I delivered some of these letters and Focuses in my village this morning. Most houses got one of a variety of letters. Meanwhile, I can report on the rare appearance of a Conservative survey though, as with Labour, they have had to resort to paying for their literature to be delivered. It arrived through my door a few days ago. It seems as though delivery companies are doing well out of both
The British naturalist and Christian missionary, Chris Naylor, has spent much of his working life so far in Arab lands, and like many others before him he was seduced by the difference from Britain. He and his wife's first appointment in 1989 was to Kuwait, which is not the easiest or most interesting place in [...]
Burton Overy still has a pub, a church and and a village hall, which are about all the facilities a village can expect today. Even the idea of a sub post office now brings with it a piercing nostalgia. When I was there today I spotted this old telephone box, which looks as though it has been turned into a library. An old article in the Harborough Mail suggests it is in fact a village swap shop.
Alastair Campbell comments on the strangely ineffectual Conservative campaign so far: Miliband looks, sounds and acts like he is up for the fight. Cameron doesn't. Either he just resents all this challenging of his record and being held to account, and frankly sees this election as something of an irritant. Or, he has had enough and can't wait for the day he is off doing something else. Whatever it is, he is not giving the sense - to the public or, importantly, his team - of a man with a winning mindset.We know from five years of PMQs that Cameron's ...
I've been approached by Action for Warm Homes. They are great Manifesto for Warmth which I fully endorse and support. Insulating our homes, public buildings and businesses must be a strategic priority. In Dulwich & West Norwood it's estimated that 3,514 homes or 7.9% suffer from fuel poverty. Although this is a smaller proportion than the London average in the 21st century no one should be living in fuel poverty. It's calculated that this fuel poverty has led to 30% of the 27 excess winter deaths in our area. Lib Dems in government have ensured a million homes have been ...
And that's it... Daisy stares introspectively into the bottom of her empty mug, tea long since drunk. Her hair falls in an unkempt fringe, blocking out the view of the bloke sitting opposite her in the galley dining hub still quietly sipping from his mug, savouring the sweet tea as though it is his last. His story is fantastical, farcical almost but ultimately horrific. It had taken, in the end, only the press of a button and piece of computer code to roll the centuries back on civilisation. From 21stcentury modernity to monsters in the space of a minute. A ...
Now that things are more or less back to normal round here, and I don't have about 500000 Redditors all saying "I think you'll find..." at me (and incidentally, this blog was *also* found this week by the people at the small penis Reddit; the fact that those people were infinitely more secure in themselves [...]
Lib Dems Believe Wordle 23
Being a Liberal Democrat is about upholding equality, liberty and community. This includes being tolerant of peoples' views, supporting everyone to have the opportunity to get on in life, and, vitally, ensuring the greatest good for the most people. Kelly-Marie Blundell is the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Guildford (Twitter @KellyMarieLD)
McCartneys have submitted an application for outline permission to replace Bankside on Burway Lane (15/01292/OUT). The house has been unoccupied for a while and undoubtedly needs a lot of work. This proposal is to demolish the exiting property, build a new dwelling and create a separate access (the current drive is shared with Lyndon House). [...]
Today's campaign theme has been the Digital Rights Bill that the party wants to introduce to protect people's rights against misuse of their data and protect them from unwarranted intrusion by the state. The Bill would introduce: Prison sentences for companies conducting large-scale data theft and illegally selling on personal data; Beefed up powers for the Information Commissioner to fine and enforce disciplinary action on government bodies if they breach data protection laws; Legal rights to compensation for consumers when companies make people sign up online to deliberately misleading and illegible terms & conditions; Code of Practice for online services ...
After lamenting the lack of public engagement in the campaign yesterday, I should start this post with some praise for our local Greens who have held a public meeting for people to meet and question their candidates. If you want to know what happened there...you'll have to check out the Colchester Chronicle who've been live-tweeting from it. They've called it 'Grill The Greens', and the pedant in me would like to point out that one needs to steam your greens to get the best taste and nutrition from them. Here's a thought: given that we've known the date of this ...
A story you might have missed from earlier this week from the BBC: The Liberal Democrat campaign bus arrived in Poole, Dorset, with a bang on Thursday. Unfortunately, it was the sound of the bus rolling over a pigeon. Cue all the journalists reporting it on social media and then the humour started. Click on the link to see them do their worst. We even got a mention: The @libdemvoice Twitter feed is advertising "the funniest dinner you'll ever have". Will #pigeon be on the menu? #GE2015 — Ben Glaze (@benglaze) April 9, 2015 The pigeon was not the only ...
Things continue to look up on the Liberal Democrat membership front. During the first 3 months of this year, there's been a net gain of 775 members, bringing us past the 45,000 milestone to the figure you see in the headline. This is the eighth consecutive quarter in which we have made gains, which is outstanding given our positioning in the polls and the fact that we are in government. So why are we growing in membership? Well, for a start, we may be concentrating our campaigning in our held seats but we have made it a key priority to ...
Today the Tories have made my previous blog post on the NHS slightly obsolete, by officially pledging to find the extra £8 billion per year the NHS says is required to safeguard the service by 2020. Obviously there are some problems with the practicalities of that pledge. You can read about those anywhere you like: here, for example. [...]
http://gty.im/453960595 First there was Plaid candidate for Ceredigion compares incomers to Nazis, and now there is: A Labour candidate who called for the resignation of his Plaid Cymru rival over an article he wrote 14 years ago about racism in rural Wales himself called for people to damage the cars of drivers displaying the England flag during the 2006 World Cup. Huw Thomas, a Cardiff councillor, is Labour's general election candidate in Ceredigion. Given the run of news, if tomorrow the Tory candidate for Ceredigion is revealed as Joseph Kony in a wig, I will not be at all surprised. ...
[IMG: Limited edition Lib Dem membership cards] With the figures just in (and as predicted) Liberal Democrat membership has grown by 775 overall in the first quarter of this year, taking it back up 45,455 and making it eight quarters in a row of growth. You too can join at www.libdems.org.uk/join and if you're a party activist looking for a Lib Dem membership form to print and use with supporters offline, here it is.
Sat 11th
13:49
John Pugh – 'Mr Southport' (with apologies to Lord Ronnie Fearn) adopted as Lib Dem candidate
My good friend John Pugh is now officially the Lib Dem candidate to be MP for Southport. See a report of his adoption meeting on Iain Brodie Browne's Birkdale Focus web site via the link above. [IMG: Lord Ronnie Fearn, Baroness Shirley Williams, John Pugh MP & Anette Pugh] Lord Ronnie Fearn, Baroness Shirley Williams, John Pugh MP & Anette Pugh John has served as the Town's MP for quite a number of years and it is interesting to hear that many people who may hold differing political beliefs hold him in great regard. In my view this is ...
Sat 11th
13:41
Tories seem to be shredding their claim to economic competence with each new spending commitment
The Tories have gone on about economic responsibility and controlling spending for long enough. It's bizarre, then, that their list of dubiously funded post-election spending commitments is getting longer by the day. It's not enough to say that the NHS will get the £8 billion it needs out of the proceeds of a stronger economy alone as Jeremy Hunt did this morning. That's like making a commitment on a foundation of fresh air and marshmallow. Asked how the Conservatives would fund the pledge, he said the economy had been turned around and pointed to investment in the service during the ...
Sat 11th
11:55
Returning Officers who mess up will no longer get paid in full - but only if you tell the Electoral ...
A long-running theme of mine has been how Returning Officers used to get paid in full, regardless of how well or badly they did their job. Add to that the bizarre way Returning Officer pay was increased significantly just before the 2010 general election without anyone first working out how much it would cost and on the basis of an extremely implausible argument and it's been a classic little case of how public funds get spent badly, out of sight of media or political outrage and regardless of whether the public service is delivered well. One of the lesser known ...
Jackson Browne wrote "These Days" when he was sixteen years old. That is a fact that never fails to stop me short and wonder what I've been doing with all the hours God sends. But the version he recorded with Nico is the best. The unusual combination of a classic finger-pickin' style guitar, but played [...]
[IMG: Digital Bill of Rights proposed by Lib Dems] The Liberal Democrats have launched a public consultation on the planned Digital Rights Bill, which the party would introduce if they were to form a new coalition government after the election. Key measures in the Digital Rights Bill include: Prevent government from watering down cyber-security and encryption measures used by British business Enshrining in law the responsibility of government to defend the free press, including the rights of journalists and citizen journalists to express their views freely online Prison sentences for companies conducting large-scale data theft and illegally selling on personal ...
Beard Liberation Front Campaigners press parties on shaving tax - LMAO (tags: ) Britain's Real Ale Industry Can't Deal with Women Beer Drinkers - but it's going to have to learn (tags: ) Ed Miliband in 'politician with genitals' shocker - in news that will blow Stewart Heritage's mind... ... FEMALE politicians sometimes have sex with people they're not married to too. We don't even have to maintain an erection (like PiV is the ONLY way to have sex anyway) (tags: ) I'm an expat, you moved abroad, he's an immigrant. These people TERRIFY me with their ignorance & cognitive ...
Sat 11th
09:40Welcome to the most boring day in history (with apologies to fans of Belgian elections)
[IMG: Belgium] A reminder of the important research breakthrough made in 2011: Computer programmer William Tunstall-Pedoe has calculated [April 11, 1954] to be the most objectively dull day since 1900. On that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened. Mr Tunstall-Pedoe's computer programme, called True Knowledge, came to its lofty decision after being fed some 300 million facts about "people, places, business and events" that made the news. The following day's Daily Telegraph does rather support this with the ...
From BBC News: A UKIP parliamentary candidate is to be questioned over allegations he tried to influence voters by giving away sausage rolls at a party event featuring snooker star Jimmy White. Kim Rose, standing in Southampton Itchen, said he had been told to report to police over allegations of treating. Electoral Commission rules state food and entertainment cannot be provided by candidates to "corruptly influence" votes.Craig Murray (whose headline I have nicked) reckons that such matters are handled differently when a cabinet minister is involved. Writing yesterday, he quoted a blog post of his from the 2005 general election: ...
Sat 11th
09:15Norman Lamb on the party's prospects, leadership, mental health and the benefits system
We know that many aspects of the welfare reforms have been very difficult for people with mental ill health. Norman Lamb is aware of that too, and sets out what he wants to do to change that in an interview with the International Business Times: Lamb, who said he was pleased with the progress the government has made on mental health, wants to join up the benefits and health system. "One of the things that sometimes happens if you are suffering from mental ill health, is that sometimes that you don't turn up in time you may be in a ...
Just when we thought we were rid of him, Tony Blair pops up again and threatens to haunt us for the next thirty years. The Times reveals that the ex-Prime Minister wants to create a "cadre" of former leaders and has plans to remain in public life for the next three decades, claiming that it is odd that accomplished statesmen are expected to retire and play golf: In an article in Newsweek, Mr Blair also expounded on his idea of creating a leaders' club, saying one was needed because only other leading statesmen could fully appreciate the experiences a former ...
For some time now, at least eighteen months, received wisdom in Westminster is that the following things were almost certainly true in regards to the general election: one, there is going to be another hung parliament. Two, that the Tories would emerge as the largest party again. There seemed to be too many factors going the Conservative Party's way for it to be otherwise: the economy on the mend, Miliband's unpopularity, the price of oil. Everything seemed to setting the stage for the Tories to come out ahead of Labour, even if a majority seemed a stretch too far. However, ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of gas service connection works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Paton's Lane (between McGonagall Square and Tayfield Place), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 20th April 2015 for 5 working days. The one-way order relating to Paton's Lane will be rescinded for the duration of these works. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles are available via ...
Congratulations to George Murray, still topping the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 31, having amassed 1,866 points. Like Chelsea, he seems unstoppable. And like the Premiership, the real race now appears to be for the runners-up spot, with just 27 points separating Jon Featonby (1,806), Mark Widdop (1,792), Sam Bowman (1,781) and Edward Douglas (1,779). Just below them, respectively in sixth and seventh places, are the two players who enjoyed the best week's performances: William Jones's MyBigFatBlueMOON, with 112 points, and Kye Dorricott's Chip Bang Utd, with 104 points. An honourable mention to Andrew Wiseman's Wiseman Wanderers (100 points), ...
Congratulations to George Murray, still topping the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 31, having amassed 1,866 points. Like Chelsea, he seems unstoppable. And like the Premiership, the real race now appears to be for the runners-up spot, with just 27 points separating Jon Featonby (1,806), Mark Widdop (1,792), Sam Bowman (1,781) and Edward Douglas (1,779). Just below them, respectively in sixth and seventh places, are the two players who enjoyed the best week's performances: William Jones's MyBigFatBlueMOON, with 112 points, and Kye Dorricott's Chip Bang Utd, with 104 points. An honourable mention to Andrew Wiseman's Wiseman Wanderers (100 points), ...
I mentioned a few days ago (see link below) that I had come across an old Ordnance Survey Map of Liverpool from 1958. The map also covers Southport so let's have a look at that part of the map which I have scanned:- [IMG: Southport 1958] Click on the map to enlarge it. The most noticeable thing is that the former West Lancashire Railway line from Southport to Preston is clearly still up and running. No way would that line have been closed now if it had only just survived the Beeching era. It was of course 3rd rail ...
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58545 Registration Date: 16/03/2015 Location: 11 Westholme Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2RE Proposal: Two storey extension at side and single storey extension at side/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 slide show about my campaign in Blaydon constituency in March. The music is the track I use for my self-sufficiency broadcasts.
