The Herald reports: The SNP is re-running its Holyrood candidate selection in Renfrewshire South after the first choice was suspended over alleged homophobic comments about a government minister. Councillor Andy Doig resigned as the candidate in the marginal Labour seat on Thursday, just a week after winning a five-way fight to be the SNP's contender next May... The former depute leader of the SNP on Renfrewshire Council, Doig now faces a party disciplinary hearing at which he hopes to have his membership restored. He fought the Westminster seat of Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 2005 and 2010, and came 2,587 ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, on behalf of the Lib-Dems in Broxtowe. This will just be a short edition to summarise the main news from over the summer and we will resume a proper service next week. I hope that everyone has had a good summer. Like most parents one of my key aims through the summer was to try and get through six weeks without visiting casualty. Sadly we failed this year after my younger daughter was thrown from a horse whilst riding. Thankfully there was nothing broken ...
For one day in September, as its website says, Arts Fresco transforms the East Midlands town of Market Harborough into a playground of exotic characters, colours and sounds. Here are some photographs from this year's event.
When the lights go down and the band slowly walks onto the stage in the darkness, I'm struggling to work out which one of them is Sufjan. I know what he looks like, but there is no indication that he is special or different. It is only when the first piano chords are struck that [...]
Time for some Jam. This is a live version of a track from their 1980 LP Sound Affects.
The rather late Stagecoach bus 7 to Cambridge... Saffron Walden. Very nice, but I've got places to be, things to do. And where is my bus? Not here, on the High Street in Saffron Walden, and that's the problem. I've got a seven minute connect in Cambridge, and time's a wasting. It arrives, six minutes late, heading in the wrong direction, which means more delay and the possibility of a missed connection, and when it does finally arrive, prospects of making the bus to Ely have receded further. Ah well, nothing to do but get on the bus and keep ...
Sheet Village resident Nicola North has offered to act as a local collection point for CALAID, a volunteer group seeking to help people in refugee camps in Calais. This is how CALAID describes itself: We are a group of volunteers collecting urgently needed donations for those living in the Calais refugee camps. We believe that [...]
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 430th 6 weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (30 August – 5 September, 2015), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Peter Bucklitsch was ...
As I've already noted, I've never been to Saffron Walden before yesterday. And, as it turns out, that's something of a misfortune, as the town centre is very pretty indeed. There's a market, which has a Giggly Pig stall for those in search of rather good sausages (hmmm... pork...), and other fine things, the shopping is quite good (I picked up a couple of bottles of Mr Fitzpatrick's cordials from the Adnams shop) and the architecture is thoroughly charming. Sadly, I did have a bus to catch. As it turned out, that wasn't going so well...
The view down the bus... It's all going swimmingly so far. All of the buses have turned up on time, have all arrived on time and, whilst I'm in Haverhill, I'm not here for long. Handing over another £3.90 (my driver asks if I'd prefer 10p or two bob in change - that's proper Suffolk banter, that is) for a scheduled thirty-three minute journey, I settle down for the cross-border journey to Saffron Walden. Funnily enough, I've never been to Saffron Walden, which surprises even Ros. And, I've got thirty-seven minutes there, so I might even get to see a ...
Sun 6th
17:30
#busride - Bury St Edmunds to Haverhill (and a highways officer with a classical education)
The 12.15 route 15 bus to Haverhill Provisioned with some Diet Coke and a packet of Fruit Gums (healthy, eh?), it was time to continue my westwards odyssey, with the next stage, as far as Haverhill, in the south-west corner of Suffolk. Haverhill has a somewhat harsh reputation as a London overspill community (some of my Suffolk work colleagues call it 'Haverhole') but, on a recent visit, I noticed that the main street isn't as black as it's painted and that what hurts it is the plethora of 1950's and 1960s architecture which, to be frank, never did much for ...
The 10.30 bus 304 from Diss to Bury St Edmunds - the pretty way... I hand over my £4.50 to the driver and find myself a seat with a view. Luckily, it being a bus, they all do. There are quite a few people on board, about a dozen or so, for the Suffolk County Council sponsored service, a number of whom appear to be regulars, judging by the conversations going on around me. And, on time, the bus pulls off, heading in a counter-intuitive westerly direction. It is then that I realise that the route passes by the station ...
Sun 6th
16:00#busride - Creeting St Peter to Diss via Stowmarket, courtesy of Suffolk Links and @greateranglia
So, my Suffolk Links service was there for me, at the end of The Lane, and I was soon deposited at Stowmarket Station, where I purchased my £4.70 single ticket (with Annual Gold Card discount!) for the twelve minute journey to Diss. The 09:55 to Norwich, calling at Diss, is on time! Good news to start with, in that the train is on time. Admittedly, this is not always the case - the 07.55 service to Norwich on a weekday always seems to be late if my experience at the level crossing by the station is any guide - so ...
The last Terry Pratchett novel, written in the full knowledge that it would be; death and its consequences are a major part of the book (with a much spoilered plot development near the beginning setting the tone). But another large part of the plot centres around the battle between Faerie and technology, the essential conflict between magic and modernity expressed in a way that I don't think we had seen Pratchett do before. It's quite a difficult feat for a fantasy novel to make the case for rationalism and tech against superstition and brainwashing magic, and I think Pratchett managed ...
Sun 6th
15:15#busride - the morning dawned. I'll skip the bright bit, and the early bit too, now I think of it...
I was prepared for my big adventure. I had my planned itinerary in my iPhone, a bag of £1 and £2 coins in my pocket, a good book for the dull bits and my iPad in case I was tempted to blog. All was good. I had booked the Suffolk Links bus to collect me at 9.30 a.m. to take me to Stowmarket station in good time to buy a ticket to Diss on the 9.55 a.m. Norwich train. A hearty breakfast was eaten (cheese was involved) and, at 9.25, I locked the house up and walked down The Lane ...
In London, planning a bus journey that involves connections is, for the most part, very easy. Buses run very frequently, and there are lots of them, heading in every direction. so, all you do is go out to the nearest bus stop and wait. You might plan your route, but you probably wouldn't think too much about timings. And, even if you are aiming to be at a certain place at a certain time, the Transport for London website is very good at that. When planning trips, I am known to struggle with choice. So many options, so hard to ...
[IMG: 7 ver 4 full] Many thanks to the 10,700 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Lib Dems could try to outflank Corbyn from the left? Are you having a laugh? Oh, and quit the anonymous briefings. (126 comments) by Caron Lindsay Tim Farron is right: Osama Bin Laden's death is not a tragedy (81 comments) by Mark Wright We should weep at what is happening to Labour (98 comments) by George Kendall Farron: Enough is enough. It's time to help refugees in need in response to Independent's heartbreaking photo of a ...
Karen Wilkinson and I have today resigned from PWAS (Parents Want a Say). The group has achieved some notable successes in the campaign to reverse the term time holiday regulations but it is clear there are irreconcilable differences over governance and organisational development. We believe the issue of unreasonable treatment of parents by schools in terms of absence as a result of government
As a child, I bemused my parents, particularly my mother, by my almost obsessive fascination with buses. Not in a trainspotter-ish way, you understand, but as a user. Over a long monsoon in Mumbai as a five year old, I spent hours looking out of the bedroom window, counting buses and wondering where they went. And, as soon as I was allowed out on my own or, in Mumbai, with a doting grand uncle, I was riding buses further and further afield, visiting family or just exploring. Growing up into a non-driver - I still haven't gone as far as ...
In the run-up to Autumn Conference in Bournemouth, we'll be looking ahead to examine the highlights in the debating hall, the fringe and training rooms. You can find the papers here. You can find all the posts in the series here. First thing on Monday morning, Conference will debate a long 122 line motion on what is billed as a health charter for transgender and intersex people, but actually is much more wide-ranging. Trans and intersex rights is the next major front for equality campaigners. Lynne Featherstone in government set out an ambitious transgender action plan but this was kicked ...
Last week I went to Benidorm. We have stayed several times at a nearby small Spanish town with Erica's sister but we decided that we would go and have look at Benidorm having spent so many hours in planes to ... Continue reading →
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Teads (previously Ebuzzing / Wikio). Two drop out this month, hopefully temporarily: Jade O'Neil (MM*) and Andrew George. 1 (4) Liberal Democrat Voice No change 2 (9) Mark Pack No change 3 (22) Stephen Tall Down 2 4 (23) Nick Tyrone Down 2 5 (33) Caron Lindsay (Caron's Musings) Down 2 6 (36) Jennie Rigg Down 1 7 (37) James Grahan (Quaequam Blog!) Down 3 8 (47) Matthew Green (Thinking Liberal) Up 1 9 (50) Alex Marsh No change 10 (56) Pink Dog Up 5 ...
On both sides of the Atlantic something very interesting is happening: politicians who already qualify for their old age pensions have been enthusing mass audiences, many of them young. Of course, it might just be coincidence that "Corbynmania" — which should see Jeremy Corbyn elected as the new leader of the UK Labour Party next [...]
Oh my word. What can I even say to comprehend what we witnessed yesterday? When you get stomped all over by a team that hasn't beaten you in 74 years and even spotted you a ten-point lead to start the game then you know things didn't exactly go to plan. Where can you even start? You have a Quarterback who many draft analysts had as the best QB potentially coming out of the 2016 class and some even saw him going #1 overall who looked dazed and confused as wave after wave of Temple defensive players came charging at him ...
It's been a long time since I last looked at the parliamentary petitions website. I did visit it this week to add my support to the asylum seeker petition, so while I was there I decided to take a look through the 800 or so others that are currently open. If nothing else, wading through them gives you a fascinating ...
Two days of legal argument beckons as the next stage in the election petition against Alistair Carmichael in Edinburgh. We won't have to rely on journalists recounting the evidence, either. We'll be able to see it all for ourselves as it's broadcast live on STV. Here, from the STV website, is how to watch. Broadcast You can watch on television on STV Glasgow and STV Edinburgh. These can be found at Freeview channel 23, Sky channel 117 and Virgin channel 159 in both city TV broadcast areas. The programme will start at 10am and feature full and uninterrupted coverage from ...
If European and world leaders haven't the stomach for regime change in Syria, however brutally flawed the regime, at least have the heart to provide a breathing space for refugees to rebuild shattered lives while contributing to the local economy and community. The strength of spirit these refugees will need to rebuild their country in future years will not be found in semi-permanent camps or behind barbed wire. It should not be leached away by political infighting, statistics and nights spent on the side of cold roads while the rest of the world weeps without consequence. Across Europe and the ...
That's for Willowburn Hospice. Next Sunday I'll be running the Great North Run and I think it unlikely that, as urged by one of my generous sponsors, I will be only the second male Briton to win the Great North Run, but I know it will be a win for Willowburn because of the generous and wonderful sponsors who have visited my page "Owen's Willowburn Great North Run" and pledged their support. A visit to the page will show you, however, that there's still some way to go to meet my target, and if you're in a position to help ...
Vince Cabe has nothing to lose. He's (sadly) not an MP any more. In his new book, he could have gone absolutely to town trashing everyone's performance in the coalition. But he didn't. In an interview with the Guardian yesterday and an extract from his forthcoming book, he gave a thoughtful critique of the coalition years. While Nick Clegg was right to have "the quad", he and Danny Alexander gave too much power to the Treasury and didn't challenge it enough, says Vince. That is a reasonable criticism. On the Tories Vince also talked about the tribalism of the Tories ...
A wasp yesterday The Guardian's Comment is Free pages win Headline of the Day. Thanks to a reader for the nomination.
The BBC report that a new deadline has been set for people who believe their long-term care costs should have been paid for by the Welsh NHS in which they can register to claim the money back. Continuing NHS Healthcare can cover all the care costs of people with complex on-going illnesses. Claimants now have until 1 October to register for costs incurred between 1 August 2013 and 30 September 2014. For those found to be eligible, all care needs – including nursing home costs of up to £40,000 a year – are met by the NHS. It is not ...
Despite his supposedly damoscene conversion to taking more refugees into the UK, David Cameron still stands charged with moral failure and political cowardice over the refugee crisis facing Europe. It is a human crisis on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. About 366,000 people have come to Europe this year, with Italy, Greece and Hungary, bearing the brunt of responsibility for these arrivals. In August 50,000 refugees reached Hungary. Germany is anticipating receiving between 800,000 and a million arriving. About 2,800 people have died or gone missing en route in the Mediterranean so far this year. Altogether, four million ...
As a teenager, there was a period when I read literature about the Kennedy assassination with great interest - starting with Harold Weisberg's classic Whitewash and then working through various others. Like a lot of casual readers, I was easily seduced by the notion that Something Big Was Behind It All; the explanation that one lone individual with an imagined grudge did it seemed too easy. The inconsistencies in the official account are numerous, and it's easy enough to understand that, having got hold of a narrative, the investigators fitted the evidence to it rather than vice versa. However, other ...
With a depressing predictability, the drums of war are being pounded again. This time, it's because we need to remove both IS and the Assad regime from Syria, to make things safe for refugees to return home. Now, I don't doubt that a properly resourced military force could achieve both of those aims while perhaps also stopping Turkey using the military action as cover for attacks on the Kurds. Once the Western militaries are properly equipped and deployed, it's a bit of a 'proper application of overwhelming force' issue. That's as long as we assume no one intervenes on the ...
I was lucky to have had an opportunity to see a motion picture that won't be on general release until October this past Friday night. Given how far away it is from hitting the cinemas, I will be extra careful in terms of not offering spoilers up for "Suffragette", starring Carey Mulligan, directed by Sarah Gavron, a film that tells the story of the struggle for women to gain the vote in Great Britain as seen through the prism of events leading up to the death of Emily Davison at the Epsom Derby on June 4, 1913. First of all, ...
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
I raised residents' concerns recently about pedestrian safety near the Roseangle playpark since the playpark was improved and footfall is very significantly increased. I have contacted both the City Council's Head of Transportation and the Road Policing Unit at Police Scotland, asking if a speed survey could be carried out. The council's Head of Transportation has now advised : "With regard to parked cars on Riverside Approach near the railway overbridge a site inspection was carried out but there were only vehicles parked on the south side of the build out for this particular visit. I will arrange for further ...
This undated photograph below shows the north side of Perth Road, Dundee, looking west and left from the south end of Springfield. The hairdressing and shampooing rooms at No. 37 belonged to John Fisher & Son, listed as 'hairdresser and perfumer' specialising in ornamental hair. He lived at No. 56 Magdalen Yard Road. No. 41 was William Moffatt, bookseller, stationer and tobacconist. Nos. 43 Perth Road was Mrs J. M. Robertson's West End Livery Stables, listed in the Dundee Directory as Nos. 45 and 57 too. She lived at No. 1 Strawberrybank. The company stables were at No. 32.5 King ...
Sun 6th
08:28
The Borders railway is a massive Liberal Democrat achievement - why are we not shouting it from the ...
This weekend the first journeys take place on the new Borders railway. Originally shut in 1969 under the Beeching cuts, it was rebuilt thanks to the Scottish Liberal Democrats in Government. Trains will now run again on a 30 mile stretch from Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank. It was Liberal Democrat transport ministers Tavish Scott and Nicol Stephen before him, who fought the battles within the Scottish Executive on this against Labour's distinct lack of enthusiasm. In fact, one of their MSPs tried to wreck the project by putting an amendment for it to only go as far as Midlothian but ...
Can People Change? Apparently so - and for the better. (tags: psychology ) Did AIPAC just waste tens of millions fighting the Iran deal? Not really. The real goal was different. (tags: iran uspolitics ) Leicester research rediscovers cast of Bede's skull in Cambridge Not quite Richard III, but still cool. (tags: history ) If You Were A Platypus, My Dear Ursula Vernon's short fiction based on recent events. (tags: sf ) Why David Cameron could lose his referendum @sirgrahamwatson sees trouble ahead. (tags: eu ukpolitics )
End of the road for cats eyes - but what will people in Halifax name their crappy chain pubs after now? [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
