The other day I posted a video of the remarkable Zombies concert in which they played the whole of their great LP Odessey and Oracle 40 years after it was released to an unappreciative world. In 2012 Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone and Chris White recorded a two-part interview with the BBC. In part 1 they were interviewed by John Wilson. In part 2 they fielded questions from the audience, which included a Mr Paul Weller from Woking,
I've already asked this on the Patreon page, but got no responses, and I don't know how often people check there rather than here, so I'm doing one here: Could any of my Patreons who are backing at a level for physical books please let me know your addresses? I'm currently sending out the paperbacks [...]
Way back in June, Tim Farron said, in his Commons tribute to Charles Kennedy: Charles was successful because he was himself. If any hon. Member is ever invited on to "Have I Got News For You", my advice is, "Say no, unless you want to be made out to be a prat or unless you are Charles Kennedy." But a quick glance down his Twitter feed reveals that he's going on the show himself, "in a couple of weeks." @meganrmcgowan yes I am. — Tim Farron (@timfarron) November 17, 2015 A "couple of weeks" is when I'm down in London ...
This post will be edited to a longer form. For now, however, if you are interested in drafting a motion for Lib Dem conference to introduce an explicit duty of care for voluntary organisations, please reply below. The main intent will be to address the discrimination, bullying and harassment that can happen in any voluntary organisation – but which those organisations currently have no legal obligation to deal with. The voluntary sector includes millions of people. They work hard for no money, dedicated to a wide variety of worthy causes, and they deserve to have the law on their side. ...
It has been a whirlwind day in Budapest, as the campaigns for the Presidency of ALDE and five, perhaps six, Vice-Presidencies, reach a crescendo. Various delegations have requested a few minutes to hear and question Ros, from the formal - the Joint Nordic meeting - to the more informal - LYMEC around two tables on the mezzanine landing. Amidst all of this, the resolutions have been argued in the working groups, fringe meetings have been held and old friendships rekindled. Strangely, this has been an event where a number of old colleagues from my days in IFLRY have come together. ...
Back in September I blogged about Liberator's take on the row between Tony Greaves and Liberal Democrat Voice. Members of the Lib Dem Voice queued up to comment, but it was all a bit gnomic and I am not sure we were much better informed when they had. The good news is that peace has broken out and Tony Greaves is writing for Lib Dem Voice - on an almost daily basis. I imagine him and the editorial team running through flower-filled meadows hand in hand. The best gossip in the new Liberator concerns the people who have their eyes ...
Fri 20th
19:48
After the Keith Barrow scandal, Shropshire Council's company ip&e needs reinventing as an innova...
The resignation of Shropshire's council leader Keith Barrow from the board of ip&e has left the future of the company in limbo. My view is that the council should drop its obsession with making a profit out of other public sector organisations. ip&e must become the council's innovation hub. This company is very much a [...]
How the Lib Dems won Loch Ness A rare ray of light in the darkness for us Liberal Democrats was our capture of Loch Ness from the Scottish National Party. It would be remiss of me at this point not to pay tribute to the sterling efforts of my old friend Ruttie, the Rutland Water Monster. Her canvassing of the postal vote, I am told by those on the ground, proved particularly effective. As far as I can gather, what happened was this. If a local has settled down to cast his or, indeed, her postal vote, Ruttie would crane ...
Penultimate book in the Eight Doctor Adventures range of novels, written (as the author explains in an afterword) to explain away a minor continuity error in Revenge of the Cybermen, but actually quite successful in its own terms as a story of grand redesign of parts of the Solar System for ostensibly aesthetic purposes that gets hijacked by several different groups with their own agendas, and a vehicle for the somewhat obscure companion Trix McMillan. Although the tone of the book is comedic for most of the story, Cole does manage to make the chaos and carnage wrought on the ...
Firstly, yes I have an interest in this matter as I am a civil servant working in Bootle. A bit of history to start things off – Civil Service jobs were brought to what became known as Bootle's 'Mini-Whitehall' for two reasons in the 1960's, 70's & 80's i.e. the area needed investment and jobs and government found it too expensive to keep such jobs in the south east of England. I think the moves were entitled 'Exit London'. The last big move to Bootle was by the Health and Safety Executive if I recall correctly. But now the process ...
Every year in Anti-Bullying Week, I share a post I wrote five years ago where I wrote about the hell of my secondary school years and the very long shadow bullying cast on my life. It may be lazy to share the same post year on year, but even 30 years on, I don't want to put myself through writing it again. During the first three years of high school, I was primarily known by two names, neither of which had been given to me by my parents. In English one day in first year, we were taking it in ...
The long awaited Paris talks on climate change are finally upon us. This is a chance for the world to come together to address the biggest threat facing humanity and decide on a collective response. As a party we have been extremely committed to the cause of addressing climate change for many years and we're not going to stop now. Nick Clegg signed a pledge with David Cameron and Ed Miliband for the UK Government to seek a deal in Paris to limit temperature rises to 2 degrees. We need to make sure this happens. I am speaking at the ...
Fri 20th
15:59Shropshire leader Keith Barrow forced to resign from council company after conflict of interest scan...
It is a press release slipped out with minimum of publicity. Visitors to the Shropshire Council Newsroom website are only greeted with the headline: "Shropshire Council Standards Sub-Committee meeting - 20 November 2015." That's a headline designed for boredom. Which is surprising because the news website is run by Three Sixty Communications, a subsidiary of [...]
[IMG: Transgender Day of Remembrance] Today is the day when transgender people who have lost their lives through hate-fuelled violence are remembered. Tim Farron has said: Too many transgender lives have been lost to hate and prejudice around the world. Today, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, we reflect on that and remember those killed and focus on what steps we can take, both in the UK and internationally, to halt this tragic and unnecessary loss of life. I'm proud that Liberal Democrats have led and continue to lead the way on trans equality, opposing the spousal veto and continuing to ...
Fri 20th
13:45
"The Lib Dems in the last Parliament were far and away the most effective opposition of my lifetime"
British writer Edward Docx has taken to the pages of the Guardian to praise the work the Liberal Democrats did in the last Parliaemnt and how this will become very clear when George Osborne announces his Autumn Statement next week. The 20,000 people who joined the party in the wake of our election meltdown know that, as do the voters who are turning back to us. Docx made several key points about the Liberal Democrat actions in the coalition years: There were two oppositions in the last parliament: Labour and the Liberal Democrats. And, this week more than ever, it ...
Characteristically wise words from Vic Marks, the Sage of Middle Chinnock: Alastair Cook ... in recent years has had almost as many partners of various shapes and sizes as Anton du Beke. Too many of them have displayed the same sense of timing as Ann Widdecombe.
[IMG: Community councillor Jackie Charlton and Lucie the hearing dog] Lib Dem activist, Chair of Brecon and Radnorshire Lib Dems, and former Community Councillor Jackie Charlton shares her story of hearing loss and the struggle involved in staying in public service whilst hearing-impaired: Some twenty years ago it was pretty obvious that my hearing was deteriorating and as a thirty something that was worrying. I [...]
Congratulations to the Western Morning News for winning our Headline of the Day Award (and thanks to a reader for nominating it).
Fri 20th
12:29
The new Labour recruits are so hostile to Free Trade that surley they should join the antis in the r...
The Atkinson Southport Last night we stood in silence to remember those who had died in Paris and in memory of two former Councillors David Pearson and Charlie Hopkins at the full Council meeting. For a long time now the majority group have been unusually silent at such meeting when it comes to proposing motions but the restraint has clearly now been lifted and we had a glimpse of what the new Labour intake think. Firstly they think Tories and anyone who works with them are beyond the pale and secondly they believe that it the Labour Party can do ...
Fri 20th
12:25Tom Brake MP writes...Violation of judicial process by Bangladesh International Criminal Tribunal
This week the Bangladesh Supreme Court upheld the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) decision to execute Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. This represents the second rejection for Mr Chowdhury, following his original appeal in July 2015. This is a grave injustice for Chowdhury and for Bangladesh. In 2013, Chowdhury was sentenced to death by the ICT for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Independence War. The original trial, like many others heard by the ICT, has received widespread criticism including from the United Nations and Amnesty International for procedural irregularities and the violation of international fair trial standards. The case ...
Each week I review the five best and two worst things happening in and around the party over the past seven days. The verdicts are, of course, only my personal opinion: GOOD NOT SO PLAIN JANE: For the second week running the continuing Oldham West By-Election campaign tops the poll. Jane Brophy and her team are... More 5 Good – 2 Bad: My Review of The Lib Dem Week
The Lib Dems have asked Northern Rail why Gatley station users are being given penalty fares when they've done nothing wrong. Gatley station has no ticket machine and it's always been the case that you can pay on the station (if the ticket office is open), on the train (if there's a guard to sell you a ticket) or at your destination. Recently, people have arrived at Piccadilly and been given big penalty fares on the grounds that the ticket office in Gatley has been open and they should have bought a ticket there. The problem is that you can't ...
[IMG: liberatorcover] I got the latest edition of Liberator in the post this morning, and was delighted to see that my article in it is mentioned on the cover. It's based on the research I did for my Masters dissertation on the links between equidistance, tactical voting and Liberal Democrats winning seats and hopefully will prompt some thinking and discussion within the party. If you're not a Liberator subscriber (still only £25 a year!) you'll be able to read it when the edition is available online in the New Year, or you can read the blog post I wrote on ...
My good friend Charles (Uncle Albert) Walker moved into Poverty Lane, Maghull when the houses were built in March 1960 and he is still there now. The photo below shows the bungalows before there was even a pavement or front gardens or hedges etc. [IMG: Poverty Lane, Maghull - 1960] A scan of the Liverpool Ordnance Survey Map published in 1961, but based on 1958 data, shows that the bungalows on Poverty Lane had yet to be built. [IMG: Maghull 1958] Poverty Lane is in the bottom right of the map. The words 'MAGHULL STA' cut right across it. Molyneux ...
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Last night the annual Scottish Politician of the Year Awards took place in the opulent surroundings of the Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh. Predictably, and deservedly, Nicola Sturgeon won the top award, Politician of the Year. However, it was great to see Willie Rennie and Alison McInnes both won. That means 2 out of the 5 Liberal Democrat MSPs finally got the recognition they deserved after a gruelling 5 years holding the SNP to account and winning significant policy changers. Alison McInnes has done more than anyone else to force the SNP to change their minds. On stop and search, ...
Scottish Liberal Democrats Justice spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP has said that major changes need to be made to the government's Community Justice Bill to make sure that Judges take community rehabilitation plans seriously as a viable option to prison. The Lord Advocate Dame Eilish Angiolini was highly critical of the draft version of the bill... More McInnes Calls For Community Justice Bill Changes
[IMG: CarPostal driverless bus] Watch out for the driverless car - it's going to overtake policy makersDiverless cars are likely to start appearing as a regular feature on Britain's roads before the next set of general election manifestos for the main parties even go to print. more The Swiss city of Sion will begin a two-year trial of two autonomous buses beginning in spring 2016. The buses come from startup BestMile and will be operated by SwissPost transport subsidiary Car Postal [using] small, nine-person shuttles... Unlike Google's private self-driving vehicles, BestMile's focus is public transport. It also takes a different ...
Fri 20th
10:47Tony Greaves writes...Challenging the Tories, Liberal Democrat lords are in the vanguard
We have just seen another week in which the Liberal Democrats in the Lords led the way in challenging the Conservative Government. The high profile issue was votes for 16 and 17 year olds in the European Referendum when no fewer than 91 of our members voted for the amendment, out of a total of 107 – five are still waiting to come in – with none against, an astonishing record turnout of 87%. Labour managed 74% and the Tories 71. (And it didn't even include me, I was stuck at home in Lancashire feeling poorly and miserable). And then ...
[IMG: Nofolk's South Smallburgh keep the Lib Dem fightback going - now 29 new cllrs since May!] Congratulations to Alison Bradnock and the South Smallburgh team in Norfolk, who held their county division last night – taking more than 50% of the vote. Alison becomes the 29th Liberal Democrat to be elected to a council since the general election. We're still awaiting word from Surrey (they are counting this morning), more news [...]
This is my fifth weekly diary over at LibDemVoice today... Labour pains "Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns." So said every liberal's fantasy US president, Jed Bartlett – surely someone in Team Corbyn is a West Wing fan? Clearly not, or they might have advised the Labour leader not to think-out-loud in TV interviews this past week, especially when the thoughts which frothed forth were so, well, thoughtless. Of course it would have been "far better" if Mohammed Emwazi ("Jihadi John") had been tried in a court of law. It's just that the absence of an extradition treaty ...
[IMG: Before Enigma: The Room 40 codebreakers of the First World War] I haven't crowdfunded a book before. It has its embarrassing elements, asking friends and family for money for example - something I try hard not to do in normal circumstances. But I am now down to the last 48 hours of the project to crowdfund a short ebook about the Room 40 naval codebreakers in the First World War, and the fascinating lessons they provided for Turing in the Second. It is called Before Enigma. And I've found it quite exhilarating. There is, in fact, still time to ...
Labour pains "Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns." So said every liberal's fantasy US president, Jed Bartlett – surely someone in Team Corbyn is a West Wing fan? Clearly not, or they might have advised the Labour leader not to think-out-loud in TV interviews this past week, especially when the thoughts which frothed forth were so, well, thoughtless. Of course it would have been "far better" if Mohammed Emwazi ("Jihadi John") had been tried in a court of law. It's just that the absence of an extradition treaty with Isis makes that a bit of a challenge (unless ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... gavinkellyblog.com Social mobility: it's not just about education, argues @GavinJKelly1: http://bit.ly/1MX8WQ4 The Left must purge itself of relativism about Western values and apologism for extremists | Conservative Home Good stuff from @wallaceme on the decent Left's need to denounce moral relativism http://bit.ly/1O5cuAO Show me the evidence – how to shine a light on university access | HEFCE blog Want more young people going to university? Get serious about evidence < excellent from @Lem_SuttonTrust: http://bit.ly/1MVmawJ The battle is on for Muslim hearts ...
One thing everyone can agree on, whether they be dove or hawk, liberal or conservative, is that Syria is a nightmarish mess. Paris and November 13th have brought all that back into focus for the West – even if we thought there was a simple solution to the migration crisis (which there isn't), no one can reasonably argue that ISIS isn't a threat to the peace of western democracies any longer. So what do we do? This requires a much longer, proper think tank piece to do it justice (which I am currently starting on at the moment), but I'll ...
Good news from Norfolk where the Liberal Democrats defended a county council seat. Last night's council by-election: Small Smallburgh (Norfolk): Liberal Democrat HOLD. pic.twitter.com/TXfI339f49 — Britain Elects (@britainelects) November 20, 2015 The vote going up by 25.8% is a very healthy result indeed. Well done to the team there. There was one more Liberal Democrat defence yesterday, in Epsom, where Julie Morris is the candidate. We'll post that result here later. UPDATE: That Epsom result is now in and it's a heartbreaker. With just 34 votes separating the first four candidates, the Conservatives gained the seat from us. Epsom West (Surrey): Conservative ...
[IMG: Alison McInnes wins award] Liberal Deomcrat leader Mr Rennie also picked up an award, as he was named the Donald Dewar Debater of the Year, with judges praising his tenacity in highlighting the problems at Police Scotland. Fellow Liberal Democrat Alison McInnes was also honoured for her efforts to hold the force to account, as she was named Committee MSP of the Year. [BBC] Congratulations Alison and Willie.
It's that time of the year again, the Political Cartoon of the Year awards. There's a great shortlist, including my favourite: [IMG: Peter Schrank - Political Cartoon of the Year awards shortlisted cartoon] See the full shortlist and cast your vote in the Political Cartoon of the Year Awards here.
The metaphor of a ship holed below the waterline is an engaging one. Above the surface nothing much seems wrong – perhaps a minor list. But down below the water is pouring in; barring extreme good fortune the ship is doomed. I remember using it in 2007, when the world's interbank markets froze over; the ensuing collapse of the banking system did not happen until over a year later, when Lehman Brothers failed, though a surprising number of people did not see it coming. I think the metaphor is just as appropriate for Labour's new leader: Jeremy Corbyn. Many wrote ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water investigation works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Tay Square (from no.2 to approx. 20 metres south), Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Monday 23 November 2015 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes are available via Tay Square / South Tay Street / Tay Square. For further information contact 433168. Director of City ...
Fri 20th
08:12House plan for Whitcliffe riding school for disabled dismissed as SAMDev policies bite
The owners of the riding school and camp site at North Farm applied for planning permission to build a "traditional style" house just above the Whitcliffe Common more than a year ago (14/03832/FUL). On Wednesday, planning officers threw the plans out saying that they conflict with SAMDev. The applicants have also failed to provide sufficient [...]
So, the Prime Minister has got his way and acquired his own version of Airforce One. C ue, a spate of films starring Harrison Ford and other Hollywood stars based around the new Cabinet transport. According to the Independent,the Prime Minister and senior members of the Cabinet are to get an aircraft of their own for official trips: But the news that an Airbus A330 refuelling aircraft will be refitted for the purpose as a money-saving exercise was met with derision by the commercial airline business. The aircraft itself is an RAF Voyager - an A330 that was expensively converted ...
The Failures of Belgium Tim King casts a cold eye. (tags: waronterror belgium ) US gives Russian newspaper grammar lesson over 'fake letter' Funny, also awful. (tags: russia ) Anne Frank Was a Refugee In case you had forgotten. (tags: wwii uspolitics migration ) It's OK to be upset by the news Sage advice from the BBC. (tags: psychology ) Behind the Headlines on Violent Radicalisation in Belgium @tanjatania takes a look. (tags: belgium waronterror ) Hear the Very First Adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 in a Radio Play Starring David Niven (1949) Wow. (tags: sf audio )
Happy International Men's Day Louise Mensch vexatious and smearing? I'm SHOCKED Decoding Daesh: an excellent explanation of why Daesh is the best name for ISIS "Build Your Own" Advent Calendar! I Went Undercover to Britain First's Conference and It Was Exactly What You'd Expect Laurie Penny on Freeze Peach Relax, guys - it's International Men's Day (the official one) At last, the sorry Lord Rennard chapter is over for the limping Lib Dems (and me) I hope Bridget is right. I fear that Lord Grabbyhands isn't going to let it lie. Transgender woman Vicky Thompson found dead at Armley jail ...
