CAMPAIGN FOR GENDER BALANCE
Bringing Balance through Support
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CAMPAIGN FOR GENDER BALANCE Bringing Balance through Support |
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| CAMPAIGN FOR GENDER BALANCE | <info@genderbalance.org.uk> | 12th March 2010 |
Don't know what blogging is? Check out the BBC's webwise website. Campaign for Gender Balance Blog AwardsThe Campaign for Gender Balance has announced the shortlists for its Blog Awards, to be announced at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference. The shortlists are as follows: 
Best Blog by a Woman Liberal DemocratThis shortlist will form the basis of two awards - the Judge's Choice and the Peoples' Choice. To vote in the People's Choice category, follow this link: http://cgbblog.notlong.com/ 
Best Blog Post by a Woman Liberal Democrat
Best Blog by a Woman Non-Liberal DemocratWe are sad to report that Rose Hacker died on 4 February, one month before her 102nd birthday. Her remaining columns are continuing to be published by the Camden New Journal. Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted and commiserations to everyone who was not. The final results will be announced at the Campaign for Gender Balance Blog Awards' Drinks Reception, taking place on Saturday 8th March 2008, between 8.00pm and 9.30pm, at Canada Suite, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Liverpool. The awards will be decided by a prestigious team of judges:
To read blogs by Liberal Democrats (women and men), see the Lib Dem Blogs website (http://www.libdemblogs.co.uk). Latest Lib Dem BlogsFri 12th Mar 2010: Re-offending costs the UK £10bn. The National Audit Office found that re-offending by criminals cost the UK up to £10bn a year. Short term prison sentences were found not to work as there was little rehabilitation or effort to correct criminals behaviour. The report and views of a former inmate argued for more rehabilitation and robust community sentences. Both proposals ... More pressure on TfL for action on Courthill Road. Last week's crash on Lewisham High Street byt the Courthill Road junction is reported in this week's South London Press and the Mercury. Following the accident I had a good discussion about what's wrong with that place with the Lewisham reporter John Hugill, who then contacted TfL that told him: we are currently investigating whether we can ... By-election results: 11 March 2010 - Tory holds weakening. Two by-election results just in – both saw a reduction in the Conservative vote and increases in the Liberal Democrat vote: Dacorum BC, Adeyfield West ward: Con 486 (32.8%; -8.6%) Lab 429 (29%; -13.3%) LD Steve Wilson 362 (24.5%; +8.1%) BNP 203 (13.7% +13.7%) Turnout 35.8% Con HOLD Wellingborough BC, Redwell West ward: Con 570 (58.2%; -0.8%) Lab 169 (17.2%; +2.2%) BNP 84 (8.6%; -7.1%) LD Penny Wilkins 72 (7.3%; +3.8%) Eng Dem 62 (6.3%; +6.3%) Green 23 (2.3%; -0.9%) Turnout 37.7% (-5.6%) Con HOLD Last fought: 2008 by-election Thanks to Lloyd Harris and Chris Nelson for providing the results, ... International Women's Day at Sussex Coast College. On Sunday I went to check out the new College with the three women in my life and was astounded by the size of the space. So impressed with the diversity of performances – my two year old particularly liked the Indian dancing. It's in the blood after all. Back on Thursday evening for the Star Awards ... "I have done nothing dishonest ever". There was one sentence on the news last night that struck me as particularly poignant. "I have done nothing dishonest ever", said Lord Hanningfield. He is one of the four politicians who are pleading not guilty to charges related to their claims for expenses. Now the Crown Prosecution Service has looked at the evidence and decided that there is a case to answer. Whether they are guilty is up to the court, and I am quite willing to wait for that decision. What I can't wait for is an answer to Lord Hanningfield's statement. Is he really saying that he ... Thu 11th Mar 2010: A preview of an exciting development on the Stockton North Shore, by the Infinity Bridge. The first 50 homes have been planned and will go to planning committee soon. A lot of new and interesting concepts, and I particularly liked the roof terraces. Some worries about the management of the open spaces in particular, but points made by coucnillors were listened to. I was disappointed that it... Sainsbury's is coming to Stroud Green Road. Woody's is going, Sainsbury's is coming: [IMG: Planning notice for Sainsbury's, Stroud Green Road] Tories: Forget about cuts, now it's SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! There's been a very strange sight today. Theresa Villiers has been popping up all over the shop, saying Labour isn't being bold enough with the high speed rail plans. The Tories want it faster and more extensive than Labour. OK. But hang on a minute. The Tory plans would cost anything between £20 billion and £30 billion. So has our Theresa checked this with George Osborne? After all, he's going round promising the mother of all cuts. It's all a bit strange. On the one hand we've got Georgie running round with his axe. On the other, Madame Villers is ... I have returned from a great evening addressing the DSD residents group AGM in Crawcrook. I really must pay tribute to the chair Nora who has led the group from the front. The community group has really brought the community together and ensured that a small council estate always gets lots of attention from the council and the housing company. A true community gem. I left my office early at 4pm today as I was on childcare duty. As I attempted to negotiate my way onto the A34 I found the roundabout blocked by a police outrider who was shortly joined by a series of police vehicles escorting five hearses carrying the bodies of the latest five British service personnel serving in Afghanistan. A sixth, empty hearse followed. The convoy joined the dual carriageway pursued by a large number of cars but the police ensured that none overtook. We passed by some roadworks and a worker there respectfully removed his hard hat. I have ... I started my journey this morning, not to my usual place of work at Old Street, but instead to Shepherds Bush where i had an early morning meeting. During the journey i got a tweet on Twitter about a large fire in Tabernacle in the City which is about a 2 minute walk from my offices. Further ... Local community grants in search of funding might like to look at the Quartet Community Foundation website. If you get your skates on, you might be able to benefit from some of this financial year's Grassroots Grants, the deadline for which is the end of March. Did the BBC have an attack of guilt? I wonder whether someone at the BBC had a guilty concience when deciding the panel for BBC Question Time this week? Sitting here waiting for the News at 10pm i caught an advert for the episode of Question Time to follow the news. On the panel is none other than Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson who was ... Election Day -56: The Undecided. Canvassing this evening, and what struck me was that there seem to be more and more "undecided"s. This was in a traditionally Tory area, but there does seem to be a real lack of passion for the Conservatives. Unlike '97, when there was a real enthusiasm (albeit a mistaken one) for change under "New" Labour, ... Here's the story, which presumably earned its place in the Torygraph thanks to the titillating headline it teed-up: Anna Arrowsmith, managing director of adult film company Easy on the Eye, will stand for the party in Gravesham, Kent. Under her pseudonym Anna Span the 38-year-old has produced around 300 pornographic films. She has specialised in "women friendly" films, with titles like Where's the Rent Boys aimed at female erotica enthusiasts. Mrs Arrowsmith asked the people of Gravesend not to judge her on the sins of her industry and pointed to her background as a campaigner for women's rights. The Lib ... Two lies in two days and someone caught him at it... ... and that person is the excellent Nick Thornsby in his excellent blog posting today. Click here to read how Gordon Brown got caught telling porkies once again. At least we dont have much longer to wait until we turf this appalling failure of a PM and disgrace to national politics from the world stage. Filed ... Nick Thornsby's Blog catches the prime minister telling two lies in two days. Why do socialists always have to have a foreign tyrant to admire? Caron's Musings looks at their latest poster boy: President Chavez of Venezuela. Jeremy Rowe proves that it can be dangerous to listen to George Osborne on the radio. Last night Under a Watling Street Tree heard Will Hutton speak in Leicester. I was at a seminar on Dickens elsewhere in the city. It's just a hotbed of culture. More Than Mind Games points us to a 1924 film of the Regent's Canal in London: "The ... Is this a Google Street View first? Take a look at this. To you it may be a smudge, but to the eagled-eyed politico it's Google Street View showing a political campaign poster (for the Burnley Liberal Democrats' campaign to save the local hospital). Is this the first time a political campaign poster has been caught on Google Street View? Thoughts from the train: would you recognise that hung parliament if you saw it again, madam? I see that young Mr Clegg is getting plenty of coverage in the press this week, perhaps in anticipation of our Spring Conference this weekend in Birmingham. Will the Liberal Democrats or won't they (form a coalition, that is)? What I find so intriguing is that the press are so desperate to get the story that they are reduced to making one up. Doorstepping Liberal Democrat MPs in the hope that one of them will get the line wrong, parsing every comment made by Nick, or Vince, or Shirley, or... you get my drift... for something that might indicate that ... A hung Parliament and the value of the £. Discuss. In response to emails asking to see the Newsnight piece (3rd March 2010) about the relationship between media headlines on the growing (?) possibility of a hung parliament and the value of the £ and specifically that reference to the Liberal Democrats being unable to enter "formal" coalition without the support of 75% of MPs and "top party brass". Here it is..... Did someone make this National Nick week? This morning, up with the larks, LDV covered Nick Clegg's feature interview in The Independent. But we've been hard-pressed to keep up with the Lib Dem leader's media appearances: Nick is also in this week's Spectator, as well as The Economist. That, plus a forthcoming one-hour ITV special and the leaders' debates: truly, the media are spoiling us with this surfeit of Cleggyness. The Spectator interview has stirred up Sunder Katawala at the left-leaning Liberal Conspiracy, who speculates that Nick's comments will "be a major talking point at the LibDem spring conference in Birmingham this weekend, where it may not ... Lib Dems set for major breakthrough - The Independant. Today's lead story in the Independant said the following: "Mr Clegg has a tantalising opportunity to spearhead a breakthrough for his party. This could be an election that changes Britain, unequivocally, into a three-party political system. The political fates are smiling on Mr Clegg." I have to agree! The polls in Luton South are showing just that - just behind Labour with the Tories way out in third. A real opportunity for the Liberal Democrats as if you take Luton itself the Tories have no Councillors at all in the south of the town. The message is clear - if ... What's the Liberal Democrat position on homeopathy? As the issue has been debated several times recently on this site, here's the latest statement of the party's position: A recent report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee examined the provision of homeopathy through the NHS and called for funding by the NHS to be stopped. The Committee did recognise that many users derive benefit from its use and did not argue that such treatments should be banned. The Liberal Democrats believe that, as a basic principle, individuals should have maximum freedom about how they choose to get treated, so long as the therapy is safe. ... Regenerating an estate full of decent people. Living with a small minority and in a relatively inhumane cityscape. That's the meeting i've been at tonight with all partners round the table. It's taken me 2 years (and £10,000) to get here but we'll soon have an action plan including funding sources. Woo hoo * This afternoon, after a useful meeting about improving liaison between the numerous West End community groups, I attended the latest meeting of the Best Value Review group on Child Protection Services in Dundee. * This evening, after a busy surgery at Blackness Primary School, I attended the March meeting of the Community Spirit group which does great work for the people in the Cleghorn, Ancrum, Pentland and surrounding areas. There was an interesting update from Liz and Kay from Dundee WestFest, as well as a good discussion on various local issues. Christopher Gill to fight Ludlow for UKIP. From the Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser comes the news that Christopher Gill, who was Conservative MP for Ludlow between 1987 and 2001, is to fight the seat for UKIP at the general election. Given how much I love the Shropshire hills, it is tempting to say that this will help the Liberal Democrats regain the seat. It's just that Gill's unpopularity with the voters was one of the reasons for Matthew Green's victory in 2001. Anyway, it's an excuse for another photo of Bishop's Castle. For the love of chocolate, if you're going to take an action photo read this. Now, don't get me wrong. I like photos of potholes. Or even empty pavements. I like photos of candidates. I like photos of candidates and potholes. Looking glum or not. But so often the 'action' photo of the local campaigning 'team' shows one static solitary person doing nothing much other than looking lonely and static. The solution? Read this excellent set of advice on how to take better photographs – no fancy camera required. It's only missing one piece of advice, namely my Rule Of The Left (And Right) Nostril which, unaccountably, hasn't yet made it big in the US. ... It Is the Spirit of Iron not the Lady's Leanings that Impress. It must be Liberal Democrat Spring Conference, Nick Clegg has been talking about Thatcher. Last year ahead of Harrogate he said: "When the right won out, the reality was brutal. I remember very distinctly this sense that we were being told we should all place money above morality; put profit ahead of people; that we shouldn't worry about selling out. Because, at the end of the day, there was no such thing as society. But I looked around me and thought: no, there has to be more to life than this. There is more to us than this. Justice, fairness, ... BBC Question Time Live Chat - 11th March 2010 - #bbcqt. It's not clear if I am actually allowed to watch this week's #bbcqt as it is apparently an all female audience. I'll give it a go though and just put on a high pitched voice if anyone asks. Let's have a shot at still doing the Live Chat on here at 10:30. The panel includes the former Europe minister Caroline Flint, shadow communities minister Justine Greening and Lib Dem foreign affairs spokeswoman Jo Swinson. The broadcaster Monty Don and journalist Kelvin McKenzie will also be joining David Dimbleby on the programme broadcast from Dewsbury. Join us from 10:30pm below: BBC ... TV election? Not where it matters most. Left Foot Forward has an eye-catching headline today: 2010 will be the "television election" say social media experts, and in some ways it's certainly a welcome change for internet pundits to be talking down rather than talking up an imminent internet-fuelled revolution in British political campaigning. However, I think the post (or rather the people who the post reports on) underplays two important issues. First, social media and TV aren't competing promotional tools - whether for parties or for companies - but are complimentary. The impact of the party leader TV debates will be felt, but that impact will be ... I've written before about my continuing problem with radio phone-ins, and today I received the physical proof that it is bad for my health. The occasion was George Osborne's appearance on Victoria Derbyshire's BBC FiveLive morning show. Gideon has quite an effect on me, and not in a good way. He slithered into the BBC's Westminster ... New Information and Advice Centre. When I was first elected to the Council 13 years ago, many residents were complaining about how difficult it was to communicate with the Council. When they phoned with a query or problem they were passed from one person to another - if they got through in the first place, that is. When they turned up in person they didn't know where to go or who to speak to, and would sometimes be berated for speaking to the 'wrong' person. When they wrote a letter they got a reply written in a complex official style that was often difficult to ... The Economist interviews Nick Clegg. The Lib Dem leader is everywhere at the moment. The new issue of The Economist has an interview with him: Mr Clegg denies that his leadership amounts to a move to the "right" (Lib Dems, with a touch of sophistry, argue that such labels are anachronistic). The left certainly approves of his civil libertarianism and his (now diluted) policy to abolish university-tuition fees. Though he has not called for an end to the war in Afghanistan, he has pleased the left by "rattling the cage" over its conduct. Still, more than his recent predecessors, he is contemptuous of the idea ... What's their excuse this time? In today's Echo the Conservative agent in Darlington said the failure to include an imprint on the recently delivered Tory leaflet was a mistake made by the printer. So what's their excuse this time? The Advertiser has a wrap-around four page advert for the Tory candidate (Ashcroft's money being to put to good use, it seems). Yet again, there's no imprint. No "printed by...", no "published by..." Imaginative Simile of the Day. Well done to Vanessa Kimbell, an "incensed mum" complaining about the pool-side changing rooms at Market Harborough Leisure Centre in the Harborough Mail. She says the floor: looked as if a "Yeti had been attacked". Substandard care, substandard government. The NHS is often discussed in the abstract in the political debate, but for many of us, the issues facing healthcare in our country can be a much more personal issue. My grandmother is unwell, suffering from blindness in one eye due to cataracts, severely painful ulcers in her feet and her arthritis has been getting ... Vince Cable: Swedish video hero. See, we're not the only ones to love The Almighty Vince. This was the work of my friend James and it made me smile. Maybe the BBC should do something like this. Interesting as well that you seem to be able to pay your broadcasting fee in Sweden by putting in your personal number. I presume it's a bit like your NI number. It shows that it's possible for bureaucracies not to be complex, incomprehensible monolithic nightmares. UPDATE: What the Liberal Democrat position on homeopathy IS. Since I previously wrote about what it was, and then wasn't, I feel it is encumbant on me to include here what the official line on homeopathy now is: A recent report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee examined the provision of homeopathy through the NHS and called for funding by the NHS ... I have been elevated to a project all of my own by Hopi Sen, a position of some responsibility, and one that if anything increases the pressure to opinionize on every thing that ever happens, economics-wise. Hence (again from Hopi) my views on a new letter calling for more fiscal stimulus. They are the same as ... Hollow Labour, influential journo explains why he deserted. John Kampfner, former editor of the New Statesman, Chief Exec for Index on Censorship, sometime BBC reporter and Chair of the Turner Contemporary Trust has written a tract on a hollow and bankrupt (my view) political party which is all about self interest for activists at any cost and screw social justice and the likes of me and you. I got sent this email (see below) announcing publication of the pamphlet Lost Labours, a couple of days ago, sent to me as one of the benefits of belonging to the Liberal Democrats, I thought it might appeal to my fair ... Reform have a rather good tax report out. Now I'm a policywonk/nerd/geek, so when I say 'rather good' I do not mean 'they agree with me, unlike the evil/stupid/captured by the capitalist discourse people who don't agree with me'. Perhaps I am not political enough. I mean it is a good report; full of useful details, some excellent arguments, some clear proof that ... I attended a Social Media Summit #LewisSMS. MarkReckons has done a review of the event which I also attended see here. This was originally going to be attended by Iain Dale but he had to pull out due to the event being moved to a later time. Iain Dale was replaced by Paul Waugh from the Evening Standard who blogged on the event here. Steve Webb Liberal Democrat MP was also originally due to attend and he also had to pull out which meant that there was no Lib Dem representation at this event. I don't often attend these events as my blog does not only cover ... What is it about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that has certain leading lights of the UK political left swooning? Andrew's written about the fawning motion tabled in the Scottish Parliament by 4 SNP MSPs and 1 Labour MSP which would not be out of place in the Order of the Brown Nose column in Private Eye. It's one really to file under "you couldn't make it up". Just to add to what Andrew said, another of President Chavez's best friends was Ken Livingston, who did a deal to have Chavez's oil fuelling the London underground trains. Ken had a wee ... Two activities I have been involved with recently can only be called 'old-fashioned politics'. I would like to share them with you here, in the hope of re-igniting some faith that all is not lost in our national politics. First, it has caused many a raised eyebrow and curious expression when people have seen us out and about doing surveys in Skipton and Ripon on Saturdays and in Settle on Tuesdays. They are not used to seeing political parties actually being out there trying to communicate proactively with people, to find out the local and national issues. From our point ... Nick closes one can of worms. But has another one just opened up? [IMG: nick_clegg_large1] Nick Clegg is the media darling today. Following his interview with the Independent , everyone is speculating that the possibility of a Liberal coalition (with the party "with the strongest mandate") is back on.... Well, perhaps not quite... What he appears to say is that all options are open "including a formal coalition with Liberal Democrats sitting in the Cabinet..". That did not seem to be feeling coming from Lib Dem high command previously. So a subtle shift towards the possibility of coalition (taking into account the 4 steps to fairness)? Certainly looks like it. Another interesting twist ... Why does he do it? Why does Gordon Brown feel the need to constantly make things up? And worse, why does he tell flagrant lies? At yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions, Gordon Brown said: "expenditure of the Ministry of Defence has been rising in real terms under this government." It is a statement he repeated today on ... government spends £300 per applicant on ID card propaganda. The Identity and Passport Service has published details of its marketing and communications spend on 'voluntary ID cards'. The spend has now topped £1.3 million. According to ZDNET UK this works out at £300 for every ID card applicant so far. The figure covers both online and offline advertising in the north west of England and London so the figure is likely to be much higher when the rest of the UK is factored in. At a time of massive budget deficits I would have thought the government could have found better ways to use our money than propaganda for ... via www2.politicalbetting.com Today, politicalbetting.com has reported on a study by researchers at Manchester University of the public's mood across a large number of issues. This "macro-competence" measure is running heavily against Labour and is now about where it was in the party's locust years in the early 1980s. The researchers note that the Conservatives' "macro-competence" has been on the up since 2005, but not to the extent that Labour's has tracked downwards. This may help to explain why current opinion polls suggest that a general election held now would result in a hung parliament. But the Labour "macro-competence" chart also ... Nick Clegg's Lib Dem conference Q+A #ldconf. In addition to his speech on Sunday, Nick Clegg is doing a Q+A session on Saturday at the Liberal Democrat spring conference in Birmingham – and this time with an added online twist: Straight after he comes off stage, he's keen to answer questions sent in from people who are unable to attend the conference. When: 13 March at 15.25 Where: Online, answers will be posted on his website, Facebook and Tweeted shortly after. How to take part: Post your questions on Facebook: Here, Twitter: Here or email: Here - online.hat.libdems.org.uk.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. ... Tom Strathclyde - so much for democracy then... It is rumoured that, in the event of a Conservative victory at the General Election, Lord Strathclyde, Leader of the Conservatives in the Lords, has let slip that there will be one hundred new Conservative Peers nominated so as to ensure a working majority over the other two political groupings. Whilst I'm not the least bit surprised by this cynical approach, it does have some pretty serious implications. Ironically, the past thirteen years have seen the House of Lords pass from having an overwhelming Conservative majority to being effectively hung, with the removal of all but ninety-two hereditaries, and the ... Twilight Saga: Eclipse: official trailer released. A couple of months ago I wrote about how Anna and I were getting seriously engrossed in the Twilight books. I was determined that we wouldn't watch any of the films until we'd read the books. Helpfully, our local supermarket had the first movie on sale for pennies so we enjoyed watching that one rainy Saturday afternoon. The second, New Moon, which came out last November, was a bit more of a challenge. By the time we were ready to see it, it was only showing in 3 places within driving distance of here, Stirling, Dundee and Paisley. So, one ... Earlier Stories Complete archive on the official site.
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