Tag Archives: terry stacy

Opinion: Under Occupation – The Catch 22 of the Welfare Reform Bill

Most of the measures in the Welfare Reform Bill are extremely sensible. Designed to streamline a byzantine system where fraud was far too easy and anomalies like benefit recipients living in million pound mansions too common (though not as common as the Daily Mail would have you believe!).

During the passage of the Bill, the Liberal Democrats have managed to curb some of the worst excesses of our coalition partners. For example, we got rid of the idea that people on Job Seekers Allowance for more than a year would lose 10% of their housing benefit. It is measures like this …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 4 Comments

Liberal Democrats receive Queen’s Birthday Honours

Graham Watson, Liberal Democrat MEP for South West England and Gibraltar, has received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2011.

He’s listed under Knights Bachelor – Knighthoods:

Graham Robert WATSON, MEP. For public and political services.

Congratulations, Sir Graham!

Also:

Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 8 Comments

Brian Coleman tops lists of expense claims, again

Conservative London Assembly member Brian Coleman has often been in the news over the years for his expense claims (not to mention his attempt to ban questions of himself), so I hesitate slightly to says it is “news” that new figures from the London Fire Brigade show him topping the list of expense claims:

Assembly Member
Brian Coleman April 2010 to March 2011 £3,480.20
Darren Johnson April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Gareth Bacon April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Mike Tuffrey April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Murad Qureshi April 2010

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Donna Boffa RIP

Sad news has reached us here at Lib Dem Voice that Islington Councillor Donna Boffa died today after a long illness.

From the Islington Tribune:

Cllr Boffa, 43, was first elected to represent Bunhill ward in 2003, in a by-election following the death of Lib Dem Cllr Rose Wooding. She leaves behind five children.

Islington Council leader Lib Dem Cllr Terry Stacy said: “Donna was a fighter right through to the end. From the day she was elected a councillor, Donna never forgot where she came from or who she was there to represent. Donna was all about helping the people without

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Boris Johnson brings the house down

The Mayor of London, who is in charge of the capital’s planning issues, was told to remove a wooden summer house at his Islington home because it was built without planning permission.

From the Times:

Council officers ordered Boris Johnson to remove the shed from a balcony at his home, a Grade II listed building in a conservation area of Islington, North London.

Islington Council wrote to Mr Johnson to tell him that the shed required planning permission because it was within the curtilage of a listed building.

“Planning enforcement officers advised Mr Johnson that the shed did not have planning

Posted in London and News | Also tagged and | 1 Comment

CommentIsLinked@LDV… Terry Stacy: Councils must be transparent and accountable about surveillance

Well, it’s not quite an op-ed article, but there’s a detailed letter from Lib Dem leader of Islington Council, Cllr Terry Stacy, urges all councils to follow Islington’s example, and reject the local use of surveillance powers. Here’s an excerpt:

… local government really is on the frontline of Britain’s expanding surveillance state – councillors and council leaders need to be held accountable for their decisions. Councillors must decide whether they embrace the surveillance society, or reject it and introduce checks and balances and public democratic oversight of the local use of surveillance powers, as the Liberal Democrats have done

Posted in LibLink and Local government | Also tagged and | 1 Comment

Opinion: RIPA – Lib Dems are leading the way in improving scrutiny of council surveillance

As the latest series of reality show Big Brother graces our TV screens, I wonder if all those millions of viewers remember that – 60 years since George Orwell published 1984 – we are increasingly living in a Big Brother Britain?

As the new leader of Islington’s Liberal Democrat council I wanted us to do our bit in rolling back the surveillance state that has been growing up around us under twelve years of Labour Government. That’s why I’m following the example of other Liberal Democrat councils like Oldham in making the council’s use of its investigatory surveillance powers more transparent, …

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  • Nigel Jones
    Likewise the many passages in both Old and New Testaments that show God's strong care for the poor. Then there are the prophets' attacks on leaders who don't ca...
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    @Roland Absolute poverty in India has dramatically declined since 1993. A new rich and a large middle class has emerged but the poor are better off too....
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