A senior market economist is about to become very richWell, if John Higgins of Capital Economics puts his money where his mouth is: In the bearish camp is John Higgins, senior markets economist at Capital Economics. He expects to see the S&P 500 back down around 1,000 by the end of 2010 and cited several points to warrant caution Here is a reminder of how far ... (more) |
A busy day campaigning!Yesterday afternoon I was at the House of Commons campaigning for peace and greater support for our troops, today I was out canvassing and delivering in the south of the constituency and this afternoon I was hard at work with local supporters preparing another round of leaflets to inform fellow residents about our campaign. Those of you who think the campaign only starts when the election is called, think again! Soon I will be at the Town Hall to meet with constituents and then will be off to canvass and deliver in the west of the constituency. While some candidates ... (more) |
The UK has the worst social mobility record among developed countriesAn eye-popping report from the OECD says that children from poor families in Britain have a greater chance of struggling on low incomes than their counterparts in the west's ... (more) |
The cleaning of Hillside Pine WoodsTo begin at the end, the Pine Woods are to be litter picked every six weeks and has been added to the schedule undertaken at weekends starting at 6am when traffic is much lighter, so the work will be done in future at weekends either Saturday or Sunday. I have been asked by a number of residents about the cleaning of Hillside Pine Woods. I don't usually write up casework on the blog but I'm happy to put on record the chain of events. One Saturday at the end of January I was emailed by a local resident asking if ... (more) |
When Less is More for AlexSpeaking to COSLA's annual conference last week Alex Salmond said: "This Government will not sit idly by and accept cuts imposed from Westminster." Looks to me like the no cuts message the SNP have been spouting for months. Yet on Saturday at his party's General Election launch he said: "Because at this election the message is simple. "MORE NATS MEANS LESS CUTS" It may be simple but it is not clear. He's been accusing the other parties and even in this speech of having the "axe sharpened and poised" yet for all his rhetoric he has just announced that even ... (more) |
Power2010 ups its local campaigningWhen I covered the results of the Power2010 consultation on what political reforms it should promote, there was a brief discussion on this site and elsewhere about whether Power2010 would have the campaigning muscle to really make an impact. Today brings news of how Power2010 is trying to ensure that. Their news release says: MPs were put on notice today as democracy group Power2010 announced its plans to target those MPs who have consistently opposed cleaning up and reforming our political system. The Power2010 campaign, which has received almost £1 million from the Rowntree Trusts and now has paid organisers ... (more) |
Whittington A&E - the first chink in their armour?In the opposition day debate yesterday on London Hospitals - the Minister Mike O'Brien said this: 'I do not see any justification for closure of the A and E at this time, and I would want to hear the case for closing it during the next Parliament. I have seen no such case.' Well neither have we! There is no case. There is no clinically led case. There is no evidence. However - not sure that stops the juggernaut of this travesty of a process. Lynne Featherstone: I welcome the Minister's remarks because, as he knows, the socio-demographic circumstances around ... (more) |
Latest West End Updates ...* Following residents' complaints about potholes at the junction of Riverside Place and Perth Road, I reported this to the City Council. I have now had feedback as follows : "An order has been raised by the area inspector for the filling of a number of potholes at the Riverside Place/Perth Road junction and this will be done within the next 28 days." * A resident pointed out to me that there is inadequate street signage for Hazel Avenue - signs are missing at the junction with Hazel Drive and there is only one, poor conditioned, one at the junction ... (more) |
More West End History on Photopolis ...I recently mentioned the excellent Photopolis on-line collection of historical Dundee photographs. With thanks to the City Council's Leisure & Communities Department, here's another fascinating West End one - the old Harris Academy in Park Place, that opened in 1885 but was replaced by the current Perth Road building in the 1930s : (more) |
Iraq, or 20,000 more nurses for a decade?£8 billion. That was the financial cost to the UK taxpayer of our involvement in the Iraq War - over & above what we were going to spend on defence anyway. It's £8 billion of additional spending. That's not my estimate. That is the figure that Gordon Brown himself gave to the Iraq Inquiry (to check that, click HERE and read the paragraph from line 10 to line 19 on page 84). £8,000,000,000. It is a colossal sum of money - enough, in fact, to employ over 20,000 nurses for an entire decade. Or almost 15,000 police officers, again for ... (more) |