It really is the big, serious issues that truly matter

It is almost two weeks now since I completed cycling from Land’s End to John o’Groats and as my body slowly starts to recover, I have had time to reflect on the experience.

One of the most interesting aspects of being on the road for so long was the feeling of cultural isolation.

For the 10 days of cycling, I hardly read a... [more]

Reviewing the local government election results

After an election, particularly a local one, it is always best to let the dust settle before reflecting upon the results and the views of the voters.

From my perspective, last Thursday was disappointing on two counts. Firstly, turnout was in the low 30s. This is always a shame but it has become the common figure for such elections.... [more] (1 comment)

Made in Carlisle event about more than just showing off how good city is

In 1951, Carlisle held an Industrial Exhibition as part of the Festival of Britain to recognise and celebrate the success of the city’s industry and culture.

On 15th March 2013, in partnership with Carlisle College, I organised a “Made by Carlisle” event. This was an opportunity to showcase some of Carlisle’s most... [more] (1 comment)

A decision that will have a bearing for some time to come

The decision whether or not to move to the next stage of hosting a nuclear repository in Cumbria was a controversial one.

I personally believed that the councils had nothing to lose in moving to the next stage, which was simply an exploratory stage, as they could have pulled out in the future had they wanted.

In the end, of course,... [more] (10 comments)

We need change as a country and as a county

Last week saw the Liberal Democrats finally spit out their dummies and vote against the proposed boundary changes. And so, the idea of reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600 ends – at least for the foreseeable future.

We are now left with 650 MPs, even though it was part of the both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifestos... [more] (5 comments)