Back in the 1960s, before the touchy-feely, child-centred Green Cross Code was thought of, we had the kerb drill: "At the kerb, halt! Look right, look left, look right again. If all clear, quick march!"Now, with the poster above, the Liberal Democrats are trying to revive it. Could there be a grown up in charge of our campaign after all? You can see the drill in action in this first Ministry of Information film: And see an adult being taught it by a squeaky-voiced Forties child in the second.
Tim Oliver says Liberals must stand up to Russia over Ukraine. "I very much welcome the decision of the Supreme Court that letters written by Prince Charles to Ministers should be published." Peter Black explains why. George Packer on a St Petersburg gathering of right-wing extremists from Europe and the US: "There's a little Putin in everyone, forever picking at old scabs, whipping up team spirit, settling scores—us against them, a hateful sort of love. Acknowledging these things is the only antidote to being governed by them." "The notion that ticklish conversations must be scrubbed clean of controversy has a ...
Church Stretton Library is tucked away behind the town's church, housed in a former school. I have written more than one post on this blog there. Today the Shropshire Star reports that it is to be moved to a site that will be less convenient for many of the people who use it. Maybe this decision has been forced upon the council by the reduction in government funding - and the officers' report quoted in the Star eventually gets round to saying that - but you have to wade through a sea of management bullshit first: The decision was made ...
This will be very popular with some Liberal Democrat activists, and it's a smart move to acknowledge that different activists have different policies they're keenest to promote: [IMG: War on Drugs bag] On sale here.
[IMG: whitehall] The Guardian have a very useful web page called Election 2015: The Guardian poll projection. On it, each day, they update their state-of-the-parties graph with the latest polling data, which then flows into an infographic showing the parliamentary arithmetic and possible government options after May 7th. One can, perhaps, quibble with their numbers to the degree of 4-5 seats either way for each party. But basically, as time progresses and we approach May 7th like a freight train at 120 mph, it is becoming clearer and clearer what kind of government we are going to wake up to ...
There are only a few meetings scheduled for April at Blyth Town Council Tuesday 7th April Assets Committee Thursday 23rd April Planning & Development Committee Tuesday 28th April Events Committee All meetings start at 6:30 pm, and are to be at Arms Evertyne House The meeting of the Planning & Development Committee due to be held on 2nd April has been cancelled
An eyebrow rising detail from the legal action over the election of controversial Tower Hamlets Mayor, Lutfur Rahman: The petitioners claimed that mayor Lutfur Rahman and his election agent Alibor Choudhury committed electoral fraud to get Mr Rahman re-elected in 2014. On behalf of the petitioners, Francis Hoar returned on Tuesday to the fact Tower Hamlets First - the party Mr Rahman founded to run for mayor - did not have a bank account. He said: "Both Mr Raham and Mr Choudhury have wholly failed to say why that was. The only reason why you would not have a bank ...
All of us have been moved by the Germanwings plane crash, feeling for those who have lost loved ones or colleagues. The circumstances of the crash, caused by what seems to be a deliberate act by the co-pilot, has provoked much comment in the press, much of it deeply irresponsible. Headlines have screamed about Andreas Lubitz's mental health demanding to know why he was allowed to fly. Lurid headlines, written by sub-editors who clearly have no clue about mental health, do not help to either tackle the stigma faced by people with mental ill health or encourage those who suffer ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
Incentives matter in our education system. The right ones encourage our schools and teachers to deliver the very best education the system has to offer. Yet in the run up to the general election, politicians would have us think otherwise. Rather than creating the incentives for excellence to spread, they seek to drive performance from the centre. Cross-party support for a new college of teaching illustrates this shift in rhetoric, with politicians trying to magic more high quality teachers without thinking about the underlying incentives. The so-called "Cinderella" teaching profession really has found its fairy godmother. The academy school programme ...
LOCAL LIB DEMS WELCOME CLAMPDOWN OVER PAYDAY LOAN SHOPS AND U TURN OVER OFFICE CONVERSION Gerald Vernon Jackson, Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrats, has welcomed a new announcement that will enable councils to keep a lid on the numbers of payday loan companies or betting shops allowed to open. Cllr Vernon Jackson said: "Councils [...]
In case you were wondering, by my reckoning four Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the Hague / Gove "student union politics" move that would have allowed Bercow to be unseated by a secret ballot. They were: - Tom Brake (no surprise; the Deputy Leader of the House dutifully sat alongside Hague throughout) - Ed Davey - Don Foster - John Thurso I read that 10 Lib Dems voted against, but don't have their names at hand. Quite why the Liberal Democrats in government (and indeed William Hague for that matter, whose reputation as a "Commons man" must now be severely ...
I have just received an interesting e-mail from the City Council. I attach a copy of the e-mail and my response to it below. The Council has called a meeting during a period known as 'purdah'. This period is designed ... Continue reading →
The latest edition of eFocus for the Whickham area (number 94) has just been published and can be viewed on this link.
[IMG: Alan Beith] Yesterday a valedictory debate for retiring members took place in the House of Commons. Members whose service totalled several hundred years bade farewell to the Commons. Three of them were Liberal Democrats and we'll be publishing their speeches in full. Today we have Sir Alan Beith, elected in a by-election in 1973 and who faced two defences of his seat in the first year. You can read the whole debate, with speeches from long-standing and distinguished MPs such as Gordon Brown, Joan Ruddock, Sir George Young and Elfyn Llwyd, here. When I took my seat in the ...
HAT TIP: Simon Clark Following on from Wednesday's post, we were nudged to read an excellent and revealing post over at Simon Clark's Taking Liberties blog. the subject of the blog is this tweet... [IMG: dedicated DH team] For those of you who don't know the faces in this picture. From left to right they are ... Andrew Black (civil servant) tobacco programme manager at the Department of Health Deborah Arnott from ASH Jane Ellison MP (Conservative) and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health Paul Burstow MP (Lib Dem) Really? When did that re-shuffle happen? Does ...
Scotland's colour revolution? – "It's belatedly struck me that many features of the Yes campaign, and its post-referendum continuation in the SNP surge, come sharply into focus if you see what's going on as a colour revolution against Labour Scotland." Ken MacLeod offers an interesting take on Scottish politics. The Tories want to give away houses to make sure we have enough houses – Jonn 'build more bloody houses' Elledge on the idiocy of the Tory plans to extend Right To Buy to housing associations. Revealed: how British voters' political mood swings – John Bartle of the University of Essex's ...
Fri 27th
13:32
Sefton Local Plan Publication Draft 2015. Consultation response from the three Meols Ward councillor...
General comments 1. We do not consider that the population estimates that underpin the Local Plan publication draft are sound. There are assumptions about sudden increases in inward migration that are simply not backed up by credible evidence. The figure of 615 houses a year seems to us to be a considerable over-estimate of the actual need. 2. Producing a Local Plan based on flawed assumptions means that Green Belt land, including high grade agricultural land, is being wrongly designated for housing. 3. Some of the actual need for housing can be met by measures such as reducing the number ...
Fri 27th
13:00
Baroness Liz Barker writes... International Office supports the next generation of female leaders fr...
[IMG: International office] Liberal Democrats do love a challenge. Not for us the easy life of safe seats and majority governments. Oh no, marginal and year round campaigning is the life for us. So imagine that this is your task: to inspire women to stand for election to new regional councils, under an alternative list system, to be held in September, probably. The regulations for the new system have yet to be finalised, but existing laws, under which all meetings of more than ten people have to be licenced and leaflets cannot be distributed without permission, remain in force. That ...
Alan Beith - Graphic from Mark Pack's Quotes About Liberalism
What is a Liberal? The instinct of a Liberal is to distribute power as widely as possible, and to hold to account all those who exercise it. Alan Beith, our longest-serving MP, as a Liberal and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament from 1973 until he retires this Sunday night. If you'd like any inspiring Liberal quotes or longer passages to feature on Liberal Democrats Believe, contact me at freedomfairnessfuture@hotmail.co.uk (removing the appropriate six letters).
In Northern Ireland today, some churches oppose same-sex marriage. Others do not. Yet, curiously, the law only accommodates those churches opposing it.
Fri 27th
11:27The Independent View: A new report from CentreForum highlights the problems with Labour's tuition fe...
A new report entitled "A Labour of Love?", released today by CentreForum and written by Tom Frostick and Chris Thoung, weighs up the pros and cons of Labour's recently announced policy on tuition fees, one which revolves mostly around the fees being cut from their current £9k maximum to a £6k ceiling. The report can be read here. On the plus side, the policy does acknowledge the importance of maintenance grants. It also reopens the discussion that needs to be had regarding the balance between state and individual investment in undergraduate education by lowering the percentage of loans the government ...
I had to be at the Sage yesterday morning to give a speech supporting the granting of the freedom of Gateshead to two people and an orchestra. It meant an earlier than usual feeding time for the livestock but the ceremony went well. Those being made freemen were Anthony Sargent, former director of the Sage through its early years, Lord (David) Puttnam, former film director and now leading
The fall in the UK's greenhouse gas emissions was 8.4% last year due to a slump in household energy consumption a fall in the use of coal for electricity generation and policies on climate change. It shows that the Liberal Democrats green influence on government is having an impact. The Guardian says that carbon dioxide output fell by almost a tenth, as renewable energy generation rose to a new record high, accounting for nearly a fifth of electricity. This is the biggest fall in emissions since 1990. Environmental campaigners say that more needs to be done and they are right. ...
Marley Hill Community Centre, of which I am a trustee and member of the management committee, has a large amount of unused land on two sides of it. My plan is to turn it into a community garden and allotments. We have used some of the Local Community Fund, a small fund which councillors can use to support community activities, to draw up a feasibility study. There will be public consultation in
[IMG: whitehall] The Guardian have a very useful web page called Election 2015: The Guardian poll projection. On it, each day, they update their state-of-the-parties graph with the latest polling data, which then flows into an infographic showing the parliamentary arithmetic and possible government options after May 7th. One can, perhaps, quibble with their numbers to the degree of 4-5 seats either way for each party. But basically, as time progresses and we approach May 7th like a freight train at 120 mph, it is becoming clearer and clearer what kind of government we are going to wake up to ...
Last night we had the fill in for what was originally going to be a head to head between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Cameron didn't want that to happen, stared down the broadcasters, and won. We saw from the proceedings on Channel 4 that began at 9 PM Thursday evening precisely why Cameron was smart to want to do that in the first place. First up, Cameron was interviewed by Paxman. And boy, for anyone who figured Jeremy was in semi-retirement mode, think again. He was as ruthless and cutting as ever, and soon Cameron ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention this week... 5 things we learned from Miliband and Cameron's Q&A Genuine thanks to @stephenkb for mentioning *policies* in his #battlefornumber10 assessment http://bit.ly/1HQ4W1L The TV non-debate: Miliband does better than expected, but not better than Cameron – Comment – Voices – The Independent Here's @JohnRentoul unpardonably bringing facts to bear on misleading Gdn/ICM poll sub-sample http://ind.pn/1BxKITk British public remains keener on tuition fees than you may think Shh, don't tell anyone: "British public remains keener on tuition fees than you may think" http://bit.ly/1D2d0eG Evening Standard Comment: The Liberal Democrats and ...
Fri 27th
09:06
Let's keep talking: why public dialogue on science and technology matters more than ever
Experiments in public engagement, pioneered by the Sciencewise programme, are one of the quiet success stories of UK science policy over the past decade. The need for researchers to escape the lab or the seminar room from time to time, and talk to the wider public about the work that they do, and why it matters, is now such an established feature of the academic landscape that it's easy to forget how far and fast we've travelled. From the paternalistic if well-intended talk of "public understanding" of science in the 1980s, through the bumps and scrapes of battles over GM ...
[IMG: To the real victor, the front page spoils.] To the real victor, the front page spoils. In no particular order: The real winners last night were Jeremy Paxman and Channel 4. Given the chance to do what he does best and forensically interview leading politicians, Paxman was at his best. Both times, it felt a shame that the interview had to come to an end when it did: Cameron's because he was on the defensive and clearly wanted it over, Miliband's because he'd come to life and was clearly ready for more. Kay Burley was as terrible as you'd ...
Questions to ask before giving up - these get progressively more difficult & pressuring I still think they're a worthwhile checklist for a person with depression or similar, but I worry that they'll be IMPOSED on people with depression by well-meaning others. The last thing I want when I'm at my lowest is someone rattling off a list of progressively more difficult things to do which will make me feel guilty that I've not done half of them. (tags: ) Vox Day's Horrific MRA claptrap finds yet another outlet. (tags: ) Could the BBC be any more left-wing? First they ...
Sefton Council Lib Dem Opposition Group Leader Cllr. Iain Brodie Browne 24th March 2015 [IMG: Cllr. Iain Brodie Browne] Liberal Democrat Group response to Sefton Council's Local Plan For context and background information we attach our previous submission because much of what we said in it still applies. MP's raise concerns about Local Plan Firstly, two of the Borough's 3 MP's have very clearly and publicly expressed great concerns about the Sefton Local Plan. John Pugh MP (Southport) has questioned the reliance of the Borough Council on consultants who have a foot in both camps i.e. developers/land owners and the ...
As there has been focus on the speed of payments to suppliers by Scottish local authorities recently, I sought an update from the City Council's Director of Corporate Services to give reassurance that the council makes every effort to pay suppliers - and, in particular, smaller local suppliers - promptly. In response, she advises : "Dundee City Council has a policy of paying all external suppliers within 30 days in line with the majority of other councils throughout Scotland and this is one of our key performance indicators. Dundee has consistently been in the top quartile in terms of performance ...
Fri 27th
07:44
Time for Bill Esterson to condemn his councillors for voting to build on Sefton's Green Belt?
Environmental campaigners across the Sefton Central Constituency and indeed even I as a political opponent of the incumbent Labour MP Bill Esterson have praised his brave move prior to Christmas in attacking the poor Local Plan that Labour-led Sefton Council has been forcing through. That the plan is poor is a massive understatement, that it is an environmental disaster is nearer to the point. What with some of the 2% highest grade agricultural land in England going to be built upon in Sefton Central no wonder environmental campaigners, the Lib Dems and indeed our Labour MP have been up in ...
[IMG: lusitania-poster-sinking-u-boat] This new exhibition opens today – 27 March 2015 – on the first floor of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Lusitania, on 7 May 2015. As well as the story of the Lusitania, the displays consider the role of Liverpool's liners in the First World War.
The WOODLANDS and YOU initiative, known as WaY, is one mechanism by which the Welsh Government can support community woodland groups, and yet both the promotion of this initiative by NRW and the take-up of opportunities have been limited. I would urge the Minister to consider the Welsh Government's role in supporting community woodland groups so that they can use and contribute to the management of the Welsh Government Woodland Estate." Llais Y Goedwig, the grassroots association representing woodland groups across Wales, estimates that there have been only 13 agreements granted since WaY began with a further 6 in negotiation. ...
Hooray! Over 3000 letters stuffed into envelopes recently and last night they were all bundled together in their delivery patches. They are all for my ward and delivery will take place in the next day or so. We are writing to a variety of people so the different letters had to be integrated together.
On Tuesday, there was a ceremony to mark the opening of the Dunston Staiths after the completion of restoration work. I missed the speeches as I had to be at another meeting, but when I arrived, I managed to snap a few pictures, some of which I have included here. The Staiths are the biggest wooden structure in Europe though, sadly, it was damaged a few years ago by arsonists. Nevertheless,
One thing I do occasionally, but rarely write about, is attend package shows of old 60s pop stars. These shows have a bad reputation, and not without reason, but at the same time they do provide a service. Very occasionally you'll get someone on there who could hold down a full show by themselves — [...]
Gateshead Labour Councillor John Eagle is a regular reader of this blog. Hardly a meeting goes by with his making a reference to it. He has supported some rather distasteful views in the past, backing a Facebook site that advocated the violent murder of Margaret Thatcher. I've put the whole of his speech that he made at last month's budget meeting onto YouTube. In it he employed a rather vile
