So its 73 Billion Pounds Sterling to decomission the nations existing Nuclear Power Plants…
Does anyone still seriously think a new generation of ‘Radwaste Generators’ is a good idea? Well not counting Labour Party members that is!
Come on Gordon do the maths.
There is no way a private corporation could afford this sort of cost and that means that ordinary taxpayers will foot the bill (just as they already are for the existing piles of toxic waste…)
The Liberal Democrat solution is clean energy. (I define ‘Clean’ as not hazadous to human health or the world envrionment) Wind, Wave, Solar Tidal, Geothermal…. and even Carbon Capture, but no to failed technologies of the 20th century….
We also want to decentralise the Grid. Too much energy is wasted in generation and transmission. We want localised power plants. Combinded Heat and Power, Waste reuse, microgeneration… It doesn’t work well with the old Labour idea of large Centralised grids….
Last but definately not least, we need to be more efficent. Consevre what we already have and use less. Not waste valuable time, energy and lots (and lots…!) of money.
No to Nuclear! join the campaign at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/no2nuclear
What would it mean to have PR (Proportional Representation) for English and Welsh local elections?
Last May Scotland went to the polls and use for the first time STV-PR (A form of PR) for its local elections. STV was favoured by Scotish Labour, Lib Dems and, I beleive, the SNP… it allowed the share of the seats in councils north of the bordre to reflect the share of the votes cast. It also retained the link between Councillors and their wards and it meant that voters had the chance to select candidates rather than parties.
So a rawing success then? Despite problems with over complex ballot papers I would say yes it was.
So when will it come down south? And how would English and Welsh local government be changed?
Labour has left the door open on PR for the Commons. I’m not holding my breath on that one, but local government could see eletoral reform sooner rather than later. In Stroud STV (Single Transferable Vote) would lead to ‘a balanced’ council at Ebley Mill. Politicians would run in fear of losing their seats if they weren’t up to the job. The different Parties would have to work together. Modern ‘Partnership’ politics…
It would also, probably, mean less elections. At the moment we have local elections every year in some areas of the Stroud District but STV could mean ‘all out’ elections only 1 in 4 years.
Labour and Tories talk about boosting turnout and encouraging reengagement with the politcial process. Won’t happen without electoral reform!…
Is there anybody out there? No I’m not making a comment on the number of hits (or lack thereof) I’m getting on this site!… I’m just wondering whether I’m lucky or whether there is ’something looking out for me?’… strange topic for a political Blog?
Maybe. Nick Clegg doesn’t beleive in God. Tony Blair ‘didn’t do God’ (even though he believed in Gods existance…?!?) I suspect (maybe) that Dave Cameron thinks he is ….. (er better not comment on that!)… so its political
Politicians seek to use faith (rightly or wrongly) as part and parcel to the process of winning power. I need to declare an interest at this point. I’m a Christian. But I’m also a Liberal…. There is interesting interplay between the two sets of ideas.
My day job is Software Quality Assurance. I’m very employable. I can expect to earn a lot of money during my career (more than in Politics I can tell you!) I have a secure home and no debts to speak of. I’m ‘Lucky’… if you want to accept that concept?
Our world is full of situations and individuals that are not as ‘lucky’ as me. The horrible madness in Kenya and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Places we know about because of the media. there are plenty of others we don’t know about….
So whether you have faith in something ‘out there’ or not, maybe what matters is our attitude to people and situations that we encounter and how we react to them.
I first got interested in Politics after the summer of 1988. At the time the weather was considered to be ‘freak’ but that year awakened my interest in environmental sustainability.
I wanted to ‘get involved’ and ‘change the world’…. And I knew the best way to do this was through a politcal party.
I looked around and Neil Kinnock and his friends were way too ‘Totalitarian’ for me. The culture of the Labour Party at the end of the 80’s (And early 90’s…. indeed even today) was alien to a great deal of what I believed.
Tories? YUCK! After Thatcher there was no way I would touch them with a barge pole…
Being born and brought up in Stroud I naturally considered joining up with the Greens. I seriously considered it until I realised that their strength was only in a few scattered areas. They were not a national force. Although I shared many of my principles and beliefs with them I couldn’t see them winning Stroud and no way could they implement their policies at Westminster.
Along comes Mr Ashdown. Eastbourne Byelection put the ‘Social and Liberal Democrats’ make on the map. I saw that the Lib Dems had been campaigning for ‘Sustainability’ for years. In 1991 I went to the Party’s ‘youth conference’ and listen to Simon Highes MP talking about ‘The Polluter Pays Principle’
The Lib Dems had campaigned on Environmental issues for years but also they had MPs! Nineteen members of Parliament when I joined. Now we have 60+ … the choice was a no-brainer!…. I joined a movement with a desire to implement Social, Environmental and Political Justice in our country and abroad.
I don’t want to run down the Greens because they are sincere in what they do. I just think every political party needs to be ‘Green’…. It’s essential to build a partnership from every hue and colour of the political spectrum. That’s grown up politics and that is what I beleive in!
Barack Obama wins the South Carolina primary.
Its good to see a Liberal on the up! I just hope that the ‘Race Card’ isnt used again in this contest. Whether or not ‘Billary’ (Hilary + Hubby) said or did anything ‘out of order’ i’ll leave to my American friends to decide. US Politics is a tough game after all….
Should we have primaries in the UK? Please no!… But Caucuses sound fun. Maybe they could be done to music? (Line dance your way to selecting your candidate…. hmm maybe not)
I’ve been watching CNN again.
This time I listened to the founder of Microsoft talking about how the worlds leading companies can help the “bottom Billion” out of poverty.
Bit vague and I wonder just how many of the hardened CEOs at the Davos Conference in Switzerland are going to rush back home and pour money into Africa and other poverty stricken societies?
That said the Chinese Government and industry is heavily investing in Africa. They are not daft. Africa has emense riches and potential. So should ‘The West’ do the same? Should we open our markets to the ‘developing world?’
Can we deny growth for the ‘Third World?’ I don’t think so. We must act together to liberate the ‘Bottom Billion’ and Creative Capitalism is part (only part…) of the answer. We need to encourage clean energy production and conservation. Free and fair trade so everyone can earn a living.
We also have to realise that the developing nations are equal partners in the running of the planet. But don’t get me started on that one…. yet!
So once again the Labour Party dodges the issue of voting reform.
Yet another review bites the dust and again the government is no closer to honouring its 1997 manifesto commitment on electoral reform.
How can if be possible that the mother of parliaments elects a government on only 35% of the vote (55% of MPs)…? not to mention the fact that the second chamber is completely unelected.
That’s not democracy! (as you may have gathered by the number of exclaimation marks in this story I’m a little bit ‘wound up by this issue!)
If the Scots, Irish and Welsh can be trusted with PR why not the whole of the UK?
British Liberalism is about partnership and gaining power is only so it can be given back to the people.
The only party that has a hope in hell of implementing fair votes is the last remaining progressive UK Party (yes you guessed) the Liberal Democrats.
With the US Federal Bank cutting its rates by 0.75 points to 3.5% has panic set in?
With the world stock exchanges being so volitile and the colapse of Northern Rock many comentators are using the “R” word for both the US and UK economies… Indeed the whole global ecomomy is in danger of a servre downturn.
So Gordon, what ever happened to “No more boom and bust” Remember the story of the “7 fat years followed by the 7 lean”…. Why has personal debt sored to record levels? Why has house price inflation got out of control? Energy inflation and food inflation are also at 1980’s levels. why is public borrowing so high? and why have we had the first run on a Bank in the Uk for 130 years? The Bible story teaches us to prepare for the bad times during the previous good times. Patently this has not been the case with this Government.
And who has been in charge of the Treasury for the last 10 years?…
The artist Damien Hirst is planning to make his Dudbridge facility self-sufficient for electricity. How? well the old Automold building is being redeveloped and Mr Hirst plans to cover it with solar panels.
I have to admit that I’m not a great fan of his artwork but to have a significant source of clean energy in Rodborough has got to be good.
The dangers of climate change are once again in our thoughts as thousands of homes and businesses are threatened by flooding. I fear that it will prove very difficult indeed to stabilise the worlds weather systems. But every peice of the gigsaw matters… So well done Mr Hirst. Its a good start.
The last few days have seen the ’second coming of the king’… Well if you are a Newcastle Unitied fan that is! Yes now ‘our Kev’ is back in charge the good times are bound to come back to St Jame’s Park.
A return to the ‘good times’ is something that is needed outside of the English Premiership. On both sides of the Altantic new ‘fresh faced’ politicians are coming to the fore. In Nevada, presidential hopeful, Barack Obama fought a strong campaign to gain 45% of the Democrat vote, nearly catching the Clintons… Put 26th January in your diaries, that’s when South Carolina goes to the polls. In the UK our very own Nick Clegg is making moves to ‘break the mold of British Politics’ I probably haven’t got the right quote but what the hey it’s all good stuff!
Or is it? Do we need ‘personality cults’ to define ‘change’. Our Soceity desperately needs ‘real change.’ Threats from terrorism, organised crime and climate change need a response from the whole global community. Social problems in my home town are rife throughout the west (homelessness, poverty, drug addiction and family breakdown, to mention some)
To answer my own question, with my personal opinion, I would say that the need for change comes from the ‘bottom up.’ As a Liberal Democrat I want to see a grassroots movement not just a ‘Westminster club.’ But to leaders are needed as agents of change. I watched on CNN today a documentory on Martin Luther King. Individuals can make a difference!
So roll on November (President Obama?…) and well? 150 MPs inside of 7 years… that sounds pretty good as well Mr Clegg!
Nick Clegg has hit the nail on the head when it comes to ‘Health Reform.’ speaking recently at the party’s manifesto conference Nick spoke about putting more of the management of the NHS into the hands of local people. Government would fund and provide oversight for the NHS but more decisions would be taken ‘from the bottom up’ (my words not Nick’s)
One in four families have been touched by Mental Illness. I agree with Nick that it must not be neglected. I have been touched by Mental distress in the past and I know it can be perceived as a ‘bad photo opertunity’. The Mentally ill should be given more control over their treatment. Mental Health in the NHS should be given more resources and Mentally ill people in all walks of life need to have confidence in themselves.
Nick Cleggs ideas for the NHS and other public services get a resounding thumbs up from me. I just hope that all ‘wings’ of the Party can be pragmatic enough to see the merit of these ideas, and not get stuck in the past. Time will tell.
I isn’t raining as I write but the forcast for the next few hours and days is not looking good. Water levels in the Frome and Canal were running high both last night and this afternoon when I visited my Stroud Town Ward. Futher rain could cause mayhem for the residents and businesses in that area.
Flooding is occuring more frequently and on a larger scale than in living memory. Extreme weather conditions are nothing new but several flood events in six months has left us all wondering just how much of the damage is due to Climate Change and what can WE do about it?
Simple things (you would thing they would be simple…) such as clearing drains, dredging the canal (still hasn’t happened) and clearing blockages, just have not happened.
Its not rocket science.
The way we live impacts on our future. And our present. Intensive farming techniques have altered run off characteristics in our countryside. This makes flash flooding more servre. Bad Town Planning in the past has limited flood attenuation. Government agencies ‘passing the buck’ doesn’t get us anywhere. How many people know what ‘Riperian Landlord’ means?
So I pray that the floods will pass with as little damage as possible. I hope that I can be effective in working with commited others in limiting future events. But we all have to try and do our bit…..
So Captain Jack is back! For those who missed my favourite show (well after ‘Doctor Who’ that is…) Torchwood is back in all it’s glory.
I love Wales and especially Cardiff. The Lib Dems run the city after all! Its always fascinated me that another nation can be so close but at the same time be in the same ‘Country’….
We Brits are part of a federation… I’m not going to repeat yesterdays Guardian Editorial but I think the idea of separating ‘State’ form ‘Nation’ has some merit. I am English, British and European!
Decisions need to be taken at the lowest ‘practical’ level… But identity exist on all levels and more….
Maybe because I’m involved in local government I’m often asked ‘what does the council actually do for us?’ Trouble is, there are so many different types of council! (Parish, District, County, Unitary…) so its not easy.
Liberal Democrats have long campaigned to decentralise power from Westminster (and Europe!… in certain cases) We want decisions made close to the communities that are affected by them.
In Scotland and Wales this means more powers need to go to the Parliament and Assembly. In England its less clear. I personally would like to see the regional government we already have ‘democratised’ and with ‘English Devolution’ (ie powers from the UK Parliament given to regional councils and/or local authorities)
There is so many QUANGOs that make decisions and spend tax-payers money. We need to bring them to acount, and do so locally!
I am currently suffering form a rather nasty cold that has been going the rounds (sniff!) The good news is that its not ‘electronically contagous!’
Nick Clegg has made his first major speach today on the subject of public service reform. ‘Free Schools’ and local decision making in the NHS featured prominently. Lets see how these policy ideas develop and how the Liberal Democrats react to the reform agenda.
The District Elections are looming and there is a great deal of work that needs to be done. I am optimistic that we will do very well indeed this year. Another thing that we’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out!
As the rain and sleet hammers down outside I pray that we don’t see a return to the flooding of the summer.
The Government is taking ‘Drastic Action’ to counter climate change, they say…. A new generation of Nuclear Stations to ‘keep the lights on’ Trouble is the first one won’t be online until 2020. The lights will have gone out long since!
We need to consume less and generate clean energy from renewables, perhaps combined with ‘Carbon Capture’ technology… No to wild goose chases and white elephants! (sorry Mr Webb!)
The rain keeps comming and I wonder if we are already too late? Lets hope not…..
Yesterday I attended the thanksgiving service for the late John “Jack” Halford. Mr Halford had been a long serving member of the Liberal Party and had worked tirelessly to promote British Liberalism in Dursley and Stroud. Although I have not had the previlige of meeting him I am inspired by the fact that so many people, like John Halford, have devoted their lives to the same causes and beliefs that I share.
It’s looking likely that another ‘Liberal’ leader is coming to the fore. Barack Obama. Change is coming to the USA and it will touch Britain (and yes Stroud!)
No I’ve said that, Hilary Chilton is bound to win! … Such is the danger in political predictions.
The more I see of Barack Obama the more I like. I am an internationalist by nature and have no time ‘anti-americanism’ or any other prejudice. In Senator Obama I see hope for a strong and progressive America, which is very good prospect!
I see the same qualities in many of the up and coming Liberal Democrat MPs. A dynamic, creative and above all progressive force to change Britain, just as Obama can change the US.
But I don’t have a vote in New Hampshire! So I wish my colleagues in our sister party the best and hope they choose the right candidate.
Having spent most of the day pounding the streets of Dursley I’m quite glad to return home. I quite like Dursley, don’t get me wrong (the views from Hardings Drive across to Long Down are splendid), But my feet ache!
All issues are ‘local issues’ someone once said. I am in politics for ‘local issues.’ Oil price inflation due to conflict in the middle east is a local issue for anyone struggling to make ends meet. Climate Change is ‘local’ for the the people in my ward who lost homes and livelihood in the summer floods. It goes on… (But I promise not too!)
I was also struck today about the CNN report on the African principle of ‘Umbuntu.’ (brotherhood of giving) Something we should take more notice of in our own lives. Class war is a thing of the past but poverty exists even in the ’so called’ western world. I’m a believer that markets can bring freedom and oppertunity but compassion and solidarity are absolutely essential to make soceity work.
I am exhausted after a week of preparing for Stroud Lib Dems first ever ‘Action Day’
We (I hope its ‘we’..?!) will be decending on a ward in Dursley to campaign together as a single ‘local party’ team…. lots of fun! And a lot of hard work.
Back in the real world my science fiction career is having to make way for good old fashioned job hunting. Now the employment market has come out of ‘Festive Purdur’ I am soon hoping to be paid a living wage soon.
Nick Clegg, our glorious leader, (I voted for him!) has set up a social mobility commission. Freedom and Social Justice go hand in hand as far as I’m concerned and I’m glad that one of the major leaders is taking this subject seriously.
Well I’ve got to get up VERY early tomorrow so that’s it for now.
As well as this Blog I have been busy with my creative energies….
‘Focus on Rodborough’ is going from strength to strength. #18 is due out soon and we are experimenting with a ‘folded A3′ format. It seems only yesterday when the first ‘Focus’ was shoved through letterboxes but in reality we have been going for nigh on two and half years!.. lots of hard work but also a good way to keep fit!
I won’t give away too many secrets about the contents of the January edition… You just have to wait.
I’m also embarking on a venture which is really the second love of my life, that is, ‘Creative Writing’. Typically for a Lib Dem my story is based on the primacy of Freedom over Fear. … watch this space!
