January 2012
SNP welcome latest minimum pricing support --...
SNP MSP Bob Doris has welcomed the calls from the report by the Royal College of Physicians for the introduction of minimum pricing. http://blogm.in/130gwv
New Year Honours for London 2012 -- Olympic...
John Armitt, Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), has received a Knighthood in Britain’s New Year Honours List, made public on 31 December. He is knighted for his services to engineering and construction. http://blogm.in/130gxs
Papers make case for Scottish oil responsibility...
Official files, released under the 30 year rule, reveal Margaret Thatcher vetoed plans for a multibillion-pound North Sea gas pipeline. http://blogm.in/130gw6
A New Year’s message from Tony Baldry MP -- Tony...
2012 has the prospects of being both the best of years and the worst of years.
The best of years because in the summer we shall all be able to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Queen’s 60 years of outstanding service to our country followed by the Olympics and Paralympics in London, which will be a fantastic festival of sport.
Possibly the worst of years in that uncertainties in...
Amy Macdonald – Your Time Will Come -- Robert...
My favourite.promoted by Russell Perrin on behalf of Robert Halfon all at Harlow Conservatives, Latton Bush centre, Harlow, Essex http://blogm.in/130XpZ
Happy 2012 ! -- David Nuttall (Con)
A happy and healthy 2012 to all visitors to my website. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the hosting of the Olympic Games will provide two superb opportunities for the United Kingdom to showcase our great Country. http://blogm.in/130TTN
Happy New Year! -- Robert Halfon (Con)
Have a wonderful 2012.promoted by Russell Perrin on behalf of Robert Halfon all at Harlow Conservatives, Latton Bush centre, Harlow, Essex http://blogm.in/130TSb
December 2011
Tory Boundary Changes Will Harm Democracy – MP --...
Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford has submitted her response to the Boundary Commission for Scotland’s Sixth Review of UK Parliament Constituencies.
Proposals from the Tory/Lib Dem London Government will see the number of Scottish MPs reduced from the present 59 to 52 and constituencies made much larger as a result.
Commenting, Dr Whiteford said:
_“I have concerns regarding the size...
Soldier from 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment...
It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a soldier from 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment was killed yesterday, Friday 30 December 2011, in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province. http://blogm.in/12yVfY
New Years Honours List -- Glyn Davies (Con)
Always enjoy scanning the New Year’s Honour’s list for people I know. Good crop this year. Pleased to see Lord Carlile of Berriew being awarded a CBE. He was my MP and our next door neighbour for the 14 years he served as Montgomeryshire’s MP. Its quite a coincidence that his former Cil Road neighbour has followed him into Parliament, and another coincidence that we find...
The power of the web -- Douglas Carswell (Con)
According to research by Hanover Communications, the Labour backbench MP Tom Watson had a higher media profile in 2011 than every shadow minister, except for Ed Miliband and Ed Balls.
Even a few years ago, the idea that a mere backbencher would have a higher profile than, say, the shadow Foreign Secretary or Home Secretary, would have seemed bizarre. Today it is a fact.
Why?
Many will...
2011: A Year of Surprises -- Robert Buckland (Con)
2011 has been a year of change when it comes to the advancement of civil rights, particularly in the Arab world and North Africa. The Sahran and sub-Sahran region saw regime change and the birth of a new nation in South Sudan. The pragamatic monarchies of Jordan and Morocco made constitutional changes that allowed greater freedoms to citizens, but the people of Yemen were left wondering about the...
Sturgeon celebrates stunning year for the SNP --...
The SNP ends its best year having won 69 seats in the Scottish Parliament elections becoming the first party to form a majority in Holyrood. http://blogm.in/12wwpL
SNP reach over 20,000 members -- Party News (SNP)
The SNP is ending a historic year for the party on a high with a record 20,139 card carrying members. http://blogm.in/12wwnx
Happy New Year in 2012 -- Dominic Raab (Con)
No rest for the wicked, Erika and I have been painting the house between Christmas and New Year to work off the festive calories. 2011 has been a fascinating year - both locally and up at Westminster - and 2012 looks set to pose similarly daunting challenges for Britain.
I am not one for predictions, but we’ll need all the stubborn optimism we can muster to navigate a stable course on the...
The 1970s – growing up in black and white -- Kerry...
I got a great book for Christmas. It’s called “Goodbye to London”, subtitled “Radical Art and Politics in the 1970s”. Kudos to Andrew for a) knowing I’d like it and b) knowing it existed, but then again, he does work at Amazon. It features Jon Savage, Peter Kennard (I had a much prized boxed collection of his political postcards many years ago, photo-montages about the arms race, Blair Peach,...
A letter I signed in the Guardian about the badger...
Badger cull
reddit this
guardian.co.uk, Friday 16 December 2011 21.00 GMT
We are disappointed that the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has decided not to listen to scientific evidence, the majority of the public or the advice of external stakeholders and, instead, is to go ahead with badger cull trials (Report, 15 December). These proposals are providing false...
2012: New Year’s Honours for Service personnel and...
119 UK Service personnel have been granted state honours by Her Majesty The Queen in her annual New Year’s Honours list. http://blogm.in/12wYNS
Grant Shapps: Communities can celebrate London...
Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has urged communities to celebrate London 2012 by hosting their own street games. (continues…) http://blogm.in/12wYPK
It’s been quite a year -- Lynne Featherstone (Lib...
My column published in the Ham & High this last week:
It’s been quite a year – both in government and in the constituency. And there is no real separation between those two. The constituency is where legislation and the economy hit the street. The people who come to my advice surgery and the letters, emails and phone calls that come in from local residents at the rate of between two and...
Pay as you go mobile – use it or lose it -- Ofcom
Although more and more people are signing up to contract mobile phone deals, pay as you go (PAYG) remains the most popular type of mobile subscription.
Although more and more people are signing up to contract mobile phone deals, pay as you go (PAYG) remains the most popular type of mobile subscription.
More than half of the mobile subscriptions in the UK are PAYG and the flexibility and...
2012 – leadership wanted, not followership -- John...
2012 is a year crying out for leadership.
2011 saw dreadful drift in the West. The EU politicians proved incapable of deciding whether to press on to create a single country called Euroland or not. Would they take the necessary powers to tax, spend, send money to troubled regions and print money on the scale needed to shepherd through their chaotic union? Would the voters let them? Could they...
Thatcher surrendered to blackmail -- Paul Flynn...
Today the full truth is revealed on how the Iron Lady bent to the threat of the creation of a Welsh martyr.
I played a walk-on part in one of the most momentous decision in the history of Wales. For five years from 1974 to 1979 I was a member of the Broadcasting Council for Wales-the ruling body of the BBC in Wales The historian John Davies had access to minutes of the Council and...
Minister looks forward to "Prosperous 2012" for...
Press Ref: 2011/116
30 December 2011
Energy Minister Charles Hendry set out his hopes for a “prosperous 2012” in the oil and gas sector, as he awarded 46 new licences to explore for hydrocarbons in the North Sea.
These awards were made as part of the 26th offshore oil and gas licensing round, which was originally announced in October 2010. This licensing round awarded 144 licences...
New Year Honours for crises staff at the Foreign...
The Foreign Office is delighted that 19 of our staff have received recognition in the New Year Honours List for their exceptional contributions in delivering the UK response to crises overseas this year. http://blogm.in/12tHQf
The New Years Honours List 2012 -- Cabinet Office
People recognised include those supporting the Big Society by making a real difference to their local community through volunteering, fundraising, social action and philanthropy.
http://blogm.in/12tHPn
A dirty rough tough trade… -- Kerry McCarthy (Lab)
OK, so I just threw out there on Twitter the musing that all the angry songs about record companies seemed to be from punk bands, and was inundated with other suggestions. So here’s a Top Ten.
1. Stiff Little Fingers – Rough Trade. In a catalogue of angry songs, this has got to be SLF’s angriest. Yes, “the Troubles” were bad, but it takes an indie record label to really get Jake Burns ranting....
CBI’s “Vision for rebalancing” report – response...
Commenting on the CBI’s “Vision for rebalancing” report published today, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna MP said:
“The CBI is correct to say that we must rebalance our economy which has become too concentrated in too few sectors, and in too few regions of the economy over the last 40 years under different governments.
“Government must use all the levers at its disposal to...
Who pulled the greatest u-turns of 2011? --...
Rarely do those in politics change their minds because they see the light. More often it is because they feel the heat.
Actually I think it is a jolly good thing to be able to change your mind. Rather than criticise those who move with the facts, we should praise them instead. Here are my favourite u-turns by those who saw the light in 2011:
1. The people on electoral reform: When the AV...
Foreign Office Minister expresses concern over...
Minister Jeremy Browne urges Egyptian authorities to avoid taking action that would inhibit the positive work of organisations supporting the country’s transition to democracy. http://blogm.in/12r4pL
Secret papers show Tories can’t be trusted on oil...
Secret papers show why the Tories cannot be trusted with Scotland’s oil. http://blogm.in/12qd30
Twitter “friends” -- Kerry McCarthy (Lab)
A quick plug for this blogpost from @TheNatFantastic who is someone I almost met in 2011 but didn’t quite… In the post she lists people she met via Twitter in 2011, ie met in real life, quite a few of whom I’ve also met during the past year.
Too often people who don’t use social media but who want to squeeze yet another tedious column out of it will argue that it’s a substitute for real life...
Fray Bentos brand sold to Baxters to remedy merger...
The OFT has accepted undertakings offered by Princes Limited to address the competition concerns arising from its completed acquisition of the canning business of Premier Foods Group Limited. http://blogm.in/12q1sf
MSP appeals for ethnic organ donors -- Party News...
MSP Humza Yousaf has appealed for more south Asian organ donors to come forward. http://blogm.in/12pn9R
Liverpool -- Kerry McCarthy (Lab)
Today’s disclosure of Cabinet papers under the 30 year rule reveal that Tory ministers tried to persuade Msrgaret Thatcher to write off Liverpool after the 1981 riots and abandon it a process of ‘managed decline’. In the interests of fairness, Geoffrey Howe now says he ‘can’t remember’ saying this and Thatcher didn’t actually agree to it, although she didn’t give Heseltine – a classic Tory wet,...
Police Forces to Recruit for Welsh Government CSOs...
The Welsh Government’s commitment to fund Community Support Officers will take another step forward when Police Forces and British Transport Police start looking for recruits in the New Year. http://blogm.in/12p4wz
Foreign Office Minister: Jerusalem decision is...
Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt has condemned the decision to build additional structures in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, and housing in Gilo. http://blogm.in/12nyyb
Foreign Office Minister discusses Syria with Arab...
Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said that the Syrian Government must allow the Arab League mission independent and unrestricted access to all areas of Syria. http://blogm.in/12nyyc
820,000 move to Scotland since 2007 -- Party News...
The latest migration statistics show 820,000 people from the rest of the UK have moved to Scotland since the SNP came to power in 2007. http://blogm.in/12nrdR
Rural delivery warning over post plan -- Party...
Post regulator Ofcom has been asked to clarify proposals which could result in the price charged for sending parcels to remote areas soar. http://blogm.in/12nrfF
Foreign Office Minister expresses concern at...
Minister for Europe David Lidington has expressed concern at the conviction and sentence of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko on 29 December. http://blogm.in/12nkGn
Growing care crisis as charges for elderly home...
A new survey of care provided by local councils, published today by Labour, reveals shocking increases and wide disparities in charges for services for vulnerable elderly and disabled people. http://blogm.in/12nkGP
National Archives release records from 1981 --...
Government records from 1981 have been made available online for the first time by The National Archives (TNA). http://blogm.in/12n67w
A new year -time to go for new spin? -- John...
I do wish the media and journalists would sharpen their questions for 2012. I am getting fed up with the old spin that seems to have been hanging in the air for so many years.
Wouldn’t it be good, for example, to put behind us the old lie that we have to accept everything the EU dishes up because 3 million jobs are at risk. Why don’t the interviewers who are given that tired old line ask:
...
The decision of the United Nations to fly the UN...
If anything shows why the United Nations needs fundamental reform, its’ decision to pay ‘respect’ to the dead North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Il, provides more reason than many (hat-tip Guido Fawkes).
How the UN can mourn the death of a man who was responsible, alongside his father, for establishing a totalitarian dictatorship, incarcerating and killing millions of citizens...
My favourite album of the year -- Robert Halfon...
I love Amy Macdonald’s songs. I first saw her doing an interview on TV and was mesmerised. Both her albums, _A Curious Thing_ and _This is the Life_ are just wonderful to listen to.
This year I downloaded ‘A Curious Thing, Special Orchestral Edition, in which she sings songs from her 2010 Album, ‘A Curious Thing’ with the accompaniment of Deutsche Radio Philharmonic....
Plaid Cymru calls on the Labour government to...
Plaid Cymru’s Health Spokesperson, Elin Jones AM, has called on the Labour Welsh Government to clarify its policy on alcohol pricing, after the First Minister appeared to u-turn on his party’s manifesto pledge. The Plaid Cymru AM for Ceredigion also expressed concern that the Labour First Minister’s comments on the matter went against the spirit of devolution.
In its manifesto, Labour pledged...
What will Cameron not say in 2012 -- Paul Flynn...
‘The Big Society is working’
Tension between West and Iran must be reduced
400 is the final total of the UK death toll in Afghanistan
The NHS is safe in my hands
Badgers and foxes must not be killed for fun
The drug laws are not working
We will investigate additional post-Fukushima costs of nuclear power
All school pupils will share the privileges of Eton.
CPI...
Renewables bring £2.5bn boost to economy -- DECC
Press Ref: 2011/115 29 December 2011
Chris Huhne today revealed more evidence of the economic benefits of renewable energy as he reaffirmed the coalition’s commitment to meeting EU renewable energy targets. This came as the UK published an update on progress to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Latest research from DECC shows that so far this financial...
Public turned off by ‘The Party Line’ -- Glyn...
Had coffee with a well-informed and politically aware lady this morning. She told me that some years ago she had decided that politicians were so disreputable that she had decided never to vote for one ever again. I have other friends who behave in the same way. Personally, I cannot understand why anyone should think all participants in any lawful activity are corrupt and dishonest. Or good and...