Help my school win £10,000

Can you spare 1 minute to help my school win £10,000? Over 50 children in my school have taken part in the 'Fairy Schools Challenge'. They have designed a plate of Good Wishes for Team GB in the Olympics.

All you need to do is:

1. Visit the Fairy Schools Challenge website.
2. Click 'Vote Now'
3. Search for 'Leverton'
4. Choose one of our plates (the one you like best)
5. Vote

Please share this with as many of your friends as possible. The more votes we get, the greater the chance of winning and winning £10,000.

Michele Rawlings Found

Great news. It is reported that Michele Rawlings has been found. I would like to send my love to her family.

Missing: Michelle Rawlings

Please help find Michelle Rawlings. I have known Michelle a number of years now. She was a lifeguard at Waltham Abbey Swimming Pool and we did our swimming teaching qualification together. In 2010 her husPublish Postband helped with Ann Haigh's campaign, and his Aunt has tweeted about Michelle's disappearance. She attends a parent and toddler group with one of my teachers and I received a text message earlier from my teacher to help spread the news.

My thoughts are with the family. Let's hope Michelle returns home safely quickly.

Scottish Independence: English Fairness?

With the fuss surrounding the timing of Scottish Independence Referendum, it makes me wonder whether the party has missed the mood of the public once again. Either that or our leaders were very short sighted in the first place.

When devolution was proposed, one obvious question was not answered. What to do with England?

As a proud Englishman I feel outraged that Welsh and Scottish MPs can enforce laws on the people of England, whilst vice versa isn’t possible.

I believe that an English Parliament is the only way ahead, allowing English people to vote for parliamentarians to make decisions that directly affect them; on health, on education and on economic development.

We should have taken a bold stance in 1997, setting up a parliament in each of the countries to allow local representatives to make decisions on local issues. Then one Federal Government to make decisions that affect the United Kingdom; namely defence.

Voters know exactly what they want. They often vote for one party to represent them locally, yet another nationally.

Without empowerment for the people England, I am certain that a vast majority will encourage Scottish voters to vote for independence and the demise of the Union once and for all.

Yes to AV campaign packs up and goes home

I noticed that the Yes to Fairer votes campaign have already packed up and gone home. They have taken down their website already.

I must admit I was very disappointed with how the campaign was run, especially as there wasn't a free post.

Now we want an English Parliament

Counting is now over and the referendum in Wales has been won and about time too. Now Welsh politicians can be held to account. If they have promised to do something, they can no longer blame Westminster for holding up the delivery of the project.

Now as a proud Englishman I feel the previous Labour government and current coalition governement are discriminating against me. On key areas of policy, like health, education and housing, Welsh people, Scottish people and and residents of Northern Ireland can vote for the their fellow men/women to lead on these areas. Yet I do not have the same opportunity. Instead decisions on these areas are made in Westminster, by all members, whether representing English, Scottish, Welsh etc. How unfair is this?

So with direct law making powers in three or the four nations of the United Kingdom, it's time for English people to be on a level playing field and an English Parliament is established.

Olympic legacy beginning to take shape

This is just the sort of action I was calling for in my blog post last week. Well done British athletics!

We must not leave legacy to West Ham United alone

As an athletic supporter I warmly welcome the decision by the Olympic Park Legacy Company to back West Ham's bid to take over the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

I for one think 2012, along with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, will be a great year for Britain and I am looking forward to spending everyday supporting the Olympics and Para Olympics during my summer holiday.

When we won the bid, we promise legacy. We promised that from the birth of the Olympic Stadium, Britain will have a world class athletics venue. To be honest it wasn't until I visited the Barcelona Olympic Stadium last year that I truly realised the need for a stadium athletics can call their home in Britain.

It was during that time that I realised that Britain had never hosted a European Championships. I have subsequently found out that we have never hosted a World Championships. Two major championships, the first where we did so well last year, that help to inspire our athletes to do their best, to become the top of the game. And we have never hosted them.

So now that the legacy of athletics is secured we must get behind West Ham to ensure that legacy is fulfilled. We need to put pressure on the government, Mayor of London and British Athletics Associations to bid to stage this major events and bring them to London. Otherwise the need for an athletics stadium will disappear and football may well take it over once and for all.

Is Vince's indiscretion David Laws's opportunity?

So it looks like the coalition is finishing the year just as it started in May, with a Liberal Democrat resignation. Vince, for whatever reason (stupidity, tiredness or planned) has not only voiced his concern over the direction the coalition is taking, but also over inflating his own self worth.

History tells you that no-one is indispensable and Vince Cable's latest opinions are not so much a problem for the coalition but more of a problem with his own credibility.

But more importantly do these latest revelations about Vince Cable open the door for David Laws to return to front line politics? Only time will tell.

More pieces of the tuition fees policy we trip over

It seems that another concession is being made to try and buy MPs' votes on tuition fees tomorrow. In fact the coalition's original proposals seem to be in such tatters that we have to be careful where to walk in case we trip over them!

With this further concession, which only has an impact if salaries do not rise in line of inflation, then surely it is time to prospone Thursday's vote and spend longer in coming up with a policy that will have less of an impact on the future of higher education and the poorer in our society.

Coaliton agreement does not commit to higher tuition fees

One of the few arguments that Lib Dems members, who are accepting the rise in tuition fees, are making is that this decision is acceptable because we are a (minor) player in a coalition government and not all our policies can be made into law; it's about give and take. Well looking back at the coalition agreement it does not mention anything about increase in tuition fees.

The agreement states:

We will await Lord Browne’s final report into higher education funding, and will judge its proposals against the need to:
– increase social mobility;
– take into account the impact on student debt;
– ensure a properly funded university sector;
– improve the quality of teaching;
– advance scholarship; and
– attract a higher proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

So on receipt of the Browne report Vince Cable and his team could quite easily have looked at the report and drawn up their own proposals. Especially as the recommendations don't take into account the impact on student debt, after all it increases the amount of debt our young will get into.

The proposals also will have an impact on the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the government must know this. Why else would they rush to announce proposals to give students from poorer backgrounds a year free tuition?

So the coalition did not have to follow the road it has taken. Our MPs should now uphold the pledge they made and vote with a clear conscience against the rise when it is debated on Thursday.

Maybe competition is a good thing

In September I wrote a blog entry about competiton. A new bus service started between Loughton and Waltham Abbey, running a few minutes before the established one and charging less.

My main concern was that competition made lead to the regulated service being withdrawn and then prices will rise whilst the quality of service would be fall. I have since found out that the service I use, run by Arriva Buses, in fact are not regulated.

Well this week Arriva is fighting back with new ticket prices, with a range of weekly and monthly tickets that works out to be less than a 5 x single fares.

So competition does seem to be making things better for the consumer, although spreading the services throughout the day more evenly and making tickets transferable between the services would also be welcome.

Coalition's tuition fee policy in tatters

The saga over tuition fees continues. First there is the backlash after the coalition announced it was going to raise the current cap. Then there has been will he, won't he episodes over whether Vince Cable will vote for the shift in policy, abstain or vote against. Now a new day brings a new announcement that the poorest in society will only leave with two-thirds of the level of debt than others.

This latest development surely it proves that two things. The first that the voice of Lib Dem members/ voters, whether it is through the numerous petitions set up, letters written or the falling numbers in the polls, are started to be heard. And secondly, that there is unease amongst the coalition ahead of Thursday's vote.

Surely with such uncertainty, it is best for the vote to be cancelled on Thursday and the government to reconsider its plans and wait until they have a well-thought out policy before bringing it to the House of Commons.

Simon does the Wright thing

Following on from his wishy, washy letter I received last week, (although I should at least give him the credit for replying as the other MPs haven't) Simon Wright, Lib Dem MP for Norwich South, has now come out against the planned rise in tuition fees and will not vote against it next week.

This is great news for everyone who has put pressure on the MP to do the right thing and honour the pledge he made prior to the general election. When Vince Cable announced the policy in October, I decided to stay with the only party I have been a member of and fight this insane policy. I am pleased that the petition I set up has contributed to changing the mind of one of our MPs.

Now that Simon has come out publicly we have under a week to change the mind of many others, so please do sign the petition.

Vince defending the undefendable

Watching proceedings from the House of Commons this evening, I find myself cheering on the Members of Parliament from the Labour benches. They certainly are giving Vince Cable a hard time on tuition fees as Vince tries to defend the undefendable.

As one Labour MP pointed out, the Liberal Democrats fought the election with a clear plan to abolish tuition fees. Yes, the Lib Dems did not win an outright majority, but supporting a rise is a major u-turn that shouldn't be accepted. Our MPs have got to have some backbone and vote against it, not to abstain.

As Vince sat down he was patted on the back by a number of Conservative MPs. Our ministers must remember that they are Lib Dems in a coalition government not a Conservative in a Conservative government.

Appearing in the Golden Dozen again

In my experience there seems to be 3 ways to get a post on one's blog read the most. The first do extremely well in an election. The second to threaten to leave the party. And finally, criticise the leadership.

Well last week I managed to again appear in Lib Dem Voice's Golden Dozen, the forth time in as many weeks. This time I was concerned that the voice of the ordinary members of the Lib Dem is worth nothing if the leadership ignores it once they get into government. You can read the blog post here.

Is AV the reason why the Lib Dems are performing so poorly?

We are hearing it again and again that the Liberal Democrats are losing supporters all across the country and we are receiving low opinion polls month upon month. So could AV be the reason for this?

I am a broad supporter of the coalition. I believe it was necessary to have a stable government at a time when the economic situation in the country was gloomy, to the say the least. I know that coalition is about drawing up government proposals that both parties will not be completely happy with, but it just seems to me that pushing AV through parliament means that we have lost our bargaining power on other policy areas.

I remember that weekend after the election and welcoming the protesters visiting the Lib Dem HQ and Nick Clegg speaking to them, but looking back in hindsight this my have given the impression that the Lib Dems stood for only one thing, proportionate representation. This is not worthy of a party that is looking to have a large say on how the country is run.

I am suggesting rather than each party trying to get a complete policy through eg The Conservatives get 'Free Schools' in turn for us getting all our constitutional reform bills through, as a party we should have bargained policy by policy. This would mean we would get reform of the House of Lords, but wouldn't get a referendum on the Alternative Vote.

In turn we could have negotiated a much better settlement for Higher Education, that reflects more the Liberal Democrat policy of abolishing tuition fees. We may not have got the abolished, but maybe the current cap would stay in place and upfront fees would be abolished.

This way true Liberal Democrat policies in each area would be introduced and the party would not be seen as a one trick pony whose only interest in government is to get fairer votes.

Personal triumph

Last Sunday I achieved something that I always anted to do. I ran!

Since June I have been trying to lose weight by regular visits to the gym and eating more sensibly. Then about 2 months ago a teacher at work had signed up to run 5k in aid of the RNLI. So I decided to sign up to work towards a goal. I then persuaded some of the Explorers at the Scout Group I belong to to join me.

So last Sunday, I donned my antlers and red nose and ran the 5K. Next step 10k!

Woolly uncommitted answer from Simon Wright MP

Earlier in the week I received a reply to the letter and petition I sent to Lib Dem MP Simon Wright. A copy can be seen in the photographs.

It is probably what one would expect. Very woolly. Very uncommitted. Very much doing what the party leadership want.

In one paragraph Simon still believes in free higher education, but dismissed it in another because we can't have all our own way in the coalition and current economic downturn.

In another he said the Browne recommendations is a graduation tax in all but name (what the NUS want). Yet in another he says graduates earning £25,000 will only pay back £30 a month, but he doesn't say how long this will take to pay off the whole loan and where he gets the £4000 from.

After all this praise for the recommendation, Simon then gives us a bit of (false?) hope saying he still undecided how to vote.

At this time we need our MPs to stand up and make their voice heard, not praising the recommendations but dithering how to vote.

Petition Success?

Hidden right at the bottom of the this article, published by The Independent, was a throw away comment that Lorely Burt, Chair of our Parliamentary Party and MP for Solihull, will vote against the rise in tuition fees.

Lorely was one MP who my petition, Lib Dems Against Tuition Fees, was sent to, because more than 183 people had signed it. 183 being a significant number because if this number deserted the party in Solihull then Lorely would not be re-elected.

I haven't had a reply to my letter from Lorely and I am sure there are many factors that helped her come to her decision, but I hope my petition was one of these.

The full quote is:

"The Lib Dem party chairman, Lorely Burt, told activists in Solihull yesterday that she would not vote in favour of the rise."

What's the point of being a Lib Dem Member?

The Liberal Democrats have always prided itself on being the most democratic political party. Prided itself allowing its members to make decisions on all aspects of policy (and some time this has led to the media having a field day when reporting on our conferences), which in turn creates a volt of ideas that the leadership choose from to form basis of the party's manifesto at election. But it is clear from Vince Cable's remarks this morning that our leadership does not believe in this?

Vince Cable is making the rounds across the television networks promoting the coalition 'new' policy of increasing the cap on tuition fees, as we all know by now in contrast to official Lib Dem policy, although one chosen to feature so predominately in the last campaign.

If Vince think this policy isn't binding, although voted by Lib Dem members and chosen by the leadership to campaign on, then it begs the questions- what is the point of being a Liberal Democrat Member?

Petition sent to Annette Brooke MP

As I wrote previously, the momentum is continuing with many more people signing the petition, Lib Dems Against Tuition Fees. Within a week over 100 more people have signed it (over 270 signatories in total) and I have now sent a letter to Annette Brooke MP.

Annette Brooke signed the NUS pledge and the press release can be found on her website here. After signing the pledge Annette said

'it is desperately important that the Government recognises that driving up student fees will drive away students. We need a fairly costed alternative to an increase in top up fees that means that students do not leave burdened with a lifetime of debt.'

The policy announced by the coalition government means that our future graduates would have just that, debts for a lifetime.

The full copy of the letter is below:

Dear Mrs Brooke,

I am writing to you enclosing a petition signed by over 270 Liberal Democrat members and voters against raising the cap on tuition fees.

We are angry that the party’s leadership has so warmly welcomed the Browne Report into funding of Higher Education and has announced that the cap on tuition fees will rise to £9,000, in contrast to party policy voted by members at our conference.

As you are aware, 270 is a significant number. If this amount of Lib Dem voters in your constituency desert the party and stay at home or vote for another candidate next time, then you will not be returned as Member of Parliament.

After signing the NUS pledge you said in a press release (still viewable on your website) that 'it is desperately important that the Government recognises that driving up student fees will drive away students. We need a fairly costed alternative to an increase in top up fees that means that students do not leave burdened with a lifetime of debt.' The policy announced by the coalition government means that our future graduates would have just that, debts for a lifetime.

Therefore, I urge you to uphold the NUS pledge that you signed prior to being elected and come out publically and say you will not back these proposals to raise the cap on tuition fees and will work towards abolishing them altogether.

I have also enclosed a copy of an entry from my blog that includes a number of comments that the signatories have left.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Woollcott

Strip Clubs makes my friend the most read

I met my friend, Andrew Dangerfield who I have known since I was 6, on Friday night. He was celebrating. His article on the amount of strip clubs in the capital was the most read on the BBC website. Take a look. He is the clever one out of my friends!

Why we shouldn't be surprised at the latest revelations

It is the weekend and that must mean one thing, light news day so a perfect opportunity for the press to do what it does best, Liberal Democrat bashing!

With Clegg's admission last week that he regrets signing the tuition fees pledge, Sky is reporting that the Liberal Democrat leadership had plans not to honour the pledge when discussing a coalition and entering government.

Although, I am angry that the Lib Dems have so warmly welcomed the Browne Review and looks like a few of our Lib Dem MPs may swing the vote in favour of increasing tuition fees, I am not surprised that Nick Clegg and the leadership had these plans.

Only last year at our autumn conference there Nick Clegg was looking to abandon its policy and make it an 'aspiration' rather than something we would fight for. It was only because of the backlash from party members that Nick changed his mind and decided to campaign on the issue at election. In fact our members spoke so strongly about the issue that detail proposals were then put into place to explain to the British voters how we would afford it in the current economic downturn.

So no we shouldn't be surprised with these latest revelations, but we should stand up and say no, not in our name!

Lib Dems Against Tuition Fees- Now for Annette Brooke

The momentum is still there for my petition, against any rise in tuition fees. It has now reached a new milestone so it will now be sent to the forth Lib Dem MPs. By now you will probably have worked out the next most vulnerable MP is Annette Brooke and I will post the letter on here next week, once the Annette has had an opportunity to receive the it.

Many of members who have signed the petition has also forwarded it to their local party, county or regional email list. So please, if you haven't done so yet, inform party members of the petition and encourage all your friends, family and fellow members to sign.

Update: As of yet I have not received a reply back from Simon Wright MP, Lorely Burt MP or David ward MP. As soon as I do, I will post their response.