Yesterday to Guy's ENT to deal with persistent nosebleeds The consultant Dr L prescribed topical application of one antibiotic four times a day for two weeks followed by a different antibiotic for another two weeks, and then a return visit to ENT outpatients. Today was yet another visit to King's, first to have the six-monthly EVAR check-up to make sure there are no leaks from the plastic aorta, and then for a consultation with Dr R the vascular consultant. He was pleased with the EVAR scan which showed there had been a further contraction of the original aorta, though I ...
Performance is one of the key British films of the 1960s and James Fox's portrayal of a gangster, all hooded eyes and half-smiles, can be seen in inferior copies to this day. He recently spoke to the Guardian about making the film: Playing a gangster was quite a departure for me. I'd mostly played upper-class types. But I'd hung out with Donald Cammell, who wrote the screenplay and co-directed, and I think he'd seen a side of me that said: "James is a raving nutcase, so let's steer him in the direction of the East End and see what happens." ...
Duwayne Brooks, who was elected by Liberal Democrat members to be in the seventh slot on the party's GLA list for next May's elections, has withdrawn from the list. As a result, Pauline Pearce has joined the list and the line-up now is: Caroline Pidgeon (incumbent) Emily Davey Merlene Emerson Rob Blackie Stephen Knight (incumbent) Zack Polanski Dawn Barnes Annabel Mullin Marisha Ray Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett Pauline Pearce Duwayne had previously pulled out from the London Mayor selection. For full details of the voting, see my original post on the Lib Dem GLA list selection result.
Eight-four new city centre apartments could soon be built, but will fall well short of Cambridge City Council's policy for 40 per cent to be 'affordable homes'. Unex, submitting plans for a new development mainly on old warehousing land between Newmarket Road and East Road close to the Grafton car park, is offering only 24 affordable homes instead of the expected 34. The developers are claiming that if more of the apartments were to be designated as 'affordable' the whole scheme would be unviable. They have submitted a financial assessment to support the claim, which is not being made publicly ...
Cambridge City archive, which includes records of Cambridge City Council and its predecessors dating back to the 13th century, is set to move to Ely alongside the county archive. A report published ahead of the city council's Strategy and Resources Committee on 12 October, recommends agreeing to the county council's plan to move the city archive with the county archive from Shire Hall in 2016. If this is confirmed by the county council's General Purposes Committee when it meets on 20 October, the archives collections held in Shire Hall would move to the new Ely centre, while the Cambridgeshire Collection ...
In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, Angela Merkel managed to transition from being a Centre Right politician loathed by the European Left to being a darling of the Green Movement. The deed that achieved this transformation in sentiment was the precipitate announcement that Germany would phase out all its nuclear power plant fleet by 2022. It would be replaced by alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal power, combined with energy consumption savings, under an initiative known as the Energiewende, or energy transformation. This sudden decision to phase out the nuclear plants also involved ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: When you apply to go to the moon the LDC insists on a DNA test. If you plan on staying, if you plan on raising children, the LDC doesn't want chronic genetic conditions showing up in later life, or in your descendants. My DNA is from all over Earth. Old World, New World ; Africa, eastern Mediterranean, western Mediterranean, Tupi, Japanese, Norwegian. I'm a planet in one woman. This is a novel about near-future colonisation of the Moon by corporate clans (or clannish corporations) and their internal struggles over political power and resources. It starts ...
Rising Damp by UA Fanthorpe. 'A river can sometimes be diverted but is a very hard thing to lose altogether.' (Paper to the Auctioneers' Institute, 1907) At our feet they lie low, The little fervent underground Rivers of London Effra, Graveney, Falcon, Quaggy, Wandle, Walbrook, Tyburn, Fleet Whose names are disfigured, Frayed, effaced. There are the Magogs that chewed the clay To the basin that London nestles in. These are the currents that chiselled the city, That washed the clothes and turned the mills, Where children drank and salmon swam And wells were holy. They have gone under. Boxed, like ...
Actually the quotation should be the other way round. It was a Tory government under Mrs Thatcher which took away the right of local government to set, keep and spend the business rate. Now George Osborne has the cheek to claim a revolution rather than a "U" turn by giving it back again. Although, of course, not all the powers are returned. Most local authorises will be permitted to vary the business rate in one direction only - downwards. Only those authorities which succumb to central government bullying and agree to combine and have a separately elected executive mayor will ...
[IMG: Misbehaving by Richard Thaler - book cover] Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics is part autobiography, part history of an idea and part popular economics guide as Richard Thaler recounts his career and key part in the making of behavioural economics. He gives plenty of credit and pays a fair amount of attention to others along the way. So although the book is very much about him it also serves as a wider guide, introduction to and explanation of, behavioural economics and the understanding of the predictable biases, miscalculations and quirks in human decision making that makes us very ...
In a drastic shake up of policing in the capital, Haringey and other London boroughs could be set to lose their Police and Community Support Officers. London Lib Dems have launched a really important campaign, calling on the Met Police and Mayor to think again.
To read the breathless commentary of moderate pundits as David Cameron delivered his speech to Conservative Party Conference today, you would be forgiven for thinking that Cameron had announced a reversal of tax credit cuts, a real living wage, the abandonment of his ridiculous net migration target, and the implementation of a land value tax, all [...]
Wed 7th
14:37
Willie Rennie and Kirsty Williams challenge Scots and Welsh Tory leaders to disown Theresa May's "bo...
Tim Farron was quick to condemn Theresa May's speech yesterday, saying that she, not immigrants, were damaging to social cohesion. I think it was one of the most disgraceful speeches we have ever heard from a Home Secretary and, let's face it, Jack Straw, John Reid and David Blunkett had already ensured that the bar was in the gutter. At the time of writing, the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition has not yet deigned to challenge her. We've seen over the Summer how the Welsh and Scottish Tory leaders have set themselves apart from the wilder rhetoric coming from senior ...
The Guardian reports that the Taxpayers' Alliance, a campaign group that calls for tax and spending cuts and claims to represent the interests of taxpayers, has admitted one of its directors does not pay British tax. They say that Alexander Heath, a director of the increasingly influential free market, rightwing lobby group, lives in a farmhouse in the Loire and has not paid British tax for years. The Conservative party of course, has close links to this group, who claim to be "the guardian of taxpayers' money, the voice of taxpayers in the media and their representative at Westminster". The ...
The Local Government Bill was meant to have been voted through on Tuesday but has been pulled from the Assembly agendaWelsh Lib Dem shadow local government minister Peter Black, LibDem AM for South Wales West, added: "This is the sign of a Labour Government that's running scared, afraid of being left red-faced by the loss of a vote. I can't help but think that if Labour's minister hadn't acted so arrogantly on this from the beginning, he wouldn't have been left with no-one willing to work with him."Welsh Liberal Democrats have laid our cards on the table right from the ...
[IMG: Website story on templates] The latest template to be released is our A4 Focus leaflet - both in colour and for a RISO. There is also an A3 booklet style too with space for a survey! There is lots of room for you to make it as local as possible and have also included an articles about recent announcements [...]
Wed 7th
13:24LibLink: Tim Farron: The Tory conference is ignoring the humanitarian crisis unfolding on our doorst...
Tim Farron has written for the Independent about how the Tory Conference is ignoring the humanitarian crisis. This was written at the same time as Liberal Democrat Chief Whip went to Calais with a car full of items donated by Liberal Democrat staff. They will say, over and over, that Jeremy Corbyn will bankrupt your country, steal your job and surrender to Britain's enemies. They might even have a go at him for not singing the national anthem. And while I might agree that the Islington North MP lives in an economic fantasy land - a land far removed from ...
So our 6 Labour Council Leaders from across Merseyside have put in their plea to George Osborne for him to give the City Region some crumbs from his devolution table. I must say I am sadly underwhelmed by their bid though. This posting is not an attempt to comment on the document page by page but I am picking out things that caught my eye, or are a particular policy interest area for me or where I think the document is deficient. Firstly the laugh out loud moments from the 25 page document:- We are working together!!!! – 'We have ...
Sunniside History Society met last night, the first meeting since the trip to the Tanfield Railway on Sunday. It was an opportunity to show the video I filmed of the trip. The main speaker at the meeting gave a talk about Mary Eleanor Bowes , the co-founder of the Bowes-Lyon family with her husband George Lyon. There was also a video about the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The next meeting is on
[IMG: Leaflets] Volunteers who deliver leaflets for us are one of the most valuable assets that we have as a party. Therefore it's important that we ensure we treat these volunteers well so that they have a positive experience. Leafleting is something that many of us do all the time, some stuff we might think of as [...]
David Cameron makes his 10th speech to Conservative Party Conference. His ministers have already sickened many with comments on immigration, young people's productivity and justifying cutting benefits for poor people by suggesting that they need to work harder. Let's not forget that the Tories have already given a massive cut in Inheritance Tax for the very wealthy. It's almost as if the Tories think they are off the hook. They can say what they like because they feel no threat from Jeremy Corbyn. They feel that their election campaign for 2020 is written. All they have to do, they think, ...
Earlier this summer LDHQ advertised for political advisers - three posts, each containing a range of linked policy areas. They were advertised on a reasonable salary (£28k, though that's pretty tight for London) and it was great to see the party investing in policy advice for the new parliament. That said, I think it was a missed opportunity. I don't know who they hired - but I suspect youngish politicos. I say this because while the jobs were advertised and in the months since, I've spoken to a number of people - all genuine experts in fields relevant to the ...
Last night I spoke out in favour of a new market for Stockport town centre, and the plan – which has all-party support – moved forward with the agreement of the Executive. Our plan has two parts. First, to find a new home for the existing market traders (both those currently inside and those outside) – somewhere down the hill in an area of higher footfall. Second, to bring a new market to our historic market hall, one based on a high quality food and drink offer of the sort that's working very successfully elsewhere. Why make such a big ...
The county council have established an experimental one way system in Vicarage Road, which is massively increasing journey times (adding anything up to three quarters of an hour at certain times). Watford councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst is on the case and trying to get Herts CC to see sense. You may want to review journey times [...]
Wed 7th
10:55A woman's place at Conservative Party Conference - walking with Dave, not talking on panels
Two interesting reports from Conservative Party Conference. First, Isabel Hardman writes for the Spectator that new MPs, many of them highly qualified professional people, are not taking kindly to being put on a rota for walking with David Cameron between buildings. Yes, dear readers, such a thing actually existms. It appears that the women are none too pleased at being used as "arm candy" while the men are annoyed at being excluded: But this exciting opportunity to be pictured with the Prime Minister doesn't seem to have quite enthused some of those who have had to walk around with him ...
The weather has been mostly good. As it had been in Brighton. Such a contrast to the way things feel on the ground; politically speaking, everything feels very cloudy indeed. The future of Britain in the EU, and by extension the very future of the UK itself, is in doubt. We can only hope the Tories guide us thoughtfully through the next ten years as they are only real game in town. There were the protestors, joining us in Manchester. And they have been uglier than you can imagine. A lot of the abuse aimed at women has been downright ...
Good to see former Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders wanting to get back into the political fray and running for the local council, though the circumstances of the by-election he'll be fighting are tragic: The Liberal Democrat, who was Torbay MP for 18 years until losing his seat at the general election, hopes to win a bye-election at Torbay council next month. If successful he would replace long-standing Lib Dem Ruth Pentney who died last month, at the age of 62, after battling motor neurone disease. Dubbed Torquay's "yellow iron lady" she was a for 13 years, representing the Clifton ...
UPDATED DETAILS. Independent seat. Cause: Death. No LD Candidate.
Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. LD Candidate- Gwilym Owen.
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Jack Satterthwaite. To help, please contact Jack (07414 708960, jack.satterthwaite@gmail.com)
If you are a young transgender person still at school, struggling to come to terms with your gender identity, you need specialised help pretty quickly. You should not have to wait a minimum of 7 months to see a specialist. If you are older, you should not be told that the waiting list is a year. Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume has highlighted this as another area in which the Scottish Government is failing to meet its 18 week target for referrals. This one will take a lot of thinking about as there are so few specialists in ...
Protestors at Walton Hall Park One of the Many in Liverpool up in arms about the Mayor's sell off plans I am today issuing a challenge to Joe Anderson to debate the sale of parts of Calderstones Park; Walton Hall ... Continue reading →
Every society goes in an out of periods of insanity where they lock people up merely for being accused of something. Let me put it more strongly. There are some crimes considered so loathsome that you only have to be accused of them to be immediately assumed to be guilty. The last few months have seen the apotheosis of a moral panic about child abuse, which reached a head with the investigation into establishment abuse, leading to murder. There have been other moments in recent years. The frightening alliance between what you might call the child abuse 'industry' and fundamentalist ...
There's something rather poignant about the decision of Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron to appoint two Middle East advisers, rather than just the one, as it seems to symbolise just how deeply divided even many of those who profess peace are on this issue. That said, it is a good choice of two: John McHugo, the Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine and someone with an impressively detailed background in the region and its issues. Lord Monroe Palmer, who I previously featured in my 'Local Liberal Heroes' series and someone with a similarly detailed knowledge of the issues and ...
So only 7 and a half years after I first blogged about Lincs FM and MuxCo getting the Lincolnshire DAB license we finally have it. Although from the list of 7 stations, only two are available (Lincs FM and Compass) along with BBC Radio Lincolnshire who had to be included. The really good news though is that the local relay in Lincoln has been switched on allowing me to get the commercial and BBC national DAB multiplexes at full signal strength. In the past I'd need to perform a circus act to get any of the BBC stations, and Absolute ...
Back in July, I updated residents about the areas of the West End covered by Phase 2 of changes to bin and recycling collection arrangements. The changes are effective from 9th November :It was originally envisaged that the areas covered in the West End in Phase 2 would be most of the east and north of the West End Ward, although the Environment Department decided to exclude the areas immediately north and south of the Perth Road district shopping centre, which is to be included in a future phase. You can see a map of the areas that are in ...
[IMG: The Lib Dem team at Gatley's Tatton cinema site] The Lib Dem team are working to get development at Gatley's former Tatton cinema. The Lib Dems have approved a Compulsory Purchase Order for the former Tatton cinema site in Gatley. The Lib Dem team have welcomed the planning application to develop the former Tatton cinema site in Gatley, but we aren't taking anything for granted. Months ago we got the council to start work on a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the site. There were two reasons. First, we hoped it would encourage the owners to pull their finger ...
Think Britain is a soft touch on immigration? Think again - shows how warped our immigration "debate" is Facebook data transfers threatened by Safe Harbour ruling 'Suffrajitsu': How the suffragettes fought back using martial arts Emily Wilding Davison and Parliament - UK Parliament Theresa May's immigration speech is dangerous and factually wrong - in which @jameskirkup absolutely NAILS IT. ICYMI: I posted about what happens when politicians demonise each other Vince Cable on his new book: "perhaps I have something to contribute" an understatement akin to that famous caption labelling Tim Berners-Lee as "web developer" This American tourist's list of ...
Wed 7th
07:34
4 liberal themes on economics and public services: my contribution to Lib Dem Agenda 2020
Agenda 2020 is the consultation exercise being carried out by the Liberal Democrats to set the framework of policy in the period up to 2020, when we next expect parliamentary elections. At this stage the idea is to keep the thinking at quite a high level. This is always quite hard for political activists. We somehow got onto VAT on tampons in the consultation exercise in Bournemouth. Then again, I'm always saying that political types on the left are too abstract. I haven't submitted the following contribution yet, but the idea is to be strong on general direction, with only ...
Progress on the new £24m Dyfi Bridge, the funding for which was secured by Welsh Liberal Democrats, has been welcomed by local party figures. A public exhibition of outline proposals for the new Bridge is due to be held in Machynlleth on Wednesday (7 October). In September 2014 the Welsh Liberal Democrats agreed to allow the Welsh Government's annual budget to pass in exchange for funding for a range of key Welsh Liberal Democrat policies, including the early construction of the new A487 Dyfi Bridge. Subject to the completion of all the statutory processes, construction work could start in late ...
