Can Labour's stream of shoot-themselves-in-the-foot actions ever end? Apparently not, if today is anything to go by. The looks of horror on the faces of Labour MPs as John McDonnell whipped out his copy of Chairman Mao's Little Red Book had to be seen to be believed. And the look of absolute joy on the faces of Tory MPs said it all. Labour have already pressed the stop-the-world-I-want-to-get-off
The second part of this film covers many lines, including a colliery branch at Moira filmed in the days when Leicestershire still had coal mines. Two of the more substantial lines covered this time are Aberdeen to Fraserburgh and March to Spalding, I travelled on the latter line in 1979 of 1980. Watch Part 1 (which includes the Woodhead route) on this blog.
Wed 25th
22:37
Unless anyone knows different... a first tonight in Cambridge(shire and Peterborough) as a PCC prosp...
Tonight found me having to deal with a bit of a diary clash, as two major commitments coincided - International Relations Committee was meeting in London from 6 p.m. until 8, whilst the members' meeting for the Cambridgeshire PCC selection was scheduled to start in Cambridge at 8 p.m. Given that I work in Ipswich, there was always going to a problem, but fortunately, International Relations Committee is civilised enough to allow the more distant amongst us to dial in. So, only detouring home to pick up the last minute postal ballots, I set off for Cambridge, and dialled into ...
Tonight's West End Christmas Concert, Lights Switch On, Fireworks and Carnival was a great success with a huge turnout of local families. Many thanks to all local residents who attended and to all who participated - our local primary schools and Harris Academy, the Wighton Singers, Rev Andrew Greaves and all at Dundee West Church, Sheena Wellington who both sang and switched on the Christmas Lights, Robin Carstairs and his colleagues for great fireworks display, The Vine for the food and drinks stand, Scotmid and for selection box gifts for children, Mains of Fintry Pipe Band, PC Bob Forrester and ...
Christmas is coming and a lot of people are preparing for it by watching their Box of Delights DVD. This time last year I wrote: my heart was lost to A Box of Delights some time in the 1960s, when I heard a radio adaptation.Since then BBC Genome has been invented and I can work out when exactly that was. It must have been on 29 December 1968 or 28 December 1969. Looking for the cast list (it was the same production for both broadcasts) it is noticeable that Kay Harker and Peter Jones were played by women. In Kay's ...
Tomorrow evening a special meeting of Harborough District Council will consider a proposal to impose an annual charge of £40 for collecting garden waste - the authority's 'green bin' service. Over to the Harborough Mail and my old friend Phil Knowles: Lib Dem group leader Cllr Phil Knowles said the plan by the Conservative majority on the district council was "nothing short of a Conservative Bin Tax". "Before the May elections we were treated to the Conservative election gimmick of a £7 per annum cut in Council Tax" he said. "Now they are proposing to charge £40 a year to ...
This was a deeply political budget from a deeply political Chancellor. It looks good in the theatrics of the Commons, with Labour divided, weak and inept, but the budget will unravel.It will unravel in schools next year when they see funding slashed; it will unravel when local councils have to cut services and increase taxes just to get by; and it will unravel when projects can't be built because of the skills shortage caused by the attack on further education.The brighter outlook has given Osborne room for manoeuvre, yet he continues an ideological crusade to slash spending and attack working ...
[IMG: Nurse in aged care for the elderly] Public health and social care are two of the most pressing issues facing our country today. Both are in need of new thinking and new funding if we are to maintain vital services helping our friends, families and neighbours every single day. Public health responsibilities include preventive measures that routinely save thousands of lives and billions of pounds in health spending - from stopping smoking to nutritional information and physical exercise. Local government has taken responsibility for 'public health and wellbeing' in recent years, and is now facing a drastic reduction in ...
This morning I went back to the hospital to see my consultant. The days leading up to watch and wait appointments always prey on my mind, but this time has felt particularly stressful as I was also due to receive the results of my recent CT scan. Conclusion? I'm lucky. I'm still in the small percentage of people diagnosed with ...
One of the less obscure novels of 1941, this concerns a survivor of a dying extraterrestrial race who comes to Earth and superintends the development of human civilzation over the millennia. There's a nice flashback technique between the world of today and the historical set-up, but it's a truly pulpy set of concepts, mishmashed together a bit chaotically. Those who are fans of Kuttner's work in general may be a bit more sympathetic to it than I am.
Iain joined Stockport County players and Stockport Council's Community Safety Unit showing support for the White Ribbon Campaign, which aims to reduce the cases of domestic violence against women. [IMG: iain white ribbon day] The White Ribbon Campaign will be running from 25th November until 10th December to raise awareness about the prevalence of male violence against women, with the ribbon symbolizing "the idea of men giving up their arms." The movement, which is also active in more than 60 countries, seeks to promote healthy relationships, gender equity, and a compassionate vision of masculinity. Look out for Safer Stockport Partnership ...
The Scottish Liberal Democrats have reacted angrily tonight to the scrapping by George Osborne today of the £1 billion ring-fenced capital budget for the Carbon Capture & Storage prize (CCS). Scottish Liberal Democrats energy spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said: "The UK Government's decision to axe £1 billion of funding ring-fenced for the Carbon Capture and... More Outrage After CCS Prize Scrapped
The Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie MSP has told the SNP's John Swinney that he is lucky that he has not had to deliver his own budget for an independent Scotland today. Mr. Swinney will be unveiling the Scottish government's spending plans for the period 2016-17 next month. If the 'Yes' side... More Rennie Tells Swinney – 'Lucky It's Not YOUR Budget'
Last week we said that we had been receiving complaints about Northern Rail fining people for not having a ticket at Piccadilly Station when there was no chance to buy one beforehand. We didn't realise that it would open the flood-gates! Complaints about Northern Rail's behaviour have poured in over the last few days and we've agreed to have a meeting with their Revenue Collection manager. Gatley Village Partnership have started a petition calling for Northern Rail to act. At the time of writing it's fast heading towards 500 signatures and we urge you to sign it here. Here are ...
Spotted by Buzzfeed in George Osborne's 2015 Autumn Statement is a cut in political party funding: [IMG: Autumn Statement on party funding] In 2015-16 the Liberal Democrats are down to receive £497,351.30 in Short Money. The Lib Dem response has been to say, This is not a cut in the cost of politics; it is an attack on democracy. While on the one hand the government wants to cut Short Money, they are spending £289 million, this year alone, on government spinners and marketing. This proposal is a purely partisan move that will backfire on the government disastrously. Interested in ...
[IMG: Willie leader launch crouching in front of bridge] The St Andrew's Day Anti-Racism March and Rally will focus on refugees this year, under the theme No Racism: Refugees Welcome Here. It will start at 10.30am from Glasgow Green. Willie Rennie has been explaining the importance of this year's march to the Scottish Trade Unions Congress. The refugee crisis is the biggest humanitarian challenge that Europe has faced since 1945. Our response to the crisis needs to match the scale of this challenge. And just as we speak out against racism, we need to ensure that we are challenging those ...
The Lib Dem team have been working for some time on improving car parking in Cheadle. We know there are no easy fixes – most of the answers that helps one group causes more hassle for someone else. For example, if we push long-stay cars out of the car parks, they'll probably park up on residential roads. Getting the right balance between the needs of traders, office-based businesses, residents and shoppers is always going to be tricky. We do need more short stay parking in the village, though, and we think there are ways to achieve that without creating too ...
Cllr Keith Holloway is warning of the effects on Stockport of George Osborne's proposed cuts to social care, parks, libraries, roads and other services in the borough. Keith said "The Conservatives need to understand that when they make these decisions, they are not just changing numbers on a spreadsheet. They are affecting people's lives. Elderly people who rely on social care. Motorists who drive on our roads. Children who attend our schools. The Lib Dems will continue to fight for local people and do the very best we can for Stockport with the money available." It is currently predicted that ...
[IMG: Materials for ALDC members to oppose the 2015 Autumn Statement] We have created four template MyCllr stories, some accompanying graphics that can be used online, and an email that can be sent to members or to contacts to start campaigning on the Autumn Statement. Additional resources for medium/longer-term campaigning (Focus artwork, etc., will be prepared in the next week). Scroll to the foot of the [...]
[IMG: Federal Party Logo (500x375)] The response to the Autumn Statement from Lib Dem HQ, with some useful lines of criticism on key policies announced today: Autumn Statement/Comprehensive Spending Review Commenting, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron said: "This was a deeply political budget from a deeply political Chancellor. It looks good in the theatrics of the Commons, [...]
Steve Jobs works as a film because it avoids its subject's infatuation with electronic devices. A few months back my IPod seemed to stop working. After a couple of hours it pulled itself back together again but not before I had realised that by transferring some stuff to my phone's SD card, I could make [...]
Tim Farron writes: This was a deeply political budget from a deeply political Chancellor. It looks good in the theatrics of the Commons, with Labour divided, weak and inept, but the budget will unravel. It will unravel in schools next year when they see funding slashed; it will unravel when local councils have to cut services and increase taxes just to get by; and it will unravel when projects can't be built because of the skills shortage caused by the attack on further education. The brighter outlook has given Osborne room for manoeuvre, yet he continues an ideological crusade to ...
[IMG: Keith Holloway fought against government plans to halve police numbers] Keith Holloway fought against government plans to halve police numbers Keith Holloway writes: We would like to thank everyone who supported our campaign against Conservative plans to cut Police funding just at the time we most need a strong police force. Up and down the country people saw the threat of the Conservative proposals and fought against them. I am very proud that our community played our part in the campaign. We made our voice heard, and we won the battle. The force of public opinion made George Osborne ...
This is NOT an article on why I've decided to quit Twitter, there's too many of those and it really wouldn't be that interesting to people. Suffice to say I have. But last time I quit, I found it much harder, but now I think there are many alternatives - a lot of news sites have "Twitterish" aspects now and it works quite well. Also, if someone links to a tweet, it's entirely possible to follow the tweet even when you don't have an account, which was one of my main concerns. Take today, the day of the Autumn Statement, ...
George Osborne's commitment to protect the science budget in real terms has been welcomed by many in the research community. But a lot of the detail is still to emerge. We've gathered a few reactions from scientists and policy experts. The research community was braced for bad news in today's spending review. With the unprotected Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) expected to face severe cuts, the announcement of a 17 per cent cut was less than many feared. George Osborne then followed this with a commitment to protect the budget for science "in real terms so it rises ...
When the Lord Privy Seal Baroness Stowell of Beeston repeated the Prime Minister's statement in the Commons on the G20 and the Paris Attacks last week I asked her if as part of the comprehensive strategy for eliminating the Daesh in Syria the Government would supply armaments and logistics to the YPG (Official Report November 17 Col 58), her answer was: "We are supporting the moderate opposition groups in the area so that they can combat ISIL and Assad, and we will continue to do that". Patrick Cockburn writing in The Independent today [http://ind.pn/1IaN4jY] says that the moderate Syrian opposition ...
Wed 25th
16:03
Dutch economists & ex-ministers: Brexit so disastrous that Dutch government should campaign agai...
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte discusses the UK's negotiations over EU membership with David Cameron Two prominent economists who also were Dutch ministers and still are influential "public thinkers" about macro-economic, budgetary and fiscal affairs, have come out in their weekly column for a strong Dutch government involvement in the campaign against Brexit. Willem Vermeend, the minister and author of the last big reform of the Dutch tax system, and the British-educated economist Professor Rick van der Ploeg write in their Sunday column (15th November 2015) in the biggest Dutch newspaper The Telegraaf, that the OECD may predict a sunny ...
From time to time the total inadequacy of our parliamentary democracy is brought starkly into view. Today is one of those occasions. Can it possibly be anything other than deeply dangerous and anti-democratic for the ruling party to make decisions on the funding of opposition parties? Yet that is exactly what George Osborne has just done. [...]
Well finally the Tories have remembered their 2015 election pledge not to cut tax credits, even though a gun had to be put to their head by the House of Lords. Sadly though the Labour opposition in this country only wanted them deferred! But I bet Labour will be claiming all kinds of credit for the Chancellor's U Turn when in reality they didn't have the backbone to support Lib Dems in the House of Lords who voted for the tax credit cuts to be chucked out altogether. Labour cares nothing for the poor, they care only for themselves.
Blood test just a week after the previous one: 25.1 18.1 21.10 5.10 18.09 10.09 3.07 17.06 Normal Hb 86 87 107 95 106 81 104 107 130-180 WBC 1.47 1.76 1.8 1.95 2.53 2.39 2.85 2.85 4.5-10.0 N'phils 0.48 0.46 0.57 0.87 1.05 1.02 1.16 1.17 2.0-7 Plt 187 221 202 225 2.41 2.41 249 232 150-450 Considering that the Hydroxycarbamide was originally prescribed to reduce the very high Neutrophils, it was counter-intuitive that they are sharply down a week after knocking off that medication. Maybe it takes a while to kick in, but we'll see in two weeks' ...
What future is there for political satire after John McDonnell's response to the Comprehensive Spending Review today? As the Telegraph reports, the Shadow Chancellor stood up in the Commons chamber, pulled Mao Zedong's little red book out of his pocket and quoted it at George Osborne. Apparently, he was complaining about China investing its balance of payments surplus in British infrastructure projects. Unfortunately, McDonnell just provided ammunition for the Chancellor of Exchequer to fire back at him: Mr Osborne tore into Mr McDonnell after he pulled off the stunt, declaring: "It is his 'personally signed copy'." The Chancellor held up ...
The Telegraph Travel section has interviewed Tim Farron about his holidays in their Celebrity Travel spot. He reveals some distinctly non-celebrity holiday behaviour: My wife, kids and I tend to have one foreign holiday a year, either in France or Spain - this year we spent two weeks in Andalusia - to get a bit of sun and spend some time together as a family. Most recently, I spent a few days on the Isle of Arran with my family during the half-term break. When asked about childhood holidays he recalls: We didn't go away much when I was a ...
(click on images to go to shop) Rain Tomorrow A selection of my recent poems, journeying through landscapes both imagined and real. £2.99 (excl. VAT) + P&P Ships in 3-5 business days. Bird Moment Haiku Sixty two haiku about birds observed in the garden and out and about in the South of England, UK. £2.99 (excl. VAT) + P&P Ships in 3-5 business days.
The benighted burgers of Kingston, who already stump up the highest Council Tax in London, are soon to stump up a further £60k for a new spin doctor for the Tory administration. The gushing language declares they are 'looking for someone who is fully conversant with the full range of communications tools' but with four typos in just six sentences proof reading is clearly not one of them... Here's the full text: There has rarely been a more challenging or opportune time to work in local government communications. Seismic changes in the way local government is operating means that it ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34877455 The BBC has the story on is Business web site and it does not make for optimistic reading. And on Tax Credit cuts this quote confirms what the Lib Dems have been saying "those who bear the brunt of the planned tax credit and benefit cuts will be people of working age". It still rankles with me that Labour only voted to delay these cuts in Parliament rather than support the Lib Dem proposal to reject them entirely. [IMG: 12063755_1023428287688247_7866176800359802984_n] With thanks to Roy Connell for the lead to this story.
A little poking and prodding beneath the surface on the shock announcement of around 2,500 Civil Service jobs being lost in Bootle and Netherton leads to more head scratching as to why. Yes, HMRC seems determined to move them about 4 or 5 miles down the road to central Liverpool, yet that is completely at odds with previous Government policy which brought Civil Service jobs to Bootle because of its parlous economic situation in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. That parlous economic situation is hardly much improved so why put the policy into reverse? I am told that HMRC made ...
Before George Osborne steps up to the dispatch box today we already know which Government departments will be protected from the cuts and which will have to take the brunt. The Tories have pledged to protect the NHS, education, defence, pensions and foreign aid, so that leaves vulnerable the police, local government (and just think of the huge number of services they provide), social care, further education (apparently not considered 'real' education), renewable energy and, of course, welfare. In his speech last week, and again in the Huffington Post today, Tim Farron has outlined the five things that Liberal Democrats ...
Tim Farron has been writing today in the Huffington Post. The simple fact is that nearly half of the cuts George Osborne will make aren't necessary to get spending under control. Instead that are motivated by an ideological drive to shrink the state. That's a big departure from the decisions Liberal Democrats took in Coalition. He outlines the five things that he would like to see in the review: £250million of additional spending on mental health – to help ensure parity between mental and physical health, and support young people, who disproportionately suffer from mental health problems. Stopping the Tax ...
If this does not absolutely break your heart, I don't know what will. I understand how he feels, having spent the first three years of high school in a haze of nausea and fear because of bullying.
Tim Farron has written today at the Huffington Post, in advance of the Autumn Statement. And a refreshing change it makes too, in that for the first time since before 2010 it provides the Lib Dems with a distinguishable economic narrative. Alongside his recent speech to the IPPR on the economy, Tim has rightly highlighted long-termism as a major priority for him and the party. It is evident that Osborne's small-state economic crusade does not do that; if briefings about a multi-billion pound bung to private housebuilders are correct, then Tim will have still more to say. It is particularly ...
There is a famous saying by Albert Einstein I am sure you are all familiar; "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." And now we contemplate another military intervention in the Middle East... Of course the experience of Iraq shows the consequences of getting it wrong. But Afghanistan was also a failed policy. And under our watch in government, Libya too. Yet whilst much has been said about Iraq, little has been said about Libya. Perhaps we have not come to terms of what we did there, and the hellhole that ...
[IMG: Boleyn Ward team Newham.] Like many ALDC members I do like to study the entrails of local by-elections and to pick up useful lessons from them. Last week we had a tremendous result in the South Smallburgh county division in Norfolk and we are currently fighting a very spirited campaign in Boleyn Ward in the London Borough of Newham. [...]
[IMG: Wim Klein at work. Photo courtesy of CERN] The multi-national science research project that is CERN is best know in non-specialist circles for helping to give us the world wide web and intermittently being talked up as bringing about the end of the world. However, it has another – more obscure – claim to technological fame as it was the employer of Willem (known as Wim) Klein, a Dutch mental arithmetic genius who was also in his role at CERN probably the very last person to have been employed as a human calculator. Before the rise of pocket calculators, ...
[IMG: Refugee-March-York] From left to right: Lib Dem Cllrs Ashley Mason, Andrew Waller, Keith Aspden, Stephen Fenton, and Keith Orrell from City of York Council. In the late 1990s, York offered a place of safety to 90 Kosovan Albanians as they fled conflict in their homeland. They were living in overcrowded camps in neighbouring Macedonia, and our country heard their cries. Today, thousands of Syrians face a similar plight and once again cities like York are preparing to help. Initially, David Cameron was very slow to react to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. In contrast, Tim Farron ...
As usual, December is a quiet month on the council calendar The following meetings are scheduled:- Tuesday 1st December, Assets Committee Thursday 3rd December , Planning and Development Committee Tuesday 8th December , Events Committee (*) All meetings are at Arms Evertyne House, Blyth and start at 6:30 (*) This meeting is likely to be cancelled / postponed
It's an obvious thing to say, but I'll say it anyway: the Labour Party is in the midst of burgeoning civil war. Many figures on the left and right wings of the party would prefer to avoid it, at least for now. But it continues to rear its ugly head. The issue of air strikes in Syria is a great example: Corbyn telling MPs they need to clear whichever way they'll vote with their CLPs, knowing full well this will result in decisions across the country to vote against the intervention. This is classic Corbynism, and by extension classic socialism: ...
Yesterday afternoon, Baroness Liz Barker lead further calls for action on trans prisoners in the House of Lords. For those not following the story, this follows a public outcry over Tara Hudson being placed in a male prison and then, last week, the death of Vicky Thompson in Leeds who had also been placed in a male facility. This is far from a new issue, being one I wrote about back in 2010 and that stretches back to at least 1996, when Press For Change were campaigning about it. Having had longer to get briefed on the issue, the House ...
This may at first sight to be an obscure topic for a blog post. I might not choose the relationship between time banks and the Department for Work and Pensions as a topic if I really wanted to boost the readership of this blog. But it may turn out to be an issue that really goes to the heart of the future of public services. In some ways, of course, the DWP decision to direct claimants to their local time bank isn't anything new. Since 2000, the government has acknowledged that people can take part in time banking while they ...
A rather good night for Blue Rubicon at the CorpComms Awards: Blue Rubicon are the winners of Best Consumer Campaign for Sport England... Wooo [IMG: 👏] [IMG: 🏻] [IMG: 👏] [IMG: 🏻] [IMG: 🎉] — Helen Dunne (@CorpCommsMag) November 24, 2015
OK, that's not exactly the way the county council Press Release put it – but there are two sides to every story! As part of the demolition process at Belle Vue (and no, the Poulson designed and probably, therefore, grotesquely expensive Swimming Baths were not a heritage asset!) its Aeratone Bath has been lovingly removed and transferred to Manchester where it will be preserved at the Victoria Baths, the national centre for historic baths. [IMG: Areatone Bath and Housing Equipt (1)] To my shame I never visited this shrine whilst it was still with us, and I'm delighted that it ...
Don't forget! Tonight sees the start of West End Christmas Fortnight! This year's West End Christmas Concert takes place at Dundee West Church at 6.15pm. Everyone is very welcome to attend. There will be musical contributions from all local primary and secondary schools. The Concert will be hosted by Rev Andrew Greaves. We are delighted that the great Scots singer Sheena Wellington and the Wighton Singers will also perform. Mains of Fintry Pipe Band will pipe everyone from the church to Seabraes for the Christmas Lights Switch-On! At 7pm, the West End Christmas Lights will be switched on at Seabraes ...
Wed 25th
08:43Tim Farron MP writes: We need a holistic approach to eliminate domestic violence once and for all
Today is the Comprehensive Spending Review and all eyes will be on The Chancellor. However, it is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, marking an issue that affects all of us in the UK and across the globe. Here in the UK domestic violence continues to be a horrific, often hidden scar on our society. Websites such as Counting Dead Women are a terrible reminder of the human cost of violence against women. Figures show that one in four women will suffer domestic abuse in their lifetime and two women are killed by partners each ...
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats are repeating their call for a five per cent rise in council tax to generate an extra £7.2 million a year to protect crucial services. The move would mean the average council tax payer would face an extra bill of just £1 a week - but would prevent the most disastrous of cuts to social care including the care of vulnerable children. Threatened services such as libraries, rural transport and street lights could also be better funded. And vital community funds could be maintained allowing match funding which could bring in thousands of pounds. Tomorrow (Tuesday, November ...
Two new planning appeals are underway. Alexander Arcache of Kronos has appealed to the planning inspectorate against the refusal of a solar farm at Henley Hall on the outskirts of town (15/02332/REF). Richborough Estates have appealed against the refusal of plans for 137 homes off Foldgate Lane (15/02340/REF). Henley Hall solar farm The solar farm [...]
The Unbearable Lightness of European Defense Not a rosy picture. (tags: eu waronterror ) Peter Capaldi, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat came third in a Doctor Who pub quiz and were mortified (tags: doctorwho ) What people in 1900 thought the year 2000 would look like Where's my whale bus? (tags: sf )
The case for safe spaces - this is excellent Real Justice for Trans Prisoners by @lizbarkerlords Bookshops launch Civilised Saturday as antidote to Black Friday The psychedelic drug that is heavily banned even though it occurs naturally in the human body Sometimes the Daily Mash satire is a LITTLE too close to the bone 'Fit for work' tests have normalised the suffering of sick and disabled people Statement on Survation's Poll of Muslims for The Sun [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Most of the Liberal Democrats' big beasts in the House of Commons were swept away in May's nightmare general election, but one exception was Norman Lamb, MP for North Norfolk and former Minister of State for Care and Support. It was largely through his determination as a Minister in the 2010-2015 Coalition government that mental [...]
The Welsh Liberal Democrats want Wales to lead the way on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, calling for a target to reduce them by 100% by 2050 to be enshrined in the Environment Bill. The party has tabled an amendment to the Environment Bill to enshrine such a target in law, which will be considered at a committee meeting on Thursday. Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, the party will lead debate in the Welsh Assembly today calling on the Welsh Government to "lead with ambition" in enshrining the target into law. The call builds upon previous policies ...
