Today I visited Nottingham and had a pint in Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. Sitting beneath the city's castle, it claims to be the oldest pub in England. At the bar the locals were discussing cricket with a barman from Australia or New Zealand. All was right with the world. Happy New Year.
Today in someone's review of the year I came across an interview Nick Clegg gave to the Evening Standard on the eve of the general election: Looking back at the campaign, it is the comic moments he remembers. For instance, his first visit was to a hedgehog sanctuary, with Paddy Ashdown. Ashdown muttered under his breath to Clegg: "When I was in the Special Boat Service we used to eat hedgehogs."Talk of eating hedgehogs inevitably reminds those of us who grew up on Malcolm Saville of his second Lone Pine story Seven White Gates. At the beginning of the book ...
The front page news in the Sun that Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, was caught sending text messages of an unwise nature to a seventeen-year-old who had applied for a job in his office is just the latest in a series of bewildering events in the life of a man easily described as controversial. What seems so strange about the affair is that, given his clear passion for campaigning on behalf of those abused in childhood, he should not see the contradiction in behaving as he did towards a young woman. The Labour Party has, in suspending his ...
Embed from Getty Images Miranda Green has an article in the Guardian looking at the prospects for Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the coming year. I was struck by this passage: For the Lib Dems, polling day was cruel: not only a massacre of MPs, but a rebuke to the very idea of power-sharing. Coalition had blunted the party's identity and destroyed at a stroke its appeal to anti-establishment protest voters. Tim Farron, never a minister, has chosen "a fresh start" as his new backdrop: while careful not to disown the Clegg era, he is more at home with ...
2015 was another year of avid reading for me. I was quite surprised when in 2014 I managed to read 79 books over the course 0f the year. In 2015 it was 97 books. Whilst I haven't tried to reach a certain number, as I'd rather enjoy the books instead of trying to meet some sort of [...]
Or in this case blogger, as only one new blog appeared on the LibDemBlogs aggregator in December. Thanks to Ryan Cullen as ever for sending me the details. LibDemAlex is written by Alex Hegenbarth and has been running since the summer. Recent posts have forecast that the Liberal Democrats will become the official opposition by 2035, advocated something called "multipotentialsim" and looked at the role of the party's MPs after the carnage of May's general election: In May the party lurched dramatically overnight from an established parliamentary entity of over 50 MPs with an experienced leadership to a handful of ...
As those you who know Ros and I on Facebook may have noticed, we saw in the New Year somewhat more dressed up than usual (certainly for me, at any rate...), at the Pier at Harwich. And yes, it was very nice, and I didn't drink too much champagne, and behaved like a moderately sensible person (but not too sensible, after all, there are standards to be maintained...). It was nice to see that a lot of people seemed to be enjoying the New Year come in too, including my far-flung family, who cover twenty-one time zones. Indeed, I spent ...
[IMG: Shingle on Sandgate Sea Wall / Esplanade / walkway] Hi Rory, Happy New Year! Just thought that I'd mention a fault on the Shepway DC website to you in your role as "Cabinet Member for Customers and Digital Delivery". I've tried today to report the massive amount of shingle on the sea wall in Sandgate towards its junction with The Riviera using the online system at http://www.shepway.gov.uk/report-a-problem/street-cleaning (Report it Once). However, the form seem completely broken: unable to find any address from road name or postcode, therefore unable to allow any report to be made. I am using Firefox ...
[IMG: Sandgate High Street potholes] The Kent County Council problem reporting system says that there has already been a report of potholes near the junction of Sandgate High Street and Military Road, and that works "are being programmed". However, despite there being serious potholes in the road for months, no repair has been made. Tim has reported those potholes AGAIN today, with a photo of the potholes. Sandgate High Street is a major road, and the potholes are of a size that is causing vehicles to swerve - especially bikes. Let's hope KCC make the repairs soon... Published and promoted ...
So my predictions for 2015 proved to be rather mediocre. But on the theory that making mistakes is the only way to get better, here are my predictions for 2016. Like last year, each time I make a prediction I also give it a probability as a %. This time round I have also chosen [...]
Known as 'no jab, no pay', the new Australian rules mean that if a child isn't up to date with their immunisation vaccines then their parents (or legal guardians) lose entitlement to Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement and Child Care Benefit: Aimed at increasing vaccination rates, the policy strips families of unvaccinated children of thousands of dollars a year in childcare rebates and the Family Tax Benefit A end-of-year supplement. Experts have said the policy targets people registered as conscientious objectors, accounting for about 1.77 per cent of children, but will do little to capture the further 7 per ...
In 2014, we faced European elections and a Scottish referendum. In 2016, we face Scottish Elections and an EU Referendum. On New Year's Day, Charles Kennedy sent us his reflections on the year ahead. There is much in here that is relevant today, particularly the bit about being "bold to the point of fearlessness" about portraying our unique political optimism. It brought a tear to my eye reading it. He is so missed. Locally and nationally 2014 is going to be a decisive one – not just for us Liberal Democrats but for Scotland, the UK and the European Union ...
A poll about books which are celebrating their anniversaries this year. Recommendations (including from me) in the comments. View Poll: #2032423 As with the previous year, the best-selling book of 1916 was a forgotten work by Booth Tarkington, in this case Seventeen. The best-selling book of 1966 was Valley of the Dolls.
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
... And as the divine Ms Duffett pointed out to me earlier, it's a Leap Beer! I'm not going to dwell on 2015, because for all sorts of reasons it was crap*, but I will share a few highlights:New Job. My new job is ace. I am really enjoying both the work and the pace (mostly relaxed with bouts of frantic this-must-be-done-yesterday) suits me down to the ground. Twitter account of the year Gary the Wonder Dog, who does not tweet as often as I do, but the quality is WAY higher. Book of the Year I have read lots ...
So, it's the morning after the New Year parties. Everyone else in my house, including the dog, is sleeping off a fun evening of Monopoly in which the two teenagers comprehensively bankrupted the adults over some seven hours. I therefore have time to suggest a few New Year's Resolutions for Liberal Democrats to see us through 2016. Don't let anyone put us in the corner I don't know about you, but I am done with caution and contrition. Sure, we were in government for a few years and we seriously screwed a few things up. You'd think we were the ...
We wanted to honour those Liberal Democrats that our readers felt were true stars of 2015, which has been one of the toughest years in our party's history. Over the past few days, we have sought out nominations and now have a rather impressive list that we'll be publishing in instalments during this week. Here is the fourth part. Their names come with the comments made about the contribution they have made. Some are parliamentarians, some are councillors, most are grassroots activists. Let's celebrate them and the many others who are fighting fto keep that Liberal Democrat flame alive. These ...
[IMG: Berrylands Focus leaflet for Sushila Abraham] Want to know how to win election campaigns? Wondering how political campaigning works? You can learn from the very best of international experience with a free 10-week email course from myself and Ed Maxfield: Email* Name* First Last NameThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Sign up and each week you'll receive one lesson by email, helping you become a top election winning campaigner or candidate yourself. It's a great way to make sure you don't fall foul of political campaigning mistakes such as Five of the most common ...
As if social media did not put enough obstacles and hazards in the way of a politician, the return of Politwoops is enough to strike terror into our hearts. As the Independent explains, this on-line tool had previously watched for tweets by politicians and saved them even if they were deleted. But in the summer, Twitter decided that it would be shut down, arguing that it was "terrifying" not to be able to delete tweets. However, the site has now said that it has come to an agreement with the group's behind the tool — The Sunlight Foundation and The ...
I've already looked back on my most popular posts of 2015, but what were the top posts of the last quarter of it? 5) Taking student politics far too seriously – People get riled up about the inanities of student politics look as silly now as they did when I was a student. 4) West Wing worship is damaging for British politics – Yet again, too many people are taking something frothy far too seriously. 3) What the hell are the Lib Dem Lords playing at? – Because we really need the scab picking off an old wound. 2) The ...
Here are a few of my local hopes for 2016 and beyond. They are in no particular order:- [IMG: Here I am at Lambshear Lane Lydiate checking out farm land that is coming under threat from house building.] Here I am at Lambshear Lane Lydiate checking out farm land that is coming under threat from house building. That Sefton Council's Local Plan is rejected on the basis that high grade agricultural land on which we grow our food should not be used to build houses on. [IMG: Site for the new Maghull North Railway Station. Photo taken looking north from ...
I will spend at least the first portion of 2016 explaining why I think the UK should remain part of the European Union; part of me looks forward to the challenge, part of me dreads it. Already the debate has fallen into a predictable pattern: the Leavers speak from the heart while the Remain folk speak from the head. I have been involved in a few hustings on the subject since the general election – sad to say it, but the Ins always come across as rational and full of factual arguments while the Outs always seem full of table ...
The honours system is entrenching elitism in British society by rewarding political work BBC News website takes New Year's Eve off 23 Typically Yorkshire Responses To The Floods How being poor can lead to a negative spiral of fear and self-loathing What if Harry Potter, the chosen one, had turned out to be a squib? This is MAGNIFICENT Almost half of 2015's top movies failed the Bechdel test Brighouse Bridge examined for flood damage amid concern over crack But WHY don't women report having their drinks spiked? Really big content warnings on this one, ppl. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments ...
The New Year is a time to look forward and it is as important for us as a party to set ourselves new goals and ambitions as it is as individuals. I am determined that the Liberal Democrats face the new year with a new sense of purpose, a new drive and a sense of ambition. David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn both lead parties that are fundamentally divided. Whether it is over Europe, like the Conservatives, or their leader, like Labour, both the government and the official opposition are at war with themselves. This obsession with their own internal problems ...
Here is the new year message for 2016 from Lib Dem leader Tim Farron: The New Year is a time to look forward and it is as important for us as a party to set ourselves new goals and ambitions as it is as individuals. I am determined that the Liberal Democrats face the new year with a new sense of purpose, a new drive and a sense of ambition. David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn both lead parties that are fundamentally divided. Whether it is over Europe, like the Conservatives, or their leader, like Labour, both the government and the ...
Ok, even if you don't speak Scottish, you get the gist. Few Lib Dems will be sorry to see the back of 2015, but we're an optimistic bunch so we hope that 2016 will fulfil its promise for us as a party. We hope that wherever you are, you have peace, health and happiness throughout the year. And, we know that some of you will be seeing in the New Year without someone you love. For some of you, that sense of loss is very, very new. To you especially we send our love and solidarity. I want to take ...
