From my Six of the Best 559: "A truly wonderful film of a summer holiday in Bude in 1955," claims Paul Walter. And he is right. It really is wonderful. No doubt it will appear on this blog after a decent interval has elapsed.
A surprising move from such a publicity-hungry politician. Later. A lot of people on Twitter are claiming he has deleted his Facebook account too.
Please be patient...
Our Headline of the Day Award goes to The Cornishman.
"May I ask the prime minister to reject the view that sees terrorist acts as always being a response or a reaction to what we in the West do? Does he agree that such an approach risks infantilising the terrorists and treating them like children, when the truth is that they are adults who are entirely responsible for what they do? No one forces them to kill innocent people in Paris or Beirut.
Do you have the creative personality? How many of these ten creative personality characteristics do you possess? Listen to the Audio Watch the Video Please leave a comment below and tell me what you think. Sponsors Lynda.com Audible.com Transcript: To follow... The post The Creative Personality appeared first on James Taylor.
A UKIP candidate at the Bassetlaw district elections has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting using false signatures on his nomination papers. Michael Andrew Lowe, 34, of Netherton Road, Worksop, pleaded guilty to using ten false signatures on election papers in Retford during the 2015 Bassetlaw District Council... He will have to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and is banned from holding public or elected office for five years. [Retford Times] Interested in more stories about how our elections are run? Follow my dedicated election law channels on Facebook or Twitter.
Whatever hopes Jeremy Corbyn may have had for 2016, they have been summarily crushed within a week of all those pristine new calendars and diaries gaining their first entries. The chaos surrounding the Labour leader's so-called "reshuffle" – which has rather less resembled an orderly rearrangement of a pack of cards than a pack of tantruming toddlers running amok in [...]
[IMG: PAFB] Exploding onto the scene with all the impact of a sodden paper bag landing in a puddle, someone has launched Progressive Alliance UK, seeking "to build a broad alliance of progressives from across the centre and left of British politics to end Conservative rule". The aim is to somehow bring together everyone vaguely nice progressive into one big electoral alliance that will enable the Tories to be defeated at the next election and allow for everyone to receive their very own unicorn. I mock, but the idea does appear to be driven mostly by wishful thinking, imagining that ...
[IMG: Solar panels on a roof. CC0 Public Domain] Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Featherstone have both laid motions in an attempt to block the government's controversial feed-in tariff cuts. The Labour leader laid an early day motion (EDM) ... at the same time Baroness Featherstone laid a non-fatal motion within the House of Lords in an attempt to annul the statutory instrument. [Solar Power Portal] The proposed feed-in tariff cuts would hit the growing renewable energy sector hard, and if they go ahead are expected to cause thousands of job losses as well as setting ...
Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor was used at the start of the first episode of the new series of "Endeavour" on ITV. It's a great piece to be used, with no other sound, to show deeds of murderous mayhem. It's been used on Midsomer Murders and also (from memory) on either or both of Morse and Lewis. A fantastic tune for a good murder! Share
Embed from Getty Images Following on from Ed Davey's outspoken criticism of the Government's cuts to subsidies for renewals, we hear that Lynne Featherstone has tabled a motion in the Lords calling for the cuts to the feed-in tariff subsidies for solar energy to be rescinded. These subsidies are being reduced by a huge 65% next month, which will lead to the loss of up to 18,700 jobs in the industry over the next four years. This motion could result in another defeat in the Lords – something we have been growing used to since the notable Lib Dem campaign ...
[IMG: Tim Farron 5 by Paul Walter] Tim has just posted this comment on his Facebook page: I despair at Labour's meltdown. Britain needs a progressive liberal voice that can actually challenge the Conservatives and offer an alternative that understands real people's lives. Just this week, when a party is needed to challenge the Housing Bill, shine a light on the UK's shady relationship with Saudi Arabia and highlight the worrying consumer credit bubble, Labour are nowhere to be seen. Labour is not that credible alternative. It is split from top to bottom. While Britain is being let down, Liberal ...
Chris Dillow at Stumbling and Mumbling yesterday posed the blunt question: what's the point of Labour's right-wing? "Labour's right-wing" I think referred to everybody to the right of Jeremy Corbyn, a minority of Labour members but an overwhelming majority of Labour voters. I liked Chris's suggestions for ideas to re-invigorate the sensible rump of Labour, what he terms centre-leftism, but which at first sight appears to be a summary of the Lib Dem manifesto: If I were [the centre-left], I'd be arguing for some of the following: – "Make work pay". Shift taxes from labour to land and inheritances, and ...
[IMG: IMG_7158] Pilling Lane, where it crosses the Leeds Liverpool Canal, has been closed this week as road works have been taking place on the rural side of this canal bridge. [IMG: IMG_7155] The works, at least as far as I could tell, were associated with putting new curb stones in along the Lane. Not sure when it will reopen but hopefully soon.
This post is part of a series of 2016 resolutions for the Lib Dems. You can read part 1 on diversity here and part 2 on membership retention here. Resolution 3: start willing elections again. I'll start by admitting that the title of this one is a little unfair, because we do win elections. Most weeks there is either a local victory or a campaign team making real progress in a by-election. This is good news, but it masks a much larger problem. Ten to fifteen years ago we could say, with confidence, that we had the best election winning ...
[NB, I'll be looking at the Good Vibrations box in an essay in the book version] An interesting thing happened in the early 1990s. The image of the Beach Boys began to split into two — and this split would ... Continue reading →
In October 1978 a then obscure Czech playwright named Vaclav Havel published an essay called The Power of the Powerless. It was a tragic time for those in Central or Eastern Europe who believed in freedom. The Soviet system had made advances across the globe and seemed to be as solid and enduring as it was soul crushing and brutal. Yet, as history shows, appearances can be misleading. Within only a few weeks the election of Pope John Paul II began a process that lead to tumult across the Soviet World and the eventual downfall of Communism. Havel's moral manifesto ...
Embed from Getty Images Across the UK, cash-hungry councils are selling off parks and open spaces to fill up their coffers. We're supposed to accept that in these times of diminishing government spending it's necessary to sacrifice some niceties - but the loss of recreational green land that's supposed to belong to us all is going too far. To think that councils are using the funds from selling our parks to deliver services is optimistic at best. Land sale is capital. Services come out of the revenue budget. Yet still it seems hard for the public to make a case ...
Earlier today, Blackness Primary School pupil Lynsey Mitchell age 5 received her prize from the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden and the West End Christmas Committee as she emerged as winner of a competition run by the Christmas Fortnight in the run up to the festive season. All local school children from the four West End Primary Schools - Victoria Park, St Joseph's Ancrum Road and Blackness - and local children who attend other primary schools - were all invited to participate in a window spotting competition around the Perth Road district shopping area. They were tasked ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and Jo Barton are holding their next advice centre on Saturday 9th January from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Churchtown, at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) on the fourth Thursday of every month (except December) from 10:30 - 11:30 am.
I've used these WinnerGear Rumba Earphones now whilst in the house, walking to work and on the train. I was sent them for free to review and normally use Soundpeats Qy7 bluetooth headphones. The audio quality is better than my bluetooth headphones and a huge increase on my normal emergency earphones (which came with one of my past mobiles). Although they aren't noise cancelling, they do a good job of stopping other noises get in. They are sold as "best bass", I'm no expert but the bass did sound better and not at the cost of the other ranges. They ...
Embed from Getty Images BusinessGreen refers to some of Ed Davey's recent comments as a 'blistering attack' in which he 'slams Conservative ministers'. He was responding to some research, including Freedom of Information requests, that was carried out by the Carbon Brief. In a nutshell, Conservative ministers have been claiming that household energy bills were rising because of a projected overspend of £1.5 billion by 2020 on subsidies for clean energy. Hence, they claim there was an urgent need to cut the subsidies for renewables. But the disclosed emails between officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change show ...
The Liverpool Echo has the details on its web site – see link above
[IMG: Bootle Town Hall] Bootle Town Hall We have all heard of the Chancellor's Northern Powerhouse but the reality across Town Halls in the north of England is more akin to Poorhouse than Powerhouse. With Council budgets being cut, way, way beyond what anyone thought they could be/should be the reality is community services being reduced to an absolute minimum. [IMG: Bootle Town Hall] Don't get me wrong, of course local government had to play its part as the UK tried to re-balance its books after the financial crash which happened during the last Labour government's watch. However, to reduce ...
Embed from Getty Images Caroline Pidgeon, London Assembly member and our candidate for London Mayor, has come up with a bright idea that has a range of benefits. She proposes that fares on all Transport for London rail services (including Underground, DLR, and Overground) should be halved for journeys before 7.30am. As she says: Half price fares on TfL's Tube and rail services would really help some of London's lowest paid workers who often have to work unsocial hours. This is a genuine fare cut that can be delivered immediately. Such a policy would also encourage people to spread travel ...
David Cameron has decided (been forced to) permit his cabinet colleagues to campaign against his government's stance on membership of the EU, and Jeremy Corbyn has failed to sack ( been prevented from sacking) Hilary Benn for openly opposing him on the issue of bombing Syria. So that means more of our leading politicians are going to say what they believe rather than what they've been told to say. One of the earliest mistakes Nick Clegg made when we joined the Conservatives in coalition in 2010 was to announce that we Liberal Democrats must "own" all the coalition did: we ...
Embed from Getty Images Boxing Day saw the Countryside Alliance wrong footed. The Countryside Alliance for those not in the know is an organisation that masquerades as the champion of rural life but is in fact merely the mouthpiece for blood sports such as fox hunting and grouse shooting. It is the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing and on Boxing Day like many others it was caught out by the weather. Boxing Day is fox hunting's showpiece day and the Countryside Alliance went wild on Twitter to proclaim that a quarter of a million fox hunters and their supporters had ...
Your local Lib Dem councillors supported proposals which would have seen the Council provide some form of extra rubbish collection over the Christmas period. A motion discussed by Bury's councillors proposed to use spare capacity in the garden waste collection through the winter months, to allow for extra collection capacity at Christmas. The move was voted down by Labour councillors who claim that anyone recycling correctly shouldn't create any extra rubbish at Christmas. We're huge fans of recycling, but three weeks is a long time over the Christmas period for many households. We believe that that Councils should to try ...
As a society moves from poverty to affluence, more or less everything changes. Just look at fast growing cities in the developing world. When we discuss rapid economic growth in the developing world, the focus tends to be on China. Which is not unreasonable: its growth has been the fastest and because of its size the [...]
[IMG: Houses] Too many people, particularly younger people, can't afford a home of their own. The Liberal Democrats have set a bold and ambitious target to increase the amount of homes we build in the UK to 300,000 every year, more than any other mainstream party. For decades, successive Conservative and Labour Governments have not built enough [...]
A new planning applications has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 59549 Registration Date: 14/12/2015 Location: 17 Holyrood Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1PD Proposal: 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
Embed from Getty Images American history and politics are a passion of mine, so I always look forward to their primary season. A year when the incumbent President is not seeking reelection is always especially interesting because it means both big parties engage fully in the lengthy process of selecting a candidate. 2016 is such a year. American politics is unique and finding a viable candidate from what we would call the centre left is difficult. The Republicans have been an almost exclusively right wing conservative party for decades. Even those in the establishment who have resisted the insurgency of ...
Dundee City Council is reviewing its Tenant Participation Strategy. This strategy sets out how the council will support tenants and their representatives to influence the delivery of housing services. A draft strategy has been written after having some initial discussions with tenants - we now want to consult more widely to make sure that the strategy covers all of the most important actions. The council is consulting on the draft strategy until the end of January 2016. Dundee's tenants are asked to help by reading the draft strategy you can download here and give the council feedback using the online ...
The Independent records the latest gaffe by UKIP in their vain attempts to acclimatise themselves to Wales. The paper says that the party is hosting its annual spring conference in Llandudno next month, and posted an ad on Monday featuring the "Welcome to Wales" road sign that greets drivers at the border: Unfortunately, the Welsh actually reads "Welcome the Wales", rather than "Welcome to Wales". This is not the first time that UKIP has erred when using the Welsh language. As the paper points out, UKIP made translation errors in Welsh when they launched their Wales website in 2013. The ...
Consider for a moment how much Corbyn has staked thus far in the name of trying to stop Trident renewal from taking place. He has greatly annoyed the trade unions over the issue, never more so than at Labour conference in Brighton last year when he told the GMB he would make the party line be pro-EU regardless in the name of party unity, and then turning around and taking an anti-Trident line thus destroying his European line's explanation. Jeremy brought Ken Livingstone into the fold, upsetting many, all because he was looking for an ally on the issue to ...
Live Aid: The Terrible Truth - this is why, even now, I don't give to big umbrella orgs Saudi Arabia omitted from UK's death penalty strategy - The Golden Rule in action there The promises Boris Johnson has broken as mayor [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Caroline Pidgeon campaigning for better public transport in London] A Lib Dem press release brings the news... Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, today set out plans for half price fares on Underground, DLR, Overground and TfL Rail services for people who start their journeys before 7.30am. Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, said: "Half price fares on TfL's Tube and rail services would really help some of London's lowest paid workers who often have to work unsocial hours. This is a genuine fare cut that can be delivered immediately. "Half price ...
Had an interesting conversation with Mrs V last night. She enjoys studying Leo Tolstoy and wondered why at one stage he was in such a hurry to learn Ancient Greek. The reason was to understand the Gospels better. There was always confusion about certain texts of the New Testament and Tolstoy felt the need to go back to the original language. In the example given, Matthew 5:44, it says this: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have challenged the Secretary of State for Wales to commit to campaigning for staying in the European Union during the upcoming referendum, following doubts regarding his position on the matter. Prime Minister David Cameron is set to announce that Ministers will be allowed to campaign for either side of the referendum campaign. But Eluned Parrott AM has challenged Stephen Crabb to campaign for a 'remain' vote in Wales' interests. Doubts have been raised about Crabb's position after he rubbished claims last month that millions of jobs would be at risk if the UK left the EU ...
