When you are a party that tends to block, ignore or blank out LGBT voices you have no idea what homophobia looks like on the street. So I decided to correct the DUP who don't see a correlation between their words and actions as the largest party in Northern Ireland and a recent spate of homophobic attacks on a couple of gay men in North Belfast while one was living his last days with cancer and even at his funeral. Here is the letter published in yesterday's Newsletter: I am amazed to read in the News Letter (February 21) that ...
Part 1 takes us from Wellington to Buildwas. As you will see, part of this stretch is still in use.
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The Evening Standard has the news that Pauline Pearce has been selected as Liberal Democrat candidate for Hitchin and Harpenden: Announcing her selection on Facebook, she said: "I would like to announce officially that I am the selected PPC candidate for Hitchin and Harpenden. "Thank you to all the members who attended tonight, for their kind and very warm reception. I look forward to working with you all." She added: "To my friends and family who encouraged me to keep going and have always got my back I love you all, but it's only just begun because I need your ...
John Bercow did try to get an Australian installed as the new Clerk of the Commons in what seemed to me to be quite a sensible move to split the roles of Chief Executive and Procedural expert. He might want to take a leaf out of the book of the Australian Speaker who has developed a habit of ejecting unruly MPs. At one PMQs session at the end of last year, she ejected 18 of them in 73 minutes. You can watch the video and ensuing drama unfold below. The reason I say this today is because of the disgraceful ...
Today has been a busy day, including : * A briefing at lunchtime for councillors whose wards are affected by Phase 1 of the new bin collection and recycling arrangements and an opportunity for us to raise questions and seek assurances for constituents. Any resident with a concern or a query is welcome to either call me direct on 459378 or the Environment Department on 436289. * An afternoon meeting of the Time2Give timebank committee for the West End. Timebanking is a means of exchange used to organise people and organisations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency. ...
Our next leaflet for delivery in Blaydon arrived today. The printer dropped them off at my ward colleague Cllr John McClurey's shop in Newcastle and at 2pm I took the land rover over to pick them up. It was the only vehicle big enough to carry them all. They are now back at my house where they are being put into their patches. Note the cardboard was not thrown out. It's going back to the
I joined the Liberal Party in 1979, as a student journalist, having interviewed all the local parliamentary candidates. Dermot Roaf, then the Liberal candidate for Oxford City, spent well over an hour with me in the middle of the day, when he must have had more urgent people to deal with - and, by the end, I was convinced. I went off then and there and paid my subscription. But one of the reasons why I embraced the cause so enthusiastically - rather too enthusiastically for my own good - was my growing sense of irritation at the political discourse. ...
Judging by the email I received from the Welsh Party's Chief Executive this evening, Party officials are clearly concerned about the numbers attending this Friday's pre-Welsh Conference rally. He has written to all Welsh Party Committee members stressing the importance of a good turn out at the rally on Friday evening. His email points out that this will be Clegg's key conference speech and that the media will be in attendance. He believes it to be 'essential' that we have a good turn out. I feel my response is blunt, but polite: Thank you for your email. I shall not ...
Today the most dangerous junctions for cyclists in London were revealed and at number 5 was the junction of Upper Tooting Road and Lessingham Avenue. As a cyclist down that road, it does not surprise me in the slightest, especially when cycling towards Tooting. Over 5 years, 34 incidents were reported to police, no doubt, [...]
Odd Down Playing Fields in running for UK award Bath North East Somerset Council is in the running to win £5,000 towards the development of Odd Down Playing Fields. It follows an appeal by the Carnegie UK Trust to locate playing fields which they helped to pay for. Between 1927 and 1935 the Trust gave grants worth £200,000 - the equivalent of around £10 million today - to create nearly 900
[IMG: Women in prison]
Following the publication of a new report on The Business of People, James Wilsdon and David Walker set out the case that the social sciences will be making through the election and spending review. Behind graphene, or any other scientific breakthrough, there's a lab, a city, dense social networks among researchers, commercial connections, finance, and policies for science and innovation. To repeat a basic truth that still gets forgotten, science works in a socio-economic context. It doesn't advance far if we don't understand the dynamics of behaviour, attitude and organisation. Which is why social science has to be embedded in ...
Liberal Democrat councillors have joined carers in condemning Sefton Council's sudden proposal to close Chase Heys Day Centre. "This announcement has come as a thunderbolt to the service users, most of whom are elderly and vulnerable," said councillor Pat Keith. "Chase Heys was previously being considered by the council for expansion but now we learn they are to discuss its closure at Sefton Cabinet this week." Councillor Nigel Ashton said " We need to take account of the views of those that use the provision. I believe the voice of the service users and their carers should be heard loud ...
Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government. Not before time. Cold calls are a menace, and even more so this week: I've been on holiday. I'm trying to relax, but the phone at my holiday place rings every day with cold calls. In the end I set the ringer to zero volume, so if somebody called it who actually wanted me, they wouldn't get me. Even within current legislation, the ICO's reponse has been pusillanimous. So, when it gets these new powers, it needs to start using them. Also, these powers only deal with cold calls within the UK. ...
An addition to my election wishlist. This has been in my mind for some time, well before the Straw / Rifkind hands in the honeypot debacle; I didn't remember it when I wrote my original election wishlist. MPs can have any second job they want. Or third. Or fourth. But they cannot vote on anything in which they have an interest. (If the rule is good enough for councillors, it's good enough for MPs.) The Speaker's Office should have an arm devoted to determining who can vote on what, with stringent rules. Any bill brought before Parliament would have a ...
As the election campaign hots up, all the parties are emailing those who have signed up to their email lists on all sorts of issues. In the past few days, we've seen one from Harriet Harman admonishing the recipient for not responding to Labour's opinion survey. It had one question, basically "Are you voting Labour?" There wasn't even a "maybe" option. We've seen a missive David Cameron (or his digital equivalent) has emailed to his distribution list to take credit for the pensions triple lock. The wording looks like it's been copied and pasted from a Liberal Democrat equivalent. Now, ...
The best of ALDC content from the last week, including: Five things to do in February (best hurry!) Manchester Phone Bank ALDC Fighting Fund File Library: National policy statistics for local use Ask ALDC: Candidacy FAQs Facebook Update ALDC Blog Five Things to do in February ALDC Development Officer Neil Fawcett picks five things to fit in before the end of the month to help your campaigns. Manchester Phone Bank - See You Thursday? The joint ALDC and Team 2015 Manchester Phone Bank had its second session. Here's a quick report and an open invite to join us tomorrow if ...
Wherever you have local elections ALDC is urging Liberal Democrats across the country to stand a candidate in every seat. Clearly we will target our campaigning in key, winnable seats. But it is important that there is a 'paper' candidate(s) in as many seats as possible. This includes Town and Parish councils, particularly where elections are politically contested. There are lots of reasons for standing a full slate: to give voters a democratic choice, to damage the chances of minority parties (eg BNP, UKIP), to contribute to Lib Dem national share of the vote to obtain useful information for the ...
Wed 25th
15:25
"We need a lap dancing club" - Kendal Tory Councillor's big idea for economic regeneration
Last night, South Lakeland District Council discussed its local plan. Councillors were free to offer all sorts of ideas which would benefit the community and the local economy. Conservative Councillor Andrew Gardiner had a novel suggestion. What the area really needed, he said, was a lap dancing club. Really. Kendal is doing great things in making a name for itself with fantastic initiatives like the Kendal Mountain Festival, which beat the Ashes to the British Tourist Event of 2013. Liberal Democrat Councillor Phil Walker called on the Tories to take action against Cllr Gardiner: I cannot believe the suggestion that ...
Over at the BBC, David Cornock has news of a new initiative on securing fair funding for the Welsh Assembly. He says that the Prime Minister is happy to offer a floor below which the amount of money we receive cannot fall, but only if it is linked to an agreement to hold a referendum on tax-varying powers. This strikes me as a step backwards in the UK Government's position, and certain defeat for any referendum held on those terms. If a Barnett flooris justifiable (which it is) then it should be delivered unconditionally. This so-called 'offer' is tantamount to ...
The Time Everyone "Corrected" the World's Smartest Woman – Marilyn Vos Savant solved the Monty Hall Problem, even if a lot of people wanted to tell her that she hadn't. Is Work Good? – "the problem that comes with this one-eyed focus on paid work is that there is a grave danger it reinforces the value of paid work only at the cost of reducing the value of other human activities and social roles. Paid work is only one kind of work; and doing paid work is only one way of being human." Are You Man Enough for the Men's ...
With no substantial changes in my blood results this morning to report, I'm on watch and wait for another two months. This is good news. No – excellent news – as it means I should get to spend a happy week walking around Monmouth and the surrounding countryside in early April, as well as being ... Continue reading »
Wed 25th
13:55LibLink: Julian Huppert: Safe seats and second jobs are at the root of the Rifkind/Straw mess
[IMG: Julian Huppert MP] As Parliament prepares to debate whether MPs should have second jobs, Julian Huppert has written on the controversy surrounding Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind for the Guardian. He attacks what he calls an "abhorrent" and "unacceptable" aspect of our political culture and sets out why he thinks there should be more regulation of MPs' outside interests. Many of us work night and day to get through our work. We find it is the equivalent of having two full-time jobs - one in Westminster and one in the constituency. Far too many MPs have been here ...
Wed 25th
13:14
Shropshire Council leader backs parish council grant heist as he fails to mention minister's letter
In today's Shropshire Star and on BBC Radio Shropshire, Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow has been engaged in a degree of damage limitation over his decision to hold back half a million pounds of government money intended for town and parish councils. He said the controversial decision should have been handled differently with better consultation. [...]
Wed 25th
12:30Baroness Jenny Randerson writes...Optimism and determination of Welsh campaign teams is impressive
When I am travelling around Wales I take every opportunity as to go out campaigning with our Welsh MPs. Last week I was out knocking doors with Mark Williams and his team in Lampeter. I am a seasoned Ceredigion campaigner- I don't think I have missed an election there in the last 15 years. So I know what to expect, and the atmosphere hasn't changed. Mark is known by almost everyone and regarded with huge respect for his constant hard work in a constituency where local issues are particularly important. In Brecon and Radnor the "Williams Team" are equally well ...
The chamber of the House of Lords can be very intimidating, especially for newer Members trying to make a succinct point, when it is full to bursting at Questions. They can hardly be blamed if they refer carefully to notes when asking for information from Ministers. Yet, all too often, when they do this, some old stagers shout "READING", in an attempt to put them off their stride. All right, the Companion discourages reading, but it also gives firm advice on all sorts of other misdemeanours, such as walking in and out of the chamber when the Lord Speaker or ...
Quite a lot really: What The Hell Have The Lib Dems Done? is now updated with a new lick of paint and extra details. Do enjoy and share! Complete with echoes of:
Wed 25th
11:45Things to do in your lunch hour: Last chance to respond to Scottish Government's ID Database consult...
A couple of weeks ago, James Baker told us why the proposals in Scotland to use the NHS identity database and use it effectively as a surveillance tool was wrong and dangerous: One of the stated aims of the changes proposed is that it would make it easier to 'trace people', the examples given are tracing missing children or 'health tourists'. This is a giveaway as to the increased surveillance capabilities the scheme would create. If it's able to trace children through civic transactions recorded on the system then it will be able to trace political campaigners, people's whose library ...
In just two weeks time will be National Apprenticeship Week, a national week to raise awareness about the positive impact apprentices are having on the economy, and on increasing employment, including increasing employment for young people. The local Lib Dem team has been celebrating the news that 2 million apprenticeships have been created during the current parliament, thanks to the Lib Dems in Government. [IMG: s300_NAW-logo] Across Bury this means that: – 8,150 apprentships have been provided during the current parliament – 190 local businesses in Bury have received the £1,500 apprentiship grant from the Government. The Office of National ...
This is one of those moments when we feel the need to show off how big our statistics are! I've just been on my Flickr site and found that my photos have now been viewed 2.5 million times. If anyone feels the need to check out the 7900 pictures on the site, please feel free to click on this link.
Sadly for the Green Party, the media spotlight looks set to burn off their green shoots of growth and turn their little green garden into a desert. Even more sadly for those who genuinely believe in putting environmentalism at the heart of our own lifestyles, there is little that is environmentally sustainable about Green Party policies. Their spend, spend, spend approach may be attractive to
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58467 Registration Date: 20/02/2015 Location: 6 Hastings Avenue, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6UR Proposal: Two/single storey extension at rear Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58429 Registration Date: 10/02/2015 Location: 8 Mount Pleasant, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2SD Proposal: First floor extension at side Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
Long suffering passengers on the Bury Metrolink line will have welcome the return to: – trams stopping at Victoria, and – through trains to Piccadilly both which came into force last week. This now means that we have our six-minute service from Bury to the city centre back and a link to Piccadilly station. The closure of Victoria and the single line operation through the station has been part of the multimillion pound Government investment in Manchester Victoria station – perviously voted the 'worst station in the country'! The redesigned and expanded Manchester Victoria Metrolink stop will ultimately allow more ...
Wed 25th
10:25So what's Miranda Grell, formerly convicted of homophobic smears on her Liberal Democrat opponent, u...
Way back in 2006, Miranda Grell was elected as a Labour Councillor in Waltham Forest, East London. The following year, she was convicted of making false statements about another candidate, the Liberal Democrat Barry Smith. From the BBC: Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court heard in police interviews Grell admitted she had discussed Mr Smith's sexuality with one local resident. She said she told the man Mr Smith claimed to be married despite having a 19-year-old Thai boyfriend. Grell put the mistake down to political immaturity and inexperience at campaigning. But another resident, Caroline Dargan, told the court Grell had a similar ...
Various stories are going around about what might happen to Yate Outdoor Sports Centre. Circandian's contract to run it ends this October, and South Gloucestershire Council can't take it back in house. The Focus Team are determined to make sure it stays open. We've got South Glos to commission experts to work out how it could be run - and are now working with users to try to come up with a scheme to save it - which would involve users and Yate Town Council jointly running it. So - if you use it - don't panic. As soon as ...
Wed 25th
09:17
Caroline Lucas has been busy making things worse for Natalie Bennett - and the Green Party
The past month cannot have been amongst the easiest to get through in the life of Natalie Bennett. A series of bloodbath interviews, which amongst the most notable should have been the Andrew Neil Daily Politics one at the end of last month, but which has now been well and truly eclipsed by the LBC (insert transport accident cliché here) of yesterday, in which the Greens leader said the plan to build 500,000 new council homes would cost £2.7 billion. I'll save you having to do the maths: that works out at £5,400 per home. This provoked Nick Ferrari to ...
[IMG: Jo Swinson Glasgow] Remember in 2010 when the Daily Mail went apoplectic and Tory backbenchers' murmured criticism made headline news as David Cameron took time off after the birth of his daughter Florence just weeks after becoming Prime Minister? No, me neither, because it didn't happen. Five years on, however, Labour's Rachel Reeves is under fire from the Mail and Tory MP Andrew Rossindell after announcing her plans to take 3 months' maternity leave after she gives birth to her second child in June. From the Guardian: Andrew Rosindell, the Tory MP for Romford, told the Daily Mail that ...
LGBT History Month - Mancunian Matters has a lovely feature with @jenyockney (tags: ) Keira Knightley talks about dealing with paparazzi... (tags: ) Invisible identities: Gay-washing and other bisexual issues (tags: ) Revealed: The British MPs who earned more than £7m outside of Parliament in 2014 (tags: ) Das Monster - I'd LOVE a pair of these in my size. Why should kids have all the fun leggings? (tags: ) No One Showed Up To A Little Boy With Autism's Birthday, So His Mom Asked Facebook For Help (tags: ) Oh Jesus - we're getting universal credit in Calderdale before ...
[IMG: Zodiac signs] One of my regular favourite Conservative MPs, David Tredinnick, is back in the news: A Tory MP has claimed NHS over-crowding could be solved by doctors using astrology to treat patients. David Tredinnick said consulting the stars would "take huge pressure off doctors" and predicts astrology will "have a role to play in healthcare."... Bizarrely, Tredinnick, 65, who is chairman of the All-Party Group for Integrated Healthcare, went on to say people who opposed astrology were "racist". Pretty remarkably you might think. Especially when added to his support for homeopathy as a cure for autism, his belief ...
I realise that the issue is throughout the city centre, but the corner of Fitzwilliam Street and Broadway, has been an ongoing issues for months now" Then I remembered that last year, Tory leader of the City Council took a walk through the city centre, blindfolded, in order to understand how it is for people [...]
Last night, I attended the annual general meeting of the Bonnie Dundee group, at the Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee. There was an excellent presentation by Dr Chris Connolly on 'Pollinators on Blooms' - the detrimental effects of pesticides on the insect population. There was also a useful update on Dundee's forthcoming entry into the Britain in Bloom finals city category. Bonnie Dundee encourages improvements to the Dundee environment and helps local groups who keep Dundee's parks, open areas, streets and gardens in good shape. The Bonnie Dundee group meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 14 City ...
Dear voters, If you don't like what an MP does with their time, what they do with money or how much attention they give their job, you can vote them out. I know it's more satisfying always to blame someone else for not changing the rules the way you'd like, but it's you and your neighbours you can fix things. Vote for someone else – and if you feel as angry as you tell the pollsters you are, donate time or money to someone else too. Best wishes etc.
Open up green belt to solve London's housing crisis A report, co-authored by planning consultancy Quod and the London School of Economics' Paul Cheshire, has called on the capital's local authorities to review rules protecting green belt land around the city. It calls for homes to be built in certain areas as part of a push to address the city's housing shortage. The report claims brownfield sites are the "first and best option" for development, but that a large chunk are "poorly connected and costly to develop". "Londoners should be able to get greater value from the green space that ...
After the Hollande-Merkel "peace" mission and Michael Fallon's "infelicitous" choice of words about the Russian threat to the Baltic, it seemed that British detachment from both its allies, including the US, and the burgeoning Putin crisis was growing. In fact, the lack of involvement by the UK in the Minsk-2 debacle now looks prescient. Meanwhile the British decision to provide direct military assistance to the Ukrainian government is controversial, but the in face of the dumb insolence of the Putin government it is a pretty small step, albeit one with potentially momentous consequences for the endgame of the crisis. Meanwhile, ...
Belfast grapples with peace, coming in from the political wilderness and Birdman is dissected not least by Sesame Street. If you've been reading my posts this week then you probably know that my reading has been dominated by the Oscars. The article that stood out was Tom Carson in the Atlantic making the case that Boyhood and not Birdman [...]
