A follow up to Tim Farron to support motion on legalisation of cannabis for recreational use: Norman Lamb talks about the urgent need for reform to Britain's drug laws. Back our campaign at www.libdems.org.uk/drugs-reform The policy paper behind the proposals in the video is over in my Lib Dem policy paper archive (near the end).
Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to speak today. My name is Martin Veart. I am standing on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in the Constituency of Edinburgh Northern and Leith. Currently I am working with ICOE Research on their upcoming publication Offshore Oil & Gas Operations: Environment, Health and Safety. Prior to this, I have more than 20 years experience in offshore oil and gas. Scotland needs a government which will invest in 21stCentury infrastructure. Infrastructure that helps us beat our climate change targets, creates warmer homes, reduces air pollution and strengthens our economy. For Liberal ...
Read more about this project on the Oakham Castle Restoration Project blog.
Before I went to Round the Horne I had some time to spend in London. The first place I went to was Old St Pancras, the little country church that stands in the shadow of the railway station. I was pleased to find it is now open to the public every day. As it was International Women's Day I sought out the grave of Mary Wollstonecraft. She was buried in the churchyard there along with her husband William Godwin and his second wife. Her remains were moved by her grandson Percy Florence Shelley to his family tomb in St Peter's ...
Our band of 8 split 3 ways last night in the Sunday trading debate which saw the Government defeated. That is not actually as bad as it sounds. Alistair Carmichael quite rightly decided it was none of his business as it was relating to England and Wales only. This was the SNP who, presumably to distract attention of the London media from the disastrous figures which showed that the oil price would have an independent Scotland with a massive £15 billion deficit. Maybe that will make people realise the bullet we dodged when we voted against independence. I won't hold ...
Embed from Getty Images Harry Hayfield has an article on Liberal Democrat Voice about the motion before the Liberal Democrat Conference this weekend that would legalise the use of cannabis. I don't agree with the line he takes on that, but I was struck by something he wrote: I have lived with my grandparents all my life and as a result, especially since 2005 as I have been their registered carer, I have moved wherever and whenever they have moved and this means that since I became a Liberal Democrat in 1992, I have been all over the place. However, ...
It is only eight days since the last fire but once again vandals have built a bonfire on Gallows Bank. We had a sense of déjà vue this evening as Mel the Collie and myself strolled onto the bank from Dark Lane. That was at 18.45 and the fire was well ablaze. Two men in... Continue reading Here we go again - another fire was lit on Gallows Bank tonight →
[IMG: Telephone CC0 Public Domain] Labour MP David Lammy has fallen foul of the rules banning automated phone calls unless the recipients have previously given permission for such automated contacts: Labour MP David Lammy has apologised "unreservedly" after being fined £5,000 for instigating nuisance calls urging people to back his London mayoral bid. The 35,629 calls played a recorded message urging support for his failed campaign to be Labour's candidate... People getting Mr Lammy's calls had not given permission to receive them. Mr Graham [the regulator] said: "If you want to call someone in this way, you must follow these ...
I think it is time to debunk the myth of 'the best candidate'. Many people in these various threads on the diversity motion say we would end up not selecting this mythical person if we were to allow AWS. Leaving aside for the moment the aspersion this casts on women candidates, let's have a look at the best candidate argument and see if it holds water. The first thing we need to consider is what wins elections at a parliamentary level? Is it the candidate or is it the campaign? I would argue strongly that it's the campaign that is ...
This week she taught her (former chef) Grandad how to make mug cakes in the microwave. This was happy times for both of them. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35602484 The BBC has the story in its news magazine – see link above Just a couple of comments. The M62/M60! – Oh just how long is it going to take to make the long section west of Rochdale smart? The 50mph speed restriction has been in force for as long as I can remember. What's more I tend to use it in the evenings and at night when there is nothing going on at all yet the speed limit is still in place. Don't get me started. Pennine Road Tunnel – Yes it's probably needed because the main roads ...
This is an interesting article in the Independent Newspaper which Roy Connell has picked up on – well worth a read. Must admit Chuka is a little too right wing for my tastes but on this he is right.
I came across this grant scheme and thought of places like Lydiate which is predominately rural. But of course there will be other communities in Sefton and Merseyside generally that will have rural businesses which may be able to take advantage of this scheme:- [IMG: unnamed] Mersey Rural LEADER fund now accepting applications If you're a rural business or organisation looking to expand your operations, the LEADER programme is now taking applications. Grants of up to £40,000 are available for proposals aimed at boosting rural diversification and farm productivity with the goal of creating and sustaining rural employment within the ...
Embed from Getty Images "Person X supports the legalisation of cannabis" is quite a headline. For that person to be a sports star or celebrity generates some interest. For it to be a user of cannabis, it often generates derision. If X is the leader of a political party, or a former government health minister, it surely is big news. This is why I joined, and have stayed a member, of the Liberal Democrats: to have radical, evidence-based policies which strike out as making us distinctive and pleased Norman Lamb has put a motion forward to conference for this policy, ...
[IMG: Liberal Democrat Newswire logo] Liberal Democrat Newswire #77 came out earlier this week, with new data on the diversity of the party's selections for the 2015 general election, new ideas on how to improve the diversity of the party's candidates in 2020, why incumbency didn't save more Lib Dem MPs in 2015, the wider significance of May's elections in Sheffield, and more. You can now read it in full below, but if you'd like the convenience of getting it direct by email in future just sign up for it here: Email* Name First Last What would you like to ...
Embed from Getty Images Nick Love, the former Parliamentary candidate for York Central, has put together an indispensable guide to the best watering holes in York. You can download his recommendations and a useful map: York Pubs for Lib Dem Conference 2016 York A-Z Pubs Map
Embed from Getty Images I have lived with my grandparents all my life and as a result, especially since 2005 as I have been their registered carer, I have moved wherever and whenever they have moved and this means that since I became a Liberal Democrat in 1992, I have been all over the place. However, there is one small downside to this and that is being able to get to big Lib Dem events. In those 24 years I have only managed to attend one regional conference, three Welsh conferences and no federal conferences or special conferences, which brings ...
Greater Manchester Councils, including Bury Council, have been asking developers, land owners and residents for 'suggested site for future development. They have now published the first map of sites suggested. This is available here. The information will help to determine whether there are areas of land available for development that individual districts or Greater Manchester are not currently aware of. These sites are promoted by owners and/or developers and have not been endorsed by Councils at this stage. Decisions on whether sites will or will not be supported will be made at a later stage and made public when a ...
[IMG: hero_eu] As a white, straight, able-bodied, British man who was a candidate last May and has aspirations to run again, I wanted to offer the perspective of one of the 'over-represented' as we approach Sunday's diversity debate. When I saw the text, the realisation that the motion would have significant consequences for me and my ilk was unavoidable. The motion promises us training and support and that we will be 'valued'. But along with positive discrimination in general election selections we are also promised proposals on wider party diversity including in party structures and local government. The feeling I ...
[IMG: olly grender] Olly Grender has been writing on this subject on Huffington Post. She writes: The Lib Dems have a good track record on fighting for tenants against wrongful evictions. Sarah Teather successfully pushed for legal protections against 'revenge evictions' when we were in Government, to stop tenants losing their home if they asked for safety repairs to be done. We got that law passed despite determined attempts from Tory backbenchers to keep the power firmly in the hands of landlords. Now there is another opportunity to protect tenants. The Government is attempting to give landlords the power to ...
Watch the new fun video from CGP Grey:
Last night I sent out my first email newsletter to Lib Dem members as Northumbria PCC candidate. You can read it on this link.
On Monday I did another PCC meeting with party members, this time in Cramlington, in Blyth Valley Constituency. There are no local elections to the unitary Northumberland Council this year (unlike in Tyne and Wear) so the contest there is purely about the PCC. We had quite a good chat about local campaigning, the dinosaur nature of the Labour Party and the need to scrap PCCs and use the money
If there is any doubt that the UK leaving the European Union would damage our economy then surely the latest intervention by 150 eminent scientists can help to dispel it. As the Guardian reports, a letter to the Times signed by more than 150 fellows of the Royal Society, including Stephen Hawking, says leaving the EU would hamper research in the UK, because many young scientists are recruited from Europe: The scientists write: "We now recruit many of our best researchers from continental Europe, including younger ones who have obtained EU grants and have chosen to move with them here. ...
[IMG: Police-new1] As grassroots Lib Dem campaigners, we know that people often vote differently in local elections to how they vote in national ones. Experience from the 2012 Police & Crime Commissioner elections suggests that voters, when considering who to vote for, will view the PCC election as much more a "local" election than a national one [...]
The Conservative government has now been in office for ten months and there seems to have been something in the papers at least once a week which has filled me with alarm, despondence or despair. Unfortunately I am not sufficiently well organised to keep a detailed list but here, in no particular order, is a selection: 1. The Squeeze on the BBC. This continues apace, with finding cuts resulting in staff reductions (30% in the television division), the removal of BBC 3 to "on-line only" and threats s to Radio 5 live and local radio. The Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale ...
[IMG: liberalyouth2015] I will say it again: the Liberal Democrats have a diversity problem. We are "too male and too pale" - and too straight, and too able-bodied. But All-Women Shortlists are not the only solution to this, and this is why Liberal Youth Youth (backed by our own policy, as passed at our Youth Conference) are proposing an amendment against them. We are under no illusions about the state of our party. Like those that proposed the motion in the first place, we want to be better. However, we believe that All-Women Shortlists do not tackle the root of ...
[IMG: Chris Radley SDP cartoon about canvassing] Chris Radley, former cartoonist for the Social Democrat (the SDP's weekly newspaper), was interviewed by myself, Duncan Brack and Sarah Taft for the summer 2003 issue of the Journal of Liberal History. Having looked through his collection for this interview I was so taken with this one that it now hangs on my wall at home. How did you get involved in drawing cartoons? As a child I always wanted to write and draw and I couldn't really see a difference between the two; both were expressing ideas. I was always consciously trying ...
[IMG: Churchill, Thatcher, Blair.....Johnson?] Churchill, Thatcher, Blair.....Johnson? Since his decision to back 'Brexit', the Westminster machine has become obsessed over the future direction on Boris Johnson's career, and how each move plays into his grand plan. However much he denies it, it is an open secret that BoJo covets the top prize and I am firmly of the belief that he'll now attain it. Regardless of the way the referendum goes, I don't believe David Cameron will be a position to lead his party for a great deal of time afterwards (or any time at all, if the UK votes ...
Embed from Getty Images Now I don't often link to the Mirror, but Tim Farron has made a slightly unusual appearance (for a party Leader) as a prolific tweeter. Apparently, the Labour MP Wes Streeting is the Twitter parliamentary champion, having tweeted 68,800 times in the last seven years. That is an average of one tweet every 36 minutes during waking hours. The Mirror reckons that he has written over one million words, which is half a million more than can be found in 'War and Peace'. Tim is very close behind Wes Streeting with 67,600 tweets since he started ...
UN tells UK to "desist from setting a bad example" with Snooper's Charter This is what Samuel L Jackson should do next Members of Insomnia Club may wish to watch this one right to the end Hey @neillcameron I didn't know Prof Panels had a USian accent! "Your generation would probably 'livetweet' the Apocalypse" Sometimes it hurts when people scorn internet cultre China is building a big data platform for "precrime" ... And Teresa May is wondering how long it'll be before she can have one over here Second Wachowski filmmaker sibling comes out as trans - in which the ...
The council have listened to the concerns about the diversion route for the Dodington Road railway bridge works that Claire Young raised on behalf of residents at the Area Forum. They asked Network Rail to change the route and it is now confirmed as: via Bowling Road, Culverhill Road, Rounceval Street, Bowling Hill, Station Road, Link Road, A432 Kennedy Way, A432 Cotswold Road, A432 Smarts Green Roundabout, A432 Badminton Road, A46 Bath Road, Wapley Road, Sodbury Lane and vice versa Don't forget that there's a drop in for you to ask questions from 4pm - 8pm on Tuesday 15 March ...
The Eurosceptics, it has been said by many, have no clear narrative in this referendum. That's a little harsh – sure, they have nothing even approximating a consensus on what life outside of the EU looks like for Great Britain (which is fairly important), and sure, they are scrambling all over the place coming up with ever more lame reasons for why we need Brexit. But there is one portion of their narrative that is semi-coherent: we need to leave the EU to reclaim national sovereignty. It is one of their stronger arguments, actually, because at least they have half ...
[IMG: Spring Conference Agenda 2016] Back in Autumn 2001, we in the Liberal Democrats had the opportunity to take action to improve the gender balance of our parliamentary party. Among those who spoke out against was a young woman who declared that she did not need help to be elected as a female MP. She insisted she would manage it by herself. I spoke to her after the debate and pointed out to her that in 20 years time, when the gender balance of our parliamentary party has barely improved, and once again, a young woman, who today is not ...
A very busy day yesterday with numerous meetings, including : * Attending two tenants' meetings organised by Home Scotland at Blackness Court and Sinderins Court for the residents there and at Pennycook Court, The meetings were to review the revised warden/support arrangements that were introduced last year and get tenants' feedback. The meetings were a good opportunity for all the tenants who attended to raise any issues or concerns, not just about support issues but also on other matters, such as repairs. * A meeting with two senior Police Scotland officers to discuss the proposed loss of the 999 and ...
Back in December, Highways England put a three-month hold on the application for a store and petrol station at Rocks Green on the outskirts of Ludlow. Now, the highways authority has extended the hold on a planning decision by another three months. In a letter to Shropshire Council, it says that the promoters of the... Continue reading Rocks Green supermarket application delayed again after highways objections →
I can understand why some people say that education is a treadmill that you get on as soon as you're born and eventually fall off, presumably when the speed of the belt goes beyond your capacity to keep up. There's a brilliantly amusing and thought-provoking post over at Jo Sandelson's Heir Raising blog which makes this point. I find myself agreeing ... The post Why education shouldn't be a treadmill appeared first on ten pence piece.
When presenting evidence to policymakers, scientists and other experts need to engage with the policy process that exists, not the one we wish existed. Evidence-based policymaking is now central to the scientific agenda: most researchers need to demonstrate that they are making an impact on policy, and want to help bridge the evidence-policy gap. Ongoing debates over energy policy are one of many examples in which scientists bemoan a tendency for policymakers to produce ideological rather than 'evidence based' decisions, and do their best to change their minds. Yet these efforts will fail if scientists and other experts fail to ...
