In his mouth is half a very chewed old tennis ball. His game was to wait until someone was walking past and then drop it on to the pavement. When the passerby stopped to give the ball back, he would snatch it, look grateful for a short while and then drop it again. His companion did not altogether approve of this way of carrying on.
Fri 25th
21:10
Anybody currently residing in USia willing to recieve a parcel for me then ship to the UK?
I've seen a thing on ThinkGeek that they only ship to USA and I can't find it anywhere else that ships to the UK :( [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The Guardian wins Headline of the Day. Thanks to @lauralorgy for the nomination.
Very good, courtesy of Capitol Steps:
Fri 25th
19:52
After years of pubs closing in Ludlow, we have proposals for two new small pubs #cheers
Ludlow is lucky in still having a plentiful supply and variety of pubs in and around the town. But we have already lost a lot or premises - most recently the George and the Horse and Jockey. Now, planning applications have been submitted for two new rather different pubs. No 14 At 14 Corve Street, [...]
Gareth Epps writes on Liberator's blog: This week's Glee Club was a great success, with the biggest attendance ever. Our supply of the Liberator Songbook sold out in record time. Onlookers seemed to enjoy it. Even a journalist from Sky News called it "the best night ever" (and on being challenged she did not say she was being sarcastic).All of which makes the party's response to media attempts to manufacture a controversy over reference to Charles Kennedy in the songbook look pretty silly. Gareth also reports that there is now a Facebook group devoted to the Glee Club.
This week's glee club was particularly good. I copy below a photo of the event: Thanks to Jonathan Wallace for the Photo. There are a number of short videos on twitter.
To go with Caroline Pidgeon's selection as the Lib Dem London Mayor candidate, here are the results out today of the list candidate selections, in order: Caroline Pidgeon (incumbent) Emily Davey Merlene Emerson (elevated from 5th to 3rd due to ethnic diversity rules) Rob Blackie Stephen Knight (incumbent) Zack Polanski Duwayne Brooks Dawn Barnes Annabel Mullin Marisha Ray Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett Ben Mathis Pauline Pearce Teena Lashmore Brian Haley Mark Platt Number of eligible voters: 9,462Total number of votes cast: 3,755Turnout: 39.7% With two existing London Assembly members, the odds of Merlene being elected are far from certain but well above ...
[IMG: Charles Kennedy on HIGNFY] I'm on my way o Glasgow to attend a debate to be held in memory of Charles Kennedy. The subject will be one which was very close to his heart – "This house believes that the UK should remain within the European Union." The debate takes place in the very Chamber where Charles debated as a student. During his lifelong association with Glasgow University, he served as the Glasgow University Union's President and, much later, for an unprecedented two terms as the University's Rector. From the GUU website: The debate will be chaired by The ...
Simon Hughes was Justice Minister in the tail-end of the Coalition government and already we are missing his Liberal voice in that department. Today, however, at the National Liberal Club, members of the Kettner Society and their guests were treated to a fascinating exposition by him on the legacy of the Magna Carta. He wisely [...]
http://ldv.org.uk/47650 via @libdemvoice
The Liberal Democrats need a better housing policy. The proposed policy on building many more houses that was (rightly) debated at Conference is not sufficient. The other policies in the Liberal Democrat manifesto had weaknesses. The housing situation today is the cause of some of the biggest problems we have in delivering on fundamental Liberal Democrat principles of 'the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals' and on the 'just distribution of economic rewards' – let alone getting 'value for money' for the state. Jeremy Corbyn has identified affordable housing as his first priority in his early statements and PMQ's. However ...
The motions for the Welsh Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference have been published: http://www.welshlibdems.wales/autumn_conference_papers_2015 The main motion maps out the direction of travel that the 2016 Welsh General Election Manifesto will take and, whilst I agree with most of it, there needs to be a rebalancing of priorities; inconsistencies need addressing; and omissions need resolving. It leads with the importance of an export-led economy. Whilst exports are part of the mix, it neglects the importance of strong local economies built on viable small & medium-sized businesses. Strong communities need strong local businesses that offer resilience against a volatile global economy. I ...
This week's Glee Club was a great success, with the biggest attendance ever. Our supply of the Liberator Songbook sold out in record time. Onlookers seemed to enjoy it. Even a journalist from Sky News called it "the best night ever" (and on being challenged she did not say she was being sarcastic). We have remembered two good friends at Autumn Glee Clubs who have recently departed us. Simon Titley was on the front cover of the 2014 Glee Club Songbook and Charles Kennedy was remembered on the front page of the 2015 Glee Club Songbook. Charles was remembered fondly. ...
Here are the photos from Bournemouth conference, all in one album. Enjoy!
[IMG: Watford pizza and politics] With a move to Hull University looming I'm one of the many who reluctantly had to miss out on Conference this year. However some solace was found in Watford Liberal Democrats organising a "Politics and Pizza" evening, with Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael as a special guest. Politics and pizza is a fantastic combination of two of my biggest interests and it seemed very popular with the rest of the local party as well. The venue was nearly filled and what a lovely venue it was! It's the finest mix of library and bar you've ...
It was Lib Dem conference this week in Bournemouth. Our membership has grown by more than a third since the election and it was the first Conference speech from our new Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron MP. Tim spoke passionately about his main priority housing. Stating that we have a national emergency when it comes to housing. There are 90,000 children in the UK who donít have a place to call home because there simply isnít enough social†housing with 1.6 million people on social housing waiting lists. Thatís why the Liberal Democrats oppose the Conservatives plans for the forced sell ...
The post How To Win The Creative Game appeared first on James Taylor.
This is borne out of a twitter chat with several people. Morgan suggested that the Green's "First Timer" badges might maybe be a good idea - I remain to be convinced on this, and would certainly not like them to be compulsory (which was not Morgan's suggestion, but I could see some people saying "why not just put it on the pass?" to which... no, not that). I reckon that people who are knowledgable about conference and it's working could wear an "ask me questions" badge, though, on a purely voluntary basis. I mean, I know we have the information ...
All five of yesterday's principal council by-elections resulted in holds. In Norfolk, the Conservatives comfortably held their seat in county council's Loddon division with a 641 vote majority. Liberal Democrat candidate Christopher Brown polled 12.2%, a vote share increase of 7.1% from two years ago. The Conservatives also secured a comfortable hold in Chedgrave & Thurton [...]
I wasn't sure what to expect from my first political conference. I thought maybe I'd go and I'd be on my own all weekend. Perhaps the people who'd been going for years would look down on somebody with less than five months in the party. Or they'd be politically narrow minded, not wanting to discuss views that differed from their own. I should have had more faith. Within hours, I'd made a group of fantastic new friends. Party members, councillors, even Tim Farron and Paddy Ashdown told us how grateful they were to have us and how the surge in ...
This list is not exhaustive, but I:was somewhat disappointed in the room at the Mariott*, especially given the eye-watering price we were paying, but the staff were lovely**. I'd particularly like to single out for praise the breakfast chef*** who cooked my eggs exactly how I liked them, and was chatty and gregarious. Was amused at the fact that the Mariott kept running out of beer, even despite charging six quid a pint for it, and getting many deliveries. enjoyed many debates and fringes, and the fact that our party does EVERYTHING democratically, even if it is complex and confusing ...
If you were travelling home from Conference on Wednesday afternoon, still excited by Tim Farron's speech, you may have missed his first party political broadcast. He repeated some of the themes from that speech, referring to his childhood and the importance of decent housing in a liberal society. So here it is:
This is Pinkie, one of my three goats, this morning. She is our milking goat. The other two are kept for meat production. Since turning to a life of self-sufficiency, I have reduced the amount of meat I consume. I have however increased the amount of eggs and milk products I eat. Becoming self-sufficient was a personal choice for me. It was a choice based on my view that we need to consume
The day started with the issue of Fracking and the Conservative plans to bypass local democracy and steamroller through Fracking around the Country. Hopefully at our Easter Confrerence we will debate a policy to leave this gas in the ground but in the meantime the attitude of the Conservative government to local democracy is astounding. Planning applications of this type need proper and careful consideration and with the volume of interest from the public it is impossible for any Council to fully consider and respond to all the concerns raised in 13 weeks. The first few months of this government ...
Currently the need to establish a core vote seems, akin to motherhood and apple pie, to be so obviously a good thing that it cannot be questioned. However, at the risk of upsetting friends and others alike, let me raise some concerns. Firstly, there is the simple truism that in a First Past the Post system you cannot win by playing to your core vote, even if you have one. That is a lesson Republicans and Democrats in the USA have to relearn from time to time. It is a lesson the Conservatives had to learn after Thatcher when Ian ...
Started the day at the Christian Forum breakfast to listen to Simon Hughes talk about his life as an MP and how his faith had helped him in his role as an MP. Apart from a good breakfast it was a very enlightening talk. Bermondsay has lost a good MP with its vote in May. After that to the housing debate and vote for an ambitious Liberal Democrat housing policy. We need more social housing as well as more affordable housing for people to get onto the housing ladder. We also do not need the Conservative giveaway policy which is ...
[IMG: Webstory image for plastic bags] On 5th October, new plastic bag charges are coming into force in England, thanks to the Liberal Democrats commitment to the environment in government. This is a great opportunity to communicate with residents about the changes and highlight the work that the Liberal Democrats have done to reduce the use of plastic bag carriers to [...]
Last night saw the UK launch of the 'ecomodernist manifesto', produced by the US Breakthrough Institute. The manifesto calls on environmentalists to embrace technology in order to save nature. Professor Georgina Mace was one of the speakers. Here, she summarises her argument. It is refreshing and very welcome to hear the positive messages of the ecomodernist agenda, stimulating ideas and actions across different disciplines and across traditionally distinct groups. Also, it is good to see the emphasis placed on the potential contribution from technology to addressing environmental problems, though I am surprised that this is perceived to be so radical. ...
TfGM have published the latest designs for Stockport Interchange, which will replace the ageing bus station. [IMG: Selection_145] The interchange includes a new bridge across the Mersey, allowing buses to come directly from Heaton Lane. That in turn takes traffic out of Mersey Square.
Full details here: Site G final Snagging WIB
I believe in giving praise where praise is due, and so I would like to congratulate all the party staff, companies, businesses, volunteers and particularly the members of Federal Conference Committee (FCC) on their delivering the most enjoyable, welcoming and member friendly conference I have attended in my 27 years in this party. I particularly liked and would like to see at all future conferences: From the moment you arrived people explained what was happening and when, FCC and Federal Executive members were available front of house to hear what members wanted to tell them; In the conference hall every ...
[IMG: 😀] Possible issues: Your hall wifi might need you to re-enter your username and password on a regular basis (say every 24 hours) you'll need to use your laptop or phone to do this. You get lots of buffering, if this happens unfortunately the speeds provided aren't fast enough, you need at least 3MBps.
Fri 25th
09:32
Guardian Politics podcast and my 9 reasons why the Lib Dems were so cheerful in Bournemouth
I'm one of the contributors to this week's Guardian Politics podcast, focusing on the three big stories this week: the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, lurid allegations contained in Michael Ashcroft's revenge biography of David Cameron, and George Osborne's trade visit to China. You can listen to it here. As ever, I thought of all the things I should have said afterwards. In particular, on why the Lib Dems were in such a chipper mood at conference, I mentioned only a couple of reasons. So here's a fuller list: 1. Conferences are (nearly) always fun – it's the one time ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... YouGov | Only Fools and Horses is the 'greatest' British comedy Only Fools = fave comedy, Morecambe & Wise = fave comedians, acc to YouGov poll http://bit.ly/1LAulhB Liberal Democrats' conference, 'Pig-gate' and Osborne in China – Politics Weekly podcast | Politics | The Guardian Politics Weekly pod w/ me, @guardian_clark, @hugh_muir, @MichaelWhite on #piggate, #libdemconf & Osborne in China http://bit.ly/1LAsidm Lib Dem conference 2015: Tim Farron gives Labour another reason to be miserable – Telegraph Surprisingly warm/admiring sketch by @MichaelPDeacon on ...
At the last meeting of Bury's Full Council, my Lib Dem colleague, Councillor Mary D'Albert asked the Council's representative on the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel for an update on what we can do to address the abuse of so-called 'legal highs'. The full answer is below, which hopefully gives us all important information on the work that the local police, and our local council's are doing to address this issue. We know this is an issue that people might be worried about, and in particular if these poorly regulated items are easily available. The issue has been raised ...
A 'PACT' (Police And Communities Together) meeting was held at the Longfield Library on Monday 21st September – colleague Cllr Mary D'Albert reports back: In attendance were approximately 20 members of the public – the aim of the meeting is to allow the public to ask questions of the police, and to highlight problems the police may not be aware of. The police also produce crime figures for the Prestwich area, and gave a report on current cases. The figures show that overall the number of crime is down compared to the same time last year The meeting is used ...
If I were Jeremy Corbyn, here's what I would have said when asked about joining the Privy Council: I know the invitation has been extended to me with the best of intentions, but with respect, it is not for me. It's not required to do the job of Leader of the Opposition. There is no need to be a Privy Counsellor to have a confidential briefing from time to time from the government. My GP is not a Privy Counsellor, but I trust my GP to keep confidential information secret. Many fantastic volunteers work for the Samaritans and I would ...
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] The winners of the ALDC Campaigner Awards 2015 were presented at the ALDC AGM at Conference by Simon Hughes, celebrating the best campaigning teams from across the Country. From excellent Focus leaflets to superb online campaigns, the awards giving our excellent local campaigning parties the recognition they deserve. This year's awards were handed out to Best Member engagement campaign Winner- Mid Dorset and North Poole Best Literature Winner - Portsmouth Best Community Campaign Winner- Tunbridge Wells Best By-Election campaign Winner- Wrexham and Clwyd South Best Digital Campaign Winner - Manchester Withington Best Ward Campaign ...
I have commented previously on Jeremy Corbyn's decision to appoint a vegan as his shadow minister for food and rural affairs. I actually have no problem with that provided that Kerry McCarthy, who has the role, does the job properly, accepts that the industry depends on meat-eaters for its survival and that everybody has the right to choose their own lifestyle. That would be the liberal approach. Alas that appears not to be the approach being taken by Corbyn's new model army. The Independent reports that Ms. McCarthy wants meat eaters to be treated in the same way as smokers ...
As a man who has in the recent past compared the current Deputy Leader of the Labour Party to Stalin, you may have been surprised to read that headline. But with the dust settling on Corbyn's leadership, while elements of what Watson is looking to achieve may not entirely be my cup of tea, I do see now what he's trying to do, how he'll probably suceed, and why it may even be essential. Tom Watson's main goal appears to be keeping the Labour Party in one piece during this turbulent period. He may well be he only person on ...
D.M.Brown's department store in the High Street (below) was a landmark for many generations of Dundee's citizens. David Millar Brown the son of a Lochee coal merchant served his apprenticeship as a draper with various Lochee and Dundee shops. D.M.Brown set us his own business at the age of 24 employing 3 people. The business was so successful that by 1938 D.M.Brown employed 400 people.
This sombre, sinister ballad of an idealistic FBI agent out of her depth may be the most powerful indictment of the War on Drugs since the Wire. The initial conceit of this blog was to share striking or interesting facts, so here's one. Since 9/11, the conflict in Afghanistan has transfixed the world's attention. Yet [...]
Where do languages go to die? Decline of a Lingua Franca: The Story of Aramaic (tags: languages linguistics history ) Beware Europe's automotive-political complex The consequences of the Volkswagen scandal. (tags: eu climatechange pollution ) EU lobbying credited with helping kill death penalty in US Getting something right at least. (tags: death uspolitics )
What Does Probability Mean in Your Profession? Activate the @A_C_McGregor signal! Somebody is talking about trains on @libdemvoice FAO @LDFriendsOfGin: interesting Ginfographic petition for @zoeimogen to change her name to "O'Connell, 37" [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
A new planning applications has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 59227 Registration Date: 18/09/2015 Location: 5 Penrhyn Drive, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1LW Proposal: Part single/part two storey extension to side and rear and front dormer Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
A new planning applications has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 59172 Registration Date: 01/09/2015 Location: 69 St Margarets Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2QT Proposal: Single storey extensions to side and rear Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
First an article in the New Statesman – see link below:- The more I read about this woman the more I seem to like her. Labour's mistake in their Leadership election wasn't electing Corbyn, I think it was not electing her. She'd have been a good foil to him (whatever you think of him it is a little dispiriting to see yet another political party being run by middle aged men) and a sign the party was actually going to take women seriously. A Creasy quote:- "We can't afford to waste anyone in the Labour party," she says. "Most ...
From Planning and Housing web site – 24 09 2015 Dept. of Communities & Local Government (DCLG) cornered over housing crisis as it lacks any record of land disposal. [IMG: unnamed] Government plans to release enough public land to build up to 100,000 new houses have been branded "wishful thinking dressed up as public policy" by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), as it revealed that the DCLG does not record information on the number of houses built. In an inquiry into the government's land disposal programme, the committee found that the DCLG cannot demonstrate the success of the project in ...
Liberalism is a political philoshopy that attracts parties from around the world and the family of parties works together as Liberal International and in the EU as ALDE. Obviously here in the UK we had a bad experience at the polls in May but then other parties around the world have had similar experiences and bounced back. So the Fringe meetings had speakers from VVD (Netherlands), D66 (Netherlands), FDP (Germany) and from Georgia the Republican Party . It was really invigorating to sit in an international forum and here how Liberals across Europe have responded to the challenges of their ...
The Trident debate was one of the most passionate of the conference with strongly held views for both the multilateral approach to nuclear disarmament and the unilateral view. What we all agreed on was that we should unite about voting against the like for like replacement of the nuclear arsenal. A position the Conservatives will be taking next year and wasting £100Bn in the process. What we did not agree on was what should be the alternative. So we have set up yet another commission to devise a policy. In my view the policy is very simple – simply do ...
