Wardman Wire Magazine

A Talk with Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat Leader

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:00:00 +0000

The Catch21 team has a casual chat with Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, on a range of topics from the current economic crisis to faith schools.

A Talk with Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat Leader

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:00:00 +0000

The Catch21 team has a casual chat with Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, on a range of topics from the current economic crisis to faith schools.

New Plaid Cymru Defence Policy: Self-Assured Destruction

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:30:59 +0000

"Welsh Culture Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas has resigned after claims he walked in to a pub holding a lit cigar."

Rhodri Glyn Thomas to lose his job as Welsh Culture Minister?

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:56:21 +0000

Via Valleysmam:

Reports tonight point to Rhodri Glyn Thomas (Ed: Minister for Heritage in the Welsh Assembly Government) being asked to leave his post as Culture Minister.

How do the public access reports “placed in the House of Commons Library”?

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:50:02 +0000

A number of Written Ministerial statements refer to “Copies of the documents have been placed in the Vote Office and the Libraries of both Houses”.

I'm based in the Midlands - so I need to know how I can review these findings at a time when Parliament is not sitting, or even when it is in session.

I thought I would ask them to find out.

[Update 16:15: 18/7/2008. For the document I am currently interested in, I received a response to my email with a web location within 35 minutes. Most impressive, and a credit to the House of Commons Information Office.]

Ministerial Written Statements Summer 2008: The Final Batch

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:50:05 +0000

A brief update to my previous posting.

On the last day of the Parliamentary Session, another 46 Ministerial Written Statements were released. That makes 98 since last Thursday.

To be fair, that is less than last-year's 117 in the last 3 days.

Some nuggets:

* Planning Inspectorate Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08.
* Equitable Life - again.
* Free Cash Machines (Low-income Areas). Provide 600 new free cash machines in poor areas. Is PO closure negating this programme?
* Food: Poultry Register
* EU: Financial Management and Fraud
* Revenue and Customs: The next stage in the reorganisation. Looks relatively innocuous.
* Review of Civil Aviation Authority
* Local Transport Bill: "measures to improve public transport and tackle road congestion.". Hmmm - one for Councillors.
* Annual Reports: Jobcentre Plus (HC 707), the Pension Service (HC 855), the Disability and Carers Service (HC 719), and the Rent Service (HC 729).
* The annual report and accounts of the Child Support Agency will be laid before the House shortly. (Does that mean during the break? - or is that shortly as in "next October".)

Doubtless some innocuous, but others ....

The list is here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wms/?d=2008-07-17

Think-tank Roundup 18 - 18th July 2008

cassilis — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:35:53 +0000

A weekly roundup of publications, reports, events & articles from the leading UK think tanks. This week’s ‘must read’ item is the Theos report on the role of Christianity in Britain today, more details below. Other than that enjoy and as ever please flag anything I may have missed. Also if anyone would like to be [...]

Zimbabwe will be a country of Mathematical Geniuses

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:30:00 +0000

One of the few good things that can be said about Mr Mugabe is that he is creating a country of Maths geniuses, and future weightlifting champions.

Nowhere else in the world does your average 6 or 8 year old sent out on an errand to buy a loaf of bread have to deal with numbers in the ~~millions~~ tens of millions without parental help, carrying currency around by the bucketload.

This note is 10 million Zimbabwe dollars. As you can see from the date, it is now obsolete.

Let's go backwards through history to explain the Mathematical Genuises and look at the price of bread - remember that this staple is price-controlled by the government.

ZcTV Economics Report by the Tea Chicken

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Robert Mugabe's greatest achievement may well be to create a nation of heavily muscled Maths geniuses.

This note is 10 million Zimbabwe dollars. As you can see from the date, it is now obsolete because the numbers are too small.

Ratification

thunderdragon — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:35:00 +0000

The government has now formally ratified the EU Constitution Lisbon Treaty. In doing this, they have sidestepped the courts, and shoved two fingers in the direction of the British people. We wanted to vote on it, and successfully stalled ratification. But the government have now gone on anyway, despite their being a hearing today on whether [...]

New Political Video on the Wardman Wire: Catch 21 Productions

catch-21-productions — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:44:00 +0000

This morning I'd like to introduce a new development on the Wardman Wire; we will be carrying political videos made by the Internet Political TV project Catch 21 Productions.

Catch21 is a production company which produces shows which aim to encourage an informed and politically active young electorate.

I thought that an appearance made by the company on the programme "Look North" made in December 2007 would be a good introduction. The people who run Catch 21 will introduce themselves before long.

New Political Video on the Wardman Wire: Catch 21 Productions

catch-21-productions — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:44:00 +0000

This morning I'd like to introduce a new development on the Wardman Wire; we will be carrying political videos made by the Internet Political TV project Catch 21 Productions.

Catch21 is a production company which produces shows which aim to encourage an informed and politically active young electorate. This is an appearance made by the company on the programme "Look North" in December 2007.

The Season to examine Ministerial Written Statements for Smuggled Proposals

admin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:05:37 +0000

Parliament closes this week until after the Party Conferences, and reopens in October.

It is the best season of the year for a certain sort of blogger or journalist. It is the time when Government Departments publish Written Ministerial Statements by the shedload, in order to "clear the desk". Certain unsympathetic people will note that it is also the optimum time to publish unpopular proposals which will affect public image, since it is the time where there is the maximum delay - until October - before scrutiny in Parliament will be possible.

For specialist bloggers and perhaps for occasional Comment is Free writers, it is an opportunity for detailed research without the day to day grind of political knockabout as a distraction.

Conservative MPs Expenses Declarations

thunderdragon — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:15:00 +0000

I’m seriously impressed. This something that I called for just over a month ago, and they have produced it. However, I do have some criticisms: To start with, there is no summary of the full amount that each MP has claimed from the taxpayer under expenses. This makes a real comparison harder, though I’m sure that there [...]

Web Statistics Media Pantomime

admin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:30:00 +0000

I posted a short piece about the Guardian Media Top 100 yesterday mentioning Guido, and the obligatory link back to the "Newsnight experience". During the skewering of Guido, Jeremy Paxman said:

Facts are treated very loosely in the blogosphere, aren't they?

This cuts both ways, especially when numbers are involved - we all need to get the facts straight.

So let's have the final visit to the Sunday Independent's article a couple of weeks ago about web statistics to see an example of "facts treated very loosely in the media".