I noticed the other night that there were tweets from people out in the Birkdale Dunes keeping watch over the Natterjack toads and sand lizards. It put me in mind of a posting on this blog from April 2008 from the award winning poetry book by Jean Sprackland. On Spring nights you can hear them two miles away, calling their mates to the breeding place, a wet slack in the dunes. Lovers hiding nearby are surprised by desperate music. One man searched all night for a crashed spaceship. For amphibians, they are terrible swimmers: where it's tricky to get ashore, ...
On the evening after the long night of the sgian dubhs I had the clarity to write about how Liberal Democrats can take the offensive on to 2020. I therefore admit that I was already looking for the general to lead us into the sound of gunfire that was still resounding in the ears of all our candidates, activists and supporters (as some used more that merely sgian dubhs). The fact of course was that that blog post on the Friday after polling day got picked up by BBC Tees (indeed I have now been on twice since polling day) ...
The Shropshire Star has a special feature asking if big cats are prowling the county. It includes this video.
NB, this review was meant to be a whole 1500 words longer. WordPress disabled autosaving revisions, and didn't bother telling their customers. When I hit "post", for some reason it lost everything I typed today, and posted only the part from yesterday, and I can't recover those 1500 words. I can only apologise for the [...]
Pitsford Water is an artificial reservoir constructed in 1956 to supply water to Northampton. It occupies the valley between Pitsford and Brixworth, and the quickest route between the two villages takes you over the dam. Brixworth Country Park is at the far end - you can even get a mug of tea there.
Earlier this evening, I attended the June meeting of Community Spirit Action Group - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Pentland, Tullideph, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area. The meeting took place at the Mitchell Street Centre. It was a good opportunity to discuss local issues and I updated the group about a number of matters including road surfacing at Tullideph and condition of paths in Pentland. The next Community Spirit meeting will take place at the Tullideph Sheltered Lounge on Wednesday 1st July - 6.30pm. Community Spirit is keen to have some meetings in ...
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of being at the Time2Give Coffee Afternoon at Blackness Library as part of the Dundee Festival of Volunteering 2015. Here's a photo from it - below:The Time2Give timebank is going from strength to strength. Time banking is a community based project, which promotes two way volunteering using time as its currency. Timebanks bring the community together and reward people for the help they provide to others in their neighbourhood. You can find out more about Time2Give here.
Stockport Council is supporting Foster Care Fortnight, running from 1st to 15th June 2015. Find out how you can make a real difference in a child's life, and how you'll be helped and supported every step of the way. Click here for more information.
The East Anglia rail franchise has, in truth, not been a terribly happy experience for anyone - passengers or train operating company. Hampered by poor, aging infrastructure and equally poor, aging rolling stock, customer satisfaction has been low for the most part and the ever promised jam delayed by faulty points in the Westminster area. And now, after the seizing of the franchise from National Express, only to be replaced by a twenty-nine month franchise to cover the gap whilst the Department for Transport worked out just how one might decide upon how to award a franchise having made such ...
Leicestershire beat Essex by six wickets at Chelmsford today. Just another county game? Not quite. The Guardian explains: It had been a long time coming, 993 days to be precise, so while the head coach, Andrew McDonald, gently let it be known he considered a one-off championship victory worthy of only relatively restrained celebration, the moment when Leicestershire's Lewis Hill pushed the winning run was understandably greeted with an explosion of joy by long-suffering supporters. That it was Hill, Leicester-born and a product of the county's academy, who hit the winning stroke - having swept the previous delivery for six ...
A good friend of mine messaged me yesterday. He was writing something about what Charles Kennedy's death meant to him. He hadn't met Charles, and joined after Charles' time as our leader had finished, but the point he made was incredible. It was Charles Kennedy's leadership and principles when opposing Labour's position on civil liberties that had made my friend a liberal. The other incredible thing, was that in checking through what he'd written, he had actually addressed part of the piece to a wider audience and accidentally addressed part of it to Charles himself. It is striking that this ...
For MPs and former MPs that makes it Tom Brake, Ed Davey, Lynne Featherstone, Julian Huppert, Shirley Williams backing Norman Lamb. Tim Farron meanwhile has Alan Beith, Brian Cotter, Duncan Hames, Martin Horwood, David Howarth, Simon Hughes, John Leech, Greg Mulholland, John Pugh, Jo Swinson, Matthew Taylor, Sarah Teather and Mark Williams. . Keep up with news on the Lib Dem leadership race Sign up for Liberal Democrat Newswire here, and Sign up for the Facebook event for the contest (where Norman Lamb and Tim Farron are regularly answering questions from members).
I only met Charles Kennedy once. It was in 1986 at the Erewash SDP Christmas Party held in the (long gone) Co-operative banqueting suite in Long Eaton, where he was our guest speaker. The event is now so long ago that I don't remember what he said, but I do remember the overwhelmingly positive impression his words made on me ...
Bereft. There's no other word for it. When the BBC News app shot through with the breaking news on my mobile just after 6am yesterday morning, I found myself lying in bed for an hour just stunned beyond belief. I didn't really believe it. It couldn't be true. I turned on my laptop after 7am and of course, sadly, it was and is. Charles Kennedy was leader of the Liberal Democrats when I joined as a green but enthusiastic new student in Aberystwyth in September 2000. I was struck by his youth, his enthusiasm, his internationalism...and his accent. He didn't ...
Jeremy Corbyn MP, speaking a the seminar on Bahrain's mercenaries, the main tool of oppression. Because the regime doesn't allow journalists into the country there is very little reporting about mercenaries in the mainstream international media. but evidence was given at the seminar by an independent journalist who went there as a tourist, and by the Islamic Human Rights Commission; Complaints are being made to the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination'
Wed 3rd
19:59
LibLink: Vince Cable: Charles Kennedy: he was left of Labour maybe, but always a true liberal
Vince Cable has been writing about Charles Kennedy for the Guardian. He mentioned Iraq and was honest about his own role in confronting Charles towards the end of his time as leader. It was this passage on Charles' ideas and philosophy that caught our eye, though. In the early Blair-Brown years, when Labour successfully colonised the centre ground, Charles took the Liberal Democrats into territory described as "left of Labour". This reputation was underlined when we were joined in the run-up to the 2005 general election by a defecting leftwing Labour MP, Brian Sedgemore, and others with similar views. But ...
Southwark and Lambeth being inner London boroughs suffers from some of the worst air pollution in London and the UK. Without significant changes in the way we live and work we will never meet EU air quality standards that we've been breaching since 2010. In fact the UK Supreme Court has told the UK government it must draw up plans to meet them by the end of this year. Even with such plans many south London residents will needlessly die while we await these plans to be implemented. Where does this air pollution come from? The worst offenders are diesel ...
Given the number of tributes there have been to Charles it seems unnecessary to do one of my own, but as I woke up to hear about his sad death yesterday there were a few things I wanted to set down in writing. I didn't know him personally but he was leader for eight of [...]
Very clever: The Tweeting Pothole is an initiative launched by Telemetro Reporta, an influential news show in Panama City, in collaboration with ad agency P4 Ogilvy & Mather. As the city streets were in bad shape, which caused great inconvenience to those who drive on them every day, Telemetro Reporta decided to point out the hassle they give people to those directly responsible. A device was installed inside the potholes on the most damaged streets in the city. Every time a car runs over one of the devices, they tweet a complaint to the Department of Public Works' Twitter account ...
On 11th June there is a Council by-election in Wallington South ward in my constituency. It has been caused by the sad death of a friend of mine Colin Hall, who played a major role in many Sutton success stories such as the Smarter Travel Sutton scheme. You can read some of the tributes to Colin here. Our candidate, Stephen Cook, if elected will be an excellent Councillor. He has lived locally for 35 years. He is Chairman of the local residents' association, has had involvement in a number of important campaigns such as the campaign to block a McDonalds ...
From more that half a century ago comes news of membership surge. I know the world was different then. These were the days before lettraset and spray glue, well before DTP and yes it was an age when all the political parties had much greater memberships. The factors which caused that surge can be analysed and adapted to meet today's world. There was community campaigning but in addition there was an excitement over political ideas. Page 4 of this newsletter laid out the key Liberal messages. How often do we bemoan the lack of clear political identity that our party ...
It is no secret that the past eight months have not been that pleasant: they have in fact been the most disagreeable eight months I have endured since I relapsed back into a sever depression 10 years ago. I have been on a supposed treatment called Dialectic Behavioural Therapy; I shall leave it up to you if you wish to explore its meaning. At its very heart is mindfulness, which I have spent much time on here arguing against, that is as a panacea treatment used by the NHS, for psychiatric illnesses. I attended a review yesterday, my discharge review ...
Nick Clegg gave this tribute to Charles Kennedy in the Commons today: A few days ago I got in touch with Charles because I was looking for a telephone number of someone we both knew. His friends will not be surprised to learn that we were texting each other. He was notoriously bad at answering his phone but famously fluent by SMS. He said he didn't have the number on him – but he would get back to me this week – because he was spending time with his beloved son, Donald, during his half term break. While we all ...
This is just how to pay tribute after the tragic death of someone – honest but affectionate, using your own experiences but keeping the focus on their memory and achievements. A few days ago I got in touch with Charles because I was looking for a telephone number of someone we both knew. His friends will not be surprised to learn that we were texting eachother. He was notoriously bad at answering his phone but famously fluent by SMS. He said he didn't have the number on him – but he would get back to me this week – because ...
Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Focus teams through our Campaigner Awards. Nominations for this year's Awards are now open. The Campaigner Awards are presented at the ALDC AGM at Federal Conference by a special guest. Winners in each category and our Overall Winner will receive cash prizes and a signed and [...]
This tweet of mine led to several requests from people outside Scotland to see Willie's email, so here it is. Warning to @scotlibdems members. You have email from @willie_rennie. Don't read it in public or you will cry. #fb — Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) June 2, 2015 But you have been warned. Willie so often gets it absolutely right when he does this sort of thing and this is no exception. Get yourself a cup of tea and a tissue. We have lost someone special. That cheeky smile, that cracking wit, that Highland lilt and those wise words to illuminate the ...
Former Ukip Parliamentary candidate Matthew Smith has been convicted after admitting one charge of forging signatures on nomination paperwork for local elections: Under election rules, all candidates standing as councillors need to have 10 nominations. The court heard seven out of the eight forms submitted by UKIP contained forged signatures. Prosecutor Brett Weaver said: "Hand-writing analysis found this form did not contain any correct signatures and the expert found some similarities between Mr Smith's writing and some of the signatures, including that of his grandmother." After originally being charged, he stayed on as Ukip's Parliamentary candidate for a further four ...
[IMG: 1185038_149748688567398_1316757214_n] Stockport West police are asking the public to let them know about people you see driving badly as part of their STARS initiative. Since we asked the public 3 months ago to send in their reports of any speeding, driving while using mobiles and inconsiderate parking, we have recieved over 60 reports. These people have been advised accordingly and this programme is still running with great success. Please continue to email in your reports, videos and pictures to the Stockport West email address – stockportwest@gmp.police.uk. The West Area covers- Alex Park, Edgeley, Swythamley, Bridgehall, Adswood, Bramhall, Woodford, Cheadle, ...
The Together Trust's campus is once again host to the annual Cheadle Festival Family Fun Day and It's a Knockout competition on Saturday 13th June 2015, 11am to 4.40pm. More information here. A wide variety of attractions will be on offer including a variety of stalls, arts and crafts, face painting, live music, a funfair featuring traditional exciting and inflatable rides and a range of refreshments from a traditional terrace cafe to burger and fries. Alternatively, you can relax in the sun with something stronger from the fully licensed bar available throughout the day. As ever, the festival will also ...
For just a year, I had the great honour of knowing Charles Kennedy. Through the most tumultuous times in Scottish politics, it was a pleasure to be by his side and to share in his insight. In the short time I knew Charles, we only scratched the surface as he toldthe most wonderful anecdotes and yet I know I'll be retelling a great many of them and talking about the time I spent with him for the rest of my lifetime. CK would always say that we, his team, were far keener than he to point out in literature his ...
When the Conservatives took control of the Government on their own after the election, they made it clear that scrapping the Human Rights Act was high on their list of priorities. Although it wasn't in the Queen's Speech, the Prime Minister has since confirmed that he still wants to press ahead with the plan. Just [...]
The government is to force all "failing" and possibly "coasting" schools as well, to be come "academies" whether they or the parents and local community like it or not, in spite of the fact that an all-party parliamentary committee found no evidence that schools "free from local authority control" do an better than others. Dogma triumphs over both evidence and democracy. However in the field of health care the government is, curiously, more flexible. When Ed Miliband proposed a cap on the prices the energy companies could charge, the idea was scorned by the Tories. Such "interference with the operation ...
The Bird of Liberty will be a Pheonix There is no doubt in my mind that the liberalism that was at the heart of Charles Kennedy's beliefs and life are the same things that move and motivate me. Charles was ... Continue reading →
The resignation of Nick Clegg instantly triggered a leadership election as to who would take over as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Both candidates are brilliant (Norman Lamb and Tim Farron) but in my opinion there is only one man for the job, and that is Tim Farron. As being a massive supporter of Tim [...]
1987 used to be a pivotal election, frequently referenced. The birth of modern media management, the death of the Alliance and a story of how one inaccurate leaked set of poll figures could panic a whole party, it was full of drama and long term significance. But it is also now an example of how much evidence and knowledge dies if it predates the internet. Because 1987 was the election when the exit poll got it wrong, but that was forgotten rather than wheeled out, tweeted about and dissected in the lull when people were arguing over the 2015 one ...
There's one sort-of political anecdote that I've never written about until now. It involves a total cringe from my point of view, but it's about someone who was an excited fan of Charles Kennedy, so this seems like the right time to tell it (if I ever should). I gave some of my own memories of Charles yesterday, and concluded by mentioning that he was a huge David Bowie fan... So I don't know whether Charles would have appreciated this one. But here goes. Back in the late '80s, I was an awkward teenager coming out with the help of ...
Danny Alexander has been writing about his memories of Charles Kennedy for the Spectator. His first experience of him was when he was a party press office and Charles was already an MP: The first time I spoke to him was as a young press officer for the Scottish Lib Dems, nervously recommending that we cancel a press conference because the material was not quite ready. I expected the hairdryer treatment, but he was pleased. 'When you have nothing to say,' he replied, 'best say nothing at all.' He followed his own advice — which meant that, as party leader, ...
I apologise that during the General Election I missed three centenaries of war poets. These will now appear on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Rupert Brooke is one of the best known of the English War Poets, not just amongst those who died but also those who survived. He was born in Rugby on the 3rd August 1887 the second of Rugby School schoolmaster William Parker Brooke. He travelled Europe and wrote a thesis John Webster and the Elizabethan Drama which earned him a place at King's College, Cambridge to read Classics. While up at Cambridge he became ...
The devastating loss of Charles Kennedy has affected people of all political colours and none. The public reaction to his passing illustrates the great achievements that Charles made in his short life. His kind manner and personable approach, combined with his deep convictions for fairness and social justice, transcended politics for a generation and more. Charles was a political giant of our time, his talent was indisputable. Charles spent his life in dedication to public service. His record as a local champion and for taking a stance against the Iraq War is well known. I will leave it to others ...
Wed 3rd
10:12
Welsh Lib Dems call for Assembly to unite to stop Tories riding roughshod over human rights
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are leading the debate in Wales on human rights, by calling on the National Assembly to unite against plans by the Tory UK Government to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. In their 2015 manifesto the Conservative Party pledges to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a 'British Bill of Rights'. In coalition, Liberal Democrats blocked plans to repeal the Human Rights Act and leave the European Convention on Human Rights, but now David Cameron is re-heating proposals to scrap fundamental human rights protections. Leading a Welsh Lib Dem debate in the National ...
Nominations close in the contest for party leader today at 4 pm. That means that if you want to get a vote and aren't currently a member of the party, you will need to join by then. You can do so here. [IMG: libdemfightbac 60533] Party membership now stands at 60,533, with more than 16,500 of those having joined since polling day. What will the electorate be at 4pm? In 2007, it was 64,727. Could we possibly match that?
Last week, over half term, I made my annual pilgrimage to Halnaker Mill in honour of Hilaire Belloc who, for all his peculiarities - admiration of Franco etc etc - has been a huge influence on my political thinking. And my Distributism, of course - the Liberal heresy which has rendered me so incoherent to my fellow members of the Lib Dem policy committee over a decade or so, until I was finally heaved off in 2012. The key difference between Distributism and Liberalism, it seems to me, is purely mood. Liberalism is overwhelmingly optimistic; Distributism is melancholic. It is ...
The insane majesty of Mad Max: Fury Road is an unanswerable riposte to those who assume franchise cinema lacks originality. A lot of commentary around films takes as its premise that the assent of franchise cinema represents a clear case of Hollywood sacrificing creativity for commerce. That film would be so much better if only Hollywood would [...]
I properly met Charles Kennedy only once, when I interviewed him for LibDemVoice at the party's 2007 conference. It was 18 months since he'd resigned the leadership but, with Ming Campbell visibly struggling in the role, there was still speculation he might yet return. Among other questions, I asked him if he'd fancy another tilt. "Never say never," he replied. "Now don't read anything into that, it's just a statement of fact. You never know what will happen in politics as you never know what will happen in life generally." [IMG: trb farron 1] I've a post on The Times's ...
As I am sure residents will have noticed, the 'Parklife' festival returns to Heaton Park this weekend – Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 June 2015. The following information is from the Parklife team, and was distributed in paper form to residents who live near to the park. It sets out the additional resources that Parklike have put in place this year, hopefully to address some of the concerns and, in some case, serious problems that people had in previous years. Please get in touch if we can help with more information or something needs to be resolved that cannot be ...
Thank you to everyone who has got in touch about the terrible news that the Royal Bank of Scotland on the corner of St Margaret's Road and Bury Old Road is set to close this summer. We have had loads of comments from residents and are going to compile these into a detailed submission to RBS – to see if they can see sense on the issue. We'll do this on Friday, so if you have any further comments about the closure that we can use in our submission please let us know of the next couple of days.
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. [IMG: liberal-international-british-group-logo] Liberal International British Group (LIBG) is the body for Liberal Democrats interested in international issues. All too often, the pressures of local campaigning mean that there is little room in constituency parties for any discussion of international topics, and few outlets for those members whose political interest stretch beyond the UK. LIBG holds speaker meetings on the situation in other countries several times a year in London and now also has branches in ...
I have been reflecting over the last 24 hours on the times that my path crossed that of Charles Kennedy. The party is of course still in deep shock at his passing and I cannot begin to imagine the grief felt by his family. His contribution to politics and to the United Kingdom during the course of his short life was immense. Quite rightly people have referred to his political courage in standing up to the establishment and opposing the Iraq war. Others, including myself have also referenced his strength of character in leaving behind a Owenite rump of the ...
Last month myself and Councillor Mary D'Albert attended Bury's Annual Council and Mayor Making. This is the annual meeting – part business and part ceremonial – that marks the beginning of the 'municipal year'. It was great to be back as a Liberal Democrat 'Group' on the Council, even if there is only two of us this year. Mary and I have agreed that I will be the Group Leader and she will be the Deputy Group Leader. In the formal business councillors are allocated to Committees for the year. I will be representing you this year on the Health ...
1% of Labour voters were delighted with the election result according to YouGov. Let's call them the Blairite 1% and note it was only 1% – which is about as low as you can get even when asking the question, "Is the Prime Minister really a malfunctioning Japanese robot made out of illegally mined raw materials from Chile and designed by Robert M. Nixon?" But then there's this: 9% of people who voted Liberal Democrat say they were delighted with the result. Go figure.
Wed 3rd
08:50
I've given Burnham a hard time before. But Yvette Cooper would be almost as bad as Labour leader
Yvette Cooper was on the BBC over the weekend, talking about what she'd do if she was elected by the party faithful to steer the Labour ship forwards. Actually, thinking back on it, it was more like she spent a lot of time telling us about all the wrong things the other candidates would do if they became leader. She spoke about certain "colleagues in some of the discussions" wanting to "swallow the Tory manifesto whole". You don't need to have studied PPE at Oxford to figure out who she was tarring with that particular brush. "What I won't do ...
Youngsters are invited to take part in Twilight Tales, Eco Craft and Saturday story sessions at Prestwich Library. Twilight Tales Story sessions will celebrate the 'Traveller Roma' history month with stories including Life on a Canal Barge, The Circus and Fairground. Held from 4pm to 5pm on Friday evenings (5, 12, 19, and 26 June). Each session includes a craft to complement the story. Cost per child is £1, booking is essential and is for primary school aged children.Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. [IMG: OwlAndPussycat] Eco Craft and Story This Eco craft session is based on The ...
It's too soon to go back to business as usual. Obviously, coverage about Charles Kennedy will continue to dominate today. We have been sent some pieces by people close to him and we will be publishing them as well as covering tributes from Vince and Danny. There will also be a session of tributes in the House of Commons this afternoon which we will want to report on, too. Please continue to share your comments and memories and, if you haven't already, sign the party's Book of Condolence. I owe a massive debt of thanks to Paul Walter who kept ...
SOW SOW GOOD! This Sunday, 7th June, from 1pm to 3pm. All volunteers welcome to help us sow wild flower seeds to bring even more colour to the Nature Park and provide pollen for the bees. Meet at the car park at 1pm if you can help.
Following my decision not to stand for Maghull Town Council again (after 30 consecutive years of membership) and the fact that the electorate invited me to vacate my Sefton Council seat representing the western side of Maghull 3 weeks ago an important and rather sad consequential move was brought about. [IMG: Maghull Station in Bloom r] The move? To resign my chairmanship of the Maghull in Bloom Steering Group. More than anything this was the role that I had enjoyed doing over the past few years as a councillor. Indeed, I think it fair to say that I found the ...
Liberal England: Welcome to the new Liberal Democrat bloggers A beautiful tribute to Charles Kennedy from @campbellclaret 10 Charles Kennedy quotes - oh God number 4 :~( Terrible advice for female scientists - in which Dr Hugh Briss makes a welcome, hilarious, return Charles Kennedy was right about almost everything I would argue with some of the points in this article if I had the spoons, but the broad thrust of it is right, I think. Lovely tribute to Charles Kennedy from @GregMulholland1 in the local paper 'I will go out of this world feet first with my Lib Dem ...
Charlie Kennedy was our leader. A decent, well-loved statesman who was nearly always right on the political issues of the day. He was the most successful leader of the Lib Dems seeing 62 MPs elected in 2005. For a generation of us, Liberal Democrats who campaigned for the Liberal-SDP Alliance he was the great hope of that Alliance who was elected in a shock election win in 1983 in his twenties and someone who took Social Democrats into the new Social and Liberal Democrats. When he became leader in 1999 he then inspired another political generation with his principled opposition ...
The Welsh Government need to do more to boost the numbers of both business visitors and holiday makers to Wales following a disappointingly slow start to the year for Wales' tourism industry. Statistics realised yesterday show a fall of 4% in trips to Wales during the first two months of 2015, when compared to the same period in 2014. However the fall in the number of overnight visitors who are coming to Wales for a holiday has fallen by 20%. During the same period, Wales saw an increase in the number of overnight stays of 6%, but this compares poorly ...
It is still difficult to comprehend the news of Charles Kennedy's death this morning. I got the announcement within seconds of turning on the radio. The less news is expected, the more shocking it is. He is a loss not just to the Lib Dems, but to the nation and to the pro-European movement. He would undoubtedly have played a major role in the forthcoming EU referendum.. In a world of colourless
