Eleven principal council by-elections were held across Britain yesterday. The two contests in Aylesbury Vale resulted in two Liberal Democrat wins. Peter Agoro was victorious in Southcourt ward, polling 42.3% to secure a comfortable majority of 317 votes as the Conservatives finished second. Labour, who were defending the seat, saw their vote share drop by 12.2% in [...]
Fri 12th
21:40
Liberator Review Unlocking Liberalism tackling the grotesque disparity of wealth, authentic alternat...
Unlocking Liberalism: Life after the Coalition, published by Liberal Futures. Taking a leaf of out Lord Bonker's diary, and there is no shame in copying the Liberal blogfather, I will post my review of the book which has appeared in the most recent edition of Liberator in instalments. This is the second instalment, the Introduction can be found here There is a grotesque disparity of wealth and income in our society and that directly impacts on people's opportunities to fulfil their potential; or as the 1928 Yellow Book asserted; the end of all our policies was that men and women ...
[IMG: Julian Huppert MP] PinkNews reports: A ban on the production of certain types of porn in the UK will be the subject of a debate in the House of Commons, if a Lib Dem MP who opposes it gets his way. Brought in by the Audiovisual Media Services regulation 2014 last week, the ban states that any online paid-for porn such as Video on Demand (VoD) must adhere to the same rules set out for those producing DVDs. Those rules are set out by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), and ban producers from depicting acts such as ...
Goodness me the party that has previous said that virtually every cut in local government finances was unnecessary and has all but tried to give the impression that Labour would reverse all the cuts is now saying it will make an additional £500m cut in local government finances! Now call me a cynic but could it be that Labour have been leading the Country up the garden path with all sorts of promises they have no intention of keeping? And another take on Miliband's plans.............. Miliband rules out deficit cut details Ed Miliband has stated that Labour will not reveal ...
Since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the country has tended to look westwards to Europe. That was certainly the intention of Kemal Ataturk, who believed that Ottoman traditions and Islamic religiosity were impediments to progress. So it was no surprising that Turkey applied to join the European Union; in principle there [...]
Fri 12th
20:20
Question Time - the one which showed that men can be arseholes* and women can be brilliant
View image | gettyimages.com OK. Apologies for being patronising or condescending or an inverse sexist (?), but I enjoyed Question Time last night, speaking as what I regard as an aspirant or humble candidate for male feminist (if they'll have me) – Lenny Kravitz fan, the token male in an all-female household and Liberal Democrat Women member. You can imagine the programme planning meeting: Hey – why don't we do a special women's edition. Get two TOTAL ARSEHOLES of men on and then have three really brilliant women to show that women can be totally brilliant and that men can ...
Fri 12th
19:53
A bit of advice to the English Liberal Democrats - sort your gender balance out and soon
I realise I could get myself into trouble here, as a Scot, offering advice to a fellow State party, but please be assured that it is meant in a sisterly way. You may think of it as annoying-little-sisterly but I have an annoying little sister I adore and couldn't be without. Anyway, tomorrow the English Council Executive has its first meeting the English Party elections. At this meeting its office bearers and committee representatives for 2015 will be chosen. For more details of what is on the agenda, Anders Hanson, outgoing Regional Chair of Yorkshire and the Humber and a ...
View image | gettyimages.com Congratulations to Peter Agoro and his team in Aylesbury: Liberal Democrats GAIN Southcourt (Aylesbury Vale) from Labour. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) December 11, 2014
Pink News reports that: 53-year-old Damon Jonah Kelly from Corby, Northamptonshire was arrested on 8 December on suspicion of a Section 5 public order offence. He was bailed until 20 January, at which point he will return to Huntington Police Station in Cambridge. Pink News has discovered that Kelly, who is actually a monk, is the director of the Scotland based charity the Black Hermits.If, as Backwatersman once suggested, homophobic monks are, like Spring-heeled Jack, a manifestation of our collective subconscious fears, then there may be lots of them. But is does look as though Damon Kelly could be the ...
The community has rallied round to deal with vandal damage to the Abbotswood Christmas tree. Thanks to a generous donation and local volunteers, the tree is now illuminated again! Well done to everyone involved.
While looking around for some background information on the previous post, I found this blog post by Douglas Carswell from 2012 talking about the 1919 Re-Election of Ministers Act, which mostly ended the practice of ministerial by-elections. (They were completely ended by an amendment to it in 1926) He was using it to argue for open primaries and recalls, but there's one line in there that shows where his thinking was going a couple of years before he switched to UKIP: If an MP was invited to become a minister, they were seen to be changing sides - and had ...
Christopher Lee is a legend of the cinema, the living embodiment of the spirit of Hammer Horror and a nonagenarian heavy metal artist. All of which makes him just about the perfect person to perform Edgar Allen Poe's macabre poem the Raven:Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Christopher Lee, Cinema, Edgar Allen Poe, Films, Hammer horror, movies, [...]
Reading this article about how MPs who want to climb the greasy ladder to the Ministerial Jaguar have to toe the line continually in Parliament reminded me of one idea I'd like to see tried to try and free Members of Parliament. We currently have a situation where to be a Minister within the UK Government, you have to be a Member of Parliament – either Commons or Lords. Unlike other countries – the US is probably the best and most well-known example – we don't formally separate the executive and legislative parts of the government and so David Cameron ...
So Orange Wednesdays is coming to an end. The rise of video on demand seems to have convinced EE to end the promotion that made going to the cinema somewhat less obscenely expensive is no longer good value for them. This is obviously a shame but the best part of Orange Wednesdays finished a while ago. [...]
It's been just over a month since I became our International Development Minister, and I've enjoyed every moment since. When she held the role, Lynne Featherstone used to say it was the best job in government and I wholeheartedly agree. Shaping and seeing first-hand how UK aid transforms the lives of the world's poorest, most vulnerable and most marginalised people is a Lib Dem dream job. Yesterday I met with Stonewall and the Kaleidoscope Trust to discuss what DFID is doing to address the problems faced by one of the most marginalised groups - LGBT communities in developing countries. Of ...
Blog Categories: Everything Else Personal Vote: 0 votes + Vote up! - Vote down! So, for a while now I have been posting quite infrequently. I've been tending to use things like Facebook and Twitter for quick rants at events and discussions. And since my degree, during which most of my blog posts were researched, more or less polished pieces of academic work, I've somehow been trying to emulate that standard. Jolly good practice some of you may say. But actually, without the academic deadlines, many things that could have made half decent op-ed type blog posts have withered, half ...
DUP and Sinn Féin are sorry to announce that the planned piss up at Hilden Brewery this weekend has had to be cancelled. Find out more here.
Earlier this year, we reported that the council was proposing to put solar panels on land next to the council offices at Nibley. This week Ruth Davis, Claire Young and Paul Hulbert met officers to discuss the plans before an application is submitted. This would be a very small scheme compared to the commercial solar farms that have sprung up in the area recently, the aim being to provide electricity for the council offices. Claire Young and Ruth Davis at the site While keen for the council to save money in a positive way and use greener energy, your Focus ...
Conservatives at County Hall have effectively confirmed today that the extensive bus cuts they are planning are driven by the Tory desire to slash and burn public services and not a need to find financial savings. At today's (Wednesday 10th Dec) Policy, Resources and Transformation Cabinet Panel, a paper on HCC's finances reported an underspend of [...]
The Eastbourne Herald is reporting that Eastbourne MP Stephen Lloyd has resigned as PPS to Ed Davey over the £75m proposed for investment in the A27 in the Autumn statement. Stephen is quoted After all the work and cross-community effort by so many local residents and businesses in Eastbourne and Willingdon, I am profoundly disappointed by the proposal put forward by the Department of Transport. Instead, there is a vague promise for some time in the future. This isn't jam tomorrow, but more like the possibility of jam sometime, if we're lucky, in a few years. ... He said, "Ever ...
This morning the following letter of mine was published in the Newsletter. I read Rev Kirkland's letter (11 December) with dismay. He claims it is right to bring balance to an unbalanced provision with the conscience clause.The Sexual Orientation regulations within the Equality Act in 2006 were the means to bring that balance to a then unbalanced provision. This conscience clause is step back to how things were for LGBT people in Northern Ireland before that time. It was the reason I and many other LGBT people left Northern Ireland as soon as we were able as adults to find ...
#163319578 / gettyimages.com Normally I write about how great books are so here's something a little different: a guest post from my former boss Paul Rainger with a rather different take on books. All I want for Christmas is a good bookpamphlet to read Like me, you are probably hoping to unwrap a good book to read this Christmas. I read a lot of science fiction. I like to read for a pleasure. An escape from the troubles of everyday life. But from time to time I am required to read for work, particularly social science and environmental books. Sadly, ...
The Safer Stockport Partnership (SSP) has launched its Christmas Safety campaign in a bid to keep residents safe over the festive period. [IMG: Iain trying out the driving simulator in Mersey Square - and looking slightly demonic] Iain trying out the driving simulator in Mersey Square – and looking slightly sinister? The SSP, which includes Stockport Council, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the Fire & Rescue Service, is looking to raise awareness among residents to ensure they have a safe Christmas whilst out and about and in their homes. The SSP launched this year's Christmas campaign with an event in ...
Next week marks one of the biggest dates in the Jewish calendar: Hanukkah. Nick is hosting a major DPM reception to celebrate the occasion on the 18th and the festival is also a good opportunity to do some outreach work with local communities in your area. Hanukkah is also known as the 'Festival of Lights' [...]
LDHQ have put together some bulk deals on posters, correx, dayglo paper and stickers. These are a crucial part of your election campaigns for next May. Templates for these items will be available at the end of this week and we will send an email with a link to where they are. The deadline for [...]
Nick Clegg is in Sheffield today to confirm a city devolution deal which will shift power from Whitehall to the Sheffield City Region combined authority, giving the city region greater control over transport, skills, housing and business support. This historic deal for Sheffield will allow the city to introduce "oyster-style" travel cards, and local councils and businesses will have control over the majority of the skills budget for the area for the first time. This comes a month after the Northern Futures Summit, which brought together local people and businesses to share their vision for strengthening the economy in the ...
Fri 12th
10:13
Nigel Farage, Russell Brand, Ed Miliband, and the state of British political culture as it stands
[IMG: MAIN-Russell-Brand-v-Nigel-Farage] I didn't watch the Farage-Brand Question Time when it aired last night. Truth is, I couldn't really bear to. I watched the conveniently edited for YouTube highlights of both Nigel and Russell instead. It was all you really needed to see, wasn't it? I for one didn't need to sit through Penny Mordaunt and Mary Creagh being hassled while trying to speak over two of the biggest mouths in Britain, valiantly attempting to get the party messages across in the midst of the "Westminster is all crap" din. What did I glean from the twenty-two odd minutes of ...
Libraries from across the West of England work together as LibrariesWest. They've just launched free apps for iPads and iPhones and for Android devices. Using the apps you can: Search the cataloguePlace reservationsRenew your loansManage your library accountFind your nearest libraryAccess eBooks and online resourcesFollow LibrariesWest on TwitterThe app is available for iOS and Android devices, and Windows Phone and Kindle Fire versions will be available soon. To find out more, including the download links, go to http://www.librarieswest.org.uk/mobile/
The Western Mail finally catches up with my blogpost of 2nd October, where I queried whether UKIP was using public money to establish a campaigning base to win parliamentary seats. The question arose because of a comment by their Welsh MEP, Nathan Gill that he had been waiting for UKIP to establish their target seats in Wales before opening an office, stating: "We've now come to a decision that Alyn and Deesside is one of our best prospects and we have therefore opened an office at 50 Chester Road, Shotton on Monday. We will soon be opening an office in ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention this week... 3 charts for Ed Miliband | Flip Chart Fairy Tales Must-read from @flipchartrick: why public service spending falling to '30s levels is scary http://bit.ly/1BmOmk3 The Real Blog: Christopher Jefferies and the mob An ex-pupil (@DavidBoyle1958) writes... "Christopher Jefferies and the mob" http://bit.ly/12RWFIt Sutton Trust – Teaching matters more than setting /@Lem_SuttonTrust on the evidence on ability grouping in schools >> "Teaching matters more than setting" http://bit.ly/169y8Rp Sutton Trust – Sutton Trust Appoints First Chief Executive Congrats to @Lem_SuttonTrust! > Sutton Trust Appoints First Chief Executive http://bit.ly/1BeouXw BBC News ...
Some things I've been in to this week: A food and drink place: I'd say cafe, but it's not really that, nor is it a bar nor a restaurant. Craft & Dough in Kelham Island, Sheffield is a bit of all of those. It sells some amazing looking pizzas, great coffee, cocktails, craft beers, ice [...]
Fri 12th
09:12
Chart of the day: "there are no cases of a Labour opposition gaining ground over the final six month...
Some fascinating analysis from polling buff Lewis Baston over at ConservativeHome: [IMG: polls six months out] Three key points stand out (to me): Labour consistently end up winning fewer votes in the general election than the polls would have suggested six months in advance. Governments gain more often than oppositions: if my Conservative-supporting readers want some comfort, there are no cases of a Labour opposition gaining ground over the final six months. ... people clearly do not abandon their flirtations with 'minor' parties and go back to the big two when the election draws near But do go and read ...
Here, in one article, is why people don't bother to vote any more "The tories are evil! The tories are evil! We'd do ALMOST exactly the same thing, but not quite the same, and the crucial difference is it's us doing it, do it's OK" I stand by my previous assertion that tories and labour will both stab the poor in the back just as hard, it's just that Labour wring their hands more after doing it. (tags: ) Yorkshire Post poll: should there be an English parliament? I voted no. I want a Yorkshire one (tags: ) LibDem vote ...
[IMG: Life expectancy in England] Source: Max Roser.
And then there were lots The two party system is dead. I'll come back to that. I am currently off work following an operation and, with time on my hands and limited physical options, I have been passing the time analysing Ladbroke's constituency odds for the general election to work out the national picture from the ground up. Clearly this isn't what the odds are designed for, and they reflect the betting market as well as the bookies predictions, but they are a much better reflection of reality on the ground than say the old BBC swingometer based on the ...
I have mentioned the award winning Food Train in the past and this is a reminder about this great service that supports older people aged 65 or over to live independently in their own communities by delivering groceries to people who have difficulty doing their weekly food shopping. Dundee City Council has contracted the Food Train Service to provide a grocery shopping delivery service to people in Dundee aged 65 and over who are having difficulty in managing their grocery shopping. The Food Train further supports older people to live independently at home by addressing some of the difficulties older ...
Leonard Cheshire Disability has called for 10% of new homes to be wheelchair accessible by 2020 after its research revealed that one in six councils do not know how many wheelchair-friendly homes they have. The charity said unsuitable housing is costing the health service £600m a year, and that without drastic changes, the problem will worsen as the population ages. About 300,000 disabled people are stuck on housing waiting lists across Britain, forced into accommodation that does not meet their needs, the report says. The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian carried this story Does Sefton Council know how many wheelchair ...
As you know, I have been working on housing issues in Ludlow, including homelessness. Next Thursday (18 December), I am will ask a question at Shropshire Council main council meeting on homelessness. The council yesterday published its answer to the question (see below). A few points strike me immediately. Rough sleepers. The estimate of rough [...]
New figures show that visits and overnight stays in Wales for both businesses and pleasure are up, but the Welsh Government mustn't be complacent. Wales has so much to offer, yet we struggle to sell it to the rest of the UK and the wider world. We need a proactive marketing plan to attract new visitors. Cardiff is only two hours away from London by train but how many European and American tourists visit us? Mid and North Wales is equally easily accessible for leisure tourism and contains some of the most stunning countryside you'll ever see. But the tourists ...
