This post may be a bit disjointed, because I'm not particularly well today, or coherent, but it's been several days since I wrote anything at all here, and I had an interesting Twitter discussion yesterday, and I wanted to get the things I said into some sort of more thought-out state. One of the things [...]
Wikipedia tells us about the later career of DP1: In March 1961 DP1 was withdrawn after a serious powerplant failure; plans to test it in Canada fell through, and the locomotive was donated in 1963 to the Science Museum, South Kensington and placed on public display.In October 1993, it was transferred to the National Railway Museum, York. It then moved to the National Railway Museum Shildon. In August 2012 it was loaned to The Ribble Steam Railway in Preston, Lancashire, which is barely a mile away from where it was originally built. It is envisaged that it will remain there ...
[IMG: Doorknocking] Over the last year a lot of people have joined the Liberal Democrats, many of whom have never been members before. The surveys carried on at a national level suggest that the reasons people joined and the policy interests they have are often national – or even international. This is in contrast to the traditional [...]
Paddy Ashdown tells Total Politics: "There is a really big issue that needs to be addressed by the left, which is how do we now put together a sensible force of those who are the modern progressives? "The left is a sort of smoking battlefield. I think we are facing the short term prospect of a government unconstrained by an effective opposition which is very bad for the country - and bad for the Tories too. And we're facing in the long term the question I faced in 1992, which was are we looking at the Tories forever?"A smoking battlefield ...
[IMG: Austin Rathe apology image] Austin Rathe, the Lib Dem Head of Members and Supporters, is off to pastures new in the near future. That's a big loss not only for party HQ but the party more generally as Austin has been one of the key masterminds behind the fact that the Lib Dems are about to hit our 11th consecutive quarter of membership growth, most of which have occurred under very challenging circumstances and which has turned round a long-term decline in party membership that was falling even in years of high polling ratings and Parliamentary by-election victories. It's ...
[IMG: Your work can make all the difference on May 22nd] Approval is an important party of candidate selection within the Liberal Democrats. While it is now usual for candidates in target wards to go through an approval process we do not always put every candidate through it. In the rush to get paper candidates in place, they are too often overlooked while experienced sitting councillors [...]
During the Coalition years it was taken for granted by the Liberal Democrats that it was not worth our putting up a serious fight in parliamentary by-elections. Better to concentrate of our resources on seats already held by the party (or being fought by candidates who had written complimentary biographies of the party's leader). That view, thank goodness, no longer holds sway. At Oldham West and Royton the Liberal Democrats are running their first major by-election campaign since Eastleigh, says Richard Kemp: When I went there I spent precisely 3 minutes in the HQ. I hadn't gone there to chat ...
A fairly quick Cheadle Area Committee meeting this evening. Cllr John Pantall presented a petition calling for the Sim Chem building in Cheadle Hulme to be brought back into productive use. 5th Cheadle Hulme Scouts and First Steps Orrishmere Charity Pre-school were given £1,000 towards new toilets. Walter Stansby Memorial Park were given £1,000 towards new pea lights. Planning application 59483 – further details of the proposal to build around 150 houses on land off Europa Way – was recommended for approval (it goes to the full Planning and Highways Committee for a final decision). We discussed Brookfield Shiers Family ...
Browsing in an estate agent's window this lunchtime I came across an auction notice for one of Leicester's most distinctive buildings. The Turkey Café was designed by Arthur Wakerley, architect, city mayor and Liberal parliamentary candidate, who has featured on this blog before, English Buildings has written about it: The Turkey Café in Granby Street is one of his smaller buildings, but its central position, unusual style, and rich decoration make it one of his most noticeable. Wakerley designed it in Art Nouveau style in 1900, with the odd-shaped arches and colour scheme indicating a certain Oriental influence. The decoration ...
I know I've been going on about the ridiculous requirement on would be Private Hire Drivers in Consett to memorise how to get to the Voltigeur pub in Spennymoor (or indeed Peterlee drivers possibly being asked to pinpoint the Scotch Arms in Blackhill) but I hit new heights of anger today. First the technical bit. Private Hire drivers can only take passengers who have booked through their office. They are not allowed to pick up passengers who hail them on the street. They are not allowed to wait or ply for hire at a taxi rank. Only hackney drivers can ...
It's fair to say that 38 Degrees has a somewhat variable reputation amongst Liberal Democrats, not helped by the usual 'it's all the fault of the person making the criticisms' in response to any criticisms of the organisation (see the comment on my post about Norman Baker's views of 38 Degrees for an example). However, here's a petition that is definitely worth supporting: To: The Government Petition text: Protect our Freedom of Information laws, that give people the right to hold our decision makers to account. As MySociety, which runs the excellent What Do They Know? website, explains: Proposed changes, ...
Of the graphic stories listed on the Hugo recommendations spreadsheet, this is owned by more LibraryThing users than any other and is behind only Ms Marvel vol 2 on Goodreads. So I went out and got it. (Incidentally, I find the spreadsheet a lot more user-friendly in general than the impenetrable Wikia.) I was aware that McCloud is well known as a comics critic and writer; his Wikipedia article suggests that this is the first actual graphic story he has published this century. If so, it was worth the wait; The Sculptor is a gripping fantasy about a young artist ...
Flashing speed signs are now operational on Styal Road, along the section where residents told us there are the biggest problems with speeding vehicles. The signs also measure the speed of vehicles, so will give us useful information as to how fast cars are actually travelling.
Lend a hand at the Brooklyn Crescent Park Autumn clear-up from 10am to 1pm on Saturday 21st November 2015.
As always, when an issue looms large in the House of Commons, the divisions are about the respective claims of capital and labour - though both now seem to be against the government's proposals to relax the Sunday trading laws. The news that the SNP is going to oppose this opens the possibility that the proposals may be defeated. I'm a localist so there is something to be said for the idea of setting the opening hours locally. But there is still a major reason why large stores should not in fact open for more than six hours on a ...
I'm pleased to report that I've just submitted my training and development assignment. It's a relief, as today was the last day that I had available for study before Thursday's deadline. It's also somewhat frustrating, as my plan called for it to have been completed three weeks ago, to leave me ample time to comfortably finish off my dissertation proposal ...
The Liverpool Echo has an interesting video on its web site – see link above. I noticed the new cranes yesterday and the fact that new ones are red as opposed to the old ones being blue. Any footballing significance in this? [IMG: Seaforth Docks and hinterland in 2014 - The old cranes were blue.] Seaforth Docks and hinterland in 2014 – The old cranes were blue.
The Guardian has an interesting postscript to this piece by Simon Jenkins, which I blogged about a few days ago in which they quote Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook and his warning that allowing spies a backdoor route into citizens' communications could have "very dire consequences". Mr. Cook has questioning a key element of the draft investigatory powers bill, which places a new legal obligation on companies to assist in these operations to bypass encryption. He says that companies have to be able to encrypt in order to protect people and that halting or weakening encryption will hurt "the good ...
It is, or ought to be, true that a citizen who is full time employment should be paid enough to live on. So, unlike many on the so-called progressive wing of British politics, I am not in principle a supporter of tax credits. To me. the fiendishly complicated system devised by Gordon Brown was not a "leg up to the poor" but a subsidy to corporations who would not or could not pay a fair and sustaining wage. So when the British Finance Minister announced in his Budget that he intended to phase out tax credits and institute a much ...
[IMG: cameron-europe] The BBC is reporting Cameron's central ask of the EU as being Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-euro countries Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the "burden" of red tape Exempting Britain from "ever-closer union" and bolstering national parliaments Restricting EU migrants' access to in-work benefits such as tax credits These are all on themes that we have heard before. Missing are the unrealistic and wrong demands for an end to the free movement of labour, and for an opt-out from the social chapter. The latter would be a particularly ...
What do you think we should put into our manifesto? What's important to you? We have broken it down into 7 categories which are interlinked as follows, 1. Democracy. 2. People. 3. Neighbourhoods. 4. Business. 5. Leisure. 6. Health. 7. Home. We have already had feedback from people who have contacted us with their issues and now we would like to have a vision that you can help to shape. When we receive your views we will put them together to form a document that will guide our policy. Please let us know your views under each of the seven headings, for instance under democracy you might ...
Eluned Parrott, Assembly Member for South Wales Central, writes: Tomorrow I will be voting against the Assembly Commission's budget in protest at the proposed 20% pay hike for Assembly Members. I cannot accept that, at a time while public services are being squeezed and public sector workers have had their wages held back, politicians should be treated differently. Politicians from across the political spectrum have criticised this ridiculous increase - now is the time for them to put their money where their mouth is. I challenge the other parties to join us, and send the remuneration board back to think ...
Tue 10th
12:45
Former Maghull Library Site – Call for community to express a view on the future use of it las...
[IMG: The former Stafford Moreton Youth Centre and old Maghull Library stand ripe for redevelopment in the heart of Maghull.] The former Stafford Moreton Youth Centre and old Maghull Library stand ripe for redevelopment in the heart of Maghull. Now call me an old cynic if you like but a community engagement process that was launched in the Aintree & Maghull Champion on Wednesday 4th November and ended just after 10am on Thursday 5th November is just a little short. But even that ridiculously short period depended on your copy of the Champion being delivered on the 4th November. Are ...
We have until 15 November to tell Lewisham Council what we think of plans for Forest Hill Library. The Council's preferred option is to turn it into a "Community Library" in order to save money. Currently the situation is very uncertain as we simply do not know, at this stage, who the "community partner" would be. It [...]
[IMG: snowden] Last week, Theresa May finally published the Investigatory Powers Bill. It isn't surprising it has taken her so long to come back with a new Bill after we blocked her first attempt in 2012. At the time, I said the Liberal Democrats can and must oppose a Snoopers' Charter. The 2012 bill was a disproportionate invasion of all our privacy, forcing internet service providers to keep a record of all your texts, emails and every website you visited. Without us in Government the so-called Snoopers' Charter would now be law. There would have been no Anderson review and ...
I read this tumblr post and the ensuing discussion with [IMG: [personal profile] ] matgb was very interesting. Our conclusion boiled down to that the writers (especially in original Trek) were trying quite hard (but failing due to their own ingrained "benevolent" sexism) to envision a post-sexism society. And, you know, total blind spot for LGBT stuff, but that's a tangent for this post, as is the undoubted and well-documented actual sexism of the studio and production team. Mat mentioned the oft-cited canard about Uhura:all she did was answer the phone! She was just a receptionist, not anyone important!and I'd ...
Europe's scientific advice mechanism is launched today, with a line-up of seven experts whose mission is to boost the role of evidence in policy. Carlos Moedas, Europe's commissioner for research, science and innovation, will today draw a line under months of controversy over the role of scientific advice in Brussels policymaking. The announcement of seven experts who will form its new high level advisory group, together with a six million euro grant to Europe's national academies, cements a new architecture for independent scientific advice within the European Commission. This will replace the post of chief scientific adviser, occupied by the ...
The news that Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed to journalists that they will be able to publish 'league tables' following the introduction of National Standardised Testing (NST) is bad news for education in Scotland. It is in fact a reversal of position for Sturgeon, who had always opposed the introduction of league tables from the opposition... More Why School League Tables Are Bad News For Scotland
It starts a little slowly, but have patience.
I have just completed the strangest election I have ever been involved in. Candidates were banned both from knowing who the electorate were and from campaigning. You could apparently chat to any friends you had who happened to be entitled to vote, but only of course if you happened to know by some random chance that they qualified. These were I'm told the English Party rules for holding Regional Party elections. A special extra twist meant that, due to an English Party ruling, Chesterfield voting delegates were barred from voting so I couldn't even pitch to them for a batch ...
On the eve of Remembrance Day, it seems appropriate to highlight the work of the 'Bury Remembers the First World War' project. Back in November 2014 the Centre for Cultural Collections (Bury Archives & Family History Service) received a Heritage Lottery Grant of £60,800 for a project called 'Bury Remembers the First World War'. Led by staff and volunteers from the local community, the project focuses on the extensive historical content held within several local newspapers which were in print during the time of the First World War. Up to now they have managed to extract over 10,000 articles from ...
[IMG: Catherine Bearder - Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0] David Cameron is expected to announce his list of proposed EU reforms today in a letter to EU council president Donald Tusk. Catherine Bearder, Jim Wallace and Tom Brake have written an alternative letter advocating British leadership in Europe on refugees, tax evasion, climate change and organised crime. Text follows. Dear President Tusk, Our Prime Minister, David Cameron, will today be putting forward a list of demands which he believes are necessary to win over those in his own party and amongst the British public who are sceptical about ...
Following complaints from residents and St Peter's Free Church that the shrubbery at the north end of St Peter Street beside Hawkhill is overgrown and unsightly, I took the matter up with the Environment Department of Dundee City Council who responded positively as follows : "(We agree) that the shrub bed is overgrown and dated. We will look to carry out the removal of the shrubs over the next month or so and take it from there. The likelihood is we will replant but will low level shrubs."
Usually when national polls are done, on either voting or any other topic, Northern Ireland is not included. There are many reasons for this, most notably because Nord Iron's party political system is very different and so thus asking them whether they want Labour or the Tories to have a majority in the House of Commons is in some senses much more complicated. So I was very interested to hear that the Belfast Telegraph decided to poll Northern Irish voters on the EU question. It is usually assumed that everyone in the United Kingdom outside of England is a raving ...
I'm sure that in your household, like millions of others, the Pharmaceutical Journal forms the bedrock of breakfast table reading. One story (also covered in the obscure publication The Daily Mail) was about a company, Pharmacy2U, being fined £130,000 ( about $200,000) for the selling of over 20,000 customer records to anybody willing to stump up £130 per thousand records. Quoted in tPJ, David Smith deputy commissioner of the Information Commissions Office said: "Patient confidentiality is drummed into pharmacists. It is inconceivable that a business in this sector could believe these actions were acceptable. A reputable company has made a ...
10 simple things that will make you happy right now (if you're in the USA) (& have different allergies to me) Tory MPs unaware that saying 'political correctness gone mad' is akin to screaming "I AM A TOTAL ARSEHOLE" at everyone Google's algorithm shows prestigious job ads to men, but not to women OMG THE WORLD WILL END IF WE ALLOW PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT GENDERS TO PISS IN THE SAME PLACE ... What is this big panic about gender neutral loos? Do most people not live in HOUSES with gender neutral loos? I genuinely don't get the pearl-clutching Transgender woman ...
Passports to paradise The global trade in citizenship. (tags: migration )
A new website has been provided for victims and survivors of crime in Greater Manchester. You can find the site at: www.gmvictims.org.uk [IMG: Screen Shot 2015-11-10 at 06.11.16] The site brings together information about victims' services and the criminal justice system under one roof. People can call a helpline, read practical advice and information, or search an online directory to find details of a local support service. All at a time that suits them and regardless of when the crime took place or whether it was reported to police. According to the organisers this is just the first version of ...
Last week we reported on the upcoming decision at a Sub-Committee of Transport for Greater Manchester on the carriage of dogs on Metrolink. Although this is an issue that people have very different views on, the clear public opinion from T4GM's own consultation is that most people want to allow dogs on trams with sensible restricitons (e.g. on on a lead, some people said 'off peak' etc). Dogs are already allowed on our buses, on all trains and on the London Underground. [IMG: dog-on-bus] Transport for Greater Manchester's sub-committee met last Friday to consider the issue. The proposal from T4GM ...
A new planning applications has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 59413 Registration Date: 29/10/2015 Location: 8 Mount Pleasant, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2SD Proposal: First floor side extension and garage conversion (amendment to approved application 58429) 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: 59367 Registration Date: 19/10/2015 Location: 111 Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1LP Proposal: Two storey extension at side and single storey extension at 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
The results of a survey undertaken by teaching union NASUWT at their recent conference in Swansea are yet another wake-up call for the Welsh Labour Government. There are clearly issues of confidence in the Government within the profession as teachers deal with excessive bureaucracy and work to create an environment in Wales where good practice is valued and developed. Sharing good practice is essential to improving educational outcomes in schools across Wales and it is worrying to see in this survey that teachers' view relationships within and between schools, as well as those with the regional consortia, as extremely poor ...
