Thanks to Tired Old Git on Twitter.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

When I woke up to an icy white blanket in my garden this morning, my first thought was for all those Liberal Democrat campaigners who are out and about in the freezing cold risking life and limb to talk to voters and get our message across. I will never be one of them. I am a total wuss where snow and ice are concerned. Or, to be more accurate, a chionophobic. Ever since a fall on ice meant that I wasn't able to walk for five months, I don't do snow or ice if I can possibly avoid it. My ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice
Thu 29th
22:00

Ashby Castle

Ashby Castle in Leicestershire is well worth a visit. Bring a torch, because it has a secret passage you can explore.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

The Liberal Democrat federal conference is returning to Liverpool this spring, and the outline agenda has now been published. The agenda will be dominated by the manifesto, both an outline manifesto motion and also some areas where policy details need to be agreed to fill in the headlines. Mental health is a good example of the latter. Note also the consultation session on implementing the party's move to one-member, one-vote (OMOV). Further motions and amendments on this will be tabled and debated at the Autumn conference rather than in Liverpool. On Facebook and going to conference? Sign up to the ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Discussion at last night's Acocks Green Ward Committee centred on the following issues: 1) Fleet and Waste Management Update. Les Williams gave a report which focussed on the roll out of the new wheelie bins. This is seen as having gone well, but there are a number of residents suffering from repeated late or missed collections. The aim is to eliminate these in the next few weeks. Please keep reporting any such problems so that they can be dealt with. 2) Planning Department. Peter Barton gave a review which focussed on the issue of many of our larger properties being ...

Posted by rogerharmer on Roger Harmer

Nick Clegg appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning. He was in Bristol handing out money as part of the drive to give greater powers to communities and cities. I have a few words of unsolicited advice for him on his performance. First up, I do get decentralisation. I'm a liberal. Of course I do. I am not, however, that happy about Nick's rather melodramatic description of what he was doing as "Taking money out of the clammy hands of bureaucrats in Whitehall and giving it to local communities." It's the sort of hyperbolic language that we would rightly have a ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice
Thu 29th
20:30

Six of the Best 490

"Russia is a declared hostile power that intends to weaken or destroy both the EU and NATO. Once this critical fact is understood, it becomes very clear that the West must answer the threat from this barbarian state or risk following Rome into a dark ages of similar criminality and violence." Strong stuff from Cicero's Songs, but I fear there is a lot in what he says. Mark Valladares charts the rise and fall of Liberal Democrat blogging. "I genuinely thought no one outside the Conservative party would have the nerve still to be using that line." Alex Marsh is ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Atomic – Flying Rodent proposes a new direction for the military. "I put it to you that the track record of unusable weapons has proven beyond doubt to be vastly superior to the performance of the ones that we actually can deploy." 18 Scientists On What They Actually Think About Climate Change – Yes, it's Buzzfeed, but it's interesting. Why we don't have electronic voting – A simple explainer of the myriad problems that need to be solved before it could happen. 9 questions about Saudi Arabia you were too embarrassed to ask – Sure there's something we can all ...

Posted by Nick on What You Can Get Away With

The track through Market Harborough is to be straightened and the platforms at its station lengthened, the Leicester Mercury reports today. The £45m scheme will partly be paid for from £20m recently made available by the government from projects in Leicestershire. Beyond that, says the Mercury, it : will be jointly funded by the county council, Network Rail, and also local enterprise partnerships in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and Sheffield who will benefit from shorter journey times.The role of local enterprise partnerships in infrastructure spending is a reminder of how long central government has preferred "businessmen" to elected councillors. Announcing a ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Thu 29th
18:51

Secondary School Results

Good to see the overall secondary school league tables showing Southwark in such a positive light. Some new stunningly good GCSE new entries – Harris Boys Academy East Dulwich with 71% with 5 good GCSE's including Maths and English. Very good A-Level results as well. Well done everoyne who made this and all the other schools results so good this year. Also great positive trends.

Posted by James Barber on James Barber » James Barber
YouGov

Over on Patreon, for those wonderful individuals who are clearly the greatest that humanity has to offer, my take on the Mad Hatter's first TV appearance, and the 60s counterculture. Meanwhile, for those filthy wretches who don't even think I deserve paying for typing up some nonsense about old TV shows, an older essay on [...]

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!

Southwark Labour introduced new rules that all new dropped kerbs must have 2 metres (6'6") of double yellow lines both sides of them.That means that the dropped kerb reduces on street parking by one car length and 2 x 2m = by another car length of parknig removed with each dropped kerb. Ouch! Last night at the Dulwich Community Council we had 4 such dropped kerbs to approve. I persuaded the committee that this Southwark Labour Council rule is silly. That if we must have double yellow lines they should be abslutely minimised. I'm grateful that all three parties agreed ...

Posted by James Barber on James Barber » James Barber

95% of Vietnamese tell pollsters they back a capitalist system: more than any other nation in the world. How to square that with the fact that Vietnam is still notionally Communist? That most guidebooks to Saigon recommend going to see a building called 'the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Head Office'* is perhaps somewhat [...]

Posted by Mark Mills on Matter Of Facts

The outline agenda for the Liberal Democrats' Spring Conference in Liverpool has been published. [IMG: Spring Conference outline agenda] On Friday, a series of policy consultations, and a consultation on the plans to take forward One Member One Vote take up the afternoon before the rally. On Saturday, there are speeches by Danny Alexander, Vince Cable and Jo Swinson with a question and answer session with Nick Clegg. Policy debates include mental health, the manifesto (surprisingly titled Stronger Economy and Fairer Society), green laws and workforce rights. On Sunday, as well as Nick's keynote speech, we have debates on free ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

If there was one wrong assumption about the government of the New Labour years (and there was), it was the idea that no administrative problem was immune from the solution of a giant database and call centre. I have mentioned this before, but feel increasingly that it is one - though only one - of the factors behind the widespread disaffection, political and otherwise, that seems so all-pervasive. I was reminded of this when I read the story of Comcast in the USA. Now Comcast is a cable provider, and not a very popular one. This particular story, in Wired ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

Welcome to the latest in an occasional series. Today: Labour boasting before the 2010 general election how it would slash public spending during this Parliament, with cuts bigger than Thatcher. Odd how Labour doesn't mention that much these days... [IMG: Alistair Darling - Labour will cut more than Thatcher]

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

To be frank, as a doctor, I have been underwhelmed by our Liberal Democrat offering on health issues over the years; certainly we are not as strong on health as we should be. The almost daily drip feed from the right wing press on NHS shortcomings and failures is demoralising to staff and frightening to patients and designed to be so. It serves no-one except those who want to undermine the public's confidence in the NHS. The service treats three quarters of a million patients every day of the year, and for most people there is no alternative. So I ...

Posted by Catherine Royce on Liberal Democrat Voice

I read the piece by Maelo Manning the other day with some interest and found her thoughts on the question of hope intriguing. She is, of course, right - when times are hard, as they still are, giving voters a prospect of better times ahead is a means of convincing people that short-term pain will lead to long-term gain. There is, however (and you just knew that I was going to say that, didn't you?), a catch, in that such hope has to be based in reality. Frankly, I fear for the Greek people. The decision of the incoming Syriza-led ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

Normally on a Thursday morning, Scotland's political leaders are thinking of how they will tackle the gladiatorial environment of First Minister's Questions. This morning, Andy Murray, playing in the Australian Open semi-final, provided them all with a distraction. Tory leader mentioned it on Twitter and look what happened next: After that interlude, FMQs proceeded with, I'd like to think, a bit less rancour than usual In fact, when Ruth Davidson rose to ask her question, she was able to announce that Andy had won. Nicola Sturgeon teased her for checking Twitter in the Chamber. You would never find David Cameron ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

Campaigners out in the cold weatherwise but in the warm with people's concerns Apparently it has just occurred to the Mayor of Liverpool that to develop the Meadowlands area a large number of trees would have to be developed. That ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?
eUKhost

2002 Southwark Lib Dems initiated the Cleaner, Greener, Safer programme where each ward in Southwark gets a pot of capital money to allocate to new projects. Last night we decided which projects to support in East Dulwich ward – ED CGS 15_16 Safer: Fencing between Dulwich library and St.Thomas Moore RC Church, Library Annexe opened as new space for Police surgeries and the like, More Crime Prevention, Norcroft Gardens fencing and lgihting. Cleaner: Friern Road estate play area renewal, Goose Green School entrance, East Dulwich Community Centre new flooring. Greener: Lots more trees locally, Physic GardenHeber School Upcycle Garden. Our ...

Posted by James Barber on James Barber » James Barber
Thu 29th
13:25

Is a pony a horse?

A few years back I ran a series of curiosities found by perusing the back copies of Hansard, which included the big question: Is the horse an agricultural animal?, something which came up not only in the 1980s but also in the 1990s. I was reminded of this by a more recent horse-definition exchange, as reported by the York Press: MPs have agreed expanding the definition of horse to include ponies is not necessary for proposed new laws on controlling fly grazing, being sponsored by a York MP. In bizarre exchanges, Tory James Arbuthnot moved an amendment to the Control ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

It is probably (I am sticking my neck out here) the belief of most councillors that the power to build council houses was abolished by Margaret Thatcher. This, coupled with right to buy, has led to a crisis in social housing which governments fail to tackle and councils can't. But a report commissioned by the Government as part of the Autumn Statement in 2013 has challenged local councils to have more confidence in what they can already do. The Elphicke-House Report (pdf) published earlier this week, following a review by Natalie Elphicke, chair of Million Homes, Million Lives, and Keith ...

Posted by Chris White on Liberal Democrat Voice

Today's Times reports on a dramatic intervention in Labour's in-fighting by Neil Kinnock, who has called for an end to the internal sniping at Ed Miliband. He warned that the Labour leader would face even more vicious attacks than he had endured in 1992 and obviously believes it would be helpful if there was no friendly fire to contend with as well. Kinnock warned that "sniping from behind" was far more damaging than assaults from opponents, but said that whilst he is reluctant to intervene, criticisms of the party's election strategy by senior Blairites has been "so great that it ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Here's my latest Ham and High column – also available here It seems like every time we watch the news, we hear about another conflict or incident. And the awful terrorist attacks in Paris were so close to home. The whole world felt the impact of the horror that unfolded at the Charlie Hebdo office. But here in Haringey we have a proud history of uniting against violence, hate, and extremism. Less than two years ago, the community response to the terrible attacks on the Somali Bravenese Centre was overwhelming. We all came together in a show of solidarity - ...

Posted by Lynne Featherstone on Lynne Featherstone » Blog

The notion that energy should be supplied to a dwelling from 'outside' through pipes and wires is relatively new. The first gas main was laid only in 1812 and the widespread availability of electricity is barely 100 years old. The gas and electricity utilities came to dominate supplies because they were more convenient as well as being reliable, cheap and relatively clean. Now the use of fossil fuel is causing global problems. Electricity generation at large remote power stations has received particular criticism because the steam turbine technology used ends up with large quantities of 'low grade' heat which have ...

Posted by Richard Balmer on aldes.org.uk
Thu 29th
12:00

Nuclear Power

At end 2014 there were 437 commercial reactors in the world operating in 30 countries supplying 11% of total global electricity. This note is an abbreviated version of Understanding Nuclear Energy. It covers the history; attempts to put the safety concerns into context; and argues that nuclear can play an important part of the UK's intention to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.ALDNuclearPower115

Posted by Richard Balmer on aldes.org.uk
Thu 29th
12:00

GM Crops

In the time of Malthus at the end of the 18th century, global population was about 1 billion. By 1960 it had reached 3bn, in 1987 5bn. Another billion was added in the next 12 years and the total has passed 7 billion now. It is something of a miracle that, outside war zones, virtually all the world's people are still being fed. The 7 fold increase in population since 1800 has of course required a 7 fold increase in food production. It has been achieved by scientific cross breeding of plants and animals to achieve higher yields, increasingly intensive ...

Posted by Richard Balmer on aldes.org.uk
Thu 29th
12:00

The Severn Barrage

The dream of harnessing the power of the River Severn is at least 150 years old but, though proposals to build a Severn barrage are in limbo, other schemes in the UK and overseas remain alive. This note covers the pros and cons of barrages and where we are today.ALDSevernBarrage115

Posted by Richard Balmer on aldes.org.uk

"Perhaps the biggest polling movement in recent UK history that almost no-one has heard of": so writes Roger Scully of the Labour Party's polling collapse in Wales: Labour have lost a third of their support in the Welsh polls in the last two years. In the most recent Barometer poll (published on 27th January) Labour is at 37%, barely above its 2010 vote share. This is no outlier, by the way - all of the last six published polls have put Labour below 40% in Wales. Nor have Labour's problems been confined to the polls: the party ended up winning ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

I really have no idea what figure Labour would have finally baulked at despite being a member of the Town Council as an opposition councillor. This Labour-run Town Council have made some tentative noises about concerns they may have about the Local Plan (which is dumping many hundreds of houses on the Town) yet the Council, in my view, is still a long long way from really fighting for the Town. [IMG: Green Belt campaigners outside Maghull Town Hall at a previous meeting.] Green Belt campaigners outside Maghull Town Hall at a previous meeting. Last night we Lib Dems voted ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus » Sefton Focus

Liberal Democrats on both sides of the Tamar have joined together to try to secure the future of a vital cross-border bus route. It comes after residents across North Cornwall and West Devon raised fears about the future of the 510 route connecting Wadebridge, Camelford, Launceston, Okehampton and Exeter. Operator Western Greyhound will stop running the route from 20th February. Whilst new operator Stagecoach South West is due to take over 510 services, passengers haven't been told what will happen after the 20th February and fear that they may be left stranded. Services currently run 5 times a day in ...

Posted by Alex Folkes on A Lanson Boy

Earlier this week parliament overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill calling for a moratorium on fracking. The challenge that the UK faces is that we are particularly dependent on natural gas. The vast majority of us have gas boilers and heating makes up much of the gas used in the UK. Weaning ourselves off gas boilers isn't easy. There are renewable alternatives such as heat pumps but these only work in very well insulated homes. And there's the rub. Around 70% of homes in the UK are still not well insulated, and a good portion of those have ...

Posted by Cara Jenkinson on Liberal Democrat Voice

Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg Additional £31.6million to support City Region projects Today Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, announ ced a further £31.6 million for investment in Liverpool's growing economy. See detaisl below: Liverpool City Region Local ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

I am an inveterate traveller. In some ways, the actual journey is almost as anticipated as the destination, especially as I do like to find less obvious ways of getting from A to B - London to Pula via Stuttgart and Zagreb, or London to Copenhagen via Brussels and Hamburg, to name but two trips in the recent past. So, having decided that a trip to visit my family was overdue, I searched for airfares and, taking into account convenience of flight times, airline reputation and so forth, I came to the conclusion that the best option was, somewhat unexpectedly, ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on The view from Creeting St Peter

2 Seats available 2 Conservative seats, both resignations Liberal Democrat candidates- Elizabeth Needham and Mark Pedroz

Posted by Michael Powell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Focus Team members celebrate the good news Some great news about St Nicks Youth Centre - thanks to a lot of work by members of the Focus Team and Yate Town Council, the Youth Centre will reopen on Friday 13 February. They've raised the funds, found a leader and recruited the staff. The session will run from 7 pm to 9 pm, for ages 11 to 18, entry 50 pence. And there will be free pizza at the opening night! You can take part in lots of activities - football, cooking, arts and crafts - or just chill with your ...

Posted by Paul Hulbert on Focus on Sodbury, Yate and Dodington

I wrote an article about a Tory-Labour coalition after the next election a little while back. Most of it was a bit tongue in cheek, well aware as I am of the things repelling both of the two main parties from such a possibility. However, there is one set of circumstances under which I could see it happening. Imagine David Cameron is still prime minister post-May, meaning the Conservatives either have a majority or have done another deal with someone. One of the first bills the new parliament receives is one legislating for an EU referendum to take place in ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

The signs of housing stress accumulate. On top of established problems of affordability among young people living independently we are seeing increasing numbers of households sharing and a rise in multigenerational households as children find it more and more difficult to leave the parental home. A sense of injustice about the state of the housing market sits just below the surface of many conversations across generations. It doesn't take much to trigger some heated words from those who feel they have been shut out of the housing market by the selfish actions of their elders. Something I experienced again the ...

Posted by admin on Alex's Archives

Leading economic think tank, Centre for Cities, has released its report Cities Outlook 2015, which highlights the health of Peterborough as a city, compared to the rest of the nation. Population growth in cities, 2004-2013 I'm sure one or two right wingers will want to cite "population growth" as a major concern etc. But remember that [...]

Posted by Cllr Darren Fower on Cllr Darren Fower
Thu 29th
09:06

Donizetti and Dementia

Dementia is a growing problem in the UK as the population grows older, but at least there is a growing understanding of the needs of people with dementia and of their carers. It affects people from all walks of life, even the affluent burghers of Mayfair, which is why the Grosvenor Chapel in South Audley [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

"Your privacy or your life" says care.data to cancer patients (tags: ) MUCH better to give someone a carefully chosen book on Feb 14th than a Valentine IMHO (tags: ) What they don't want you to see: the hidden world of UK deportation (tags: ) on poverty porn, and intentional ignorance of the realities of poverty in the media &among politicians (tags: ) on the use of "I'm a bit OCD" to excuse picky behaviour (guilty of this myself, to my shame) (tags: ) Six Nations Preview | Scrum Queens (tags: ) Ten Things About Trans People (A Cis Man ...

Residents have again complained to me about further potholes on the roadway of Seymour Street. I reported this to the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and an officer has responded as follows : "I have spoken to the Inspector for the above location and he advised that an order has been raised to carry out repairs. I can advise that repairs will be carried out with the Planer Patcher once Winter Maintenance is complete."

[IMG: Labour immigration leaflet] Labour's highly controversial* immigration leaflet which I covered a couple of days back has been kicked into the news headlines by Labour MP David Lammy attacking it. There's one little oddity about this. The leaflet went out in his own constituency yet Lammy is disclaiming all responsibility for its distribution, with both he and local Labour activists saying they didn't see it before distribution. So it looks to be a paid-for delivery of the leaflet by Labour centrally, cutting out the local Labour party for any knowledge of contents of the leaflet. Centrally organised paid-for delivery ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack