Listening to Johnny Cash at the moment, I'm reminded of a thought I've had a few times, which is that one of the odd differences between Britain and America is that for all British people like to think of themselves as nature-lovers ("England's green and pleasant land" and all that), and think of America in [...]
[IMG: Farron 1] A month ago I endorsed Tim Farron for Lib Dem leader – but with a couple of caveats. For example: That doesn't mean I agree with Tim all the time. I don't and I won't. He's more of a tax-and-spender than I'd be. For example, he supports the 50p top-rate of income tax whereas I think it's an inconsequential economic irrelevance — a symbolic totem that raises very little revenue but limits the political space to tackle unearned wealth. This was what he told me when I interviewed him in 2013: "Cutting the top-rate was a stupid ...
This film was made in 1975 for the BBC series Nairn's Journeys. He was so right about the dismal shopping arcades of that decade.
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] My last posting from the Southport Liberal Party newsletter of the 1960s made it to second place in LibDemVoice Golden Dozen of most read blog entries. This extract is by far the most interesting. Pacts in the north in the 1950's and 1960's were not unheard of-Arthur Holt in Bolton West and Donald Wade in Huddersfield West are the two best known. But there was another one in the north, in Southport and it was with Labour not the Tories. This developed into a strict pact which extended to helping in each others by ...
[IMG: elec substation gatley rail clean] Electricity Northwest have cleaned the graffiti off their electricity substation on Gatley station car park after the Lib Dem team contacted them about the issue. "Cheadle and Gatley have far less graffiti than many nearby places, and that's in part because we always report it and get it cleaned off." Cllr Keith Holloway said. If you spot any graffiti, you can report it to the Council here.
More on the Sustainable Harborough website.
The new Liberator has arrived, which means it is time to visit Bonkers Hall once more. He had to Put a Bit on Top An unseasonably cold morning as I supervise the erection of an obelisk commemorating the many good Liberal Democrats who fell at the general election. It stands on an eminence on the Bonkers Hall Estate, across a rocky valley from the triumphal arch which marks Wallace Lawler's victory in the Birmingham Ladywood by-election. I cannot pretend I was surprised at the debacle of 7 May: indeed, I had asked for an estimate from my stonemason well before ...
Mon 22nd
18:47
Merging Labour and the Liberal Democrats would be a bad idea, working together wouldn't be
[IMG: liblablie] It will come as no surprise to anyone who's been at a Liberal Democrat Glee Club or said the words 'Liberal Democrats' to anyone in the Labour Party over the past few years that the general reaction to Jamie Reed's proposal that Labour and the Liberal Democrats merge has been a resounding 'no' from both sides. It's the sort of idea that people should dismiss as a non-starter, but because it was apparently seriously considered by both Paddy Ashdown and Tony Blair in the 90s, it's acquired a veneer of respectability and possibility that it doesn't really deserve. ...
An election petition has been launched into the May 2015 local elections in Birmingham. I want to be clear about a few things at the outset. These proceedings are all about principles of public importance and the protection of democratic elections. It is about preventing future recurrence of kinship voting swaying bloc votes in favour of a political party. It is about the corrupt practice of providing fertile battleground for Pakistani political parties to flex their muscle during local British elections. It is about undue spiritual influence installing fear in the minds of the voter that if they don't vote ...
Monday: I've been talking about the leadership contest between Tim Lord Tim and Mr Norman Conquest. But the Liberal Democrats aren't the only Party to find themselves in need of a new leader. And it makes me realise just how VERY lucky we are - even after the disaster of May - still to have two candidates with two brains between them! We watched the hour-long Newsnight hustings with the four candidates for leader of Hard Labour and I swear beyond the nebulous and vaguely-xenophobic call for "controls on immigration" there wasn't a single mention of policy from any one ...
[IMG: Paul Burstow] In the Telegraph today, Paul Burstow expresses his concerns for social care under the Conservative Government. He writes: Ninety per cent of NHS leaders now believe that social care cuts are directly affecting patient care, while social care leaders report that over half of the providers they work with are facing financial difficulties. This is not sustainable. Social care has always been the poor relation of the NHS, but in the last Government, Norman Lamb and I made the reform of social care a priority, and, we made more progress in five years than the previous government ...
An opportunity has arisen for Stockport Council to purchase the Edgeley Park Football Ground from the current owners, Cheshire Sport. The Council's Executive will receive a report on Wednesday recommending that, subject to due diligence, the Council will become owner of the ground. This is a genuinely commercial arrangement which would enable the establishment of a landlord-tenant relationship between the Council and Stockport County Football Club. Wednesday's decision would be to purchase a land asset on a cost neutral basis and will therefore not cost Council Tax Payers a penny. The Council will not, at any stage, be providing financial ...
[IMG: A crashed car] Good to see both the Bank of England blogging, and taking driverless cars seriously: In the UK 23% of all car insurance claims result from parking incidents of which 71% occur during reversing. A switch to driverless cars could largely eliminate these costs. This is a double edged sword for UK insurers who underwrote around £8bn in private motor insurance premiums last year. What they could save in falling claims costs and frequency, they stand to lose in shrinking premiums - one estimate being as much as 50% by 2025 and 80% by 2040 according to ...
"This road isn't all it's cracked up to be" - Members of the Focus Team pointing out a large patch of Station Road that is breaking up. We've been nagging South Glos about various potholes and road defects. Last Wednesday we went out with a Gazette photographer to photograph some road problems in Station Road at Yate. Even before the photos were published in the Gazette or in Focus,South Glos have marked the defects out for repair. Let's hope they get fixed soon. But what we now need is that whole area of road sorted. Or are they saying we ...
Tim Farron has launched his Leadership campaign video today.
Liberal Democrat councillors Iain Roberts and Tim Pickstone have taken the fight for an open and transparent Greater Manchester mayoralty to the Lords. [IMG: Iain Roberts discussing the Devolution Bill with Lord Shipley in Manchester] Iain Roberts discussing the Devolution Bill with Lord Shipley in Manchester Iain Roberts, Deputy Leader at Stockport Council, wants the House of Lords to ensure the new law to create an elected mayor also puts an end to secretive decision-making. "The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is a success story that's delivered Metrolink along with jobs, investment and much more," Iain said. "But there's one area ...
This weekend's Lib Dem Local Government Conference was a great success, we welcomed just over 150 Lib Dem campaigners to Manchester for the conference itself and almost triple that number for the leadership hustings event that closed the Saturday. Leadership Day Forty group leaders and deputy leaders came a day early for a series of [...]
Fresh on the heels of a fantastic Lib Dem Local Government Conference, now is the time to talk to your local campaign teams about booking for Kickstart. Our two residential training weekends take place on 4-6 Sept at Yarnfield Park (Stone, Staffs) and 27-29 November at Holiday Inn, M6 Junction 7 (near Birmingham). Book early to avoid [...]
It would be fair to say that I do a fair bit of travelling. I have, in the past, joked about having a carbon footprint the size of Wiltshire (an utter exaggeration, I admit) but I have, over the years, flown a lot more than most people do, and for a range of reasons. I pay, as a result, more than my share of Air Passenger Duty (APD). Do I begrudge that? Well yes, a bit. Do I accept that it is inevitable given my lifestyle? Yes, actually, although I would rather see a more nuanced APD that encourages airlines ...
[IMG: liberalyouth2015] In the South East we took a bit of battering, just like the rest of the country. On Thursday, 18th June 2015 Kent Liberal Youth held a #liberalpint event in Maidstone. Considering everyone is saying that the Lib Dems are slowly dying out, it's not the case for Kent Liberal Youth. We had over eleven new members who were under the age of eighteen, plus another five who were over eighteen. We had a great discussion on what issues we were passionate about, we had members say they were passionate about drug reform, education, civil liberties, campaigning against ...
They've apparently "proved" that tax credits are not a subsidy to employers to pay crap wages in this piece here, but I think I've spotted a tiny flawette in the entire premise of their argument. The premise of their argument is that "employers generally pay people according to the productivity of their work". Errr no. Really, really, no. Employers pay people as little as they can get away with on the basis of how easy the person would be to replace if they walked out tomorrow, how much training and hassle it would take to get a replacement, and so ...
[IMG: The present Seaforth Docks and hinterland] The present Seaforth Docks and hinterland The Liverpool Echo has the story of the construction – see link above. BUT, what is happening with regard to how goods are going to get to and from the port when the new river berth has been constructed and is in use? The Echo article makes reference to transhipment down the Manchester Ship Canal but that is not where all the addition freight is going to go. Sefton Council, The Highways Agency, Network Rail and Liverpool City Council have been 'looking into this' for years ...
We were proud to have Baroness Sal Brinton, Lib Dem President present the Lib Dem Council Group of the Year Awards at the Local Government Conference in Manchester this weekend. Keep your examples of good practice coming in to rob.banks@local.gov.uk - you too could be in line for an award in the future! City of [...]
Rather like 'trolling', the phrase 'push polling' risks becoming so widely used in so many different contexts that it frequently has little meaning beyond 'someone did something I don't like'. But it does actually have a meaning which isn't just 'phone call I don't like'. Push polling has two specific attributes. First, it means polling people and asking them their views on a series of negative assertions (which may or may not be true) about a candidate. Second, it also means making the calls for the purpose of influencing those who are called rather than simply for the purpose of ...
LGA Lib Dem elections - 2 days to go If you haven't already voted in this year's LGA group elections you have until 5pm on Wednesday to do so. These are the people that will represent you at a national level on all policy areas and issues related to local government. You should have received [...]
Devolution Bill At the local government conference on Saturday a number of delegates asked for a summary of the amendments being put down by Lib Dems in the House of Lords. See attached for a briefing on the bill and those amendments. If you would like more information or to give your views please contact [...]
[IMG: Residents protest against Barclays' plans to close Gatley's last bank] Residents protest against Barclays' plans to close Gatley's last bank When local councillor Keith Holloway launched a campaign to save Gatley's last bank, he never expected such a big response from local residents. "Barclays have written to customers announcing that the Gatley branch is closing on 21st August. That's the last bank in Gatley and the only cash machine at that end of the village." Keith said. "We launched a campaign asking Barclays to think again. In just a few weeks we've had over a thousand signatures. But it's ...
Mon 22nd
12:25
Watch and laugh: Clarke and Dawe - The New Sliding Scale of Ethics. Officially Launched this Week
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
Pro-Europe supporters are heading to repeat the same mistake as the Fair Votes referendum campaign by ignoring multicultural Britain's perspectives. Should the race become neck-and-neck this could well tip the balance in favour of 'out'. A key difference from the electoral reform vote is that the EU 'out' lobby can see the value of attracting diverse communities for the Euro poll. UKIP, in particular, are pushing a pro-Commonwealth argument by claiming that Britain's trade relationships can be switched from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Americas. I say 'argument' because there isn't much real substance underpinning their rhetoric. No policies ...
Plaid Cymru seat. Cause:Resignation No LD Candidate.
For decades the Post Office network had been shrinking. Under Labour and Conservatives governments a number of local and many Post Offices nationally were closed. Between 1960-2010 the network plummeted from 25,000 to 11,500 Post Offices. As part of the coalition lib Dems ensured an investment fund was created to stop this rot continuing. A key Lib Dem achievement in the Coalition was securing the future of Britain's post office network. Business Secretary, Vince Cable, working with Postal Affairs Minister, Edward Davey, and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, secured £1.34 billion of funding for Britain's post offices and ...
The Guardian reports that David Cameron is to deliver his strongest hint yet that he intends to launch an assault on tax credits as part of his government's proposals to cut the welfare bill. They say that he will make the comments in a speech in Runcorn this morning just weeks before George Osborne, the chancellor, sets out £12bn of welfare cuts, seeking to justify them in terms of both reducing the deficit and the need for further changes to incentivise work: In his speech on "opportunity", Cameron will say Britain needs to move from a "low-wage, high-tax, high-welfare society ...
He was cold. His shivering was so intense it was more like a palsy. The surgery receptionist ignored his growing distress. He had been sitting in the freezing cold waiting room for over two hours. The door stood open letting in a draught that cut through his thin clothes. He was wearing three layers – all the clothes he had. Bill was 88 years old with sores on his legs and needing to get his dressings changed. Scandalous that in any NHS run medical facility an elderly and vulnerable person should be treated in this way. In a GP surgery ...
[IMG: Cafe in London. Photo courtesy of Death to the Stock Photo and used under license] You don't have to talk for long with a group of Liberal Democrat activists about the huge surge in party membership since the general election (up by a third and rising) for the phrase 'leaflet delivery cult' to get a mention. In its origins, it's a worthy and useful phrase - a bit of gentle mocking of the idea that the only thing you ask supporters to do is to deliver leaflets, the only thing you worry about organising is leafleting and the only ...
After a period of being too busy to blog and after the disastrous results of the election, I thought it was time to digest what the future holds for the Liberal Democrats after Cleggism. I wanted to start in prosaic fashion by looking at what's left of the party, before looking at different aspects of [...]
Labour seat. Cause:Death. Candidates TBC.
It now seems to be generally accepted that Norman Lamb was not involved in the decisions that led to accusations of data protection breaches and push polling over the weekend. It did seem unlikely, knowing what I know of Norman, but one wanted to be reassured. But, whilst we wait to hear more about Gavin Grant's role in events, there is time to analyse young Mark Gettleson's statement, as published in the Guardian today. "The survey we conducted was not a 'push poll'," he said. "A push poll is an unethical campaign activity, where an untrue or unverified statement is ...
[IMG: Suffolk] So, we'd got all of these new members, and they were still flooding in. It was just what we had wanted over the years, a whole new bunch of enthusiastic Liberal Democrats keen to do things. And yet, there was a nagging doubt in my mind, a memory of new, keen people in the past who had come, been confronted with a tradition of doing things a certain way, or given a pile of leaflets, and who had then drifted away. This time, it was going to be different. But, in Suffolk, where distances are greater and members ...
In terms of the European Union and its history, today will probably be a day for the books, whatever happens. Either a deal between Greece and the EU will be struck at the 11th hour, saving the day for all involved; or, Greece will have set the stage for leaving the Euro and then who knows what happens after that takes place. Both sides up until now have been locked in a game of international, high stakes chicken, sure the other side is going to give way. But now we've come to Brussels and today: a sort of 21st century, ...
Years ago, when the Democratic party in the USA began using computerised push-polling, I read a fascinating magazine in one of those many American political magazines. It quoted a defeated Democrat candidate for nomination who had lost a leadership battle against an opponent who had been using computerised push-polling against him. I should briefly explain that push-polling means that you use polling techniques to remind supporters of the other side about the weaknesses of their candidate. But this particular example went further than most. When this candidate's supporters were asked who they were supporting, and they replied with his name, ...
From Dundee City Council : You will be aware that Dundee City Council is currently re-developing the Central Waterfront of Dundee. Another important stage of the project, involves the resurfacing work at the junction between Union Street and Yeaman Shore and also the resurfacing of the junction between South Union Street and South Marketgait westbound to Greenmarket car park. To ensure the safety of the public and workforce and minimise disruption to the road network while work will be undertaken using two overnight road closures. On street parking will be suspended on both sides of Whitehall Crescent during this period. ...
Mon 22nd
08:25Next Lib Dem Newswire out tomorrow - with chance for members to take part in exclusive survey
[IMG: Liberal Democrat Newswire logo] The next edition of Liberal Democrat Newswire is out on Tuesday and will include an exclusive survey on the Liberal Democrat leadership contest. Lib Dem Voice has good a long pedigree now of surveying voting intention for internal party contests (which I used to be involved in), but I'd like to dig more into the how and why of people deciding who to back in the leadership race. So if you're a party member and aren't yet signed up to receive Liberal Democrat Newswire, sign up for it here and make sure you don't miss ...
Jeremy Corbyn lead in Hirsute Personality poll heralds a Summer of Beards 5 simple chemistry facts that everyone should understand before talking about science The Dark Web as You Know It Is a Myth Taylor Swift - To Apple, Love Taylor I really wish I liked Taylor Swift's music. Then I could buy some of it. always uncomfortable when a middle aged white guy tells you what is and isn't racist But then middle aged white guys are the arbiters of all fact, aren't they? From the hemline index to the vampire/zombie ratio: SF/F by the numbers aka can you ...
