When political candidates put out dishonest information in their literature when seeking office, how can they be trusted to show honesty and integrity should they be elected? Sadly the Wallington South residents have been subjected to the unpleasant tactics of vague and unsubstantiated insinuations as well as outright fabrications from opposition candidates in the by-election. [...]
More sad news tonight as we hear that the surprise Liberal Democrat winner of the 1990 Eastbourne by-election, David Bellotti, died this morning. I remember the delight when he won the Eastbourne by-election in 1990. Just 18 months earlier, the party had been utterly gubbed in the European Elections and his victory showed that we were well and truly alive. Sadly he lost his seat at the General Election two years later. In latter years, he lived in Bath where he was Don Foster's agent and a Councillor on Bath and North East Somerset Council. I know how much admiration ...
And so once again I dip into the sewer. The "Best" Fan Writer category in the Hugos is apparently meant to encourage SF fans to write about SF. This year, it seems to be largely made up of people who claim to be professional writers, but who can't string a sentence together. This is understandable, [...]
This is Red Hill filling station. You will find it in Birstall, just outside the Leicester city boundary. As the Daily Mail reported three years ago: The iconic Mobil station designed by U.S. architect Eliot Noyes in the 1960s is the last remaining one of its kind in the UK. English Heritage has now granted the building on the A6 at Red Hill in Leicestershire Grade II listed status.And according to the Leicester Mercury, Dr Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, said the petrol station was "perhaps the most innovative and distinctive petrol station in England". I photographed it ...
The latest YOU GOV POLL on the 2015 massacre makes interesting reading. Our party has been losing support from Guardian readers since Charles Kennedy left as leader. In 2005 an incredible 41% of Guardian Readers - voted Lib Dem. By 2010 under Nick Clegg's leadership it had dropped by 4 points to 37% and then crashed by 26 points to 11% in 2015. For a once Liberal Paper - one key objective of our party must be to regain the endorsement of the Guardian. Are any of the candidates asking what policy mix it would take to get such an ...
In Leadership hustings: why be enslaved by conformity? I bemoaned the restrictive and unimaginative format laid down for official hustings meetings during the Liberal Democrat leadership contest: If you've been to a fair number of hustings, the limitations of the format rapidly become apparent. The standard question and answer show is that a person asks a question about something that's really important to them, and the candidates - after that person's vote - both agree that they're right to say it's important and they'd do something about it. As a test of oratorical ability, that works. But it also means ...
From the Swindon Advertiser: Two visitors from Canada visited the birthplace of their famous ancestor in Swindon this week when sisters Kody and Kelly Taylor attended the Richard Jefferies Museum, in Marlborough Road, Coate. The pair, from Manitoba, in Canada, are the great, great, great grand-daughters of the Swindon nature writer, who was born at Coate Water in 1848. Kelly said: "I can't find the words to describe it. The whole place is so beautiful, and it's so strange to think that our ancestor lived here all that time ago and achieved so much."You can read about Richard Jefferies and ...
This week's New Statesman has backed Tim Farron in the race to be Lib Dem leader: It is Mr Farron (interviewed in this week's magazine) who offers the Lib Dems their best hope of recovery. Unlike Mr Lamb, he is untainted by service in the Tory-led government and voted against policies such as higher tuition fees and the bedroom tax. He won his constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale from the Conservatives in 2005, ending nearly a century of rule by a single party, and transformed it into one of the safest Lib Dem seats in Britain through Stakhanovite campaigning. He ...
Earlier today, after a site visit to a right of way issue in the West End and a briefing by the City Council/Tayside Contracts Roads Maintenance Partnership, I chaired the first meeting of the year for the West End Christmas Fortnight 2015 - yes, Christmas in June! The West End Christmas Fortnight takes a lot of planning so it is sensible to start early and we had a very productive meeting at Blackness Library to start to organise this year's events. Many thanks to all who participated today and if any resident or local business wants to play a role ...
With the legislation for the EU referendum now before parliament, that process is starting to feel real. I am thinking about what this might mean for Liberal Democrats, and the voice of liberal democracy. In the General Election the consensus was not to campaign on Europe. That was probably wise, if counter-intuitive. Things are about to become very different. In addition to the big question of which side will win, I had been thinking of the referendum in terms of its likely effect on the British political landscape — of the alliances that will form on both sides, and the ...
HT: Bored PandaFiled under: Uncategorized
The social media assault of Tim Farron is getting a bit much. Yes, I know, I've already said I'm backing Norman, but Tim's antics on Facebook has just gone way past acceptable to downright spam. Tim has been posting in literally every Lib Dem Facebook group known. Today, Lib Dem Friends of Gingers succumbed to the spamming. It's a silly group about ginger lib dems, not really one for serious political chat. And there Tim is, gatecrashing the party and ruining the vibe. [IMG: Tim is literally posting everywhere] You venture into some Lib Dem groups and it is just ...
On Radio 4's Today programme yesterday, Ed Davey was highly critical of the G7's pledge to phase out fossil fuels by the end of the century. He said: It is so symbolic for the G7, the largest, richest countries in the world who have built their economies on fossil fuels, to say they've got to get rid of them. It's definitely historic and symbolic. But I have two concerns though. They are talking about the end of the century, and I don't think climate science says we have got that long. I think we have to move further and faster. ...
So, this all started when Chris Brooke decided he wanted to know which side of the 'cat person/dog person' the Labour leader candidates fell on: Is it at all clear whether the various candidates for the Labour Party leadership are cat people or dog people? #theissuesthatmatter — Chris Brooke (@chrisbrooke) June 10, 2015 Related PostsShould we have more interim leaders in British politics? What if Nick Clegg loses his seat at the election? The future of UKIP: when Farage goes, watch out for the big fight Wishing for a return to old politics, as though wishing might make it so ...
The rumours are that this is the week that the Welsh Public Services Minister will be publishing his map of what local government in Wales should look like after reorganisation. This will be just in time for next week's Welsh Local Government Association Conference in Swansea. My views on this issue are set out on the Institute of Welsh Affairs website here. If we are to have our third reorganisation in 40 years then we need to get it right. We wont do that by moving councils around on a map. We need a proper exercise, preferably utilising the boundary ...
Brønnøysund, Sandnessjøen and Nesna were slept through during the night, and we apparently crossed the Arctic Circle just before I woke up (there was a ceremony, I was told, but it sounded a bit too slapstick for my taste so we missed it). And, whilst it was interesting to watch the activity at Ørnes after breakfast, our minds were on our walk around Bodø and the evening excursion, our first organised one. Bodø, which is, by the way, not one of the hobbits from Lord of the Rings, is the jumping off point for the Lofoten Islands, and sadly, it ...
Wed 10th
14:05
Building a diverse party: the Leadership Candidates respond to Daisy Cooper's questions
[IMG: Tim Farron MP] [IMG: NormanLamb] On 17 May, I set out my challenge to the Leadership candidates in an LDV blog, asking each of them whether and to what extent they would commit to some achievable measures to build a more diverse party. Here are their answers - presented without comment. 1) Will you promise to take a zero tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour, insisting that all elected representatives and everyone in your team has a "responsibility to act" on any and all anecdotal and substantive evidence that reaches them? TIM: First of all, thank you Daisy for these ...
British politics has a lot of odd traditions and one of the more recent of them was begun by Michael Foot. He was the first major party leader to resign immediately after an election defeat, something that hadn't happened before but is now de rigeur for defeated party leaders. However, while there are some good reasons for a defeated leader to move on to other things ASAP, this creates a whole new set of problems for the party, especially given how our political system is now. This is shown most clearly by what's happening with Labour right now where the ...
Chief Operating Officer says Sefton Council cuts willnot affect respite care offered at Chase Heys, or its intermediate care service Sefton New Directions says Chase Heys Day Centre in Southport remains open for business. The Southport Visiter reporter last week how Sefton Council's cabinet had voted tend its day day provision at the centre, as the authority looks to cut £55million from its budget. But that will not affect other services provided at the facility. Sefton New Directions Chief Operating Officer Penelope Fell said: "Chase Heys Day Centre in Southport is open for business. "The decision by Sefton Council to ...
George Osborne has added to the growing list of things he wants to pointlessly legislate on preventing future governments borrowing during periods of growth. Could he please the love of god stop. I don't say that because of the principle or policy (indeed I would prefer any future government to stick to that) but rather I'm tiring [...]
Betsi Cadwalaldr health board Responding to the suggestion that board members should be suspended over the Tawel Fan scandal, Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said it was only right people were "held to account" at all levels. "I think the chair of Betsi (Peter Higson) and indeed everybody involved in the situation needs to think about what role they have played in the situation to date." Need for an independent watchdogLeader Kirsty Williams said: "The latest round of shocking reports on care within our NHS reveals a complete failure of all the systems that should be in place to ...
The aftermath of a general election is always a good time to reassess what the party is about - why we are Liberal Democrats, what we mean by Liberalism (or, if you prefer, Liberal Democracy) and what this implies for our politics over the next five years. The party carried out this exercise after the 2005 and 2010 elections, but the catastrophic result of this year's election, coupled with the huge, and very welcome, influx of new members, make it a vital part of the fightback this time. So the Federal Policy Committee is proposing a series of activities to ...
Understanding scrutiny The Local Government Act 2000 established the requirement for Councils in England and Wales operating executive arrangements to establish an overview and scrutiny committee. Scottish Councils that operate under the committee system , or English or Welsh Councils that have returned to the committee system are not required to establish a scrutiny committee. [...]
Yesterday saw an expected yet still disappointing response from the Government to the various post-election electoral reform petitions. Expected, because we all know that there's no way this Government is going to concede electoral reform, yet disappointing because it reveals that the minister for constitutional reform may have absolutely no idea what he's talking about. In response to petitions demanding a properly proportional electoral system, his response was that 'we had a referendum on it in 2011′. The 2011 referendum was lost, and lost badly, but it was definitely not a referendum on adopting a proportional system. The question was, ...
The draft Psychoactive Substances Bill worries me. Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. Recent discussions of drug misuse generally do not look back far enough. Every Voice reader already knows that prohibition does not work, mostly because of market forces, but it is sobering to read just how often over the centuries and in how many places that lesson has been learned the hard way. Again and again the same sequence has recurred: moral panic, decisive action, free publicity for forbidden fruit, final result worse than before. My favourite source of historical information is ...
Mark Pack has a typically insightful blog-post asking from when can we date the Lib Dems' election catastrophe — from the moment the Coalition deal was signed, or as a result of specific events within the Coalition? Here's the metaphor Mark uses: There is a little argument to be had, with polling spreadsheets at the ready and magnifying glasses deployed, over whether Liberal Democrat support immediate fell off a cliff edge the moment the party went into coalition in 2010 or whether there was a small ledge before the party plunged off the edge a few weeks later. The debate ...
[IMG: Charles_Kennedy] A memorial service to mark Charles Kennedy's remarkable contribution to public life will be held in the Bute Hall at the University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ on Thursday 18 June at 7pm. It is expected that members of the public, politicians from across the spectrum, students old and new, academics and university leaders, friends and colleagues from the world of entertainment and the media will attend this service which is open to the public.
I was asked to go to the committee meeting of Sunniside History Society last night. Little did I know that people there had plans for me! I left the meeting as the new deputy chairman! And I ended up suggesting a list of tasks for me to carry out, including setting up a email list for the society, producing a newsletter and putting on trips to places of historical interest. One of these days I
The last two Januarys, I've published various versions of my book Broke, about the difficulties faced by the middle classes and why it matters. The coverage was prolific and almost identical both times. Luckily, a year is beyond the memory horizon for the media, so they just do it all again. One of my contentions, which was more difficult to prove, was the reason why house prices have risen so disastrously over the past three decades. Conventional wisdom - not a happy phrase - suggests that it is simply a matter of supply and demand, and clearly there is an ...
Yesterday Liberal Democrat members received their first official email with messages from the two candidates to be party leader, Tim Farron and Norman Lamb. I score it as a 2-2 draw. Norman scores for: A better teaser in the email (reproduced below) as it has a call to action – his survey – in the teaser itself rather than requiring people first to click through to the Lib Dem website, then read the message then find a call to action right at the bottom (which is Tim's approach). Norman's approach is usually much more effective as many people won't even ...
Wed 10th
09:41Opinion: An off-hand economic miracle, courtesy of new SNP Parliamentarian Tommy Sheppard
Last Sunday on Radio 4's Westminster Hour the subject turned to the Scotland bill and the SNPs abandonment of their call for full fiscal autonomy. About 05:20 minutes into this clip you can hear this exchange: Carolyn Quinn – 'Well Tommy isn't it the case that the IFS say that if full fiscal autonomy is implemented now it would deprive Scotland of £8billion in revenue' Tommy Sheppard MP - 'That's an academic estimate based on doing absolutely nothing to change the way the economy is run in Scotland.' I had to do a double take at that. Just look at ...
(It may be useful to know that 'quoad ultra' means 'everything else not stated'.) Download this document Interested in more stories about how our elections are run? Follow my dedicated election law channels on Facebook or Twitter.
Last August, I mentioned the excellent Discovery Walk proposal, which has now moved forward a long way. I've been pleased to take part in the committee progressing this and very grateful to the other members of the committee who have put a lot of effort into progressing this excellent proposal. The Discovery Walk will comprise of nine plaques set into the paved area of the Green Space at the heart of the city's huge new waterfront development to celebrate these contributions in a highly visible and permanent way. Bronze plaques in the pavement will tell the fascinating stories behind these ...
Wed 10th
08:34
Is the £70 million reduction to Scottish spending cuts phase one of the Tory-SNP collaboration...
For what's actually a pretty significant story, at least in political terms, it's got very little airtime thus far. One article in the Telegraph a couple of days ago is all I've found of any significance. The Treasury have asked Scotland to find £107 million in savings in 2015/2016, compared to the original £177 million they were going to be asked to find. This amounts to a reduction of £70 million at a time when other departments are being squeezed even further than before. Add to this the fact that Scotland can defer its cuts until the next year, an ...
Following complaints from residents about the poor pavement condition on the west side of Seafield Road, I reported this to the City Council. The council's Roads Maintenance Partnership has responded positively as follows : "The Roads Maintenance Partnership inspector for the area has raised an order for grano patching at this location. There is no timescale for these works at present but they will be done as soon as resources are available and earlier priorities have been dealt with."
This week is Carers Week 2015 (8-14 June 2015). Carers Week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. This year Carers Week is focusing on building Carer Friendly Communities. Communities which support carers to look after their loved ones well, while recognising that they are individuals with needs of their own. [IMG: CarersWeek] The local Lib Dem team here in Bury have signed up and pledged to take action on carers as part of carers week 2015. There is more ...
Thank you for all your feedback about the proposed closure of our only bank branch here in Holyrood Ward – the Royal Bank of Scotland on the corner of St Margaret's Road and Bury Old Road. A petition has been set up for people to register their opposition. This is in the Fresh Cookie on the corner of St Margaret's Road (opening times – 8.30 – 2.30/3.00pm friday, 9.00 – 1.30 Saturdays) Please do pop in to sign if you can. People have raised the very valid point about the availability of cash machines, particularly free-to-use cash machines in the ...
As I am sure everyone will know, last weekend was the 'Parklike Weekend' in Heaton Park. We are keen to collate information from residents if there were any problems, things that shouldn't have happened, or things that could be done better or differently at any events in the future. People will probably have noticed that there were a number of things done differently than previous years, including a number of residents-only parking schemes around the park (though with the exception of the Baguley Crescent area and the Upper Wilton Street area these were not in Holyrood Ward). There were also ...
Metro link we will be carrying out a rolling programme of overnight working on weekday nights between 00.01am on Wednesday 10 June until 00.05am on Friday 31 July, 2015. The following locations will be affected at various times during this period: · Abraham Moss Metrolink stop · Bowker Vale Metrolink stop · Between Bowker Vale and Heaton Park Metrolink stops · Besses o' th' Barn Metrolink stop · Between Besses o' th' Barn and Whitefield Metrolink stops · Between Radcliffe and Bury Metrolink stops. This work, to install passenger information display to tram stop platform, minor trackside equipment installation and ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32916197 I picked up this article (see link above) on the BBC web site and found it interesting and not just because I am a railway enthusiast I might add. [IMG: images] If half the Tory party and the Kippers have their way the tunnel will be filled in as they desperately try to isolate us all from our European neighbours. But if they don't succeed in their quest, and I certainly hope they don't, when will the railway journeys from the UK reach the parts of Europe they presently do not? And by the way do you remember the ...
In which @GregMulholland1 calls for proper Yorkshire devolution :) The 15 most perfect responses of all time 'Naked rambler' appears before judges naked to appeal his conviction for being naked I think the Barrister Blogger has it right on this: - it's bloody ridiculous and we should stop keeping this man in jail I Stand By Irene Gallo in which Chuck Wendig is made of awesome. Again. Psychologists call for reform of the Work Capability Assessment Terror trial collapses after revelation that UK govt supports the same "terrorist" group as accused Consider your vote carefully for the Pogonophobe of ...
