So, just minutes before the 10 o'clock news, it was announced that A Deal Had Been Struck. Fancy that. It had been a bit like the day the BBC camped outside the maternity hospital when William and Kate had their first child – except the outcome was not quite as joyful. In news which will surprise precisely nobody, I can reveal that I will be voting to remain in Europe – despite Cameron's deal, rather than because of it. I suppose we should just be grateful he didn't sell our hard-won employment rights down the river in the process of ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35608992 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above Nearly every hospital in England is now in deficit as financial problems in the NHS threaten to spiral out of control. [IMG: nhs-logo] With thanks to Roy Connell for spotting this story
Now do you see why I am always going on about this place?
I know it's only February, but look at these tweets from Britain Elects: Liberal Democrat council by-election performances so far this year: Average: +4.20% (standing starts excl.) pic.twitter.com/eqakx7q5U2 — Britain Elects (@britainelects) February 19, 2016 And the news gets better: UKIP council by-election performances so far this year: Average: -8.06% (standing starts excl.) pic.twitter.com/NrzZnjbzmT — Britain Elects (@britainelects) February 19, 2016 Labour council by-election performances so far this year: Average: -0.97% (standing starts excl.) pic.twitter.com/byzlBlPYAL — Britain Elects (@britainelects) February 19, 2016 Conservative council by-election performances so far this year: Average: -1.26% (standing starts excl.) pic.twitter.com/ZBlpyC58zD — Britain Elects (@britainelects) ...
Enjoy it here.
Welcome to our whistle-stop tour of the coverage of our General Election Review. If you've missed our earlier pieces, you can read the document here. The Mirror has a poll at the end of their piece. 28% of respondents say they'd vote for us in the future. I'll take that. The BBC quotes Tim Farron's response: The review – carried out by members of the party's Campaigns and Communications Committee – made a string of recommendations to help the party fare better in any future coalition. These include that Lib Dems should make it clear they will only automatically vote ...
The clinical psychologist Richard Bentall has written an open letter to Stephen Fry on the BBC's In the Mind season. It was launched by a programme about Fry's own mental health problems. Bentall writes: Conventional psychiatry tends to decontextualise psychiatric disorders, seeing them as discrete brain conditions that are largely genetically determined and barely influenced by the slings and arrows of misfortune, and it was this perspective that was uniquely presented in your recent programme The not so secret life of a manic depressive ten years on. According to this 'brain conditions' view, psychiatric disorders occur largely out of the ...
Originally posted by nwhyte at Bektashi humourIn memory of the late Baba Tahir Emini, I've been reading up on his sect, the Bektashi. I was aware, from my conversations with him and with others, that they are of a mystical Sufist tradition, preach tolerance, love, and peace, and consider some of the traditions of orthodox Islam regarding the role of women and the use of alcohol to be distractions from the truth. I was unaware that they are also associated with a particular sense of humour, and that there are a whole set of Bektashi jokes told by the faithful ...
The Liberal Democrats' Campaigns and Communications Committee has published its Review of the 2015 General Election today. Have they correctly analysed what went wrong? The review team conducted extensive interviews with key players and based its conclusions on feedback from 7500 party members. The report doesn't pull any punches. Many activists will identify with its criticisms and will be heartened by its recommendations. In fact, from what I can see from social media, even some of the harshest critics of the last few years are finding this review to be satisfactory. And, in the media, Patrick Wintour had this to ...
"Our current problem is not technical or organisational but that the party lacks a sense of overarching purpose" While other people worry about the EU negotiations, Harper Lee passing or you know having a job, I spent this afternoon burrowing into the review of the 2015 General Election campaign by the Lib Dem's Campaigns and Communications [...]
Current Watership Down, by Richard Adams (a chapter a week) Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson Mother of Eden, by Chris Beckett Last books finished The Insurrection in Dublin, by James Stephens The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin The Legends of Ashildr, by James Goss, David Llewellyn, Jenny T. Colgan and Justin Richards Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver Last week's audios [Torchwood] One Rule, by Joe Lidster [Seventh Doctor] The Warehouse, by Mike Tucker [Seventh Doctor] Terror of the Sontarans, by John Dorney and Dan Starkey Next books The Magic Cup, by Andrew M. Greeley Alice's Adventures in Wonderlandand ...
One of the gems from Phil Cowley and Dennis Kavanagh's The British General Election of 2015: [IMG: A quarter of Labour voters thought the government had a budget surplus in 2013 - Butler and Kavanagh, The British General Election of 2015] Don't despair too much about democracy, however, because as Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box points out, although voters often have low levels of knowledge about specific facts, their overall views usually move in the right direction at the right time. For example, ask the public what the current level of unemployment is and lots of people get it ...
So I ordered collars for my hairy babies from Celtic Hound a couple of weeks ago. They have a little waiting list because everything is handmade to order. They arrived this morning. OMG they're amazing. The workmanship is beautiful, and the leather feels properly sturdy, and the suede lining is mega soft. You can see pictures of Spike and Roxy modelling them on my instagram, but my photography skills aren't really the bestest. I'll say this though: they are totally worth the money. Every single penny. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: ALDC Master Logo (for screen)] There were two holds, one gain and one loss for Liberal Democrats in yesterday's round of principal council by-elections. In Cambridgeshire (CC), the party made a gain from the Conservatives in Sutton division on the back of an impressive 18.5% swing from the Tories. Lorna Dupré polled 52.5%, a vote share increase of 19.7% from 2013, to take victory with a 412 vote majority. Liberal Democrat candidates were also successful in contests in Flintshire (UA) and Lichfield (DC), as candidates Sara Parker and Paul Ray held seats for the party with 45.2% and 40% ...
The post-mortem into the Liberal Democrat general election result has been published today, and you can read it in full below. What went wrong with the Liberal Democrat polling and key seat intelligence?Paddy Ashdown's famous election night promise to eat his hat if the exit poll was right was based on a genuine belief, soon shown to be horribly wrong, that the Liberal Democrats would do much better in the party's target seats. more There'll be plenty more to write about this in due course, especially given the number of practical recommendations it contains. Those look good on first reading, ...
Embed from Getty Images Whenever we read articles on reducing the government's budget deficit the underlying assumption is invariably that it needs to spend less and obtain more taxation revenue. This approach is known as economic austerity. We all know from our personal experience that if we have a debt problem we have to spend less and/or earn more to get out of trouble. So that must work. Or must it? All politicians in all parties need to get this one right if nothing else. Any government's spending and taxation policy impacts just about everything else in its 'to do' ...
For mantle cell lymphoma patients like me who are on watch and wait, having nothing to report is good news. Having gone for blood tests last Friday and then to see the haematology team in Derby on Wednesday, it's clear that my lymphoma is still behaving indolently. The amount of progression over the last year remains small and I can't ... The post Nothing to report = good news! appeared first on ten pence piece.
Fri 19th
12:01
Proportional Representation? Well Electoral reform of some kind seems to be on more people's cards t...
The Independent has the story – see link above I must admit that I felt that electoral reform had been killed off for at least a generation when in the 2011 referendum British voters voted 2 to 1 to keep our wholly unrepresentative first past the post voting system. Indeed, I thought the referendum itself was a bad move as the result, at that time, was always a forgone conclusion. Sadly, this was another misjudgement from Nick Clegg who could not get his head around the fact that once he U-turned over Tuition Fees nothing else he headed up ...
There were two holds, one gain and one loss for Liberal Democrats in yesterday's round of principal council by-elections. In Cambridgeshire (CC), the party made a gain from the Conservatives in Sutton division on the back of an impressive 18.5% swing from the Tories. Lorna Dupré polled 52.5%, a vote share increase of 19.7% from 2013, [...]
If Jeremy Corbyn has been correctly reported he has said that what David Cameron should really be arguing for in his negotiations with the other EU leaders is: " democratisation, workers' rights, an end to austerity and a halt to the privatisation of public services." Well, one wouldn't expect a Troy to be arguing for those, but Corbyn has clearly defined a constructive alternative. According to the report he goes on to say: "I want a Europe that is one of social justice, that is one that is working together. I don't want to see one that is only based ...
[IMG: General Election Review cover] In the aftermath of the May 2015 election, the FE tasked the Campaigns and Communications Committee with conducting a review. Today we are publishing our report and you can read it here. Made up of myself, Sal Brinton, Candy Piercy, Martin Tod, Neil Fawcett, Tim Razzall, Jo Foster, and David Green, the review group received feedback from over 7500 party members. In addition we conducted interviews with a wide range of people from MPs and former MPs to senior staff, PPCs, field organisers, agents and members of the House of Lords. The size of the ...
Talks on Britain's renegotiation deal with the EU dragged on until 5:30 AM this morning, and yet no deal was agreed by that time. They are apparently up and running again now. If this is all elaborate last minute stage playing of differences, then it is being done with Lawrence Oliver style thespian brilliance by all of the actors involved. There are rumours of the talks dragging into the weekend. This paragraph from the Guardian in particular scares the shit out me: "Cameron has been warned by EU leaders that he would not be given a second chance if he ...
Embed from Getty Images Back at the Autumn 2011 Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham, former party leader Paddy Ashdown talked about the biggest failure of his political career. His choice? The male-domination of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party. At the time, there were only seven female Liberal Democrat MPs – a number seen as bad then, but of course things have got far worse since. Paddy went on to say, "I don't like women shortlists or shortlists for anybody", but then cut short people who were applauding this apparent opposition to all-women shortlists by adding: "The truth is that we ...
Instagram Got a lovely thing from a lovely person in the post this morning ♡ miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 18-02-2016 posted The Blood is the Life for 18-02-2016 on #dreamwidth Radio host Mark Sutcliffe among layoffs at CFRA | Ottawa & Region | News | Ottaw Hey @BBCBreaking do you guys need an experienced Canadian correspondent? My cousin @_MarkSutcliffe just got laid off Instagram Spike, Roxy & Daughter enjoying Daughter's half term holiday Instagram For #tbt: Roxy and Spike gazing out of the landing window at something going on in the back yard Instagram Roxy guarding ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Sponsored: Meet TulaCo Trusted Development Partner. From Start-Ups to Enterprise How shift to computer-based tests could shake up PISA education rankings Surprising (& interesting explanations) > "How shift to computer-based tests could shake up PISA education rankings" http://bit.ly/1osPJx6 Is this the most inane governmentconsultation of all time? Very good @IanDunt piece on idiocy of Govt's porn crackdown. Cracking conclusion http://bit.ly/1RMCyT8 Bitly More important than supposed "north/south" divide > "The hidden crisis in rural schools" http://bbc.in/1Wr9pvT Should Ofsted get a US boss? ...
[IMG: Jonathan Webber 1] Jonathan Webber, the former West Midlands Chair (2011 - 2013) and one of the most popular figures among West Midlands Liberal Democrats, has died after a long battle with cancer, which he had described as "something of a nuisance and an inconvenience." He was 58 years old and died peacefully at home cared for by his partner Kathryn Ball. Born in Oxford, Jonathan spent most of his working life in a business environment. Fluent in Greek he spent 17 years working in Athens and Salonika as a literary agent / publisher, whilst there he founded the ...
[IMG: Will Quince, stopping traffic using the power of his mind.] Will Quince, stopping traffic using the power of his mind. I've discussed before the voting pattern of Colchester's 'independent-minded' MP, Will Quince, but it seems I owe him an apology. You see, I was assuming that he meant he'd come to his decision independently instead of doing what the Tory whips told him to do, when what's now clear to me is that 'independent-minded' is actually a euphemism he uses for 'psychic'. Yes, it turns out that Will can see the future and makes his decisions based on that. ...
Ignore the propaganda of the leave campaigns: the real story of the clinical trials directive is one of UK scientists working with the EU to benefit UK patients. As the EU referendum approaches, anyone looking to the leave campaigns for guidance on how EU membership affects UK science will find repeated references to the evils of the clinical trials directive. The message is that the EU "is hostile to the networks of scientists and entrepreneurs that the world needs to solve problems (e.g. the Single Market's disastrous Clinical Trials Directive)." Can the EU really be trying to prevent researchers from ...
The criminal offence, which carries a maximum of life imprisonment, of Misconduct in Public Office is rarely charged but it has significance for people especially interested in political matters. There is no definitive list of public offices for the purposes of this offence but it certainly includes local councillors and other elected officials, civil servants, local government officers and people appointed to statutory authorities (e.g. the board of a national park, or the Equality Commission). The offence is committed when a holder of public office, acting as such wilfully neglects to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts himself to such ...
One loss, one gain; nearly a full set of candidates; Lib Dem vote on the up – and even an improvement in the lost seat's ward on the last time the ward was contested. Or in other words, another week and another round of local council by-election results which show the Liberal Democrats can recover, are recovering a little and yet still have a long way to go. Conservative GAIN Amersham Town (Chiltern) from Liberal Democrat. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) February 18, 2016
Alice: 'I work for a charity' Bob: 'Aww' Alice: ' .. as a fundraiser' Bob: 'Ah. *avoids eye contact*' Any fundraiser knows that conversation well. Why do people want charities to do well but feel so uncomfortable around fundraisers? How can that be changed? Are all the headings below from Les Mis? Let's find out. [...]
Memo to pro-EU campaigners: Get out the millennial vote if you want to win My colleague @GeoffSBeattie writes. (tags: eu ukpolitics ) The Great Hugo Wars of 2015 Matthew Surridge @Fell_Gard who was nominated by the Puppies but withdrew. ) (tags: sf ) Mice delay Brussels tunnel repairs by eating construction plans Belgium! (tags: Belgium ) 'You Should Hear What They Say About You' - what our European neighbours think of Britain and the EU Fascinating poll by @LordAshcroft. (tags: ukpolitics eu ) The heat goes on: Earth sets 9th straight monthly record Ow. (tags: climatechange )
Politics Home reports on a complaint after a senior Conservative eurosceptic suggested anti-European Union groups could use front organisations to get around spending limits. They say that Pat McFadden, the former Shadow Europe Minister, has written to the police and the chair of the Electoral Commission to highlight comments from Steve Baker about the EU referendum campaign: The official pro-Brexit group designated by the Electoral Commission has a spending limit of £7m for the campaign, while other groups will have a ceiling of £700,000. As reported in The Times this morning, Conservative MP Mr Baker wrote in an email that ...
Apple have hit the news today for refusing to comply with an order from the FBI to produce a modified version of iOS, the operating system that runs on iPhones and iPads. A lot of nonsense has been talked about ... Continue reading →
