Angus Liberal Democrats have reacted angrily to news that the SNP Government has left £444 million unspent last year, despite closing key services across Angus and failing to invest in local infrastructure. Accounts have emerged showing that the Scottish Government has underspent £92 million on Justice, £10 million on the Procurator Fiscal Service, £102 million on Infrastructure and a whopping £165 million on Education. [IMG: Sanjay Samani and Cllr David May visit the Closed Police Counter in Montrose] Sanjay Samani and Cllr David May visit the Closed Police Counter in Montrose Lib Dem Campaigner for Angus, Sanjay Samani said, "The ...
Sat 10th
21:50
Presbyterian Church in Ireland: No appetite to fulfil own pastoral guidelines on gay issues
Idaho sticker with the PCI's Union College in background In today's Newsletter there is article which looks at why the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) is not looking to follow swiftly on the heels, or maybe not follow at all, the Church of Scotland in its acceptance of openly gay clergy. It comes under the heading "Presbyterian figures stress little appetite for gay Presbyterian debate". Sadly I would have to concur. Long term readers will remember over 5 years ago I wrote about my own experiences as a gay Presbyterian. I also wrote about the PCI's own pastoral guidelines especially ...
I'm going to get told off for that headline, I'm sure, because I expect most Liberal Democrat campaign teams were out campaigning last Saturday too. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few tweets to give a wee flavour of what our candidates have been up to today. We have to start with Tom Brake. Can you believe he's been running street stalls in Wallington since 1990? That's 300 separate occasions. Come wind or rain we've held a stall in #Wallington once a month for the last 25 years. pic.twitter.com/AsKvwrzWKs — Tom Brake MP (@thomasbrake) January 10, 2015 I know that ...
------------------From: actions@amnesty.org Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:11:13 +0000To: <matthew.harris@hotmail.co.uk>ReplyTo: amnestypetitions@amnesty.org Subject: Matthew, thanks for taking action! [IMG: Amnesty International logo] Dear Matthew Thank you for taking action today. Together, our words can help get justice for Raif Badawi. Raif is one of 12 people and communities we're focusing on as part of Write for Rights, our global letter-writing campaign. Right now, their human rights are under attack. We need your support to make change happen - read their stories and take action today. www.amnesty.org/writeforrights Thank you for signing "Saudi Arabia: Release blogger Raif Badawi" Please forward this email to ...
This afternoon I finally made it to Market Harborough's newest pub, the Beerhouse. You will find it just off St Mary's Road. The building, it has to be admitted, is not a thing of beauty, but inside you will find a pleasant atmosphere and an impressive selection of good beer, perry and cider. I had a chat with Jon Pollard, whose project the Beerhouse is and who once wrote a guest post - "The perfect Christmas gift for a carer" - for this blog. There is more about micropubs on the Micropub Association website. And more about Jon's plans in ...
See also: Ludlow Rocks Green supermarket bid - the planning application is in Ludlow Rocks Green supermarket bid - jargon buster A wide range of planning policies local and national apply to a development of this scale. This briefing concentrates on town centre and retail polices. National Planning Policy Framework The national planning policy that [...]
A brief guide to the jargon in retail planning. See also: Ludlow Rocks Green supermarket bid - the planning context Ludlow Rocks Green supermarket bid - the planning application is in Convenience goods. Items you need daily or weekly. Food beverages, tobacco, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, newspapers and periodicals, non-durable household goods. Comparison goods. Things [...]
This is the first in a series of posts examining the Rocks Green supermarket application and asking what difference it will make to Ludlow and the people who live here. This is a major development. The store will be half as big again as Tesco and will include a petrol station. The supermarket is the [...]
With so much attention understandably focussed on World War I last year, it might be easy to forget the enormity of the slaughter and suffering of World War II, though the numbers of civilians killed in the latter conflict was mind-boggling, not least in the Soviet Union. But even if there are fewer World War [...]
Battle has now been joined in earnest for our general election in May, and it looks as though we're in for a very boring four months. So far the Conservatives have boomed that Labour is not to be trusted on the economy (which is perfectly true, but not in the way they mean) and Labour shrieks that the Tories are not to be trusted on the National Health Service (NHS) which is perfectly true by any definition - after all the Tories specifically promised in 2010 that the NHS was "safe in their hands" and that there would be "no ...
I well remember urging him to keep his foot hard down on the accelerator as we hurtled down the empty A2 on the way to Sandwich just after he got the car in 1937.. He got it up to 125 mph.
Cllr Sue James shares her hopes for 2015 rather than the tradition New Years resolutions or targets. Locally [IMG: Nancherrow Youth Project] Nancherrow Youth Project, St Just I want to see the Library Service come under more local control and the doors open more at the end of the year than they are now. I want to see Nancherrow Youth club finding a way to provide sustainable services to our young people and the excellent music provision retained in the town. I would like people in our many distinct communities to have a say on what needs preserving, what needs ...
As well as 2015 having already given us an early entrant for the most stupid political act on social media 2015, we've also got a strong frontrunner for the best tweet from a country's leader 2015: 2014 was a successful year for our country. We have successfully completed all the tasks facing the country. — Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) January 7, 2015
The snow started to fall just after the ward surgery in Dunston this morning but at 11am we met up to do a bit of campaigning against Labour's greenbelt grab. Labour want to take a section of land out of the greenbelt to the south of Whickham Highway and allow it to be used for over 500 executive homes. Lib Dems have been fighting these plans since they were first announced. The problem is that
The Western Mail reports on the findings of researchers from the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (Wiserd), based at Cardiff University that inequalities between pupils from poorer and more well-off backgrounds "persist" despite the introduction of the Foundation Phase six years ago: A key aim of the scheme, which became fully operational in September 2011 and now caters for all children aged three to seven, was to overcome pupils' social disadvantages and reduce disparity between pupils. But the Wiserd report found: "The analysis reveals that the introduction of the Foundation Phase is not, to date, ...
The Times reports that another 'rift' has opened within the coalition over the government's decision not to publish the Iraq inquiry's report during the election campaign. They say that Tim Farron, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman, has accused the Conservatives of being keen to delay the report because they "failed miserably" by supporting the US-led invasion: Ministers have said that should Sir John Chilcot deliver his one million-word report after the end of February, they would delay its publication until after the election. Mr Farron has now written to Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, demanding that it is ...
Artie Fufkin with one of Britain's loudest bands.
In 2010, Liberal Democrat Ian Swales won the Redcar seat with a swing of 22% from Labour. He announced last July that he was standing down and in September local Councillor Josh Mason was selected to defend his 5200 majority. It seems that while the Liberal Democrats in Redcar are working hard to elect Josh, all is not so well in the Labour camp where local leaders have been likened to North Korea and a neighbouring Labour MP has taken to using Freedom of Information legislation to find out what his party's council is doing. The Northern Echo has the ...
The BBC reports: The Redcar and Cleveland Council Labour Group was reviewed by the party in 2012 after complaints of bullying and physical intimidation between members. But branch members said the situation had now become even worse... Labour ... had held the constituency since it was created in 1974 until the Liberal Democrats won with a majority of more than 5,000 in 2010... Darlington Labour councillor Nick Wallis wrote a report in 2012 that has never been published but has been seen by the BBC. It found party meetings often descended into chaos with group members reduced to tears. He ...
Speaking about the threat of terrorism, Chancellor George Osborne said: "My commitment is very clear. This is the national priority. We will put the resources in. Whatever the security services want, they will get." If there hasn't been a terror attack in your country: "We are doing all we can to stop the terrorists but our resources are stretched. We need more powers and resources." If there has been a recent terror attack elsewhere: "That could happen here. We are doing all we can to stop the terrorists but our resources are stretched. We need more powers and resources." If ...
Some things I've been in to this week: A word: Thanks to a work colleague this week I discovered the Japanese word tsundoku which is the act of buying books and then leaving them piled up to read later. It pretty much describes my flat and my life more generally. At the same time I [...]
I have to say that "Head of Media and Brand" is a job title that makes me want to cry. A human being is not some corporate monolith that makes tins of soup or handbags. PR Week has more information: Kodikara, who is based in Number 10 and becomes a special adviser to Clegg, was previously a senior consultant at Quiller. Prior to that he was associate director at MHP Communications. Kodikara is also chairman of Kingston & Surbiton Liberal Democrats and treasurer of the body Lib Dems in Communications. Kodikara has an impressive Liberal Democrat pedigree. Often unfairly, Nick's ...
Democrats have a bit of a love-hate relationship with referendums usually. Love in that giving people the vote on an important issue is democratic. Hate in that doing it via a referendum by-passes the rest of the democratic system, which isn't without its problems. Which makes all the more interesting the talk of referendums being used in Iran to bypass undemocratic parts of its ruling system: Iran's president said Sunday that he might invoke a powerful but neglected tool in his fight with hard-liners, suggesting the possibility of organizing direct referendums that would bypass the institutions the conservatives control and ...
So various people are saying that all Muslims need to apologise for the Charlie Hebdo attacks, despite the fact that one of the first victims was a Muslim, and most Muslims are peaceful and many have condemned the attacks as unIslamic. Well, if we're in the business of making people apologise for things that are nothing to do with them but vaguely in the same demographic, here are some things I feel I should apologise for: EugenicsJulie BindelThe cultural appropriation of other people's food, customs, and vocabulary by the English since time immemorialRichard DawkinsThe Daily Mail in general and Quentin ...
Shortly before Christmas I was privileged to be asked to speak at the vigil held at the Pakistan Centre for victims of the Peshawar massacre. I reflected at that time that this was not a Moslem issue but a human ... Continue reading →
Click picture to enlarge poster These teen fitness sessions could be just what you're looking for! Each session consists of a fun fitness routine e..g. aerobics, toning, yoga, running, dance. Bring along your own music!Mondays 6-7 pm at Yate International Academy (Activity Studio)Wednesdays 6-7 pm at Chipping Sodbury School (Sport Centre) Sessions start next week (week commencing Monday 12 January) For more information email sport@southglos.gov.uk or phone 07534 241644 You can also check out: usgirls.org.uk Facebook facebook.com/sotoservicesTwitter @UsGirlsTweet
In the wake of two recent tragedies (the cafe murders in Sydney and the series of murders in Paris) there has been an almost immediate, on social media almost overwealming, movement to stand with "ordinary Muslims" against possible retaliation from the public. See for instance the very worthy "I'll ride with you" trend that occurred during the siege in Sydney. Whilst I think those behind these movements are just worthy but also right to say they stand with their Muslim neighbours and fellow citizens against any pointless and cruel "retaliation" against innocents, I do find it all a little distasteful. ...
After OfCom ruled that the Greens were "not a major party" (but that oddly enough, UKIP were), David Cameron said that he would not take part in the TV debates unless the Greens were invited to take part. The OfCom ruling and the TV debates are not directly linked, but the ruling does make it a lot easier to exclude the Greens, which for various reasons most of the broadcasters would prefer. I understand both why Cameron doesn't want to do the debates without the Greens and also, really, why he doesn't want to do them at all. He'd be ...
On Thursday, Tim Farron, writing for this site, said that Liberal Democrats must continue to push for the Chilcot Report to be published. In the same way, we must push for the UK's Chilcot report into the Iraq war to be published. The delay has gone on long enough - key actors like Tony Blair and former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw must be held to account. Jack Straw steps down as an MP in May - it is vital that the truth about Iraq comes out long before that! Yesterday, Farron told the Times (£) that he had written to ...
[IMG: walkers] The Hertfordshire Year of Walking, taking place throughout 2015 is a celebration of all the fantastic walking opportunities the county has to offer and aims to get more people in Herts active by encouraging residents to walk for fun, fitness and for function. The Walks programme is now available to view online at www.hertfordshirehealthwalks.org Hertfordshire Health Walks is a countywide initiative of free, led walks and is coordinated by Countryside Management Service (CMS). It aims to help promote walking and encourage more people (all ages, backgrounds and abilities) to get outdoors, get more active and reap the benefits. ...
The article above is on the Echo web site. But hang on a minute, what about the comments of Cllr. Dowd? Does it not read as though he is suggesting that he is only doing what Government dictates? Well yes it does, in my view, but back in October 2013 Cllr. Dowd was clearly singing a different tune when backing his own Party Leader Ed Miliband who was then pushing for a far greater number of houses to be built. Have a look at Southport GB web site:- The important lines are – Sefton Council leader Peter Dowd ...
Why I am not Charlie - long read but worth it (tags: ) Political Parties must adapt to survive in the 21st century (tags: ) Watch: Straight guys hold hands, discover homophobia exists (tags: ) Euro Parliament: Time to rethink DRIP, other snoop laws (tags: ) Imagine... a world without work | New Humanist (tags: ) Weasel out of that one, Cammy-pants. (tags: ) (in case you think me accusing him of weaselling out is a bit harsh, read this) "never gave a firm commitment" my arse. They've tweeted the letter. (tags: ) How the world's leaders would look if ...
In commemoration of World War I, the McManus Galleries' Annual Winter Works on Paper is drawn from the city's collection of sketches, posters and prints by artist Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956). This is currently taking place through to 25th January and you can read more about the exhibition here.
Nick Sparrow, former head of polling for ICM and one of the country's best pollsters, has some real doubts: Over the last 3 years the British Population Survey has been monitoring people who respond to online surveys and comparing them to the population as a whole, in terms of detailed demographics and attitudinal variables. It is a massive survey involving 6-8,000 face-to-face in home interviews per month. In an article published on the Research-Live web site Steve Abbott describes some of the important findings. Analysis suggests that online survey respondents are more active in the broadest sense, than others, more ...
Congratulations to George Murray, who leads the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 20, having amassed 1,178 points. Congratulations, too, to David Stacey and Brendan D'Cruz, who tied for this week's best performance, each with 82 points. Here's the full top 10: [IMG: ldv fantasy week 21] There are 157 players in total and you can still join the league by clicking here. * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, and editor of the 2013 publication, The Coalition and Beyond: Liberal Reforms for the Decade Ahead. He is also a Research Associate for the liberal think-tank CentreForum and ...
That mammoth Elvis post last night seems to have used up all of my words, so you get links today: Paul Magrs rewrites the lyrics to Bowie's Five Years as an Alan Bennett monologue. This is already quite possibly the best blog post of 2015 — Holly found it funny and touching even without knowing [...]
If I am unable to sleep, I turn to the diaries of Lord Bonkers - they usually do the job quite quickly. Every now and then, however, I come across something that brings me up short. Like this from 2006. Saturday It is hard not to sympathise with the New Party's MPs: Blair has clearly gone barking mad - his public protestations of love for a chimpanzee, all those foreign wars, his plans to send children to the Jack Straw Memorial Reform School, Dungeness, before they are born - but their constitution makes it impossible to get rid of him. ...
It strikes me that there is one simple action that can challenge people to move beyond some pretty dumb standpoints that they hold. Muslims need to relax about depictions of prophets. There is no need to fly off the handle about the depiction of prophets, either laid down by scripture, or as a means of dealing happily with the modern world. Equally there is no need to deliberately provoke the ire of Muslims by disrespecting something they hold dear. Cartoons that depict Mohammed disrespectfully are deliberate acts of divisive button-pushing and should be condemned. They also fail to challenge the ...
