Polling day dawned, cold and dull - the sort of day when it is oh so tempting to jab the alarm into silence and pull up the duvet. But, for a by-election candidate, it is the culmination of all that hard work. Time to get out and meet the public! And there is another job, to visit the polling stations and thank the presiding officer and his/her assistant. They're at their station for fifteen hours without a break, making sure that the democratic process functions. I like to look in on them and introduce myself, see how they're getting on, ...
Crossens Saturday, 11th June, St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens, from 11am to 12noon. Churchtown Thursday, 23rd June, BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt café, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, from 10:30am to 11:30am.
This is a rant from my Facebook page, but I feel like sharing it further. It all started when I saw this story being shared by the local rag, along with the caption: "There are more users in Bristol than Paris, Berlin and Barcelona. Worrying..." Have a gander at the story and then read on... I'm not sure where to start. How about the lack of actual links to the actual report in the article? How about qualifying claims that "Bristol is now Ecstasy capital of UK"? How about not contradicting the headline in the article which says that "according ...
I wasn't sure what to expect when I was invited as Mayor to the L20 Hotel School which is part of Bootle's Hugh Baird College. Having been once I wouldn't hesitate to go again and I am telling everyone I meet how excellent L20 is and that they should visit. The occasion was an evening celebrating Italian food as part of a European partnership between four colleges. The initiative came from the Italian partners Pietro d'Abano from Abano Terme who had recruited L20 from the UK, Raa School from Norway and Justus von LiebigSchule from Mannheim. Their plan was to ...
The last time I donated blood was on Monday 17th August 1998, I did so illegally because as a man who'd had sex with a man I wasn't totally truthful on the form. But it was two days after the Omagh bombing and blood stocks were low. However, 18 years and 2 weeks on I will be able to give blood again and this time fully legally providing I don't have any sex with another man in the meantime. This is because today Northern Ireland's new health Minister Michelle O'Neill announced that science and not stigma would be the guide ...
LD candidate- Will Elliott. To help, please contact Cllr John Lamb (07877 972375, john.lamb@abilitymagazine.org.uk).
Conservative seat. Cause: Death. Candidate: Heather Prydderch.
Independent seat. Cause: Death. Candidate: Gwyn Williams.
LD candidate- Janet Baah. To help, please contact Cllr John Lamb (07877 972375, john.lamb@abilitymagazine.org.uk).
UPDATED DETAILS. SNP sitting as an Independent seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- David Pollard.
UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Mark Valladares. To help, please contact Mark (markv233@aol.com).
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Matthew Hall.
Just a quick note to say that I am starting a petition to Save Unsworth Library. As soon as the petition application has been accepted by Bury Council, I will post a link here so that residents can sign it electronically. I will also be collecting as many signatures as I can in person, so you may see me on your doorsteps or out and about around Unsworth. Please sign the petition and tell your friend and relatives about it too. If we receive a certain number of signatures on the petition, the council has to take action as detailed ...
Photo © Andrew Carpenter Vince Cable was in Leicestershire today campaigning in the European referendum. He spoke in meetings in Leicester, Oadby and Market Harborough. He is seen here outside the Angel, Market Harborough, with East Midlands EU referendum coordinator Cllr Phil Knowles and Harborough Liberal Democrats' parliamentary spokesperson Zuffar Haq.
We are so used to this behind-the-scenes view of politics being used in satire that it is hard to view this film from VICE News without looking for opportunities to laugh. What it confirms is that the operation around Jeremy Corbyn is shambolic and that his decades on the far left have given him a weird view of the world. In those circles the enemy is not so much the Tories as moderate Labour people and the press. Note that it is the Guardian and the BBC, where those two tendencies tend to come together, that particularly annoy Corbyn. So ...
Francis Pryor takes the long view on Britain and Europe: "Despite what some would have us believe, Brexit wouldn't mark a return to a glorious past, so much as a dismal future, where our principal legacy would be the destruction of a truly innovative system of multi-national government." "The British state, under Margaret Thatcher, committed one of its most violent acts against its own citizens, at the Battle of the Beanfield, when a group of travellers — men, women and children — who were driving to Stonehenge from Savernake Forest to establish what would have been the 12th annual Stonehenge ...
This week Transport for London have announced they are proposing two new Bakerloo Line stations in Southwark as part of extending it to the south east to Lewisham and beyond. It should drastically reduce traffic providing a much better alternative for people travelling into the centre of London. This sounds good until you start looking into it. This part of the extension, from Elephant & Castle to New Cross Gate, will be about 4.5km long. But the existing Bakerloo Line is 23.2km long with 25 stations. So a station near enough ever kilometre on the current Bakerloo Line. So why ...
Just when I thought this feature had died, it makes a strong return. There were three new blogs added to the LibDemBlogs aggregator in May. Thoughts of Progress, written by James Baillie, has been around (sporadically) for five years. Its most recent post says Britain is bigger than nationalism: My Britain exists. It is vast and ancient and beautiful. And because it's such a wonderful, diverse, powerful thing, this hubbub of confusion, this land of wood and hill and mist and rain, this island of immigrants... it is strong. Seen next to the big reality of everything that we are, ...
The final day before polling day, and the penultimate stage of the campaign, letters to those who have indicated that they will be voting Liberal Democrat, encouraging them to come out on polling day, and squeeze letters to declared Green and Labour supporters, gently encouraging them to vote for me lest the Conservative win on a split opposition vote. Technology allows us to whittle away the postal voters, most of whom will have voted already, leaving us a group to be delivered to. The team have, once again, rallied round, making short work of the task and all we can ...
The purpose of First Minister's Questions is to allow the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the policy decisions and implementation of the Scottish Government. This is vital in representative democracy. Governments, even those with the support of the majority of members of Parliament or even, dare I say it, the majority of the electorate, still are not perfect, and their judgment and their competence has to be kept under constant scrutiny. That is why a Parliament exists at all, rather than that we just let the government pass legislation uninhibited for a five-year term. Just because you've won one, or two, ...
Very sorry to learn of the death of Mohamed Abdelaziz, leader of the Saharawi people of Western Sahara, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, and president of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. I met him in December 2008 when he came to my office and I organised media meetings for him. His people have still not had the self-determination to which they are entitled by international law and ICJ opinion. Condolences to his family, friends and people.
[IMG: soc-brand-web-graphic] This summer we want to get teams across the Country knocking on doors, recruiting new activists and making sure they fundraise for their forthcoming local campaigns. It is imperative that we start early and get plans in place for developing our ward campaigns. We will be releasing content throughout the Summer and along with best [...]
As I've already noted, very few candidates can stand alone. You could produce the campaigning material, deliver the leaflets and do the canvassing on your own, but unless you have nothing else to do, such as a job, or caring responsibilities, or any of the myriad other things that have a call upon our time, it is well nigh impossible, especially in a four week campaign such as this one has been. Of course, as the candidate, your enthusiasm can be infectious, and if you work hard enough, other people are more likely to invest their time and effort to ...
[IMG: talking website] The surest way of finding out what really matters to local residents is by asking them - whether on the door or on the telephone. Conversations are vital to getting more information, beyond voting intention. The 'soft data' about what really matters to local residents is very important to your campaign. The best local campaigns [...]
The Hugos this year present some difficulty for the voter who objects to the slating tactics of the self-styled Rabid Puppies. They cunningly nominated some items that were not absolutely unworthy of the ballot. Indeed, in one or two cases I myself nominated finalists that were also on the Rabid Puppy slate. The Short Story category isn't one of those difficult cases. It's my personal judgement that four of the five finalists had little support outside the slate, and owe their places on the ballot entirely to that sponsorship. File 770 held a survey of its own readers to ask ...
When Donald Trump first started campaigning for the Republican nomination in the US presidential election few people in Britain took him seriously, with his bluster, balderdash and downright lies. But now he has the nomination in the bag he can't be ignored, though I am pleased that Nicola Sturgeon and other politicians in the UK [...]
[IMG: Construction industry slowing own because of Brexit fears] Construction industry slowing own because of Brexit fearsIt was a masterful piece of Radio 4 news editing this morning (2 June). First came the pro-EU story: Jeremy Corbyn had made a statement about the contribution of the EU to guaranteeing workers' rights, pointing out that, without the EU, we would be reliant on the Tories for this protection. Then the balancing "Leave" story: Liam Fox appealing to the young by claiming that EU membership means they would have to live with their parents for longer because the presence of EU migrants ...
Clitheroe Lib Dems have a launched a campaign to get Taylor Wimpey (the developer at the Standen estate) to change their mind and build the roundabout at the junction of Pendle Road and the A59, before they build any houses. Last December, despite the objections of Clitheroe Town Council and strong arguments from Cllrs Sue Knox and Mark French, Ribble Valley's planning committee gave in to Taylor Wimpey's wishes that they would only start on the roundabout after 50 houses were occupied. Vocal Opponent Cllr Sue Knox, a vocal opponent of the Standen development from the start said: "It is ...
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This is not the first time we're going to show this in the run-up to the EU Referendum, and it certainly won't be the last. Alex Cole-Hamilton sums up why he is such a passionate pro-European: It would do the Remain campaign no harm at all to have this on continuous loop for the next few weeks. Here is the text in full. As I rise to deliver my first speech in the Scottish Parliament, I feel the sense of awe that I have seen on the faces of my fellow newcomers to this place; they have given excellent speeches, ...
Book your places at the Lib Dem Local Government Conference now We asked Bedford's Henry Vann why he attends the ALDC-LGA Lib Dems Local Government Conference, here's what he said: The final few places are filling up - Book your places now via the ALDC Events Page
I had run out of leaflets in Somersham on Saturday, leaving me with a small number of houses still undelivered in the core village, plus a few outliers. The plan had been that Ros and I would deliver them on Monday, but ill health meant that Ros wasn't able to drive. Luckily, my step-son Jamie, and his fiancee, Bethany, were in town, and Bethany offered to drive me over to Somersham to get the job finished. The twelve remaining houses in Somersham proper were dealt with easily enough, leaving Blood Hill to be located and leafleted. I would be intrigued ...
Two years after the First World War, my father decided to emigrate to the United States to join his brother in Virginia. He was 18 years of age, barely out of Rhyl Grammar School and all the jobs in the locality had been reserved for demobbed soldiers. So off he went from Meliden to join his brother who was already settled and working in Virginia. He sailed out of Liverpool on the SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria and landed at the immigrant reception centre on Ellis Island, New York. I have the record of his entry. What he made in those ...
Embed from Getty Images Two things frustrate me about the debate, bubbling up again, about university tuition fees. First, those who decry the current system and then call for a graduate tax, given that the current system is de facto a graduate tax. Actually it's a better deal than a grad tax would likely be, as any remaining debts are wiped clear after 30 years. The second frustration is the prominence the debate has. Of course ensuring ready access to university for all those who wish to study for a degree matters greatly. But when we talk about those following ...
To celebrate the Queen's 90th Birthday and the Abbotswood Community, come and join Abbotswood Action Group for a picnic from 12.30 until 3.00 pm. Fancy dress parade, Prince or Princess, perhaps red, white & blue. Bring a blanket and a picnic, meet other members of the community, play a game. Weather permitting we will be on the green by Abbotswood shops, if raining we'll move to St Nix church.
When set against the backdrop of our worst performance in a National Assembly election, Kirsty Williams' elevation to the Welsh Cabinet is nothing short of remarkable. It is no exaggeration to say that she is one of the most powerful Assembly Members in the Senedd Chamber; she may be a lone Welsh Lib Dem voice, but the power to make or break the Welsh Government is hers. With Kirsty's support the Welsh Government can command 29 votes, the same as the opposition (less the presiding officer and deputy). A tied no confidence vote results in the presiding officer voting ...
Thu 2nd
13:01
Update on plans for One Stop and Post Office - both will have to go if planning permission is given ...
I wrote about the plans to redevelop the One Stop building at 9 Tower Street at the weekend. This update gives more detail, including on the future of the post office. No 9 Tower Street was purchased by Macham Investments Ltd in July 2015 for £490,000. Macham is a property developer based in the south... Continue reading Update on plans for One Stop and Post Office - both will have to go if planning permission is given for 9 Tower Street →
Q. You can take those four chords, repeat them and pump out every pop song ever - is that what you are saying? A. Yeah.
Well, there you go. Just when you need something to reinvigorate your diet and exercise regime, a by-election turns up, with plenty of opportunities to walk long distances in the fresh air, doing something useful. You will recall that April did not go well. Alright, it didn't go badly either, but my weight stabilized rather earlier than I would have liked. So, how did May go? Much to my great delight, I've lost another 3.9 kgs, or 8.5 lbs, meaning that I have lost 13.3 kgs, or just over 29 lbs since I started on 1 January. And that's means ...
Here is a flavour of what Charles Kennedy would have brought to this European referendum. Bold, passionate, principled stuff from the 2013 Glasgow conference. He talked about his worry about opposing the Iraq War, that it could seriously damage the party – but it was the right thing to do and he was glad that we had done it. What that episode proved to me was that you can take a distinct position which isn't necessarily popular with everyone but marks you out and people can recognise your sincerity and honesty and make a case that none of the others ...
I'm going to take a long lunch break tomorrow and visit the Cartoon Museum's exhibitions on the Great British Graphic Novel and the Doctor Who Target Book Artwork. Anyone else want to come? It's near the British Museum; opening hours are 1030-1730 - earlier suits me better than later, otherwise flexible.
[IMG: Ormskirk's Station with it's split tracks and disjointed railway journeys is illustrated well by this photo by 'mwmbwls' borrowed from Flickr.] Ormskirk's Station with it's split tracks and disjointed railway journeys is illustrated well by this photo by 'mwmbwls' borrowed from Flickr. I blogged about a trip that Sheila and I had on this long neglected line recently and a link to that posting is available via the link below:- Here is the OPSTA** update:- It was a pleasant surprise to read that Arriva Rail North (Northern) intends to run 17 services daily on Ormskirk - Preston from ...
[IMG: fundraising website] It's important to make financial appeals to members and supporters all year round, just as we should campaign all year round. Campaigning needs to be paid for, and raising the money to fund our campaigning is a challenge that can't be avoided. Where we are organising our campaigning effectively there is always the potential to [...]
[IMG: image001] Team #INtogether wants to say a massive thank you to every single one of our activists who has hit the streets and made May a fantastic month of campaigning. Over the course of the month, including our two action days on May 14th and May 28th, we held well over 350 street stalls, with thousands of Liberal Democrats out making the case for a strong Britain at the heart of Europe. While the other parties have also been out campaigning, the Liberal Democrats have been out in force and we have clearly been the most visible of the ...
Everything Doesn't Happen For A Reason — Tim Lawrence RT @hollyamory: I learned this phrase from this marvelous piece by Tim Lawrence, and use it all the time now All Roads Lead To Armageddon — Medium RT @pseudomonas: In case you missed it, @vincecable on the finest of cynical form, on #VoteLeave and #VoteRemain 's tactical weapons Tory MP moves to block police inquiry into alleged election fraud | UK Politics | News | The Independent RT @IndyPolitics: Tories moves to block police inquiry into alleged election fraud Vampire bats choose friends over family RT @biospheremag: Vampire bats don't forget ...
Astonishingly, and thanks to a huge effort by the team, we'd got virtually every leaflet out, and with our policy of not canvassing on a Sunday, that left me the day to catch up with a whole bunch of other things, as well as get some quality home time. Besides, Ros was due home from Cairo, where she had been contributing to a seminar on gender mainstreaming. Laundry, for example, doesn't get done on its own, and nor does shopping, and in any event, both of us were due in Vilnius by the end of the week, and so I ...
Everyone is going to have to face the fact that the leader of the free world after January 20 of next year could very well be Donald Trump. I have done what most people do when faced with a terrible reality: I've tried to rationalise it. I've told myself that perhaps the GOP will just put some okay people around him, and when faced with huge, world changing decisions, Trump will bow to their superior knowledge. This isn't much of a relief – these boffins surrounding Trump would no doubt be unbelievably right wing – but at least it feels ...
A year ago today, we woke up to the awful news that Charles Kennedy had died suddenly at the age of just 55. That sense of shock and loss still feels very real. Last night at his parish church in Caol, where his funeral was held, a stained glass window was unveiled in his memory. The artist who designed it, Pinkie Maclure, shared pictures of it on her Twitter account. @willie_rennie My Charles Kennedy memorial #stainedglass window just installed in Caol Church. pic.twitter.com/78WKPtutBL — PinkieMaclure (@ArtGlassStainer) May 30, 2016 She told the Scotsman more about the design: I thought it ...
The Scottish referendum was fought on a prospectus that had a bare nodding acquaintance with the economic and political realities of the early twenty-first century. Divisive and absurd ideas were bandied around by the SNP as a sort of alternate reality. The same has been true of the Brexit campaign. Although both sides have resorted to negative and nasty campaign tactics, the fact is that the statements made by the Leave side are repeatedly fact checked by independent scrutiny and found to be totally untrue. By contrast the evidence from genuinely independent research from a very wide range of sources ...
Thu 2nd
08:55
Government gives a tepid invitation to Electoral Commission to draw up new expenses rules
I wrote before about how under the 1983 Representation of the People Act, Schedule 4A, Part 3 the Electoral Commission has the power to present rules to the government on how to interpret key parts of the law related to election expenses. Such new rules could play a major rule in sorting out the problems with election expense rules (which are deeply flawed even if everyone follows the law to the letter). To become law, these would then need to be tabled before Parliament by the government as a statutory instrument – a fairly straightforward and quick process if the ...
The final leaflet was ready, and everyone was set to go. My job was to deliver Somersham, and my preparations were thorough. A Suffolk Links service was arranged for me to deliver me to Somersham and collect me afterwards, I had the leaflets, all that was needed was for me to stick to time. Luckily, it was a beautiful day, and I set off in high-spirits, a small rucksack on my back loaded with leaflets, and a plan. Somersham is not so big that it can't be delivered by one persistent individual, and because of its layout, you can actually ...
From the City Council (please note works on Nethergate and Perth Road as part of this project referred to below do not commence until first week of July) : Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating Scottish Water mains renewal works. The Order is expected to be in force for twenty weeks from 6 June 2016. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in (1) Artillery Lane for ...
[IMG: correx board] 21 days today until the most important vote in our lifetimes. The referendum will have consequences for decades and they will be for Europe, for Britain, for our local communities and for our great party. We know that seeing posters for a cause makes people more likely to vote for the cause. If you have not already done so, now is the time to put a poster up. Weatherproof correx boards (for a stake at the end of the garden or on a balcony) can be ordered here for just £2. Paper posters can be obtained from ...
I have been carrying out some research recently with regards to a potential and much needed European holiday. Croatia is the favoured destination for a week of sun, relaxation and Game of Thrones tours. As ever though, the currency is a bit tricky, especially as Croatia is outside the Euro zone. Croatia's currency is the Kuna. The word "kuna" means "marten" in Croatian since it is based on the use of marten pelts as units of value in medieval trading. In other news I notice that work to reintroduce the pine marten to Wales is having some effect. The BBC ...
From June 2016, new stories will be posted on our new website here. This website will be staying up so people can access all the older stories and information, and we will continue to monitor comments posted here – for a while at least (nearly all comments on stories more than a few months old are spam so we will probably turn off comments here at some point).
On a dusty bookshelf in the upper reaches of Stockport Town Hall are hardback-bound copies of old committee minutes, stretching all the way back to the founding of the council in 1974. But what were the good people of Cheadle and Gatley worrying about back then? A glance through those early papers reveals all. Here are some of the issues councillors were dealing with. [IMG: kingsway 1976] The extension of the A34 south of the Mersey had only recently been completed so in the mid-70s the junction was probably still working OK for cars, but that meant pedestrians were getting ...
"The leaflet is ready, the leaflet is ready!" And so a process is set underway. Our leaflet 'warehouser' is Cllr Wendy Marchant. On receipt of the printed leaflets, she divides them up into bundles for our deliverers and then arranges for those bundles to be taken to wherever the deliverers are. It is a very efficient process - Wendy has been doing this for a long time and has it down to a fine art. She even recruits the deliverers who, out of kindness and a willingness to help, make sure that the leaflets that are so lovingly crafted actually ...
