I actually took last week off work to get more writing done, but instead I seem to be suffering from something that feels like caffeine withdrawal, but which can't be fixed by caffeine (it's been suggested that my thyroid's playing up because of stress, but I've not had a chance to check this out) — [...]
Copyright © Mike Seaborne Mike Seaborne introduces his 80sIslandPhotos site: In 1983-6 I undertook an extensive photographic project on the Isle of Dogs in East London to document the area prior to its redevelopment. This involved not only photographing the streets and buildings but also inside factories, schools, community centres and other social spaces. The aim was to make a record of the Island before 'big money' moved in and transformed both the landscape and the people who lived and worked there. This project was undertaken in conjunction with the Island History Trust whose aim is to collect and interpret ...
Last month, commenting on a some brave predictions from Stephen Tall, I wrote: Looking at recent opinion polls, I too have been wondering whether the Lib Dems might not outpoll Ukip. It has to be said, though, that this has more to do with the steady slippage of Ukip support than any great surge for us.Further evidence that this may happen came this afternoon in the shape of an opinion poll from ICM. You can find the results on the Guardian website, though it does not find the fact that the Lib Dems have stormed to third place worthy of ...
It appears that the Greeks have decided that they are unwilling to compromise and the rest of the Eurogroup have decided that they won't throw good money after bad. There then comes the technical question of how to establish an economy based upon the "new drachma". When changes are planned to financial software such as benefits and taxation quite a long period of planning is needed before the
It never ceases to amaze me how often Labour attack the leadership of the Conservatives and Lib Dems for having too many with public school educated backgrounds. And too often these Labour class warriors themselves enjoyed the benefits of public school education. People such as Tristam Hunt and Chris Bryant have rather wilted under the media spotlight recently when attacking others for their
Wallace Avenue in Whickham is a small street of just 4 houses but it is linked to my family history. It was named after my great grandfather Henry Wallace who was the first chairman of Whickham Urban District Council back in the late 1890s. He was also the first county councillor for Whickham on Durham County, back in 1889. There is another street named after him in Dunston though it is outside
The latest issue of Liberator is on its way to subscribers, so it is time to spend some time with Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. The description of winter here owes a lot to T.H. White, "Top Secret: Burn Before Reading" came from overhearing an old boy in a pub in Llanfair Caereinion reminiscing about a friend from his Army days who was given to annotating documents in that fashion. Introduction Winter has come to Rutland. Polar bear have been shot as far south as Barleythorpe and the drive to the Hall remains blocked by head-high drifts - at least ...
Bruce Mackie I was greatly saddened to learn earlier today of the passing of Bruce Mackie, former City Councillor and Leader of the Conservative Group. Bruce made a huge contribution to the civic life of our city over many years - representing Broughty Ferry from 1966 right through to his retiral from the council in 2007. He was respected by all as a hard-working councillor who always stood up for his beloved Broughty Ferry but above all Bruce was an approachable, cheerful colleague. In retirement, Bruce continued to keep a close interest in local issues and he called me as ...
[IMG: "Free Speech", by Randal Munroe, CC-BY-NC] "I can't remember where I heard this, but someone once said that defending a position by citing free speech is sort of the ultimate concession; you're saying that the most compelling thing you can say for your position is that it's not literally illegal to express." The transphobic and whorephobic streak of the Guardian/Observer/whatever continued this weekend, when over a hundred people signed an open letter condemning the "censorship" of transphobic and whorephobic feminists. The death throes of this kind of feminism are becoming more apparent every day, and when ideologies die like ...
So, Peterborough City Council's Tory cabinet have said they will "investigate a potential solar farm project at America Farm and recommend two other schemes at Newborough Farm and Morris Fen are cancelled." Get the feeling it's here we go again? Let's hope not! The latest press release from the Town Hall, states that on Monday 23 February, [...]
The Safer Stockport Partnership has commenced a new initiative targeting shops selling so-called "Legal Highs". Officers from Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service and Stockport Council's Trading Standards are working in partnership with Public Health colleagues in order to raise awareness of the dangers of these drugs and to ensure that premises are compliant with legal requirements. Cllr Martin Candler, Stockport Council's Executive Member for Communities and Sustainability, and Cllr Patrick McAuley, Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said: "A number of people have died after having consumed or smoked a so called "legal high" and ...
Implicit in some of the reactions to the front page (or rather front pages) of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto when they were released last week are hopes which I think a manifesto front page can never match. The format of a front page to a booklet is not one conducive to stirring the emotions, and the need to prioritise requires a selection of issues will always leave a long list of areas of which people can say, "Oh but X is so important, it's awful it wasn't on the front page". Which is why it's worth taking a look ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above. It is interesting to see that Dunningsbridge Road is now officially classified as a 'delay road' something that regular users of it will not need to be told. BUT with Seaforth Docks set to expand with a new river berth taking Post Panamax size ships the situation can only get worse! Supposedly, in non-smoke filled rooms, Sefton Council, the Highways Agency, Network Rail etc. are beavering away at solutions but little is known of these deliberations. It's about time the powers that be put their proposed solutions before us ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above. [IMG: A Merseyrail electric unit at Bootle New Strand Station] A Merseyrail electric unit at Bootle New Strand Station It will be good to see this saga coming to a conclusion as new trains for the Merseyrail electrified network have been doing the rounds for more years than many of us would care to recall. A clear decision is needed and please no more optimistic speculation!
[IMG: cbeback] I've been thinking some more about devolution recently, particularly the 'city region'/combined authority model that seems to be all the rage at the moment. I've outlined before why I think this isn't a good way of going about devolution – not least because the people have been kept as far away from any discussions about it as possible – but I want to look in a bit more detail at the implications of part of that. One of the mantras readily uttered by proponents of this method of devolution is that 'people don't want more politicians', and so ...
The issue of politicians and their tax returns has been in the media once again recently, sparked in part by increased scrutiny of tax avoidance measures. The prime minister has said (via the chancellor) that there are no plans to publish his returns, while the man who would like to be in his shoes, Boris Johnson, said on a trip to the US last week that other UK politicians should follow his lead (and those of their US counterparts) in publishing their returns. Here. the Voice's Nick Thornsby and Paul Walter debate the issue. Please do share your thoughts in ...
The Economist reports that: German-Americans are America's largest single ethnic group (if you divide Hispanics into Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, etc). In 2013, according to the Census bureau, 46m Americans claimed German ancestry: more than the number who traced their roots to Ireland (33m) or England (25m). In whole swathes of the northern United States, German-Americans outnumber any [...]
[IMG: STOPthenonsense_RSVP_web] Just in case you have not heard about this elsewhere, here is an must-not-miss event scheduled for next week. Plain speaking on plain packaging. Tuesday 24th February at the IOD in London. RSVP to events@forestonline.org or click here for more information on the event.
[IMG: Trident] One of the strange things about recent elections is the lack of debate about defence and international affairs. So far, the current election campaign is no exception, despite the reality that the choices the next Government makes will limit our strategic options over the next 30 years. The key decision is whether or not to replace the existing Vanguard-class Trident submarines at a capital cost of up to £33bn, £3.3bn of which has been spent thus far. A decision to pursue replacement would commit between a quarter and a third of the total Ministry of Defence (MoD) equipment ...
Present Claire Hudson, Simon Allen, Veronica German, Chris White, Lucy Nethsengha, Isobel McCall, Christine Tinker, Steve Hitchens, Kath Pinnock, Hannah Kaitlin Boyer, Paul Clarke, Willie Wilson, Mike Ward (by FaceTime), Anders Hanson (Staff Rep), Tim Pickstone (Chief Executive) Apologies Heather Kidd, Anood Al-Samerai, Richard Ormerod, Jeanette Sunderland Declarations of Interest Steve Hitchens declared he undertook contract work with ALDC on the LGA Be a Councillor Project Minutes of the Management Committee 7 September 2015 Agreed as a correct record Minutes of the Management Committee 30 November 2015 – Paul Clark – add to Governance Sub Committee – Amend Mike Boad ...
Our thanks to everyone who came to the inaugural ALDC-Team 2015 Manchester Phone Bank on Thursday. Members from Hazel Grove, Cheadle, Manchester, Oldham and Bury joined Party President Sal Brinton to make phone calls in a fun and supportive atmosphere. It all happens again this Thursday (and every Thursday from now on!) at 6pm, at ALDC's Manchester Offices, and we need your help to build on our success and make the biggest possible contribution to our local campaigns. If you can make it next time, we'd love to see you here with us! Please email ALDC Campaigns Officer John Bridges ...
This is a test post from Tim Here is SOME BOLD Here is a Hyperlink
There were meetings of both the Neighbourhood Forums which cover Acocks Green last week. The Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum (which covers the area to the north of the Warwick Road) met on Tuesday. Key issues discussed were: Claire Mullin, Parliamentary Outreach Worker gave a briefing of the work of the House of Commons. Murray Woodward, Volunteer Co-ordinator at the Canal and River Trust gave a presentation on the potential adoption of a section of the Grand Union Canal by local volunteers to help keep it in better condition. This would be similar to the work in Fox Hollies Park by ...
[IMG: Decline of Nigel Farage in the eyes of the public] Note: this isn't just about MORI. Opinium also regularly poll Nigel Farage's leadership ratings, and they too are now at record lows. UPDATE: And who has just been named Britain's most hated brand by the public? That'll be Ukip.
I recently watched a television programme in which Ross Kemp looks at the situation in Calais, where thousands of refugees are seeking to gain access to the UK in the most dangerous manner. I have no special knowledge of the situation there, nor from what they are fleeing - who can? But I do know that seeing the programme has made me deeply ashamed of being European. Not being a citizen of the European Union, but being a member of a large community that has not yet addressed the issue of how we can help people in such dire straits. ...
A mere 20 years behind the key sections of the bi movement, counterparts in the lesbian & gay strands of LGBT are catching up on trans and gender diversity inclusion. Stonewall today announced it will henceforward be campaigning for trans rights and equality, rather than against them or championing the work of opponents of trans liberation as in the past. Good. As with their latter-day conversion to supporting bisexual liberation (albeit so far principally within the M25), for all that you may start humming Emma Bunton's What Took You So Long when you hear about the change, it's a change ...
Well... not quite... it's a list of all the selected PPCs up until mid-February with the twitter addresses of the ones I know or follow.. I am of the opinion that all PPCs should have a Twitter account but many seem afraid of the medium... Welcome extra addresses so scour your list of your favorite (LibDem) PPCs and add them in the comments... and I will add them to the spreadsheet.. and by the way mine is @liberateandover
[IMG: British money] There is one super-simple reform which, at a stroke, would significantly help clean-up the influence of money on British politics. It's this: abolish the exemption for staff costs from national election expense limits. The current exemption is bizarre. So bizarre that when I was working at Liberal Democrat HQ many years back, I took the precaution of getting the Electoral Commission to confirm in writing that their view too was that even the salary for the post of "General Election Planning Manager" didn't count for general election expense limits. The problem with the exemption isn't only that ...
[IMG: Liberator Feb 2015 cover] The latest 32-page issue of Liberator, the independent radical liberal magazine, is on its way to subscribers. This issue will also be on sale at spring conference in Liverpool. Live sample contents from Liberator 370 online are: Commentary, on how the Lib Dems' appear to be positioning themselves as the only party with no distinctive profile in the general election. The lead story from Radical Bulletin is on whether, in the event of another coalition, the 'triple lock' is now quite what it appears to be. The sample feature Survivors' Guide, sees Roger Hayes suggest ...
Participation in the way we are governed, and the way that public services work, has been the great - largely unrealised - dream of the revival of Liberalism since the 1950s. Most of it wasn't categorised as Liberal, all that explosion of energy from adventure playgrounds to self-build housing, but it was. It was also a reaction to the corporate state, over-professionalism, and the sense - as Nye Bevan put it, approvingly - that "the man in Whitehall really does know best". That anarchic participation and self-help provided the energy for the huge growth of the voluntary sector, now largely ...
ALDC is pleased to announce that it has now published its' Election Law Handbook, fourth edition 2014! It's eight years since it was last updated, so there's a fair amount of election law changes now included and it's a must for all those candidates, agents and activists running elections in 2015!! Written again by Dr Mark Pack we've had invaluable contributions from David Allworthy, Richard Cole, Simon Drage, Richard Marbrow, Hilary Stephenson and Keith House. Fighting and winning elections is the essential basis for our achievements at every level of government. Yet you can't fight an election without getting right ...
We had another action day on Saturday in Blaydon constituency. We shifted 3000 direct mail and 3000 Focuses in the morning. In the afternoon we were canvassing. The most interesting point we found during the door-knocking was the lack of enthusiasm for Labour amongst people who had voted Labour for years. Miliband just isn't cranking up the support. Meanwhile, as expected, there was a strong
Commenting on today's Which? Report showing Govia Thameslink has the worst passenger satisfaction of all the rail companies in the UK, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Sandy Walkington said: "This must come as no surprise. Yet it relates to survey work conducted in November 2014 so does not even include the horrible performance record of 2015. [...]
On 26th February, Stockport Council will set our budget for 2015/16. Like all councils (but unlike most other parts of the public sector) we are legally obliged to set a balanced budget where the money coming in matches the money going out over the year. Our spending is split into two parts: revenue and capital. Capital is buying the car, revenue is running and maintaining it. The council's day-to-day spending is nearly all revenue, but bigger one-off items are normally capital. Here I'm going to talk about revenue – the day-to-day spending. Revenue spending Stockport Council will have £235 million ...
This revival of David Hare's play loosely based on the 1992 General Election sees Sheffield Labour MP and party leader George Jones as channelling Neil Kinnock and Ed Miliband in similar measure. As in 1992 the country is emerging from recession, and the voters perhaps do not feel rich enough to afford a Labour government yet. Much hinges on whether Jones should stay in the controlled message straitjacket (out-Torying the Tories), at the expense of being boring, or let rip with his natural charisma at the risk of descending into incoherent waffling. There's much to recognise here, but also much ...
Following on from last week's email about Lib Dems in government taking action on supporting tenants in England, in Wales Labour want to reduce tenant's rights! ALDC members can find our campaign materials on protecting tenants and preventing 'revenge evictions' via this story.
Mon 16th
09:46
In ten years time, all the Clegg hatred of the last five years will seem bizarre and incomprehensibl...
In several weeks time, Nick Clegg may no longer be the leader of the Liberal Democrats. I hope he is, because if he remains so that will probably bode well for the Lib Dems. But there are so many different scenarios in which Nick could step down, I have to concede its looming reality. Like the title of my article states, I think that a decade from now, the out and out hatred of Nick Clegg we've seen constantly over this parliament will be one of those things used by comedians and sitcom writers to evoke the weirdness of the ...
Mon 16th
09:32
Listen to Caron Lindsay and me debate the "Lib Dem predicament" on Radio 4's Westminster Hour
On last night's BBC Radio 4 Westminster Hour, my LibDemVoice colleague Caron Lindsay and I debated the Lib Dems' chances at the next election and looked at what the manifesto means for the party's strategy in the event of a second hung parliament. You can hear our full 10-minute exchange here – it starts at about 36 minutes in. And you can hear a briefer clip here: If you want to read a little more about why I said what I said, then these are the three key posts: >> My prediction for the 2015 election; >> My verdict on ...
High res map of all the breweries in Europe. I like that you have to zoom in twice in my area :) (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Unemployment Subsistence wages Hazards to Health Harm to the environment These are the four results of unregulated capitalism according to Mike King in Quakernomics. In his book, which I highly commend, he details the history of Quakers in industry and how they modelled an ethical capitalism which served the community. "Quakernomics is the enthusiastic pursuit of economic activity as a social good." We can always learn from history. In this blog I will explore what lessons gleaned from the Quakers can be applied to economic and social problems today. The Quakers valued the entrepreneur, but gave equal value to the ...
I am not the biggest fan of the Taxpayers' Alliance but their latest freedom of information request has thrown up an intriguing question. They have discovered that Whitehall departments lost over £5billion in one year in written-off costs, "fruitless payments" and errors. In the case of the Ministry of Defence civil servants spent £6 million on ear plugs which were found not to be fit for purpose. They shelled out £7.2 million on mobile mine detection capability for Warrior vehicles that was deemed unsuitable and they made a fruitless payment of £4 million due to the forward purchase of an ...
This photo was taken by the contractors working on the new link road from Switch Island to Thornton:- [IMG: Link Road panoramic] Click on the photo to enlarge it. Maghull is visible in the top right with Netherton in the bottom left. Switch Island is just above mid way on the right with Thornton being in the distance to the mid left of the photo. You can see the course of the new road left to right. The building of this new road comes down to the campaigning of Thornton residents and Thornton Parish Council.
Blackness Library will be closed from 2nd to 6th March inclusive. Leisure and Culture Dundee, who operate the library on behalf of Dundee City Council, has advised me of the reasons behind the five day closure : "As I am sure you are aware there has been an ongoing problem with fumes from the heating system leaking into the adult section of Blackness Library. Dundee City Council's best solution is to reroute the flues through the original chimney and preparatory work has been undertaken over the last month. The final stage of this work will involve the disconnection of the ...
A PhD student looking into the political uses of the internet has asked if I can encourage readers to help with his research. Most certainly: Dear friends, My name is Juan Sánchez and I am a PhD Marketing student at the University of Valencia (Spain). I am currently developing my doctoral thesis, which focuses on the existing relationship between Internet interactivity and the adoption of a more participative political position. I would like to ask your collaboration to complete the empirical part of my thesis. In this respect, I need you to click on the link below in order to ...
Over the weekend our prime minister, David Cameron, announced that the Tories, if they win the election, will conduct a purge on people claiming benefits "who cannot work because they are obese or have alcohol or drug problems." An article in Saturday's Guardian noted that: " there are 300 HMRC employees investigative tax evasion of over £70bn, and 3 250 Department of Work and Pension bods chasing down £1,2bn of benefit fraud." What I find shameful is not just that we have a party with such such despicable values, but that over a third of our electors are likely to ...
[IMG: Policy Unpacked 5] In this podcast I discuss proposals emanating from the Conservative party for new ways to dispose of social housing. At the moment IDS's proposal to give properties to previously unemployed tenants who manage to secure a job for a year is the one gaining the most media attention. At the end of the podcast I speculate on how the incentives facing housing associations may change in the face of conflicting imperatives. (Running time: 22′ 18") If you fancy subscribing to my podcasts you can find me on iTunes and Soundcloud. In both cases, searching for either ...
Liberal Democrats believe that every child should have the opportunity to reach their full potential, wherever they live and whatever their background. That's why, in government, Liberal Democrats have protected school budgets; introduced a £2.5bn pupil premium to get extra money to the children who need the most help; introduced free school meals for infant children, and massively expanded early years education. In the next parliament we want to go even further. We will protect the education budget from cradle to college - including early years, schools and 16-19 education. It's impossible to raise standards, recruit teachers and help more ...
