Celtic Energy and restitution

Private Eye no. 1380 reports that Lord Justice Fulford has rejected an attempt by the Serious Fraud Office to restore charges against directors of Celtic Energy and solicitors and a QC advising the company. The proposed prosecution centred on the sale of freeholds of four opencast sites to British Virgin Islands (BVI) companies, "Oak Regeneration and its subsidiaries, secretly controlled by two Celtic directors, to avoid or reduce the required obligation to restore the sites and to free up cash reserves held by Celtic for that purpose."

"After the sale Celtic's owner Richard Walters and finance director Leighton Humphreys were paid bonuses of £6.9m and £1.7m by a BVI company they owned."

"Celtic continues mining operations at three of the four sites. At two it is believed restoration will take place at no public cost, restoration of the other two sites remains under negotiation."

Phillip Hughes

Tributes have been justifiably generous on this side of the globe, but the Australians must have the last word about the tragic, one-in-millions chance, loss of one their own:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/vale-phillip-hughes-a-nation-thanks-you-20141127-11vdha.html

Local Income Tax

Now that the principle of devolving some income tax powers to Scotland has been accepted, notwithstanding the question of taxpayers being domiciled in one jurisdiction and employed in another, can the UK government now look seriously at the replacement of council tax by the fairer Local Income Tax?

Liberal Democrats have long been supporters of LIT, but we have not been alone.
Will Plaid Cymru include this is their general election manifesto, as they did in 2005? Will SNP revive their interest in the measure?

What bombs did George Orwell plant?

There is a Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:British_people_of_the_Spanish_Civil_War) listing, at the time of writing, 64 names of British people who volunteered to take part in the war in Spain which was a curtain-raiser for the Nazi takeover of continental Europe. Not all were on the Republican government, anti-fascist, side. Roy Campbell, for one, was vigorously anti-communist and supported Franco's Falange. Many more ordinary people joined. Some never came back, like the three memorialised in Neath's Victoria Gardens.

None that I know of imported the terror they had seen in Spain onto the streets of Britain. Indeed, the experience was an eye-opener for most. Orwell famously became a vociferous critic of Stalinism as a result. Many resumed left-wing political activity on return, but by democratic means. One at least - Sir Alfred Sherman - swung so far the other way that he finished as a cheerleader for Margaret Thatcher.

Communism was then as big a bogey as militant Islam is today. Great difficulties were put in the way of the British volunteers for Spain, but it seems that repatriation was easier. It would be surprising if local police were not advised to "keep an eye" on known supporters of either side in the Spanish conflict upon return, but there was nothing like the official demonisation of volunteers for Syria proposed by Mrs May.

To some extent the coalition has brought the difficulties on its own head. If it had not been so outspoken in favour of the forces opposing President Assad, making the anti-Alawite revolution respectable, maybe fewer Sunnis from this country would have been encouraged to join.

Neath Market at Christmas Time

Thanks to Mike Davies and Neath Guardian for this:

Neath General Market is a traditional covered market for top quality local produce. It is housed in a building dating from 1837. Renovated in 1904, the market is an eclectic place where you can find a hyper trendy posh hat and bag boutique next to a butchers' counter.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, florists, children's fashions and welsh crafts vie for attention - while your hunger pangs can be eased in one of the cafes selling traditional Welsh food along with other modern classics.

The Victorian Market is in the heart of the town and is one of very few of its kind left in Wales, situated in Green Street, it has been providing goods and visitors for 170 years. It was built in 1837 at a cost of £1650 and for a number of years it was a series of covered stalls around an open space.

In 1904 the present building was completed at a cost between £7000-£8000. In 1999, a new roof was built and the frontage improved for the Millennium retaining the Victorian features and the unique atmosphere in this ancient borough. There is a wide range of stalls - more than 50 in total, ranging from the traditional faggots and peas to flowers, butchers to books and clothing and Welsh craft. Many of the businesses operating in the market have been handed down from generation to generation.

Again this year the traders have put up Christmas decorations and is well worth a visit to bring Christmas cheer. to all who visit this historic market.

View the Video

That recommended pay rise

Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts said it would be "very, very difficult for me to look friends and neighbours in the eye" if he accepted the rise recommended by the independent panel. The reason for the recommendation is apparently to reflect the increase in work and responsibility following further devolution. I have a better idea: spread the load by increasing the number of AMs (elected by STV in multi-member constituencies, doing away with the party list, naturally!) and keep the pay the same. The overall pay bill will still go up, but AMs will not suffer the opprobrium following an increase equivalent to the total earnings of some people on less than full-time contracts.

Another good reason for Liberal Democrat MPs

This last week, a step was taken towards undoing the harm to pubs created by the Thatcher/Major governments, and allowed to continue under Blair/Brown. It is hard to see what a revolt by Tories or an amendment by Labour alone could have done what Greg Mulholland has achieved by sheer persistence.

We now need an amendment to planning law to require change of use from the new category A4 (which covers drinking establishments) to other retail categories to be subject to approval from local councillors, who are alive to the place pubs occupy in the social fabric. Since the minister responsible is Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams, I have high hopes.

Two depressing by-election results

The Rochester and Strood details can be found elsewhere. The most worrying part of the outcome is that in a campaign which (apart from the Liberal Democrats) all contenders vied for the title of "most beastly to foreigners" the most extreme policy of forced repatriation - repudiated by his party leader! - was proposed by the UKIP winner.

The other disturbing by-election result was closer to home, in the Uplands ward of Swansea City. On a turnout of 20.9% the winner was ex-Conservative, ex-Liberal Democrat, "Children Need Fathers" campaigner Peter May standing as an independent. The detailed figures:

Independent 671
Labour 553
Janet Thomas, Welsh Lib Dem 215
Green 179
Independent 158
Tory 154
Plaid 104
Socialist 31

Independent gain from Labour

Dispiriting though it is that Janet Thomas failed to regain the ward for the party which put Swansea back on its feet in 2008, and lost only in the national anti-coalition swing in 2012, it must be even more frightening for the Labour Party. If their well-funded and union-backed machine can be defeated by a one-man band, and this still linked in the minds of local electors with anti-Labour politics, then their Swansea West MP must be under threat. If their failure to hold the ward is a result of disenchantment with their national leader, then the implications for Labour nationwide are grim.