What does killjoy David Cameron have against "one-legged Lithuanian dance troupes" and their funding by the Arts Council? We can all have bar-room rants about some aspect or other of arts funding but one legged dancers from whatever country sound great to me. Back to the drawing board I think.
Entries from October 31st, 2007
The need for rational debate on population
October 30th, 2007 · No Comments · What I Think
I agree with Vince Cable that the Labour and Conservative parties competition as to who can be most hysterical about population is typically unhelpful and misleading. Of course it is essential that immigration is efficiently managed; that we have a
properly resourced national border force (proposed by the Liberal Democrats long before the other parties); that [...]
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Sir Menzies Campbell
October 15th, 2007 · No Comments · What I Think
British parliamentary democracy owes a huge amount to Menzies Campbell. It is hard to realise just how brave he and Charles Kennedy were in determining to stick to their principles and oppose the invasion of Iraq. The last party leader to oppose the sitting government when it went to war was Hugh Gaitskell over Suez. [...]
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Tory hypocrisy over “stolen” policy ideas
October 11th, 2007 · No Comments · What I Think
When I first joined the old Liberal Party, they used to sell orange pencils with "Another good thing stolen from the Liberals." John Maynard Keynes famously lamented that the Liberals provided Labour with ideas and Conservatives with cabinets.
There is nothing new in good ideas being "stolen" by other parties. We should welcome it if good [...]
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It would have been the Trick or Treat Election
October 8th, 2007 · No Comments · What I Think
Gordon Brown’s decision not to call an early General Election was absolutely the right decision but taken for the wrong reasons.
As I said on the ‘Today’ programme last Thursday morning, an election held on November 1st or November 8th would have been seen by voters as Gordon Brown’s “trick or treat” election, coming hard [...]
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“We do not need to build on the Green Belt” – great autumn debate
October 4th, 2007 · No Comments · Hands off Herts
I found myself joining Peter Trevelyan, Chairman of St Albans Civic Society, in proposing the motion that "We do not need to build in the Green Belt", at the Hertfordshire Association of Architects “Great Autumn Debate” last night at Ware Arts Centre.
We were opposed by Harpenden-based architect and planner Roger Shrimplin and local planning consultant [...]
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The need to progress the Abbey Line passing loop
October 3rd, 2007 · No Comments · What I Think
I attended the crowded AGM of the Abbey Line Community Rail Partnership at St Stephens Parish Centre last night. I have never been a regular user of the line, but we used to walk with our children down the Ver-Colne walk from St Albans and then catch the train home. And 24 years ago I [...]
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