I'm beginning to wonder if our politics are the ones the people in The Thick Of It watch if they want a laugh at strange and incredible things that sensible politicians like Dan Miller, Peter Mannion or even Nicola Murray would never consider. The whole idea of a politician proposing a law to ban tax rises, for instance, is something so absurd that even the nuttier wings of the Tea Party hasn't put forward. Even they can see that getting the people who pass laws to pass a law that would act only on them and could be ignored by ...
Thing started well when we got the 300th stakeboard up: [IMG: Photo 1 Nathan with the first stake] Photo 1 (Nathan Khan) Then, there's the posters. Activist Jan Morter decided that her stakeboard couldn't be seen at night. So she decided to brighten up her street, which shone some light on the campaign: [IMG: Photo 2a Jans poster] [IMG: Photo 2 Jans poster at night] Next there's the ducks. Duck L'Orange, the duck of Liberal Tolerance and Justice, apart from having her own twitter account (follow @duckalorangeld) has apparently produced some offspring. A naming competition followed. After 2 ballots and ...
In a move which will surprise nobody, another of those items from the front page of the manifesto has been announced as a red line in coalition negotiations with strings attached. Significant progress must be made to getting to £12,500 in the first year of the next parliament, by increasing the allowance to £11,000 by April 2016. This increase must be paid for fairly and cannot be funded through cuts to public services. This has to be the number one tax priority of the new government. Any other tax priorities must be secondary to delivering the increase in the Personal ...
I was born into a Britain of patronising narrators and nondescript film scores. Where have they all gone?
Lib Dems Believe Wordle 41 Freedom - Liberty
Human rights has been an issue that I have cared passionately about all my life. I have always sought to protect and defend human rights during the 32 years I have been a Liberal Democrat MP - the rights of my constituents just over the river from here in Bermondsey and Old Southwark, and more widely as legislation is taken through the House of Commons. That passion is why I agreed to become a Justice Minister in the Coalition just over a year ago - because I believed so strongly that defending human rights at home and abroad was absolutely ...
Dismal Labour and other thoughts on Thanet general election Is this the most depressing election ever, despite all the assurances to the contrary, I'm sure any rational person has dismissed the idea that Ed Milliband is tough enough, or that his retched crew of no good charlatans are up to governing. I've had little time to study the form of Thanet's contestants in the race to parliament, however sad as it is Thanet North will only ever see Gale displaced by the passage of time, good knows why but that is how it is. Thanet South is certainly s mixed ...
Whilst any Lord Ashcroft constituency poll comes with a heath warning for obvious reasons, the latest offering is one of several that has put Nick Clegg behind in Sheffield Hallam. There have been five such polls putting him behind, but within the margin of error. The Telegraph's Tim Stanley (another health warning) has visited Hallam and claims that the 'word on the street is that he will win, or lose, by no more than 1,000'. The battle for Sheffield Hallam is, of course, emblematic of the challenge facing the Liberal Democrats next week. Some may even suggest that it would ...
Today I had the pleasure of experiencing a lovely recital of the new repertoire by Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton in Conway Hall. The highlight for me was to hear two poems that I love performed beautifully. I would like to share their English translation with you here. First, 'The Nightingale and the Rose' by Aleksandr Pushkin: [...]
One of my hens went missing three weeks ago. She reappeared today, accompanied by three chicks! So whilst I am not in the habit of counting my chickens before they have hatched - especially in the world of politics - at least with my poultry I can count the chickens after they have hatched!
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Wed 29th
18:41
LibLink: Miriam Gonzalez Durantez: It is the duty of every woman of my generation to stand up for yo...
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez joined Jo Swinson to visit female apprentices at a motorbike manufacturer in Jo's constituency: .@joswinson & Miriam Gonzalez Durantez visiting Scottoiler in East Dunbartonshire #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/XAGQ58znFD — Shabnum Mustapha (@ShabnumMustapha) April 28, 2015 She also helped Jo launch an action plan for gender equality which includes action to tackle domestic violence, more childcare provision, more opportunities for women in science and engineering and work on body image. Miriam went for a chat with Bryony Gordon from the Telegraph who was daft enough to ask her if Nick had sent her to help female candidates. That was never ...
Many residents have asked us about our policies on Housing; we hope this clear and concise statement will help. For far too long Britain has built many fewer homes than we need; unless we build enough to meet demand, year after year, we will find housing costs rise further out of reach. That is why we have set an ambitious target of increasing the rate of house building to 300,000 a year. Within the first year of the next Parliament, we will publish a long-term plan that sets out how this goal will be achieved. Our plans will include: At ...
A planning application has been submitted to the council to add a new storey to the shops/flats on Silverdale Road next to the High Grove pub, created six new flats across the top. The planning application is 58292 – you can see it here and make your comments.
Kingsway School have submitted a planning application 58392 for a new central cycle hub on the Broadway campus, to be funded from the Cycle Ambition Grant being used to improve facilities across Greater Manchester.
Wed 29th
17:55
Record number of apprenticeships: just one of the Lib Dem achievements in the last five years
[IMG: Lib Dem achievements in government - 4. Apprenticeships] For more, see the full infographic: What have the Liberal Democrats achieved in government? [IMG: Share on Facebook] [IMG: Share on Twitter] Show support for Lib Dems on social media The Liberal Democrats have achieved so much in the last five years. Now help the party achieve even more in the next five years: Sign up to this Thunderclap to share a message on the eve of poll about voting Liberal Democrat Sign up to this Facebook event to show that you're voting Liberal Democrat
Wed 29th
17:40
If You Are Only Now Realising How Rubbish Stonewall Is, You've Not Been Paying Attention
There's been some minor Twitterstorming over a graphic Stonewall put up yesterday which they have since taken down. It basically looked at Labour's LGBT manifesto and went through whether other parties agreed with Labour and ticked them if they did. Given Labour's LGBT manifesto is rather flawed (not fixing the issue of people having to apply to get unfair past convictions overturned and completely ignoring the many failings of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act) this is probably not the best approach. As always with Stonewall they never seek to actually question anything important. If it's not about celebrities or sports, ...
Five years and a day... Fermat wakes to the insistent buzzing of a fly. Only there could be no flies. He had been very insistent on that particular issue when specifying the build of the Isolation Capsule Laboratory Resource Facility (ICLRF) for the SpaceLife Science Team. All the air intakes must filtrate to clean room standards. Double PTFE and glass fibre filters as well UV light irradiation chambers ensured nothing could crawl through from outside, especially not any member of the order Diptera. Flies, as far as Fermat is concerned, are a thing of the past. So what is buzzing?Fermat ...
Julian Huppert has come out with top marks on a report card which reflects his performance during five years as Cambridge's MP. According to the website mpreportcard.co.uk he took part in more than twice as many debates as average, he attended more votes that average and he asked more than double the average number of written Parliamentary questions. In contrast, his expenses were £12,542 less than the average MP. The report card compares the activities of all 650 MPs grading them on Parliamentary and constituency performance. While dealing with more than 32,000 pieces of casework Julian, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate ...
Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert scored another victory over Labour at the latest student hustings, with Labour falling into third place at the end of the debate. His performance at the event held by Anglia Ruskin Student Union, together with CamFM last night (Tuesday, April 28) represented a 6.5 per cent swing to the Liberal Democrats from Labour. By contrast, Labour's vote share fell by almost 10 per cent from 29 per cent to start with to 19.1 per cent after all the candidates had spoken. Julian's latest victory follows a similar impressive performance at the Cambridge Union where the Lib ...
Wed 29th
16:48Ashcroft poll in Hallam: Clegg within a whisker of Labour with a lot of Tory vote to squeeze
Lord Ashcroft has released a last minute poll on Nick Clegg's seat of Sheffield Hallam. It's the third he has conducted in the last 5 months. It comes with all the usual caveats on Ashcroft polls – he doesn't mention the candidates' names, and he has some weird methodology that he doesn't explain to us about how he gets his final figures. The results last month showed Labour two points ahead on 36% with Nick on 34%. The new poll shows Labour just one point ahead on 37% and Nick on 36%. The Tories are on 15%, UKIP on 7% ...
This is an expanded re-post from last week: including some new research I have found. From the tapping of the metal bowl to the collective meditation of 'mindfulness': to sharing the experience of the meditation to giving the practitioners the answers, they want to hear: I have concluded that mindfulness is nothing short of a pseudo-religious cult. As a militant atheist it does concern and repel me. If you have a problem with any of the sessions or the exercises, it is the patient who is being judgemental: not that the course of treatment is not suited or ineffectual to ...
I have held off commenting on the UK general election in too much detail. Partly because I have found it so disappointingly provincial that it has been a challenge to sort between the electoral shallowness of each of the pitiful manifestos. At a time when the UK faces existential challenges: the threat of another European war; a global economy whose life-support is fading by the day; a failing and spectacularly expensive public sector; and any of another thirty or forty serious problems, it is shocking how weak the response of the politicians has been. Yet in truth I do not ...
[IMG: Sal Brinton] Just over a year ago, party President Sal Brinton wrote on here about her woeful experience of rail travel, saying she felt that disabled people were treated like packages. She outlined what had happened to her over a six month period: Last Sunday, returning from the Scottish Lib Dem Conference in Aberdeen, I was left on an empty train on an empty platform at midnight at King's Cross for over 15 minutes before I spotted someone on the first floor, and waved furiously to get her attention; Refused permission on to a pre-booked train, because rush hour ...
It is a feature of modern day life that if you apply for a job or stand for elected office then somebody will spend time trawling through your on-line history and your social media posts in particular. Thus the latest article in the Independent is only surprising in that they have found a mere five candidates to feature, and they are all Labour. The paper says that five Labour candidates fighting key target seats at the election have been accused of "blatant sexism" after an analysis of their Twitter feeds found abusive and offensive messages posted online. One Labour candidate, ...
Note the little puff of steam from the train running along what is now the London Overground train line through Crouch Hill station. [IMG: Ashley Road and environs, Upper Holloway, 1938 - Britain from Above]
The Haringey Indepedent asked me to outline reasons why people should vote for me... Here's my response! "Starting with the very basic - I am local! I grew up in Haringey, went to Highgate primary, and still live in the constituency of Hornsey and Wood Green today. "It's so important to know the area you want to represent. "I also have a 20 year record of working with residents and campaign groups to protect and improve our local services. "If I had to pick the single most important campaign - it would be saving the Whittington A&E from the previous ...
Wed 29th
12:30Stonewall withdraw their inaccurate election graphic - but don't replace it with one which accuratel...
Every time you think it's safe to like Stonewall again, they do something tribally partisan for the Labour Party. As I reported yesterday, they produced a graphic that gave Labour full marks to their questions, but only 2/5 for Liberal Democrats. A cursory glance at the manifesto would have given us full marks, as LGBT + Lib Dems Chair Dave Page and Communities Minister Stephen Williams told Pink News. I'm astounded by this grossly misleading graphic, suggesting the Liberal Democrats have little to say about LGB&T rights in our manifesto. The opposite is true. We have seven specific policies including ...
One of over 1,000 new members who have joined during the election campaign: It arrived yay! @LibDems pic.twitter.com/DsapVU7Qmy — Harry Samuels (@CuriousCabbage) April 25, 2015 You too can join here.
[IMG: The Casked Crusader] We will never miss an opportunity to show off this amazing photograph from the Sun showing Greg Mulholland as the Casked Crusader, the guy who did more than anyone else in the last Parliament to help publicans by campaigning for them to have more power against exploitative measures by large pubcos. There is an argument that anyone who likes going to the pub in Leeds North West needs to vote for Greg. In fact, there's an argument that anyone who likes going to the pub should vote Liberal Democrat given the valiant work by Jo Swinson ...
We had a belated St George's Day celebration on Saturday at the Marley Hill Community Pub. Okay, it wasn't anything spectacular. We just had a few flags up, but it was a bit of fun for ordinary people to reclaim a flag too often hijacked by a tiny minority on the Right. The flag after all belongs to the whole nation.
In Blaydon constituency we have been canvassing people who last voted in 2010. When we started this exercise a few months ago, we found that the Lib Dems in this group were still likely to vote for us in the local elections but less likely to do so in the Parliamentary vote. This was expected. We have known here for decades that lots of people vote for us in the locals but are less likely to do
The 2nd and final public hustings meeting of the general election campaign in Blaydon took place at the Methodist Church Hall on Strathmore Road, Rowlands Gill, on Friday last week. There were two significant differences between this event and the hustings held in Birtley the week before. Firstly, the Green candidate Paul McNally attended. He was absent from the one at Birtley. Secondly, there
Don't think I've actually forced anyone into a same-sex marriage but proud to have given people the choice though. pic.twitter.com/L5vIlZp0Mi — Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) April 28, 2015 And here's a reminder of two very happy young men who were definitely not forced to get married... * Newshound in training. I'm sweet and full of mischief, just like my stories.
[IMG: With a Conservative MP as controversial as Helen Grant, the Lib Dem campaign is - unusually - naming her prominently in its campaign literature.] With a Conservative MP as controversial as Helen Grant, the Lib Dem campaign is – unusually – naming her prominently in its campaign literature. A constituency poll conducted for the Liberal Democrats earlier this year put Lib Dem Jasper Gerard just 5% behind controversial Conservative incumbent Helen Grant in Maidstone and The Weald. That gap is (just) within the 5.4% margin of error, but more significantly is down from the 12% gap in 2010. With ...
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58649 Registration Date: 20/04/2015 Location: 22 Simister Green, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2RY Proposal: Lawful development certificate for proposed single storey rear extension (resubmission) 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
Love and Liberty: Two Married Men Say Thank You to the Liberal Democrats Best video I have seen all week, hands down. Please, PLEASE watch it if you think any big party other than the Lib Dems will protect LGBT+ rights. (tags: ) Lib Dem Minister and senior Tory slam Stonewall over 'skewed' election manifesto graphic "We hope that the days of Lib Dem MPs having to lobby Stonewall to support equality rather than the opposite are behind us all." - oh WELL SAID Dave. (tags: ) Political Journalists Really Don't Know What They're Talking About When It Comes to ...
Yate Town Council promotes an active community in Yate by awarding grants annually to non-profit making organisations. These organisations work for the benefit of Yate parishioners, with the intention of improving the range of services and activities in the town. If your organisation is in need of some financial assistance and provides a beneficial service or activity for the community of Yate you can submit a grant application form to Yate Town Council for consideration. Application forms can be obtained either by calling into Yate Town Council Offices at Poole Court, Poole Court Drive, Yate, BS37 5PP, by telephoning 01454 ...
It's hard to imagine that anyone in Westmorland and Lonsdale has not met their local MP Tim Farron. He must have knocked on their doors on numerous occasions over his decade in Westminster. However, the local paper has asked all candidates to do a video about why you would work for them. What does Tim say about why he's the best person for the constituency? Have a look. * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary published in print or online.
The biggest constitutional crisis since the Abdication, says Theresa May. It isn't that yet. Heavens, we haven't even voted. But the various scenarios certainly point to confusion, as we know only too well. So let's go a little further into this confused, post-election world. What will the Conservatives do, faced with what they appear to be calling an 'illegitimate' link between Labour and their hated opponents in the SNP? There is no doubt in my mind what they ought to do, if the prospect is really as dangerous as they say it is. They should hammer out an agreement with ...
Following on from the extensive changes that have been made to the First Manchester services that serve the Bury New Road corridor that have been previously reported on, there is one further change that people will have noticed has already taken effect. In response to the changes to the First Manchester service (which would have left Pilsworth unserved Monday to Saturday) the 154 services has been re-numbered service 94 and the route revised to serve Pilsworth. The service is revised to operate between North Manchester General Hospital and Pilsworth via the existing 154 route to Oak Lane then via Mersey ...
The Prestwich community bakery project – 'PrestBake' are delighted to announce that they are back and baking again! They will be selling their sourdough via Village Greens, in the heart of Prestwich Village, every Friday during May. Collection times will be from 5-6pm. [IMG: 868_large] To support the bakery, which we are trying so hard to establish in Prestwich and subscribe once again, please email communitybakeryprestwich@googlemail.com confirming which dates you would like to order bread for and how many loaves you wish to buy. The cost of the sourdough is £2.75 per loaf or you can save 10% by subscribing ...
Nick Clegg made a fine speech in Eastleigh on Monday morning recalling the fighting spirit that saw us win a famous victory. He made a good case for why voters should vote for the Liberal Democrats with references to our Labour and Conservative opponents. He gave our activists and volunteers much needed encouragement to make a final push before polling day. But one thing he did not mention was our excellent candidates. One of the best reasons for voting Lib Dem in one of our 60 target seats is the outstanding calibre and proven track record of many of our ...
The red lines the Liberal Democrats have been unveiling this week are all from the front page of the manifesto. It's a cunning way of rebadging the front page to get another round of press coverage – and fully consistent with what was agreed for the front page. Or as I put it in Liberal Democrat Newswire #62: The front page priorities really are the party's priorities. Sounds obvious, and yet if you read the many pieces in the media about how the party has done in implementing its 2010 manifesto you find something curious. They don't start with the ...
Wed 29th
08:41
Given how successful the SNP have been in Scotland, here's what their next move should be: franchise...
One thing everyone agrees is going to happen on May 7th, if nothing else: the SNP are going to do bloody ace. Even if they fare much worse than predicted, say 30 seats, that would still mean they've quintupled their Westminster representation. Whatever you think of their weird brand of nationalism, their Tartan Toryism wrapped up in a Green poncho - a Glasgow kiss disguised as a snog as it were, you have to give them the fact that they are finding political success in an era where such a thing seems more elusive than being able to find any ...
The Daily Mail scoffs: Whether he is in a car park, a factory or even a field, Ed Miliband is never far from a lectern during the election campaign. The Labour leader has been touring the country with the prop in an attempt to make him appear more statesmanlike. He has delivered key speeches in the campaign stood behind the lectern. But it has also been deployed when he is just making some brief remarks or holding question and answer events with members of the public.Maybe he is taking it too far, but he has taken my advice. Back in ...
All school children under the age of 11 will be entitled to free school meals under Liberal Democrat manifesto plans announced today (29 April). Extending free school meals for seven to 11 year olds will benefit 1.9 million children and save parents around £400 per child a year. [IMG: key_FSM-Nick] These plans will more than double the offer of free schools meals to all five, six and seven year old pupils delivered by the Liberal Democrats in government. Pilot studies have shown that a hot, healthy meal at lunchtime greatly improves the health, behaviour and results of school children, providing ...
I recently queried why the promised road resurfacing on Nethergate - Marketgait to South Tay Street - has yet to be carried out. The City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership has advised me as follows : "The section of Nethergate between Marketgait and South Tay St was deferred to 2015/16 due to uncertainty over Scottish Water mains replacement proposals. Currently Scottish Water has not provided a detailed programme with timescales as to their proposals therefore I am unable to provide a timescale as to when our resurfacing works will be carried out, other than to follow Scottish Waters works. This road ...
[IMG: Liverpool Centre and South] Click on the map to enlarge it. Back to the 1958 Ordnance Survey map of Liverpool that I picked up for a song recently. The railways are the fascinating thing for me. Just look what was still in place back then compared with now. The Cheshire Lines loop around Liverpool is the big change. Lost stations on that line include Gateacre (lasted until April 1972), Childwall (closed January 1931), Knotty Ash (closed November 1960), West Derby (closed November 1960) and Clubmoor (closed November 1960). The line inself was closed in August 1975. A good easy ...
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58641 Registration Date: 16/04/2015 Location: 7 Cedar Grove, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3DY Proposal: Porch and bay window at front 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 short chapter this week, introducing another main player into the story. Don't worry, non-Patreons, the rest of this week will be the normal free posts (two music ones and a book review, at the very least).
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58624 Registration Date: 09/04/2015 Location: 16 Polefield Approach, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2NF Proposal: Single storey extension at rear Case Officer: Mark Warburton Decision: This case has not yet been decided Appeal Received Date: This case has no appeals against it 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
Many Cambridge University students have suffered some form of mental health problem and struggled to get the treatment they needed even though most sought help, a survey by Julian Huppert has discovered. The survey found that that 75 per cent of those who took part had experienced mental health issues either while at university or at another time. Most said they would go to their GP for assistance but more than half said they would seek help from their colleges. Almost 40 per cent said they would look for answers on the internet. But those who sought treatment had mixed ...
Insights from the humanities deserve greater attention in debates about the role of evidence and expertise in policy. Poets don't often pop up at infrastructure conferences. But a few months ago, at a debate for infrastructure developers and policymakers, I began my remarks by quoting William Wordsworth. Supporting the transition to a low carbon economy is a priority for Green Alliance, the think tank where I work. We're part of that breed of environmentalist that reckons reducing the carbon in our energy system will require new infrastructure: pylons, turbines and railways, rather than roads and runways. But we're democrats too, ...
