If anyone is wondering what I think about the forced cabinet reshuffle...... it's mostly bored resignation that in the midst of mouthing off about diversity, Clegg promotes two white middle class middle aged cisgendered het men, rather than one of the vastly more capable women he has available to him. I can't bring myself to be angry about it, like Caron is. I just don't have the energy any more. My irony meter went sproing a long time ago. It's like the fact that while the Welfare Reform Bill was going through Cameron was hosting a party for Children in Need. Because there's going to be so many more of them, ... (more) |
Fog Bell Marshside RoadJohn Dodd attended the memorial service at the Fog Bell,Marshside Road on Sunday 29th January. The service was held to commemorate the anniversary of theburial of the seven Marshside men who lost their lives on the 26th January1869, whilst out hand-putting for shrimps in the estuary. The men were:Peter AughtonWilliam HeskethJohn 'Marshall' RimmerJohn WrightPeter Wright 'Thomas' Peter Wright 'Hannah's Robert Wright (more) |
Writer's Block: School TiesI hardly ever answer these, but this one caught my attention. My undergraduate degree was in Natural Sciences, specialising in astrophysics at the end. My undergraduate dissertation was a literature survey of the Comic Microwave Background Radiation and the Origin of the Universe. My career is now in international politics. So it is fair to say that the two fields are not intimately related. I can count the number of fellow astrophysics graduates I have met in my current line of work on the fingers of one finger (the then chief of staff of the president of an Eastern European ... (more) |
The full government changesEd Davey MP to become Secretary of State for Energy and Climate ChangeNorman Lamb MP to become a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and SkillsJenny Willott MP to become an Assistant Government WhipJo Swinson to replace Norman Lamb as Nick Clegg's PPS (or "Chief of Staff", as some media releases from Great George Street have it) Congratulations to all, especially Cardiff Central's Jenny Willott who will be no pushover in the Whips' Office. Her appointment shows that there are no hard feelings as a result of voting against the tuition fee increases. (more) |
Blyth Town Council Meetings for week commencing 6th FebruaryThere is just one meeting at Blyth Town Council next week Full Council, Thursday 9th February , 6:30 pm at Newsham Pavilion, Newsham Blyth followed by Public Question Time (more) |
Uncollected rubbishThere are quite a few homes in Launceston whose rubbish was not collected on schedule today. I'm told by the Council that they had three vans break down and, although they caught up with some of the missed collections, they will not be able to complete the job until Monday. Apologies to householders affected. Tweet (more) |
Parliamentary tactics for fun and profitI'm going to write about parliamentary tactics today. Not because it's interesting – it's about the inside baseball of the UK Parliament, and is thus really only interesting to about ten people in the world ever – but because it's been tickling me ever since I noticed it. This is going to be a post about how the government runs itself politically, how it organises its business to avoid political risk, and how the government is already preparing for the next election. Okay? There's a reason why this post is happening today, and it's not going to be a surprising ... (more) |
I've been blahing on , via the Telly box....So, I was sitting in the BBC News Channel Millbank, ahem, 'Studio' (broom cabinet) this morning as the Huhne news broke. As you can see, I was filling while everyone waited for Nick, Olly et al to walk from a door and get in a car. I was asked my views on what the Lib Dem Grassroots were thinking. So here's what I said you were thinking (I am paraphrasing). Do feel free to yell if it's not true, as I'll be doing the same with 5 Live tomorrow morning... Q. Are we sad to see Chris go? A. Yes. ... (more) |
1906 Summer Olympics Athens: Intercalated OlympiadIn 1901 the International Olympic Committee decided that they would hold Intercalated Games every four years in the gap between the internationally arranged Olympic Games. There were to be held in Athens every 4 years. However, only one is ever staged, but if you have read my posts about the 1900 and 1904 Games the 1906 Intercalated Games may well have been the saviour of the entire Olympic movement. France 15 9 16 40 2 United States 12 6 6 24 3 Greece 8 14 13 35 4 Great Britain 8 11 5 24 5 Italy 7 6 3 16 ... (more) |
Chris Huhne resignsEnergy secretary Chris Huhne has today resigned from the cabinet following the announcement that he has been charged with perverting the course of justice. Huhne, who was once considered the natural leader of the Liberal Democrats and at one time favourite to succeed Nick Clegg, decided that in the circumstances it was best to stand down to "avoid distraction". Huhne continues to maintain his innocence in the matter concerning his wife's alleged acceptance of his penalty points for speeding. That in itself, however, has become almost irrelevant. The allegation that a cabinet minister would willingly stoop to such deceptive practices ... (more) |