It was with great sadness that I learned earlier today of the passing of Trixie Thomson of Perth Road. Trixie was well into her nineties was a much-loved member of the West End community over many years. She was the daughter of Frank Thomson and granddaughter of James Thomson, both hugely renowned architects, who, between them, left a lasting and positive legacy in Dundee - the Logie estate, the City Square, the Kingsway, Blackness and Coldside Libraries being examples. Trixie herself led an interesting and fulfilled life and travelled widely with her sister Gertie. She will be sadly missed and ...
Last night there was a wonderful debate about the possible expansion of Heathrow which took place in St Michael & All Angels Church, Bedford Park. There was a wonderful attendance over roughly 300 residents from the area, including some who live in the homes in Hillingdon that would be knocked down if the runway was expanded. Gary Malcolm speaking to a packed church hall The event was chaired by Torin Douglas, the ex-BBC journalist and John Stewart, from HACAN, spoke listing many reasons why expanding Heathrow would be a bad idea. I also spoke and gave a number of local ...
UPDATED DETAILS. Selston Parish Independent seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD candidate.
UPDATED DETAILS. SNP seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Matthew Hall.
UPDATED DETAILS. Independent seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Paul L'Allier.
UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Philip Dunster.
UPDATED DETAILS. Selston Independent Area seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD candidate.
UPDATED DETAILS. SNP seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- James Calder.
Llais Gwynedd seat. Cause: Death. No LD candidate.
UPDATED DETAILS. LD seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Greg Condliffe.
I'm a huge fan of online services (or "digital", to use the term beloved of marketing departments everywhere). I make a substantial part of my living from evangelising, designing and helping to deliver them. But sometimes it makes little economic sense to do digital for the sake of digital, as the government has found out today. Here's the then director ...
Here's the exchange between Tim Farron and David Cameron from today's debate on Syria. Tim asked about safe havens to protect the innocent civilians who are trapped there and about the role of other countries in the region in helping the forces on the ground. It was a civilised exchange. The Prime Minister was on his best behaviour today. I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for early sight of it. There are understandable knee-jerk reactions on both sides to the horror of Paris and of Beirut. There will be those who say, "Intervene"; those who say, "Intervene ...
Derren Brown came to Leicester in 2010: We stayed at a terrific boutique hotel 'Maiyango', which was just lovely, and has a great restaurant attached. Worth seeking out. And pop into Alfred Lenton's next door: an odd gem of a downtrodden second hand bookstore that has been there for 40 years.In my experience he did well to find Alfred Lenton's open, but I am glad he enjoyed himself. Alfred died in 2004 and these days the shop is run by his son. Alfred Lenton was a strong chess player. His obituary on the Leicestershire & Rutland Chess Association website begins: ...
Today I asked, for the second time, if Councillor Alex Watson and I could see the report which was issued to the Corporate Management Team (the Directors at County Hall) prior to the proposal to change teaching assistants' contracts being sent out. The response was that they are "confidential." From this I learn two things; Papers exist setting out the real reasons for, and background to, these very harsh changes. A bit like the X files, "The Truth is out there". These papers are not to be seen by ordinary councillors, let alone the public. We are just lobby fodder. ...
New Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson responded to the Autumn Statement in the Lords yesterday. Here's her speech in full. It is always a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, but I confess that he disappointed me today. He did not throw anything, so we have missed out on the drama of the other place. I was also somewhat disappointed in the Budget. It is less generous than it appears on first viewing: we still have a £12 billion cut in welfare. If I understand it correctly, that will now happen as people transfer into universal credit. ...
In election results announced this evening Sheila Thomson has defeated Willie Wilson in a straight fight to become the new Convenor of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Congratulations to Sheila and commiserations to Willie who was also an excellent candidate. However it is pleasing that this important role in the party has gone to a female... More Thomson Elected New Scottish Convenor
Thu 26th
18:43
Brian Paddick writes... Chairman Mao might have backed Labour's ID card plans, but Lib Dems won't
In the House of Lords today, Labour tried to resurrect the National Identity Card scheme with some support from the Conservative benches. The Government Home Office minister countered that it was too expensive and ineffective in that those we would most want to carry an ID card are the least likely to carry them. Liberal Democrats object to the compulsory carrying of identity cards on principle, as an infringement of the liberty and the right to privacy of those lawfully going about their business but there are other reasons why a national identity scheme should remain dead and buried. Not ...
Over the summer the finances of Northampton Town have been in the news. David Conn wrote a good summary of this byzantine affair in the Guardian at the start of the month: Put bluntly, there is a huge, grim question over where £10.25m has gone, which was lent to the club by Northampton borough council between September 2013 and August 2014, specifically to pay for improvements to its Sixfields stadium, including a new East Stand.All that exists in return for so much money are minor works on the west stand, floodlights understood to have cost a little over £100,000, and ...
Scottish Liberal Democrats MSP Alison McInnes has welcomed the news today that the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee will on Tuesday next week discuss the revelations of Police Scotland spying that came to light yesterday. The Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office (IOCCO) yesterday confirmed Police Scotland had 'recklessly' breached the law on five occasions as officers tried... More McInnes Welcomes Discussions On Spying
Current Waiting for Elizabeth, by Joan Rosier-Jones Babes in a Darkling Wood, by H.G. Wells Keeping it Real, by Justina Robson Last books finished Short Fiction Eligible for the 1941 Retro-Hugos Vol 1, ed. von Dimpleheimer The Battle for Gaul, by Julius Caesar The Invention of Happiness, by Brian W. Aldiss Short Fiction Eligible for the 1941 Retro-Hugos Vol 2, ed. von Dimpleheimer Dodger, by Terry Pratchett The Wonder City of Oz, by John R. Neill Bits of Me are Falling Apart, by William Leith Next books When I Was a Child I Read Books, by Marilynne Robinson Moon Over ...
The Rutland & Stamford Mercury wins our Headline of the Day Award by a distance. However, I have two observations to make. First, shouldn't that be 'doghood'? Second, what excuse did the dog give to the vet? "I was doing some carpentry in the nude when I slipped...?"
Think back to what the Liberal Democrat message was in the last Parliament. Much of it was about 'look at all these nasty things we've stopped the Tories doing'. A reasonable claim based on the facts but politically an ineffectual one when it came to votes being counted. Why? Well one simple reason is given by another question. What's the photo that comes to mind when you think of how the Lib Dems stopped extreme Tory policies time and again over five years? Er... That is the problem. If I asked you for a photo of how the Liberal Democrats ...
The proportion of Liberal Democrat local council candidates candidates who are female showed an improvement in this year's council elections in England, but not enough of an improvement to change the flat long-term trend. The broader context is that, once allowing for the fluctuations year by year depending on which seats are up for election*, the numbers have been flat for 25 years. The current figures are a little worse than around the turn of the century but up with most of the 1990s. When it comes to gender balance amongst those elected, this year saw a small symbolic achievement, ...
There is a very interesting article in the Financial Times that demonstrates how ISIS is being funded by those opposed to them through their control of Syrian oilfields. The paper says that oil is the black gold that funds Isis' black flag. It fuels its war machine, provides electricity and gives the fanatical jihadis critical leverage against their neighbours: But more than a year after US President Barack Obama launched an international coalition to fight Isis, the bustling trade at al-Omar and at least eight other fields has come to symbolise the dilemma the campaign faces: how to bring down ...
My letter to Minister Hugo Swire MP: From Lord Avebury P1524112 November 24, 2015 Dear Mr Swire, I attach a letter from the Bangladesh Human Rights Alliance about a demonstration opposite Parliament on November 18 which I attended. As I'm sure you know, although in the past there has been reasonable harmony between the various faiths in Bangladesh including those of no faith, there has been a downward trend in recent years, with violent attacks on persons and property by Islamist terrorists, including the hacking to death of five secular bloggers. The government hasn't been able to bring the perpetrators ...
What is it with Labour councillors in Maghull, they seem to resign by the minute and it has happened yet again with a Cllr. Jenny Southern going! [IMG: Maghull Town Hall] Labour was only elected with a clean sweep of 16 councillors on Maghull Town Council in May of this year yet already one has gone and that follows the almost too many to count (9 in fact – including one in Formby) Labour resignations of recent times. [IMG: Notice of vacancy posted on Maghull Town Hall] Notice of vacancy posted on Maghull Town Hall My previous posting (amongst many) ...
My letter to the Champion newspaper following the rather late conversion to this cause by the rump of Tory councillors left on Sefton Council. The article in the Champion dated 18th November refers. ***** Dear Sir, I note that Conservative Cllr. Terry Jones now wants to reduce the number of Sefton councillors; why the sudden conversion to this cause? Lib Dem councillors have proposed this a number of times but it has not gained a majority on the Council, not least because Labour want to keep all their troops happy and in jobs. If the Tories had run with this ...
No need to spend (from) £17 for a ticket to the Shaftesbury Theatre to try to spot the tricks of Illusionists: just study George Osborne's budgetary performance, in which he contrives to turn what is in reality a humiliating defeat into what, for the time being at any rate, appears to be a career-enhancing success. Precisely one month ago today, on the 26th October, Osborne's acolytes in the House of Lords were arguing that that cuts to Working Tax Credits must remain, that denying the chancellor's right to make them would be constitutional sabotage, they were essential to his much-vaunted ...
[IMG: Materials for ALDC members to oppose the 2015 Autumn Statement]
Thu 26th
11:35Kirsty Williams' bill to ensure safe staffing levels for nurses takes a step closer to becoming law
Kirsty Williams' bill to ensure that nursing levels in Welsh hospitals are put on a safer, statutory footing has passed another parliamentary hurdle, as Wales Online reports: A proposed law to introduce a legal minimum staffing level for nurses has overcome another hurdle after Assembly committee members passed amendments to the Bill. The Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill, proposed by Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams, would see an independent assessment for appropriate staffing levels in Welsh hospitals. The proposal would see Wales become the first country in the UK with a legal duty on safe nurse staffing levels. The ...
Congratulations to Rupert Moss-Eccardt who, as Mark Valladares reports, has just become the first selected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate for the Liberal Democrats ahead of the May 2016 elections. Rupert Moss-Eccardt has been selected for Cambridgeshire and, as a security consultant, bring very welcome knowledge about the internet, cyber-security and protecting our civil liberties to the contest. Lib Dems become keener on fighting PCC elections The Liberal Democrats have had a mixed attitude towards contesting Police and Crime Commissioner elections in the past, but this time round the mood is much more positive towards fighting them. Building a ...
George Osborne, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered his Autumn Statement yesterday. This is a very British piece of political theatre, delivered by somebody with a very theatrically British job title, that adds up to "Finance Minister". In the statement Mr Osborne announced financial plans for the next five years of the Conservative government. It is a set-piece event designed to score political points and attract good publicity. The dust has not had time to settle, but some important issues are clear. The main headlines were these: the government dropped the central part of its plans to reduce tax credits ...
Thu 26th
10:01'Iraq 2'. Why the Lib Dem's Syria conflict position in parliament is militarily and politically unwi...
On Tuesday, Tim Farron expressed the party's position on the coming 'Syria conflict' vote in parliament in a letter to PM David Cameron. It set out five conditions for Lib Dem support for an escalation of British involvement in Syria. It will no doubt be taken by the UK government as conditions for Lib Dem support for a general major escalation. The first 'condition' was that military action against Islamic State in Syria should follow international law. The letter expressed acceptance of UN Resolution 2249. This UN resolution however does not authorise actions against IS, nor does it provide a ...
UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Daniel Irlam. Contact: Stephen Tellis, 22 Beech Avenue, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 8AE . Email stephent53@hotmail.com 07799 345795
Rumours are reaching my ears about what is being said at Unison meetings of teaching assistants. In particular I'm interested in what is being said about the current proposals to slash pay being about "balancing school budgets". This is categorically not about school budgets (although school budgets would obviously gain by paying any staff member less). If anyone is being told that the proposals are being driven by or from schools or schools' leadership I'd like to hear about it because I don't believe it, and it isn't what I'm hearing. This whole process is being driven from County Hall. ...
The latest batch of written responses to the Commons Transgender Equality Inquiry have been released, and there is some interesting data hidden in them, particularly relating to TransDocFail and the Equality Act. From the General Medical Council: Of those 98 [TransDocFail cases] we identified 42 cases in which the allegation appeared potentially serious enough and recent enough to engage our processes... Any complaints made as a result of this will have been passed direct to our triage department and so we are unable to track all complaints from this group in isolation from any others we receive. We have however ...
For all his undoubted cleverness, and ability to pull the unexpected out of his red box, George Osborne's autumn statement made frustrating listening. More support for 'local growth' but at the same time, more money wasted on roads to make sure the new small businesses and the new enterprise zones are overwhelmed by unrestricted monopoly power in the big centres. More stamp duty on buy-to-let and second homes, which will undoubtedly reduce prices, but more help for first time buyers which will undoubtedly increase them - and especially in London. ] In fact, the sheer cussed blindness about house prices ...
Thu 26th
09:11
Who really deserves the credit for the tax credit U-turn? Let's remind ourselves, shall we?
Social media is a wonderful thing if you're of a sociological bent. As John McDonnell gave his response to the Autumn Statement, Corbynites took to Twitter to declare their man victorious. "McDonnell killing Osborne! What a triumph #spendingreview" was typical. Then you scrolled down into your feed to read the press give their take on things. "Tory MPs openly laughing at McDonnell's response" was one entry. Oh right, I had temporarily forgotten that all journalists other than possibly Owen Jones are a cog in a right-wing conspiracy, so I guess it all makes sense. The country would immediately take to ...
Earlier this week I was honoured to be elected the new Chair of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, which aims to increase awareness and understanding among Liberal Democrats about issues relating to Palestine and to champion the recognition of Palestinian statehood. I follow in the distinguished footsteps of my former Oxford Oriental Institute fellow [...]
Catherine Bearder, our only Lib Dem MEP, has been interviewed about the consequences of Brexit by the EU Observer. She doesn't think that an arrangement similar to Norway's – being in the European Economic Area but not in the European Union – is achievable. The deal will be very difficult, because they [other member states] don't want any other country to join us, I'm convinced of it. ... All those in favour of Britain staying in the EU, from small businesses to charities, must start speaking out now before it is too late. ... If we lost the vote and ...
Sorting Out What Russia and Turkey Say Happened in the Sky (tags: war russia turkey ) The Serial Swatter Harassment online, again. (tags: internet ) An Alarming New Escalation in the Syria War *gulp* (tags: russia turkey syria ) Satellite launch accident provides unexpected test of Einstein's theory Timewarps, for real. (tags: science space )
One in five Muslims do what? How to create your own dodgy data [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
