View image | gettyimages.com A 6% swing to the Liberal Democrats, cutting the Tory majority in half to 258: that was the outcome for the Liberal Democrats of a Kingston council by-election last night in one of the safest Conservative wards, St James: Conservative 1,123 [43%; -1.5%] Lib Dem Annette Wookey 865 [33%; +11%] Labour 355 [14%; -4.5%] UKIP 206 [8%; -4%] Green 71 [3%; -4%] Conservative Majority: 258 Percentage changes since 2014 Although headline vote changes often hide much larger churning between parties in all sorts of directions, it's notable how overall the Liberal Democrats were able to pull ...
I had a university friend who was fond of saying that Camberwick Green was the English utopia: it was rural, everyone had a skilled trade and there was no crime. But, as Flip Chart Rick shows in what is our Blog Post of the Year, time has not been kind to it and its neighbours in Trumptonshire. Let me show you... Camberwick Green Windy Miller is long dead. His mill was bought by a property developer and converted into a sprawling residence, compete with gym and swimming pool. It is now the weekend retreat of Bradley Smythe-Hoover, MD of Capital ...
Lord Bonkers writes exclusively for Liberal England: It is important to recognise when a leader's reign has come to its end. It can be difficult, when one admires a fellow oneself, to admit that the results he is getting have not been good enough for a good while. However, time moves on, and one has to be prepared to act decisively. For a leader who impressed people only a few years ago may no longer cut the mustard today.
For years Liberal Democrats have made the case for comprehensive reform of our constitution. We seek a fully federal settlement for the United Kingdom; constitutionally guaranteed decentralisation; fair votes; a democratic second chamber; prerogative power curbed other than as expressly given by Parliament; inalienable human rights. Across the parties, many of us signed up 26 years ago to Charter 88 to realise a full package of these aims. The Charter itself lamented that existing British "constitution...encourages a piecemeal approach to politics". It called for a comprehensive new settlement. Yet today we have to consider what advances have been achieved by ...
Once again Mill Crescent is lit up for Christmas to raise money for charity. This year the collection will go to St Peter's Hospice, in memory of several local residents who have died. It's well worth a visit, especially if you have children. Mill Crescent is the side road just next to the zebra crossing. (Photos by Claire Young)
The charitable trust that runs St Nicholas Youth Centre at Abbotswood has suddenly announced that they are to stop operating from the end of December. This means that this month's youth club meetings will be the last, apart from one farewell evening in January. South Gloucestershire Youth Initiative was founded in 2012 after the core youth club funding from South Gloucestershire Council ceased. In 2013 they managed to attract enough funding and grants to keep the club open. However this year they found it increasingly difficult to balance the books and they felt they had no option but to close. ...
Fri 19th
18:09
Have I Got News For You just had it's best ever series for female representation (but it could have ...
[IMG: Have_I_Got_News_For_You_titlescreen] My spreadsheet of HIGNFY guests and guest hosts broken down by gender is now complete for the end of series 48. The good news is that as well as featuring the first show with all-female guests since 1997 (and the first time ever that a majority of people on air during an episode were female), the series overall had the highest percentage of female guests ever for the series. The bad news is that was still only 13 out of 30 guests (and 4 out of 10 hosts) and that came after the show had reached 50% of ...
Fri 19th
17:31
Here are three tips for making the best use of social media in campaigning over the next few months.
Rob Blackie is the Digital Ambassador for London region, and has been campaigning at grass roots for 15 years. He also researches Liberal Democrat use of social media in campaigning and the consequent impact on election results. Here are his tips for using social media. Tip 1: Make sure your emails, Twitter and Facebook are [...]
The Liberal Democrat Local Government Conference will be held on 19-20 June 2015 in Manchester. Organised jointly by ALDC and the LGA Lib Dems, this will be one of the first major party events taking place just after next year's Local and General Elections, so make sure it's in your diary now.
Commenting on the Local Government Finance Settlement, Cllr Gerald Vernon Jackson, Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group, said: "As expected, this is going to be another tough year for local government and many areas risk seeing cuts to services like libraries, youth clubs and children's centres as they attempt to protect the adult social [...]
As we have now entered the 'long campaign' period for the General Election, you need to double-check the imprint on your MyCouncillor website. We have automatically updated everyone's imprint centrally, but if you are a parliamentary or local election candidate or you have edited the imprint in the past then you may need to do [...]
Christmas bin collections: bins will be emptied as normal up to and including Wednesday 24 December with collection days then changing during Christmas and New Year. The following collection dates are in place: Normal collection days Revised collection days: Revised collection days Christmas New Year Tuesday Collection as Normal 23 Dec Wednesday 31 December Wednesday Collection as Normal 24 Dec Friday 2 Jan Thursday Monday 29 Dec Saturday 3 Jan Friday Tuesday 30 Dec Monday 5 Jan Normal collections will resume from Tuesday, 6 January 2015. To check your normal collection day enter your house number and postcode into the ...
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] Just two principal council by-elections were contested yesterday. The Conservatives held their seat in St James ward in Kingston upon Thames LB, winning 42.9% of the vote. Liberal Democrat candidate Annette Wookey polled 33% to increase the party's vote share by 11% from the ward's last election this May. Elsewhere Labour retain their seat in Nottinghamshire in Ollerton Ward, winning 56.4% of the vote. In addition, Plaid Cymru held their seat in Bowydd & Rhiw ward on Gynedd UA, with their candidate winning unopposed. Key Statistics for the Year In 2014, Liberal Democrat candidates ...
ALDC's Management Committee had its quarterly meeting on Sunday 30 November 2014 at which time this report was presented. If members have any comments that they would like raising at future meetings please do not hesitate to let me know. Elections 2015 Elections - clearly the priority for the whole party is the Westminster, Mayoral, [...]
So the three idiots who disrupted Tottenham's game against Partizan Belgrade have been fined £155 each. I have to say I was hoping for more, both as a Tottenham fan and a football fan. The magistrates appear to have swallowed hook, line, sinker and bait the defendants' story that this was a spur of the moment thing and not designed with any malicious intent. It's quite difficult to square "spur of the moment" with a video released beforehand to say they were going to do it, and then timed runs on to the pitch every ten minutes. They have also ...
My article on how the coalition government is implementing Liberal.Democrats policy on tax so as to assist in alleviating in-work poverty is on the IWA website here.
View image | gettyimages.com A review published by the Cochrane Collaboration – which serves to compile and make accessible evidence from clinical trials – has found that electronic cigarettes do help smokers reduce smoking or quit altogether. The results show beneficial effects of electronic cigarettes, but are limited by the small number of trials and limited sample of people who were analysed in the studies. About 9% of smokers who used electronic cigarettes were able to stop smoking at up to one year. This compared with around 4% of smokers who used the nicotine-free electronic cigarettes. When the researchers looked ...
Amid the occasionally rambling and bizarre comments from Vladimir Putin's annual press conference yesterday, a couple of critical points are rather obvious. Firstly, Putin accepts no responsibility for the crisis that has hit Russia, continuing to believe his own paranoid fantasy of Western economic destabilization. Secondly, he intends to double down and continue his aggressive and disastrous policies. However, despite the current dead cat bounce in the Rouble, there are two things that could rapidly make the economic situation for Russia irretrievable. The first is in the small print of the Rosneft placement that triggered the deep crash in the ...
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French Guiana was long notorious as a penal colony, among whose renowned detainees were Dreyfus and Papillon. Thousands of less famous prisoners died in the territory's camps, both on the mainland and on Devil's Island. But in recent times, La Guyane (to give it it's French name) has been better known as the launching pad [...]
View image | gettyimages.com The impending 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo has seen a mini-burst of books coming out, of which Tim Clayton's has been one of the best in reviews so far. It certainly deserves those reviews and comes with the triple bonus of a good set of illustrations, maps that are (all too rarely for history books) pitched at the right level of detail to be useful without being confusing, and enough references to allow the reader to follow up any aspects of the story that really catches their attention. [IMG: Waterloo by Tim Clayton] Despite ...
Its been a long time coming, but at last we have the news that the new passenger lifts at Acocks Green Station are opening this afternoon. Its great news for the disabled and those with buggies and pushchairs who will now have level access from the car park and the booking hall to the station platforms, via the lifts. Its very satisfying to see a project which I, and many others in the community, have campaigned for, for many years, finally coming into operation. There will be a formal opening of the new lifts in January, but for now lets ...
There would appear to be two types of Tory constituencies. There are those where the cares and concerns of the villagers are solicitously dealt with and then there are those where the voting populace are regarded more like sheep that should take what they are given and be grateful for it. North West Hampshire is one of those seats where the second school of thought applies and it can be best summed up as Noblesse N'oblige Pas. The Background NW Hants is a curious construct with its large horde of WWC residents bunched in the metropolis of Andover, with a ...
Just two principal council by-elections were contested yesterday. The Conservatives held their seat in St James ward in Kingston upon Thames LB, winning 42.9% of the vote. Liberal Democrat candidate Annette Wookey polled 33% to increase the party's vote share by 11% from the ward's last election this May. Elsewhere Labour retain their seat in Nottinghamshire in Ollerton Ward, [...]
Yesterday on BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show (about 34:30) Paul Givan, the author of the conscience clause bill, was asked a rather simple question. "Do the DUP still want to make gay sex illegal?" He did all he could to squirm out of answering it, saying he was dealing in the real world, even saying it was irrelevant to his conscience clause. He said his party didn't want to go back 20 years, although his conscience clause does go some way back removing some of the protections established here only 8 years ago. But it is a relevant question, there ...
Plaid Cymru win unopposed Plaid Cymru Hold
Universities are currently agonising about the Research Excellence Framework. Jack Stilgoe doesn't have a problem with research assessment. He thinks that the real trouble lies with the word 'excellence'. "One can hardly move for beauty and brilliance these days. It seems that there are millions of these one-in-a-millions these days. Special-ness seems de rigueur. Above average is average - go figure. Is it is some modern miracle of calculus, That such frequent miracles don't render each one un-miraculous?" Miracle, from Matilda, by Tim Minchin Excellence is everywhere. Following the REF, the UK's Universities are all rushing to take credit for ...
His Excellency Carlos dos Santos, High Commissioner of Mozambique with Hugh Richmond Business Development Manager of Clarke Energy in Knowsley For the past two days it has been my pleasure to break off from normal politics to do something really ... Continue reading →
Following a post by Nick Barlow a couple of weeks ago, a number of Liberal Democrat members have got together in support of the Universal Basic Income. In this post I wanted to outline some of the reasons UBI can and should become the cornerstone of our party's welfare policy. Universal Basic Income is a regular unconditional tax-free payment made to every citizen regardless of their situation. Most models have it varying only with age- the under 21s get less, the over 65s get more- and naturally it replaces the large majority of existing benefits including pensions and unemployment benefit. ...
[IMG: Tory UKIP] One of the big questions ahead of next May's general election is this: just how well are UKIP going to do in the end? Will they achieve anywhere near the fourteen percent nationwide that they got in this week's ICM poll? Or will their vote collapse, mostly heading back to the Tories? Actually, as interesting as these questions are, they aren't the real ones we should be asking. What we should be asking is: how many seats will UKIP end up with? After all, under First Past the Post, you're much better off getting 1% of the ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention this week... Leader by default? | Total Politics Here's my latest @TotalPolitics column trying to explain why Nick Clegg's still Lib Dem leader > "Leader by default?" http://bit.ly/16vxi1G The Lib Dems will be a centre-right party after the election | May 2015: UK Election Guide "... more reasons to foresee another Tory-Lib pact than a sudden Lab-Lib one". Here's why: http://bit.ly/1J1qrM5 The Lib Dems will be a centre-right party after the election | May 2015: UK Election Guide Silly headline @May2015NS but a good analysis: "The Lib Dems will be ...
Tory chairman Grant Shapps accused of trying to silence left-wing blog with 'spurious' legal threats (tags: ) Portia spiders are _really_ smart. I had no idea spiders could make complex plans (tags: ) David Cameron 'told Theresa May's advisers to break Civil Service code' (tags: ) MEP behind Ukip's welfare policy chased for child support (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Yesterday Helena Morrissey published her promised progress report on the Liberal Democrats following her report last year, triggered by the Rennard case, into the party's culture and procedures. You can read it in full below, but three things strike me about it: Her criticisms of the complexity of the party structures: "There has been encouraging progress, item-by-item. However, the whole is less than the sum of the parts. I believe this is largely due to the sheer complexity of the Party's structure. I alluded to this in my initial Report and am now convinced that any efforts to build a ...
The Cheadle & Gatley Lib Dem team – Mark, Graham, Pam, Keith and Iain – would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year. [IMG: Merry Christmas] Cheadle & Gatley residents can still contact us over the festive season – it may take us a little longer than usual to get back to you. If you have an emergency and need our help, the best option is to phone or text Iain on 07958 570202.
In August, I highlighted that superfast fibre broadband coverage should finally reach the most westerly part of the West End Ward which is served - for both telephone and broadband - by the Invergowrie Exchange, which also serves Invergowrie itself and parts of the Carse of Gowrie. This will benefit constituents in the areas around Clovis Duveau Drive, Millbay Gardens, Millbay Terrace and Clayhills Grove, for example. I am pleased to say that Digital Scotland has now advised me that : "Confirmation that some premises served by the Invergowrie exchange can now order service. To check coverage for any specific ...
So, it's a matter of days now before I hang up my boots and pass on the baton to our new president (its important to mix your metaphors at a time like this!). I want to congratulate my friend and colleague Sal Brinton as she takes on the Party Presidency on 1 January and to wish her every success in the role. Sal will be an outstanding President, over the last four years she has been a regular source of wisdom and support to me - and I hope I can return the favour when she takes over. I also ...
If there was any doubt before, there is none now. The Conservatives can't be trusted with the NHS, at least not in Shropshire. After one of the most bizarre presentations I have heard in 40-odd years of turning out to committees, yesterday the Conservatives on Shropshire Council voted to wreck a perfectly sensible motion calling [...]
Below is the text of an e-mail sent to Labour members of Sefton Council by a clearly well informed Maghull resident following the Overview & Scrutiny meeting on Sefton's draft Local Plan which I commented on recently on this blog site:- ***** I attended last nights meeting, a debut for me, and was surprised by the orderly nature of the evening, considering the content. Whilst it is fair to say that Labour councillors are not on my Christmas present shopping list, (though Bill Esterson may get a surprise under his tree after his recent outburst) I must congratulate you on ...
In 2010 Lib Dem councillors promised if they were again re elected to serve East Dulwich residents... Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose the plans of London's Labour Mayor to designate Dulwich as "urban" (meaning six storey buildings). We will protect its "suburban", low-rise character. We will work to enhance the diverse range of local independent shops and businesses. We will continue to work for cleaner, safer and more accessible rail stations at East Dulwich, West Dulwich and Herne Hill. · Fight to keep the East Dulwich Police station. · Support Lordship Lane as a shopping high street by making ...
Finding Richard Trailer from Hive Media on Vimeo. This is the trailer for the short film I blogged about back in February. You can read more about Finding Richard on its own website.
