler is demonized in a way that the Soviet Union is not. I've often wondered why this is. Could it be that the qualitative nature of Hitler's actions were ...
One of the criticisms that was leveled against me on LDV recently was that I don't support ObamaCare. No, I do not support ObamaCare. I am ferociously proud of the fact that I do not and have never supported ObamaCare. Here are two very good reasons reasons why: ObamaCare in no way changed the structural problems inherent in the US Healthcare system. ObamaCare just involved more people in the system through the coercion of others. ObamaCare is legislation that forces people to buy a private product. That is quite possibly the most illiberal legislation that has been passed in recent ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above:- Mostly a Liverpool based story but some reference to Sefton
I put details of planning applications in my e mail bulletins ( let me know if you want to get these by e mailing me at paulakeaveney@yahoo.co.uk). However there are a couple that are very new or have changed recently , so I am highlighting them here too. The first is an application to demolish the Garston Gas holders. This popped up on line a while ago but today the details are all available on line and you can comment there too. The material does not include any proposals of what could go on that land once the gasholders are ...
Last night was the first of 19 public consultation events that I an hosting to discuss the Cornwall Council four year budget. There will be one in every part of Cornwall. The format is similar to last year, after a brief presentation (I'm aiming for ten minutes or so) the floor is open to anyone who wants to do so to ask a question, make a comment or present an idea for the council to consider. Last night in Launceston we had 40 people present and the subjects discussed included second homes, libraries, tourist tax, homelessness and bus services. I ...
Here is a Conservative MP who complains about high house prices and the problem this causes for people trying to get onto the housing ladder. She is Anne Main, the MP for St Albans. Last month she made a speech in Parliament outraged at high house prices and demanding that stamp duty be cut so that people could afford to buy. Obviously, like her colleague Brandon Lewis, Mrs Main does not believe that second homes have anything to do with house prices. After all, I am told that she owns a second home in Cornwall. Tweet
This statement shows that the Latvians are taking action in respect of a case in England. There is a conference in Prague tomorrow about the problems in England (such a conference would be in contempt of court here because it would talk about cases). Sadly as a result of the Russians pulling out of the Council of Europe the report into English family law has been held back. It remains, however
When I was 17 I took AS level politics, it was possibly the most unpopular subject in school, my most abiding memory of this class was talking about constitutions. We went into great theoretical depth about the type and purpose of constitutions before discussing whether or not the UK should have one. Everyone just assumed that having a codified and entrenched constitution (aka written constitution) was a far off fantasy that served no real purpose; we hardly even bothered mooting the positives of such a document. The Scottish independence referendum has made it abundantly clear that the UK will be ...
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis (a Tory of course) has claimed to the Western Morning News that second homes have little impact on house prices. It is clear he doesn't understand either the impact of second homes on areas such as Cornwall or basic economics. The impact of second homes, when there are large numbers of them as we have in many of the coastal villages of Cornwall, is to devastate local communities. Locals are driven out and shops, businesses and schools close. Prices rise to such an extent that no local family could afford to buy there. That is why ...
Before entering the county, please update your list of things that are not allowed in Essex to include artwork by Banksy and green tarmac. Please note that the ban on electric light after midnight remains in place. Thank you for visiting.
[IMG: Armed Police graphic] We've covered the controversy over the use of armed police in Scotland several times over the past few months. A standing authority for firearms led to armed officers patrolling Scotland's streets, often against the wishes of local communities, particularly in the Highlands. People had been horrified to see police officers with guns in their holsters going into the shops in peaceful Highland villages. Concerns were also raised that the routine arming of Police would lead to criminals routinely arming themselves, making us all less safe. Danny Alexander took exception to armed police patrolling the streets of ...
Today were see launched plans for City State devolution within England. These are by their very nature inadequate as a response to what is happening in Scotland with Devo Max. We need to recapture our confidence in Regionalism if we are to have an adequate answer to the challenge, and then we need to make afresh the federalist case. I was watching John Prescott getting a hard time in Rutherglen on the TV last evening. What a wholly unconvincing advocate of decentralisation he proved to be. There should be no surprise there, it was he who produced the pathetic proposals ...
Further to the concerns I raised on behalf of constituents earlier this week about tailbacks on the Tay Road Bridge (and reported in last night's Evening Telegraph), I have just received this update from the Roads Maintenance Partnership Manager at Dundee City Council/Tayside Contracts : "To minimise disruption to traffic, these advance works were planned to be carried out over 3 days with the traffic management only in place outwith the peak periods of 7.30am to 9.30am and 3.30pm to 6.30pm. On that day, demolition works were being carried out to the splitter island at the south end of the ...
[IMG: LD bird BLOG] The Liberal Democrats pre-manifesto, sets out out the party's vision for Britain in the next ParliamentThe policies in the pre-manifesto, which has spreading opportunity for the next generation at its heart, will be debated and voted on by our members at the upcoming Lib Dem Party Conference in Glasgow. Liberal Democrats in government have played an essential role in rescuing Britain's economy, creating more than 1m jobs and bringing the economy back to growth. We are proud of this record of delivery and the pre-manifesto document sets out our promise of more in the next. Our ...
So, a former Conservative Party donor leaves the Party to join UKIP and, on hearing a senior figure in his former party say that he hasn't heard of him, decides to give not the £100,000 he originally intended to give, but £1,000,000 instead. Odd, really, on a whole range of levels. It seems like a curiously unclassy response from William Hague, until you consider that it is entirely possible that he hadn't heard of him at all, especially if the amount was given locally or through a third party, as it seems the bulk of it was. However, the evidence ...
Thu 2nd
12:45
Opinion: Less than 2% of members will vote at Conference: this is not an 'internal democracy' of whi...
We make much of the fact that we're the most internally democratic of the political parties. We say that it is our members who vote on policy, elect those who organise our conferences, and those who hold our party officers to account. But in reality, it is just a fraction of our members who perform these functions: less than 2% in fact. Of our total membership, just 5% are appointed as voting representatives. Of this 5%, just 1.63% have - as of today – registered to attend our forthcoming Autumn conference (these figures were provided to the FE sub-group tasked ...
[IMG: Bruce Lee] TODD: How did Bruce Lee die? I pause to take stock of this strange opening salvo. ME: He had some sort of brain haemorrhage. TODD: That's what the "suits" want you to think. One of Todd's great obsessions was the "suits". Strangely, or perhaps this explains a lot, his father wore a suit to work every working day. TODD (cont'd): Nah, the master died while facing his greatest challenge: he tried to eat a pound of hash in one sitting. I laugh. ME: That's one of the great subterranean urban myths. Todd is slightly flabbergasted by the ...
Britain's two big party conferences are over, setting out the battle lines for next year's general election. I keep seeing parallels with the 1992 election, which the Conservatives won unexpectedly. In the past I have drawn direct parallels between the two main parties then and now. But in interesting ways the Labour party resembles the Conservatives in 1992: pulling off an unexpected victory, leading five years later to its worst ever defeat. The Labour conference was shocking. This was supposed to be a party with its blood up, ready for a battle to crush those hated Tories and despised Lib ...
[IMG: Liberal Democrat complaints procedure flowchart] Liberal Democrat complaints procedure, as at January 2013. Continuing my series of guests posts from candidates for Liberal Democrat President, today it's Daisy Cooper talking about one of her priorities. Daisy Cooper: After the scandals – creating processes that are fit for purpose The 'Rennard scandal' was managed badly. The fact that everybody involved felt let down by the process points to the need for urgent reform. The mistakes themselves were made a long time ago in not dealing with the allegations properly when they were first made. We must implement the Morrissey report ...
[IMG: Jeremy Browne book] Biteback, the political publishing company, has just published a series of short books by figures from each of the four main parties making their case for voting for their party in next year's general election. Dan Jarvis has written the Labour edition, Nick Herbert the Tory edition and Suzanne Evans the Ukip one (a new edition since 2010!). The Lib Dem version is written by Jeremy Browne, MP for Taunton Deane, former home and foreign office minister and, of course, earlier this year the author of Race Plan. Jeremy has split the book into the following ...
Pressure from Mark Hunter and the Lib Dem team has paid off – Stal Road snow being resurfaced from Yew Tree Grove to Church Road as part of the Lib Dem. £100 million road repair scheme (many other roads in Cheadle and Gatley will be done too, just not yet). The resurfacing will not only improve the road surface, important for everyone but especially cyclists – it will also see all the lines repainted. The Lib Dem team is working with officers on further improvements to road safety on Styal Road. The resurfacing will involve some disruption. Here is what ...
Thu 2nd
11:15Clegg: May's comms data claim "one of most misleading and outrageous platform speeches I've heard"
On Call Clegg this morning, Nick Clegg said he'd written a strongly worded letter to Theresa May demanding an apology after her claim in her speech to the Conservative Conference that the Liberal Democrats had put children at risk by vetoing the Communications Data Bill. From the Guardian: I thought it was one of the most misleading and outrageous platform speeches I've heard in conference seasons for a very long time ... absolutely appalling. This is a new low point in coalition relations. May talked about the National Crime Agency having to drop cases they were going to take to ...
Saturday: Now that's much more like it. Superficially, a piece of stylish fluff after "Ocean's Eleven" or TV's "Hustle", even to the slo-mo entrance and how-they-did-it flashback. But, Saibra, a shape-shifter just dying for someone to see the real her, and Psi, a human computer who casts aside his memories and his past, could almost be wearing signs saying "we're aspects of the Doctor". And a descent into the Plutonic underworld, the minotaur-guarded labyrinth, to unlock the heart's desire might just make this the most heavily symbolic episode yet in this series that seems intent on "unlocking" the Doctor's psyche. ...
With Lincoln hosting its Pride festival for the LGBT community this last weekend, it is important to remember why the LGBT community still holds these events, not only up and down the country, but across the world. Lincoln Pride in 2009 Although LGBT rights have come a long way since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 across England and Wales; such as the end of Section 28, Civil Partnership and now Equal Marriage, adoption rights for LGBT couples, being openly gay in the British forces and an the right to legally change your gender; there are still some areas that ...
As well as covering the Lib Dem conference, we're hosting a handful of events in Glasgow. We hope readers who are there will want to come along and enjoy the following... LibDemVoice Awards 2014 Saturday 4th October, from 10pm (Crowne Plaza, Castle 3) The nominations are in – check out the array of awards on offer here – voting will be decided by party members through our pre-conference survey. Put on your glad rags and enjoy the relaxed rivalry of our annual awards. "Who Wants to be Party President?" Sunday 5th October, 1-2pm (Crowne Plaza, Castle 2) Your chance to ...
[IMG: Houses of Parliament. Photo courtesy of - some rights reserved] I'm a recall-sceptic for a simple reason. I'm a democrat. As I wrote of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith's recall proposals: The problem with Zac Goldsmith's approach is that it allows a small minority of voters to force at least temporarily out of office an MP simply because they don't like them. Imagine what Labour supporters could be doing year in year out to Conservative MPs at the moment, for example, needing no more reason than 'they're Tories, I don't like them'. That's why the much more circumscribed recall ...
The phrase 'Re-alignment of the Left' began with Jo Grimond in 1956. It happened briefly when the SDP split away from the Labour Party in 1981, but the Left then contrived to align itself back into its old dysfunctional shape. For some reason, you almost never hear the phrase 'Re-alignment of the Right'. Yet, listening to David Cameron's speech yesterday, with the ghost of Ukip peering over his shoulder, convinced me that that may be what is happening. The Conservative Party is an uneasy alliance between two elements which have little in common - the old-fashioned conservatism of family and ...
As an alternative to the incredibly intrusive #ldconf app, why not stick this in an app you already have? (tags: ) new specialist colleges to open to train people in HS2 (tags: ) Radical new image set to change Clegg from lickspittle to dangerous maverick (tags: ) Did you know DJ John Peel was in Dallas the day JFK was assassinated? (tags: ) From this week's Private Eye: Grayling deservedly gets it in the neck (tags: ) Article about the UKIP base in Thanet. It's long, but compelling. And terrifying. (tags: ) Dickie Bird decides the 'greatest living Yorkshireman' - ...
The question has been asked. I asked a similar question when I attended a play group with my (then) four year old daughter in Newbury. We were twenty yards away from Vodafone's headquarters and many of the kids had parents who worked for the great mobile phone company. But we all sang the song which includes the line "mummy called the doctor". And, blow me down, what mime did we do? We only pretended to use one of those ancient phones where you hold the stand/voice piece in one hand and the ear piece in the other. See also: why ...
Police & Crime Commissioners would be scrapped under Liberal Democrat manifesto proposals. The party has revealed plans to replace controversial commissioners which will be debated at conference in Glasgow next month. It comes amid calls for South Yorkshire Police Commissioner, Shaun Wright, to resign following the Rotherham child abuse scandal. Nick Clegg said (on LBC's Call Clegg radio interview) "You cannot have people who are supposed to be serving the public, and are accountable to the public, ignoring those basic principles of responsibility and accountability." He went on to say " That is why I've come to the view that ...
[IMG: Mountain road] The social impact of the measures introduced by the Coalition Government, as I highlighted in a previous article, has demonstrated the failure of a strategy based primarily on austerity, and lends credence to calls for an alternative economic strategy close to the heart of the rank and file of the Liberal Democrats, based on encouraging growth through measures such as tax cuts and increases in the minimum wage to stimulate consumer spending, and investment in public works such as roads, hospitals, and schools to create jobs and boost industrial activity. Criticisms have been levelled against those who ...
The Western Mail contains a short report today in which Wales' UKIP MEP, Nathan Gill responds to criticism that he is unavailable to the public. They report that the newly launched Wales Yearbook Online says on its front page that "Mystery surrounds Nathan Gill UKIP MEP for Wales. Elected May 2014, he has no office, website or published contact details." In response Mr. Gill says that he has been waiting for UKIP to establish their target seats in Wales before opening an office: "We've now come to a decision that Alyn and Deesside is one of our best prospects and ...
[IMG: David Cameron] Politicians don't do giveaway budgets any more. It seems just too blatant to 'bribe' voters a matter of weeks before an election. Instead politicians now do giveaway leaders' speeches. Nick Clegg pulled a policy rabbit out of the hat last year by finding a spare £500m a year for free school meals for infants. And yesterday David Cameron pulled two policy rabbits out of his top hat by announcing tax-cuts for basic-rate taxpayers (extending the personal allowance to £12,500) and higher-rate taxpayers (raising the threshold at which it becomes payable to £50,000) over the course of the ...
Saturday Who among us failed to rejoice when the Iron Curtain was lifted? I shall never forget the day I heard my old friend Mstislav Rostropovich playing Bach amid the ruins of the Berlin Wall - even if he did not wholly appreciate it when I accompanied him on the kazoo. It would be dishonest, however, to pretend that the integration of the Eastern European economies into those of the West was without its difficulties. Here in Rutland, for instance, we have had to cope with East Rutland (or the "Democratic Republic of Rutland" as it had the immortal rind ...
This children's craft event as part of Christmas Fortnight, taking place on launch day - Saturday 22nd November 2014. Make your own Christmas Lantern to use at the Christmas Concert and Lights On event on the 26th November at Dundee West Church and Seabraes. We're thrilled to be joined by Lisa Earle of Create - Kids Creative Craft Workshops - who will be guiding everyone through making their own design of Christmas lantern using willow, paper, glue and paint. We have space for 50 children (recommend over 4 years) - 25 starting at the earlier time of 10am and the ...
Anyone visiting Liverpool should take a look around this part of the City, it really is inspiring. But I often look at it and say to myself, there is something missing. Something that made the docks such a busy and bustling place - the dock railways. Yes, there is a short piece of track outside the front entrance to the Maritime Museum (see photos) but what a difference could be made if that track was in use. [IMG: rsz_photo0911] [IMG: rsz_photo0914] I recall that when the NML's (National Museums Liverpool) transport collection was on display in what is now Liverpool's ...
That is, I admit, a controversial statement. And, not unreasonably, you would expect me to have a justification for making it. It's just that the comment isn't intended for you, gentle reader. You see, by the very fact that you're reading this, it is likely that you engage with, and take part in, our political system - most readers have come to this blog via the Liberal Democrat blog aggregator run by one of politics' unsung heroes, Ryan Cullen, who created it and manages it to this day. Some of you come via Twitter - all posts here are 'advertised' ...
Scotland saw a huge turnout, but we should be sceptical of direct democracy's ability to engage voters at the level of local politics – How the evidence shows that elected mayors and direct democracy don't provide more engagement in local politics. Ayn Rand's Buffy The Vampire Slayer – "There's nothing to be afraid of. Another dimension means an entirely different set of markets, an entirely different economic playing field. The chance to make and win our fortune in strange and exotic trading floors." The upas tree: the over-development of London and the under-development of Britain – A brilliant explanation of ...
The video has been doing the rounds on social media today. In it the scholar Reza Aslan responds to a rant delivered by the comedian and professional sayer of daft things about vaccines and religion Bill Maher suggesting Islam stands for "circumcision for women, not respecting the rights of women, not respecting the rights of gay people." The [...]
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 735 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. 96% of Lib Dem members view Ukip unfavourably, compared to 88% for Tories, 72% for Labour and 41% for the Greens I'm a fan of the polling company ComRes's 'Favourability Index', which asks the public whether they view the parties and their leading figures favourably or not. It gives a much more accurate read-out of perceptions, I ...
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As part of their budget deal with the Welsh Government, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have secured nearly £130 million to be spent on education and training in Wales. In a deal made for the 2014 National Assembly budget, the Welsh Lib Dems have successfully obtained funding for supporting student-parents, youth concessions on bus fares and apprenticeships, whilst also increasing support for school pupils from more disadvantaged backgrounds. The budget deal, as negotiated by the Welsh Lib Dems, sees £14.75 million spent on the 'Young Travellers' scheme. This scheme will grant discounted bus travel during the academic year for 16 to ...
Yesterday's party political broadcast by the Conservative Party reminds us of the 13 years of Labour government and how it felt to see businesses close and (other) people lose their jobs. Britain was down, but "we rolled up our sleeves" and we are making progress again. 1.8 million more people are in work after four years of coalition, and "providing for their families". The trouble is that many people will still relate to businesses closing. Many are still out of work. The unemployment rate was 7.8% at the last general election and 6.5% now. Sounds great but not if you ...
I'm hoping to get some stuff written tonight for the next couple of days' posts, but my RSI is playing up badly — my right index finger, and the tendons in both wrists, are aching — so I don't know how much I'll be able to write. So have some links in case I don't [...]
