Last Thursday when I went down to London for an LGA Safer Communities Conference, I had one of those nightmare train journeys and it just made me wonder why the devil is the boss of Network Rail paid in excess of One Million Pounds.

Yes, he receives over £1 million; indeed he receives £1,244,000 just for making sure the network is up to scratch, and then hopefully our trains should run on time and faster – we believe. Well, that’s how the systems suppose to work.

However, on Thursday I arrived in plenty of time at Grimsby Town station at 15.40 ready for the 14.03 which was suppose to be heading for Newark, but yes your right it was cancelled. At 15.50 there was a very polite announcement to say that this train had been cancelled; however there was no indication why, we just had to leave over the bridge, and catch the coach in front of the station foyer.

I naturally followed the instructions without question, I had no other choice - I was frightened in case I missed the coach. It soon became apparent that this coach was not going to get me to Newark in time for my connection to get me into London for a reasonable time; therefore I would be arriving late.

At each stop we promptly pulled alongside the railway station and when we arrived at Lincoln I was the only person left on the coach; therefore the driver asked if I would like to get on a train to resume my journey. I replied rather abruptly that I had to catch a connection for London which I was already late for, and would there be a train arriving in Lincoln to go to Newark – he enquired, and then promptly said it would be advisable for me to take the train on Platform 3. I quickly raced over the bridge for the next leg of my journey.

On arriving in Newark I looked at the message board to see what time the next train was in, it was the 18.51 to London. The board said it was due in at 18.54; then all of a sudden it said it was On Time – WOW that’s the first good bit of news of the day – the train must be motoring! I waited and waited; 18.51 went by; and 18.54 went by; and at 18.54 a message came up on the board that the train had arrived, but still no train. It eventually arrived at 18.55 and departed at 19.00 hours.

 Now that’s how I really know why, Ian Coucher the boss of Network Rail is worth his weight in gold; indeed £1,244.000 a year.

    Commenting on the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, Liberal Democrat Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Steve Webb said: “This report shows the gravity of the climate change crisis and the need for urgent changes to the way we generate our electricity, heat our homes and power our transport.”

“However, it risks giving the green light to years of new dirty coal-fired power plants which could completely undermine Britain’s position on climate change.

“It is simply too high a risk to allow new coal plants like Kingsnorth on the basis of the promise that its carbon emissions will be captured at some point in the future.

“The UK needs to make dramatic strides on energy efficiency, supporting renewables and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. We should not go ahead with unabated coal.”

Speaking ahead of an expected announcement by the Minister of State for Children Schools and Families, Ed Balls; Lynne Featherstone the local MP spoke of about the independent report that is due to be given to ministers later, and her hopes that Haringey “will have a whole new start”.

“The question is now when Ed Balls reads the report, what is he actually going to deliver.

“For us in Haringey who are scarred from what happened with Victoria Climbie, the least we expect is for him to put Haringey into special measures.

“We need to know that other children in Haringey are being held safe. We hope that social workers and good managers will want to work in Haringey with zeal.

Lynne Featherstone added: “This time it has to be for always that we have a whole new start.”

Outlining the Liberal Democrat proposals for Childcare Revolution, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg said anti-social behaviour among Britain’s youth could be tackled by introducing more generous family policies.  

For more details about the Liberal Democrat proposal for the Childcare Revolution read the previous post in detail.  

Nick Clegg told the BBC’s Politics Show: “We have more… young boys going off the rails when they hit their teenage years in this country than almost anywhere else in Europe”.  

“All the evidence now shows that one of the big reasons that this happens is because we have too many young boys who do not have positive male role models in their life from an early stage.”

   Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg have unveiled plans for free childcare for every family, and 19 months of paid leave for both parents to share.

   Under the new proposals, all families would get free, flexible childcare for toddlers. They would also get 19 months of shared, paid leave that offers both parents the chance to play an important part in the early months of their children’s lives.

   Nick Clegg said: “Britain is a long way off becoming a child-friendly country. Our childcare provisions are among the worst in Europe. They discriminate against workless parents and freeze fathers out of looking after their young children. What we need is a childcare revolution.

“Finding childcare that fits around a family’s needs can be a real struggle for parents.

“The Liberal Democrats want to make things easier for parents and give children the best start in life by providing free, good quality childcare for every family.

“With family budgets getting tighter, more parents are looking at going back to work or training to bring in some extra money. The need for flexible and affordable childcare has therefore never been more urgent.

“As a father of two young sons, I know what a struggle it can be for fathers to take time off work to spend with their newborn child.

“Paid parental leave - giving both parents the opportunity to spend meaningful time with their baby - will put mothers and fathers on a more equal footing and give families a chance to bond and enjoy those important first months.” 

Ever since this Labour Government came to power our unwritten constitution has changed rapidly, it is now time to hold ministers to account for their actions.   

No longer do we expect ministers to resign when something goes wrong in their department, and when a minister is about to make a statement it is expected that it should not be leaked – well what happened before the pre-budget statement. 

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg talking about the latest fiasco, he said he thought it was implausible that ministers were not told about the investigation into Damian Green before he was arrested. Nick Clegg said: “I find it either implausible that ministers were not told about this investigation or it’s just down right incompetent. This is breaking centuries of tradition about how a parliament works.”

“I think there are still plenty of questions about why she wasn’t told.”

When opposition politicians heard about Damian Green’s arrest, many of us asked ourselves the same question: “When did it become a crime to hold the Government to account?”

We already operate in a system where Parliament is effectively neutered, little more than a rubber stamp for legislation that ministers have already decided.

Throwing a spotlight on information the Government would rather keep hidden is an essential part of our democracy. And when dealing with an administration legendary for its secrecy, you increasingly have to rely on whistle-blowers to see the full picture.

We already operate in a system where Parliament is effectively neutered, little more than a rubber stamp for legislation that ministers have already decided.

Our political system is already in deep trouble: sinking public confidence in MPs, feeble parliamentary scrutiny, a rigid culture of Whitehall secrecy, and an electoral system that hands unprecedented powers to governments freed from any meaningful scrutiny from other parties.

This unprecedented arrest is a wake-up call. We must save our broken democracy.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg

    Jenny Willott is right to speak out today of all days, we are near the end of November; people are being tempted to spend, spend, spend. It’s money that they simply do not have. This year it is going to be a difficult Christmas for many families and individuals in downturn, credit or recession – call it what you want, but the fact remains times are hard for all sections of society. 

Today Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Jenny Willott called on the government in an interview for BBC to “practice what they are preaching” and increase the money available for crisis loans. 

“The thing that’s worrying is that the proportion of applications that have been turned down is much higher than it has been before. 

“At a time when more people are desperate even more people are being refused,” she said. 

Jenny Willott added: “This is at a time when the government is telling banks to lend more money but they are not practicing what they are preaching”. 

While she said that better training for staff would also improve the system, she added: “The government does need to put more money in at a time when people are struggling so people can get the loans they need”. 

North East Lincolnshire Council identified Central Promenade as a key development site within the resort which aims to ‘raise the bar’ in terms of design quality expectations and act as a catalyst for future regeneration in the central and northern parts of the resort.

In April 2007, the Council adopted the Central Promenade Development Brief as a Supplementary Planning Document. The future vision for the site is to bring forward a development which:

Ø       Significantly enhances the visitor offer in Cleethorpes

Ø       Provides a high quality focal point and destination linked to its setting

Ø       Fully exploits the views, levels and seafront location in a sensitive manner

Ø       Is designed so as to minimise impact on the environment over the life of the development

Ø       Provides an active frontage and use throughout the day

The site went through a marketing and selection process earlier this year. The process included a very successful 2 day public consultation event where members of the public were asked to comment on the shortlisted design proposals. Further public consultation was undertaken in September by the preferred developer, to demonstrate how the designs have developed using the feedback received from the first public event. The estimated start date of construction is October 2009 with the development due to be open for the summer season of 2011. 

Have Your Say On The Central Promenade Development>

   Commenting on the arrest of Damian Green, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: “Damian Green’s arrest is a mayday warning for our democracy.”

   “British democracy is in danger when opposition politicians get arrested by teams of counter-terrorism officers.

“Lord Carlile of Berriew, the Independent Reviewer of the Government’s terrorism legislation, has confirmed to me that he has not yet received any official response to his inquiries about whether counter-terrorism powers were invoked in the arrest.

“Lord Carlile also confirmed to me that he could not currently envisage any circumstances in which these powers could have been justified in this case.

“This is something you might expect from a tin-pot dictatorship, not in a modern democracy.

“The way we are governed is already more secretive, less democratic and more centralised than anywhere else in the developed world.

“Intimidating opposition MPs with police action will snuff out the few remaining powers of scrutiny they have.

“Gordon Brown must now do two specific things. He must rule out any further use of anti-terrorism powers in cases that have nothing to do with terrorism and he must confirm when the Home Secretary was informed of the police raids.

“It is the height of hypocrisy for ministers to use sensitive information to secure favourable headlines and stand idly by while opposition politicians get arrested for seeking to shed light on the Government.”