Mon 15th
22:53

Busy Monday ...

A busy Monday started at Blackness Library where library staff, community councillors and I took part in drawing the winners of the shoppers' prize draw and children's window spotting competition as part of West End Christmas Fortnight - the full winners' list will be published in the next couple of days. Photo below! Jo, Alan and Ann from West End Community Council undertake the prize draw! The day also included my taking part in today's Tay Road Bridge Board meeting, immediately followed by my chairing a residents' meeting at the Corso Street Sheltered Lounge for residents in the area. The ...

View image | gettyimages.com They even made a film to promote the idea...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Tories will slash funding for schools, colleges and nurseries by more than a quarter in Bath and North East Somerset research shows Conservatives will cut the education budget by £53 million in Bath and North East Somerset by 2020 if they were in Government on their own, official research shows. The Tories would be forced to slash local spending on schools, colleges and nurseries to keep pace

Posted by Odddown on Odd Down

Grumbling about Nick Robinson is a recognised leisure activity for politicos of all colours. I have been known to indulge in it myself. But his report about Ukip this morning was spot on: A parliamentary candidate resigns having tried blaming his racist comments on taking painkillers. This comes days after an alleged sex scandal at UKIP head office in which the party's chief executive did - or did not - sleep with another candidate. Meantime a wealthy donor is said to be threatening to stop funding the party if his friend doesn't get a seat. You may think that UKIP's ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

YOU may have read recently that the Conservative controlled City Council are looking at making savings throughout the services and the facilities they provide? One of their suggestions relates to the provision of bowls clubs. The bods at the Town Hall claim a saving of £36,000 has been budgeted for these closures. YOU might like to [...]

Posted by Cllr Darren Fower on Cllr Darren Fower

[IMG: Click on the photo to enlarge it. We all like to look at old photos. This one is from Waterloo and shows the level crossing in October 1906. The signal box was constructed in 1881. I recently purchased this photo from the National Railway Museum in York. The railway is now part of the Merseyrail Northern Line from Liverpool to Southport having originally been a part of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. The photo is amongst those on my Flickr site at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton FocusSefton Focus

[IMG: Royal Mail delivery trolley] With privatisation done and dusted it was inevitable that the debate about Britain's postal service would move beyond the public vs private argument. Royal Mail is now a private company and is likely to remain so. It, of course, faced many challenges regardless of ownership which were certain to surface once it moved into the private sector. One of these is now coming across loud and clear. Namely the requirement of Royal Mail to deliver a universal delivery service to every UK address six days a week. In response to falling profits, management and union ...

Posted by David Warren on Liberal Democrat Voice

View image | gettyimages.com Apologies for the boring interlude of evidence once again: In 2013 the standard of living in the UK (measured using Actual Individual Consumption - AIC - per head) rose to joint fourth highest in the European Union (along with Denmark, Sweden and Finland), up one place from last year, according to new figures recorded by ONS. This measure is about more than simply people's incomes: AIC (a measure of personal consumption of goods and services) in the UK was 15% higher than the EU28 average, the same as in 2012. AIC in Luxembourg was again the ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

As we reported yesterday,, on the Andrew Marr show Vince Cable said: We are committed to financial discipline but we're not veering off to the kind of extreme ideology that the Tories seem to want. Here is a video clip:

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

[IMG: milliband-yarmouth-015-jbye.jpg] Okay, I need to start with the bad on this one. And there is plenty to get through, so get comfortable. For a start, the leak. If you haven't heard, an internal Labour Party briefing has been leaked to the press, one that said the party should not talk about immigration on the doorstep and focus on other concerns. That people were not in the end going to vote Labour because they thought the party would be tough on immigration; better to fight UKIP in areas where they need fighting on issues Labour poll strongly on, like the ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com
YouGov

A film was made at the Community meeting about improving Cheadle a few weeks ago – here it is, along with a report-back from the day. [IMG: cheadle our place]

Oh man. A show with so much promise, some first rate actors, some interesting characters and a star writer, how on Earth could it end so limply? I loved the first season, I enjoyed the second season in the main and even season three started off well but the final three episodes just sucked. Let me start at the killing of Charlie Skinner at the end of episode five of this season, why Sorkin, why? I know you've explained why but once more I ask, why Sorkin, why? The Newsroom revolved around Skinner and the acting masterclass that Sam Waterston ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery

[IMG: Westernsaharamap] 2015 will mark the 40th anniversary of the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. With the UK's concern about the rising threat of insecurity from the region, and a renewed focus on British values and human rights promotion within foreign policy, the UK can lead progress towards concluding the Western Sahara issue. Western Sahara lies on the northwest African coast and is south of Morocco, north and west of Mauritania, and south west of Algeria. It is worth noting that Sahrawi society is one in which men and women play equally important roles. From 1884 to 1974 the ...

Posted by Craig Browne on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Green Backyard is a vibrant community growing project in the heart of Peterborough, which was established in 2009 and is run entirely by volunteers. From this urban space, across the road from the Peterborough United football ground, we have transformed a once derelict former allotment site into a beautiful and productive community allotment that [...]

Posted by Cllr Darren Fower on Cllr Darren Fower
Mon 15th
14:51

On #PaydayBook

So those of you who follow me on twitter may have noticed that one a month I post what I've bought for my #paydaybook and might be wondering what the point of it is. Obviously books are awesome, and that's part of it, but it also has two other functions: firstly it makes me try new things, and secondly it makes me support actual real life bookshops. The rules I follow are:The book must be one I have not read before - so no sneakily buying posh editions of old favouritesIt must be obtained by browsing or being recced something ...

All three British political parties have now set out their economic policies for the election next May. A BBC commentator summarised them as follows: Conservatives: continue with drastic cuts and austerity in order to achieve a budget surplus by the end of the next parliament. Labour: continue with cuts, but not quite so drastic, so as to eliminate the structural deficit by the end of the next parliament, but also spend on investment in the infrastructure. Liberal Democrat: more like the Tories in the short run, but more like Labour in the long run. That is, of course, a crude ...

Posted by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal

View image | gettyimages.com An interesting table from the latest ComRes polling, both for how Ukip are seen as to the left of the Tories (something to note for anti-UKIP campaigners) but also for how close the Lib Dems are to the centre of political gravity: [IMG: ComRes left-right tablle] There are many limitations of the left-right spectrum, but one thing this polling result shows – as did previous similar ones covered by Stephen Tall – is that the political issue for the Liberal Democrats is the public's views on factors such as competence, consistency and strength rather than the ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

BBC News wins Headline of the Day, but does anyone remember the Cresta bear? "It's frothy, man."

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

[IMG: House of Commons at Night] The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill is returning to the Commons today after being 'batted' back in ping-pong proceedings between Lords and Commons. Lib Dem peers working with the crossbenchers are refusing to approve two measures: 1) The Government's Secure College plans for under 15s. The Lib Dem Lawyers Association are not the experts in this field, but are concerned that MPs should consider all the risks and issues raised by leading experts. The Lords amendment would exclude under 15s from the Secure College until such time as Parliament agrees that it is safe ...

Posted by Graham Colley on Liberal Democrat Voice

[IMG: International office] This year saw the 11th Africa Liberal Network (ALN) General Assembly, which took place in Marrakech, Morocco, between 26 - 29 November 2014. President of the ALN Olivier Kamitatu said: "This year, the ALN accomplished a number of historic firsts including the election of a gender representative executive committee, the adoption of a robust new constitution and the acceptance of 9 new observer member parties, taking the total number of members to the largest in the Network's history, with 44 parties." It was also the first conference to bring the ALN and the Arab Alliance for Freedom ...

Posted by Harriet Shone on Liberal Democrat Voice
eUKhost

Attainment in primary schools has risen in every subject and disadvantaged pupils continue to close the gap on their peers - figures for primary tests out today show. The results for more than half a million 11-year-olds show the percentage achieving the expected level in reading, writing and maths has risen to 79 per cent. [...]

I've just been listening to our President Elect Sal Brinton and two of our best female PPCs - Lisa Smart in my Parliamentary constituency of Hazel Grove, and Layla Moran of Oxford West & Abingdon on Radio 4 Women's Hour. You can listen to the episode here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04v2ynv and the discussion about the Lib Dems is about 26 minutes in. My own thoughts, following the programme, are that although the Leadership Programme shows we want to do something about the issue of not having a lot of female MPs in the Liberal Democrats - the issue breaks down like this. ...

Posted by Louise Ankers on From one of the Jilted Generation...

There is an interesting article in this morning's Western Mail reporting on proposals by Alan Trench, one of the country's leading constitutional experts. He has published a blueprint for how the different nations of the UK can work together at a time when the constitution is in a state of flux. Mr. Trench believes that Wales get a "worse" deal than any of the other nations from the loose arrangements that determine how governments work together: Mr Trench is concerned that UK ministers are in charge of resolving disputes - even when the UK Government is involved in the disagreement. ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

I don't think I realised how much the 1914 Christmas truce has become mythologised until I saw this year's Sainsbury's Christmas advert. It's a heart-warming affair, not terribly accurate - everyone dashes out too quickly (which they didn't), the impetus seems to come from the British (which I don't think it mainly did), they have a real football (which they hardly ever did), and the trenches are too sophisticated - this was the very beginning of trench warfare. But still, it is right that we are talking about it - because, as I wrote in the Guardian on Saturday, we ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

[IMG: flag-russia] Russia has been busy in the Baltic recently – they have been harassing their neighbours and it seems to me they are acting as if the Baltic is their 'mare nostrum' as it were. The Polish Defence minister noted that Sweden seems to be the main object of Russian attention. How do we help Sweden, and Finland for that matter? Finland and Sweden are in a slightly odd position - they are members of the EU but not members of NATO. In the Cold War they were 'neutral' but whatever that meant then it means even less now. ...

Posted by Steve Coltman on Liberal Democrat Voice

This chart highlighted on the excellent Flip Chart Fairy Tales shows just how deeply George Osborne wants to cut spending on public services*, down to levels not seen since the 1930s: [IMG: OBR chart on goverment spending] But the problem isn't just the 2020 low point along with a hefty budget surplus that George Osborne wants to get to. It's also the mid-point in the next Parliament which is the timing both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are looking to for clearing the deficit. That too is at historically extremely low levels. The conclusion? The Liberal Democrats need a manifesto which ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

[IMG: 153517340] Sajid Javid, the minister in charge of DCMS, gave a speech to the Union of Jewish Students Annual Conference in London yesterday. The Daily Telegraph reported this yesterday under the headline, "Protests and boycotts risk stripping Britain's vibrant arts scene", which would lead you to think that Javid had issued a diatribe against politics and art colluding. I was all ready to dive into a "The Tories don't seem to understand that all art is inherently political" rant when I actually read what Javid himself had said. Essentially he argued that at a macro-political level, politics shouldn't interfere ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

Tories accused of 'trying to buy election' with 23% hike to campaign spending (tags: ) The Brief and Silly History of #Metalgate (tags: ) The parties prepare for a hung, drawn and quartered parliament (tags: ) What colour is it? - clock that shows the corresponding hex code colour to whatever time it is (tags: ) Number 10 intervenes to block Humanist marriages (tags: ) There is NO difference between Public and private sector efficiency, those dogmatically adhering to either system will be disappointed to learn (tags: ) Shock poll shows voters don't understand this left/right shit that journos bang ...

The Islington Gazette reports: Gary Poole, one of Labour's representatives for St Mary's ward, said it was a "scandal" that those using the drug should be allowed to live in council properties while 10,000 "decent people" were waiting to be housed. His comments at last week's council meeting came after executive member for community safety Paul Convery revealed that there were 863 offences for possession of cannabis in Islington over the last year. Cllr Poole's comments, which were met with strong applause from other [Labour] councillors.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

View image | gettyimages.com Are we witnessing the end of 'conviction politics' in the UK: that is the willingness of politicians to lead, rather than follow, public opinion, taking it in a direction that they believe to be right, rather than one that will get them re-elected. Of course, politicians want to be returned to power; even the very best can only achieve anything good in society provided they are in a position to influence events. The danger is, however, that in the rush to get elected politicians sometimes allow the media to set the agenda, and then pander to ...

Posted by Stephen Phillips on Liberal Democrat Voice

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30386724 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above [IMG: ambulance] Readers of this blog site will know that I have been contacted in recent times by residents who have concerns about the response times of North West Ambulance Service. My previous posts are available via the links below:-

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton FocusSefton Focus

Some weeks ago, I updated residents about the impending change to the Dundee-Perth 333 hospital bus service - now the X7. The new bus's timetable is an improvement on the 333 timetable but as my Perth councillor colleague Cllr Willie Wilson pointed out in the Courier last week, the type of bus being used, with hardly any downstairs seats, is a huge disappointment. Here in Dundee, I have had many complaints, just as Willie has had from his Perth constituents. As one of my own West End constituents pointed out : "The new bus is no doubt top-of -the range ...

View image | gettyimages.com The Daily Telegraph has got a leaked copy of the Labour Party's new internal guide on fighting Ukip. It is also a mine of useful information for campaigning from other parties, including as it does details of the Labour Party's polling research into who votes Ukip. But it's not just of interest regarding Ukip. The document also explains in some detail Labour's approach to modelling the electorate and estimating people's likely political leanings. It also reveals their contact rate for voters so far this year: As of Friday 14 November, on average, 8% of the electorate ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council have provided the following information about the public consultation on the proposal for a Combined Authority: Five local councils (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees) are asking for your views on proposals to form a Combined Authority for the area covered by the above Councils. There is a package of information available on the Councils website which is available by clicking on here. This includes: · A consultation document· Some frequently asked questions· A draft governance review· A copy of the 9th December 2014 Cabinet report · Press releases· Video This sets out ...

Posted by Chris Abbott on Chris Abbott