I attended a meeting of Gateshead's Health Scrutiny Committee this afternoon. One of the main presentations was about smoking in the borough. Figures showed that 17.9% of adults in Gateshead smoke, a fall from the previous year when 18.3% smoked. It's a move in the right direction but it still leaves Gateshead with one of the highest smoking rates in the country. The decision to impose plain
When I wrote this first dispatch, I sat in Hard Rock Café in Dublin, waiting for my chicken and mojito. It was delicious, although the Mojito could have been stronger. It was six hours after I stepped out of my front door to begin my Dublin holiday. The trip to Manchester Airport was uneventful. My Dad drove my car (he complained about how untidy it was) and dropped me off at Terminal 3. The journey took an hour, down the M6 and onto the M56. The drop off was quick, the farewell was short, and I walked into the terminal. ...
This is a reminder that I welcome guest posts on Liberal England. And as you can see from the list of the 10 most recent guest posts below, I am happy to consider a wide range of subjects. If you would like to write a guest post yourself, please send me an email so we can discuss your idea. What the US can do to end the Gaza conflict - Daphne Holmes"You're all the same" - Katie BarronThe trouble with Seamus Milne - Tim HallSave the University of Leicester's Vaughan Centre for Lifelong Learning - Sally BirchThe peculiar contradictions of ...
I was phoned by a constituent over the weekend to ask if I could arrange for roadwork signs to be removed from Sunniside Front Street. The roadworks were completed weeks ago and the continued appearance of the signs is just plain annoying. I've passed on the concerns to Highways officers. The Council needs to be a bit more proactive when it comes to leaving public property needlessly scattered
Do you remember the scene in Moonraker? Dolly helps Jaws out from wreckage of the ski-lift. He looks at her showing his metal teeth. She smiles back, showing the braces on her teeth. His heart is softened and he is eventually redeemed by his love for her. Except... that scene never happened. When Dolly smiles she shows nothing more than her teeth. I thought I remembered seeing braces, but I was wrong. Equally, I thought that Brian Dennehy, the American actor who starred in Peter Greenaway's The Belly of an Architect in the 1980s was dead. But he is still ...
There's a double bonus coming up in the next edition of my monthly email newsletter, Liberal Democrat Newswire, going out at the end of the week. It'll contain both a new pamphlet about the future of the party and an exclusive first peak at Iain Dale's list of the 50 most influential Liberal Democrats. Always a conversation-provoker, Iain's list is put together by Britain's best radio presenter, the handsomest man this side of the Azores and someone who will surely win the Nobel Peace Prize next year if there's any justice in the world.* Sign up here and make sure ...
After 400+ party members signed a petition to trigger a special conference to debate a Stop Brexit policy, the powers that be in the Liberal Democrats agreed to a compromise where they would enable the policy to be debated at autumn conference in Bournemouth in exchange for the petition being withdrawn. But now, at the last minute, it seems that the party's Federal Conference Committee (FCC) has broken a promise to remain neutral in a crucial conference vote this Saturday and will now oppose the attempt to suspend standing orders to allow a Stop Brexit policy motion to be debated ...
Today Vince did the show formerly known as Call Clegg. As I well know, a row with Nick Ferrari is a great way to start the day. Here's a clip. You can watch the whole thing here. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Embed from Getty Images From the Toronto Star: Canada's chess federation has filed a formal complaint over the treatment of a Canadian grandmaster at a signature event just minutes before he was to play one of the biggest matches of his career. Anton Kovalyov, 25, said in a Facebook post he pulled out of the World Cup in Republic of Georgia last weekend because an organizer complained to him about his shorts and called him a gypsy. The Chess Federation of Canada has protested against Kovalyov's treatment to FIDE, the World Chess Federation, as well as to the organizers of ...
So, as promised in my election campaign, I am reporting back after FCC. Zoe's factual report on which amendments etc were and were not selected has gone up on LDV. If you have any questions about any of them, do feel free to ask and I'll answer as best I can. ( cut for non Lib Dems, who I am sure don't want to hear all of our internal wranglings ) Anyway, at some point, this party is going to have to decide whether it is in favour of representative democracy or endless plebiscites. I would rather we decide that ...
If you are a democrat, which I hope you are if you are reading this blog site (if not please read elsewhere), then this piece by Polly Toynbee in the Guardian should be very sobering indeed. Our political system is to put it bluntly corrupt. With thanks to Bob for the lead to this posting
Craig Dalzell reviews Alternative War by J.J. Patrick: "[The] claim that the Russian media proudly uses local experts, willing or unwitting, to create a layer of authenticity on top of a more manipulative message is something which gave me pause for thought, especially in light of my own appearances on outlets such as RT." "Motorway barriers might provide safety, but they are hostile and ugly reminders of past incidents. Instead, our safety measures should commemorate lost lives and take a stride into the future." Jack Sallabank says we should beat terror by making London's bridges bloom. Without conversation, philosophy is ...
This is not a blog post I wanted to write. I have been working behind the scenes to fix this, as have many others, for months. But it has become apparent that many of those at the very top of ... Continue reading →
When Margaret Thatcher's government came to power in 1979 one of the first things it did was approve a 45% pay rise for the police. As a consequence, as the police marched in to quell the miners' strike, the Wapping printers' dispute and the poll-tax riots, many felt that the propose of this Tory generosity was to ensure that the police were on their side to oppose what Thatcher regarded as " the enemy within." The left dubbed the police "Mrs Thatcher's boot boys." The release of the police and prison offices from the public elector pay cap with an ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: I yank my stockings up from sagging around my feet - the trouble of all fat, short women around the world. Then I rehearse what to say, what to keep to myself. I go ahead and punch the bell. This is a novel about the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi; against a background of racist violence, three women (two black, one white) collaborate to publish a first-person account of domestic work in their town, and more or less get away with it. I liked the central concept of story-telling being in itself liberating, and the ...
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to lift the pay cap for all public sector workers to avoid a "recruitment crisis" for teachers and nurses. It comes after the government announced that prison officers will get a 1.7% rise while police will get a 1% pay rise plus a 1% bonus for the year. Recent figures have shown there are 11,400 vacancies for nurses and midwives in the NHS, while 34,910 teachers left the profession last year for reasons other than retirement. Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented: "It is good to see the government finally recognise that ...
Vince Cable has raised American "bullying" that could threaten jobs in Northern Ireland. The Liberal Democrat leader intervened in House of Commons today (Tuesday) to call on the government to stand up to Boeing and members of the Trump administration. This is to protect jobs at the Bombardier factory in Belfast that could be lost due to potential American sanctions against the Canadian aircraft manufacturer. Vince Cable said: "The UK government must commit itself to standing very firmly behind Bombardier and its workers, and alongside the Canadian Government in resisting bullying from Boeing and its friends in the United States ...
The Liberal Democrats have challenged the government on its latest position paper, this time on security and defence. Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake MP said: "It is interesting how the government now says the EU is central to Britain's security and diplomatic needs. What a contrast to the EU referendum campaign when leading figures in the current government claimed the EU played no role in our security. "This U-turn begs the question why ministers such as Boris Johnson, through their insulting and rash statements, have chosen to destabilise the very relationships that those arrangements are based on. "Despite all ...
Embed from Getty Images Coincidentally, in the last week we've had two competing theories emerge in the USA. Theories, that is, as to why Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 Presidential election and Donald Trump won. First, we had this from Hilary Clinton in her new memoir: I think it's fair to say that I didn't realize how quickly the ground was shifting under all our feet... I was running a traditional presidential campaign with carefully thought-out policies and painstakingly built coalitions, while Trump was running a reality TV show that expertly and relentlessly stoked Americans' anger and resentment. In conversation ...
As we head to conference, many of us will be asking how is it that we had such a great manifesto and yet, despite a welcome increase in MPs, a very low share of the total vote? As a 2015 newbie and after two campaigns, may I offer something for our debate: Both Labour and the Conservatives are now committed to divisive politics - defined by who they are against, rather than what they are for; seeking to right old grievances as opposed to building a shared future. As Liberal Democrats we stand for openness, tolerance and, crucially, unity. Corbyn's ...
Embed from Getty Images At one level the answer (to the first question) is simple. As individuals, our ability to find a job, and succeed at work, depends on each of us having skills that are needed by an employer. As a society our economic well-being depends on a population that collectively has the skills that match current industry requirements. And our future prosperity depends on people using entrepreneurial skills to develop new industries and opportunities for employment. So our complex education system – encompassing school, further education, universities, adult education and workplace training – should be designed to teach ...
Mon, 12:56: Flower Power https://t.co/1EI29hS1Do On poppies in Northern Ireland. Mon, 16:05: Thread. https://t.co/N0q5pzT9tW Mon, 18:43: QI: The Book of the Dead, by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson https://t.co/dCOSSMDjFG Mon, 19:19: No sign of 337 @delijn bus, now 11 mins late from starting point in Leuven, disappeared from noticeboards, no explanation (as usual). Mon, 20:28: RT @NewtonEmerson: From today's Sunday Times. https://t.co/y5koPR68lj Mon, 20:48: Lord Mayor's dinner: but who was graceless? https://t.co/mJmo2wJF8q Good question. Mon, 20:48: RT @StephenFarryMLA: Problem isn't spotting vehicles but checking inside them. Only clean way to avoid hard border is a Customs Union. htt... Mon, 22:42: ...
Tue 12th
09:30
Paddy Ashdown writes...An essay to my party on the eve of Conference: Four dangerous ideas
So, here, as promised are four dangerous ideas for the future. Please be clear. I am not necessarily proposing these. Just asking why we are not even discussing them? Dangerous idea 1 We are guiltily obsessed with student fees. The fact that we don't need to be, because the principle is right, does not make life easier (how I wish we had called them a Graduate tax!). But now with the student loan debt rising, do we not also have to consider how we get better value for what students pay? If we have a tertiary education system which cannot ...
Cross-posted from the Radix blog. Don't let's carp about the way that government has developed in the UK - there is no doubt that, in two ways in particular, they have developed considerable skills: I would summarise these as the ability to grandstand and its opposite, the ability to walk crablike to avoid potholes. Both of these skills derive from a government system that is highly aware of short-term issues, and so unaware of long-term issues that they can only see them at all when they are broken down into short-term ones. Ours is not, at this stage anyway, to ...
Don't let's carp about the way that government has developed in the UK – there is no doubt that, in two ways in particular, they have developed considerable skills: I would summarise these as the ability to grandstand and its opposite, the ability to walk crablike to avoid potholes. Both of these skills derive from [...] The post I heard the future in those words 'God help us all' appeared first on Radix.
Tue 12th
09:00
Chipping Sodbury School area - 20 mph speed limit consultation - open until 22 September
South Gloucestershire Council is consulting on a scheme is to reduce traffic speeds in the vicinity of Chipping Sodbury School, which will make walking and cycling to school more attractive. The proposal is to reduce the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph along roads in the vicinity of the school, in line with the other schools in the area. The following roads are affected by this scheme: Bowling RoadClaypit HillDodington RoadGullivers PlaceLilliput AvenueYou can find full details and comment here
Those who thought that the left wing of the Labour party have triumphed and control all the levers of that party need to think again. Apparently, there is still a rearguard action being fought against the inevitable by centrists and establishment figures within the party. The Guardian reports that Labour members have been urged by centrist groups to block leftwing rule changes at the party's conference backed by grassroots movement Momentum, including any potential moves towards deselection of moderate candidates: On Monday night, Progress and Labour First - some of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's most strident critics within the party, ...
Sadly, the misery we have all been facing on the M60 as it passes Prestwich and Whitefield looks set to continue well into 2018, as Highways England announces a delay to the completion of the 'Smart Motorway' works. The works started in summer 2014, and are now not due to be finished until summer 2018. As you will have seen – Highways England are installing overhead gantries on the M60 and M62. These signs will display variable speed limits to help tackle congestion and keep traffic flowing. Overnight roadworks will continue closing sections of the M60 and M62 overnight and ...
Tue 12th
01:24
"Dark day for the mother of parliaments as Labour rebels hand Tory Govt sweeping powers."
Commenting following the vote on the second reading of the EU Cllr. Allan Knox leader of Ribble Valley Lib Dems said: "This Bill will hand the government unprecedented new powers. MPs, especially those who campaigned to leave the EU on the basis of 'taking back control' for our parliament, should be ashamed. They have abdicated their responsibility to scrutinise legislation and relinquished parliamentary sovereignty to Theresa May's unrepresentative cabal. "This is a dark day for the mother of parliaments. The Liberal Democrats will fight to amend the bill in Committee to stop this affront to democracy." "Labour rebels have handed ...
