I’ve recorded a YouTube clip about the cuts First Capital Connect are planning for Alexandra Palace, Hornsey, Harringay and Bowes Park stations:
[Direct YouTube link here – where you can also comment on and rate the clip.]
More details on the story here – and please don’t forget to send in your views by 2nd February.
Now you see it – now you don’t. Clearly Gordon Brown saw the writing on the wall in regard of the Freedom of Information vote on MP’s expenses. At PMQs he refused to back down – then after PMQs he backed down.
It’s bad enough that the economy is in meltdown – but at such times we are disappointed to find that we have not got a serious man for serious times – we have a rudderless boat!
Still – Labour would have lost the vote. I wish the vote had gone ahead and they had lost – ‘cos would have taught them a lesson. However – given the outcome is the right one – I forgive.
But I really wanted to write something about Obama. I know – everyone has. Every column inch by every writer / journalist etc in the country has more than said it – but the spirit moves me. I thought the fluffing of the lines was just fine. If Obama had clutched his head and said ‘oh my god – what a terrible thing to happen’ it would have been a bit of a gaff but Barack’s talent is knowing just what to do and being unfazed – he grinned. Grinning was the absolute right thing to do!
And it’s his temperament that I admire so much together with his intellect, timbre of voice and use of vocabulary. When I watched the whole speech live I didn’t pick up all the rich phrases at the time – in fact if I had a criticism it would be that there was nothing but rich phrases and well-crafted sentiments. But when I heard parts later on radio and broadcast news – they were all brilliant. How clever is that? ‘Cos effectively that meant whatever part was used by the media – it would make complete sense and convey his message – hope and change etc.
Charisma oozing and charm and talent personified – off he goes to ‘remake America’ and we all wish him well with what lies ahead. Seems to me that what has been revealed about all of us watching is our needy desire to believe and hope for a better future. I’m just glad that we still can believe in change and the better nature and aspiration of man to overcome adversity and triumph! We’ll see. I cry in happy movies too…
… the day after the Federal Executive approved my nomination to chair the party’s Technology Advisory Board (Monday), the party has started rolling out a new website at http://blogs.libdems.org.uk
I think it would be a little cheeky for me to claim credit for this – nice though the timing is! Handily bringing together the latest news from a range of different Liberal Democrat websites – along with some of our media coverage – all in to one place, it will I’m sure soon become a regular read of mine – and I hope of yours too.
Haringey’s residents should have greater control over how to improve their community – this was the message spearheaded by Liberal Democrat councillors at Monday’s Full Council meeting. A Liberal Democrat motion was passed unanimously calling for Haringey Council to ‘opt in’ and use the powers given in the Sustainable Communities Act, which seeks to enable local authorities to improve the local economy, protect the environment, promote social inclusion, and increase civic and political activity.
Once a council has opted in, local residents are able to take part in citizen’s panels and influence what proposals are put forward to central government to improve their area. The deadline for Local Authorities to submit their opt in proposals is 31st July 2009. Liberal Democrats have urged Haringey Council to submit their proposals by this date and not wait for the next round.
Key actions shown in the Sustainable Communities Act are:
·Local citizens’ panel created to agree community proposals with the Council.
·Bottom-up decision making – local residents make decisions with local authorities to produce proposals. Central government has a legal duty to co-operate and reach agreement on the proposals.
·Transfer and functions and funding to local control – communities can ask for the transfer of existing centrally-controlled funding and functions to local control.
·Councils can act together to lobby government for action on issues using the Act.
Cllr Nigel Scott, who proposed the Liberal Democrat motion, comments:
“It was pleasing to see support for this proposal from both groups on Haringey Council but now we have agreement, I urge Haringey to opt in now.Over fifty councils in England and Wales have opted in already and they are starting to plan for and achieve benefits for their residents.Talking about opting in is not enough – we need to get a move on.”
Lynne Featherstone MP adds:
“This Act offers huge potential to bring real power into the hands of our local community.I have no doubt that local residents will be better served by decisions made in our town hall rather than the dusty corridors of Whitehall.
“I very much hope Haringey Council will embrace the possibility of these powers with the same spirit and enthusiasm with which my Liberal Democrat councillor colleagues have proposed it.”
A while back, at the height of the Baby P postings on my blog, a blogger called Old Holborn posted this:
Shhhh. Don’t tell ANYONE
22 Nov 2008 by Old Holborn
Lynne Featherstone is doing sterling work digging deeper and deeper. Should Old Holborn give her the memo showing that Haringey were TOLD not to take children into care because it was too expensive? Proving that Baby P died because the …
Since then, another source told me of the same memo / email. I issued a Freedom of Information request to Haringey Council but they have responded saying that it would be too expensive to find. So I am making a public appeal to Old Holborn. If you have the memo of copy of the memo – then please send it to me.
I’ve done a brief interview with Matt Wardman (of the Wardman Wire blog) about the Lib Dem approach to the internet and technology in our campaigning. You can read it here.
I am jealous! Martin Bright of New Statesman has come up with a brilliant idea that I wish I or my party had thought of first. You have to read the piece. Read it! It is called ‘A New Deal of the Mind’:
The government’s job creation plans are inspired by FDR’s New Deal. But ministers have ignored its most lasting legacy: the boost it gave to writers, artists and intellectuals.
Just before the Second World War, the Works Progress Administration, one of Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal programmes, published a series of statistics about what it had done to get America back to work. In the previous three years the WPA had built 17,562 public buildings, 279,804 miles of roads, 29,084 bridges, 357 airports, more than 30,000 dams and 15,000 parks.
Although nothing on this scale has been considered for Britain as we head towards the second decade of the 21st century, the rhetoric of Labour’s interventionist approach to the crisis is pure FDR. Ministers seem to be wavering between calling it a “Green” New Deal or a “Hi-Tech” New Deal, but the centrally funded work-creation schemes take their inspiration from Depression-era America. That much is certain.
And Bright goes on to propose five key actions that we could take as a nation that would, using intellect, vision and arts, change the future for decades to come.
Haringey Council should give residents a £3 million boost next year by freezing Council Tax say local Liberal Democrats.
At the launch of their ten-point plan to help residents and business during the recession, Cllr Robert Gorrie and Lynne Featherstone MP said that the Labour-run council should be doing more to help people at this difficult time without cutting front-line services.
The Liberal Democrat proposals include easing the burden on residents by freezing Council Tax in 2009, helping small businesses by cutting the time Haringey Council takes to pay invoices and the development of an apprentice programme within Haringey Council to help local people find employment.
Cllr Robert Gorrie, Liberal Democrat leader, comments:
“We all know that many local people and businesses are finding it difficult to cope in the current economic climate.
“Haringey Council should be doing much more to help residents and local companies and we urge them to adopt the concrete proposals we have set out today.
“Proposals such as freezing Council Tax and paying suppliers faster will provide real pounds in the pockets of people and companies.”
Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green adds:
“Haringey Council are failing to help residents in Haringey struggling against the effects of the recession.
“Our plan shows where Labour is lacking – real action for local residents.”
Whilst the media attention has momentarily diminished following the sackings and resignations at Haringey Council – no doubt they will spring into life each time a new Baby P issue is back on the agenda.
They will be things like: the new Serious Case Review and the publication of its executive summary; the new Health Commission investigation; the report from Ed Ball’s Task Force; Lord Laming’s report across the country and no doubt an explosion of coverage on the sentencing of those found guilty of ‘letting Baby P die’.
But there is a huge movement out in the country and beyond campaigning for justice for Baby P – witness the dozens of Facebook groups, some with six figure number of members.
Many of these campaigners are very surprised when I talk to them to find out that (at latest count) only 13 percent of MPs have signed the EDM I tabled calling for a public inquiry. They are worried that learning from Baby P’s ordeal will not happen if we do not have a public inquiry – and I agree.
To that end we should get more MPs signing the EDM. So if you have not yet lobbied your MP, and they aren’t one of those listed here as having already signed, please do so.
Here’s the text of the EDM, which is no.53:
PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO CHILD PROTECTION IN HARINGEY
03.12.2008Featherstone, Lynne
That this House deeply regrets the death of Baby P; welcomes the action of the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to date; believes that many questions remain unanswered; and demands a full independent public inquiry to restore confidence in child protection in Haringey.
You can easily lobby your MP via www.writetothem.com.
Well – this is back in the news! The latest proposal in the on-going saga of MPs expenses is to exempt us from freedom of information rules, and so avoid having to publish full details.
My view is that we MPs should have the same rules as everyone else: same sorts of evidence required for expense claims as in a normal workplace, and same transparency rules as others.
I don’t see why the House of Commons administration should not be the body to whom all expenses are submitted and then they check that it is all bona fide. And nor do I see why MPs should have some special freedom of information exemption.
Glad to say that opposition to the suggestions that MPs should be exempted from these freedom of information rules is shared by David Heath and Nick Clegg! My colleague Jo Swinson is also putting down a motion in Parliament against the exemption idea. I think it would be madness for MPs to be exempted.
More on the campaign at MySociety, Matt Wardman and these two Facebook groups.
Lynne Featherstone 