Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 407th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (-, 2014), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. The collapse of the Conservative vote in Sheffield ...
We should be very grateful to Sarah, Duchess of York. She has pioneered a unique combination of royal communication and commerce. This week, we have been able to benefit from her wise insight into various issues, only because her views are brought to us courtesy of the Fusion Xcelerator. This remarkable device, which most of us would call "a blender", is available for only $99.99 plus $9.99 P&H (whatever the "H" stands for – I don't know). So, with Sarah, Duchess of York, you get a great package, bristling with different services. She goes onto NBC's Today show and you ...
[IMG: rsz_507_emu_at_southport_in_graffiti_livery] The Liverpool Echo has the story and an interesting video taken by Andy McLannahan who captured a clip of an incredibly long Merseyrail train, recovering stranded carriages on the Chester line.
Tomorrow I am setting off for Washington where I will be speaking at conferences of the National League of Cities; the American League of Mayors and the World Bank. I will talk more about these visits further on but I ... Continue reading →
There is no doubt that Willie Rennie is being brave in his choice of priorities for this year's Scottish budget. In truth, the SNP have an overall majority at Holyrood so they don't need to give any sort of ground.They have done the last few years, though. Last year, they gave extra money for childcare and free school meals in response to Willie Rennie's persistent pestering. The year before it was college places. This year, he's taking a bigger risk. There's an issue which in the context of the Holyrood parliament represents one of our finest hours and in the ...
The Yorkshire Post reports: A SERIES of assemblies should be set up across England to take over powers currently wielded in Westminster, according to two Liberal Democrats. Former Defence Minister Sir Nick Harvey and Lib Dem constitutional affairs spokesman Lord Tyler argue the move is needed to settle the issues raised by devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland... Writing in the paper, Sir Nick says Yorkshire "would be a good candidate for a first wave of our process." He said: "Our proposals are for radical devolution from London, and not just to cities, but to rural areas too. "It ...
West Midlands Police have now confirmed that Acocks Green Police Station's front counter will be closing – on 31st January. The counter is currently staffed by PCs and PCSO's, who will return to local policing. This follows a review of the whole police force which will see 27 police stations closing their front counters, leaving 10 open. The nearest one remaining open to Acocks Green will be at Stechford Police Station. The Police say: "A range of methods for contacting the police exist; 101, West Midlands Police website (www.west-midlands.police.uk), dedicated email addresses, Twitter/Facebook for the force and neighbourhood teams, community ...
The contract has been awarded and work starts on Monday 26th January 2015. Completion set for Friday 17th April 2015, around 12 weeks.
[IMG: 7 ver 4 full] Many thanks to the 17100 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Could we have a better leader? (57 comments) by Stephen Phillips The Greens: the Lib Dem fightback begins (74 comments) by Caron Lindsay Êtes-vous Charlie? (133 comments) by The Voice Opinion: Why we can all be Charlie (118 comments) by Lee Dargue Baroness Sal Brinton writes...Disabled rail travel: We're not just treated like second class citizens, we're treated like packages (12 comments) by Sal Brinton Nick Clegg – hero or villain? (33 comments) by Paul Walter ...
Here are the latest national voting intention figures from each of the main pollsters. To put the numbers into longer context, take a look at my database of polling figures going back to 1945, which is updated quarterly. Polling company Con Lab LibDem UKIP Green Con lead Fieldwork Method ComRes 33% 34% 7% 18% 3% -1% 14-15/1 Online ComRes 29% 32% 12% 16% 5% -3% 12-14/12 Phone ICM 28% 33% 14% 14% 5% -5% 12-16/12 Phone Ashcroft 34% 28% 8% 16% 8% 6% 9-11/1 Phone MORI 33% 34% 8% 11% 8% -1% 11-13/1 Phone Opinium 28% 33% 7% 20% 6% ...
As travellers from Honor Oak Park (like me), Forest Hill and Sydenham will be only too painfully aware, services into London Bridge seem to have hit a new low since new year. Lib Dem London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon – who chairs the London Assembly's Transport Committee – has taken this up with Network Rail. [...]
Sun 18th
12:43
Clegg: "Liberalism youthful, optimistic philosophy", Ashdown threatens to eat Murnaghan & Grende...
It's been a marathon this morning. Nick Clegg has been on the Andrew Marr Show and Pienaar's Politics, Paddy Ashdown has been on Murnaghan talking about the debates and the Counter Terrorism Bill and Olly Grender took part in a panel on Pienaar's Politics. I have done a Storify thingy of all my tweets from all the interviews here but I shall outline the key themes in this post. This was a morning when, as we've seen, there have been two powerful initiatives from the party on ending illiteracy by 2025 and improving mental health crisis care so that people ...
When choosing a Neil Young track five years I reminisced about the 1996 Phoenix Festival. As I said then, Manic Street Preachers sounded great live. So here is another track from the day - I'm not sure where those strings are coming from though- with me out in the crowd somewhere.
The last Labour government in response to flagrant voter fraud started the process to introduce individual voter registration. The new system The old system one person in each household registered everyone in the house – I did for our family. But sometimes people added extra people. So the new system means everyone has to register themselves with their unique National Insurance number to ensure no cheating from bogus residents. My own experience is buy to-let landlords being registered sometimes multiple times for properties they don't live in. So the new system will stop this and ensure tenants can register to ...
The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that's fine, we're grateful for people taking the time to read the site. You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways: 1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there's something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you're an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or ...
James Forsyth writes in the Mail on Sunday: In recent weeks, there have been whispers at Westminster that Tory campaign chiefs have been disappointed by her performance and irritated by her view that the party's electoral message needed more hope and positivity.Hope and positivity? Doesn't sound their kind of thing at all.
A new UK national opinion poll from YouGov this weekend puts Labour on 32%, the Conservatives on 31%, UKIP on 18%, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens both on 7%, and Others on 5%. Once again neither of the two main parties has managed to muster the support of a third of the electorate, or [...]
The Pub Landlord is interviewed by the Independent: "What you have to admire about Russell is he what he might lack in serious argument he makes up for with adjectives."
The Sunday Times reports on a new book by Martin Winter, a former friend of Ed Miliband, which claims that the Labour leader and his Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls feared the British economy was going to crash a year before the Great Recession began in 2008 but decided to keep quiet. Mr. Winter says that Miliband made the prediction during a discussion about the so-called "election that never was" in October 2007: In a new book about the Labour leader, he portrays Miliband as chaotic and accident-prone. Winter was a leading Labour figure in Doncaster, and served as the town's ...
If Peterborough City Council were given some new powers, to target drivers putting cyclists at risk by breaking moving traffic laws, cycle safety in the city could be improved! Put simply the Government needs to implement Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, to allow councils to protect cyclists by enforcing cycle lanes and [...]
"We'll never put the Tories into government." These words Nicola Sturgeon told SNP's conference in November. I myself had no reason to doubt them. The Conservative Party is so loathed by the vast majority of Scots, assuring voters in Scotland that the Nats would never consider propping up the Dark Side was extremely important for Sturgeon to do, not least of which because Labour's line of attack against them in May is clearly going to be built around the idea that a vote for the SNP makes a Tory government in Westminster just that little bit more likely. But it's ...
Our pre-manifesto calls for lowering the voting age to 16, increasing provision for children's mental health, ring-fencing education budgets from pre-school through to college and committing to end child poverty. What I'd also like to see is a vision to incorporate the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child into U.K. law. Why? We need to empower and enable children. We need to enshrine their rights in our law. The Human Rights Act does not mention child-specific rights as set out in the UNCRC: the right to education, the right to protection from violence and abuse, the right ...
Sun 18th
09:01Nick Clegg pledges to end illiteracy by 2025 by ensuring every child leaves Primary School able to r...
Nick Clegg has unveiled a key manifesto commitment for the Liberal Democrats this morning: The plans mean that every child born in 2014, who will leave primary school in 2025 will be able to read and write at a standard identified to lead to success in secondary school and beyond. Nick Clegg explained why this is so important to Liberal Democrats: I am proud of the scale of our ambition. We are raising the bar on what children should be able to achieve by the age of eleven and want all children to get over the bar by 2025. The ...
Obama Sides with Cameron in Encryption Fight - for pity's sake (tags: ) Seven Tips from Edgar Allan Poe on How to Write Vivid Stories and Poems The best short story writer the world has ever seen tells you how to write short stories. How can you turn down his advice? (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Out today is a major piece of political research by British Future, its fourth State of the Nation annual report using polling by the 'gold standard' firm ICM. It points to one key strategic lesson and one key tactical lesson for the Liberal Democrats. But first, some optimism about the wider cause of liberalism: Britain today is a considerably more liberal country than it was in the 1950s, 1980s or even in the 1990s. Whatever their party colours, any politician who seeks to appeal primarily to pessimism in modern Britain is likely to find themselves on the wrong side of ...
Sun 18th
08:46
Sefton Local Plan – Resident Group ratchets up the pressure on Sefton Central Labour Councillo...
[IMG: It looks idyllic but it is the latest site to fall under Sefton Labour's building plans - next to Leeds Liverpool Canal and behind Turnbridge Road, Maghull/Lydiate.] It looks idyllic but it is the latest site to fall under Sefton Labour's building plans – next to Leeds Liverpool Canal and behind Turnbridge Road, Maghull/Lydiate. This photo is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/ Dear Councillor Since you last considered the Local Plan at the draft stage in 2013, there have been many significant new developments. Before you finally vote, the following are brought to your attention:- New Government guidelines ...
Just before Christmas, I highlighted deterioration to the mosaic at Tay Square - see right. At the time, I had contacted the City Council about this seeking repairs. I have now had the following response from the Head of Planning : "We have now completed the investigation. Works will be undertaken to address the existing problem areas as well as other areas that have the potential to deteriorate in future. The materials to be used require temperatures to exceed 10ºC. Therefore, the works are likely to be undertaken in the spring."
First, a brief apology for the lack of posts for the last few days. I've not actually been able to write anything, except for work and the odd tweet, for six days because of RSI. I've now bought an ergonomic keyboard and a gel wristpad, and so I'm going to try to get some writing [...]
