Best related work is another field in which all five nomination categories were taken by two overlapping slates: one, the "Sad Puppies", who claim to exist in order to promote the kind of fiction I personally find tedious, but with a side-order of reactionary conservatism; and another, the "Rabid Puppies", which had more effect, and [...]
If I learned one lesson on Friday 8th May, it was never again write a blogpost 48 hours before polling day. My predictions of 30+ seats for the Lib Dems and a hung Parliament did not take long to look dated. But my final observation in that post - that we might be fighting for [...]
[IMG: LibDemFightback 14000] And welcome to you all. Do read Caron's guide to the party here and Jennie's reading list here.
Readers with a long memory may recall that, on polling day, I fled the country, possibly never to return (well, you never know, do you?). I was bound for Oslo, for a meeting of the ALDE Party Council (here's my report, since you ask...). What I didn't mention was that my plans involved staying on in Norway for a few days and, initially, all went well. I enjoyed a scenic train ride through the snow-covered centre of the country, travelling from Oslo to Bergen via Finse (the highest mainline railway station in Europe, I'm told). Ros was waiting there to ...
Copyright © Dennis Calow The University of Leicester Special Collections say this building was in Regent Street, but I suspect it occupied the corner of Regent Road and Duke Street. The photograph was taken in 1971.
Mon 25th
21:09
Time for the Liberal Democrats to end their obsession with raising the personal allowance
When Gordon Brown was still prime minister, the Liberal Democrat emphasis on raising the personal allowance served us well. As I once blogged: One of the problems Labour regularly runs into is that, despite its rhetoric, it is difficult to make the rich pay more. Of course, there are things you can do, such as taxing property rather than income, but the result is that increased public spending tends to increase the burden on lower earners until they become unwilling to bear it.But time has moved on - I suspect it had already moved when I wrote that in 2012 ...
A set of photographs taken and developed by my father (who lived less than 100 metres away from these works) in the winter of 1956-57. The first picture shows the construction of the A52, which would eventually split Kirk Leys Avenue into two separate roads – North (on the left hand side of this image) and South. The second and ...
Like duh. This really isn't too complicated in terms of issues is it? Are people who are old enough tet married or register a civil partnership with consent, drive a moped or invalid carriage, consent to sexual activity with others aged 16 and over, drink wine/beer with a meal if accompanied by someone over 18, get a National Insurance number, join a trade union work full-time if you have left school, get paid the national minimum wage for 16/17 year-olds, join the Armed Forces with parental consent, change name by deed poll, leave home with or without parental consent, choose ...
In retrospect, leaving the country on 7 May has begun to look better and better, especially given the result of the General Election. Unfortunately, my employers take the rather conservative view that, in order for my salary to be justified, I have to come in and do some work occasionally. And so, I am back. Today has been a day for catching up. I've got a Local Party Executive Committee meeting on Thursday evening, so a report has had to be written and accounts drawn up for the year to date. I've done that, so I'm alright so far. Laundry ...
Mon 25th
19:51
Ludlow Registrars Office could close. You may have to go to Shrewsbury to register a death
Nothing can be more exciting than recording a birth, though finding time to do it can be hard. Nothing can be more painful that registering a death, which needs to be done with dignity and without fuss. We might soon have to go to Shrewsbury to register a death, as well as a birth. Shropshire [...]
I have been away for the last four days at the Hay Festival and so have been largely out of touch with the real world. It is the first proper break I have had since Christmas. Whilst I have been away it seems that another group of people have emerged as being out of touch with the real world. The Welsh Assembly's Remuneration Board is independent of Assembly Members, they have the power to make decisions on our pay, expenses and support staff without any reference to us or the Welsh electorate. Whatever the justification for their decision to award ...
I was pleased to attend today's launch by Stagecoach of its new hybrid buses that from today serve the 73 service that runs through the West End. The 18 new vehicles feature distinctive branding encouraging the public to 'Go Green' by trying the new hybrid buses which will also feature free wi-fi access onboard. The 18 electric powered hybrid double deck buses marks an investment of around £5.3m by Stagecoach and as well as being attractive new vehicles, they have a positive impact on the environment as well. Here's a couple of photographs from the launch : The new hybrid ...
Mon 25th
15:06
Would a 'nations lock' in the EU referendum increase the possibility of an overall No vote?
Writing in the Guardian to argue for giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote in an EU referendum, Angus Robertson, the SNP's leader in Westminster, also argues for what he calls a 'double majority' rule to apply to the result: We will also seek to amend the legislation to ensure that no constituent part of the UK can be taken out of the EU against its will. We will propose a "double majority" rule, meaning that unless England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each vote to leave the EU, as well as the UK as a whole, Britain would ...
Mon 25th
15:00
Opinion: Why should someone from Maputo get to vote in the EU referendum when someone from Mons does...
When we vote in the referendum on Britain's membership of the EU, it is important to understand that we will deciding on our citizenship. Currently, all holders of full UK passports are legally defined as EU citizens and if we leave, we will collectively be renouncing this citizenship and many of the associated rights, even if we manage to negotiate a Norway-style relationship within the wider European Economic Area. The government's decision on who will have the franchise in the referendum should be viewed in this context. All Irish and Commonwealth nationals living legally in the UK will get a ...
There are a few things that indicate when an area is on the rise: one is the presence of cranes overhead, the other is estate agents Barnard Marcus moving into town. We have both of these in Wallington as work on the redevelopment of Wallington Square continues, and Barnard Marcus has moved into one of [...]
We work hard as councillors to make Stockport Borough a place businesses want to be, and the Cheadle area does well. A vibrant economy brings jobs and wealth to our area. So, with my colleague Cllr June Somekh, I was very pleased to attend the official opening of the Lyric Centre at North West Hearing on the site of the Alexandra Hospital. Lyric is an advanced, completely invisible hearing aid and, until now, anyone in the North West wanting it had to go to London or Leeds. Now they can come to Cheadle. [IMG: Dr Greg Nassar, Audiologist of the ...
[IMG: ALTER logo] New members have been asking about Lib Dem organisations that they can join. You are welcome to submit similar items on behalf of other organisations. Do you think we should tax wealth rather than work? That regressive taxes like Council Tax should be replaced with a progressive tax on landowners instead? Do you agree with the Institute for Fiscal Studies' Mirrlees Review that "the economic case for taxing land itself is very strong"? If so, have you considered joining ALTER? Last week, new member Simon Gilbert wrote a piece in which he described himself as a Georgist ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie has issued this statement acknowledging the seriousness of Alistair Carmichael's actions but saying that the Orkney and Shetland MP deserves a second chance.I have discussed the serious nature of the publication of the Scotland Office document with Alistair Carmichael. He fully understands the impact it has had on his reputation. He deeply regrets his actions, has accepted responsibility for his error of judgement, apologised to Nicola Sturgeon and the French Ambassador and declined his ministerial severance payment.I have known Alistair for almost thirty years and have worked closely with him in parliament for almost ...
[IMG: Rugby Stadium] There is another opportunity to buy Rugby World Cup 2015 match tickets on Thursday, with around 100,000 additional tickets set to go on sale at 10.00am BST on May 28. Around 100,000 tickets will go on sale next week, in addition to the 30,000 tickets currently on general sale, with matches available across all 13 venues and for all 20 teams. A range of price categories will be available, with a significant quantity of tickets at categories C and D, providing fans with another opportunity to watch their team in action. Ten thousand tickets for England v ...
[IMG: Lib Dem president ballot mailing] The London hustings for the Liberal Democrat leadership contest is being held on June 17th from 7pm at Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, WC1H 9BD. (This is the venue near Euston used for many regional party conferences). Members can book their place here and if you've been thinking about joining but haven't yet, you can put that right here. Google map and directions here. If you want to find out more about the candidates in the meantime, here are their websites: Tim Farron Norman Lamb If you're a Lib Dem members and on Facebook, there's ...
It's been announced that Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg is shutting Launceston custody centre in October, having already closed the front desk at the police station. This means that police officers will have to take anyone arrested in Launceston as far away as Newquay, Plymouth or Barnstaple and they will be off the streets for hours while they do this - potentially leaving Launceston without any officers. This chipping away at Launceston's police service has left many people worried about the future of the police station, with fears that Tony Hogg could shut it altogether. Along with other ...
On Friday the people of Ireland voted on marriage equality in their referendum. The results on Saturday showed that 1,201,607 people voted Yes/Tá to 734,300 voting No/Níl making the result 62.1% to 37.9% in favour. Only one of the 43 constituencies, Roscommon – South Leitrim, voted no but only by a margin of 1,029 votes and barely nibbled into the overall trend of the votes that were being announced. The other forty-two constituencies had all by either a small (only 33 votes in Donegal South West) to a large (27,959 in Dublin South) margin voted yes. Overall 1,201,607 people voted ...
The Evening Standard wins our Headline of the Day Award for this account of developments in Oxford.
Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) will end their Open Door drop in sessions at Tyseley from 5th June. They will also end their advice and drop in sessions at Northfield and Perry Common libraries from the same date. They will continue to offer a full range of services from their City Centre bureau at Gazette Buildings, Corporation Street and will see clients for appointments at Tyseley. Their telephone advice line – 03444 77 1010 – will continue to run Monday to Friday 9.30 to 4.30pm. The time of the drop in sessions at their City Centre bureau remain the same; ...
[IMG: A camel in the Gobi desert] I asked the internet to give me a picture of fear and it gave me this. A codicil to my post about Ryan Coetzee's controversial look back at the Liberal Democrat general election campaign: don't knock fear. Implicit in Ryan's piece – and in many comments from Liberal Democrats, including those who disagree with him – is that there's something wrong, or even unfair, about the Tories have won using fear. That's misplaced. First, fear and politics go together like rain and the English summer. Live with it. Hope, if you wish, for ...
So it's a straight choice (no pun intended) between Tim and Norman. There was hardly a crowded field of possible candidates, with the Lib Dem parliamentary party reduced to eight, one of whom is the outgoing leader, another is under a cloud for leaking during the election. It's a simple choice between the two. I respect Norman Lamb. I think he had real achievements as a minister, especially on mental health. He gave the party perhaps its most distinctive policy during the general election, to give mental health services the prominence they deserve in the NHS. I admired the way ...
The view of the 3 Graces from the top deck of the QM2 and a couple of dodgy cusomers I spotted who'd blagged their way onto the Ship! This weekend has already been a great one for our City. On ... Continue reading →
It's Simon, so it's not going to be brief, but here is a party legend saying why he thinks Tim should be leader:
Hurtful Misconceptions Across the Introvert-Extrovert Divide - both "sides" need to memorise this (tags: ) I would rather like the Lib-Dems to stop shooting themselves in the face. - me too (tags: ) Another way in which the kyriarchy reinforces itself (tags: ) Lizard Squad hacker was just arrested for 'swatting' female League of Legends gamers (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Now that the last parliament has come and gone, I have taken to looking back on certain aspects of what I saw and went through. I think Labour's position during the AV campaign bears some reflection. As someone who worked in the centre of the Yes to AV campaign, it goes without saying that we waited far too long to set up a separate Labour wing of the campaign, particularly given how crucial a segment of the populace we knew from the beginning Labour voters were going to be. While the No bunch were parked in Portcullis House lobbying Labour ...
When can developers chop down trees? The short answer is anytime. Unless they disturb nesting birds, fall foul of Tree Preservation Orders or the work is extensive enough to require a licence from the Forestry Commission. This article is about disturbing birds. It follows two recent incidences of tree cutting on developments in Ludlow during [...]
Watch the new video from Amnesty International UK:
Before leaving London for Lisbon, I was one of two guest speakers (alongside my friend and colleague Lawrence Joffe) at a seminar on media and democracy at the House of Commons for visiting students from Turkey. I argued that without a free and diverse media than can be no true democracy; hardly original, I know, [...]
Both leadership candidates have joined forces to launch the Liberal Democrat campaign to save the Human Rights Act from destruction. This is yet another of these things that the Tories would have quite happily done at any point in the last five years but were prevented from doing so because of the Liberal Democrats. Way back in January 2010, I wrote of my horror at Cameron's comments in an Andrew Marr interview: "The moment a burglar steps over your threshold......they leave their human rights outside" I mean, what cheap, populist rubbbish. If you take his words to their logical conclusion, ...
Because today is a public holiday, my usual ward surgeries at the West Park Centre and the Mitchell Street Centre do not take place. However, my Thursday ward surgery at Blackness Primary School (6.15pm in the staff room on the ground floor) will take place as usual. I can be contacted at any time at home on 459378 or via my e-surgery at esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk.
Following recent safety concerns highlighted by residents of the Logie Estate and the Blackness Road area about the crossing of Blackness Road at the Ashbank Road junction, I have obtained an assurance from the City Council's Head of Transportation that council traffic engineers will assess the area to see what pedestrian crossing improvements can be provided to improve the situation. This is a long-standing issue that many residents rightly want addressed. The City Council's Head of Transportation has advised me : "We have undertaken pedestrian surveys at this location previously and the volume of pedestrians was significantly below the threshold ...
Way back in the 1980s, when the Social Democratic party was formed, I was at a joint meeting at which one of the SDP members asked what Liberals stood for. I jotted some ideas on the back of an envelope (I think I've still got it somewhere) and spoke briefly on the following lines - LIBERTY comes at the top of our list of beliefs, with the John Stuart Mill constraint that we are free only to do what doesn't harm others. This means that we value variety, welcome people with different cultures and religions and believe that diversity enriches ...
I don't publish all the comments I get in response to postings on this site. I have said before that sometimes when I try to trace the person who has allegedly made a comment they seem not to exist. I assume that in such circumstances they have used an assumed name to cover who they really are. I wonder why they can't be seen to be saying what they have said? I also seem to offend the odd Labour supporter now and again; sorry about that but reading the opinion of a free thinking Liberal beholden to no one is ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32794567 [IMG: _82680419_cunard_three] On a famous weekend for Liverpool the BBC web site has the story of Cunard and its connections with the Port of Liverpool – see link above.
Where were you in February 2003? Did you join the two million people in Hyde Park then to demonstrate againt the idea of going to war illegally? I certainly did. The previous demonstration I had been on, a CND march in 1981 attracting 250,000 people, had convinced me that demonstrations change nothing. The events of 2003 seemed different, though I don't know if it was. Being with so many people, ordinary unpolitical people, seemed so powerful. I don't think many of us were motivated by any love of Saddam Hussein or his barbaric methods, though who knows about some of ...
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58666 Registration Date: 01/05/2015 Location: 239 Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2QH Proposal: Single storey 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
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58719 Registration Date: 08/05/2015 Location: 2 Oaklands Drive, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1LJ Proposal: First floor rear extension (resubmission of 58566) 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
Well you would have thought so from this pathetic article defending those responsible for the party's election disaster by using the excuse of legitimate concerns about staff welfare. What Caron Lindsay and the Lib Dem Voice Team are failing to realise is that by letting Ryan Coetzee, Tim Gordon, Hillary Stephenson and other senior (and highly paid) exectutives avoid legitimate criticism of their decision making, they are doing the party a big disservice. Those at the top are not 'party staff' - they are executive management and it was their actions and decisions that determined the Lib Dem campaign. They ...
I've started catching up with video editing tasks. I filmed this one last week at the Whickham May Fayre in Chase Park. The hen and chicks at the end are mine!
