New additions to the blogroll
Firstly Barrie Wood from Devon whose inclusion was prompted by his posts on choosing the Lib Dems over Labour (for now) and also an interesting local debate over a casino which I’m sure other Bearwood Bloggers will find of interest.
Also a warm welcome back to blogging to Sandra Gidley, Liberal Democrat MP for Romsey.
September 3, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Hello David,
Thanks for putting me on your blogroll ! FYI I am a former Labour councillor, but I’m now into my third year of LD membership and the authoritarian nature of NuLab doesn’t presage a return anytime soon.
Having a very good LD MPP in Adrian Sanders helps too !
I am, however, not too partisan and am interested in progressive politics, so am keen to listen to and understand the Labour, Greens, Liberal party take on things, as well as nuances of opinion within the Lib Dems.
It’s fair to say my greatest emnity (outside the BNP) is reserved for the Tories.
Are you in your locality going to be blighted with an unwanted casino too ?
Finally good to see some football posts too, but as A Nottingham Forest supporter there is little positive for me to say right now, although my local team Torquay United are happily doing much better.
Kind Regards,
Barrie Wood
(Torquay)
September 3, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Most blogs I read are partisan but yours makes a refreshing change Barrie, keep it up! I regularly read Adrian Sanders MySpace blog and am impressed with a lot of what he says.
There has been an interesting debate over a casino here in Bearwood, you can read a bit about it here. The pub in question is under new management now.
Sandwell Council also passed a “no casino” motion last December, which lasts for the next three years. There’s some more about that motion here.
How is Calderwood getting on up at Forest? All is not well, it seems?
Happy blogging!
September 3, 2007 at 5:06 pm
David, I get the feeling Blue Chip Casinos are ready to walk away from the Barleycorn proposal in the wake of our 4 year fight to prevent them opening. They have not met any of the stipulations laid down by the Planning Inspectorate which would allow them to open as a casino and I hear that the Gambling Commission were not impressed by their proposal.
This was a fantastic campaign jointly run by residents and councillors, and Steve and myself were instrumental in getting the ‘No Casinos’ policy through Council, with the assistance of John Middleton, the Director of Public Health. I think we are still unique as a Council in having a ‘No Casino’ policy and I cannot see any chance of it being reversed as the Council adopted it unanimously.
Barrie… I like the blog. Actually the Labour Party is no more authoritarian than any other in my experience, but being in government almost always leads social liberals to claim all sorts of measures as authoritarian that they can avoid from the safety of opposition.
The key to being a Labour Party member to me is the link with the organised working class through the trade union link.
September 3, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Sorry for the delay in this getting through Bob, it got caught in the spam filter. One too many uses of the word ‘casino’ methinks
September 5, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Bob,
I hopeful that you have ascertained that my views cut across red / green / yellow [but never blue] thinking. I share the commitment of many ordinary Labour members in seeing that greater equality of **outcomes** is essential for a fairer and more harmonious society - one that we can all feel ‘ownership’ of.
From the Greens (party and movement) I embrace the promotion of more localised economies and ideas like credit unions, time banks, LETS and localised currencies. Ideas around Citizen’s Income are also intriguing, but practical, affordable or sellable ? The way Greens do not separate out productive work from informal work is one that should challenge us all policy wise.
Further as a fairly libertarian rather than statist ‘left’ I am keen to support mutuals and co-operatives as an alternative to public / private monopolies.
From the Liberal camp the commitment to civil liberties, decentralisation, progressive taxation, environmentalism and internationalism all pull me towards the LD’s.
I regret all three main parties seem wedded to economic liberalism. As for NuLab the cult of personality that was Blair, the Iraq war, PFI, Academy schools and perhaps a greater support for nuclear power are issues that took me away from your party. Civil liberties issues such ASBOs, ID Cards, ‘anti-terror’ proposals / detention without trial reveal an authoritarian streak within NuLab.
Look how many new laws Blair brought in ? But, to what result ? Now the prisons are full - where next ?
In truth there are many fine people within the Labour party - certainly people I can do business with. However, beyond narrow policy differences, I am very aware that it is only the LDs in Torbay that provide a counter to the [locally] resurgent Tories. So despite an eclectic range of influences the Lib Dems are where I feel both most comfortable and useful.
Bob, I should tell you that I have been a lifelong trade unionist and have for the last two years been on the NEC of the Association Of Liberal Democrat Trade Unionists ! Certainly I was a child of the Thatcher years and I’m in politics to counter the politics of greed, authoritarianism and self-interest that the the Tories represent.