I arrived at Southport Town Hall this evening for the Area Committee meeting. I was saddened to see that the Union flag and the St George's flag were flying a full mast. At the beginning of the meeting I asked the Chair if we could ask that the flags should fly at half mast tomorrow alongside the Belgium flag. I think that at this time it is very important that we show our solidarity with the people of Brussels. All Europe must stand together. We cannot successfully tackle IS if Europe is divided. We must stand together. IS do not ...
This treasure found on YouTube this evening combines footage of the remains of the Bishop's Castle Railway with the memories of people who remembered it in operation. It closed in 1935. When was this film shot? The 'Craven Arms and Stokesay' running in board at the end dates it to before 1974 and the first photo of the station without any buildings, as it appears here, dates from 1972 - see the Disused Stations site. However, the start of the film shows the Six Bells in the town and it is a Wrekin Brewery pub. A story on the revival ...
Both at Federal Policy Committee (FPC) and over on Lib Dem Voice, Lib Dem Foreign Affairs Spokesman Tom Brake has been highlighting how close we may be to a decision over military intervention in Libya: The American military are currently conducting airstrikes on Daesh targets within Libya. The Secretary of State for Defence has personally authorised the use of RAF Lakenheath to allow these airstrikes to be launched from within the United Kingdom. The UK Government has been coy on what role, if any, our military will take to support the US military in their fight against Daesh in Libya, ...
Libya is in crisis. After the removal of the brutal dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has unfortunately disintegrated into a state in little more than name, without the stability and leadership of any government. The country is being held back and fragmented through tribal infighting and most worryingly Daesh has established strongholds around Libya, including the cities of Sirte and Sabratha and even in areas surrounding Benghazi. It is reported that the vast majority of Daesh fighters based in Libya are not Libyan nationals and the movement does not have roots within the country. Daesh is deeply unpopular with ...
Second paragraph of third story ("Reversal of Fortune", by Graeme Burk): Mikhail laughed so hard he began to cough. For an instant his vital signs became bee-bop-syncopation and arrhythmia. The theme of this book is explorations of closed environments, and how the Doctor's arrival might change them (or not). I couldn't help but think that the steel sky as a concept is closely related to the TV studio where the programme is actually made. Anyway, the book is divided into four sections each exploring different aspects of this idea; each of the four had a standout story for me, to ...
So the government has finally decided to nationalise our nation's schools. At least we now know where we stand. So, if an academy fails under the new system, the buck goes straight to the Secretary of State and not, as now, to the Local Education Authority (which, I assume will simply disappear). When are we going to stop messing about with education? We are dealing with human beings, not building motor cars, for goodness sake. I note that the current secretary, like most of her cabinet colleagues, was educated privately. In the independent sector, business acumen and PR are part ...
The large scale maintenance at Cuckoo's Hollow in Werrington is nearing completion. The project has focused on cutting back reed growth and reducing silt levels, to improve water flow, leading to greater water quality and increased biodiversity, as well as enhanced views across the area. Cuckoo's Hollow is an area of green space in Werrington with [...]
The non-party campaign to keep Britain IN Europe will be launched at Little Stoke Community Hall, Little Stoke Lane, Bristol BS34 6HR on Thursday, March 31, 2016 from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Speakers from some of the alliance partners will introduce themselves, then there will be breakouts round tables facilitated by partners to discuss issues and make plans, followed by feedback. Pro-Europeans of all parties or none are warmly welcomed. Refreshments will be provided. Click here to register for the event
Wed 23rd
16:29
How to Write a Receiving Higher education Application form Essay, Adjusted fourth Release
{How to Write|Crafting|Creating} a {Receiving|Getting|Obtaining|Acquiring} {Higher education|Advanced schooling|Degree|College} {Application form|Form|Application|Loan application} {Essay|Composition|Article|Dissertation}, {Adjusted|Modified|Altered|Fine-tuned} {fourth|4th|next|last} {Release|Launch|Discharge|Relieve} {Account|Accounts|Consideration|Bank account} {Product or service|Service or product|Products or services|Services or products} {Description|Explanation|Outline|Information} {Enter into|Enter|Get into|Access} the {Advanced schooling|Degree|College|School} {of the|from the|with the|in the} {Ambitions|Goals|Aspirations|Dreams} {A unique|A distinctive|An original|An exceptional} {and inventive|and artistic} {essay|composition|article|dissertation} {is among the|is probably the|is amongst the|is one of the} {tips for|strategies for|methods for|tricks for} {stepping into|entering into|getting into|getting yourself into} the {advanced schooling|degree|college|school} {you've|you have|you might have|you've got} {always|usually|constantly|often} {dreamed about|wished for|desired|wanted}, {as well as to|in addition to|or even|or even to} {receiving the|finding the|getting the|obtaining the} {educational funding|school funding|federal funding|money for ...
A bit of a milestone today - we published the 100th edition of our email newsletter for the Whickham area of Gateshead. This edition covers bin collections, the new Front Street School, house-building at Dunston Hill and my selection as PPC candidate for Northumbria. You can read the newsletter on this link.
Earlier today, in a post publicising the Lib Dem Europe Policy Paper I mentioned Charles Kennedy's speech in the Europe debate at the party conference, Glasgow, Autumn 2013. You can watch the speech here: As a Parliamentary Candidate in 2001 and 2005 I was as proud as one can be to stand for "Charles Kennedy's Liberal Democrats." * Antony Hook was #2 on the South East European list in 2014, is the English Party's representative on the Federal Executive and produces this sites EU Referendum Roundup.
A blast from the past with one of the 1988 local election broadcasts from the Social and Liberal Democrats (then in its brief post-merger phrase of trying to go by the short name of The Democrats). Presenter Michael Barratt was one of the country's leading TV presenters, having fronted Nationwide for eight years through to the late 70s. The style of the broadcast – imitating a normal TV programme – is one that used to be popular but has since fallen out of favour. In part that's due to the shortened length of party political broadcasts (or more accurately during ...
Wed 23rd
14:58
Katy Gordon compares Lib Dem & SNP tax plans: "SNP fiddle at margins, Lib Dems choose to make Sc...
[IMG: Katy Gordon] Yesterday the SNP revealed their tax plans for Scotland. They were, to be honest, the plans of a Government that's cosy with being the Establishment, not of an insurgent movement wanting to bring change. You'd have thought, after all their moaning about the 50p rat being reduced to 45p, that they'd have put it straight back up but, no. Having said that you could argue that we could have done the same thing given that we were forced into it by the Tories in coalition in exchange for the raising of the tax threshold for the lowest ...
Wed 23rd
14:56
POTUS Makes His Supreme Court Pick and the Trump Carnival Continues: Outside In podcast episode 5
Obama nominates Merrick Garland to SCOTUS, and Trump stopped being funny.
I read the following tweet by Allison Pearson yesterday in response to the terrorist attack in Brussels. Brussels, de facto capital of the EU, is also the jihadist capital of Europe. And the Remainers dare to say we're safer in the EU! #Brexit — Allison Pearson (@allisonpearson) March 22, 2016 Here is my letter to her in response. Dear Allison, We all agree today's events were terrible. However we have a choice as to how to react. Even Nigel Farage managed to be restrained within the first hour of the attacks today. Today you have won the "who can make ...
On Monday I will start to feel like a 'proper' researcher. That's because I've reached the stage in my dissertation when I can conduct a pilot interview. The aim of piloting the interview is to make sure that the questions I'm asking can be understood by the actual group of participants I'll be working with in April and that the ... The post Six things needed for a research interview appeared first on ten pence piece.
It is extraordinary how compartmentalised everything is - especially when we are campaigning in local elections. We, few of us, who know a little about the way public responsibilities are demarcated between different layers of government, have a kind of sense of corrosive superiority as we expect campaigners to demand the right reform from the right level. But partly this is just a function of sclerotic centralisation. The Treasury has a crushing monopoly on economic policy because, well - it always has. Partly because of that, and because there is almost no local economic data collected about where money flows ...
[IMG: Posting-Letter-Woman] The importance of postal voters is growing year by year. The number of people registered to vote by post continues to rise and, crucially, they vote. In local elections and local by-elections we see postal voters turning out at a much higher rate than traditional voters. Often this is at twice the rate of other [...]
Yesterday, or maybe even the day before, the government announced hat it had dropped its proposal to reduce Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) to the disabled, and had no plans for further cuts in expenditure on social security. This enabled David Cameron to make, or rather re-make, the risible assertion that his party is one of Compassionate Conservatism. However, a stop to the rot, though welcome, is not enough. For our society to deserve to be called civilised the damage that has been done to an already inadequate safety-net needs to be reversed. Under "compassionate Cameron's" leadership, and Iain Duncan Smith's ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU559EW2y3A Politics has moved on very much from my early days as a Liberal activist in 1980. Back then we put together Focus leaflets by typing up/cutting out small pieces of artwork and sticking them down to create a leaflet. It was a laborious process. Prescot Lib Dems are very much into new technology to get their message across and the link above is to their excellent internet available video.
I do not understand why you keep leaving comments on my blog when: 1, you know they are unwelcome; 2, you know that they will not be unscreened; 3, You are clearly trying to start arguments which will never be continued because your comments will never be unscreened; 4, You are doing so from what appears to be your employer's IP addresses; does your employer know you are forever trying to start stupid arguments, often in very longwinded and painstakingly typed comments, on work time? I'm sure that there must be some kind of perverse kick you get out of ...
More on that strange situation whereby Nina Killen a Labour councillor from Formby is crossing the Borough of Sefton to trying to get re-elected in Maghull's Sudell ward that I posted about a few days ago. I have also separately made mention of Labour's new candidate for Park ward, which nieghbours Sudell ward. You see both Labour's candidates have written to their local electors but there is one very significant difference between the two letters. The Park ward letter clearly gives the address of Labour's candidate for that ward as the address at which he lives. The Sudell ward letter ...
The Scottish Parliament will have a stronger liberal voice in a few weeks' time the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats predicted today. As Parliament dissolves ahead of May's election Willie Rennie MSP has said the number of Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs will grow thanks to the party's record of action at Holyrood over the [...]
The Accidental Weight-Lifting World-Record Holder - this is ace :) Nixon started the War on Drugs because he couldn't declare war on black people and hippies / Boing Boing RT @davecl42: Explains a lot Assessing the US election candidates' overall truthfulness - unsurprising results TBH When assembling your dog kit, be sure to follow the instructions to avoid disasters like this Paris bookshop replaces its stock with on-demand printing Watch Krizz's Vine "When Kin FANTE laughs, Archer laughs #petfox" I think on a day like today we all need to see this video of a fox laughing Show this Facebook ...
Lib Dems love facts and figures - and evidence-based policy - so I thought I'd do some digging of my own to see how the #LibDemFightback is looking in the run-up to May's elections. While we only have opinion polls to guide us for the devolved assembly elections, there have been dozens of council by-elections already in 2016. This year, up to February 19th, Britain Elects calculated that Lib Dems stood in 17 first and second-tier council by-elections across the country where the party had contested the seat last time around - fewer than the Conservatives or Labour (26 and ...
Scottish Liberal Democrats education spokesperson Liam McArthur has reacted angrily to the release of the third in a spate of reports from Audit Scotland which reported problems at Edinburgh College, Glasgow Clyde College and the Glasgow College's Regional Board. Commenting, Mr McArthur said: "Two years after the SNP's merger process we have a situation where [...]
[IMG: time] Before the election period really begins, the agent for the campaign should think about sitting down with the elections office in your area to finalise the details of the election. Also book a meeting with your election office to hand in the nomination papers and to check where this is done for the Police and [...]
[IMG: 1992 DVD cover] 1992 was the year in which the 'Clean Hands' corruption scandal upended the Italian political system, ending its existing party system and opening the way for the rise of Silvio Berlusconi. The drama series 1992, made by Sky, isn't about the political scandal itself, but rather it follows the lives of six characters – policemen, politician, industrialist, actress and ad man – closely linked to it. Because it is not about the scandal itself, there is little sense of 'who did it?' tension as bribery is investigated. That's more an incidental detail most of the time ...
Order tickets via Eventbrite: SATURDAY 30 & SUNDAY 31 JULY 2016 BRAMALL HALL GRAND RE-OPENING TOURS AND TUDOR FESTIVAL WEEKEND GRAND RE-OPENING TOURS OF THE HALL Be one of the first to see the dramatic changes to Bramall Hall and experience the stories of the people who once lived here. TUDOR FESTIVAL IN THE PARK Outside the Hall there will be a Tudor celebration of colourful jesters, archery, campfire cookery, traditional crafts, strolling minstrels and a tented encampment which will bring a festival atmosphere to the grounds. Don't forget to visit the new Stables Kitchen Café and experience the delicious ...
Keith Holloway launched his campaign to be re-elected as councillor for Cheadle & Gatley this week. [IMG: Keith's first election leaflet is going through letter boxes] Keith's first election leaflet is going through letter boxes Keith is campaigning on his record as a councillor who works in partnership with local people to get things done. The Lib Dems keep in touch all year round. Keith's big issues include: Keeping our area moving – campaigning for transport improvements to help us all get around more quickly whether by car, bus, tram, train, bike or on foot. Defending our NHS, police, schools ...
[IMG: kennedy_787980c] No-one should think the Lib Dems want the EU to stay the same. No-one should be in any doubt about the ways in which we want to improve the EU. No-one should be in any doubt about detailed information on the advantages of membership. That is because in 2013 the FPC commissioned a working group chaired by Ben Jones to update Liberal Democrats policy on Europe. That resulted in a first-class policy paper that was passed by an overwhelming majority at the Party Conference at Glasgow in Autumn 2013. The debate is remembered for a barnstorming speech by ...
[IMG: Wales header] ALDC is delighted to release its first bi-lingual templates for use in Wales. Along with other support, this is part of ALDC's commitment to improving support for Welsh members. We are also providing the Welsh Election Law Helpline for all teams in Wales – ALDC members and non-members alike. The first batch includes a template [...]
There were disturbing scenes in Glasgow last night as Police Scotland broke up a blockade protecting a Namibian LGBT rights activist and her young son. The peaceful protest was broken up by around 30 officers who 'prized apart' protestors who had superglued themselves together and also repeatedly prodded an eight and a half months pregnant [...]
[IMG: Henry and Natasha campaign] As a candidate for my home town in May's local elections, I've helped residents fight for repairs to roads, I've lobbied for more action on dog mess and I've campaigned to prevent closures to residential homes. As a blind candidate for my home town in May's local elections, I've done all this while helping changing a few attitudes along the way. I spoke here about a mother who was delighted to see someone like her visually impaired daughter standing for election but a lot more has happened too - I've even received messages from young ...
Well, I had an interesting journey to work yesterday. Normally I take public transport, but once or twice a month I drive in; and as usual there was a fairly major tailback of traffic at the tunnel that takes you from the motorway to Avenue de Cortenbergh when I hit it at about 0850. But it became clear by the time I reached Rond Point Schuman that this was no ordinary traffic jam; the Rue de la Loi, along which I would normally coast before taking a left turn down Rue de la Science for my office (the green line ...
The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee has concluded that Cardiff Airport is missing its passenger targets and lacks a long-term plan to expand. The BBC report that despite the controversy caused by the decision to buy the airport for £52 million the Public Accounts Committee have concluded that ministers had "a clear rationale" for going ahead with the deal. They are critical though of the fact that Glasgow Prestwick Airport produces business plans looking up to eight years ahead, while Cardiff Airport has only two-year plans: The transport minister said swift action saved the airport from closure. Edwina Hart added that ...
As residents are aware, I have long campaigned for road surface improvements for parts of Perth Road where the surface is poor. Resurfacing was agreed for the stretch from West Park Road to Blackness Avenue some time ago but it was felt sensible to leave this until the completion of the new Harris Academy given the number of HGV movements during the construction of the new school building. I have now been updated by the Roads Maintenance Partnership Manager at Dundee City Council/Tayside Contracts as follows : "As requested, I can clarify that Perth Road from West Park Road to ...
The Conservative UK Government continues to stagger from crisis to crisis. Osborne has now got his budget through but had to drop cuts to welfare payments to do it and has a £4.5 billion gap in his finances to fill. At the same time the Tory Party remains deeply divided and at war with itself over Europe. No wonder business managers have scheduled so many recesses between now and the European referendum. They would rather have their MPs in their constituencies than causing problems at Westminster. Hidden by all these crises is a further drama in the House of Lords ...
The day after I sent my first draft of the Black Archive book off to my editor, so I could finally start writing something that wasn't that again, my laptop died. Normal blogging will resume in a day or two...
Wed 23rd
07:46
Homegrown reaction to the horror in Brussels demonstrates how deep the European divide is in Britain
After the attacks in Brussels yesterday, several Eurosceptic voices used the events as a way of arguing that Brexit was more necessary than ever. Alison Pearson, the columnist, wrote about how Brussels was the jihadist capital of Europe, and how its position as the de facto capital of Europe somehow discredited the whole European project. Tony Parsons was off on a "safety = protecting the borders" thing and Farage....well, let's not bother repeating what Nigel Farage had to say on anything. I'll start with the practical problems presented by the Brexiteer comments in regards to the Brussels attacks. First off, ...
Middle class share of wealth chart American lose out. (tags: economics ) A transcript of Donald Trump's meeting with The Washington Post editorial board Crumbs. (tags: uspolitics ) My new Brussels normal Craig Winneker writes. (tags: Belgium waronterror )
