I have proposed a motion to the next meeting of Calderdale Council on 3rd December opposing fracking. The text of the motion is the model text proposed by Friends of the Earth, who also have a really good website detailing their concerns over fracking. a) This Council notes that it has a responsibility to tackle climate change and protect the environment and the well being of local communities. b) This Council acknowledges that exploration of unconventional fossil fuel undermines action on climate change and diverts resources away from investment in a safe and secure renewable energy future. c) This Council ...
More on the history of this canal and the hopes for its restoration on the North Walsham & Dilham Canal Trust site.
There was a good turnout earlier tonight for the Mary Slessor lecture at Dundee West Church's Friendship Hall, held as part of West End Christmas Fortnight Carly Cooper, Social History Curator at the McManus Art Gallery and Museum, gave a very interesting presentation and there was a lively question and answer session thereafter. I am very grateful to Carly for participating in this event and also to Paola McClure of WestFest, who kindly chaired the meeting. Rev Andrew Greaves also gave an update on the forthcoming Sheila Tennant Awards at Dundee West Church in the spirit of Mary Slessor - ...
An event is being held on Sunday 30 November (1.30pm) at Oadby Community Centre, Sandhurst Street, Oadby, Leicestershire LE2 5AR to commemorate the role played by Commonwealth soldiers in the First World War. It will include an exhibition containing a series of photographs and other memorabilia, and the speakers will include historians Jahan Mahmood and Nigel Atter. This is a free event and all are welcome. Further details from Zuffar Haq.
[IMG: Cornwall Council logo] At the weekend I blogged about the remarkable attempt by Cornwall Council's Chief Executive Andrew Kerr to force Alex Folkes to resign as a councillor, apparently for having been the victim of a crime several years ago. (Alex's version of events, which Cornwall Council has not contradicted, is that his credit card was cloned several years ago and the stolen card information was then used to access a child pornography site. The police investigated at the time and, being given this defence and evidence of the illegal cloning, didn't press charges.) Now Cornwall Council has decided ...
Today is the first ever Shelagh Delaney Day, That BBC report reveals that Morrisey's lyrics owe more to her play A Taste of Honey than I had realised. The lines "I dreamt about you last night/and I fell out of bed twice" in Reel Around the Fountain come from it, but the report lists several other borrowings. I posted a terrific profile of the writer from 1960 - Shelagh Delaney's Salford - back in July, so here is a clip from the film of A Taste of Honey with Dora Bryan, Rita Tushingham and Murray Melvin.
My first reaction to news today that the police are to seek a review of the premises licence for the Blue Boar in Mill Street is: "Whoop, whoop!" We all know how it happens in Ludlow. There's a progression of rowdy behaviour late at night. It begins in Mill Street and then moves across the [...]
Tue 25th
19:15
It's International Day for the elimination of violence against women. Lynne Featherstone highlights ...
Today marks the start of 16 days of action, from today's International Day for the elimination of violence against women to Human Rights Day on 10th December, when events all over the world will raise awareness and take action to stop violence against women. Jo Swinson and Lynne Featherstone have been speaking to students at an NUS event aimed at Kings College London about the importance of changing the culture and the role that men and boys need to play in that. .@joswinson and @lfeatherstone with @ikramofficial call for men to act to end violence against women. #evaw#16dayspic.twitter.com/c99JUlcQDq — Govt_Women ...
The Guardian wins Headline of the Day.
Tue 25th
17:45Liberal Democrat members and ministers talk mental health for Channel 4's political slot
Last week, the Liberal Democrats used their Political Slot with Channel 4 to talk about mental health. Norman Lamb said that it was "morally wrong and economically stupid" to deny people with mental ill health speedy treatment and talked about Liberal Democrat plans to introduce waiting time targets over the next five years. Members Andrew Page, Linda Jack and inaugural chair of the Liberal Democrat Mental Health Association Lee Dargue took part along with Norman.
One of the reasons why I adopted the nom-de-blog "Cicero" was because I saw- indeed still see- parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and our own times. Although, after the accession of Octavian, Rome remained nominally a Republic with the Emperor initially simply "first citizen", in reality the political system based on Roman Liberty was overthrown. I strongly fear that although the nominal forms of Parliamentary Democracy may survive, the principles, indeed the guiding spirit, of Liberal Democracy are being eroded to the point where our freedoms are being taken away. I see the challenges not being so ...
The note below was recently sent to me by Sefton Council and coincidentally I had, only days before, taken the photo (also below) of the plaque which is on the property from which he operated during World War 2 off Trinity Road in Bootle. [IMG: rsz_flotilla_house] Click on the photo to enlarge it On Thursday 27th November 2014 at Bootle Town Hall there will be a memorial service to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Captain Frederic 'Johnnie' Walker's passing. This service is a new idea by the Royal Navy to commemorate Captain Walker and is being organised jointly between the ...
Towards the end of last year I did a blog piece saying that, once we had returned to the UK, I was going to review our regular charitable donations and maybe find smaller charities to donate to, that did not pay their executives enormous salaries, rather than the big guns than make up the DEC. [...]
Over at the polling website May2015 (part of the New Statesman stable) Matt Singh has asked the straightforward question, 'How are the Lib Dems polling and will they survive in May 2015?' Except it isn't all that straightforward... First, there's the issue that the different polling companies don't agree on what the current Lib Dem rating actually is. In the last fortnight, the party's been rated as low as 5% (Opinium) and as high as 11% (ICM): that's a difference outside the margin of error you might expect. The divergence is primarily down to what's known as 'house effects' – ...
Given that the Welsh Government is currently considering a ban on the use of e-cigarettes in public places on the grounds that it normalises smoking, this article on the BBC website is an interesting contribution to the debate sparked by that proposal. They say that data from the Office for National Statistics indicate those who use e-cigarettes, are almost entirely current or former smokers: E-cigarettes were mainly used to help smokers quit and because users saw them as being less harmful than cigarettes, the ONS said. And the proportion of adults who smoked cigarettes had fallen to 19%. Most of ...
Why do so many aid projects that seem so impressive at a small scale, fail so spectacularly when they are scaled up?That's the subject of one most interesting and important articles I've read in a long time. In it the aid worker Michael Hobbes reflects on his profession. What he recounts is not pretty: expensive medical [...]
Tom Watson is Labour MP or West Bromwich and general scourge of the Murdoch empire, which is no bad thing. He's pretty much with us when he talks about the need to tackle politicians' deference to the media. He's an old friend and university sparring partner of long-standing Liberal Democrat Federal Executive and Federal Conference Committee member James Gurling and this weekend became godfather to Gurling's incredibly cute 9 month old son. Watson tweeted a picture with father and son on Sunday: Here's my newly baptised Godson and his dad. Very proud. pic.twitter.com/SUzfdEWs8j — tom_watson (@tom_watson) November 23, 2014 * ...
Tue 25th
14:52
Near lethal pothole on Victoria Street given temporary repair after pressure from Chris White and lo...
St Albans' European-style Christmas Market is opening on Thursday 27 November. On Friday 28th November there will be an opening celebration for all the family, from 5pm – 8pm, at which the Mayor will officially open the market. The festivities will include magical frozen, icy guests, with local businesses serving up refreshments in the City centre. [...]
Today I had another letter published in the Belfast Telegraph, any who have been following my recent posts and Tweets will know a bit about the subject matter. The title was not the subject line of my email, and the + from LGBT+ got turned into an "and" by them in my signature, but the text it as I wrote it. Dermot O'Callaghan (Writeback, 21 November) may have a point that the whole issue over the cake that Ashers refused to bake is all about power, though the problem is that the people exercising the power are not necessarily the ...
No, that wasn't a typo in the headline. The NHS is a political problem for Labour, not a source of political strength. Why? Because compare Labour's rhetoric about evil-extreme-dismantling-privatisation* with what the public thinks about the state of the NHS: Satisfaction with the NHS overall is at it's third highest since the eighties pic.twitter.com/ZF5tWpDwd1 — NatCen (@NatCen) November 24, 2014 Labour's rhetoric of doom is massively at odds with the reality of the public's experience of the state of the NHS. It may not be as eye-catching a way of being out of touch with the world outside as being ...
Tue 25th
13:48Lamb urges online therapy for teenagers with Depression and McInnes urges Scottish Government to imp...
Norman Lamb has been talking to the Times (£) about different ways of helping children and teenagers with Depression. This could include accessing therapy via an internet app. This would augment, to replace traditional face to face therapy: MPs on the health select committee said this month that mental health services for children and teenagers were inadequate from prevention to crisis care, as they reported increasing concerns over cyberbullying and self-harm websites. Mr Lamb wants to use online tools to solve some of these problems, including computerised cognitive behavioural therapy, online counselling and peer support networks for the mentally ill. ...
A few years ago few, if any, of us would have thought about video being an achievable way to communicate our message or build campaigns at a local level. It was something the party did nationally. 20 years ago I was involved in producing a conference fringe at which we showed a wide selection of 'ads' [...]
Brace yourselves. Brent Central Liberal Democrat candidate has written a hard-hitting and heartfelt article for the New Statesman on immigration. He expresses his anger at what passes for debate on the issue: This country has been built on the blood, sweat and backs of immigrants. This is the story of immigration in this country. It's about time the political establishment recognised this. Not make us feel like foreigners in our own country. The disenfranchised working classes are being whipped up over the issue and after being long abandoned by Labour are turning to Ukip. Our country is being betrayed by ...
We spend a lot of time blaming men (not without reason) for violence against women and girls – but they can be agents of change. The coalition government is determined to tackle violence against women and girls in all its forms. These abhorrent crimes are not a women's issue – they are everyone's issue. And men can be central to bringing about cultural change. In December last year, we re-launched the This is Abuse campaign which aims to prevent teenagers from becoming victims and perpetrators of abuse, encourage them to consider their views of abuse and the meaning of consent ...
I was pleased last night to return from the ALDE Congress in Lisbon in time to attend the launch of Gerald MacLean's new book, Abdullah Gul and the Making of the New Turkey*, at the Turkish Embassy. A particular draw was the subject himself, who was in London on what he said was his first [...]
Tue 25th
10:44Opinion: ALDE Party Council: Bouncing Czechs, "which Slovenes are the liberals?"*, and a prospective...
Whilst you might not have guessed it from those manifestos you read from candidates for places on the Party's ALDE Council delegation, the policy debates were still in our future when Council made an early start on Friday morning.Our task was a straightforward one, debate changes to the constitution, including a revision of the membership structure, authorise the creation of a business club, consider six membership applications, receive and approve the 2015 budget and debate the report of the Bureau... in two hours (English Council, please note). The constitutional changes were adopted, although there were concerns over the apparent absence ...
A quick progress report on Network Rail's work to raise the footbridge in connection with the electrification of the Great Western main line. On the Wapley side of the bridge they have now laid stone along the green lane to the point where the temporary footbridge will be positioned. On the Shire Way side contractors Murphys have been removing excess soil prior to constructing the temporary bridge. If the track to or from the "ash track" is blocked for lorry movements, they will let you through if you ask - the track isn't closed. The temporary bridge will go up ...
Two-party politics used to be the norm for developed democracies. Most countries' politics were divided between tribal blocks based on the urban working class and on the aspirant middle classes. But the dominance of these two blocks has faded in most countries. There are two interesting exceptions: the USA and Australia. Here in Britain two-party politics looked as if it would triumph with the demise of the Liberal Democrat,s and the No vote in the referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV) in 2011. But now the system is its death throes. It is worth considering the architecture of two party ...
ALDC and LDHQ have jointly produced a Field Campaign Manual to help Lib Dem campaigners win at every level. It is a vital tool for people that are just starting out and also provides a checklist for more experienced campaigners. The manual outlines tried and tested methods for winning elections and explains how to combine [...]
[IMG: red-blue-square-wallpaper] The Prime Minister is due to give a speech this week on immigration and the European Union. In terms of what constitutes sensitive fault lines within the Tory brand, it would be hard to get touchier than these two topics (unless of course, UKIP style, you wish to roll them into one). And yet, former Northern Ireland Secretary and DEFRA minster Owen Patterson has decided to have his own, competing speech on Europe this week. One that, from the sounds of it, will play havoc with the narrative Cameron is trying to re-establish. Perhaps Patterson's motivation is anger ...
Over the last few months, the party has had the best Presidential election contest it's had in years, with first four, then three candidates travelling the length of the country to meet and engage with members and answer their questions. Now it's almost over. Voting closes tomorrow at noon. Ballot papers were sent out at the end of October to all members by post. Each member had an option of returning the green ballot paper, or using the unique information in it to vote by post. Some members are saying that they have not had their ballot papers. This is ...
According to the Open Rights Group, (ORG) who are often right on soon-to-be-published legislation, the forthcoming bill on "IP Address Matching" is about mobile networks performing NAT. There are probably a few reading this whose eyes have already started to glaze over, given the first paragraph mentions a three letter acronym. It is likely that a few civil servants and ministers suffered from the same. That is worrying because it is entirely possible that this bill may, if ORG are correct, involve collection of communications data – here's why: Network Address Translation (NAT) is a way of hiding many computers ...
Blanket data retention does not come in "good" and "bad" forms (tags: ) How Ignorant Are You About Tuition Fees? (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: A red line] Yesterday Nick Clegg spoke about the possibilities of another hung Parliament: Asked about potential coalitions after May's election, he said: "I will never sit around a Cabinet table with (UKIP leader) Nigel Farage, that's for sure, and I would think the feeling is pretty mutual." It's a sentiment that will doubtless be popular with Liberal Democrats, and being unafraid to point out how different the Liberal Democrats are from UKIP is a good move. But opening the door to starting to name names is risky. After all, if you're willing to answer the question about Nigel ...
I have received complaints on a couple of occasions recently that the Roseangle recycling facility was over-flowing - see below : I have asked the City Council's Environment Department to review the servicing schedule to see if it can be increased.
I felt rather sorry for Emily Thornberry, whose innocuous tweet caused such a stir. I wasn't sure if it was actually the sensitivities of the Labour Party she really upset. Their conscience has been plaguing them for the complete abandonment of the working classes in recent decades. No wonder Ed Miliband was so cross. On the other hand, it is clearly right - given the Ukip surge - that the political elite should be examining their consciences. I have a feeling the sense of alienation from conventional politics, which - as a Liberal, I rather share - lies in the ...
Yesterday we went to a lunch party and the conversation turned to the electoral prospects of the fifty odd Lib Dem MPs and how many the LIb Dems may lose if you believe Peter Kellner's prediction at the Lib Dem Conference Fringe in Glasgow this year that the Lib Dems are going to become a party with around 10% of the vote in future years and gone for some time are the heady days when we can count on 20% of the vote. Of course, Peter Kellner may be wrong and it may not be that bad but I do ...
An Assembly inquiry into Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS ) has found that the service "does not have capacity to meet the demands currently placed on it." Over the last four years, there has been a 100% increase in demand for CAMHS, yet the Children, Young People and Education Committee found that evidence "overwhelmingly suggest a perception of significant under-capacity within specialist CAMHS and this was leading to long waiting lists and increasing difficulties in accessing the service." The Committee also has expressed concerns over "whether the level of spend per child per head of population is appropriate". ...
This indeed is a great place to listen to music – see the Liverpool Echo link above. My first recollection of it goes back some 40 years to when I was a teenager. I remember clearly going there with an old mate of mine (the sadly now passed on Andrew Beattie) to see legendary Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. It was an inspiring concert not least because we had booked our tickets so early we were on the front row, literally feet from this legendary pianist. What also sticks in my mind is that we were sat there in ...
In case any of you are suffering because I have not been using Twitter or Facebook it's because it am In China and they are not allowed here. I can however blog! Before anyone says I am on a freeby, ... Continue reading →
Lord Unappealing is attempting to make himself relevant again by opining on something for which he does at least have historic expertise, by-elections. His number crunching is no doubt correct, the slightly vacuous plea for better tactics could also no doubt have delivered a better result than 342 votes, the strategic insight though is entirely lacking. The Liberal Democrat brand, outside areas where local quality outshines national performance is poison. This in no small part due to a series of self-inflicted disasters from casual flip-flopping on policy to covering up for undesirable characters. Something for which the Party's former seat ...
