Tomorrow (Tuesday) we shall be planting 100 trees in the Kingsway Community orchard in Sunniside. My job today was to plan the location for each tree and mark it in line paint. Work starts tomorrow with the delivery of the trees from Groundwork at 7.30am. Planting takes place through the morning.
As I distract myself from the horrors of Brexit by listening to Eurovision songs from the 1980s and writing blue envelopes for the two people I hope will be the next councillors for Almond ward in Edinburgh, Kevin Lang and Louise Young, It thought you might want the chance to watch Tim Farron's speech from yesterday. It's fine to read the words on the page, but you really need to see him perform it. He puts his heart and soul into it. It has a few funny moments, including the obligaory homage to Dr Paul Nuttall. I did wonder if ...
There was a wedding going on at St John the Baptist, Kingsthorpe, so I couldn't look round it. People can be so selfish. But I had its graveyard, now a pocket park, to myself. It was a spring day and somewhere nearby I could hear trains on the Northampton loop of the West Coast main line. I have reproduced these photos in colour to preserve the feel of spring. Besides, if you print photographs of old graveyards in black and white you may see more than you wish. Call it pareidolia if that comforts you.
Richard Billington, the chairman of Harborough Ukip, didn't just email his own thoughts to a mailing list that included people outside his party. He also attached notes of a meeting with Ukip's national chairman Paul Oakden. That meeting, according to a tweet from Dan Martin, the Leicester Mercury's political correspondent, took place in Melton Mowbray on 5 March. Dan has already tweeted a couple of gems from them and today more were published by Guido Fawkes. Headed "These notes MUST NOT be put on social media," they reveal that Oakden hates social media and believes all Ukip candidates should close ...
On Monday the Labour party had one of its biggest meltdowns yet. Voting for, then against the amendment to protect the rights of EU citizens who already live in the UK to stay here. Nobody knows where Labour stand on Brexit, they're trying desperately to play both sides. Unfortunately for them people in this country are wise to it and people cannot respect a party that will not stand up for what it believes in. The Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has pointed out that Labour had the chance to block Theresa May's hard Brexit, but chose to sit on ...
My ambition is to make Bristol, Bath and the West of England the most dynamic, pleasant and sustainable place to live, work, invest and visit. I will use the office of Metro Mayor to work with businesses and other political leaders to establish the region as the best place to start and grow a business. [...]
Round 2 opens in April 2017 for the Bright Ideas Fund – a programme of support and grants of up to £20,000 is available to develop your community business idea. The Community Business Bright Ideas Fund aims to give your community group the support and tools to start setting up your community business. It will also give your group the early stage finance that you need to carry out consultation with local people and feasibility studies to develop a community business idea the community wants and needs. More information: www.theburydirectory.co.uk/funding
Remember him? Hello? Anyone? 2 weeks and 2 days ago he looked likely to resign from the US government 16 days later, most folk can't even remember his name (it's Jeff Sessions BTW) What happened in the meantime? This tweet from Trump. Which is still dominating the news agenda Which surely makes it the most effective dead cat thrown in politics in the history of spin. Try and find a mention of Jeff Sessions in todays's news....
Embed from Getty Images Most, if not all economic and political decisions have two prime factors - price and quality. And this includes national healthcare. Decision making involves information. Most, if not all information can be placed on a continuum between the verifiable and the fake. (Ditto "News"!) Here are some verifiable items of information relevant to our NHS. PRICE: Some national average healthcare costs/prices per person per year: The British pay $3,364 The Japanese pay $3,713 The French pay $4,361 The Germans pay$4,920 The Americans pay $9,086 Source: OECD Health data 2013 QUALITY: Some healthcare rankings: United Kingdom 18 ...
Mon 20th
17:03
Liberal Democrats call for 'NHS Passport' for the 59,000 EU Citizens who work in our NHS
The Liberal Democrats have called for an "NHS Passport" to secure the rights of the 59,000 EU citizens working in the NHS, as figures have revealed a sharp rise in nurses from the EU quitting the health service. Over 2,700 EU nurses left the NHS in 2016, a 68% increase compared to two years ago. Separate figures from the Royal College of Nursing have shown the number of EU nationals registering as nurses in England has dropped by 92%, while there are 24,000 nurse jobs unfilled in the NHS. The Liberal Democrats have called for an immediate guaranteed right to ...
I do like this ad... And there are a couple more for Yorkshire Tea which are brill:
Each week the thought of a Brexit is causing great concern to residents in Ealing.Much of this concern is two-fold: firstly there are a large number of EU nationals who live in Ealing who contribute to businesses in Ealing and London. Many contribute to a range of community events, volunteering their time to help those who are more in need including those who are homeless. Secondly they are providing services and expertise, which many local companies would suffer, if they were not able to work for those Ealing companies.Many French, Polish, Italian, Spanish and other EU citizens contribute to the ...
As planning is decided using particular types of legal rules I am speaking here personally about a local example of a proposal for planning, known as 100 Bollo Lane. At the time of writing this, the decision has not been made, and some lessons can be learned about the process of how Ealing Council consults residents as well as what it considers important when it makes planning decisions. Of course we need more housing but the location needs to be planned so that we do not create sets of huge towers in one area meaning that many people in traditional ...
In case you weren't aware, if there is a snap general election, then I will be a candidate fighting to win a seat. So I have a "slight" personal interest in the following. There's a lot of talk right now about Theresa May calling a snap general election. Number 10 announced today that Article 50 [...]
Embed from Getty Images I've been meaning to write about this subject for the last week, but somehow Conference got in the way. Sir Tim Berners-Lee wrote an important article in The Guardian about a week ago, which should be taken seriously by anyone involved in politics who a) cares about democracy and b) understands the significance of online campaigning – which I guess means most LDV readers. As the inventor of the worldwide web, Berners-Lee has ardently campaigned for web universality and net neutrality, and he has put structures in place to try to ensure its independence from political ...
The Dutch Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) had a nightmare election result. Last time it socred 25% and 38 seats. This time round? Just 6% and 9 seats. Or as The Guardian points out: Wilders is an important factor in Dutch politics but with barely 14% of the vote he is nothing more than that. The real story last week in the Netherlands was the historic collapse of the Dutch equivalent of the Labour party - one of the two pillars of the postwar consensus. The other story was the spectacular gains for two parties that are unashamedly pro-EU: ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-39290710 The BBC web site has the story – see link above I may be speaking out of turn here but it worries me that in recent times two Merseyrail train guards have been prosecuted over incidents where passengers have seemingly acted inappropriately or had accidents. One guard was found guilty in circumstances that made me feel very uneasy and a second has now been acquitted. We all know what an important job train guards do, that's why we are more than a little concerned about Merseytravel telling Merseyrail that their newly ordered trains will have to run without guards. ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39325559 The BBC has the story – see its web site via the link above I don't know about you but I see Tom Watson as one of Labour's many problems rather than someone who is trying to unite his Party. As Deputy Leader he has gone along with Labour backing the Tories over Brexit so I rest my case. When on earth will Labour realise it is the official opposition in Parliament rather than a Tory lap dog?
Our former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is the latest of our MPs to be accused of bringing parliament into disrepute by taking a second job (four days per week) as editor of the London Evening Standard, on top of earning a whopping salary (is it really £650 000 a year, as the Sun claims?) for advising a global hedge fund, along with £800 000 he's made this year for making a few speeches. The point is not that he's earning (oops - no, "receiving" ) so much money - as an ex Chancellor I'm sure he's meticulous about ...
Nibley Lane, between its junction with Badminton Road and its junction with Westerleigh Road, is expected to close for cleaning from 9.30am until 2.30pm on Wednesday 29th March.
Embed from Getty Images Last week we heard that 12 English police forces have sent papers to the CPS, in response to concerns about electoral expenses matters in up to 20 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2015 General Election. Four other forces, including Kent Police, which is investigating what happened during the election in the Thanet constituency, have yet to say where their investigations have led them. Thanet was won by the Conservative's Craig McKinley, much to the disappointment of UKIP's candidate, Nigel Farage. So, and allow me to indulge in pure wishful thinking, what would happen if ...
Tracking the behaviour of smartphone-using shoppers is an increasingly important task for shopping centres.
It was a pleasure to meet students from Range High School and from a school from Bavaria in Germany who were involved in a school exchange. They all packed into the Mayor's Parlour at Southport Town Hall at beginning of a tour of the building. We have a well-rehearsed tour of Bootle Town Hall but the Southport one is still of a bit of a 'work in progress'. As we were gathered in the Parlour I was able to show them some of the historical regalia from the Southport County Borough including the Mace and Mayoral chain. We next visited ...
I recently accepted an invitation from the charity Nugent to visit their services in Formby . I met Sister Benedicte at Clumber Care Home which cares for vulnerable children and young people of all ages and Tony Saleh, Principal at Clarence High School which provides education for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, including those on the autistic spectrum. It was a privilege to meet Sister and Tony, and to learn more about the work they do. It's inspiring to see how passionate they and their staff are and to hear about the kind of difficulties some of our ...
Spring Conference York, March 2017 heartfelt the tragedy of Brexit ray of hope EU Associate Citizenship a lifeline deep sadness unaccompanied refugee children unsupported From Tim Farron's final speech being sensible now a radical concept We will fight every step of the way Isolationists, Protectionists, right of Thatcher Holding hands with Trump moment for change, alternative vision, vehicle for change UK perceived internationally as peaceful, fair and welcoming Cherish our values Love our country, don't divide it Open to new people, new challenges Become the Real Opposition that wants to win Power Welcome to the fight for the future Will ...
Mon 20th
09:32
How the Momentum-Unite coalition could mean not only the end of Labour, but the end of the organised...
Tom Watson was on the Today programme today, trying to walk his usual tightrope. The hard left had done something stupid, and Tom had to show he understood how bad it was without either going overboard and doing more damage to the Labour brand, or laying the blame at Jeremy Corbyn's door. He was on there discussing this "secret tape" that has Jon Lansman talking about how plans are afoot for Momentum and Unite to officially affiliate. If this should happen, it wouldn't just mean the end of Labour as an electoral force, as Watson said this morning – that's ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 20 MARCH 2017 Perth Road (at Arnhall Drive) - temporary traffic lights for one week for gas main renewal. (However, please see my update from Scotland Gas Networks yesterday). Blackness Road (at Rosefield Street) - temporary traffic lights for one week for Scottish Water mains renewal. Nethergate (West Marketgait to South Tay Street) - closed for up to one week for carriageway resurfacing works. SSE Glenagnes Cable Renewal - Lochee Road lane restrictions and closures on Blinshall Street, Fleuchar Street and Scott Street for 5 ...
For a long time we have tolerated MPs have other jobs on the basis that the experience adds to what they bring to the Commons chamber. To an extent the timetable of the Commons is designed to accommodate this moonlighting. However, George Osborne's six jobs may well be the straw that broke this particular camel's back. The Independent reports that Lord Bew, the chair of the Committee of Standards in Public Life has announced that rules on MPs taking second jobs will be reviewed after George Osborne's appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard. Speaking to the Sunday Times, ...
The chasm between the public perception and the reality of EU Freedom of Movement in the UK @jonworth nails it. (tags: brexit ukpolitics migration eu ) Donald Trump Finally Pays a Price for His False and Reckless Words Not yet enough. (tags: uspolitics ) Every attempt to manage academia makes it worse Setting targets means failure. (tags: management academe ) Sorry for the Delayed Response Really I am. But I have a good excuse. (tags: funny internet )
