Sunday saw the local Lib Dem team move into Ryton for the day. A group of us hit the doorsteps to do a survey of residents. Alas, one of our members called on the son of the Labour mayor Alex Geddes. Since we like Alex (I appreciate that in the Labour group, being liked by us is something of a popularity killer), the conversation went well. Meanwhile, back at HQ, we shifted a large quantity
On Saturday I headed down to Dunston Hill and Whickham East ward in Gateshead to be part of a team that delivered 1100 Focuses. In rain, snow and hail (which stings when hitting cold hands) we got the leaflets delivered, stopping only when we ran out. We did however take a break for lunch at the Harry Clasper in Whickham. Scampi and chips went down very well.
It's well worth reading in the full the piece about Jo Swinson in the Evening Standard, and here are some morsels from it to tempt you to do so: Jo Swinson has a suggestion for anyone who thinks maternity discrimination is a problem of the past: read Pregnant Then Screwed. A website cataloguing women's horror stories, it illustrates how pervasive this prejudice still is. "It's not like the gender pay gap, which is at least going in the right direction," the former Lib-Dem business minister tells me. "This is actually worse than it was in 2005." Swinson, the new chair ...
... is the Sighthound community on instagram. Greyhounds, lurchers, whippets, Italian greyhounds etc. All the Sighthounds. All the Sighthounds supporting all the other Sighthounds in their little peculiarities of really thin skin that gets cuts dead easily, and wanting to run REALLY FAST then sleep immediately after all the time, and sleeping in really stupid positions, and all the other little idiosyncracies of the Sighthound. Sighthounds are ace, really. I loves my doggies. Disclaimer: there may have been wine consumed this evening. You're lucky I'm being soppy about the dogs and not any actual humans. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments ...
Apparently I should no longer campaign for LGBT+ equality elsewhere in the world. Apparently somebody who I have considered a friend for years considers that me using my white privilege to campaign for LGBT+ rights in Africa, or the Caribbean, or India and Pakistan is silencing BME LGBT+ voices. Now I know there are occasions when it seems strange for white people to stand up for BME people, times it looks like they are doing it for point scoring, but rarely have I heard that argument aimed towards LGBT+ activists. Some of us myself included have lived though the time ...
2016 is the fiftieth anniversary of the Monkees' first single, and of their TV show, and so a whole set of events have been planned by Rhino Records, the owners of the Monkees' trademarks and catalogue. Some of these (notably ... Continue reading →
I was speaking at an energetic event last week at the RSA about people-shaped localism, an excellent title, which I wish I had thought of myself. I found myself feeling a little at one remove from the general discussion, not because I somehow disapprove of consultation or public involvement in decisions, but because I have a sense that I have been hearing about wonderful but marginal experiments in consultation my entire adult life - without them actually becoming mainstream. There is a reason for this and, sitting next to Matthew Taylor, director at the RSA, I was given a bit ...
The Nottingham London Road here is the vanished Higher Level station. The Lower Level one is still there, now occupied by a health club and spa. There are lots more of these videos on this blog. Find them on the Disused Stations label.
Former Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes is to oversee public affairs for the Open University. The ex-MP for Bermondsey is to become the university's head of public affairs for one year, covering for maternity leave... In recent years, the Open University has been campaigning for more support for part-time students and greater recognition of the economic and social value of part-time university courses. [Public Affairs News] This role follows naturally from one that Simon Hughes had during the last Parliament: Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, has been appointed to a new role of advocate for access to ...
I got home from work planning to put away my clean laundry and wash some dirty laundry and be all ibble-word. What have I actually done? - played Scalextric (and broke the wing mirror off of one of the cars. Oops.) - got myself a glass of wine - ordered £90 worth of Doctor Who Tat for £25 in the BBC Shop 2 items for £5 crazy sale - snuggled doggies Now you COULD say I'm living the dream, but the laundry isn't going to sort itself... :/ [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
As previously noted (here, here and here), I've been populating my potential shortlists of Hugo nominees by reading the output of Tor.com, Clarkesworld, Asimov's, Subterranean Press and Strange Horizons for the calendar year of 2015. I've now finished that process and also read a few other bits and pieces, including most of the stories nominated for the BSFA Award. I'm aware that my list varies quite a lot from other people's, but I'm also encouraged by recent reports suggesting that the best outcome for the awards is simply for lots of people to nominate lots of good stuff. So I'm ...
I have received a number of calls today from journalists about the apparent announcement later in the week about whether or not public bodies and councils should be able to invest in Israeli companies. In fact the situation is more ... Continue reading →
The following email is one I would have sent to Kent Highways today, except that they do not give out an email address on which you can contact them, and prefer instead that you use an online form. As the below makes clear, I have used the online form before with no success in this instance. Hence, my email is below, and I'll alert Kent Highways to it via Twitter, online forms and any other route I can think of... ***** [IMG: Sandgate High Street potholes] Dear Kent Highways, On the 1st January, I reported some fairly deep and large ...
Catherine tells us that she is not lonely in Europe because she is part of a vibrant Liberal group. And tells us how the European Union protects birds of prey.
Charles Dickens is often thought of as the quintessential Victorian novelist, though his career began before the young Victoria ascended the throne and he died in 1870. There was thus no way that he could ever have visited that most stylish of late Victorian edifices, Alfred Waterhouse's National Liberal Club (NLC), which was founded in [...]
Are you part of an organisation or group that provides a benefit to the communities of either Gunthorpe or Werrington? If so, you might like to apply for some of this years Community Leadership Fund (CLF)? To apply on-line now please touch/click here! What is the CLF? The purpose of the Community Leadership Fund is [...]
There is a lot to be said for tradition. Relying on the familiar is one of the ways we root ourselves in our community. Change can be disorientating and disturbing, and may have the effect of separating us from friends, family and neighbours. It is not surprising therefore that, facing a multi-billion pound refurbishment programme that could leave MPs and Lords without offices or a chamber and scattered across London, the Government has said that it will continue to print our laws on calf-skin or vellum. That at least, our legislators will be able to rely on. The Telegraph says ...
A specific Welsh voice must exist at the very top of the BBC. The House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which does not have a Liberal Democrat member, recommended that the current BBC Trust be abolished in favour of a board of executive and non-executive directors. The Committee's report also recommended that "regional and national issues should be dealt with by the board collectively, not via specific director appointments," effectively ruling out a specific Welsh voice on the new board. With devolved government in Wales becoming ever more prominent, now is not the time to start rolling back ...
Embed from Getty Images According to the BBC, Simon Hughes has accepted a post at the Open University, as their Head of Public Affairs. This will be a maternity cover for one year. The OU site gives this great quote from author Bill Bryson: What other nation in the world could have given us William Shakespeare, pork pies, Christopher Wren, Windsor Great Park, The Open University, Gardeners' Question Time and the chocolate digestive biscuit? We wish him well! * Mary Reid is the Monday Editor on Lib Dem Voice.
Sutton Council is supporting the Government's Love Food Hate Waste campaign and I must say that it is a campaign that very much chimes with me personally. You see I have become a bit of an addict at seeking out recipes to use up leftovers and fresh produce before it goes off. I have made [...]
The story of Crispin Lamont, 40 of Perth, who is being held under the charge of rape in India, is a different twist on an experience not unknown in the oilfield. According to the Daily Record, Lamont is being charged after his former girlfriend of five months alleges that she only agreed to having sex after he promised to marry her. In India this is statutory rape as sex occurred until false pretences. The Record also suggests that it is a form of female control as women are expected to be virgins until wedlock. Full story here The two ...
The Parliamentary Communities and Local Government Select Committee has told ministers they should refrain from imposing elected mayors on local areas as a condition of devolution. The cross-party committee of MPs said regions who wanted "substantial devolved powers" but were not in favour of having a mayor "should be allowed to propose an equally strong alternative model of governance." The committee has also called for the role of residents to be more prominent in devolution, saying: "We have found a significant lack of public consultation and engagement at all stages in the devolution process." [i.e. bugger all, not a sausage, ...
Our Headline of the Day comes from the Shropshire Star. The judges were unanimous, but I can't help thinking this is rather embarrassing for the rabbit.
This was written as a follow up to a previous verse that was published in the Champion Newspaper. [IMG: Campaigners, outside Maghull Town Hall trying to save Sefton Borough's high grade agricultural land from development.] Campaigners, outside Maghull Town Hall trying to save Sefton Borough's high grade agricultural land from development. RIP Maghull and Lydiate Part Two. In 2012 you published my letter, An obituary for our town, in verse. After five weeks of public inquiry, The situation has become far worse. It will be like the Viking invasions, As builders destroy our community town, With the blessing of council ...
When I first started studying politics way back in the 1950s I was taught that, whereas in many wicked foreign systems opposition to the government was forbidden, sometimes on pain of torture or death, here in enlightened Britain opposition was not only permitted, but opponents were actually paid to do it. "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition"was a part of our wonderful, though unwritten, constitution, and its leader was paid a salary out of public funds. Clearly this concept that freedom to oppose is an essential part of a healthy democracy does not form part of the Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) ...
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] Last week saw four principal council by-elections take place. In Eastleigh (BC), the Liberal Democrats held a seat in West End North ward with 53%. Janice Asman was elected with a 267 vote majority over the Conservatives, with the Lib Dem vote share increasing by 13.2% from the ward's previous election last May. In Hounslow (LB), there was a hold for Labour in Cranford with 54.7%, whilst Liberal Democrat Hina Malik polled 11.5% in third place, a vote share increase of 5.3% from two years ago. There were also comfortable holds for Labour in ...
Read Regional is the annual campaign that introduces readers to writers from the North, through their local libraries. Read Regional is pleased to announce the ten titles which are selected for its 2016 promotion, and the authors which will be visiting Stockport Libraries. This year's list includes an exciting selection of new books by some of the best contemporary writers in the North. Readers will discover a broad range of fiction, including crime, romantic fiction and YA; memoir; short stories; and poetry. The authors visiting Stockport Libraries are: Hazel Osmond, author of The Mysterious Miss Mayhew, will visit Edgeley Library ...
Any of my former pupils may be aware of my admiration for George Orwell, and especially of his novel 1984. It's one of the great political satires, in a country ruled by by the despotic but loved "Big Brother", where the The Ministry of Truth runs the nation's propaganda, the Ministry of Peace its war machine and the Ministry of Plenty its rationing. And why am I reminded of it? It was reading my emails from County Hall today. Wednesday's Cabinet Meeting to discuss next year's budget is advertised on our weekly diary sheet with the words, "All Members invited ...
Gatley Family Sports day is coming – more information here. [IMG: gatley family sports day]
Mon 15th
10:25
What do the academics say? Fielding more female candidates helps political parties gain votes
[IMG: Women and the vote - image from MIT] Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – the rather topical issue of gender and candidates with a study from last year which I've not covered previously: Political parties find that their fortunes improve when they put more women on the ballot, according to a study co-authored by an MIT economist. The study analyzes changes to municipal election laws in Spain, which a decade ago began requiring political parties to have women fill at least 40 percent of the slots on their electoral ...
Embed from Getty Images Three parliamentary committees have now reported on the Home Secretary's draft Investigatory Powers Bill. All three have raised major criticisms of both the powers proposed and the way they are set out. That is the opening paragraph in an article by Julian Huppert posted on OpenDemocracy titled Three strikes against the IP bill. He quotes the reports by the Science and Technology Committee on 9th February, by the Intelligence and Security Committee also on 9th February and finally by the Joint Committee with the remit to examine this bill which reported on 11th February. All were ...
3 weeks this hole in Military Road, Sandgate has been coned off but NO repairs in progress. There had been a storm drain problem during the heavy rains about a month ago - some one came, coned the area off, dug a hole and have now left it for three weeks - there have been no further works in that time. [IMG: Road works in Military Road, Sandgate] Tim has contacted Kent County Council this morning to ask when Kent Highways expect the (quite hazardously positioned) works will be completed / removed - they aren't going to heal themselves, and ...
[IMG: Fotolia_44095455_XS-300x300] A few days ago at Quartz.com Allison Schrager posted The single most important thing an economics course can teach you. It never becomes entirely clear what the single most important thing is. But it is possible that it is the need to study economic history alongside economy theory, which is something Schrager – sensibly – advocates at the outset. However, the bulk of the article focuses on something entirely different. Its primary objective is to argue that critics of mainstream economics – particularly the student critics associated with the Post-Crash Economics Society – who argue that economics education ...
... Happy Anniversary xxx [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Residents of Stockport are being asked to share their struggles and successes in making healthy lifestyle choices, as the Greater Manchester region prepares to take responsibility for a £6billion health and social care budget. The results of the Taking Charge Together campaign – launched today (Monday 15 February) - will help shape health and social care plans across Greater Manchester for the next five years. People can join a conversation about everything from exercise to mental health by going to www.takingchargetogether.org.uk and filling in a quick survey or by attending a community roadshow event being hosted in Stockport on Saturday ...
Mon 15th
08:55Has any philosophical question ever been answered successfully with a simple yes or no?
Michael Meadowcroft in The Guardian has an answer to that, of sorts, featuring Jo Grimond: [IMG: Michael Meadowcroft in The Guardian]
This is a reminder that I welcome guest posts on Liberal England. And as you can see from the list of the 10 most recent guest posts below, I am happy to consider a wide range of subjects. If you would like to write a guest post yourself, please send me an email so we can discuss your idea. The perfect Christmas gift for a carer - Jon PollardPolitic360: Mending online political discussion - Jason BrownA new hole in the safety net - AnonymousMemories of Snailbeach in the 1950s - Christina SamsonWe are all the poorer for soundbite politics - ...
Mon 15th
08:28
How these GMB comments are telling about the relationship between Corbyn and the unions
During the Labour leadership race in the summer, the trade unions as a bloc openly supported Jeremy Corbyn as their preferred candidate. There were probably many easily understandable reasons for this. One of them could have been that they wanted to try and push the other candidates to the left on certain issues, thinking Corbyn could never win so it was a free shot. Another is that they generally thought he would make a decent leader. However, comments by GMB general secretary Paul Kenny are revealing as to how things stand between the trade unions and Corbyn and his inner ...
A glory-hunter's guide to supporting Leicester City This is a really important thing I wish I'd known younger [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
