Liberal Democrats have slammed Labour Council bosses after it emerged that Redcar and Cleveland Council's budget reports are by far the hardest to understand in the country.The study by the Manchester Evening News declared the Council's budget report more complex than Professor Steven Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time'.According to a recent analysis which used four different measures to determine how difficult the budget report was to read, someone would need 22.5 years of education to understand the council's papers, making it the equivalent of a university doctorate level text.Steve Jenner from the Plain English Campaign described the contents as ...
Enjoy.
Our two parties have very different policy positions which spring from sharply contrasting ideologies. What is more I think voters have noticed and that will negate the political benefit of any pact. So the BBC are reporting that Andrew George is calling for pacts between the Lib Dems and the Green Party to stop the Conservatives winning [...]
Today has not been a good day. It's not a good feeling when you discover that someone has left the party over something you did, as Lester Holloway has done. I hope that he reconsiders his decision. The story begins on Saturday when I published this story about Lib Dem Campaigns supremo Victoria Marsom's visit to Botswana at the culmination of a year long project to help our sister party in the elections there. Lester said in the comments that he was unhappy with our interference in this African election. In the ensuing debate, onc eommenter, who as far as ...
#500938153 / gettyimages.com Switchboards have been jammed and phones have been ringing off the hook since I discovered the short-lived Anglia TV soap opera Weavers Green. Here is another cast photograph. The woman is Marjie Lawrence, who enjoyed a 50-year career in films and television. The boy is John Moulder-Brown, who worked throughout the 1960s as a child actor and starred with Jane Asher as a teenager in Jerzy Skolimowski's extraordinary 1970 film Deep End - something I must blog about one day. The dog went on to produce Sale of the Century.
The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Liberalism is one of the oldest political traditions. Its roots stretch back to 1688. Far from being a philosophy of the status quo, liberalism has a rich radical history. For centuries it was the philosophy of radical political and social change. It is time that the lost political tradition of radical liberalism was rediscovered. The father of liberalism, John Locke, laid the foundations for the philosophy in his Second Treatise of Government in 1689. Government was only to be justified through the consent of the people and should any government violate the fundamental rights ...
The post James Taylor joins team at Emerge Education appeared first on James Taylor.
#515846365 / gettyimages.com I was not a member of the Liberal Party in 1976 because there was no branch in Market Harborough to recruit me. But I knew I was a Liberal and that my favourite MPs were David Penhaligon and John Pardoe. So when Pardoe stood against David Steel for the leadership of the party I knew whose side I was on. And you could argue that the 1976 contest set a pattern for later Liberal and Liberal Democrat leadership elections. One candidate (Steel) was orthodox, sensible and just a little dull. The other (Pardoe) was more charismatic, more ...
The Conservatives have pulled the plug on their own EU Referendum Bill, despite being given the opportunity by the Liberal Democrats to take it before the House of Commons. Questions are now being asked as to whether this was a short term tactic to distinguish themselves form UKIP by being able to promise a referendum at the next election, which they couldn't have done if the Coalition had made it law. For the first time, we are lifting the lid on some of the negotiations behind the scenes in order to reveal the truth to the public. Quite simply, a ...
[IMG: The three chiefs and justice Gaberone by BoHeMIo] It's been happening for many years. Decades. The Lib Dems, and the Liberal party before it, are part of Liberal International. Ideas and help are shared, by invitation, with fellow liberal parties around the world. Recently some liberals went to help our sister party, BMD, in the Botswanan elections. So far, so earnest. Liberal Democrat Voice often carries articles about liberals helping overseas as part of Liberal International. Normally such articles excite very little interest. Such an article appeared about Botswana and it all went smoothly. ...Until someone suggested (and I'm ...
The post James Taylor joins Tutti Dynamics as Strategic Advisor appeared first on James Taylor.
Over 7000 people have now signed our petition for a Constitutional Convention! The call for a Constitutional Convention is building momentum. Party leaders have heard the call with Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband, Caroline Lucas and Nigel Farage giving their support. It is time to step up the campaign. A committee of cabinet ministers, chaired by William Hague, is still trying to reach a deal on what should happen next. And we want them to recommend a Constitutional Convention. We are working with the Electoral Reform Society to keep up the pressure. We have joined forces with 27 organisations and experts ...
"Trading insults back and forth with your opponents might feel good to the One True Party activist, but it's not likely to attract the voter who knows that there are no true parties, just a group of different parties that might do different things. When offered with 'you must vote for us because we're right about everything' in several different forms, is it any wonder when they go for something entirely different?" Good stuff from Nick Barlow. Caron Lindsay is spitting furious about Johann Lamont's resignation on Liberal Democrat Voice. Forget HS3, 'Transport for the North' was the real meat ...
Sir Malcolm Bruce The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Malcolm Bruce, has written an open letter to Conservative MPs following accusations that Lib Dem MPs have blocked Bob Neill's EU Referendum Bill. I'll let the letter speak for itself, but it underlines the nature of the current relationship between the coalition parties, in addition to exposing the degree to which the fear of UKIP features in Conservative thinking. Here is the letter in full: Dear Colleague, I am writing to correct the misinformation contained in Michael Gove's recent letter to parliamentarians, which accused the Liberal Democrats of 'killing' ...
This week David Cameron pulled the plug on his own bill despite being handed the opportunity by the Liberal Democrats to take it further in the political process. Tories are in a complete mess over Europe. Instead of talking about the benefits of our relationship with the EU they have let UKIP set the agenda. Instead [...]
#119894401 / gettyimages.com Jeremy Browne is an intriguing choice to write Biteback's 'why vote Liberal Democrat?' book for the 2015 general election, not because I doubt his commitment to the party but because his previous book, Race Plan, argued that the party's current pitch is wrong and should be changed. [IMG: Why vote Liberal Democrat - Jeremy Browne] There are discernible traces of that in this book, and even some policies in this one which many Liberal Democrats would disagree with him on (such as his opposition to minimum alcohol pricing and his opposition to plain cigarette packaging). There is, ...
I don't normally read LabourList, but this morning someone on Twitter linked to this article about Labour's fight against the Greens. It starts out almost sensibly, then descends into such a pit of belligerent tribalism that I began wondering if it was a parody. (Then I noticed it was by arch-Blairite 'moderate' Luke Akehurst, and was assured it was serious) There's a certain category of politico – and I've seen them more in Labour, but they exist in every party – who are convinced that theirs is the One True Party and argue that case with a near-religious zeal. In ...
Wed 29th
16:10
Preferred Bidder selected to improve older people's healthcare and adult community health services
Did you know UnitingCare Partnership has been selected as the Preferred Bidder to improve older people's healthcare and adult community services across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and parts of Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire? Don't worry you're not the only one! UnitingCare Partnership is a consortium of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. [...]
Immigration is dominating the headlines after comments by ministers Michael Fallon and Nick Boles. Some facts help put things into perspective. The Immigration Debate 29 October 2014 by Charlotte Henry
This is what a feminist looks like: White. Middle class and/or fairly privileged. Of course, you'd have to be to spend £45 on a T-shirt that looks like it's been hastily made with a Sharpie (an idea which would cost ... Continue reading →
Unlikely Alvin Stardust pic of the day: playing cricket with David Owen, Donny Osmond and Paul Young. pic.twitter.com/U8fFH2Dx46 — peterwalker99 (@peterwalker99) October 23, 2014
The best members-only content from aldc.org ALDC Blog Five Easy Ways to Raise Funds ALDC Development Officer Neil Fawcett gives members the benefit of Oxford's great local fundraising record, sharing five easy ways to get some money in the bank. Early Years Pupil Premium materials Extending our flagship policy even further, the Early Years Pupil [...]
Hopefully all members will have received an email from Ryan Coetzee detailing our messages for the 2015 General Election. This includes reference to including the phrase 'opportunity for all' alongside 'Stronger Economy' and 'Fairer Society'. There is a new version of the logo that includes this part of our strap line and you can now download [...]
Yesterday the Prime Minister's statement to Parliament reminded us thatthere are two EU stories around at the moment. Sadly one is getting far more attention than the other! One is about the Prime Minister "standing up to Europe" and refusing to pay a £1.7bn demand. The other which is ultimately of much greater significance, concerns the EU agreeing an ambitious climate change deal, under British leadership, as described by Catherine Bearder and Ed Davey recently on LDV. Liberal Democrats can rightly be proud that as the greenest of the main British political parties and as "the party of in" we ...
There is a debate going on about whether the Recall Bill is "Real" or not. As usual there is a lot of confusion about what alternatives are proposed. Zac Goldsmith put forward proposals for a different system. The government proposal is triggered by one of two options either a criminal conviction or a decision by the Standards Committee. Zac Goldsmith's is triggered by 5% of constituents
[IMG: green_laws] EU leaders have made a historic decision to tackle climate change by agreeing on a new climate and energy deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. The deal includes also includes plans to boost the use of renewable energy to 27% in the total energy mix and increase energy efficiency to at least 27%. This is great news for the Liberal Democrats in government who have worked hard to keep the environment at the top of the agenda. Lib Dem Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Davey, has been pushing for Europe to make an ...
Congratulations to the former Chelsea academy player now with Maidenhead.
I thought it was time to revive my Caron's Corkers feature to give you a flavour of the good stuff I've been reading: First of all, are you irritated by people referring to themselves as they? That's a plural isn't ... Continue reading →
Author of our new Election Law book @markpack with @KathPinnock and @timpickstone get it from:http://t.co/Abr8M8oWnJ pic.twitter.com/QfFXhAGOkO — ALDC (@ALDC) October 15, 2014 Of course it goes perfectly with this.
FRIENDS OF HARTHILL AND CALDERSTONES PARK The Woodland Trust is holding a competition to find England's Tree of the Year The shortlist was announced on 27th October 2014 The Allerton Oak is one of the ten finalists!! Please ... Continue reading →
With the Green Party announcing they are targeting 12 seats including a number of our key seats, and the Labour party acknowledging the threat they pose by appointing Sadiq Khan to lead the fightback, Green votes could make the difference between winning and losing - as we sadly saw with Graham Watson MEP. So as our Environment Spokesperson in the House of Lords I've been keen to get out and help our candidates promote what we have achieved in Government and champion our 5 Green Bills which we'd introduce in a future Parliament. Over the summer I spent two days ...
For those of us still struggling with the question as to whether the Loch Ness Monster actually exists this news story is a bit of a shock. The Independent says that the National History Museum hatched a sinister plot to slay the Loch Ness monster and display its carcass: Documents exposed by David Clarke in his new book Britain' s X-traordinary Files, show that in March 1934 an unnamed official at the museum issued instructions to 'bounty hunters' on how to tackle the mythical creature. He said: "Should you ever come within range of the 'monster' I hope you will ...
Wed 29th
11:01
Blunkett comments on immigration highlight the liberal/non-liberal split in British politics that cu...
[IMG: (c) Palace of Westminster; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation] David Blunkett has decided to weigh into the immigration storm; as if we didn't have enough hotheads running around making noise about it already (including as of yesterday, the mayor of Calais). He says Michael Fallon's comments on English towns being "swamped" and "under siege" were basically spot on, and that the Defence Secretary was simply voicing the "concerns of ordinary voters". Now, it's not particularly news that Blunkett is not the most liberal of individuals on this topic. All but the most ardent immigrant-phobes will admit that we ...
"As Ukip is to the Tories, so can the Green party be to the Lib Dems." That's a sentence I wrote 7 years ago, November 2007. So I was interested to see this post by YouGov's Peter Kellner – 'Ukip, the Greens and the new politics of protest' – which looks at his firm's polling data to find out more about the current spike in support for the Greens. In it, he aggregates three weeks' polling data to create a sample size large enough to find out who these new Green voters are. One finding probably won't surprise many of ...
HT: SlateFiled under: Uncategorized
Wed 29th
10:25
As the Tories implode, will Ed Miliband sieze the moment? Or will Labour follow Hollande not Renzi?
The two-party architecture of Britain's political system is disintegrating, as both Labour and the Conservatives struggle with the Ukip insurgency and an energised SNP in Scotland. The Conservatives were the first to lose their nerve and are on the verge of implosion. There is now an opportunity for Labour and its leader, Ed Miliband, to seize the initiative and secure a decisive advantage at next year's election. But that would mean turning against the sort of small-minded, tactical political leadership that got both parties into this mess in the first place. So I will be surprised if it happens. Last ...
[IMG: Tim Farron MP speaks at the rally] Lib Dem party president Tim Farron has been writing at the Huffington Post about the need for politicians to support the growing number of what he terms the 'little platoons' of entrepreneurs and small businesses: Unlike many politicians, I think this rise in self-employment could be a good thing, at least for those who've made the choice. I welcome the fact that entrepreneurial individuals are trusting themselves and their skills and striking out on their own. Especially amongst older workers, an increased willingness to share acquired knowledge and experience is creating successful ...
I'm also running for re-election to the Party's delegation to ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe) Council... It's been twenty-five years since I first got involved in international politics - the Berlin Wall was still standing when I started! Four years ago, you were kind enough to elect me to the ELDR Council Delegation. And, as I had promised, I have continued to report back as best I can, using my blog, and Liberal Democrat Voice, (www.libdemvoice.org) to do so. ELDR may now be ALDE, but my approach to the role hasn't changed, so that members can find ...
Rust & Bone (15)Director: Jacques Audiard Gritty tale of survival in a tough economic climate set in a beach-side town in France. (Subtitled) Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) is a killer whale trainer who suffers a life-changing accident throwing her into a relationship with aspiring boxer, Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) who is caught up in illegal boxing and security work trying to provide for his young son. Realistic and uncompromising but ultimately uplifting a rewarding five out of five stars. ***** Her (15)Director: Spike Jonz Sci-fi love story about a lonely ghost writer who falls for the operating system on his computer. Starring ...
[IMG: Liberal Democrat HQ - Great George Street - preamble to party constitution] The shelves of different detergents in a large supermarket give you a parsimonious range of choices compared to the flourishing of names in most Liberal Democrat federal committee elections. If you don't know many of the people, the choices to make can be baffling – and I suspect are often made with as much reliance on instinct, habit and not-quite-fully-rational choice as in the supermarket. Which frankly makes sense if you've got more voting options that your knowledge can stretch to carefully sorting (and which is one ...
The Council is consulting on a proposal to create two-hour limited parking in Prestwich town centre with short-stay parking on the car park on Clifton Road. Parking would remain free of charge, but be limited to a maximum of two hours. Drivers would need to put a parking ticket on their windscreen so that the amount of time they park there can be monitored. The proposal will be advertised in the local press on 27 November 2014 and notices will be posted on site. Residents and businesses will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and no decision will be ...
The Council is consulting on a proposal to create two-hour limited parking in Prestwich town centre with short-stay parking on the car park on Clifton Road. Parking would remain free of charge, but be limited to a maximum of two hours. Drivers would need to put a parking ticket on their windscreen so that the amount of time they park there can be monitored. The proposal will be advertised in the local press on 27 November 2014 and notices will be posted on site. Residents and businesses will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and no decision will be ...
Operation Treacle is the joint campaign (Police, Fire and others) across Greater Manchester to give the public important information and advice about the autumn period through Halloween and Bonfire Night. The safe4autumn website has a large amount information and ideas about both events, to help everyone feel and stay safe. [IMG: Screenshot 2014-10-29 09.08.34] Here is there advice for a safe and enjoyable Halloween! Halloween Safety Advice Halloween can be a lot of fun for children and young people, but it can also be distressing and intimidating for some residents. If you are going 'trick or treating' please respect and ...
[IMG: scam] A Kent based charity has received an email from a debt collector acting on behalf of another business. The company claims to be making a final request for payment before they begin legal proceedings. The email includes a link to make payment arrangements. The charity does not know either company. Kent Trading Standards believe this email is a scam. Scammers want bank or credit card details for fraudulent purposes. They have used a debt collector and threat of legal action to convince the recipient to reply to the email. Report Online Think you've received a scam phone call ...
Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is reruiting for a number of patient cabinet roles. The CCG say: "Bury's Patient Cabinet has a central role in ensuring meaningful involvement and engagement with local patients and communities – gathering views and feedback and making sure that patients have a chance to feed into and actively participate in consultations and service planning." More details here: The closing date for applications is Friday, 7th November.
Comic Reveals That Ghosts Have Better Fashion Sense Than You (tags: ) Universal credit is a tale of failure that's still unfolding (tags: ) An 'embed' link isn't a new infringement, says EU Court of Justice (tags: ) A comic about Seagulls. Not ALL seagulls. (tags: ) How to Make Moss Graffiti (tags: ) Officers say public are in danger - so why won't MoJ publish its safety test? (tags: ) Drown an immigrant to save an immigrant: why is the Government borrowing policy from the BNP? (tags: ) Companies told to lift LBGTI Internet blocks or face court (tags: ...
Please note that Six Town Housing have now started work on Polefield Grange. This is the provision of new Front Boundary Fencing, together with off-road parking and droped kerbs to reduce parking congestion. Hopefully this is good news people people who live on the Grange. As I understand the works will be completed by 15 December 2014. Any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch. Tim
Last month I was blogging admiringly about the arrows and lines painted on platforms in Chicago: [IMG: Platform arrows at O'Hare International Airport] I rather like the signs on the station platforms at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport - nice clear visual cues to encourage people to behave sensibly. It's something we could do much more of in Britain - especially in buses and in lifts where failing to move forward often deprives others of the ability to get the bus/lift but also where there are usually very few visual cues to encourage people to behave sensibly. I've always wondered what ...
A new planning application has been received within Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58073 Registration Date: 20/10/2014 Location: 466 Bury Old Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1NL Proposal: 1 No. internally illuminated fascia sign and 1 no. internally illuminated projecting sign Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
Wed 29th
08:49
LibLink: Paddy Ashdown: Afghanistan war is textbook for how to lose this kind of conflict
[IMG: rally paddy 01] Paddy has been writing in the Mirror about the Afghanistan war? Was it all worth it and could we, should we, have done things differently? What can we learn for the future? First of all, Paddy writes, we did some good: So has it all been for nothing? No. There are children - and especially girls - going to school in Afghanistan who wouldn't be there if British troops had not risked their lives to give them the chance. Democracy, though frail, has taken root. There is growing prosperity in some areas, markets in previous ghost ...
A new planning application for an extension to St Hilda's Church on Whittaker Lane has been received. It is just outside of Holyrood Ward, but may be of interest to people. (I think I'm right in saying that parts of the ward are in the Church of England Parish of St Hilda's – but happy to be corrected!) Application Number: 58024 Registration Date: 16/10/2014 Location: Land adjacent to St Hilda's Church, Whittaker Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1HA Proposal: Erection of a community hall [IMG: Screenshot 2014-10-29 08.42.53] Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information ...
[IMG: Lynne_Featherstone] Liberal Democrat International Development Minister, Lynne Featherstone, has called for the international community to do more to stop people with disabilities being left behind. Speaking at the Disability Date Conference in London, Lynne said better global disability data is needed in order to improve support for those affected in developing countries. Lynne called on international development donors, civil society organisations and academics to strengthen the quality of information they collect about disability by using a single method of data collection. At present, different definitions of disability and inconsistent information gathering have led to a gap in reliable global ...
I've just added WordPress's Jetpack plugin to the site, which should make it easier for people to comment and like posts, as well as making it easier for me to share posts and get stats about my site. It also means you can now subscribe to the blog and get notifications of new posts via email by using the box on the sidebar at the right. As ever, whenever I add something new to here there's a good chance I'll have broken something else in the process, so please let me know if you see anything that's not right. Though ...
From Monday 24th November 2014, Service X7 (Dundee - Montrose - Aberdeen) will extend beyond Dundee to serve Perth Royal Infirmary. After Dundee Bus Station, the stops of this service will be Dundee Rail Station, West Port, Sinderins, Royal Victoria Hospital, then via the current stops of Service 333. This will run every hour Monday to Saturday, with as two-hourly Perth service on Sundays (the original Aberdeen - Dundee route remains hourly). This will be a much-enhanced replacement for Hospital Link Service 333 (Royal Victoria Hospital/Ninewells Hospital/Perth Royal Infirmary), which will no longer operate after Friday 21st November 2014. Many ...
It is that time when ballot papers start to hit doormats and inboxes, and whilst you're probably inundated with people seeking your support, I hope that you'll find time for another supplicant... Twenty-five years ago, I found myself in a hotel in Aarhus, Denmark, attending a seminar on youth culture, my first international event as a Liberal Democrat. I was hooked and, within the year, I had been elected as the International Officer of Liberal Youth's forebears. I travelled the world, or at least Europe, and enjoyed nearly every minute of it. But life got in the way, as it ...
I used to consider myself an expert on the future of money. I realise I am not any more. Experts on the future of money have to include more IT geek about them than I will ever have, and this realisation follows finding this: a table of some of the market capitalisations of the most valuable 'virtual currencies'. The roller-coaster success of bitcoin has launched a flurry of activity, unfortunately somewhat similar activity - from darkcoin and feathercoin to litecoin and auroracoin. Many of them - and there are anything up to 500 of them - are created by rather ...
I recently became involved with a matter that quite shocked me where grab handles that had been fixed to the walls of a pensioner's bungalow were dangerous. The handles had been put either side of the front door to help the pensioner get up a step but one looked to be poorly fixed and when pulled it came off the wall! Fortunately, the pensioner was not pulling on them at the time but his son-in-law. Closer examination showed that the screws were far too short for the job and the wall had been drilled in the cement rather than into ...
There is now strong evidence that the planned M4 relief road will significantly damage the port of Newport and thus the economy of Wales. The Welsh Government's proposed route for a new M4 would involve the construction of a bridge over the River Usk, which would limit the size of ships which can dock there. A recent study showed that 58% of ships that entered the North Dock during the period 2004-2008 would not have been able to access it if the proposed bridge been in place. The Welsh Labour Government will seriously undermine the credibility of this important port ...
Schools will be offered £2m to help them tackle homophobic bullying. The funds will be offered to charitable and not-for-profit organisations that suggest creative ideas to stamp out homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools across the country. Liberal Democrats want to stamp out homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying once and for all. You can show your support for this too by backing our campaign here. For many victims of bullying, the memories of their experiences in the playground, classroom and corridors will stay with them throughout their lives. Bullying can result in children from being uncomfortable in themselves and ...
