The news that Jonathan Calder has won the Liberal Democrat Voice 'Blog of the Year' contest has reached Creeting St Peter and it is all the more welcome for being thoroughly hard-earned. I have, in the past, written of the sheer quality and diversity of his writing, and my vague suspicion that the character that is Lord Bonkers has rather overshadowed his other work. He has, over the years, gathered more bridesmaid outfits than one might believe credible. There is a dark side to this success, however, in that the history of the award does not bode well for the ...
News reaches me from Glasgow that I have won Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Thank you to everyone concerned - judges, nominators and (above all) readers for tolerating my eccentricities.
Now that British Pathé has put much of its archive on Youtube, you can see more easily what I was blogging about in 2009 - a video of the Duchess of York visiting Market Harborough in 1927 to open a "training hostel for women household workers for Australia".: The Duchess may not have been there to open the establishment, as an Australian government website suggests: British women and girls were encouraged to migrate to Australia to support its development as domestic servants and as wives and mothers - between 1926 and 1930 the Australian and British governments jointly funded a ...
Yesterday The view from Creeting St Peter had a post with this title, I think there should be more like it on Liberal Democrat blogs - it could be a meme - so here is my contribution. Back in 2008 I quoted a story from The Times: Archaeologists exploring a graveyard at St Pancras stumbled across a coffin containing a mysterious set of bones. They were later identified as belonging to a walrus. An explanation for the animal's dignified burial has not yet surfaced.The story has popped up in the press a few times since then, but an explanation of ...
Rutland's own Martin Brookes has the story: A 53-year-old man from Northamptonshire is in police custody over the leaflets branding gay people 'worthy of death' in Chester earlier this week. The leaflets, distributed in several UK towns and cities about to host Pride events, describe homosexuality as 'not natural' and 'part of the same moral degradation as...pedophilia.' Some eyewitnesses of the person or people giving out the leaflets say they are being handed out dressed in a 'mysterious monk' outfit.
An outline planning application has been lodged for the erection of five detached dwellings, one affordable, south of Burway Lane (14/04215/OUT). It's not in SAMDev, it's on green fields and blocks key views of the castle. I've asked for the plans to be considered by the South Planning Committee. The proposed site This development will [...]
Well I'm absolutely exhausted, but finally made it to the end of conference day 1... and what a day it has been. Here's my round up of the daily happenings: Presidential Hustings Tim Farron's tenure as party President is nearly up. I arrived at the SECC at 10am, just in time for kick off of [...]
It's felt like a slow start to conference – I'm habituated to the Friday night rally and meaty policy debates starting at bleary o'clock on Saturday morning. But with the rally moved to Saturday night, conference itself wasn't opened until this afternoon. [IMG: 20141004_100527_resized] However, that meant there was time this morning for the first official hustings of the Party Presidential contest, with Sal Brinton, Daisy Cooper, Linda Jack and Liz Lynne all present. In fact, there was possibly too much time – 90 minutes in a too-efficiently air-conditioned room at times dragged a little. No fault of the candidates ...
Reflecting on the appalling Rotherham long-term child abuse, Jimmy Saville decades of abuse, many other public figures accused of casual child and other abuse, child abuse rings uncovered in Derby, Oxford, Rochdale, Telford and this week a paediatric haematologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital convicted of child abuse. Other systemic appearing abuse from religious leaders. The scale of child and adult abuse is colossal but increasingly what we've become aware of appears just the tip of the iceberg. It is clear that for decades child abuse was ignored and covered up country wide. That suspicions were ignored. Victims ignored and worse – ...
David Fincher's latest film is technically impressive but unsatisfying The What: The latest film from Seven and Social Network director David Fincher. Adapted from bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn Stars Rosamund Pike as a women whose disappearance casts suspicion on her husband played by Ben Affleck. From there on the story winds around and around, and we the audience like the [...]
A couple of tales which have reached my ears. Both of which involve the over-imbibing of alcohol. First, Paddy Ashdown was speaking at a meeting in the Highlands last night and was heckled by a drunk wedding guest who just wandered in and started having a go at him. Paddy was in fine fettle this morning when I watched his rally rehearsal. London's Edward Lord had a bit of an amusing experience last night. From his Facebook (which he has given me permission to quote); OMG – just heard someone trying to get into my hotel room. I opened the ...
Where else but at the mad, mad world of the farm shop at Church View Farm, Southport Road Lydiate run by Cllr. Edie Pope and her husband. [IMG: rsz_minion_knuffel_groot] [IMG: rsz_minion_knuffel_groot_2] No wonder kids love this farm shop. He is made from two bails of hay, an old tyre and plenty of paint. Seriously, Edie and her family do a huge amount of charitable fund raising especially for cancer charities and she has a raffle coming up on 25th October. Stock up on spuds and oranges and buy a raffle ticket as well. The two photos above are amongst my ...
[IMG: (not taken during today's vote)] (not taken during today's vote) As I said before, I couldn't make it to Liberal Democrat Conference this year, but thanks to BBC Parliament I've been able to watch the debates so far, and thanks to Twitter I've been able to have some contribution into ongoing debates and discussions. I'm glad to see that Conference agreed the 'one member, one vote' proposal but with Mark Pack's amendment that means some work has to be done before it's introduced. It was an interesting debate to watch, though the amount of straw man arguments and false ...
Thank you to everyone who backed the amendment on one-member one-vote (OMOV) that I organised for Lib Dem conference in Glasgow. It got voted through by a big majority this afternoon after Duncan Brack moved it and I summated with an, um..., unanswerable logic (see below) – and then conference voted to go ahead with the principle of introducing OMOV subject to the details the amendment set out. Duncan Brack: 'this should be a training exercise in how not to write a constitutional amendment' #ldconf — Nick Barlow (@nickjbarlow) October 4, 2014 The post OMOV amendment passed: thank you appeared ...
Sue Carpendale and Kathy Pollard, Babergh District Councillors sue.carpendale@babergh.gov.uk kathy.pollard@babergh.gov.uk In this month's report: Planning and development in the villages Renewable energy - can you help? Government consults on minimum standards for floor space in homes The annual "lullaby" concerts and music workshops Should there be an extra tax on large stores and supermarkets? Sky lanterns and helium filled balloons Empty homes policy Thanks and best wishes to Pauline, as Capel greengrocers closes its doors Planning and development in the villages Approval has been given to an outline application for up to 24 homes on land next to Pine Dell ...
[IMG: image] Here's a pic of the Crown Plaza lobby/bar/reception/restaurant/landing/general area at 11:18hrs. It's buzzing with Liberal Democracy and people asking what the wifi password is. Sadly, my several years tradition of chancing by Erlend Watson first at conference was broken this week. The first person I talked to was, instead, a friend from Portsmouth. And the first Liberal Democrats I saw were a very notable couple from Cambridge at breakfast on Friday morning. I have seen @caronmlindsay but she hasn't see me yet, so I am keeping a low profile, [IMG: ;-)]
[IMG: Nick Clegg Glasgow conference by Paul Walter 2014] My photo here shows Nick Clegg arriving at the conference in Glasgow at noon today. He chats briefly with the four Presidential candidates, from left to right: Sal Brinton, Linda Jack, Liz Lynne and Daisy Cooper. The four candidates were hot foot from the first Presidential hustings of the conference, which was packed. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is Photo Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
The Lib Dem team wish Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim residents celebrating Eid. We also wish a safe journey to those now on Hajj. [IMG: eid-greeting-cards-2014]
[IMG: Runway photo by Today is a good day] This Conference we will be debating our Pre-Manifesto. Of the huge number of policy proposals there is one likely to incite a great deal of considered debate within the Party - the commitment to no net increase in runways across the UK. The pre-manifesto bans any expansion at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick and it prohibits a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Is this a reasonable position to take? I am a loyal Liberal Democrat and like most of us, I am conscious of the need to protect our environment. I ...
A few weeks ago the Liberal Democrats announced the five green laws they would introduce if they remain in Government after May 2015. The detail from their pre-manifesto will be debated at Conference this week. As a staunch greenie, is it always nice to see a party putting the environment at the centre of their party's pledges. At the last election, Friends of the Earth praised the Liberal Democrats for having the greenest manifesto of the three main parties (pipped to the top spot by the Greens). But after nearly one term in office, there is now a big question ...
South Glos Council is holding an informal event in Bradley Stoke to mark World Mental Health Day on Friday 10 October. The event, to be held at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre between 10.30am and 2pm, will provide practical advice and information about mental health and give visitors the chanceto try out various sporting activities that help lift the mood, including table tennis, badminton, swimming and exercise classes. The physical activity sessions will be followed by talks about mental health and associated issues from a range of experts including Anthony Lacny and Maria-Paloma Sequeiros from the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health ...
[IMG: Oscar statuettes. Photo courtesy of - some rights reserved] As with last year's Liberal Democrat Voice awards, I've picked up three nominations again. This time it's for best blog post (the nominated one captured an important point that's still very relevant – and hopefully on which my post helps persuade a few more people to see the right side of the debate), best political commentator and best tweeter/Facebooker. You'll be utterly unsurprised to know what my first tweet was about: Eating chocolate — Mark Pack (@markpack) April 14, 2007 Do take a look at the full shortlists – ...
[IMG: Old black and white map] That's the title for a fringe meeting I'm speaking at on the Sunday night of Lib Dem conference. It's to mark the publication of a new pamphlet from the Liberal Democrat History Group, "Liberal thinkers", which contains short biographies of eighteen key thinkers in the history of Liberalism, along with accessible summaries of their ideas. Also on the panel will be Baroness Liz Barker, Alan Beith MP, Malcolm Bruce MP and John Pugh MP. We'll be talking about several of the liberal thinkers included in the booklet, saying a little about their lives and ...
Remember, if you're going to Glasgow, ensure you're protected - [IMG: 81IsiDd8ueL._SL1500_] You can buy this stuff off Amazon for a mere £13.70. Have fun!
We hope you've spotted the open thread on the action taking place in the main auditorium today. In comparison, this thread is for you to talk about fringe meetings, the exhibition and all the other things going on around the main business. The fringe kicks off today with a few events at lunchtime organised by CentreForum, Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary and Liberal Left. But the main events follow the Conference Rally which starts at 6.30pm in the main auditorium. After that you have a fairly limited choice of fringe meetings, probably because people tend to spend the early ...
Mover: Kelly-Marie Blundell and Summation: James Sandbach. Both who have done a great job in seeking much needed reforms. I am not at conference but have written this post in support of this motion. Please vote in support of this debate and show people who are living on the poverty line or below it that Lib Dems do care. In the Liberal Democrat constitution it states that ' we are committed to fight poverty, oppression, hunger...' What do these words tell you? It tells me that the spirit of Liberalism is about caring for those who are unable to care ...
The Mirror ran a big splash yesterday saying that Liberal Democrat peer Olly Grender was complaining that her House of Lords allowance is insufficient. "We struggle to get by on £300 per day tax free allowance" screams the headline. If you actually look at the substance of the story, there is absolutely nothing to substantiate that total misrepresentation of what she was saying. They even run a little poll asking if you could get by on £300 tax free. They selectively quote from an interview that Olly gave to the Conference issue of House magazine which you can read here. ...
Today's XKCD made me cackle very loudly on the train (tags: ) Liberal Democrats, candidates and diversity (part 1) - in which the @honladymark subjects the party to his forensic analysis (tags: ) pNeill Cameron has A Plan for dealing with falling childhood literacy, and it's a good one (tags: ) On Soviet space dogs (tags: ) tough question: on matters of law would you trust a lawyer, or the daily mail? (tags: ) Kenneth Clarke lambasts Conservatives' human rights plan (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Sat 4th
09:56
Liberal Democrats, candidates and diversity (part 2) - why do so few people apply to be Parliamentar...
Yesterday, I took a look back at some of what has happened over the past decade. Today, I want to start to explore some of the general barriers that prevent many perfectly capable people from playing an active role in national politics. Let's start at the beginning (as Julie Andrews put it, a very good place to start). To be a Parliamentary candidate, one rather needs to be a member of a political party - the almost total lack of success of independents since the introduction of universal suffrage (and political parties were relatively loosely affiliated until the mid-nineteenth century) ...
The bouncing of a policy announcement that is actually nothing of the sort by Danny Alexander and Norman Lamb should be voted down by Conference. Why? Because it is loosely costed – to put it mildly – and means that Liberal Democrats go into the election effectively advocating even bigger cuts in spending on local government and welfare in particular. The thrust of the announcement is to commit to a further £1billion real terms investment in the NHS each year until the structural deficit is eliminated, paid for by three tax measures: an increase (unspecified) in dividend tax on additional ...
In response to my questions in the previous thread, Sal Brinton has been the first to reply, very promptly, to my question about impartiality and closeness to the leader: Dear Gareth I believe that the President must demonstrate the impartiality that is needed, rather than being marked by others as a past or present leader's candidate. You know I'm not afraid to speak my mind to the senior people in the party, including leaders past and present, and I think we've both been on committees together long enough for you to see me do that. Don't confuse civility and courtesy ...
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. Tim Farron's four-year stint as Lib Dem Party President ends this year. The contest to succeed him appears to be a four-way election between four female candidates: Sal Brinton, Daisy Cooper, Linda Jack and Liz Lynne. They hold their first official hustings today, Saturday, 10-11am But don't worry if you can't make that – LibDemVoice is hosting ...
When visiting Seattle recently, I took at look at the lovely waterfall garden built to mark the foundation of UPS at the site of its first offices. The tiny space is a great little haven of tranquility in the city: [IMG: Seattle's Waterfall Garden] Inside, that is. Here's the view from the outside, taken from one of the main streets that passes it and so showing how it looks to lots of passers-by: [IMG: Waterfall Garden, Seattle - from the outside] Boring, dull and ugly. Other sides do present a better face to the passing world, but this failure to ...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting Ancrum Road Primary School to speak with the P6/7 pupils about the role of councillors and Dundee City Council. It was a really enjoyable visit and the pupils asked lots of interesting questions, showing a lot of knowledge about the services the council runs.
Whether you are physically in Glasgow or are following what is happening from home, this is your place to talk about the public face of the Conference – in other words, all the debates and speeches that are going on in the main auditorium. Please use the comments below to add your reports on policy and constitutional debates or to draw readers' attention to ones in the pipeline. We will be running a similar thread each day, so please confine your comments today to what is actually happening today. Tomorrow's instalment will appear at 8.30am tomorrow morning. We will also ...
Parts of the Lime Street pavement on the north side of the Logie Estate, which is the sheltered housing side, with many elderly residents, are in poor condition - see right. The Roads Maintenance Partnership recently advised me :The Road Maintenance Partnership Inspector has visited Lime Street and Elm Street footways and has advised that there are currently no actionable defects at either location. He has noted that there are areas of wear on the Lime Street footways and that these are rough in places however they are not actionable and he is not proposing any further action.I am unhappy ...
Wikipedia has a useful page on this – see link below:- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superlambanana I recently found a photo that I took back in 2008 and then on a recent visit to Merseyside Police HQ I saw their Superlambanana in the reception area which certainly catches the eye even though it is unlikely to catch any criminals. [IMG: Outside Liverpool Lime Street railway Station in 2008] Outside Liverpool Lime Street railway Station in 2008 [IMG: In Merseyside Police HQ] In Merseyside Police HQ The two photos above are amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
I have commented previously about this and frankly I can't get my head around it at all. In these days of Councils being short of a few bob why do Labour think that a bandstand, to be built in Maghull's KGV Park, is a priority? Yes, they have started some consultation on the matter but when Maghull Town Council struggles to fund deserving community voluntary projects why look to invest scarce resources in this way? Alternatively, you could say with £500,000 in the bank why has Maghull TC cut back on its support for voluntary projects such as Maghull in ...
Yesterday was the first time I stepped foot in Scotland after the referendum. It is a fortnight on from what Alex Salmond hailed the biggest decision Scotland has to make in 300 years so what do I think. I come from Northern Ireland, so I am used to opposing sides marking their territories. Green, white and orange kerbstones in some parts red, white and blue ones elsewhere. But if you were in doubt you'd look up to the lampposts or the top of towerblocks and there you would see flags of the matching hue to confirm where you were. In ...
Sat 4th
07:42
Caron's Conference Selection: must-read stories from today's press and online commentary
Here are my must-read stories from today's press about Liberal Democrat Conference. You wouldn't expect anything else from a Guardian editorial than to emphasise our shortcomings and the electoral challenges we face. And this one certainly does that. It notices with curiosity the results of yesterday's survey which show that 80% of respondents to our survey support the Coalition. However, it recognises that we are unique in one respect and are needed on the political scene: In the Guardian's view, British politics needs the Liberal Democrats for one thing above all. It needs them to provide the parliamentary nerve of ...
Cllr Richard Kemp CBE, 16, Dovedale Road, Liverpool L18 1DW Richard.kemp@liverlibdems.org.uk October 2014 Dear Friend, Labour Attack on Calderstones Park and other green spaces The City Council has just produced a report about the creation of a new 'development framework' ... Continue reading →
Congratulations to George Murray and Jo Featonby, who lead the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 6, separated by a single point, on 358 and 357 points respectively. George's 'Marauding Fullbacks' are in 2,405th position in the global league of 3.29 million players – not bad! However, with just 36 points separating the top 10, there is still all to play for. Or maybe I'm kidding myself – after a first week top 10 appearance, I've slumped to 44th thanks to my inability to select Diego Costa as captain in the right weeks. Anyway, if you're busy in Glasgow at ...
For those of us horrified at the thought that a majority Tory Government might repeal the Human Rights Act the Times contains a handy guide to the legal howlers contained within the plan, courtesy of the previous Conservative Attorney General. Dominic Grieve, QC, says that proposals outlined by Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, contain a series of factual "howlers" and are not properly thought through: Mr Grieve said many of the concerns were based on "misunderstandings", and there were already moves in train to reform the court from within. He also dismissed the idea that the UK could be granted ...
[IMG: image] I started the day with a brisk 5k run along the Kelvin river and Dumbarton road. There were plenty of joggers and dog walkers in the park, including one of the latter with a Bichon Frise like our dog, Charlie. After getting over the shock of seeing a couple of dedicated LibDem anoraks at breakfast (I thought I was the only one who arrived early?), I was whisked off the airport and then Erskine. A day of most convivial "F2Fs" ("face to faces") with work colleagues ensued. In the afternoon I was treated to my annual whistlestop tour ...
(Note that in the book this will come after Song Simply Sung by Tim Buckley — I didn't have the time to get that essay finished today) The Mothers of Invention went through many line-up changes in late 1966, as Frank Zappa started expanding the band to be less of a garage-rock band, and closer [...]
No normal person, will fail to react without feeling a mixture of anger, shock, horror, deep regret and sympathy for family of Alan Henning, on hearing the news that Islamic terrorists have cynically murdered an innocent, a man whose humanity compelled him to help others despite risk. ISIS are trying to provoke conflict and stir up hatred, it's important that governments and we as individuals resist our emotions, these evil people are manipulating, we need to respond intelligently and not be drawn into a fight by Islamic factions. I've heard people say that Isis terrorists are not Islamic and while ...
I am about to tell you a story based on true events. Once upon a time there was a handsome headteacher who awoke one morning with pains (and discharge) in his ear. His caring bursar made an appointment with the doctor for eve of the weekend. Leaving work 25 minutes before the appointment, the headteacher hit traffic within 500 metre of the school. With his heart pacing (worried that the petrol
