It's high time we had another one of these videos.
Every politician who been interviewed by Mumsnet since 2009 has been asked what their favourite biscuit is, reports the Daily Telegraph: Tim Farron, whose constituency is in Cumbria, opts for a local treat, the Kendal mint cake. It should at least help him keep his energy up in his endless, lonely journey through the political wilderness which the Lib Dems must now inhabit. Zac Goldsmith's answer (chocolate digestive) was as boring as his campaign, while former soldier Dan Jarvis' love for army-issue garibaldis seems deep and genuine. Nicola Sturgeon's penchant for Tunnock's Caramel Wafers (shared by her young MP Mhari ...
At first glance, the news from Chicago's attempt to use big data to cut crime looks fairly standard reality-check fare. Not every clever thing works every time and not all the world is a Malcolm Gladwell anecdote. Chicago's Experiment in Predictive Policing Isn't Working... A new report put together by Jessica Saunders and colleagues at the RAND Corporation examines how the Chicago Police Department implemented a predictive policing pilot project in 2013 and 2014. The city used a computer model to examine data on people with arrest records and come up with a list of a few hundred individuals deemed ...
Our Headline of the Day Award crosses the pond. Well done to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
As the world switches to renewable energy - and we are switching - there's a problem you might not expect: balancing the grid. Rotational mass and system inertia are the things that keep your lights from flickering: and they only appear in big, old, traditional power stations. Here's why that's a problem, and how we're likely going to fix it.
[IMG: 15233535047_92220bfab3_b] Text messages are starting to become a more of a feature in local election campaigns. SMS text messaging can help you get your message out quickly to supporters and voters, help you organise events, increase voter turnout and remind supporters about the key issues of your campaign. Latest research shows that 98% of recipients read their text messages, 90% [...]
During this Edinburgh Festival, non-stop from 8th to 20th August, hundreds of volunteers read the whole Chilcot Report on the decision to go to war in Iraq. The event's producer said: "[The report] wasn't expected to be read. The establishment didn't expect anyone to read it. Rather like the Latin bible, it's not for the public, it's to be shelved away. And yet it has been read here." [IMG: The Chilcot Report in its entirety...] The Chilcot Report in its entirety... This idea really struck me. Somehow, through the act of performing it, reading it out loud, during a festival, ...
Second frame of third page: Wow. How come nobody told me about this sooner? (Well, yes, I know you told me. I should have listened.) This is a glorious exploration of the cultural history of Sunderland and its immediate vicinity, and specifically its impact on the Alice books and the other works of Lewis Carroll. Talbot makes the argument that Oxford has for too long claimed a monopoly on Alice, when in fact both Dodgson and the Liddell family had long-standing links with this part of North-East England, and there is convincing evidence that the relationship between the families, and ...
Jeremy Corbyn on a train (Photo: The Independent) Amazingly, the big political story today is that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's recent stint on the floor of a train was something of a stunt. Well, there's a surprise! A politician with camera crew, out to document how crowded trains are, exaggerates for effect. That's never been done before... And yet everyone's jumping about as if this proves how hypocritical Corbyn is. Even Lib Dem Voice is asking whether "train-gate could derail his re-election campaign?" All this reaction has come about because Virgin Trains issued a statement, in which it refuted Mr ...
I'm always keen to ensure that we have enough bins in the Gunthorpe area, both general and dog waste, as I am keen to ensure that the area is kept free from litter. In recent times we have seen new bins introduced to areas like the footpath that run alongside Swale Avenue, the John Clare [...]
I travel up and down to London pretty frequently. I haven't often had a problem getting a seat on the East Coast mainline – and when there has been an issue, it's usually because there has been some extreme weather issue and two trains worth of people have been decanted into one train. So when I saw that Jeremy Corbyn had had to spend a journey to Newcastle on the floor of a train, I was a bit surprised but didn't let it distract me from enjoying my holiday. Today's development in that story is worthy of some comment though. ...
This will all make more sense if you start reading here Peter Layzell, Three Figures in a Gallery As we entered the storage room in The Atkinson one picture at the farthest end of the first rack and the edge of my vision made me pause and look. Steve Whittle had prepared a long list of options for me to consider and was already sliding out an English Impressionist landscape of Ormskirk, I had logged the modern painting with the women in the vivid pink dress and wanted to look at it more closely. After we had worked our way ...
In the late 70s and early 80s economic monetarism was espoused by Margaret Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph who wanted a radical alternative to the prevailing Keynesianism of previous governments. The theory seemed to be simple enough. The idea was that the money supply was a key parameter of our economy. Therefore, if we wanted to control inflation, and it did need to be controlled at the time, all Government needed to do was control the supply of money. Inflation would then fall and all would be well. Very quickly the Government and Treasury economists learned that they could not ...
People like consistency. I think this helps explains Corbynmania amongst his supporters in the Labour party, and also to an extent Brexit. I think that because Corbyn refuses to compromise, he engenders support amongst people who dislike compromise. This could also apply to those who want "Hard Brexit" or mean to bounce Theresa May into it. This is my theory, so much as it is. It's not meant to apply to everyone, but is after trying to think through how I'd end up supporting Corbyn or Hard Brexit, that I thought if I was someone who believed in no compromise, ...
[IMG: Beautiful Ireland] Holiday over. Nose back to the grindstone.
[IMG: Bus Stop at Old Library Site 07 16] I've been making inquiries into the missing bus shelter outside the site of the old Maghull Library via Cllr. John Dodd who sits on the Merseytravel Committee. This is what Merseytravel has said:- The Developer responsible for the former library site has provided a purchase order directly to Clear Channel Uk Ltd for the provision of a new bus shelter at this location. Merseytravel has received confirmation of this aspect and we look forward to a shelter facility being reinstated as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we are unable to give a ...
Tue 23rd
12:30
Jenny Willott writes...Mending the Safety Net - our proposals for reforming working age social secur...
Since last October, I have been chairing the Social Security Working Group, which has been taking a fresh look at party policy in this area. We had a wide ranging remit covering all aspects of working age social security, from supporting people with disabilities to tackling child poverty. We have now published our policy recommendations: it has been a big challenge, but thanks to a working group of passionate, talented people, ranging from experienced policy makers to new enthusiastic party members, I think we've produced a paper of which Lib Dems can be proud. You can find Mending the Safety ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP today said that the First Minister must focus on addressing the challenges facing Scotland rather than plunging the country into another constitutional crisis. Speaking as the First Minister published a report on Brexit, Mr Rennie said: "Liberal Democrats are the only party fully committed to Scotland in the [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur MSP said top down targets have tied the hands of Police Scotland management following reports that hundreds of officers face redundancy. Media reports today revealed that up to 300 officers face the prospect of losing their jobs, with additional civilian staff to be hired in their place. This [...]
Tue 23rd
11:28
"Silly Season" arrives in Ludlow as Shropshire Council issues parking fines and then says challenge ...
The media have named this time of the year the "silly season". The Westminster political types have jetted away on their holidays, leaving newspapers with column inches to fill and broadcasters facing empty slots. The Olympics has spewed out stories over the last two weeks but now, even sporting stories are just about stretched to... Continue reading "Silly Season" arrives in Ludlow as Shropshire Council issues parking fines and then says challenge them →
[IMG: Sparc 1] Little did I know that the press release I put out on August 8th would hit national TV. The following day our funding crisis at SpArC - the Bishops Castle Leisure Centre in south west Shropshire -was front page of the Shropshire Star. Most of the County has been given a year's reprieve to try to find revenue funding for their Leisure Centres. Not so for four centres in the South of the County. We face an extra 25% cut and a cut of £65,000 in education funding for SpArC alone. The community are rallying. We are ...
Owen Smith has decided that under his proposed leadership (looking more distant by the day), the Labour leadership would be completely bound by conference as the decision making centre of the party – even if they formed a majority government. "My promise to the party is that I will not ignore conference. I will bind myself to the decisions made by conference about party policy." Direct democracy has been the flavour of the month for a lot of months now, all in the name of "bringing power back to the people". This is an inherently false premise – all direct ...
Last week, Kat Bavage told us about an event at the National Liberal Club in London tomorrow. Liberals will gather to pore over the NLC's vast array of historical resources and edit Wikipedia entries to make sure that the Liberal and Liberal Democrat contribution to history is properly recorded. Kat said: The irony is however that although very many people read Wikipedia's content (half a billion people a month or thereabouts) very few actually engage in creating it. In the UK there are perhaps only around 15,000 editors, and of these the majority only occasionally chip in to correct a ...
Two months after Britain's shock referendum result, and what has happened? Not a lot. Though you wouldn't think it from reading the running commentary. So was Project Fear the hoax that the Leave campaigners always said? Probably not. The few days after the result seemed to fulfil Project Fear more quickly than even Remain campaigners suggested. ... Continue reading The post-Brexit phoney war on the economy →
The Liberal Democrats in Parliament are pushing forward a 'Renters Right Bill'. supported by tennants lobby groups such as Generation Rent and the Make Renting Fair Campaign. We're proposing to: – Ban letting fees for renters – Give renters access to an open register of rogue landlords – Bring in compulsory electrical safety checks in rented homes – Prevent rogue landlords from obtaining an HMO licence Renters are hit with high costs every time they move. It is time to bring an end to rip-off letting fees which are already banned in Scotland and which allow letting agents to unfairly ...
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Certificate of lawfulness for proposed vertical (first floor) rear extension 153 Simister Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2SF Ref. No: 60448 Received: Mon 08 Aug 2016 Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
There is no better sign of how a backswood Tory MP thinks than this tweet: Clearly riled by equally irrelevant tweets showing how countries within the European Community had topped the Olympics medal table, the MP for South Derbyshire hit back, and in doing so sought to resurrect the British Empire. At least the EU is a current institution. Heather Wheeler has taken a lot of stick on social media for this tweet, some of it worth repeating. As the Independent reports, one pointed out that "Given that Empire day became Commonwealth Day in 1958 your use of Empire in ...
Bury's first 10km run takes place on Sunday 18th September, staged in partnership with the Bury-based I Will If You Will project, funded by Sport England. The run starts and finishes close to The Rock, the course is suitable for all ages and abilities from beginners to experienced fast runners. It is £22 to enter, but many charities will also have fundraising places available. There is also a family run run on the same day. More details and enter here. [IMG: Screenshot 2016-08-23 08.33.06]
From the City Council : 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 8 weeks from 29 August 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) Logie Street southbound between Loons Road and City Road, (2) Lochee Road: Phase 1 - southbound between Tullideph Road and Dudhope Terrace and Phase 2 - southbound ...
The Police and Crime Commissioner has announced the second cycle of small grants funding - The Active Citizen's fund, available to Community and Voluntary groups and organisations, funding projects of up to £5,000. The fund will be suitable for: Projects aimed at reducing demand on policing services (without displacing demand on other services) Projects which encourage organisations to build capacity within their organisations and improve the voluntary network, including vulnerable groups, i.e.: dementia watch, street pastors Projects which encourage citizens to become involved in local community projects and organisations Projects which seek to increase resilience within the community Themes Increasing ...
This Sunday (28 August 2016) is the Eden Gardens Allotment Autumn open day. The allotments are situated just off Derwent Road in Whitefield, and the open day includes: – home grown veg, jams and chutneys and free range eggs for sale – cafe with home made cakes – advice from local service providers – Pinhole Animal Sanctuary [IMG: image003]
The Brexit Culprits You Never Saw Coming Clumsy title but interesting content re British agriculture. (tags: eu ukpolitics )
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Single storey rear extension 2 Lime Grove, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3DX Ref. No: 60449 Received: Mon 08 Aug 2016 Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
Two new planning applications have been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Two storey side extension 88 Tamworth Avenue, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6UA Ref. No: 60415 Received: Thu 28 Jul 2016 Loft conversion with dormer at rear 5 Perrymead, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2QJ Ref. No: 60416 Received: Thu 28 Jul 2016 Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with these. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
For a band as important as they are, and one that (unlike almost all of their contemporaries) owns all their own masters, the Turtles have been rather shoddily dealt with in terms of reissues of their catalogue. While they were ... Continue reading →
