Memo to Conservatives: including "Non%20target%20candidates" in URLs is a bit of a giveaway https://t.co/QGy7v7aphm pic.twitter.com/M6WCraLDVn — Phil Rodgers (@PhilRodgers) February 9, 2015 To see that close up: [IMG: Conservative Party website]
Some lovely footage of Worcester shed and Shrub Hill station. England may have been swinging, but parts of it were very grimy too.
After my weekly ward surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and West Park Centre late this afternoon, I thereafter took part in tonight's City Council committee meetings. + At Environment Committee, I asked questions about the roll-out of Phase 1 of the new recycling arrangements for part of the West End and, in respect of several residents' concerns about the consultation and changes to their collection, sought assurances that consultation would be meaningful and that major changes would be reviewed after 3 months to ensure they are actually working and that residents are comfortable with new arrangements. + At Housing ...
Another thing I could have mentioned in my post on the decline of Liberal Democrat blogging is the disappearance of the meme. They used to be everywhere: now you never see them. Except that Mark Pack and Stephen Glenn seem to have started one. So here are five of my favourite bridges. Tay Rail Bridge © James Allan When you take a train across it this does not feel like a bridge over a river or even an estuary. It feels like a bridge over the open sea. And if that makes you a little nervous, don't look down. If ...
Thanks goodness for Herve Falciani . If it wasn't for him in 2008 whisking away 106,000 records of illegal tax evasion that via the French authorities reached the UK government in 2010 we wouldn't know of the degree this British bank colluded with tax evasion by British citizens. But what of the others. The Swiss authorities keep trying to extradite Mr.Falciani for whistleblowing. Clearly they want to collude with illegal tax evasion. What disreputable behaviour for nation state. As the Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pointed out the HSBC scandal demonstrated that tax avoidance was a "sophisticated ...
Encouraging more people to use public transport isn't only about the quality and price of what's on offer. There's also for some people a wider point, more nebulous but important, about it being a desirable choice beyond the immediate logistical and financial details. Which makes this ad from Denmark rather clever (though as Vox says, I hope it's making fun of sexism rather than echoing it):
Vote according to belief or tactically will be a question in the minds of some voters. Perhaps the supplimentary question is what would achieve the best outcome? Interestingly, if we had changed our voting system to one of proportional representation the answer to this question would be simple – 'belief', every time. As we are stuck with a 'first past the post' system unless you consider the possible outcomes for the one and only seat your vote can really influence, instead of getting what you 'believe' in you risk getting what you dread! Look at the history of the St ...
[IMG: Dominic Raab MP by the Freedom Association] We have been asked to publish this post, unedited, by Dominic Raab, the Conservative MP for Esher and Walton (pictured right). On Sunday morning, I was made aware of a blog-post by Roisin Miller on Liberal Democrat Voice, an independent website for Lib Dem supporters, entitled: 'An MP who takes me for granted has left me feeling disenfranchised'. What followed was a nebulous – but direct – attack on me as an MP, saying that I took my so-called 'safe seat' for granted. In particular, apparently my responses to Ms Miller's communiqués ...
It is sad the Pier for Redcar campaign group has folded but:The fight goes on it is not over.However, we need to aim for what is achievable and without private investors rushing in to build one a simple pier should be the first step.A pier like the one at Saltburn that you can walk along and fish off will only cost around £6m. If the Council made a commitment and really wanted to it could facilitate that and the funding can be made available.There is little chance at the present time to build one with a grandiose leisure facility at ...
I remember the feeling of despair. It was the early hours of Friday, 7th May 2010. Our team had failed to gain Ashfield by 192 votes. That's 192 votes out of nearly 50,000. How annoying is that! I looked at our exhausted team and vowed to finish the job. A team who had worked their socks off and given their hearts, souls and just about everything else over an exhausting, yet strangely exhilarating campaign. Everyone said we couldn't do it. I suppose they were right – we didn't. Starting the campaign nearly 15,000 behind and in 3rd place it was ...
Along with Mark Hunter MP and Cllr Keith Holloway, I had a great start to my Monday being shown around Cheadle Primary School by some of the pupils (and what a busy lot they all are – archery, table-tennis, swimming, steel band, cake decorating – I'm surprised they have any time left to sleep). The occasion was a visit from Schools Minister David Laws to announce that Cheadle Primary is one of three Stockport schools to benefit from a £2 billion investment in improving the fabric of schools across England over the next five years. [IMG: Mark Hunter MP and ...
Gatley Bike Fest is coming soon, with lots of events planned for April 2015. Check out the website and get involved – lots to do for riders of all ages and experience.
[IMG: libdemblogs] As three of my fellow Liberal Democrat bloggers (Mark Valladares, Alex Marsh and Jonathan Calder) have tackled this subject without using the most obvious of headlines for it, I decided to wait no longer and throw my tuppence of opinion in before someone else realised it was available. Despite the headline, I think a lot of the decline in political blogging isn't just limited to the Liberal Democrats. Sure, there's now a smaller pool to draw from, and previously high-profile names like James Graham aren't Liberal Democrats anymore, but to me, there don't seem to be as many ...
Science and innovation should help societies tackle the problems of social inequality. But perhaps they are implicated in the problem. Melanie Smallman looks back at Davos to consider the World Economic Forum's love affair with science. The World Economic Forum brought together the world's richest and most powerful in Davos last month. Looking through the programme, it was clear that science and technology was at the heart of their discussions. In fact the World Economic Forum's website boasted that they were welcoming "an extraordinary number of renowned researchers, acclaimed academics and stars in their fields." "Science" the forum proclaims "is ...
Our friends at Lib Dem HQ and the North West Lib Dems are working with ALDC to establish a regular evening phone bank at our Manchester offices. The inaugural phone bank takes place on Thursday 12th from 6pm (light refreshments included!) and will run every Thursday in the same time slot. If you are nearby [...]
[IMG: maajid-navaz] The Ham & High has been interviewing Maajid Nawaz, PPC for Hampstead and Kilburn, which is the country's most marginal seat – and a three-way contest at that. The article begins by describing the time when he was a recuiting officer for Hizb ut-Tahrir, then imprisoned in Egypt and adopted by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. His subsequent transformation into a campaigner for counter-extremism through his think tank, the Quilliam Foundation, has not been without controversy, but Liberal Democrats have taken him to their hearts. In the interview Maajid says: How great would it be to ...
It's already February and the campaign tension is mounting, as I write it's 86 days to go! But let's not forget that it's not just about a general election. As a party we excel at grassroots level. Keeping in touch with our communities and understanding their concerns is what sets us apart in the world [...]
A bumper pack of good news stories today, including: Protecting Tenants Warmer Homes Pupil Premium Awards Rural Broadband Lib Dem action to help private tenants Lib Dem Councillors often have plenty of residents in privately rented properties in their wards. There are two bits of good news this week from Lib Dems in government to [...]
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson has said that NHS England and Conservative Health Ministers are passing the buck on the issue of approving crucial guidelines to allow GP practices to expand. GP practices cannot expand until new NHS 'Principles of Best Practice' guidelines are approved. Launceston Medical Centre is one such surgery. The centre has plans to expand the number of treatment rooms, to improve access and to increase parking provision - but the centre will not be able to go ahead and submit their plans for approval until the NHS publishes its expansion guidelines. Launceston Medical Centre is the ...
From Councillors Sue Carpendale and Kathy Pollard In this edition Village Hall roof fund gets a boost Capel Post Office move to Co-op store Babergh plans for no council tax increase New consultation on future plans for housing and business sites in Babergh Scrutinising health issues including winter stresses on local hospitals Message from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) re speeding in towns and villages Village Hall roof fund gets a boost We are very pleased that Babergh District Council has been able to give a grant of £19,000 towards the replacement roof for Capel Village Hall. Capel Post ...
The Tories never tire of telling us how keen they are to support "hard-working families" who "do the right thing," We of the left should be equally assiduous in making it clear how much we favour hard-working businessmen who also "do the right thing," namely: live in Britain rather than as a tax exile;register their companies in Britain rather than in tax havens;have no truck with contrived schemes to avoid and evade paying their fair share of taxes;give their employees proper rather than zero-hours contracts;pay at least the minimum, and preferably the living wage;run real apprenticeship schemes and offer in-service ...
It's good to recognise when other parties make positive suggestions. This weekend Plaid Cymru leader Natalie Wood indicated that she has devised a plan with Nicola Sturgeon that would mean Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could veto the UK's exit from the EU. Effectively, the veto would mean that an English majority vote in support of an EU exit would not in itself be sufficient to guarantee a withdrawal. There has been some criticism of the "democratic" merit of this position - some are arguing that this makes a referendum pointless, or that a simple arithmetic should be sufficient. Scots ...
[IMG: House of Commons. Crown Copyright applies to this photo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_parliament/4642915654/] Hung Parliaments have become rather like buses for Lib Dems. For election after election we longed for one to come along. Now it seems a second one will turn up rather sooner than we might want it. Another hung parliament doesn't automatically mean another coalition involving the Lib Dems. And despite having been a firm advocate of coalition in 2010, I am very sceptical that Coalition 2.0 is in the interests of the party or liberalism. I should state at the outset that while I'm predicting that the ...
Second round of school buildings to receive help Today the government has announced the second tranche of schools that are set receive money for their buildings. Have a look at the schools here to see if they include any in your local area. ALDC members can also download this template press release to help get coverage [...]
Many of you may already be aware of the blog of Philip Sandifer, whose TARDIS Eruditorum has for the last four years mixed infuriatingly wrong Doctor Who commentary with infuriatingly perceptive Doctor Who commentary in roughly equal measure. Phil's posted the last ever TARDIS Eruditorum entry today, and it's a big one — somewhere north [...]
A gold-plated BBC Micro from 1985: [IMG: Gold-plated BBC Micro (1985)] It makes for rather a nice contrast with this Soviet clone of a ZX Spectrum: [IMG: Soviet clone of a ZX Spectrum]
I captured this photo from my allotment on Saturday evening, just after milking the goat. An amazing sunset. I spotted other residents of the area had posted up photos of it on Facebook as well though their pictures don't include the edge of a quail house and goat paddock!
We are deep into preparing our next mailshot in Blaydon constituency. On Saturday evening, Cllr John McClurey hosted an envelope stuffing event which resulted in over 3000 letters being prepared for delivery. Note the partially hidden bottles of wine. David and I brought along 2 bottles of our homemade plonk. It seemed an opportune moment to test out our Chateau Sunniside 2013. I had to take
[IMG: MOBILE LIBRARY] The Conservative controlled Hertfordshire County Council's 'Inspiring Libraries' strategy is due to be discussed at the Customer Service, Performance and Libraries Panel on Tuesday 10 February. Recommendations to be passed to Cabinet in order to make 'savings' include: Withdrawing the current mobile library service county-wide and replacing with an expanded Home Service module and other transportation solutions. Home Service expansion will involve more flexibility on criteria for qualifying for this service currently used by the disabled, the infirm and their carers but will still exclude certain groups who rely on the mobile service. 'Tiering' the 46 libraries ...
[IMG: Photo by Keith Edkins - 640px-Ian_Swales_at_Sheffield_2011] Ian Swales has been explaining to the Telegraph why he is standing down as MP for Redcar. There are two types of MP, there are those that retire at the election they turn pension age, like me, and there are those that stay here until forever, and I'm one of the former. It was never my intention to take on a full time, full-on job again at this stage. He tells the story about how he campaigned from an apparently hopeless position 19,000 votes behind Labour, reducing the difference to 12,000 in 2005 ...
The NHS. It appears to be the heart of political debate and there is no doubt that it is in difficulties. Roy Lilley caricatured the problems last week, but he's essentially right - the NHS institutions are pulling in different directions, and the multi-headed responsibility makes it very hard to shift direction, divided between the CQC, Monitor, NHS England and the Department of Health. Then you come to the question of whose fault it is. Because, listening to the Labour Party, you might almost believe they were the thin red line which separates the NHS from privatisation, vivisection and disaster. ...
We drove out to the Cotswolds to stay with some friends over the weekend. On the way, we passed through Witney, which for those who are unaware is David Cameron's own constituency. Given the fact that it is one of the safest Tory seats in the country, I figured it would be pre-Cotswolds cuteness all the way. Whoa Nelly. Witney is much more like Corby than Bath; a clearly mixed socio-economic mix that felt more industrial and down at the heel than I would have ever expected. Thus, you might think that like Corby Witney is a Lab-Tory marginal. But ...
Gloria and Malcolm Stephen with Mr Fruit Councillors and friends recently planted some fruit trees in the Quiet Corner at Lilliput Park, to inprove the diversity of plants in the park. In future years they will provide welcome shade in the summer and fruit for local people later in the year. If you would like to find out more about fruit trees, there will be a free Winter Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop at Wapley Bushes on Sunday 15 February. The workshop tutor will be local fruit tree expert "Mr Fruit" (Graham White), who supervised the Lilliput Park planting. Advance booking ...
the reason illustrators keep getting overlooked - fabulous (long) article by @Jabberworks This explains why I find it hard to find books by illustrator, which is something I absolutely would love to do, for myself as well as daughter. (tags: ) It's amazing how poetweet can make random things seem to make sense. (tags: ) Where is the hope? - in which Nick Barlow asks some pertinent questions (tags: ) Beautiful photo realistic paintings by Patrick Kramer. I like "denial" best (the one with the eggs) (tags: ) Being 97 is no barrier to enjoying cycling in Copenhagen - this ...
[IMG: antisemitism] The findings of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism, launched today, make very sober reading. MPs and Lords from across the political spectrum, including Navnit Dholakia and me, have spent six months following last summer's Israeli- Palestinian conflict in Gaza assessing the evidence of the hate and discrimination it has triggered directed at Jewish institutions and people across Europe, and making recommendations about how to tackle its upsurge here in the UK. Our recommendations cover key areas including work to reassure the UK's Jewish community, which from the evidence we have received appears to be in a considerable ...
The latest UK government initiative to tackle poor care is interesting to say the least. The Times reports that the UK Health Minister proposes to bring forward legislation that will mean that NHS bosses could face two years in jail for lying about poor care. In addition, hospitals that cannot prove they have owned up and apologised to patients for mistakes will also be fined £10,000 for losing negligence claims: The government is creating a new "false or misleading information offence", which will make it a crime to knowingly give incorrect data to regulators or official audits. Hospitals face unlimited ...
I have today highlighted the huge drop in the number of SQA examination appeals or re-marking of papers and a resultant sharp decline in Dundee pupils being successful in having a disappointing SQA exam result being successfully re-marked. The figures - which appear to show a similar pattern Scotland-wide - show a worrying trend. The City Council's Education Department has advised me as follows :The Head of Secondary Education at Dundee City Council has advised me : "It is worth pointing out SQA have recently changed their system. In the last two years they no longer have used appeals as ...
This from the forthcoming Five Year Mission: The Labour Party under Ed Miliband by Tim Bale is spot on: [IMG: Tim Bale's book on Ed Miliband] (Note: this is from a final proof version; hence the one small typo.) You can pre-order Five Year Mission: The Labour Party under Ed Miliband by Tim Bale here.
Fiona has a real record of action on libraries. "As a mother, I'm conscious of the important role that libraries play in the lives of our younger citizens. But they are a real benefit for pensioners and other citizens too. Libraries like Bar Hill provide internet access for those who would not otherwise have it and information often otherwise unavailable after savage Tory cuts in funding to voluntary bodies like the Citizens Advice Bureau." Fiona as a County Councillor worked hard to keep Comberton's library, working hand in hand with local residents to set up the volunteer structure to allow ...
Delhi went to the polls on Saturday to elect a new regional assembly. The results are not due till Tuesday but exit polls indicate that the AAP or Common Man Party has scored a clear win over the Hindu nationalist BJP. If this comes to pass it would be a significant result because: 1. It will be the [...]
