I had a site visit this morning to the Campground waste transfer site in Gateshead and then the energy-from-waste plant in Stockton which converts Gateshead's non-recyclable waste. The contents of the borough's general waste wheelie bins goes to Campground where it is prepared for shipment to Stockton. Once at the energy-from-waste plant, it is burnt in a furnace at 1100C and the heat is used
Newcastle and Gateshead have jointly beaten off the competition to host the Great Exhibition of the North in 2018. It will be a showcase for art, design and exhibition. We defeated Sheffield, Bradford and Blackpool for the prize. For me, the most important point about the Exhibition is the boost to our tourism economy. This will be another attraction to draw in visitors to the North East who will
Embed from Getty Images Serena Kutchinsky writes in the New Statesman: After spending half a decade as a political pariah, Nick Clegg seems to be on his way to a comeback of sorts. The former Liberal Democrat leader has teamed up with his old political rival, Ed Miliband, and a small but significant group of Tory Remainers, to lead the call for there to be full parliamentary scrutiny of the government's Brexit plan. Earlier this week, he found himself resoundingly cheered from the Labour benches as he demanded to know how the government could claim the right to know what ...
For those of you who were wondering how my medical testing went, and especially all those of you who wished me well... It went as well as can be expected. I get results for some tests in about a week, and the rest in 2-3 weeks. My mum was great, and the nurse was really calm too, and understood my anxiety issues, and everything. So now it's just wait and see... [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Last year I posted three videos (part 1, part 2 and part 3) following the old railway line from Wellington to Craven Arms in Shropshire. Holden Webster, who made those videos, has now gone back to the line to record the good news that the Telford Steam Railway (which he visited in part 1) has recently been extended. With the closure of Ironbridge power station, there is a chance that it will be extended again.
Wed 12th
21:05
"Sad", "limp", "depressing" and "cowed": the unwanted genitalia popping up all over Brussels
Photo: Myrabella CityMetric wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Nearly every Lib Dem digital channel is run independently of HQ - and that should determine HQ's own approach. Running the channels it is responsible for is necessary, but the smart strategy involves working with the huge number of other channels too.
The debate on the supermarket application yesterday continued for the best part of two and half hours. Councillors wanted to reject the application but they were blocked by the council's legal team. I am raising a formal complaint about this. I had to work through the night on Monday to analyse data that was only... Continue reading Planners failed us on the Rocks Green supermarket application →
[IMG: From fourth to win with Trish Robertson] We did it again! We have an excellent new councillor in Trish Robertson who won the Culloden and Ardersier by-election last week. We won, but it was nail-biting stuff, down to the wire. So how did we do it and what do we need to work on? We had a great candidate who listened, [...]
Liberal Youth are campaigning to save the Erasmus exchange programme in future Brexit negotiations. This week they are running a competition to send a group of campaigners to the European Parliament 7th-8th November. Former Erasmus exchange students and exchange programme hopefuls are invited to share their stories as part of a video montage. MEP Catherine Bearder will invite a group to present a Save Erasmus petition in Brussels. The deadline for entries is midnight 18th October. Find out more here. Over 10,000 people have backed a petition to safeguard the UK's involvement in the Erasmus programme. Party members overwhelmingly passed ...
Privacy International, Liberty, Amnesty International and seven other organisations are jointly taking the UK and the US to court over their bulk surveillance of ordinary citizens. This 115 page document sets out the applicants case to the European Court of Human Rights. The case is about systems whereby the UK and the US are collecting data on all of us without our consent, for example 5 billion records per day of mobile phone locations and hundreds of millions of text messages. It is argued that this level of surveillance of the public is unnecessary and, in any event, is being ...
He's only been in the job for five minutes but already the new shadow minister for Brexit has done more to present an effective opposition in regards to his brief than Corbyn and his entire previous shadow cabinet had been able to in the previous three and a half months. In his first time at the box, facing off against Davis, Starmer forced the government into what is in context a major concession on Brexit. His 170 questions regarding the UK leaving the European Union has been enough to get some Tory backbench support, leading May into having to allow ...
[IMG: broadband_connection_455x300x24_h594bb372] This campaign provides councillors and campaigned with a set of resources, including , that will help them become more informed about how they can help their residents improve their speeds. It will also help ensure that residents and businesses without adequate broadband speeds remain on the Government's radar. The LGA is calling for a minimum 10 Mbps speed [...]
If there is one thing that we can all agree on is the need to encourage a greater degree of diversity within the party. Although our figures on diversity are far from where we want them to be, it is clear that we have begun to make some considerable strides towards adequately addressing this issue. There is an increasing recognition that if we are to herald ourselves as the defenders of equality and tolerance, then those values should be reflected within every aspect of our party. An important step towards this goal was the passing of two diversity and equality ...
United Nations to Name Wonder Woman Honorary Ambassador If only she were real... Doctor Who Meets The World of Hargreaves in New Book Series Needs moar SIX Training men to judge women's sexual interest more accurately Men who are ashamed of their bodies are more prone to sexual aggression against women Possibly not the BEST idea to mock Trump's tiny hands then... Discretion Advised Interesting post about picking a school for one's children and the language used by the head miss_s_b | What should I do about my potentially Exploding Phone? UPDATED Oh I love having to update a blog ...
This is the second part of my series on the history of green economics in the UK, timed to coincide with the relaunch of the New Economics Foundation. This one looks at the launch of nef 30 years ago this year. Despite the efforts of Harford Thomas in the Guardian, the word 'alternative' was officially frowned upon in the early 1980s. "There is no alternative," said Margaret Thatcher only a few years before. There was disapproval of any other ideas, new or old. That also went for the other leaders of what was then the G7. It was the spirit ...
[IMG: witney_activists] Like many Liberal Democrats I watched parts of the Conservative party conference with horror. A conference where Minister after Minister tried to top UKIP at the xenophobia game. I felt fuming and angry. This time I was going to do something about it. I was going to go to Witney. A few days and a [...]
Tim Farron has described the hard brexit the Government seems set to hurtle towards as an "act of economic vandalism." He has responded to reports over the last two days that leaving the single market and customs union would cost a massive £66 billion a year. From the Independent: The leaked government document says: "The Treasury estimates that UK GDP would be between 5.4 per cent and 9.5 per cent of GDP lower after 15 years if we left the EU with no successor arrangement, with a central estimate of 7.5 per cent." It adds: "The net impact on public ...
Maybe we were all dreaming. Maybe the 16th June 2016 passed without incident in British politics. Maybe that Thursday, a week before the referendum on EU membership, was quiet and peaceful. But we weren't dreaming. And the horrific events that day, as a young Labour MP was shot and stabbed multiple times by a British nationalist neo-Nazi, ... Continue reading The murder of Jo Cox taught us nothing
80% of the British press is under the control of off-shore domiciled billionaires. These shadowy figures: the pornographer Richard Desmond, the sinister Barclay Brothers, the oafish Harmsworth, and the borderline criminal Rupert Murdoch have established a hard right-wing agenda. The press, especially titles owned by the creepy and boorish Mr. Murdoch, have a well merited reputation for powerful lobbying in support of an extreme right-wing agenda. Since the referendum, their shrill support for the ending of all ties to the European Union- the so-called hard Brexit- has pushed the Conservative government to ever more hardline positions. However, despite the propaganda ...
Liz Leffman has an impressive record of campaigning for better NHS services in the Witney area. When I was there two weeks ago, people were saying things like "Ah, she's the one who saved the hospital in Chipping Norton" on the doorsteps. In this campaign video, she talks about the changes she wants to see and how she will be a local champion for the NHS if she is elected MP next Thursday. The Guardian has a good profile of the by-election with coverage of Nick Clegg's visit yesterday. Few in the party still carry a torch for the coalition ...
When I blogged less than three weeks ago on the need for an effective Welsh anti-poverty programme I did so in the knowledge that the Welsh Government's flagship Communities First scheme was on the verge of being phased out. Yesterday the Minister confirmed that was the case. Communities First has consumed more than £300 million of public money in its 15 year life and yet, despite some isolated schemes which seemed to have an impact, it failed in its unltimate objective of raising the communities it was targeting out of poverty. In my view it was poorly focussed and improperly ...
The latest Adult Learning newsletter for the city has just been published - covering the autumn - and you can download it here. Here's details of the adult learning opportunities available in the West End area :
A superb photograph of Perth Road at Mid Wynd and Ryehill Church (now flats) from Photopolis :
You wait all your life for an autobiography by a member of a classic surf vocal group, and then three come along all at once. Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy by Mike Love with James S Hirsch ... Continue reading →
'The Robot'. No Emotion. Boring. 'Sensible'. Just some of the ways I've been described over the years. Guarded. Insecure. Self-censoring. Perhaps those are more accurate. I nearly didn't write this today. I'm half-terrified someone will read this who doesn't know yet. I'm gay... I can type it but I find it so difficult to even...
When the World feels like sanity Is in short supply And reality is a commodity That most people Has called "Sell" Rather than "Buy". This is the time When one looks deep Into one's heart When self-belief Plays its part. Take the time though Take the step back From the brink. Take that breath And look afresh At what you know. Or what you think you know. Consider again the facts Consider returning Back to the state of unknowing; Of admitting that one Might be wrong. Look at the facts anew: Humility is the rarest virtue.
It seems that some of the minor Labour MPs who resigned their front bench positions in protest against Comrade Corbyn's waste-of-space leadership in the summer have now unresigned. While our local MP here in Blaydon, David Anderson, at least had the decency to stand by his leader and fill, not just one but 2, seats in the Shadow Cabinet, near neighbour Comrade Sharon Hodgson walked off in a blaze
