Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | yesterday
That was the title of my writing competition for local democracy week. Alexandra Park and Highgate Wood schools entered whole-heartedly into the whole spirit and submitted a huge amount of entries (and there were a few from other schools too). I read every single one - and have to say that many, many of them were [...]
Irfan Ahmed (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009
Many people claim they are campaign guru’s, even I have claimed it at times, but personally if an award had to be given for campaigner of the year then it should go to Liberal Democrats MP Lynne Featherstone. Lynne has spent today at her local supermarket running a surgery , now personally I think that is campaign gold. She writes on her blog about how she met around 13 people, even that many...
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009
It was a good experiment - holding an advice surgery in Budgens in Crouch End - to see if putting myself where people are enabled those who normally might not get round to making an actual appointment to see me as their MP - bring their worries to my attention. First thanks to Budgens - who [...]
Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
I'm quite sure that Scott Rennie the minister of Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen wouldn't consider himself a hero, he is far too humble a man to do that. In fact I have very little doubt that he would merely consider this year merely one of trying to do the job he wants to do and fulfil the calling that he has. However, at the Stonewall awards last night Scott won the hero of the year award . You...
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
Well - as predicted - I failed to win Politician of the Year at the Stonewall Awards last night. Ben Bradshaw (Labour Minister) won the accolade as the first openly gay Minister. I think, judging from the blurb in the program - that I was nominated because of my work both on the Equality Bill [...]
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
OK - today I am experimenting with taking my surgery out into where the people are. So between 2 and 4pm I will be in Budgens in Crouch End holding an advice surgery. It's not a gimmick - just before the naysayers say nay - it's really because I am convinced that there are lots [...]
Liberal England (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009
Once again there 14 Liberal Democrat blogs in the Wikio top 100 British political blogs. Liberal Bureaucracy has dropped out, but Andrew Reeves is a new entry and keeps up the Lib Dem numbers. 1 (5) Liberal Democrat Voice Falls 1 2 (12) Mark Reckons Climbs 1 3 (13) Charlotte Gore Falls 2 4 (27) Liberal England Falls 1 5 (28) Liberal Vision Falls 9 6 (34) Stephen's Linlithgow Journal Climbs 13 7 (44)...
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009
Well - finally - on the record - the gross unfairness of the way the Government funds schooling in Haringey. Just briefly - we get about £1183 less per child than neighbouring boroughs like Camden, Hackney and Islington. That is around £35 million a year - or more importantly - if we got fair funding [...]
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009
Have just had a very quick read of the Kelly recommendations on MP expenses. Most of the biggies have already been in the public domain via leaks: renting flats in future, no relatives and so on. Even in a quick read - it looks like Kelly has nailed it in terms of ensuring that MPs [...]
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009
Later today, 4pm in Westminster Hall, I finally get to put Haringey's case for fair funding to the Minister on the record. This is about the fact that our Haringey children get £1183 less per head than neighbouring boroughs. I have tackled Gordon in PMQs before (he agreed it was an 'anomaly'), met with now [...]
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
A while back, a Sudanese women, Lubna Hussein, was on trial for the crime of wearing trousers and was facing a flogging and lashes for wearing trousers. She resigned her UN job which would have afforded her immunity so that she could fight for Sudanese women’s human rights. Ms Hussein wanted to force the repeal of [...]
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 02/11/2009
Alan Johnson became redder and redder as his anger mounted and righteous indignation welled over in his TV defence of his sacking of Professor Nutt (you couldn't get a better name for a science professor if you tried). I thought he might explode. I think his anger is really directed at himself. He has made a [...]
And another thing... (Free subscription) | 02/11/2009
I ENJOYED my stint on The Westminster Hour last night, sharing a panel with Ed Vaizey, Lynne Featherstone and our host, Carolyn Quinn. If you missed it, you can listen to it here.
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 01/11/2009
Here's my latest Ham & High column: A few days ago I met the new CEO of First Capital Connect, the train company which services much of Haringey. I talked to Jim Morgan in particular about the issues arising from their cut backs to ticket office opening hours at Hornsey, Bowes Park, Alexandra Palace and Harringay [...]
Lynne Featherstone's Parliament and Haringey diary (Free subscription) | 01/11/2009
Finally I managed to get Transport for London (TfL), Haringey PCT and me together in the same place to discuss the need for local people to be able to access services at the new Community Health Centre at Hornsey Hospital. We have this wonderful new facility - which we all hope is going to be filled [...]
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