How MPs can use Twitter to their advanta... I’m pleased to say that my local government is pretty good at this whole internet thing. The Lichfield District Council web site should definitely be looked up to by other councils and they’re also on Twitter along with the tourism folks. But as recent talk has shown, some MPs don’t...

Government asks for 2Mbps, Virgin offers... First, let’s forget those who don’t want broadband for a second and consider only those who have and use broadband services. I’ll keep this short. How can the UK Government possibly think that asking for 2Mbps in it’s preliminary Digital Britain report is anywhere near acceptable? Virgin,...

I don’t want broadband, leave me a... There is a lot of buzz at the moment about broadband in Britain, mainly thanks to the Digital Britain report. I’m a firm believer in technology as a driver of innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation so I definitely see that as a good thing. That said, I have a feeling it might be mis-directed....

Screw society, I want to avoid tax!... Today, RBS, which is now 84% owned by the Government in economic terms (whatever that means) announced the biggest loss in British corporate history of £24.1bn. Wow. That’s a lot of money. We, the tax payers (so if you don’t pay taxes you can ignore this bit), are taking on RBS’ “toxic...

Make Parliamentary Scrutiny More Accessi... The Free Our Bills campaign from mySociety is today encouraging supporters to ask their MPs to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 2141. The campaign aims to get Parliament to publish bills in a much better way which will allow software developers to come up with new and innovative ways to present bills to the...

Who Should You Vote For?... I’m British and as such have no say in the US presidential election. However, it’s an election that affects the entire world. To that end I decided to do something I did for our last general election: use a computer to decide my vote. Well, maybe not decide, but give an idea of who I’m...

It’s The Economy, Stupid!... Barely a day goes by where we don’t hear about climate change. But what nobody is really talking about is the economic impact. That’s why, for the second time, I’ve joined forces with Francis Irving to get people, business and Government motivated on climate change for the economy. It’s...

Ethics and Corporation Tax... One thing that really bugs me is tax avoidance. I used to think it was a great idea until one day, whilst having an inner groan at the constant lack of cash in public services I realised that avoiding tax is, in fact, incredibly unethical and irresponsible. Taxes, whether you like them or not, are there...

Common Sense Policing... Yesterday I sent off my application to be a Special Constable for Staffordshire Police. I’m really excited about it but have been worried about how much pressure there is with all the paperwork that’s required so I was pleased to hear about this pilot scheme that is under way in four forces,...

One Vote Every Four Years is All We Get... A while ago I signed a petition on the Prime Ministers website asking for the government to introduce legislation that would empower ordinary citizens to call a referendum on important matters. According to the petition details a system, called Citizens’ Initiatives, exists in Switzerland, New...