There is quite a bit of talk of late, suggesting that Labour Party leadership should conduct behind-the-scenes talks with the Liberal Democrats about the possibility of having a coalition Government with them post-2015.

Frankly - I think a coalition between the Labour Party and the Lib Dems would be a travesty.

Another five year coalition may keep the media and political heavyweights excited, but the public do not have faith or trust in politicians as it is.

Monday marks the 24 anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives.

Below is a poem written by survivor John Holmes:

The Coalition Government has now been in power for almost three years - and it has been cuts, cuts, cuts all the way.

The North West has felt the impact of slashed Government funding settlements more harshly than anywhere. Forty thousand jobs have so far been lost in the public sector in our region, according to the GMB.

Behind each job lost, is a cut in a public service often serving the most vulnerable in our society. 

And this year the Coalition want more cuts, even though the International Monetary Fund - no friend of working people - has told George Osborne that the cuts have gone too far, too fast, too deep.

Because austerity isn't working.

I agree that Hope Street is one of Liverpool's Great Streets.

There are a range of architectural styles in the vicinity from the Philharmonic Hall designed by Herbert Rouse in what's called the streamline moderne style of stripped back Art Deco while the Philharmonic Dining Rooms opposite were designed by Walter Thomas in 1898 for Cain's brewery in the exuberant free style.

Then you have the two catherdrals, the Hope Street hotel and extension designed by ourselves, numerous Georgian terraces and the emerging, modern Everyman theatre, so it's a point of agreement that there is a rich variety of building types.

Hope Street along with The Strand, Water Street, Castle Street and St George's
Plateau is one of Liverpool's Great Streets.

Bookended and complemented by our two Cathedrals, its eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings together with the twentieth century Philharmonic Hall provide a stunning iconic streetscape.

Despite having a wide range of architectural styles and finishes, the majority of its buildings sit comfortably alongside one another, their diversity enhancing and enriching the locality.

The Mayor and Liverpool Vision agree that new development on Hope Street should sensitively complement existing usage.

The Christmas and New Year period will see huge demands placed on A&E departments across the UK as staff get to grips with an influx of alcohol and accident related admissions resulting from the cold weather.

Much has been written about the success of independent candidates in elections, which saw independents poll over 1.2m votes in the Police & Crime Commissioner elections, 12 independents becoming Police Commissioners and an independent beating Labour to become Bristol's first elected Mayor.

Some of the success of independents is no doubt down to the fact that these were elections being held on a cold, dark Thursday in November, the role of Police Commissioner was one few really understood or a post that people wanted to keep somehow above politics.

But if the results do mark a new departure in citizen-based politics, is this actually good for democracy?

My previous post on the result of the November 2012 Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner election included a pie chart showing how the number of registered electors who 'abstained' vastly outnumbered those who took part.

I've now updated this graphic so that it includes an estimate for the total number of eligible, but unregistered, electors in Merseyside. It looks like this:

I've posted two graphs below, both of which I circulated on twitter earlier today, shortly after the Police and Crime Commissioner results for Merseyside were announced.

The first is a simple bar chart, showing the number of votes for each candidate. As any reader of this blog probably knows already, the Labour candidate Jane Kennedy won by a huge margin, securing 56% of the first preference votes.

Sound policies and a decent track record are all very well.

But an election candidate in search of votes really can't beat an eye-catching item of signature clothing.

And to Harold Wilson's Gannex mac and Martin Bell's famous white suit we can now add George Ferguson's red trousers. George who?