Staffordshire is a much underrated county. It has some of the most picturesque parts of the Peak District and the Churnet Valley, which at one point carries a river, canal and railway but no road. It also has some interesting disused railway stations. But then so do Devon, Bedfordshire, North Lincolnshire, East Sussex, Leicestershire, Herefordshire, Hampshire, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Cornwall, Rutland. Northumberland, Shropshire, Suffolk, East Riding of Yorkshire, Norfolk, Wiltshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Durham and Glasgow.
The British Psychological Society is commemorating the centenary of the publication of C.S. Myers' article 'A contribution to the study of shell shock...' in the Lancet by hosting an evening of lectures on psychology and war followed by a wine reception. The event will take place on Wednesday 18 November (5.30-7.30pm) at Cambridge City Hotel, 20 Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DT. Professor Edgar Jones from King's College London will speak on 'Shell shock: Charles Myers and the Generals.' He will explore the contribution of Charles Myers, consulting psychologist to the British Expeditionary Force, to the understanding and treatment of shell ...
Laura Schwartz reviews Suffragette. "But there were others who really have been failed, be that by the system, by their families or both. These are the people for whom the Government's reforms really might not be working ... Behind the masks, the banners and the anger, I wonder if we as Conservatives should perhaps be more ready than we are to work out which is which." George Grant talked to the protesters outside his party's conference. David Boyle says he "can't think of any area of public discourse so shot through with complete twaddle as housing policy". Ian Ground on ...
The Cambridgeshire Green Deal Communities (GDC) scheme provides grants to Cambridgeshire households to install solid wall insulation in their homes. To date the scheme has delivered solid wall insulation to over 200 properties. The scheme is a partnership between all the Cambridgeshire Local Authorities and is funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Climate Energy Ltd has been the main contractor undertaking this work and has also been working for other authorities in the UK. We have now been notified that Climate Energy Ltd has entered into administration. All the local authorities involved in this scheme want to ...
Following a crash between a car and a motorbike, Cheadle's got it's very own hole in the wall, and Keith and the team are working to get it sorted. [IMG: hole in the wall cheadle] The footpath was sectioned off on Tuesday afternoon and yesterday the top section of the wall that was unsafe was taken down so it couldn't fall down. The council has raised an order today for its repair but doesn't yet have timescales for this work to be started.
Fri 9th
18:20
Single Transferable Vote 101 (or, why no-one in Britain knows how to report it properly and what the...
I am a fan of the Single Transferable Vote as a voting system. Being from Northern Ireland and having lived in the Republic of Ireland, I have voted using STV more often than I have first past the post (FPTP). Naturally, then, I was pleased to see it introduced in Scotland for local elections, which helped some way to break Labour's hegemony over local politics in the Central Belt by ending the one-party state that existed in most councils in Scotland. (It also probably played a role in giving greater force to the SNP wave in recent years, in the ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: Un jour, il arriva à Senez, qui est une ancienne ville épiscopale, monté sur un âne. Sa bourse, fort à sec dans ce moment, ne lui avait pas permis d'autre équipage. Le maire de la ville vint le recevoir à la porte de l'évêché et le regardait descendre de son âne avec des yeux scandalisés. Quelques bourgeois riaient autour de lui. One day he arrived in Senez, an ancient episcopal town, riding an ass. His resources, which were very depleted at that time, did not allow him any better turn-out. The mayor came to welcome ...
This is a real thrill and a great honour. I've listened to Johnnie Walker on the radio, off and on, for over forty years. He does "Sounds of the Seventies" on Radio 2 on Sunday afternoon. As part of the show, he invites listeners to suggest records to add to his jukebox – "Johnnie's Jukebox". Well, a few weeks ago I had a casual gander at his jukebox and thought that there was a key record missing from it. So, I wrote in and a bit later got an email from the programme's associate producer asking if I'd like to ...
You do wonder what was in Stephen Tall's mind. He could so easily have said: If the Lib Dems only get 24 seats, I'll bake everyone lemon drizzle cake. But, no, he said he'd run naked down Whitehall. It's one thing to do it in the pub with a few mates, but he did it on live tv. Yesterday, Stephen's run hit the Sun. Not the yellow thing in the Sky, the Murdoch raggy thing in the newsagent. A prominent Lib Dem will run half a mile down Whitehall semi-naked after losing a bet. Before the general election Stephen Tall, ...
[IMG: Well Done image (Oct 9 - website)] Well done to our Highland campaign team, who pulled off the greatest Lib Dem result of this week's by-elections with a gain from the SNP in the Aird and Loch Ness ward. Winning the first-preferences by 29 votes and then going on to take the seat, the result is a real shot in the arm [...]
The scientific community has helped to generate the momentum behind the sustainable development goals. By linking evidence to policy in timely, thoughtful and sensitive ways, scientists can now contribute to the task of implementation. A flurry of commitments are being made this year that will shape the world over the next fifteen years, including the agreement of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the UN conference of parties (COP) on climate change in Paris, and the leaders' declaration from the last G7 Summit on phasing out fossil fuels by the end of the century. Throughout 2015, the sustainable development ...
The post A Quick Creativity Question For You appeared first on James Taylor.
Wokingham Borough Council is running a budget consultation with the public! Hooray! After years of Lib Dems asking them to do it, they finally are. I don't think they are doing it entirely because we asked or because it is right to involve the public in the decisions that affect them. It's more that they need to find £4 million in cuts and want to get a) some ideas b) some public understanding of the situation and c) some public support. But at least they are doing it. So how can you get involved? First, read the background information here ...
There is a story in the Express UKIP fury as Labour and Lib Dems 'claim Union flag is nasty and nationalistic. This story is based off a Conservative party press release that UKIP MEP Jane Collins has reacted to. She is quoted as having said: They're quite happy to take their expenses off the British taxpayer yet insult the country by saying that children should not sing the national anthem and that the Union Flag is 'nasty'. We categorical deny having called the Union Flag nasty, and wonder where the UKIP MEP who wasn't at the meeting got this quote ...
[IMG: banner] There have been some very odd reactions to the announcement that the Jeremy Corbyn leadership campaign has now regenerated itself into a new organisation called Momentum. Some appear to think that because it starts with an M, it must be harking back to Militant while others appear to have decided that it's clearly a front group for the Trotskyite takeover of the Labour Party. It's a good example of another political irregular verb: I promote internal debate, you're a factionalist, they're creating a party within a party. Aside from all the arguments about what an organisation that's existed ...
Aird & Loch Ness (Highland) stage results: Liberal Democrat GAIN from SNP. pic.twitter.com/hu1q4JaDbG — Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 9, 2015
Fri 9th
12:52
+++Breaking: Lib Dem Jean Davis in stunning by-election win - from SNP #libdemfightback
[IMG: Congrats Cllr Davis] It's a while since there's been good news for Liberal Democrats north of the border, but that has changed today. Jean Davis has just pulled off an audacious by-election victory in the Aird and Loch Ness by-election in the gorgeous Highlands. More to follow, but don't let anyone tell you the SNP can't be beaten. The ward takes in the towns of Beauly, Drumnadrochit and Fort Augustus and covers some of the most utterly beautiful terrain in the whole country. It's a massive ward, which now has two Liberal Democrat councillors representing it. Given that we ...
There is interesting article in yesterday's Guardian in which they report on the views of Labour's Tristram Hunt. Hunt's views are informative because they are another dig at the Corbynistas from a disaffected former shadow cabinet member, but also because it makes a wider point that is worth further examination. Hunt argues that the left's use of social media is emboldening group mentalities and disconnecting activists from the views of the wider electorate: Warning against "algorithm politics" where activists gravitate only to views that confirm their own, he will say: "If social media were politicising the many as well as ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-34475863 refers. Welsh Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams said Labour had "lost control of our NHS".Ms Williams accused Labour of "failure" on public services and a "poverty of ambition"."NHS staff are working around the clock to offer the very best treatment they can," she said. "Sadly they are having to work in very trying circumstances which is making their job incredibly difficult."
There's a road that starts in Maghull and effectively runs all the way to the Edge Lane traffic lights by Bootle and Netherton Fire Station. It has various names along it's relatively short length and even more speed limits. [IMG: images] Starting with Sefton Lane at the junction with Liverpool Road South in Maghull it is 30mph. Just after it becomes Bridges Lane the limit rises to 40mph. When it becomes Brickwall Lane its back down to 30mph through Sefton Village, coming out of the Village it rises to 40mph and then across the junction with the new Brooms Cross ...
WalesOnline reports that a recent survey cannot find a single e-cigarette user who has not smoked before. Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: "If Labour's claims that e-cigarettes were a gateway to tobacco were correct, we should be seeing people who have never smoked a cigarette before using e-cigs now."In fact, the opposite is true: Labour's survey couldn't find a single e-cigarette user who's never smoked a cigarette before."Welsh Labour Ministers must be pretty embarrassed that their own report is undermining their own argument for a vaping ban."It's about time they listened to the evidence, and the ...
Fri 9th
11:58LibLink: Nick Clegg: Britain should stick to diplomacy if it really wants to help Syria
Nick Clegg has been writing in the Evening Standard about how he think the UK can best help Syria: The impression the Conservatives seem to give is that they wanted to take military action all along but were thwarted in doing so by the Labour Party — or because they didn't have a majority in Parliament of their own. This is not true. The decision not to bomb Syria was taken by Cameron and myself and discussed across both sides of the Coalition. The logic was simple: there was no coherent ground campaign in Syria to which air strikes could ...
Here's the national equivalent vote share* which Ukip has secured in the last three rounds of local elections. Notice a trend? [IMG: Ukip local election vote share] * National equivalent vote share is a standard calculation carried out by Thrasher and Rallings to allow vote shares to be compared between different years. If you simply took the vote totals for each party each year you would run into the problem that not the same seats are up for election each year and so the year by year figures are not directly comparable. However, what Thrasher and Rallings do is adjust ...
[IMG: International Office_with text] Following the UK General Election on May 7, the Liberal Democrats have taken stock, rallied the membership and elected a new Party Leader, Tim Farron. With 20,000 members having joined the Party since May and 3 recent council election victories, the #libdemfightback is well underway. Liberal parties across Europe have faced challenging elections in the recent past, and it is essential that we share our experiences and learn from both each others' mistakes and winning strategies. In order to kick-start this debate, the Liberal Democrats International Office brought together a distinguished panel, including Hans van Baalen, ...
I was going to do this article about the election result scenarios for all of the relatively major parties in the UK, but then realised I was falling into the "BBC leaders debates" trap of having to focus on about eight of them at least. So I thought, let's stick to the big two; that more than enough. The Tories, as you already know and I myself have written about, are in a triumphant mood. They figure the advent of the Corbyn era means that not only is 2020 a shoo-in for them returning to government, that election may see ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Why we must fight for free speech for people we loathe | Down with campus censorship! | Feminism | Free speech | spiked I agree with Brendan O'Neill: free speech is for everyone, incl the stupid/wrong/offensive http://bit.ly/1LpgRAH Call me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron, by Michael Ashcroft and Isabel Oakeshott – Book review: A barrage of innuendo | Reviews | Culture | The Independent / @JohnRentoul reviews Call me Dave. He's not impressed: "A barrage of innuendo" http://ind.pn/1G0opO2 Injustice ...
Brexit would damage our research base, our economic prospects and our place in the world. The Scientists for EU campaign will make a compelling case for "in". This morning, the Scientists for EU campaign is officially launched. Our 6,400 grassroots supporters on Facebook are now joined by an advisory board comprising some of the UK's leading scientists, including Lord Martin Rees, Sir Tom Blundell and Dame Anne Glover. The cross-party campaign also has representation from Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Together we will be fighting for the UK to remain part of the EU. Six months ago, most political ...
I've just had the third piece of casework about an alleged dodgy employer on Lordship Lane. The employer apparently hates paying their staff wages. Suggestion they employ illegal immigrants, and other allegations. To ensure when leaving you get paid your wages staff book holidays and then have to fight for their holiday pay. One's not taking this approach owed many hundred of pounds. Generally not rich teenagers being exploited. This is exactly the sort of dodgy business behaviour that gives free enterprise a bad name. I've contacted the local "dodgy" business person about one case and been blanked. They've always ...
[IMG: The Liberal Democrat constitution] Yesterday I wrote about the English Party strategy paper which sets out a mix of welcome and very risky plans for changing the way the Liberal Democrats are run. Two further points are worth adding as they address some of the questions which have come up since. It's not a done deal yet The formal process for many of the proposals is that the English Council Executive (ECE) reports on its work to the English Council (EC), the next meeting of which is before Christmas, and some of the steps would also be subject to ...
Fri 9th
08:55Lib Dem Jim Hume's Bill to stop smoking in cars with children present passes first Holyrood hurdle
[IMG: Jim Hume] This week it's become illegal to smoke in a car where there are children present in England. The responsibility for this area of law for Scotland lies with the Scottish Governemnt. For some time, Jim Hume, Liberal Democrat MSP for the South of Scotland has been preparing to introduce legislation as a private member to do the same thing in Scotland. Today his bill passed its first Holyrood hurdle. This is one of these controversial issues where you can come to agree with the proposal or disagree with it from liberal principles. We don't like banning things ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : Notes from the Museum : Creative Writing inspired by the Zoology Museum Tuesday 13th October, 6pm D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, Carnelley Building, University of Dundee This year's Notes from the Museum will be the seventh annual evening of poetry and prose inspired by D'Arcy Thompson and his extraordinary collections, written and performed by students on the School of Humanities' Creative Writing courses and introduced by tutor Edward Small. These events always prove to be a real treat with beautiful and thought-provoking writing performed in the intimate but inspiring ...
Daily Mash spot on as usual If you think the Great British Bake Off final is too politically correct then why don't you go and live somewhere else? Tory conference: Cameron's 'assault on poverty' pledge belied by new figures Five charts that show young men are very worried about penis size - oh dear protip for the lads: being a dick is much worse than having a small dick, whatever you think small is. Frankie Boyle's conference roundup: cruel to every party. The definition of punching-up comedy [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
'Rocky Horror' cast reunites 40 years later Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf, Patricia Quinn! (tags: sf ) Merkel slams Eastern Europe on migration "I lived behind a fence for long enough." (tags: ) Is Vladimir Putin Trying to Teach the West a Lesson in Syria? Ivan Krastev on the pedagogy of atrocity. (tags: russia syria ) Europe or bust: The campaign to keep the UK in the EU is lagging and needs charismatic leadership The Independent warns. (tags: ukpolitics eu ) Made in Northern Ireland 15 local(-ish) science and tech breakthroughs. (tags: northernireland historyofscience )
Political Madness Gone Correct – Flying Rodent writes a post I was thinking of doing, on why the supposed threat to free speech on university campuses is anything but. "It's worth noting that the loudest screamers about campus activism broadly use student dafties as stand-ins for their political foes, none of whom are thick enough to give them the kind of ammunition that only a bunch of painfully right-on 19-year-olds can supply." Today we left reality behind and entered David Cameron's fantasy world – Again in 'posts I don't have to write because someone else has done them', Tom King ...
Successive announcements by George Osborne and David Cameron at their 2015 Party Conference signalled a concerted attack on affordable rents and finally revealed the Conservative's ideological opposition to social housing. I had seen their clumsy early policies to stimulate more housing as simply incompetence rather than by design. Take the relaxation of permitted development rules [...]
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and Jo Barton are holding their next advice centre on Saturday 10th October, from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Churchtown, at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) on the fourth Thursday of every month (except December) from 10:30 - 11:30 am.
In 2012 I exposed the debacle of Southwark Council not ensuring through inspections that all Southwark schools have safe food hygiene. Then a number of schools had shockingly low food hygiene scores and real issues to fix. Things have been improving. Or have they. You can see Southwark school current food hygiene ratings here: Currently we have: 1 x 2 * The play shelter Ltd, Snowfield Primary School, SE1 4 x 3* Surrey Square Primary School, SE17, St.Anthony's RC Primary Schoo, SE22, Pembroke College mission, SE17, 1st choice day nursery, SE1. 15 x 4*' 98 x 5 But the ...
