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Cloud, Managed Services
Cloud PSA software provider Vorex signs first RMM vendor alliance with Naverisk
by Mark Cox • February 12, 2015
Vorex is broadening out from a direct sales model to enlisting a channel, signing up MSPs and VARs directly, and launching the first of what they intend will be multiple partnerships with RMM vendors.
Stuart Selbst, Vorex's COO
Dallas-based Vorex, which makes professional services automation (PSA) software for SMBs, has launched its first strategic alliance with a RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) provider, Naverisk.
Vorex offers multiple functionality, including project management, billing and invoicing, CRM, and service desk support, with the latter being the most recent, It was added to their offerings last April after going from concept to deliverable in less than a year.
Vorex goes head to head against much larger companies like Autotask and Tigerpaw, and competes by having a product that is very easy to use, and less expensive.
"A huge differentiator for us is simplicity," said Stuart Selbst, Vorex's COO. "Our product is designed for the novice business owner and is simple to get into and get working. It is very functional, and we provide customization. It can be up and running and fully functioning in less than a week."
Price is an issue for SMB customers, and Vorex's bundles are priced for that market.
"When a line of business app affects your bottom line, there is something wrong there," Selbst said, "We are priced to be affordable to that market.
"We are definitely stronger on the S part of the SMB, but we do scale," Selbst added. "We are 100 per cent cloud based, so scalability is unlimited. We can cover anything from a one person shop to a 100,000 person organization."
Vorex started out selling direct only, and for most of its history, MSPs were not a part of its go-to-market strategy. Now, however, they are building a channel component into their model, which includes both reselling and referral partners.
"We have partners now, and are working on a reseller program, which includes private and white label services," Selbst said. "Partners will register deals with us so our direct sales don't compete with them. We are hoping to launch it in Q4 of this year or Q1 of next year." Partners are mainly MSPs, but also include some VARs.
Partner support is available now, in advance of the program, however.
"Training partners is a priority for us, and we offer training, including how to sell the product," Selbst said. "That is available today to them if they sign up."
Selbst said they also don't slap additional costs on their MSPs, unlike many of their competitors.
"I was an MSP myself, and I know how invoicing throttles their cash flow and hurts their business," he said. "Our competitors are big and bulky and expensive, and getting custom things from them costs money. We won't nickel and dime our partners to death."
Selbst also strongly recommended that their MSPs use Vorex's PSA technology themselves to help run their business.
"We don't tell our clients how to run their business, but PSA really should be the first tool they get to run a service-based business," he said. "Most MSPs aren't in the business of building technology, but supporting technology. PSA is strategic software that empowers MSPs to build a better business by getting to know more about their business. Successful MSPs use a PSA solution to track and measure everything."
The Naverisk partnership is a key part of Vorex's channel strategy. The integration of Naverisk's unified RMM and Service Desk platform and Vorex's PSA is intended to put Vorex technology in the hands of more MSPs.
"We chose Naverisk as our first RMM partner in part because of personal relationships, because of a great relationship with their CEO." Selbst said. "In addition, like us, they are also small, but have a global footprint, and the opportunity is there to build market opportunities on a global basis. The integration was pretty simple and the relationship is solid."
Selbst said they won't be inking other RMM deals immediately, because they want to see how this first one goes, but they do plan to sign with other RMM vendors this year, and it is a key part of their channels strategy.
"We do have others on our roadmap we are talking to," he said. "We have grandiose plans for this year with a lot of integration and a lot of partnerships coming down the pike."
Tags:Automation PSA Stuart Selbst Training Vorex
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by Marianne Cuhaci, MSW, RSW, FDRP PC and Hilary; Linton, J.D., LL.M., FDRP. Med- Certified Specialist in Family Mediation, Acc. FM., Cert. F. Med.
Most parents initiating a separation are able to settle their disputes within a couple of years. For others, conflicts can continue for many years. These are the parents who return to their lawyers again and again, with issues that often seem inconsequential from a legal standpoint. To the parents, however, these issues are critical enough that they will even take out a second mortgage to fund their battle.
Fights over vacation plans, Christmas arrangements, birthday parties, passport applications, children's activities, pick-up and drop-off issues, or minor adjustments to the parenting schedule can result in major problems, such as outright denial of access or police involvement during a parent-to-parent transition.
It is well known by social workers, mental health professionals and lawyers who work with such families that prolonged parental conflict is immensely harmful for children, and that parents in such situations can become overwhelmed, financially drained, feel hopeless and even ashamed. Parenting co-ordination is one option frequently chosen by such parents.
Parenting co-ordination is a dispute resolution service for high-conflict separated parents to help them resolve issues relating to the implementation of a parenting plan or court order. The parenting co-ordinator has multiple roles, including coaching and educating parents on co-parenting strategies, facilitating and monitoring their communications and conduct, and mediating disagreements. The process permits parents to function as co-operatively and independently as possible. Co-ordinators have the authority to make cost awards against parents, but they do not have the authority to make decisions about legal custody, relocation or parenting schedules, unless they are temporary or minor.
The parenting co-ordinator also has the authority to enforce the parties' parenting plan or court order by making binding decisions through arbitration, if required. Arbitrations conducted by parenting coordinators in Ontario are a form of secondary arbitration under s. 59.7(2) of the Family Law Act.
Unlike many other jurisdictions, there is no legislation or court direction providing for parenting coordination in Ontario. The process is minimally governed by the province's Arbitration Act, which requires parenting co-ordinators to screen clients for domestic violence and power imbalances to ensure that the parties can freely present their views without compromising their safety or suffering other negative consequences. Parents seeking a co-ordinator are well advised to seek legal advice on the contract before they sign it.
Parenting co-ordinators should be experienced mental-health professionals or family lawyers, and have knowledge and experience about child development, adult divorce recovery issues, children's adjustment to parental conflict and separation, parenting after separation, parenting schedules, family violence, mediation and arbitration skills, and knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations. An additional requirement is the ability to withstand regular scrutiny from tenacious clients, set boundaries, as well as an ability to remain calm and focused in often highly stressful circumstances.
Most Ontario parenting co-ordinators voluntarily adhere to the Guidelines for Parenting Coordination, released by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in 2005. These were drafted for American jurisdictions, which often have specific PC legislation or court guidelines that do not apply in Ontario. Other Canadian jurisdictions also have models of practice that Ontario co-ordinators have followed, including British Columbia and, more recently, Prince Edward Island.
The Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO) are working to develop specific practice standards to reflect the unique reality of parenting coordination in Ontario - namely that parenting co-ordinators act as arbitrators, in accordance with the Arbitration Act, the Family Statute Law Amendment Act and related regulations, and that all parenting coordinators in the province enter into private contracts with the parents.
They also provide certifications, professional education and other supports for members.
For more information on Parenting Coordination and FDRIO, visit http://www.FDRIO.com.


This Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Ref 3151 is a product of its era, with modest size, wonderful gold filled case, and legible Arabic numerals on the dial. Jaeger-LeCoultre is universally known for their excellent alarm watches and in house movements. The double-crown feature allows for winding and setting the time, as well as setting the alarm. The top crown sets the alarm complication of the timepiece. The alarm is crisp and noticeable which is a key feature of the manual cal. P489/1 movement.
This Jaeger-LeCoultre Ref. 3151 is whimsically functional and doubles as excellent dress pieces that suit today's fashion perfectly. This piece would make a great addition to an existing collection and be a great and classic timepiece as a stand-alone piece!
The gold filled case remains in excellent condition exhibiting light wear and signs of light polishing The case retains its original unsigned crowns and the serial number is clearly legible on the case back. Watch will come on a 2pc leather strap of your choosing.
The wonderful "SWISS" only silver dial with Arabic numerals is in great vintage condition. The dial itself has developed an interesting patina and warm tone that give the watch an excellent vintage aesthetic. The radium lume plots all remain intact and have taken on a nice dark patina, the 3, 6, and 7 o'clock plots exhibit some degradation under U.V. light inspection. The original radium gold dauphine hands are in exquisite condition and match the dial perfectly, the hands show no degradation under U.V. light inspection.
The alarm function operates flawlessly and the watch is keeping perfect time, previous service history is unkown.


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British Airways to resume flights to Austin, Texas
No Comments on British Airways to resume flights to Austin, Texas
The Texas government has announced that British Airways will resume transatlantic service to London in October after a 17-month absence. The decision comes after the United States' government announced that it would start welcoming international travellers from November 2021.
Starting 13th October 2021, British Airways will once again 3-weekly flights between London Heathrow Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The timings for these flights are:
London-Austin
Departure time: 12:10
Arrival time: 17:45
Flight time: 10 hours and 35 minutes
Flight number: BA191
Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
Austin-London
Arrival time: 10:10 (the next day)
Flight time: 9 hours and 05 minutes
These flights will be operated by British Airways' Boeing B787 Dreamliner.
Stay up to date: Sign up for my newsletter to never miss latest Aviation and Travel news.
Marie Hilditch, Head of North America sales, British Airways, said:
We can't wait to welcome our customers back on board our Austin flights and we are honored to be playing our part in reuniting families and friends with their loved ones after such a long time apart. The safety of our customers and colleagues has always been at the heart of everything we do. We know some customers won't have flown for a long time, we can assure them we have a range of Covid-19 measures in place to provide stress and hassle-free travel.
Gina Fiandaca, Assistant City Manager over the SD23 Mobility Outcome, said:
The Austin to London route was more than just a fantastic travel opportunity, it was a strong contributor to the local economy. We are delighted to welcome British Airways and its customers back to Austin.
Jacqueline Yaft, Chief Executive Officer, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said:
We are thrilled to be welcoming back British Airways to Austin and celebrate the return of nonstop service to London-Heathrow. The resumption of nonstop transatlantic between our two cities is great news for both business and leisure travelers alike.
Meanwhile, Buy-On-Board has returned to British Airways' short-haul flights and the airline has announced four new routes out of Belfast. The airline has reopened its First Class lounge at New York JFK for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began and has increased flights between India and London following a surge in demand. British Airways has also resumed flights to Phoenix, Arizona and Chennai, India & has reopened Concorde Room at London Heathrow and New York – JFK. The airline has launched 'BA Better World' Sustainability Programme and a new livery supporting this programme and also announced two new routes to Portugal.
Featured image by Flickr/Matt Varley
What do you think of British Airways resuming flights to Austin, Texas? Let me know in the comments section below.
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Tags Austin, Boeing, Boeing B787 Dreamliner, British airways, London, London Heathrow, Texas, United Kingdom, United States
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You are here: Home1 / Yupa's Thai2 / 20173 / April
Level of child obesity in Hounslow reveals "failure of Tory childhood obesity strategy"
April 30, 2017 /in News/by Bridget Osborne
According to Liberal Democrat candidate for Brentford & Isleworth Joe Bourke the number of obese ten year olds in Hounslow, revealed in data released this week, shows that the Government's Childhood Obesity plan is not working.
The National Child Measurement Programme measures the height and weight of over one million children each year in Reception (age 4-5 years) and Year 6 (age 10-11 years) in state maintained primary schools in England. The figures just published show that in the London Borough of Hounslow there are 3,087 ten year olds who are overweight, 1883 of them considered to be obese – that is grossly fat or overweight to the point where their weight is a danger to their health.
Hounslow mirrors the national picture, with a rapid rise in the rates of obesity in the population in recent years and a related increase in the risk of a wide range of diseases and illnesses, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure & stroke, and some cancers. The NCMP figures show that the incidence amongst children varies hugely from one neighbourhood to another, with the highest rates occurring in the most deprived areas.
An new academic study also published this week shows that children with obesity are far more likely to develop type 2 diabetes as a young adult. According to Ali Abbasi, M.D., Ph.D., of King's College London, one of the authors of the report: "A child with obesity faces a four-fold greater risk of being diagnosed with diabetes by age 25 than a counterpart who is normal weight."
For Joe Bourke, all this adds up to the Government failing to tackle the issue:
"The failure of Conservatives to properly tackle childhood obesity is carelessly risking the lives of 3087 overweight children in Hounslow. "We cannot allow another five years to go by without proper steps being taken to address this problem. Liberal Democrats know it is time to get tough on advertisers and food manufacturers, to protect the future of children in Brentford and Isleworth".
His comments echo those of the apolitical health think tank The King's Fund. Writing on the publication of the Childhood Obesity Plan last August, David Buck, Senior Fellow, Public Health and Inequalities, said:
"After months of waiting and numerous delays, the government's childhood obesity plan was finally published in mid-August. Expectations were high. Jeremy Hunt has described the rise in childhood obesity as a 'national emergency' and promised a 'game-changing' response from the government".
The plan re-affirmed the government's commitment to a sugar levy but it made the 'reformulation' of food products to reduce the sugar content voluntary, when even industry giants like Sainsbury's and the British Retail Consortium were calling for mandatory targets.
"It beggars belief that the government has misjudged the response of leading voices in the food retail industry, who recognise the need for the government to play a stronger co-ordinating role. To have any chance of working, voluntary action must be backed up with strong, swift and credible threats of regulation" he wrote.
https://i2.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/blog-post-childhood-obesity.jpg?fit=284%2C248&ssl=1 248 284 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-30 11:40:062018-06-01 11:45:26Level of child obesity in Hounslow reveals "failure of Tory childhood obesity strategy"
Green-Labour pact in Chiswick could make all the difference in two very marginal seats
This is Diane Scott, the Green party candidate for Brentford & Isleworth. She has until 11th May to decide whether or not to pull out of the general election campaign and support Ruth Cadbury.
Given the national debate on tactical voting, the Green party nationally has left it up to local the membership to decide what to do in their own constituency. The Ealing branch has decided not to put up a candidate to run against Rupa Huq in Ealing Central and Acton, as the seat is extremely marginal. In the New Statesman's list of '50 Labour MPs most at risk of losing their seats', she comes an unenviable second.
Ruth Cadbury, Labour candidate for Brentford and Isleworth, is not far behind her. She ranks as the fourth most likely to lose her seat. Tony Firkins, the Green party co-ordinator in Brentford & Isleworth constituency, told me that they were "in discussions" with the Brentford & Isleworth Labour party about withdrawing their candidate in return for a promise of support on key policies, but he said that reaching an agreement was "not very promising". Ruth won by just 465 votes last time so she could use their votes. In the last general election the Greens polled 2,120.
The deal struck in Ealing Central and Acton is that Rupa Huq has made three public commitments:
To campaign actively for voting reform to improve democracy in the UK
To resist a "hard Brexit" in the interests of protecting the natural environment, and to defend an open society and the rights of European nationals living in the UK
To oppose a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and airport expansion in general.
They have until 11th May to decide whether a similar deal can be struck in Brentford & Isleworth, as that is the date by which the deposit has to be paid.
Dr Scott is a senior medical researcher, with a specialist interest in immunology. She has campaigned against air pollution and recently co-ordinated measurements which highlighted the dangerous and illegal levels of air near the A4 in Brentford.
I did an interview with her last year about the level of air pollution in Brentford. The Green Party took part in a project to measure the level of air pollution along the M4 corridor, which is consistently above the level considered to be safe.
You can watch the interview by clicking here.
https://i1.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/diane-scott.jpg?fit=350%2C433&ssl=1 433 350 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-30 11:31:232018-06-01 11:39:44Green-Labour pact in Chiswick could make all the difference in two very marginal seats
Gunnersbury station now "dangerously overcrowded" says Ruth Cadbury
The Labour party candidate for Brentford & Isleworth constituency Ruth Cadbury says Gunnersbury tube station is now "dangerously overcrowded" at rush hour and there should be no more major building developments agreed until after the station can cope with the further increase in passengers.
The problem comes when people arriving to work at the Chiswick Business Park clash with local residents trying to leave. The business park is home to 45 companies including some of the world's best known brands such as Discovery, PepsiCo and Starbucks, collectively employing more than 8,000 people. The sheer number of people using the station, especially at peak times, has led to severe overcrowding both in the ticket hall and on the platform. In the mornings local residents have often reported missing trains after being held back to allow arriving passengers to get off the platform. Much to the annoyance of residents who bought houses within range of Gunnersbury station to be able to use it to get to work, notices are posted at the station from time to time encouraging regular users of the station to avoid peak periods.
Local residents groups have asked Ruth to chair the Gunnersbury Station Action Group. They have been campaigning for some time for a footbridge which would link the Chiswick Business Park to Chiswick Park station, ciphering off some of the traffic, but although the need for a footbridge was recognised as early as 2001 and planning permission has been approved several times, most recently December 2015, there's still no sign of it.
Ruth Cadbury says: "To relieve pressure on Gunnersbury, Chiswick Business Park has agreed, as part of the planning agreement for the final and largest park building, to fund a footbridge to take workers out of the north end of the park. What is irritating is that the complex legal agreement to achieve this has only just been signed off, and we are told the bridge will take another 2 years until this will be open. Meanwhile Building 7 will fill up, putting yet further pressure on the station."
Ruth has written to Enjoy Work to see if they can encourage workers at Chiswick Business Park to use other routes. She has also written to Blackstone, the asset manager for Chiswick Business Park, to keep up the pressure on them to work towards a solution, and to Cllr Steve Curran, leader of Hounslow Council for an assurance that there will be no more major developments agreed until the congestion is alleviated.
West Chiswick & Gunnersbury Society say that "Gunnersbury Station is an accident waiting to happen". "This situation is extremely unpleasant for all concerned – those struggling in the crush to leave the platform, those being delayed from accessing the platform and the unfortunate TfL staff on the front line having to cope with all this stress and frustration".
https://i2.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/blog-post-gunnersbury-station-overcrowding.jpg?fit=625%2C469&ssl=1 469 625 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-29 11:56:382018-06-01 11:59:25Gunnersbury station now "dangerously overcrowded" says Ruth Cadbury
Conservatives "delighted" that former MP Mary Macleod is their candidate again
Mary Macleod says she is "thrilled" to have been selected as Conservative candidate for Brentford & Isleworth constituency, and Conservative members say they are "delighted" to have her. She won the backing of the local Conservative association last night with an outright majority in the first ballot.
Speaking after the meeting, Sally Stephens, a supporter and friend of Mary's said her selection was "well deserved". Chiswick resident Brian Lynch added: "Two years ago we were devastated that Mary lost by just 465 votes after working so hard as our MP. Tonight's selection is the first step in putting that right and winning back this seat for the Conservatives." Brentford resident Patrick Barr said: "I'm delighted by the selection decision tonight. Mary is totally committed to making a difference both locally and nationally and is absolutely the right person to be the Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth again."
She beat Olympian James Cracknell OBE, who lives locally and has raised funds for the Brentford & Isleworth Association and Christopher Salmon, the required third nominee put forward by Conservative Party Central Office. All three gave speeches and then answered questions from Conservative party members in a closed meeting at St Paul's Church Grove Park last night. Nearly 200 members attended and questions from the floor covered a wide range of topics including Brexit, Heathrow expansion, transport, housing, jobs, social care, NHS, town centre development, school meals, abortion, assisted dying – as well as general questions on campaigning strategy and plans between now and the 8th June.
Mary thanked them for the vote of confidence: "I am honoured to be selected as your candidate, and look forward to serving you and all the hardworking people of this wonderful constituency again" she said. Julian Tanner, Chairman of the B&I Conservative Association, remarked on the strong interest in the selection process both locally and nationally. "B&I is a key marginal which we know we can win convincingly" … "With the proposed boundary changes likely to take effect in 2018, this seat will be a Conservative one for many years to come."
https://i0.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/mary-macleod.jpg?fit=908%2C471&ssl=1 471 908 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-27 12:10:562018-06-01 12:14:56Conservatives "delighted" that former MP Mary Macleod is their candidate again
Lib Dems won't join a coalition with May's Conservatives or Corbyn's Labour
It seems the Liberal Democrats have learned their lesson over taking part in coalition government after being wiped out in the last election. Leader Tim Farron has announced that they will not be doing any deals with Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn after the election.
All about Brexit
For Brentford and Isleworth Liberal Democrat candidate Joe Bourke, it's all about Brexit. Echoing his party leader's stance on coalition, he said: "Under no conditions can we sign up to Theresa May's Hard Brexit agenda."We will work with pro-European MPs in any party to stand up to the Conservatives over Hard Brexit, but Corbyn is not that. Corbyn is pro-Brexit, wants to pull us out of the single market and marched his MPs and peers through the lobbies to vote for article 50 without any concessions. Every Liberal Democrat vote and every Liberal Democrat MP elected is a challenge to Theresa May's Hard Brexit agenda."This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. If you want to stop a Hard Brexit, if you want to keep us in the single market, if you want a real opposition, this is your chance."
Who is Jo Bourke?
Joe Bourke is Chair of Hounslow Borough Liberal Democrats. He previously stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency in the 2015 General election and in the Brentford Ward for the 2014 council elections. Joe is the honorary auditor for the Brentford Chamber of Commerce and a Lecturer at the University of West London's business school in Brentford. He grew up in West London and after qualifying as an accountant worked abroad for several years in Europe, the United States and Japan before returning to London in the mid-nineties. It's clear from his CV that he has been actively engaged in the community and working hard on local issues for many years: serving as a treasurer for a teachers union, school governor in Brentford, chairing a trade association committee, serving as a director of Brentford Football Club and its Supporter's Trust as well as serving on the board of Supporters Direct, the national body for supporter's trusts. Joe is also an active member of his local Residents Association.
What are his issues?
According to the Lib Dem website, during the election campaign Joe will be focusing on the needs of Brentford and Isleworth residents and highlighting Liberal Democrat policies implemented in the coalition government which have benefited Brentford and Isleworth: more money for local schools, more apprenticeships, income tax cuts, and more support for carers. Also "the widespread concern with Labour's local area and housing plans, developed without seemingly considering the implications of an ever greater population density within a transport system already groaning under the strain" and "the need for joined-up thinking to deliver good quality affordable housing in the area – whilst considering the impact on local services and transport links".
https://i1.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/joe-bourke.jpg?fit=862%2C492&ssl=1 492 862 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-26 11:20:242018-06-01 12:23:25Lib Dems won't join a coalition with May's Conservatives or Corbyn's Labour
Brentford & Isleworth Conservatives announce third candidate
Conservatives in Brentford & Isleworth have announced the third person who members will consider for selection as their election candidate at a closed, members only meeting this evening. Christopher Salmon, senior partner in an executive search firm, joins Olympic rower James Cracknell OBE and former MP for Brentford & Isleworth Mary Macleod on the shortlist. Christopher Salmon is a former Army officer with service in Iraq, Northern Ireland and Kosovo. Put forward as a candidate by Conservative Party Central Office, this is how they describe his track record: "He was the elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys from 2012 until 2016, where he increased officer numbers, expanded services for victims of domestic abuse and oversaw a reduction in crime and antisocial behaviour. He was the only Police and Crime Commissioner to reduce local tax. He was brought up on a farm in mid-Wales before studying History and Economics at Oxford. After university he lived and worked in St. Petersburg, Russia. He returned to join the Army and graduated from Sandhurst in 2003, winning the Queen's Medal for the top cadet, before joining The Rifles. Following the Army, he worked for a consultancy firm in Hammersmith. He currently works for Crest Advisory, a consultancy specialising in criminal justice. He is a passionate advocate for localism, care for victims and rehabilitation of offenders. He speaks Russian, paints and enjoys walking in the Welsh hills. He now lives in London with his wife Sophia and son, Francis, 3 months.
He's up against a former MP who is widely respected for her hard work and effectiveness as a constituency MP and who is popular with the business community in Hounslow as a champion of small businesses and an Olympian media personality who's just run the London marathon in record time. Julian Tanner, Chairman of the Hounslow Brentford & Isleworth Conservative Association said: "All of our candidates would make an excellent Member of Parliament for Brentford & Isleworth and a victory for the Conservative Party would strengthen the Government in its Brexit negotiations to ensure a better and more prosperous future for our country."
Here's what the party says about Mary Macleod:
Mary Macleod is currently a Senior Client Partner in the largest global Executive Search firm. Mary previously worked for over twenty years in business – consulting at Accenture and in banking as Chief of Staff for Global Operations at ABN AMRO and in Group Communications and Transition for RBS. She also maintained a leading role in the charity and public policy arenas, serving as an ambassador for ActionAid, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and as Policy Officer to The Queen and the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace. Mary was elected as Member of Parliament for Brentford & Isleworth on 7th May 2010, turning over a Labour majority of 4,411 to a Conservative majority of 1,958. During her time in Parliament, she was the Prime Minister's Small Business Ambassador for London, on the No.10 Policy Board and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, the Culture Secretary, the Minister for Women and Equalities and the Northern Ireland Secretary. She was a Trustee of the Industry Parliament Trust, set up the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament and joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme as a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force. Mary narrowly missed out winning at the 2015 General Election to Labour by 465 votes, even although she increased her vote by 4,609. After the election, Mary became special adviser to the Secretary of State for Scotland for a short period, until taking up her current role. Mary is on the Advisory Board of the charity, Career Ready, helping young people prepare for the world of work, and locally is a Trustee of The Shelter Project Hounslow and President of the Chiswick Royal British Legion.
This is what the party has to say about James Cracknell OBE:
With 2 Olympic Gold Medals and 6 World Championship titles, James Cracknell OBE is an inspiring sportsman, athlete and adventurer. In 2010, he took on America – racing to cycle, run, row and swim from LA to New York in record time. It was during this trip that James suffered a near fatal accident, after being struck from behind by a truck while cycling through Arizona. After a difficult six-month recovery, he went to the Canadian Yukon, completing The Coldest Race on Earth. James has also completed the gruelling Amundsen Omega3 South Pole Race with friends Ben Fogle and Dr Ed Coats, The Race Across The Atlantic, again with Fogle and has run the London Marathon in 2 hours 43 minutes. He was a feature writer for the Daily Telegraph for over 15 years, a factual entertainment/documentary maker with the BBC and Discovery Channel for 10 years and is into his third Olympiad working with the BBC behind the camera and microphone. Alongside these achievements, James is Vice President of the charity Headway and leads the Policy Exchange on obesity and physical activity. James is President of the London Road Safety Council and, working with Policy Exchange, he authored a report "Britain Imbalanced: Why now is the time to tackle obesity in Britain." He serves on the Centre for Social Justice's Working Group; Obesity, Poverty and Physical Activity. James has also been involved with the last two General Election Campaigns and the 2014 European Election. He has raised funds for the Brentford & Isleworth Association and nationally for the party and is Deputy Chair Political of Brentford & Isleworth Association and Riverside Ward. James is Director and Co-founder of a mass-participation running event creation, delivery and IP company. He lives with his wife, TV and Radio presenter Beverley Turner, and their 3 children.
https://i1.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/conservative_standard_tree_mark.jpg?fit=195%2C195&ssl=1 195 195 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-26 10:24:002018-06-01 12:35:03Brentford & Isleworth Conservatives announce third candidate
James Cracknell puts himself forward for selection
James Cracknell OBE, the Olympic rower who lives in Chiswick, has announced that he would like to be considered for selection as the Conservative Party candidate for Brentford and Isleworth constituency. This is the statement he published on Friday 21 April in support of his candidacy:
Why do I want to stand?
"First and foremost it is because I care. I am not the type to sit by and complain. When I see a problem I get involved and help to solve it. This has happened throughout my life, whether in school councils, being elected as athletes' representative or to the British Olympic Association's Athletes Commission, or subsequently stepping up to address issues which I care about including being President of both Headway and the London Road Safety Council and ambassador for RoSPA and the RNLI.
"Secondly, I am a local. I live here, with my wife and three children and intend to do so for the long term, I am a stakeholder in the community, I care about the world around us. I want to grasp the possibility to influence and improve things for all. I have had the opportunity to consider standing in another nearby constituencies and have turned these away. I am focused entirely on representing the area where I live and it would be my great privilege to be chosen.
"Finally, because I can see a chance here to make a difference. This constituency can be won and I thought this even before the proposed boundary changes were mooted. I would like to think that I am recognised as someone who succeeds. Indeed I have never won a silver medal. In 2015, when despite the hard work we came up short, I got more involved. Indeed Mary encouraged me to do so. And I think I have worked very hard over that time. I've got to know people across the community, and as a party group I think we are on an awful lot stronger position. I'm not a career politician, but I have brought people and focus to this community in my own way, and I will continue to do this. I can win votes that are permanently lost to other candidates as I offer a fresh perspective.
"If I'm successful I will give everything to win the seat on June 8th and then represent the constituents of Brentford and Isleworth in Westminster and the nation as a whole."
https://i1.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/james-cracknell.jpg?fit=286%2C200&ssl=1 200 286 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-22 12:43:102018-06-01 13:05:51James Cracknell puts himself forward for selection
Ruth Cadbury says she's ready for the election
Theresa May's surprise announcement of a snap election in June has caught everyone on the hop. The Conservatives in Brentford and Isleworth don't even have a candidate at the moment. Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth Ruth Cadbury, speaking ten minutes after the announcement was made, said that she's ready to fight an election. It will be fought with the current constituency boundaries, which is to her advantage. Proposed boundary changes would put swathes of Labour voters out of her area but will not now come in to force until after the election. But her majority at the last election was the slimmest of slivers at 465 votes, so there is all to play for. Ruth says both she personally and the Labour party are ready to fight the election in June. "What the Conservative Government has done is devastating." She listed three key reasons: "People on the lowest incomes are worse off. They've completely screwed up our relations with other countries, the way they went in to the referendum with no preparation and without any Plan B and the decision to plough ahead with the third runway at Heathrow". I asked her whether the election would in effect be a second Brexit referendum, to which she replied: "We can't reverse that decision. We need to fight for a decent deal, access to the single market, workers' rights, environmental rights. A second referendum on Brexit is not at the top of our agenda". She said that she is going in to the general election with confidence as she is representing the people who elected her and who she has been representing for the past two years.
https://i2.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ruth-cadbury.jpg?fit=805%2C460&ssl=1 460 805 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-19 13:08:312018-06-01 13:10:34Ruth Cadbury says she's ready for the election
Mary Macleod throws her hat into the ring
Mary Macleod, the former Member of Parliament for Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth, Osterley and Hounslow, today announced her intention to put her name forward for selection as the Conservative Candidate for her former seat, at the next General Election on 8 June 2017.
Mary said "It was an honour and privilege to be the MP for Brentford and Isleworth from 2010-2015. It was a chance to make a real difference to people's lives in the local community and work with residents, businesses, schools, charities and other organisations to improve the local area. "Watching from the sidelines over the last two years has only strengthened my resolve to continue this work, particularly given the significant changes we are about to go through as we leave the European Union. It's important for local residents to have a strong voice in Parliament during this time, with a MP who knows the constituency well and can work effectively with colleagues at Westminster to deliver a stronger economy with real opportunities for all. I would relish the opportunity to use my experience, passion and knowledge to represent this brilliant constituency once more." Mary won the 2010 General Election from Labour with a majority of 1,958. She then increased her vote in the 2015 General Election by 4,609 but narrowly lost out by 465 votes.
Brentford and Isleworth Conservatives are busy organising the selection process to choose their candidate for the 2017 election. This is the first time constituency party chairman Julian Tanner has overseen a selection process. He promises it will be smooth and efficient, following due process to give equal opportunity to any who wanted to apply and said they already have a number of qualified individuals who may be interested. Within half an hour of the election being called yesterday he'd already had one potential applicant call him to announce that they would like to stand. We know that Olympic rower James Cracknell is interested. Now that Mary Macleod has formally stated her wish to be considered I wonder who else will come forward.
https://i0.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/mary-macleod.jpg?fit=908%2C471&ssl=1 471 908 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-19 11:09:422018-06-01 13:17:22Mary Macleod throws her hat into the ring
Air pollution becomes a campaign issue
April 4, 2017 /in News/by Bridget Osborne
This is Mary Macleod not campaigning at Brentford market on Sunday. She's not campaigning yet as she doesn't want to count her chickens before the Brentford & Isleworth Conservative party meeting tonight at which the Conservative candidate will be chosen. Hence her rather modest Sunday morning tweet: 'Lovely to be at the fabulous @BrentfordMarket this morning with great friends.' It is a favourite haunt, as when she was MP Brentford marketplace received funding from Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, as part of his Outer London Fund. They visited the market together in April 2015 to see how the money had been spent. On Sunday Mary said: "I love coming to Brentford Market. It has a great, relaxed atmosphere and there are always fabulous and interesting street stalls. I particularly enjoyed finding out about the electric cars on display from Tesla and Nissan – it is the future for motoring, particularly given the air quality challenges we are facing across the country".
Funny she should mention that. While Mary was advocating electric cars as the solution for air pollution, the Conservative government was coming under fire for delaying plans to tackle air pollution. The long-awaited plan to improve air quality has been kicked in to the long grass till after the election. Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom told MPs on Monday that her proposals for tackling nitrogen dioxide levels would not be released until after the election despite a High Court order to publish it by 4pm that day. The High Court ruled last November that the Government's plan for tackling air pollution was so bad it was actually illegal. That is now a full five months ago, yet the Government left it until after the election had been called to lodge a request with the High Court for an extension. Now Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom is able to claim that although her plan has been written, it is being held back so as not to breach the rules on Government activity in the run up to the local and general election. Manwhile air pollution is believed to be responsible for 40,000 unexplained deaths a year. It particularly affects young children and the elderly.
The M4 corridor has air pollution levels that are consistently higher than is considered safe. Labour candidate Ruth Cadbury, standing for re-election in Brentford & Isleworth, has campaigned against the expansion of Heathrow in part because of the likely increase in traffic and the added contribution that will make to air pollution in our bit of west London. She tweeted: "Pushing ahead with #3rdRunway will only make illegal levels of air pollution in Hounslow area worse. Don't residents deserve better?" "47% more flights will mean more px, staff, freight & flight servicing. Don't tell me that won't cause additional pressure on local roads".
https://i0.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/mary-macleod.jpg?fit=908%2C471&ssl=1 471 908 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-04 12:36:402019-08-16 12:40:51Air pollution becomes a campaign issue
The Chiswick Calendar Business Rate Debate
April 3, 2017 /in Features, News/by Bridget Osborne
Chiswick High Rd Under Threat
The character of the High Rd is under threat, with small independent businesses squeezed by rising rents and rates at the same time as they are being hit with rising costs due to the drop in the value of the pound. Some are deciding to throw in the towel and close up before they have to pay huge increases in their business rate this month. Others will have to make changes – let staff go or change how they operate in order to survive. This is the message that came out clearly from The Chiswick Calendar Debate on business rates, the consensus from the panel of experts and local business people in the audience.
On the panel chaired by broadcaster and journalist Julian Worricker were Professor Tony Travers, Director of LSE London research centre, adviser to a couple of House of Commons Select Committees and the author of a number of books on local government and politics; David Lesniak, co-owner of American café Outsider Tart; Cllr Theo Dennison, Cabinet Member for Finance on Hounslow Council and Sandra Clark, ratings surveyor and Partner with Montagu Evans.
Click here to watch the whole debate recorded at the Tabard theatre on Monday 27 March, or read the highlights here:
Character of the High Rd under threat
Business rates unfair and unpredictable
A tax on success
Not the council's fault
The valuation system needs reform
Politicians too frightened to address the problem
Costs to businesses are going up
Big businesses are driving up rents
Chiswick is not a 'Golden Goose' for Hounslow Council
Chiswick retailers need representation
Advice on how to cope with business rates increases
The character of the High Rd is under threat, with small independent businesses squeezed by rising rents and rates. Business rates are linked to the rental value of a property and several speakers made the point that national and global chains are pushing independent businesses out because they can afford to pay much higher rents and rates. Cllr Theo Dennison, Cabinet Member for Finance on Hounslow Borough Council, said: "One of the big problems with those national chains is that they are pushing up the rental value of properties especially in places like Chiswick and the very character of the high street is being changed by them because the impact of them coming in and bidding high is that smaller retailers, local retailers and independents are being squeezed out and now this is when the squeeze is going to bite really hard". David Lesniak, co-owner of the American café Outsider Tart, told the audience that businesses were already closing in anticipation of not being able to make the business rate payments: "I think you're seeing businesses close before this even happened, to avoid it altogether… so that's one way to deal with it, simply to fold now and be done". Independent businesses also face competition by charity shops, which get an 80% reduction in business rates. Just this week we have heard that a charity shop is to open where the Blink boutique used to be on Chiswick High Rd.
Cllr Sam Hearn, Councillor of Chiswick Riverside ward, made the point that in some high streets 'every other shop is a charity shop' and questioned why charities are given a reduction in business rates, when there must be other ways for the government to protect them.
The reason that business rates are an issue now is that they are being revalued this month, after a period of seven years. For many the revaluation means huge hikes in the amount they have to pay. David Lesniak described the unpredictability and the unfairness of business rates. He said he knew he had to pay taxes and was willing to pay them but finds the system baffling and had been unable to find out in advance how much they would have to pay. Outsider Tart, on the corner of Chiswick High Rd and Chiswick Lane, occupies two premises jointly, which are rated differently. One half of their café has received a 25% rates increase, the other 50%. Julian Worricker, chairing the debate, cited three shops on Turnham Green Terrace, properties of similar size in the same street which have received widely differing rates demands. Cllr Theo Dennison said "I defy anyone to actually come up with a rateable value estimate for their property. It is impossible… there's no sense in it". Sandra Clark, ratings surveyor and Partner with Montagu Evans, explained that business rates are inherently impossible to predict because the amount you pay is made up of the rateable value of your individual property combined with a multiplier, the uniform business rate, a figure set by the government based on national statistics. As one element of the multiplier is inflation, this means that the uniform business rate will almost certainly go up.
There is recognition by government that the system is unfair, as there is a mechanism in place for appeals. Theo Dennison said they are expecting a staggering 60% of businesses to appeal against their rating assessment, which represents a potential loss of revenue to the council of £15m. They are still struggling with the backlog of appeals from the last rating assessment in 2010 with 28% cases still outstanding.
Prof Tony Travers, who teaches Local Government and Politics at the LSE, compared the costs of big retail outlets in out of town malls with high streets: "big retail sheds are not as much affected by all of this, particularly wholesale sheds out on trading estates than high streets and there is a terrible paradox built in to all of this, that the better council and the businesses make this high street, the higher rentals will go and therefore the higher rateable values will go". Theo Dennison agreed, calling it "a tax on success". He said: "valuations in Hounslow have gone up significantly, a lot more than Ealing our neighbouring borough, largely because of the success of businesses within the borough and the success of the council itself".
Theo Dennison was at pains to point out that the increases in business rates are not the council's fault as they do not set the business rate. Tony Travers backed him up on this, adding that councils lost responsibility for setting business rates in the 1990s when Margaret Thatcher 'nationalised' them. Local councils were however made legally responsible for collecting them and for managing the appeals. They used not to keep any of the funds; the money went direct to central government which then paid local councils a grant out of the money received. In 2013 the system was changed; councils now keep some of the money collected but Theo Dennison said: "We do not see a single penny. For every single penny we retain, we lost the revenue support grant. So in terms of financially did we gain from it? No we didn't. And additionally we took on the risk of all the appeals that businesses will be making".
By 2020 100% business rates will be localised. George Osborne when he was Chancellor promised that this would be "the biggest transfer of power to local government in living memory". Theo's response to that was: "and we will not have the power to raise the business rate or cut it".
These changes are happening against a backdrop of severe cuts to local government funding. Tony Travers outlined the difficulties faced by local councils: "Their underlying funding has fallen by a significant amount. Their overall budgets are down by 25% or 35% since 2010". If less money were raised from businesses "it would have to be taken from adult social care or something and that is the underlying problem: that the government has decided to cut the deficit but in a way that protects most of its own services and cutting local government more than almost any other part of the public sector. And that means that at a very, very profound level the question of how streets are cleaned and how rubbish is collected is competing directly with whether old people are looked after properly, whether children are looked after in homes and all of this stuff".
All the panellists agreed that the system needs to be reformed. Cllr Sam Hearn said it's clear that the system is deeply flawed and it needs reform, but that each of the potential alternatives is problematic because the more you try to make a system fair, of necessity the more complex it becomes. He suggested local councils have power theoretically under the Localism Act to reduce rates – powers which Theo Dennison said he was not aware of.
David Lesniak suggested that far more revenue would be raised if even a fraction of a percentage was added to residential rates bills, but Tony Travers explained why politically this was a non-starter. "Most politicians privately think that there does need to be a review but the difficulty, as with so many things, is that they don't quite know what to do about it. It is easy for all of us to imagine that national politicians are powerful people who control the world of which they are a part. Actually they're petrified. And they're petrified about fiddling around with any tax anybody can tell they're paying. And the tragedy for businesses is that in general businesses are less likely to vote than individual citizens and therefore the government's been willing to push through the business rate revaluation … with a willingness to sweep away the consequences that they would never in a thousand years consider if it was going to hit householders".
At the same time as they are being squeezed by increasing rents and rates, businesses are faced with increases in the cost of the commodities they buy as a result of the drop in the value of the pound following the vote to leave the European Union. David Lesniak said the increase in business rates is just one increase that they were facing this year: "all of our suppliers have increased their prices by at least 10% and they're all citing Brexit as the reason … so all those things continue to impact staying open. I'm not even talking about a profit".
"It is very frustrating to see these larger companies coming in and drive up the rent. They don't really care. Or worse, they have the ability to negotiate maybe even a better rate than I'm getting because the freeholders go 'Oh, I'd love to have Starbucks in' … so if they have an adjacent space that's also available suddenly they can charge more for that based on that. … If Jamie Oliver can't make it on the High Rd there's a problem. You know, if he can't draw enough traffic to pay the rent, that's telling me the rents aren't fair to begin with".
It's often thought by people who live in Chiswick that Hounslow Council sees Chiswick as a source of revenue which it mercilessly exploits. Local resident Barbara Elson said: "I've always got the impression that Chiswick is the 'golden goose' of Hounslow and I think that Hounslow council will kill the golden goose and if there is an opportunity to be discretionary and to support small businesses then it's something they should really look to do, because otherwise the small businesses are going to go and people like me, well I'll just cycle to Richmond instead. You're already made it practically impossible to park in this area so you really do need to start looking after this High Rd".
Theo's response to this was: "I love Chiswick, I used to live in Chiswick, my wife is desperate for us to come back and live in Chiswick. As far as we're concerned it is not the golden goose … the truth is the top three rate payers are Sky, GSK and Mogden sewage works. Chiswick is a hot area, largely because of the business park, but the High Rd is not a great cash cow for us".
Several people made the point that Chiswick businesses need better representation, especially High Rd retailers. Theo Dennison said part of the problem for businesses is that they do not have a voice. There are 7,181 businesses in Hounslow registered to pay business rates, with no one specifically speaking for them. Syon, the ward he represents as councillor, has 10,414 residents and they have someone representing their interests on the council. Joanna Biddolph, PR consultant, said there has been meeting after meeting over the past decade in an attempt to get local businesses to work together, but people don't have the time or the energy to go to meetings. She stressed the importance of local businesses at very least comparing notes as she knew of one person in Devonshire Rd paying 18% more in rent than anyone else in the street because she hadn't compared notes on what other businesses were paying before she signed her lease. David Lesniak said businesses used to feel that they had a voice when Mary Macleod was London ambassador for small businesses but now we don't even have a town manager.
In terms of practical advice on what businesses can do to mitigate the impact of increased business rates, Sandra Clark gave a check list of basic things to do: number one being to check the valuation officer has the right property. Check the floor area is correct. Compare notes with units close to you. It might be twenty years since the property was visited. Air conditioning for example adds to the rateable value of a property. People don't always realise that they have to apply for relief, so they may be eligible but won't get it unless they apply. Appeals can take at least two to three years and you have to pay the rates while it is being considered so even though you may get it back in the end, it is still an up-front cost which the council legally has to collect. If you really are in hardship you can apply for your appeal to be looked at sooner under 'hardship relief' but it's hard to get. Theo Dennison described what leeway the council had to be flexible in collecting payment: "We would love to put any business that's having difficulty onto a scheme that means they're able to make a reasonable contribution to what they actually owe and if they've got an appeal in we'll take that into account in terms of what we believe should be paid". The council does not charge a penalty or charge interest to businesses who've agreed a payment plan, he said, but if they have to go to court then the court costs get added on. "It pays a business, just as it pays a resident, to come to an understanding with the council as swiftly as possible. We are obliged to make a collection and we are also keen to make it as easy as possible for those, particularly marginal businesses and those on marginal incomes who are going to struggle to pay. It pays to get that arrangement in place as swiftly as possible rather than bury your head in the sand and think it's going to go away".
The chancellor announced £300 million for councils to offer businesses discretionary relief. Theo said Hounslow hasn't received their share yet. They don't know how much it will be and he doesn't yet have an answer as to how they might distribute it.
I'd like to thank the Tabard theatre for hosting this event, from which neither they nor we made any profit.
https://i2.wp.com/chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/blog-post-business-rates-debate.jpg?fit=626%2C360&ssl=1 360 626 Bridget Osborne https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png Bridget Osborne2017-04-03 09:22:472019-08-16 12:42:09The Chiswick Calendar Business Rate Debate


William M. Shipp has been immersed in all areas of land use and zoning practice in Prince George's County for over thirty years. Through his extensive involvement in every level of the development process, Mr. Shipp has successfully assisted his developer, builder, and business owner clients with issues related to zoning, historic preservation, master plan analysis, preliminary plan and subdivision, site plan approvals, nonconforming use certification, permit and bonding, road improvements, adequate public facilities, and the resolution of zoning violations. Mr. Shipp regularly represents clients before the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission, the Department of Public Works & Transportation, the Department of Environmental Resources, and other Prince George's County agencies. As a past Chairman of the Prince George's County Historic Preservation Commission, Mr. Shipp is uniquely qualified in the practice of historic preservation law and has appeared before the Commission many times. Additionally, Mr. Shipp has extensively represented clients before local municipal authorities throughout Prince George's County. In conjunction with his land use and zoning practice, Mr. Shipp also assists clients in the areas of real estate transactions and commercial finance.
Through the course of his career, Mr. Shipp has worked on many substantial residential, commercial, mixed-use, and transit-oriented developments, including Prince George's Regional Medical Center, Westphalia Town Center, New Carrollton Town Center, National Harbor, IKEA, Bowie Town Center, and NOAA National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction. He is particularly skilled in implementing strategies designed to achieve clients' mixed-use and transit-oriented project goals and in leading development teams to secure the necessary governmental approvals required to bring their projects to realization. In 2010 he was named a Maryland Power Player by the Gazette of Politics and Business.
Mr. Shipp is accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as a LEED Accredited Professional. He utilizes his knowledge of the LEED certification process and of green building issues in general to counsel owners, construction consultants, and others involved in the development, construction, and financing of sustainable commercial buildings.
Mr. Shipp has demonstrated his dedication to Prince George's County and the Greater Washington through his extensive participation in professional, civic, and charitable organizations. Mr. Shipp is a past Chairman of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce is a life Director of the Maryland Building Association. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Prince George's affiliate of Community Foundation and is a past member of both the Prince George's County Public Schools Management Oversight Committee and the Prince George's County Housing Authority. Mr. Shipp is also a member of the Leadership Washington Class of 2000 and served on the Board of Directors of The Family Tree, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to prevent child abuse. He is a past Trustee of the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. Mr. Shipp is admitted to practice in Maryland. He is a member of state and local bar associations and is a member of the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission.
Admitted to the Court of Appeals of Maryland and the United States District Court for Maryland.
Former Chairman, Prince George's County Historic Preservation Commission (1993 - 2002).
Former Chairman, Board of Management for the Prince George's County YMCA.
Extensive and effective representation of development projects in Prince George's County, with an emphasis in successfully guiding business leaders through County and State processes and working with appointed and elected officials, and County Boards, Commissions, and community groups.
Seasoned legal professional practicing law in Prince George's County for over 25 years. Proven commitment to the greater Prince George's community through volunteer efforts including a variety of citizen boards and commissions, business associations and charitable organizations.
LEED Accredited Professional with a thorough understanding of green building techniques and the knowledge and skills to facilitate the LEED certification process for new commercial construction projects.
Served as a member of County Executive Rushern Baker's transition team providing input and legal analysis to reform the development review and permit process.
Served four years as a member of the Prince George's County Management Oversight Panel ("MOP"), a citizen board appointed by the Governor, the County Executive and the Chairman of the Board of Education to oversee the implementation of an independent audit of the County's school system.
Served as Co-Chair of former County Executive Wayne Curry's Education Policy Advisory Group, was the County Executive's representative on the Board of Education's Superintendent Search Criteria Committee, and was appointed by the County Executive to the Housing Policy Task Force. Served as a member of the Prince George's County Growth and Economic Development Task Force. Served as a Director of the County's Financial Services Corporation.
Direct the overall business strategies and operations of a law firm that specializes in administrative law and government regulatory matters; commercial and real estate transactions; and litigation of general liability, employment practices, and estate planning and administration. Protect and promote the legal interests of (our) clients and provide guidance and planning alternatives to accomplish their objectives. Trustee of the Firm's 401K profit sharing plan.
Practice Group Leader of the Administrative Law and Government Relations Practice Group at the firm. Primary practice concentrations in land use, historic preservation, zoning and transactional law. Focused on issues concerning due diligence investigations, zoning, subdivision, site plan reviews, permitting, bonding and construction. Appearance before numerous administrative bodies and County and municipal councils. Projects of note include University of Maryland East Campus, Bowie Town Center, IKEA, FDA College Park Office, NOAA National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, NACO mapping facility, The Gazette Regional Headquarters, and numerous mixed use and residential communities in Prince George's County.


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Pseudocyphellaria soredioglabra är en lavart som beskrevs av Kantvilas & Elix. Pseudocyphellaria soredioglabra ingår i släktet Pseudocyphellaria och familjen Lobariaceae.   Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Black Ops Cold War is set during the early 1980s of the Cold War. Its campaign follows CIA officer Russell Adler as he pursues an alleged Soviet spy, Perseus, whose stated goal is to subvert the United States and tilt the balance of power toward the Soviet Union. Multiplayer will have new game modes, more […]
WATCH DOGS LΞGION | XBOX SERIES X/S
It's time to reclaim London! Anyone you see in this iconic city can be recruited to your resistance. Corrupt opportunists oppress the population and it is up to you to start and build a resistance to give the city back to the people. . Welcome to the resistance!
Meet the new Xbox Series X, the fastest, most powerful Xbox ever. Play thousands of titles from four generations of consoles: all games look and play best on Xbox Series X. At the heart of Series X is the Xbox Velocity architecture, which combines a custom SSD with integrated software for faster, streamlined gameplay […]
YAKUZA – LIKE A DRAGON
Climb out of the gutter Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking pawn, of a low-ranking yakuza family, faces an 18-year jail sentence after pleading guilty out of loyalty to a crime he did not commit. He never loses faith and loyally serves his sentence, he returns to society to discover that outside the cell no one is […]
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Lenovo Flex 11 Combines a Chromebook and a Tablet
Four modes make this $279 2-in-1 a very flexible laptop/tablet hybrid.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/lenovo-flex-11-combines-a-chromebook-and-a-tablet
For the less tech-savvy out there, opting to use a Chromebook or tablet instead of a cheap laptop or desktop PC can remove a lot of headaches. The same is also true if you end up being tech support for those users. Lenovo decided it would try to cater for all these users with one device, and so today we get the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook.
It's more than just a typical Chromebook, though, as the Flex naming suggests. Lenovo is offering a device with an 11.6-inch touch screen and four modes (laptop, tablet, watch, and tent) thanks to a 360-degree hinge. You can therefore use it as both a laptop and a tablet, or set it up for viewing media.
Inside you'll find a 2.1GHz quad-core ARM processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 32GB eMMC storage, a 720p webcam, and 802.11 a/g/n/ac wireless. The display is an 11.6-inch 1,366-by-768 IPS antiglare multitouch panel. It weighs in at 3lbs (1.35kg) and Lenovo claims 10 hours of battery life based on the Google Chrome Power_LoadTest battery run down test.
As this is a Chromebook that's design to change modes, Lenovo added a number of durability features. They include a water-resistant keyboard, sealed touchpad, reinforced ports, and the Flex 11 is drop resistant to 29.5-inches (75cm). As for those reinforced ports, your get USB-C, USB 3.0, HDMI, a combo mic/audio jack, and SD card reader.
At $279, it's around $100 more expensive than the equivalent 11.6-inch Chromebooks already on the market. However, they don't typically have a touch screen or the ability to morph into a tablet format. They usually only ship with 16GB of storage and a slower processor, so you gain on those fronts too for the extra cash.
We May Finally Get an AMD-Powered Chromebook
The Flex 11 will become available before the end of the month. As it runs Chrome, you'll have full access to the Google Play Store and Android apps, but Lenovo is making a big deal of how this Chromebook can "seamlessly" run Skype ($2.99 at Software Advice) , Evernote, Slack, and a wealth of games, HD movies, and whatever else you care to throw at it.
What CES Taught Us About the PCs of 2022
By Michael J. Miller
Despite Chip Shortage, 2021 Was a Surprisingly Good Year for PC Shipments
The Fastest Laptops for 2022
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The Best Chromebooks for 2022
By John Burek & Tom Brant


1861 Natural occurrence of two entomogenous fungi pathogenic to mango hopper, Idioscopus clypealis Leth.
1862 Fruit and nut trees.
1863 New insect pests of certain fruit crops.
1864 Studies on mango malformation.
1865 Prevalence and control of malformation of mango inflorescence in Bihar.
1866 Feeding rates and survival of live wood termites in woody plants.
1867 New record of Orgyia postica Walk. as a pest of mango.
1868 New record of Deporaus marginatus (Pascal) as a pest of Litchi chinensis Sonn.
1869 The oriental fruit fly - Dacus dorsalis Hendel (Diptera Tephritidae).
1870 Chemical control and ecological observations of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha Schiner (Diptera: Tephritidae) on mango.
1871 Effectiveness of some insecticides against the mango leaf-weevil, Rhynchaenus mangiferae Marshall and in increasing mango fruit yield.
1872 FAO TCP project on nationwide mango seed weevil ecological survey.
1873 Determination of relevant critical stages for the management of the mango hopper, Idioscopus clypealis Lethierry.
1874 Mikania cordata (Burm. f.) serious weed of South Andaman.
1875 Protection of mangoes from post-harvest fungal decay by using fruit coatings.


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ESG Global Vision
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Ismail Haniyeh Quotes
We will resolve these matters through dialogue when we are in government. All I can say is no police officer will lose his job and no police salary will be cut.
Ismail Haniyeh
We will talk about several issues including the shape of the political partnership in the coming stage.
#Partnership
We will deal with this difference in the political position through dialogue and understanding, to preserve the national unity of the Palestinian people and promote the higher interests of our people.
#Understanding
If Israel declares that it will give the Palestinian people a state and give them back all their rights, then we are ready to recognize them.
This is a victory of the Palestinian people who voted against the occupation (by Israel in the West Bank), who voted for resistance, who voted for a new political system based on political partnership.
We call on you to understand the priorities of our Palestinian people at this stage and continue the spiritual and financial support in order to push the region towards stability rather than pressure and tension.
The Israelis are trying to starve innocent people by taking money from our taxes, and we are going to fight this by all legal means. This collective punishment will not break the determination of the Palestinian people.
Let them withdraw. We will make the authority stronger on every inch of liberated land knowing that the borders and rights of the Palestinian people are known and will not change.
#Authority
Postponing the election will lead to a vacuum and to a dark future. Postponing the election is not the solution.
It is too early to talk about this because there is a continued occupation and aggression against the Palestinian people.
#Aggression
If Israel withdraws to the '67 borders, then we will establish a peace in stages.
We are coming to congratulate you and to say that the blood of our Sheikh (Yassin) did not go in vain.
#Blood
These weapons liberated the land and by these weapons, we will continue the liberation process.
#Land
There is no winner and loser here. The elections are just the first step on the way to building a Palestinian political system.
#Elections
We are asking you to cooperate with our mission by keeping an open mind.
We urge you to understand the Palestinian reality, and not to rush in and impose conditions and demands that ignore this reality and increase the suffering of the people.
We will prove to the people that we are able to rebuild our homeland.
We will accelerate the process of forming the next government so that we will not have to have a political and constitutional vacuum.
There is no truth to baseless reports that President Abbas wants to take over the security institutions.
We think countries in power can decide for themselves what kinds of positions and policies they can take.
#Power
[We] care about relations with all countries of the international community and of the region. Therefore, we would be delighted to visit Russia and to hold talks and consultations with the Russian president and government.
At the same time, we must continue to strengthen and develop forms of popular resistance of a peaceful nature. We were elected on a different political agenda.
#Nature
I pray to God to help me shoulder the responsibility and to serve the Palestinian cause until the return of the rights of the Palestinian people.
#God
Our people will not ... kneel before such Israeli measures.
We are a free people. We've had democratic elections.
We've handled challenges in the past and we will be able to stand up to future challenges as well.
We are surprised that such conditions are imposed on us. Why don't they direct such conditions and questions to Israel? We say let Israel recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinians first, and then we will have a position regarding this.
I did not say anything about recognizing Israel.
The continued escalation aims to shed more Palestinian blood, confuse the situation and hamper ... the formation of the Palestinian government.
We agreed to continue the meetings and to intensify them in order to conclude the formation of the government and to present it to the parliament for a confidence vote.


This is the perfect mug for any B O S S M A M A!!! Creating a gift for that MAMA in your life? This is the perfect stand alone gift or add in to any gift basket. Goes great in the office at work or at home on your desk. Own it, boss mama!


Salary and Net Worth : How much is Colin Cowherd salary per month?
Personal Life : who is Colin Cowherd wife?
Height and Weight : how tall is Colin Cowherd?
Colin Murray Cowherd bon on 1964, January 6 is best known for his profession as American sports media personality. Cowherd is famous for his involvement in ESPN Radio network and ESPN's SportsNation. In the contrary, he has hosted Colin's New Football Show and is also the host of The Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio and Fox Sports 1. Making his remarkable endeavors in the business from the very early age, Colin Cowherd net worth is outstanding. In the other hand, he has gain huge name and fame.
Before engaging himself in Pacific Coast League's Las Vegas Stars, he used to represent himself as a trigonometry teacher at local high school. Craving his path serving KGW-TV at first, later, he was named as SportsCaster of the Year for five times. In addition, he was hired by KVBC-TV as a sports director in Las Vegas, Nevada and he never had to look back afterwards.
The man came big with ESPN as he was hired in the replacement of Tony Kornheiser for the 10 a.m. show on ESPN Radio in 2003. He successfully handled "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" on ESPNU and ESPN Radio. While he covered National Football League (NFL), College Football, Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA) and many more. At the moment, he is serving Fox Sports and handling his own show "The Herd Program" in Fox Sports Radio. While he is very active in Fox NFL Kickoff, "All Takes Matter" along with Jason Whitlock and other commentary shows.
Spending decades in the news industry, Colin Cowherd net worth and salary is pretty huge. The man with huge credits and controversies has been successful in winning numerous awards. He is the winner of Radio Personality of the Year by Sports Illustrate in 2005, National Sportscasters and Sportswriter Association for the five years, Best Pundit by Pundit Tracker in 2012 and many more. Along with such huge credits, Colin Cowherd net worth stands $12 million.
Colin has a perfect and a kind of messy personal life in the past. Seeing lots of divorce in the family, he maintained silent life when he had to face the same situation. Cowherd married Kimberly Ana Vadala in the year 1996 and share two children with each other. After years of marriage, the pair ended their relationship in 2007. After the fail marriage, he later tied his wedding knot with Ann Cowherd in the presence of their close relatives in 2010. At the moment, he serve himself as the father of six children, including two of his own and four stepchildren.
Regarding Colin Cowherd height and weight, he has the magnificent height of 6 feet 1 inch. While he is currently in his mid-fifties age. Colin Cowherd ethnicity is White and has brown dark color hair.
Colin Cowherd bio includes his born and raised place in Grayland, Washington. He belongs to American nationality while he is the son of optometrist, Charles Cowherd and housewife mother, Patricia. Growing up with his sister, he recall his early childhood days as "dark and idyllic". While he had to face his parent's separation in the tender age. Colin father married eight times while his mother is a three times divorced women, meanwhile he consider himself as "a child of divorces". Colin graduating from Eastern Washington University quickly began his professional career as the play-by-play voice for the Las Vegas Stars of Pacific Coast League. You can find more about him in Colin Cowherd wiki, while his bio is available in various bio related sites. Besides, you can follow him in facebook, twitter and other social accounts.


Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E), the global gold standard in European data protection certification. This two-day training encompasses pan-European and national data protection laws, key data protection terminology and practical concepts concerning the protection of personal data and trans-border data flows. The CIPP/E program was developed by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), which is the world's largest comprehensive global information privacy community and resource. The CIPP/E certification holds accreditation under ISO 17024: 2012.


What is a "headless" CMS?
Traditional CMS platforms have always had a front end display layer built in. A headless CMS is designed to allow the inputting of content, but does not assume the responsibility of laying it out. Elegant provides that content through an API in JSON.
Why would you use a headless CMS?
With content now being consumed on an endless number of devices, the desktop web can no longer be considered the central hub. By decoupling with a headless CMS, it allows your content to be delivered to any type of display.
Why is a headless CMS so powerful as a service?
Every development group has dealt with the pain of supporting an old CMS. Managing them as they age and finding resources to upgrade them is a constant problem that detracts from providing the core value of the application. We see Elegant as the solution. While we manage the CMS, you just design your content, integrate and go.
Can you give me an example of a project that's a good fit for a headless CMS?
Any project where you have content that needs quick and easy management. In some cases, clients are building desktop, mobile and native experiences all from a headless CMS. In others, Elegant is serving to augment an older CMS that the client is bound to. In some cases, developers are using Elegant to solve niche problems such as exposing settings and configurations that a client can control. Because Elegant's content entities can be built dynamically, how you use it has no limits.


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Chris Lopez
Director of Site Operations, Spaceport America
Chris Lopez is the Director of Site Operations at Spaceport America responsible for protective services, infrastructure and ground operations at the site. Prior to joining the Spaceport America team, he managed, redeveloped, and leased over 1,000,000 sq. ft. of commercial real estate. Much of this included work with nationally known corporate tenants such as JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. During this time he earned the prestigious CCIM designation (Certified Commercial Investment Member). Chris leads strategic site development, construction and program management at Spaceport America and is the designated point of contact for tenants, customers, visitors and contractors.
While serving in international sales management positions with Singapore Technologies Assembly and Test Services and Kyocera America, Chris negotiated and managed multi-million dollar revenue streams with customers including Intel, Motorola and Conexant. His teams launched early product lines with 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cell phone camera image sensors technologies in coordination with production teams across Scandinavia, Asia Pacific and North America.
Chris is passionate about his family and mentoring youth and has helped establish Charter Schools, DARE Basketball Camps and other initiatives over many years to encourage young people to recognize and embrace the opportunities all around them.
Chris received a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Marketing with a special focus on Logistics from New Mexico State University.
Meet More of Our Team
OUR CREW BOARDS


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PAUL McCARTNEY REVAMPS 1976 DEMO FOR NEW TRACK
One of the new Paul McCartney songs featured on his latest reissue of Egypt Station has actually been around for decades. The track, called "Frank Sinatra's Party," references Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, and Dean Martin, and has just been released as part of the new limited "deluxe" and "explorer" editions of the album.
The song, as any die-hard "Macca fan" will tell you, features the backing track from McCartney's summer 1976 demo, "Fishy Matters Underwater," which was previewed back in 1995 as part of the former-Beatle's syndicated radio series, Oobu-Joobu. The musical improvisation is among the string of experimental tracks McCartney laid down in his makeshift barn studio on his Scottish farm — dubbed Rude Studios — over his summer vactions in 1976, '77, and '78.
In the 2000 documentary Wingspan, McCartney was interviewed by daughter Mary, and shed light on the purpose of Rude Studios: "Up at the farm, I'd had a little four-track studio put in there. So, I was able to demo and experiment and make bits and pieces of music."
McCartney recalled he and wife Linda hitting Rude to develop new material for Wings: "We'd make sure everybody was fed, happy, and asleep, tuck ya into bed, then we'd come out here and do bit of jamming, bit of playing, sometimes a bit of writing."
AUDIO: PAUL MCCARTNEY ON RUDE STUDIOS
AUDIO: PAUL MCCARTNEY ON RECORDING ON SCOTTISH FARM
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A new survey shows a majority of people in China are concerned that territorial disputes with neighboring countries could lead to a military conflict.
China has been locked in a long-running dispute with countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia over territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled against China's claim to nearly all of the area in July.
The Pew survey showed 59 percent of people had some concern about the disputes resulting in conflict.
When asked their opinion on specific countries, 61 percent had an unfavorable view of India and 81 percent an unfavorable view of Japan. South Korea faired better, with 55 percent of Chinese holding a favorable opinion.
Half of those surveyed had positive view of the United States, about the same number who said the U.S. is trying to prevent China from becoming as powerful as it is.
Seventy-five percent of people said they think China is playing a more important role in the world today than it did 10 years ago. At the same time, roughly the same level cited a need to protect China's way of life against foreign influence.
China has the world's second leading economy, and as one of the five permanent members of the United States Security Council has plays a major role in diplomatic efforts such as the international agreement reached last year to limit Iran's nuclear program. At times China has used its veto power at the Security Council to object to what it describes as undo foreign influence in other country's affairs.
The Pew survey showed 56 percent of people think China should deal with its own problems and let other governments do the same, while 22 percent said China should be helping other countries deal with issues.
On terrorism, those surveyed were about evenly split on whether overwhelming military force was the best way to defeat militants or if that approach only fostered more hatred and more of a terrorist threat.
People in China were optimistic that corruption would decrease along with air and water pollution, and that food safety would improve.
Some 82 percent of people also said they think children today will be better off financially than their parents when they grow up.


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Geely of China Creates Lynk To Sell Volvo-based Cars In U.S.
By Neil Winton on November 2, 2016 in Industry Analysis 2016
"The design brief was simple: the cars should stand out from the crowd and appeal to a truly global audience"
Volvo's parent Geely Automobile of China has unveiled a new brand, Lynk, which will produce cheaper mass market cars using the basic engineering of the Swedish company and sell them in the U.S. and Europe as well as China.
Sales will begin in the U.S. and Europe in 2018, and next year in China.
The first Lynk will be called the 01, an SUV, with future models following in numerical order as in 02 and 03.
Geely unveiled the new car in Berlin, Germany, Thursday and said it will adopt a new business model with the accent on personal service, connectivity, leasing and sharing.
"(Lynk will) enrich and simplify ownership by redefining how they are bought, owned, connected serviced and used," said Lynk senior vice president Alan Visser.
Far from being a new approach though, this is exactly what all global car manufacturers are now doing.
The Lynk 01 is based on the "Compact Modular Architecture engineering developed by Geely and Volvo in Sweden.
Geely said the the Lynk range will be built in China and target the middle of the market under Volvo which is charged with competing with Mercedes, BMW and Audi.
According to Automotive News Europe, the compact SUV 01 will be a hybrid powered by a 1.5 liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor. Lynk also aims to add a compact sedan. Later versions can be powered by a 2.0 liter, 4-cylinder engine. There will be plug-in hybrids and electric versions.
Andreas Nilsson, Head of Geely Design in Sweden said the design of the Lynk 01 was basically European.
"The design brief was simple: the cars should stand out from the crowd and appeal to a truly global audience. From a distance, we have a European design approach. Get closer, and you see more and more detail, such as the intricate lights, and the type of grain on the interior leather. A strong wide grille completes the distinctive 'face' of the car. We wanted to acknowledge that our users are extremely tech-savvy – a smartphone is an integral part of their lives and our interior design reflects that and feels familiar in the context of new technology," Nilsson said in a statement.
No more details were available.
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U.S./China Auto Tariff War Will Lose Sales Worth $770 Billion
China, Volvo
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Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind, (born June 21, 1946, Edinburgh, Scotland), British Conservative Party politician who served in the cabinets (1986–97) of British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and who encouraged a pro-European stance in his party's policies.
On winning the 1979 general election, Prime Minister Thatcher forgave Rifkind his earlier defiance and appointed him to a succession of middle-ranking ministerial posts. As minister of state at the Foreign Office (1983–86), he played a significant role in persuading a reluctant Thatcher to accept plans to create a single market in Europe, which involved removing all barriers to movements of goods, services, and people throughout the European Economic Community (later succeeded by the European Union) and coordinating a number of fiscal and commercial laws.
Rifkind entered Thatcher's cabinet in 1986 as secretary of state for Scotland. (By this time he had lost his earlier enthusiasm for Scottish devolution.) In 1990 he became transport secretary, and after the 1992 general election Major appointed him defense secretary. In this post Rifkind faced two difficult tasks: to oversee the deployment of British troops in former Yugoslavia without provoking diplomatic trouble within the Atlantic alliance and to manage a succession of reductions in the United Kingdom's defense budget without provoking hostility from the chiefs of the armed forces. Neither policy was popular with all sections of his party or of the wider British public. By applying himself to detail and refusing to descend into partisan hectoring, Rifkind won praise for his efforts on both fronts.
On Douglas Hurd's retirement as foreign secretary in July 1995, Rifkind was the obvious successor. Rifkind immediately made it clear that he would maintain Hurd's broadly pro-European policies, although, to pacify Conservative Euroskeptics, Rifkind also promised "a stalwart defence of British interests." He also made it clear that he would maintain Britain's evenhanded stance toward the Middle East.
Rifkind headed the Foreign Office until 1997, when he lost his seat in Parliament in elections that swept the Labour Party to power. In that same year Rifkind was knighted. He was returned to Parliament as MP for Kensington and Chelsea in 2005. In the general election of 2010, Rifkind easily won the redrawn Kensington constituency.
In February 2015, with the May general election in the offing, Rifkind was suspended from the Conservative Party after allegations surfaced of his involvement in an influence-peddling scandal that resulted from a sting investigation conducted by The Daily Telegraph and Channel Four. He chose not to stand for reelection.