On Sunday afternoon, after attending the Remembrance Day Parade in Whickham, I headed down to Ryton to do a bit of campaigning. Alas, the rain came with me. I got rather wet on the new Riverside estate but at least I was able to have a look around one of the biggest recent new housing developments in Blaydon constituency.
Having been asked to make available Durham County Council's own comparison of teaching assistants' pay grades across the region, issued to me just before the council meeting in May, I'm happy to do so. There is nothing to hide: regional-responses_-grades-and-salaries-12_5_16-3
This is the first of two videos in another exploration of a closed Shropshire railway line by Holden Webster, who runs the Shropshire Railways website. Today we are following the Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway, which has a more eventful history than most minor lines, including a late revivial to serve US forces after de Gaulle had slung them out of France. Holden gets as far as Prescott, a settlement unknown to Google Maps, this time.
52 years after they posed for this picture, the models for this 'Peter and Jane' picture today recreated the scene for me 😄 pic.twitter.com/f6HQtzYTmN— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) November 15, 2016As someone who learnt to read with the Ladybird key words scheme before he started school, I found this tweet rather wonderful.
Your comments are invited on the following application to extend licensing hours: The following application has been received/accepted by Durham County Council. Application Type – Application for a variation to a premises licence Applicant: – Andrew Kearney Premises - Chaplains, 17-21 Front Street, Consett Date of Application - 25 October 2016 Last date for representations - 22 November 2016 Application details: To extend the current hours by one hour for the sale of alcohol, provision of regulated entertainment and late night refreshment. Activities to take place between 10:00 - 03:30 each day. Also from the end of permitted hours on ...
"Labour should have the courage to stand up for what is right for Britain, which will be welcomed not just by the bulk of the 48 per cent (including most Labour voters) who voted to remain, but also many of the 52 per cent who are entitled to say that what is happening does not match what they were promised." Richard Corbett is right, but it became clear today that his party's leaders do not agree with him. "Ed Balls' performances on Strictly Come Dancing shed more light upon politics than is generally appreciated," argues Chris Dillow. Martin Thompson offers ...
No sooner had I posted about the results of the Forestry Commission's investigations into the unlicensed tree felling on this site, which runs along the side of the Leeds Liverpool Canal, than something else happens. What exactly went on today is unclear though but local residents raised the alarm based on previous troubles with the felling. [IMG: turnbridge-rd-site-15-11-16] What I know. This morning a JCB type vehicle arrived and some work was undertaken on the site. Cllr. Pat O'Hanlon went to check things out this morning and I have been this afternoon. There seem to be around 6 areas of ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37985967 The BBC has this appalling story on its web site – see link above I really do despise racists. There can be no doubt that Michelle Obama has been an extraordinary First Lady. Her colour is irrelevant. So sad to see a decent lady being treated like this by people who are ignorant and full of hatred.
I recall after the financial crisis of 2008 everybody with an unconventional opinion on banking and monetary policy felt confirmed that this showed they had been right all along. Whether they believed in more regulation of banks or less, or in the superficially plausible but ultimately wrong-headed notion of banning bank lending altogether and making up the money supply by having the government print a lot extra – they felt proven right by events. We are in danger of doing the same with Donald Trump's victory. Last week Helen Flynn argued that it was about inequality. Thus the solution is ...
Let's assume that you're looking to buy a car. You go to a car dealer who has a variety of cars available, some of which have the features you want, some of which don't, some of which are in your price range, some of which aren't. So, you're negotiating with the dealer, trying to get the best package at the best price and then you blurt out 'of course, I have to buy a car today, and you're the only dealer open'. Now, do you think the dealer is going to offer you a better deal before or after you ...
One of the most common myths amongst Liberal Democrat activists is that readers of the Daily Mail are all so awful that none of them can possibly be supporters of the party. However, as I pointed out for the 2010 general election: Around 576,00 Daily Mail readers voted Liberal Democrat in 2010, a number only topped by the 796,000 or so Sun readers who voted Liberal Democrat. That Daily Mail figure is more than the equivalent figures for The Guardian and The Independent put together. But that was 2010 and that was print readership. What about 2015 and overall readership, ...
More United.uk the post-referendum cross-party campaign for an open tolerant and inclusive Britain, is consulting its members on whether to endorse Sarah Olney in the Richmond Park by-election. This comes at a crucial moment as postal votes are landing and there is a concerted effort to speak to postal voters. If you can't get to Richmond Park, just log into Connect and you will find a Virtual Phone Bank ready for you. [IMG: more-united] This decision by More United is a critical test of its core concept, of a willingness to endorse candidates from any one of a number of ...
Across Europe, 21.7% of the prison population resides in cells not located in their country of origin. This ranges greatly from country to country. Luxembourg, perhaps understandably given it is a very small country in the middle of Europe, has a prison populace that is mostly foreign - 72.7% of all those incarcerated in Luxembourg are from elsewhere. Meanwhile, Poland has less than 1%. The UK has a 10.9% foreign born prison population. It also has two bespoke prisons for only foreign nationals, HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire and HMP Maidstone in Kent. As the UK leaves the European Union, the ...
The not-quite-modestly-named Maxfield-Pack ratio comes from 101 Ways To Win An Election, in which Ed and I explain...
The Safer Ludlow partnership is a joint initiative between West Mercia Police, Ludlow councillors, and Ludlow and Shropshire Councils. Safer Ludlow will be holding a public drop in session at Ludlow Hospital on 16 November. Councillors and police officers will be present from 12 noon in the Clee Ward room. The Safer Ludlow initiative aims... Continue reading Safer Ludlow partnership to hold drop in session tomorrow midday, 16 November →
"Make America Great Again." That was the slogan of Donald Trump's insurgent campaign to take the US presidency. It resonated with many Americans. They felt that the US had been subject to serial humiliations in its international dealings, and that Mr Trump's more robust and confrontational leadership would help to reverse it. But politics is ... Continue reading Making America small again. Trump's victory marks the decline of the USA →
Liberal Bureaucracy: "I vow to thee, my country..." In which @honladymark makes some very good points: Bob the Angry Flower - I Am Not a Racist! RT @maritzac: Not A Racist. If you don't want to leave the EU, you don't have to - become an associate citizen | The Independent RT @joncstone: MEP @CharlesGoerens, who has proposed letting Brits become 'associate EU citizens' explains his plan at @IndyVoices: The 14 Characteristics of Fascism, by Lawrence Britt, Spring 2003 There's only really #6 that we're not completely there on yet. And we're heading in that direction. The man who created ...
Anti-Bullying Week – Get Involved! This week schools, colleges, parents, carers, children and young adults unite to say a big NO to bullying. Of course it is important to tackle bullying all year round! But this week is a special chance to draw everyone's attention to bullying. So we can take individual and collective efforts to make sure children have safe places where they can thrive. The Anti-Bullying Alliance's website is http://ift.tt/1uKl65M and you can find, activities, check sheets and ways to support our community and strengthen it against bullying. This year Anti-Bullying Week is particularly focused on 'Power For ...
The following information is from United Utilities: "We are happy to report that we have nearly completed the repairs to our sewer network in Heywood Road and anticipate that we will be able to re-open the road by Monday 21st November. We have carried out CCTV investigations of the sewer to check its condition and we have identified just a couple of minor issues that we can repair by using "no dig" technology (patch lining), this work will be undertaken while the road is still closed. We believe that the collapse was most likely caused by a localised issue on ...
At last Wednesday's Environment and Community Services committee, it was agreed that South Gloucestershire Council would accept £500,000 funding from the Government to carry out a feasibility study into linking the M4 with the Avon Ring Road (A4174) with a new junction 18a. The study has to be completed by spring 2018. Ahead of the meeting, Lib Dem Focus Team councillors asked officers to clarify whether this would also look at the link road to Yate proposed in the Joint Transport Study (JTS). They were advised that the offer of funding from the Department for Transport is very specifically for ...
The Education Policy Working Group had a number of useful evidence sessions. We have heard from the teaching unions, representatives of the exam boards, academics and charities, and from researchers and leaders in think tanks. There have been a number of themes which have emerged from these conversations as key areas where the working group should focus attention. There has also been a remarkable degree of unanimity from those giving evidence on the key problems facing education, although solutions are less easy to find! Our first session was focused on the area of teacher recruitment and retention. It is universally ...
A number of residents have contacted me recently regarding slippy leaves on pavements in parts of the West End. I am grateful to the council's Neighbourhood Services for promptly sweeping up leaves at the locations I have highlighted. A recent example is at the steps from Scott Street to Pentland Avenue (see right) and also in sheltered housing areas such as Abbotsford Place.
Tue 15th
07:44
Why a planning inspector approved housing at Foldgate Lane - and why he was wrong to do so
This is a detailed examination of the inspector's decision. I can't pretend that it is exhaustive but I hope it shows why this decision is one of the worst I have seen for a long while. Last Thursday, an inspector from the Bristol-based planning inspectorate, approved plans for 137 homes on Foldgate Lane. This article... Continue reading Why a planning inspector approved housing at Foldgate Lane - and why he was wrong to do so →
Surveillance Self-Defense Against the Trump Administration Protect yourself. (tags: internet uspolitics )
The Guardian reports that a report commissioned by Energy UK, the industry lobby, has shown that the big six energy companies are extracting larger profits from households than they claimed. The reports says that the cost of providing a dual fuel bill was £844 this year. However, TheBigDeal.com, a campaign group, say that the average bill was more than £1,000 and could be as much as £1,172 for standard tariff customers. Households on standard tariffs make up 70% of users despite lower rates on offer from shopping around. They say that the figures suggest profit margins of up to 28% ...
I just measured my blood pressure at dangerously high levels. I'm getting off social media for at least a week, because the stress of news stuff recently is causing much of the problem.
OK, so I've been meaning to write a post on Robert Altermeyer's research into right-wing authoritarianism for several years, and especially since I wrote my "howl" on Mindless Ones six months ago (and how petty the concerns in that piece ... Continue reading →
