So, Mr Umunna's arrival, welcome though it was, kind of put paid to our scheduling plans. So we'll be catching up with the leadership campaign over the next two nights. Thursday seems such a long time ago now. It started for Ed with local success: Delighted to open new ramp for disabled access at Chessington South station & a new cycle rack today. Successful end to a long campaign with Lib Dem Councillors Tricia Bamford, Chris Stewart & Andreas Kinnear Thanks to all involved @chessington_sch @CWOA @chessingtonnews pic.twitter.com/60W1hEKiHU — Ed Davey [IMG: 🔶] (@EdwardJDavey) June 13, 2019 And then he ...
Lucy Middleton reports for Metro today: Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson upheld his media silence as he attended party hustings today. The former foreign secretary, who is the front-runner in the leadership race, chose to arrive at the event through the side entrance of the hotel. He then later left the hustings through a discreet rear door, without taking any questions from journalists.But then Johnson is anxious to avoid journalists during this Conservative leadership campaign: As a journalist @BorisJohnson would have no doubt been furious at a senior politician being the only one of six to refuse to take part ...
As part of the excellent post-elections debrief session in Western Counties, I did a slot after the ever-insightful Paula Surridge.
Here's a little set of resources you may find useful if you are one of the very many new Liberal Democrat members or registered supporters: New to the Liberal Democrats? Welcome! Here's a little set of resources you may find useful. pic.twitter.com/8Tkcp0EcCc — LibDemNewswire [IMG: 🔶] (@LibDemNewswire) June 1, 2019
Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Daniel Lewis and Yaso Sathiy are holding their next advice centre in Churchtown. We will be at BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt café, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, from 10:30 to 11.30am on Thursday 27th June. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Crossens, at St John's School, Rufford Road, Crossens every month (except August) on the second Saturday of the month from 11:00 am to 12:00. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in.
Following Simon Hughes's announcement that he wasn't going to seek to return as MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, the Liberal Democrats needed a new Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for the seat.
Friday: It is three weeks since the European Elections changed everything and there's really only one story in town. It's just not the one you think it is. With 3 MEPS Lib Dems topped the poll in London Obviously, the news cycles are dominated by the Conservatory leadership. After all, Game of Thrones is over now, and the audience needs a new hit of blood, guts and sexposition... But whether the idiot in the clown-car is now a shoe in for the Iron Throne or might still get removed by an unexpected twist, what's less obvious is that the entire ...
David Mckenzie writes about becoming another convert to the Liberal Democrats from Labour: This is something I've been contemplating heavily since leaving Labour earlier this year...which was one of the hardest decisions of my entire life. You see Labour was a huge part of my identity, I was a Candidate for Labour, General Election Agent for Labour, I wrote Early Day Motions in Parliament that came from my Labour values. Recently though, my values don't seem to ring true with the new influx to the Labour movement. I took the decision to walk away. Labour is in my family's blood, ...
A quick update on new Liberal Democrat member, Chuka Umunna, who now has his first role in the party: Vince has asked me to lead on treasury and business issues in the House of Commons, pending the election of our new leader who will no doubt appoint their own team. I will dive straight in and get on with that in addition to, of course, continuing to serve my constituents in Streatham. In the hours after the announcement of his switch, around 800 further people joined the Liberal Democrats as members or registered supporters. Of course, not all his former ...
Members of the Liberal Democrats in Redbridge and Waltham Forest have selected Dr Geoffrey Seeff as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency, where Iain Duncan Smith is the current MP. Speaking to party members after his selection, Geoff Seeff reminded them that Chingford and Woodford Green voted to remain in Europe in 2016: The nation has been polarised and Parliament paralysed since the ill-conceived and mismanaged referendum took place. Sadly, in the ensuing debate on the outcome, people have lost sight of the vision and values that inspired the founding of the European Union ...
Today's Guardian tells us about a new report which claims that property wealth in Britain from second homes has risen by more than 50% over the past two decades to reach nearly £1 trillion. Research by the Resolution Foundation has found that total property wealth for UK residents from second homes, buy-to-let investments and overseas property has risen in value from around £610bn in 2001 to £941bn. The number of British adults in families who have wealth from properties additional to their own home has risen by more than 50% this century to reach 5.5 million - around one in ...
Fri, 12:56: In Moldovan Crisis, an Opportunity for EU to Act https://t.co/v78xIKL1Gs We can but hope. Fri, 13:00: RT @MercEurDialogue: Happening now! Opening lecture & debate on "National political systems and the process of Europeanisation: the history... Fri, 13:25: RT @pickwick: In which the House of Lords discusses whether American submarines are a danger to the Loch Ness Monster, and if it would be l... Fri, 14:27: RT @epc_eu: NEW | Commentary Towards a no-deal #Brexit in October By @larissaarabelle https://t.co/XHLAN5IpVb https://t.co/9wYbE7MNAQ Fri, 15:06: RT @nicupopescu: it's all true :) ON JUNE 8TH Nicu Popescu was on his way to ...
The People's Vote campaign have announced a Summer of campaigning which will take in many towns around the country, Labour and Conservative conferences and another big march in London on October 12th. I travelled down from Scotland for the march last October. I was gutted that I couldn't go when a million took to the streets in March. The campaign set out their plans: These protests will mobilise all those who feel their voice is being ignored by politicians hell-bent on imposing the hardest possible form of Brexit on the country without the public being given final say. This will ...
I attended the Lib Dem Leadership hustings event held in Manchester yesterday evening to help me decide whether to back Jo Swinson or Ed Davey. I came away more impressed with Davey than I expected to be but Swinson shaded it for me because of her engaging and down to earth way of connecting with her audience. Those who know me well will realise that I had wanted Layla Moran to stand for Lib Dem Leader but probably for all the right reasons she decided not to. I'm guessing that she wants to get more experience under her belt before ...
Chuka Umunna becoming a member of the Liberal Democrats is good for him, the Liberal Democrats and politics in the UK. There are several and important, obvious and not as obvious, reasons why this is so. Chuka Umunna is clearly an able, dynamic, eloquent personality. Anybody who has seen him relate to and engage with people, can see this. At home on television, with interviewers, on platforms, he is a communicator who is a good talker and listener. And he is as at ease with school kids and young people in their turf as he is in the Westminster bubble. ...
I welcome guest posts on Liberal England. As you can see from this list of the 10 most recent , I am happy to consider a wide range of subjects. If you would like to write a guest post yourself, please drop me an email so we can discuss your idea. The importance of respectful relationships between teachers and pupils - Sean Warren and Stephen BiggerThe Lib Dems and Brexit: How a shot in the arm became a shot in the foot - Neville FarmerDrinking with Daniel Farson - James TarryAn ideological conflict is coming - time for Liberals to ...
Most folk do not walk or cycle around the now infamous Switch Island where the M57 & M58 Motorways join with the A59, A5036 and the new(ish) Brooms Cross Road but it's quite possible and even safe to do so. Indeed it's probably safer than driving around it based on the almost daily road traffic accidents that happen there. However, if you do walk or cycle it you will come across this large boulder with 2 metal plaques set into it:- The plaques record the 1st and 2nd phases of the reconstruction of the junction in 1998 and 2006. But ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SATURDAY 15 AND SUNDAY 16 JUNE 2019 Brook Street (at Edward Street) - temporary traffic lights until Monday 17 June for SSEN work. REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 17 JUNE 2019 Lochee Road (at Gardners Lane) - off-peak (9.30am - 3.30pm) stop/go traffic control from Tuesday 18 June for 4 days for footway works. Forthcoming Roadworks Antiques Roadshow - Saturday 22 June: Earl Grey Place West, South Crichton Street, South Castle Street and Earl Grey Place East closed for 2 days. Sunday 23 ...
Even as a schoolboy in the 1950s, I found cinema and TV advertisements a bit naff. The cinema ad that promoted a local restaurant but was obviously shot by Pearl & Dean 500 miles away in south east England was really embarrassing to watch. So my decision to join the BBC was not only because [...]
Grateful thanks to tom for tweeting this 1967 Chris Welch article from the Melody Maker. Who should we see named among the 'Magnificent Seven' guitarists that year but this blog's hero Steve Winwood. When you consider he is widely regarded as the best British Hammond organ player and our most authentic soul voice - and authenticity was everything to white boys who played soul in the Sixties - that is some achievement. So here he is playing on Traffic's Dear Mr Fantasy that year.
I confess to having missed the news that Elvis Costello had been awarded an OBE a few days ago. Things that were unthinkable a few years ago seem to have become commonplace these days. The...Continue Reading The post Elvis Costello OBE appeared first on ten pence piece.
I have long hoped this clip would turn up on YouTube and tonight I found it. It comes from a friendly Scotland played against Wales before they set off for their famously ill-fated assault on the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that Streatham MP Chuka Umunna has joined the party.Chuka joins the Liberal Democrats, having held the seat since 2010. The Liberal Democrats recently topped the poll in London during the European elections and are extremely excited to gain this seat.Commenting on his decision, Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna said:"I have chosen to join the Liberal Democrats because it is at the forefront of a renewed, progressive and internationalist movement in British politics that shares my values. "Labour and the Tories are committed to facilitating Brexit, and Brexit makes ending austerity virtually impossible. The ...
This is from the 1952 US Presidential election, animated by Roy Disney, nephew of Walt. Quite fun - and also a healthy reminder about slipping into believing that politics now is awful compared to an imagined previous Golden Age.
Although a lot has been going on, I haven't been blogging much in the last couple of months for two reasons - a local by-election, where I was an election agent, and the European election. I obviously had a lot less thinking time on my hands and secondly, if you publish anything that might be [...]
So, I know that a bunch of you who have already bought houses will know this, but even with everyone trying really hard to get it done by a deadline, wrinkles in the road happen, and sometimes it's not possible to hit the deadline. For various reasons we are not going to hit the deadline. We still do not have a completion date. We do not even have an estimate for when a completion date might be. And we have to be out of this house before the 23rd of this month. That's 8 and a bit day's time. We ...
The government is committing to "Net Zero" greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. This is good news but the means of achieving it are critical. Global reduction is not being achieved but it would be wrong to suggest that nothing has been done and certainly panicking would not be a rational response. Global CO2 emissions per unit of GDP have been decreasing at annual rate of about 1.8 percent for the last 80 years but economic growth means that global emissions have still been increasing at 2.6 percent per year. The figures above are taken from "The Climate Casino" by ...
Fri 14th
11:55
#LibDemDivest can shift £billions out of risky fossil fuels and create climate smart pensions
With news of Climate Emergency getting more troubling every month its easy to feel hopeless and wonder what you can do. May has announced Net Zero Carbon a UK by 2050, but can we really trust the Tories to deliver when they've effectively banned onshore wind, supported fracking, sold off our Green Investment Bank and scrapped our Zero Carbon Homes law? You might have decided its time to take matters into your own hands, having meat free days and recycling your food waste, but did you know, up to 20% of your pension might be invested in climate wrecking fossil ...
One of the great ironies that will be relished by historians in the semi-distant future is how Rory Stewart, the only candidate in the current Tory leadership who had a realistic plan for delivering Brexit, was derided as a Remainer, while they went on to pick Boris Johnson instead, who was the final nail in Brexit's coffin. Since June 2016, Brexiteers have made every major call in regard to leaving the European Union incorrectly. Given the political terrain following the immediate aftermath of Leave's victory, where we are now is astounding: polls consistently in favour of remaining in the EU, ...
Thu, 12:56: The promises Boris Johnson has broken as mayor https://t.co/NJAS7nFOfT A reminder. Thu, 16:05: RT @DaveKeating: Very interesting map of who dubs and who subtitles in Europe. You can see the direct correlation between this and English... Thu, 17:11: RT @MatthewdAncona: Here's what's happening, then. Pretty much everyone has decided that Boris Johnson is going to win, and the numbers so... Thu, 17:47: RT @Unwise_Trousers: When you just want to clutch your head in a field in peace, and people keep slapping you on book covers: https://t.co/... Thu, 18:32: Will Supervillains Be On The Final?, by Naomi Novik, art ...
Both the leadership candidates have warmly welcomed Chuka Umunna to the Lib Dems: Ed said: Stopping Brexit is my number one priority and I welcome Chuka to our benches as a key player in this fight. He has shown huge courage, and will make a major contribution to the Liberal Democrats. Liberal Democrats are back in the game, and the only viable force for pro-Europeans across the UK. Join us. Jo said: I have said all along that growing a liberal movement means reaching out to bring more people into our party, and I am delighted that Chuka has decided ...
It didn't come as any surprise when I saw the tweet last night that the former Labour and ChangeUK had announced that he was joining the Lib Dems. The writing had been on the wall for some time and they'll likely be more dominoes to fall in the coming days. The main reason Chuka wasn't a surprise was I think he has real ambition in politics and having seen his Labour Party being taken over by the radical left, he needed somewhere that would give him a platform for him to sing from his own hymn sheet. The story in ...
The first round of the Conservative Party's leadership contest saw the welcome departure of Esther McVey, among others, but less heartening was the very strong performance by Boris Johnson, who came well out in front. That does not necessarily mean he will win in the end — there is a significant number of Tory MPs [...]
I am convinced the Liberal Democrats, as the spearhead of a broader progressive movement in civil society, offer the best chance to improve the lives of those I represent as well as countless other citizens across our country. The time has come to put past differences behind us and, in the national interest, do what is right for the country. So I urge others to join the party too. So says the newest Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna in an article on the Lib Dem website. He's also been on the Today programme this morning (at about 7:12 am if ...
Brazen assertions by Tory leadership candidates that Europe fears a no-deal as much as the UK, may well be accurate but the stakes are much higher for us than the other 27 countries and they know it, and that is why at the end of the day they will let us self-destruct. That assertion is made clear by this article in the Independent, in which they report on analysis by the European Commission, which concludes that the UK economy will be hit up to 10 times harder by a no-deal Brexit than the continent's. They say that the working assumption ...
This is my stand on The Radical Centre: A Ten-Point Guide. It is a seven-point programme for a radical centre 1) Introduce seriously representative democracy to replace the present pretence. This involves reasonable precision in the polling booth and mechanisms to ensure that (almost) all votes count one way or the other. It means ending the stranglehold [...] The post My take on the radical centre – seven points this time appeared first on Radix.
Re-Discover Dundee launched last December and is delivered by Volunteer Dundee and Dundee Voluntary Action. It particularly focuses on encouraging older people to join in guided rides, as an opportunity to stay active and re-discover our nearby green spaces. Can you help? See below!
Welcome to the 20,000 people who have joined the Liberal Democrats in the last few weeks, and a special mention to our newest MP. I'm delighted to say I've joined the @LibDems! – here's my joint interview with @vincecable in tmr's @thetimes where I explain why https://t.co/DcqnCWikzg — Chuka Umunna (@ChukaUmunna) June 13, 2019 It's actually been really heartwarming to wake up every morning for the last few weeks and see a whole rush of "I just joined the Lib Dems" posts on Twitter. You might, by the way, have noticed the wee orange diamonds some people have on their ...
In case you had an early night last night and are wondering what's going on, last night Chuka Umunna joined the Liberal Democrats. Here's the official announcement which came just after 10pm last night. The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that Streatham MP Chuka Umunna has joined the party. Chuka joins the Liberal Democrats, having held the seat since 2010. The Liberal Democrats recently topped the poll in London during the European elections and are extremely excited to gain this seat. Commenting on his decision, Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunna said: I have chosen to join the Liberal Democrats ...