I did not get to Bishop's Castle while I was in Shropshire, but last week the Town Hall there was opened after major restoration. Castle News reports: The official ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on June 5, followed by an invitation-only reception for representatives of funding bodies and town councillors. The handover is taking place in advance of repointing work which is the subject of confidential negotiations between the town council and contractors. The first market in the new town hall will be a flea market, to be held on June 7 and then monthly on the first Saturday ...
"What have you been up to then?" "Oh I've been reading Dennis Wheatley" "What?! What the fuck do you want to read Dennis Wheatley for? It's racist, classist, homophobic, misogynist, xenophobic, politically illiterate... worse than all that it's BADLY WRITTEN!" "I know! That's what makes it SO HILARIOUS!" One day my politically incorrect sense of humour is going to get me into big trouble. But honestly, if you want to piss yourself laughing, Wheatley is the way to go. The man in my icon would doubtless disagree, but he (like Wheatley) is a product of another time. [IMG: comment count ...
The media has stoked up this anti Lib Dem mood that currently exists in the country and it is time they backed off and started to treat us fairly. Too many people are brushing it off by saying it's what you expect when you are in Government or Labour has had a bad time from the Tory press for years. But not page after page day after day since 2010 as we have had from the likes of the dreadful Daily Mail, The Sun and even the Guardian which does it in a very subtle way. Prior to 2010 we ...
A guest Posting from Jen Robertson Take a look at this fascinating project and the progress in painting the former Liverpool Pilot Ship Edmund Gardner in dazzle inspired paint. Dazzle paint was used in WWI to confuse the eye and make it difficult for the enemy to tell the size, distance and course of a ship. The project is not a recreation (the Edmund Gardner only dates from 1953 and Pilot boats were not dazzle painted) but is a wonderful artist's interpretation as part of the WWI commemorations. The boat is open for tours over the summer period and ...
Gaby Hinsliff in the Guardian reviews David Marquand's 'Mammon's Kingdom: An Essay on Britain, Now'. "An eventual Conservative victory by just 22 votes (after four recounts) the Earndale campaign was also noticeable for the burgeoning love between the Labour and Conservative candidates and for the fact that no sooner had the Conservative candidate been elected than his uncle's death elevated him to the Lords voiding the result of the election." Philip Cowley and Matthew Bailey on The Conversation look at the 1959 satire on politics 'Left, Right and Centre'. "Since I first wrote about the Ladybird books obsession with modernism ...
I have always and will vote Lib Dem again. I believe you have to look beyond the policies to the core values, what we as a Party have as our principles, do you agree with the Libdem values?: • Do ... Continue reading →
A key aide to Home Secretary Theresa May has this evening quit her job, after an investigation into a row with Education Secretary Michael Gove over tackling extremism in schools. Gove has written a letter of apology to Prime Minister David Cameron. The row is highly embarrassing for both. No doubt more will emerge, but so far the only winner is George Osborne. Mrs May is significantly ahead in polls predicting the next Conservative party leader, and is seen as a major threat to Osborne succeeding David Cameron. Gove too cannot be counted the UK the running.
It has been rather busy over the past week, through no real fault of my own, apart from saying, "Alright, I'll do it.". In respect, that might not have been entirely the most sensible thing for me to do. But, despite everything, I've made it to the penultimate day of the process. Candidates are campaigning, my ballot box is assembled, with a silica gel packet at the bottom to absorb moisture, ballot papers have been printed, a membership list is printed and noted with the names of all those who need to renew their membership before being able to vote. ...
[IMG: Lib Dems winning here] Here's the full list of selection contests in the coming month available for Lib Dems on the approved parliamentary candidates' list, together with the closing date for applications. The following seats have selections in progress and are currently advertising for candidates: Reading East, 14th June Reading West, 14th June North East Cambridgeshire, 20th June South Dorset, 20th June North Somerset, 27th June Nottingham East, 27th June Nottingham North, 27th June Nottingham South, 27th June Further information, including Returning Officer contact details, can be found on the Lib Dem members' website: http://www.libdems.org.uk/forms/user_sessions/new and then once you ...
Way back when we were in a pact with Labour there was a lot of grumbling and even a special Assembly where members vented their frustration. The big issue was that members, by and large, had a different expectation of the Pact to the Leadership. For David Steel it was a vehicle to prove 'partnership in government' worked. The fact of its continued existence was sufficient. Activists wanted results- policy gains: Constitutional reform, employee ownership/profit sharing, repeal of the special powers taken by government in the wake of the IRA campaign, green measure etc. We got precious few. Richard Wainwrights ...
In a letter to the South London Press, Duwayne Brooks, our Libdem candidate in the election for Mayor of Lewisham, described his heartache at being told of another death among our young people and offered his condolences to the families. He said: " For years, I have been trying to highlight the issue of serious [...]
[IMG: members forum wordle] LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you're reading now. The second is our private members' forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access. If you're a member and want to chat with fellow party members about any issue that's on your mind, then why not sign up? In addition, you'll be included in our regular surveys' of party members' views. Here's some of the most active discussions this past 7 days: Newark; Tory Facing Seats: the structure of our vote; What is the truth on the Recall bill?; ...
Sat 7th
14:30
Eddie Clein on 'Falling off the Fence', his memoir of six decades in Liverpool politics
[IMG: falling off the fence eddie clein] Eddie Clein, a long-standing former Lib Dem councillor and former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, has recently published his memoirs of his six decades' involvement in the city's politics – from his first win in 1969 through to his final defeat in 2012, aged 77. Here Eddie tells LDV a little more about his life and what the book covers... As a key player in Liverpool's Liberal Democrat administration (1998-2010), I thought it was important to place on record some of the party's achievements and some of the personalities involved. Having been in public ...
Victoria Park Primary School had their Summer Fayre at the school this morning Always a good sport, Blackness Primary School Head Teacher Gordon Ferrier was in the stocks again at the school's Summer Fair! At the Blackness Primary School Summer Fair, buying Fairtrade rice to support the campaign to help children from Malawi to get an education The City Church Family Fun Day at the Friary is on until 4pm today!
This morning in lovely sunshine - and along with the team from Community Spirit Action Group - we took part in a litter pick of Balgay Hill as part of the Dundee Festival of Volunteering 2014. Here's a couple of photos:
[IMG: The Houses Of Parliament] Our Paul Tyler has been writing about the Queen's Speech over at the Lords of the Blog. He tackles the accusation that the Government has run out of steam because it's only produced one piece of legislation per month and suggests that the Labour habit of expecting Parliament to consider 30 bills in a session did not do much for scrutiny. Goldilocks looked at Tony Blair's Queen's Speeches, with 30+ bills announced each time, and pronounced, 'that's far too much legislation'. Then Goldilocks looked at the Coalition's final Queen's Speech and lamented, 'this is far ...
[IMG: Jenny_Willott2Blog] Employers who do not pay their workers the National Minimum Wage will face penalties of up to £20,000 per employee, the coalition is expected to announce this week in the Queen's Speech. Under the reform employers will be given penalties of up to £20,000 for each individual worker they have underpaid, rather than the maximum penalty of up to £20,000 applying to each employer as is currently the case. In the most serious cases, employers can also face criminal prosecution. The coalition has already increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from ...
[IMG: Tony Blair in Osnabrück] I thought it might be interesting to take a wee look at what we were talking about at various points in the history of Liberal Democrat Voice. Today the spotlight shines on the first couple of weeks of June in 2007. Here are half a dozen posts from Tony Blair's last few weeks in office. It's interesting to note that in the first 15 days of the month, not one single woman wrote for the site. First up, Jeremy Hargreaves assesses the Blair years: A more equal society? Well who would have thought that equality ...
Manchester council politics: Problems at school where all classes are the same (tags: ) On Dawkins and fairy tales (tags: ) Very Very Triggery, terrifying news story from Pakistan. "Mainstream media are not reporting this because it's routine" aspect mentioned in the final paragraph is just utterly depressing. (tags: ) Lego asks government to remove Scottish independence images (tags: ) Yay Sensitive Klegg is back in @2000ad :) Not that I think Sensitive Klegg being a more sensitive member of a race of bloodthirsty monsters has any resonance with anything at all. honest. (tags: ) 82% of LDV readers back ...
Yesterday the world commemorated the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. As a pacifist by nature I abhor all forms of violent conflict. War is horrific and inhuman, but some wars are worth fighting. Nothing can compensate for the scale of tragedy and loss of World War II, but we can at least reflect on [...]
[IMG: Sunset at Kabini River] Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 830 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. Caron Lindsay wrote an excellent, balanced piece about the current assisted dying legislation here yesterday. Here are the results of our recent members' survey on the subject. 82% back Assisted Dying Bill Currently it is illegal for a doctor to help someone with a terminal illness to end their life, even if ...
But I am not sure it would be a good thing ... For entirely innocent reasons I found myself trying to remember what I thought Liberal Democrat fiscal policy was before the last election. Entirely innocent, I assure you. I came across my post discussing the endorsements of the Guardian and the Economist for the [...]
A visit to Bootle Town Hall leaves you with the impression of what was once a significantly wealthy Corporation of Bootle-Cum-Linacre. Despite the fact that the Town Hall was extensively damaged by bombing in the Second World War and went through major rebuilding the civic pride of Bootle's Victorian representatives can clearly still be seen. [IMG: Bootle Town Hall] Bootle Town Hall There is a battered clock on the wall in the foyer and the plaque with it says that it displays the time when the Town Hall was bombed, as it stopped at that moment. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootle Bootle, not surprisingly, ...
Residents have expressed concern to me about the regular flooding that has been taking place at the bridge over the railway on Riverside Drive, south of the Botanic Garden. A resident kindly supplied me with the photo - below - that illustrates the problem:I have taken up the problem with the City Engineer and the Team Leader (Infrastructure) has now updated me as follows: "I have discussed this with my Roads Maintenance colleagues as I did not have this location identified as a flood "hot spot." I am advised that following the erection of the houses in Vernonholme, flooding occurred ...
In the National Assembly, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are today calling for a robust, proactive and strong system of inspections in Welsh hospitals. The National Assembly for Wales held a debate last week to discuss the Health and Social Care Committee's report on the work of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) is the independent inspectorate and regulator of all health care in Wales. The report states "the committee did not receive the assurances it wanted to hear about the role of HIW in ensuring that healthcare providers are examined properly, meet basic standards, and face sufficient intervention when ...
Dan Hodges brilliantly hit the mark on Thursday with a blog about the debate on the Queen's Speech and the wonderfully authentic Annette Brooke, raising the question what do we really want from our politicians: Annette Brooke didn't play to the gallery. Her speech was worthy. Compared to what had gone before, it was a bit dull. But it was also a reflection of a lifetime of public service. Brooke spent 20 years as a teacher and lecturer before opting to enter politics full time. She didn't follow the activist-adviser-MP circuit which supposedly insulates the new political class from the ...
My thoughts on the nominated novelettes: The Lady Astronaut Of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal is a very touching story about lost possible futures, whether the futures we give up for others or the possible futures of science fiction that we no longer believe in. It's written very much in the style of something that [...]
