Liberal Bureaucracy

The musings of a liberal and an internationalist, living in Suffolk's county town. There may be references to parish councils, bureaucracy and travel, amongst other things. And yes, I'm a Liberal Democrat.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Bones Commission: are we our own worst enemies sometimes?

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Having met a large swathe of the Welsh Party in South Wales over the past few days, I have been impressed by their enthusiasm and sense of o...
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Update: Most ghastly woman award

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Hurry! I may not be able to prevent myself from carrying out restorative justice...

Mothers can be really enbarrassing sometimes...

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I'm on the 16:25 from Cardiff Central to Paddington, minding my own business. The mother and daughter combo sitting across the aisle on ...
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The Germans are coming, the Germans are coming. Oh, they're here...

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As readers of Ros's blog will be aware, we've been in Wales, meeting members and, in between, enjoying some scenery. I've not be...
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A first for Liberal Bureaucracy

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I've been to my first ever meeting of full council today - in Neath Port Talbot. It lasted 16 minutes, including a welcome to Ros from b...

Bones Commission: goodbye Devon & Cornwall, hello South West?

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Before I start, I should note the wise words of a Party insider, who has reminded me that the Bones Commission report is only an advisory on...
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Sometimes, just sometimes, Government enables rather than interfering...

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News reaches me of that a new service is being tested that ensures people only have to tell the government once about births and deaths. The...
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The perils of taking Facebook too seriously

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Jo Anglezarke has recently commented on her recent problems with Facebook , and I find myself sympathising with her, at least to some exte...
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Better late than never: the best blog entries wot I wrote...

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This may be the last response to Alex Wilcock's invitation and, technically, I've missed the deadline set. However, you're all a...
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Monday, August 25, 2008

Total Politics - insensitive to its female readers or too sensitive to criticism?

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I've been having a bit of a row with Iain Dale this evening, after I made a throwaway remark about his new enterprise, 'Total Poli...
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HM Revenue & Customs: as I was saying earlier...

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The Guardian today raises further concerns about the performance, attitude and approach of HM Revenue & Customs. Its report doesn't...
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My life with Scarlett O'Hara

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Issue 3 of 'Total Politics' has been published and, whilst I wouldn't normally promote a magazine which, thus far, has been less...
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Friday, August 22, 2008

The Bones Commission: everybody wants a box of chocolates and a long stem rose…

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And so the Executive Summary was published, to the sound of an orchestra of badly played kazoos. To be honest, after all the conjecture, the...
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To Inverness and beyond!

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I'd never been any further north than Dingwall until this trip, but I'd have to say that Orkney is well worth the trip. A place that...
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Thursday, August 21, 2008

A gentle ramble through my family history

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Whilst my father's side of my family is fairly well documented, my mother's is all a bit vague. As a result, the opportunity present...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Glenn Gould - the genius of eccentricity

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The other advantage of having my laptop with me is that I can listen to music whilst I while away the miles. Over the years, I've become...

On my way to the Kingdom of Fife - a complete coincidence, your Honour...

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I'm actually on my way to St Andrews today, so this piece comes to you live from the 13:00 National Express East Coast service from King...
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European Selection, South East England: it gives me great pleasure to announce...

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the result of the announced recount for the list, following the withdrawal of Murari Kaushik and, subsequently, Martin Lury. As already stat...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Jo, silence doesn't imply apathy, it might just imply that I don't need to waste my time repeating what someone else is likely to say rather better

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I have a lot of time for Jo Christie-Smith . So much, in fact, that I encouraged her to apply for the selection of a PPC for Dulwich & W...
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Monday, August 11, 2008

Why you might want to invest your money somewhere else if the Conservatives win the next General Election

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I don't normally read the Observer on a Sunday morning/afternoon, as it's a bit on the worthy side. However, Ros picked it up this...
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About Me

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Mark Valladares
Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Not your average bureaucrat, I live in the heart of Suffolk’s county town, Ipswich, with my rather more interesting wife, Ros. I’m coming to the end of my adventures in the first tier of local government, having chaired Creeting St Peter Parish Council for eight years. I travel as much as work allows, play a minor backroom role in the Liberal Democrats, and walk 10,000 steps a day…
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