Jonathan Bishop

Sysop prerogative is the right that an owner of an online community has to take whatever actions they wish in order that the community functions the way they wish. In common law counties it is understood that someone can do whatever they want unless they give that right way or it is taken away from [...]

David Cameron announced his ‘Big Society’ proposal today. It is shaming the Labour Party’s logic on the issue: Tories are bad, the Big Society idea is a Tory initiative, the Big Society is bad. As a geniune co-operator I have been arguing for this for years – It doesn’t bother me which party introduces it. [...]

The Chancellor, George Osborne (‘boy George’), of the ‘No Frills’ Conservative Party said his budget would ‘pay for the past and prepare for the future’. The same was said in the year 2000 by the leaders of Chesapeake City Council in Virginia, USA. There, their no frills approach has meant that there are regular sewer [...]

My friend Mark Beech had a book delivered our house with ‘Dr Mark Beech’ on. I thought nothing of it until he showed me a card from his mobile phone provider with ‘Dr Mark Beech’ on. He got it through answering one question from Templar University , which say they ‘ respect everyone’s intelligence’ and will award degrees to [...]

I received a postcard from what the writer called a “university town” in Germany recently. And from the images on the card, the people there know the importance of art and architecture. So why at home should the Old Bridge be the only redeeming structure of Pontypridd and the park the only relaxing space? RCT’s [...]

In a speech I made for the Association of Speakers Clubs Online Speech Competition I made the case for introducing electronic signatures for verifying people’s identity when they post to online communities such as bulletin boards. Some may say that if it is a human right to use the Internet and assemble online through bulletin [...]

There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether it should be a human right to be able to access the Internet. To implement this may require new treaties. Taking this one step further, does existing law mean it is a human right to use online communities? Whereas Article 10 of the ECHR says ‘Everyone [...]

I just read an article on the weblog of Cllr John Bell about him not appreciating the work I was involved with to improve the visible appearance of the St. Dyfrig’s underpass. I find Cllr Bell’s comments quite odd, seeing as some of the grants in question were only given due to a letter of support [...]

Gordon Brown said that in his position as Prime Minister he has a duty to ‘seek to resolve’ the current situation with regards to a hung parliament. Another prime minister once suggested that true leadership is to find opportunity in every difficulty. The Prime Minister’s solution should not simply look towards forming a coalition, but [...]

It was interesting to read Glyn Morris’ letter about the Lib Dems’ claims to be the rightful party to represent Pontypridd (Viewpoints, April 22). They based their claims on the results of a local election in which they came first only two years earlier, but also in which some of their vote went to the [...]

Growing businesses, like mine based in Abercynon, are worried about what impact the next government is going to have on our ability to increase the number of people we employ to deliver for our stakeholders. All parties are currently committed to increasing the minimum wage, which will increase business costs, especially if employers have to [...]

People who say they are against affirmative action like all-women-shortlists say the reason is because people should be chosen on merit – but when has anything relying on subjective judgment without full access to and acceptance of the facts been meritocratic? However, it seems that we are not living in a meritocracy, but an inequitable [...]

According to my best friend, Mark Beech , whose politics I in no way endorse, today is Namesake Day as part of Celebrate Your Name Week, so I thought I’d join in. There are a number of other Jonathan Bishops in the world, perhaps too many for my liking, but I thought I’d list them here anyway [...]

“A recent court case found that political manifestos do not ‘create legitimate expectations’ even though there is a body of evidence to suggest politicians keep their promises – should we ban political parties? That seems to be the logic of the parliamentary committee looking into the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies for treating chronic illnesses. They [...]

I was once told this joke about how a Catholic priest was asked by his junior to relook at the ancient manuscripts, where he found the word celibate was actually celebrate! My EU law tutor always said primary legislation overrules secondary legislation, so I will look at the primary legislation on intellectual property. Article 36 [...]

Throughout this current election campaigning period the Tories have been trying to triangulate to support co-operatives and my Party, the Co-operative Party, has been arguing that it is the Labour Party over the Tories that best represent the co-op movement. I’ve never really been a fan of the NUS, believe that students should be part [...]

I have just returned home from the Otley Arms where I watched Wales put on an exciting second half performance to steal the match from Scotland. An event during the match got me thinking about the rights of the elderly and victims of crime. During the game an elderly woman went up to this man [...]

I read in the Western Mail that the Tory Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Newport East said, ‘It’s Labour’s fault for dropping exam standards so every Tom, Dick & Harry goes to Uni’ I know the candidate, Dawn Parry, as she used to attend the same speakers club as me in Cardiff before transferring to the [...]

I note the draft proposals from the Boundary Commission regarding Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council and its impact on my ward of Treforest. The proposal appears to suggest combining the Treforest ward with the Rhydyfelin wards to create a new three member ward called ‘Treforest’. I support the creation of multi-member wards as a [...]

The Tories plan to make teaching elitist if they are ever elected to government. As a co-operator who believes in choice I think all schools should have only the best teachers and the choice of school should be based on other factors. All too often choice is too much focussed on the ‘best schools’ with the [...]