It has long been a truism that not only will Apple not support GNU/Linux at all, but even if you manage to get iTunes running in WiNE, you won't be able to access the iTunes store. This is not normally a problem — no-one who has access to decent software would want to run their [...]
#90747674 / gettyimages.com The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum site explains: In 1815 the Duke of Rutland built the Belvoir Castle Tramway in Leicestershire to carry coal and other supplies from Muston Gorse Wharf on the Grantham Canal up to the Castle. Wagons were pulled up the hill by horses. The route can still be traced and many of the stone block sleepers remain in place. A short section in the castle grounds survives and extends into the cellars beneath the castle.Lord Bonkers has asked me to point out that the railways on the Bonkers Hall Estate are for more impressive. ...
Wed 3rd
22:16
International Relations Committee - some initial observations from anew kid (elect) on the block
So, I have attended my first meeting of my Party's International Relations Committee, having kindly been invited to attend in order to get a feel for it before I formally take up my role as a directly elected member on 1 January. How did it go, and what do I think? Firstly, Robert Woodthorpe Browne is a very efficient committee chair - we ran pretty much to time, which is always good - and a old-fashioned political operator (that's a compliment, by the way). His experience, contacts and political awareness would be very hard to duplicate, and someone would be ...
TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is a far reaching trade deal currently being negotiated between the EU on one side and the USA on the other. It covers a very wide range of sectors and includes much debate on methodology, not least on ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement). There are two narratives about TTIP. The first is that it is a great opportunity to enrich both sides of the negotiation by sweeping away a lot of unneeded regulation and harmonising conditions for companies on both sides of the Atlantic so that business can proceed with less obstruction and less ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30311722 [IMG: Pacer] The BBC has the story – see link above This really is very good news indeed. So to all those campaigners across England including John Pugh (the MP for Southport) and OPSTA (Ormskirk, Preston & Southport Travellers Association) who have fought high profile campaigns to rid our railways of what are little more than buses on rails I say a big thank you to you all.
Today, Chancellor George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement. What is particularly significant about this is that it represents the government's final opportunity to lay out its economic priorities ahead of the General Election. Inevitably, the chancellor has heavily imbued the Statement with Conservative thinking, which is neither surprising nor particularly objectionable in itself. However - lest we forget - the Liberal Democrats declared back in 2010 that the party should be judged according to the government's economic record. Effectively, this was tantamount to staking the party's electoral future on the Chancellor's economic plan. I have never believed that was a ...
© Philip Halling Andy McSmith's Diary in the Independent is always worth a read. In his latest column he notes Nick Clegg's absence from the Commons: Today he was in Penzance, to announce a £150,000 study into whether the town needs a new breakwater. "I've spent four years dutifully sitting there on the green benches and this year I thought it would be a nice change to get out of the Westminster," he told the Western Morning News. Penzance is in the St Ives constituency, which the Liberal Democrat Andrew George held in 2010 by a perilously small majority. So ...
The resignation of Emily Thornberry meant that Labour needed a new shadow attorney general. And the choice has fallen upon Lord Bach who, as Willy Bach, once represented one of the Lutterworth wards on Harborough District Council. (This was after my days on the authority.) BBC News has the other changes in today's minor shadow cabinet reshuffle.
Wednesday: Do we really want another stimulus for the housing bubble? Really? Raising some taxes is good (bankers and Starbucks, though... well, how amazing brave to pick those targets). But hasn't Chancellor Osborn sworn he wasn't going to raise any more taxes? I dectect the hand of Danny Alexander; it's of a piece with his efforts to tackle tax evasion and reduce opportunities for tax avoidance. The extra funding for the NHS appears to have come from... underspedning in the NHS. Master Gideon as Baron Munchausen will thus clear the deficit by pulling himself up by his own bootstraps. And ...
[IMG: Lindsay Northover] Baroness Northover is parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for International Development. Here is the speech she made today, in the Houses of Parliament, to launch the DFID disabilty framework: I'm delighted to be here with you today, to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Although the UK Department for International Development and many of you in this room have been increasingly focused on disability inclusion in recent years, it is now that we are really beginning to see this issue get the attention it deserves. As the minister responsible for disability in DFID, ...
So I spoke at the Institute for Government yesterday, next to a couple of much better people, Nick Hillman and Pamela Dow. Here is the video. It was all about my long-awaited pamphlet, hastily titled "The Unelected Lynchpin", full of catty references and ill-disguised anecdotes concerning my time right in the centre of power. Well, Continue reading Gripping video about scandalous spads →
The best of ALDC content from the last week, including: Using video to enhance local campaigns New G8 postal voter recruitment scheme Mental Health Day of Action - motions and LDHQ packs 'Party and Group' FAQs Facebook Group update ALDC Blog Using Video in Your Campaigns ALDC Development Officer Richard Cole discusses the increasing role [...]
A quick briefing on today's Autumn Statement. Members can find below a range of suggested tweets and useful materials from Lib Dem HQ, with more to follow in the coming week. Also, our colleagues at the LGA Lib Dem office have prepared a further briefing with a series of useful downloads, which you can find here. [...]
[IMG: rsz_photo1085] The lights are on and shining bright; lets hope the traders are shinning bright as well having had a good festive season.
Please see attached/linked three briefings we hope you'll find useful in response to the autumn statement: 1. The LGA's on the day briefing covering all the local government related measures and the LGA's view. The most important of these being that there are no additional cuts for local government as some had feared. 2. Autumn [...]
Dear all, Please find below a regional press release on plans to raise the personal tax allowance to £10,600 - announced today at the Autumn Statement. This story will work well for local media and should be filled out and sent to outlets as soon as possible. Please also find here – a handy 'Autumn Statement in [...]
[IMG: A very early Liberal Party bar chart, from Richmond.] A very early Liberal Party bar chart, from Richmond. 1. Visualising data makes it more persuasive A persuasive chart showing how persuasive charts are http://t.co/5HFgF1RQMW pic.twitter.com/kTA8zW6p33 — The New York Times (@nytimes) November 24, 2014 2. Bar charts are better than pie charts or other graphical devices For presenting election results at least, according to the academic research. 3. When done properly, bar charts convey a vital political message Time and again research has shown that the message behind a bar chart is one that gets voters to switch their ...
It is a stark fact that while we are a global leader in financial services, financial exclusion is still rife: some two million adults in the UK don't have a bank account and an estimated two million people took out a high-cost loan in 2012 as they were unable to access any other form of credit. Nine million have no access to mainstream credit, either because they are unbanked or are not able to access credit facilities through their bank. Meanwhile, the level of unsecured consumer credit has tripled in the past 20 years, reaching a staggering £160.4 billion in ...
I couldn't really describe myself as an optimist when it comes to the public finances - I suppose that as a fiscal conservative who is more than a little debt averse, the notion of a budget deficit at 5% of GDP is still a bit unnerving. And so, it should not come as a surprise when I look upon the Autumn Statement with something less than a sense of triumphalism. Amidst the announcements of investment in this, additional money for that and changing in the taxation of the other, the iceberg of the structural deficit - still not eliminated, lest ...
Wed 3rd
15:08
Challenging the myths about benefits claimant - an inspiring video from an Oxford charity
Liberal Democrats generally despair about the attitudes in the media towards people who claim benefits. I'm sure that most of you reading this will be inspired by this fantastic video from an Oxford self advocacy charity run by and for people with learning disabilities. My Life My Choice got some people to share their stories and challenging some of the myths people have about people on benefits. It's very moving. Please share it all over social media. I think we probably all have friends who believe the myths and they need to see it. We will all benefit from My ...
Last week, the East Coast rail franchise was awarded to a consortium that is part owned by Virgin Trains, which will dominate the branding. I've been mulling it over. I've always enjoyed travelling on the East Coast Mainline, and that isn't just because it has been run in the interim by a state-owned franchise. I liked it when it was privately run by GNER. I liked it because it was more civilised than other railway lines, more relaxed, more reliable and the staff were flexible, understanding and helpful. But there was another reason I liked it. It wasn't Virgin Trains. ...
It seems that for UKIP policy is very much a moveable feast. They adopt a policy such as the one they fought the last General Election on of privatising the NHS and then summarily drop it when it starts to get embarrassing. There does not appear to be any democratic context to this process. This is especially so as their custom and practice appears to involve giving the leader a veto over all and any policy measure he feels might prove to be inconvenient at any one time. The question is how they can sustain that position now they have ...
Wed 3rd
14:24
The Autumn Statement: if Labour doesn't figure out how to change the scene very soon, they are going...
[IMG: 1313122_Autumn-statement-Wordle] The scene is a few days prior to the 2010 general election: Labour are embroiled in existential crisis. A bad campaign, the unpopularity of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Cleggmania have conspired together to create what looks to be the perfect storm. The party chiefs, while putting on a brave face for the public, worry privately that the Labour Party are about to get completely slaughtered. There is even speculation amongst them that the Lib Dems getting above one hundred seats plus a Labour wipe out would see a Tory majority and the Liberal Democrats as the official ...
I make little apology for returning to the subject of Russia. The crisis in Ukraine is rapidly becoming a crisis in -and for- Russia. The third term of Vladimir Putin, began with a constitutional sleight-of-hand to allow the job swap between Dimitri Medvedev and Putin to take place- and we can date the breakdown of Russia quite precisely from the announcement of this cosy arrangement on 24th September 2011. Since that time the political atmosphere has darkened dramatically. As I have noted several times, Russia has already fallen 61 places in Transparency International's Index of corruption perceptions since the beginning ...
The November 2014 AdLib makes interesting reading. Amongst other issues, it set me thinking about the Mansion Tax. It is axiomatic of any decent society that those most able to pay should contribute the greatest amount towards the cost of maintaining it; especially in respect of social costs. This seems to be an unpopular concept with many on the right of politics, who would presumably see themselves as paying more; while those on the left may be tempted to adopt it as an unthinking mantra, without considering the practical implications. Nevertheless, we must find fair ways of making the better ...
BBC News reports: Outlining proposed restrictions on tax credits and child benefits, Mr Cameron said a migrant in work with two children was getting £700 a month on average in support from the state, twice the amount paid in Germany and three times as much as in France. Let's forget about migrants for a moment. Britain's "generous" in-work benefits are payable to all. Should we be proud of our "generosity"? I think we should reframe the way we look at in-work benefits and tax concessions for low earners. They should not be seen as state support for the deserving poor. ...
One of the most effective ways to establish the credibility of our local campaign, regardless of how well we are doing elsewhere, is to run a strong and high visibility poster campaign. A big campaign of garden posters (stakeboards) and window posters makes it very clear to local residents that we are in contention and [...]
Wed 3rd
11:09Lib Dems Telegraph splash: EU bashing "weak, opportunistic and fundamentally un-British" say Ashdown...
Even Margaret Thatcher wouldn't have taken the isolationist path that David Cameron's Conservative party is romping its way down, according to 90 Liberal Democrats in a letter to the Telegraph today. The letter states: David Cameron's recent speech on European immigration is the latest in a series of desperate moves from a Conservative Party in full-scale panic. We've had: "Go home or face arrest" vans. We've had: if you are from the EU and want to move to Britain, go and register at a police station. We've had: if you're out of work, even for a few months, go back ...
MyCouncillor users may notice a temporary period of downtime on Friday afternoon as some important updates are made to the system. A fault had been flagged up with the way that some image uploads were proceeding and we are rolling this repair into a wider update of the operating system on MyCouncillor's server machines. Logins [...]
From Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE): [IMG: Information is ammunition - rifle] [IMG: Information is ammunition - RPG] [IMG: Information is ammunition - pistol]
Are you the landlord of a rented property in South Gloucestershire? Is it cold and draughty? If so, take a look at the new initiative Warm Up South Gloucestershire which has been launched by the council this week. The scheme offers landlords significant help to improve inefficient properties in a bid to protect tenants against cold, draughty houses. It offers a range of measures, including heating upgrades, cavity wall and loft insulation, draught proofing and double glazing. There is also a limited amount of additional support available to landlords for installing a new gas connection if required. The initiative applies ...
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] There were twelve principal council by-elections contested last Thursday. In the Melton DC ward of Asfordby, the Conservatives polled 53.4% in gaining a seat from Labour with a majority of 136 votes. There was also a gain for UKIP from the SDP after winning in Bridlington Central and Old Town on East Yorkshire UA with a narrow majority of 49 ahead of the Conservatives. In addition, the SNP made a gain in the Aberdeenshire ward of Troup from the Conservatives after winning 1158 first preference votes. Elsewhere Labour held five seats on Midlothian UA, ...
Wed 3rd
09:30The "nasty party" dies hard: the Tim Aker leaflet, the Thurrock by-election, and the Conservative Pa...
[IMG: A section of the Conservative leaflet in which Tim Aker, whose father is Turkish, is called Timür] A local by-election is the stage for a punch up between UKIP and the Tories, with those in blue coming out, in this instance, as the bad guys. The Thurrock Conservative Party has produced a leaflet that reminds you that it isn't just Farage's bunch that can be nasty. First off it refers to the UKIP candidate, Tim Aker, as Timur Aker, which was his birth name that he shortened as a schoolboy. Now for a party that always bleats about Gideon/George ...
[IMG: mphbasic] First of all, let me just say thanks to everyone for their response to my post yesterday about basic income. There clearly are a lot of people out there interested in the idea, so I've been spending a bit more time thinking about how we can take it forward. I think there's two main areas that we need to work on, though within those areas there are lots of other issues to be dealt with: policy and promotion. Policy is the discussion of just what type of basic income we want to see, from the question of do ...
This article makes a fair point, if somewhat bombastically. Horrifically disappointed in our MPs. (tags: ) Festive jumpers are out. The Christmas suit has arrived - "crafted from 100% polyester" *shudder* (tags: ) Rail fare whinge of the year. (tags: ) Sexual harassment part of daily life for British girls, says Girlguiding UK (tags: ) I Took a Very Thorough Look Through British MPs' Twitter Favourites (tags: ) Liberal Democrats for Basic Income, anyone? (tags: ) 12 Reasons No One Knows Who Will Win The Next General Election (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Group Of Business People With Their Mouths Taped Shut] Back in 2011 Nick Clegg famously said: you shouldn't trust any government, actually including this one. You should not trust government - full stop. The natural inclination of government is to hoard power and information It's a position embodying impeccable liberal principles. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the dangers of concentrating power and, by implication, the benefits of pluralism. The heart of many a jaded liberal sang in response. Clegg circa 2011 got it. I wonder what Clegg circa 2011 would make of the actions of Clegg circa 2014? ...
In October, I took part in a site visit with a constituent and a representative of the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership to the pavements north side of Perth Road near to Sinderins. As I said at the time, the major problem with this stretch of footpath is that it is both heavily used, being in the Perth Road shopping area, but it has also been subject to repeated utility company repairs given the amount of servicing and cabling beneath. I have now had feedback from the City Engineer as follows : "I can advise that this section of footway ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above. The response to the report from Jane Kennedy, Merseyside's Police Commissioner is to take a swipe at budget reductions as though they would not have happened under a Labour Government (she can't believe this surely) whilst not really, in my view,addressing what she is going to do about the high costs. It is not the case that if Merseyside Police were more efficient then the budgets cuts the Commissioner complains of would be more manageable?
Reports that 24 hour Accident and Emergency, and other specialist services are to be removed from Withybush is a huge blow to communities across Pembrokeshire, especially all the campaigners that have worked tirelessly to keep their local services open. A quick response is vital for people suffering from trauma and accidents, and cutting 24 hour A&E cover could well put lives at risk. The fact that these services are seen as unsustainable at all shows that there is a major recruitment crisis in our NHS that the Welsh Labour Government seems determined to ignore. I have been repeatedly calling for ...
Over the last couple of hours I've seen a lot of people talking about a news article in which Prof. Stephen Hawking has said that he considers it possible that an artificial intelligence could destroy humanity. With a few exceptions, mostly people who've read the same people that Hawking has read, most of the people [...]
In a sign that winter is approaching, tonight we are experiencing our first frost since the start of the year. I could see it forming up on my greenhouse this evening. It was cold enough to put a coat on one of my goats. I bought it from an agricultural supplier for £30, which is only £8 less than the total I have spent on new clothes for myself this year! I'm not one of these people who feels
