Newspaper speculation about forthcoming honours lists is often wide of the mark, but here is the Mirror website this evening: Ousted Lib Dems Vince Cable and Danny Alexander are due to get knighthoods in a move that will spark a fresh honours row. The two former Coalition Cabinet ministers are believed to have rejected offers of peerages from ex-Deputy PM Nick Clegg in the dissolution honours list. ... Two more of Mr Clegg's allies, former MP Annette Brooke and film producer Pippa Harris - a friend since his university days - will be given damehoods. Mr Clegg also nominated Lib ...
The bright morning sun woke me unreasonably early this morning, so rather than lie-in complaining about the pain in my shoulder I decided to pay an early visit to the allotment. Nobody else was about when I arrived but during the next couple of hours -before most people's breakfast- two more plot holders cycled by. Having lifted the potatoes already ( salad variety Nicola and a poor crop of Shetland Black) the second two beds are empty except for some leeks that the sharp eyed observers will have noted. The front bed with the fine meshed insect barrier around it ...
This is an update to this posting two weeks ago, based on this press statement from Southwark Lib Dems Southwark's Labour council has been offered a final chance to halt the felling of 60 trees and digging up of 60 graves as part of its plans for new burial space in two local cemeteries which form part [...]
We are on our travels again, this time on the right coast of the United States - or the East Coast for those of us with a more conventional sense of geography. And yes, there is some 'touristical' activity - baseball, the Freedom Trail, a national park, sea otters and whale watching, amongst other things - but I also have family here, in New York and in Boston. So, yesterday, Ros and I presented ourselves at Heathrow's Terminal 5 for what can be astonishing tedium. It turned out, fortunately, to be an astonishingly uneventful trip and, just twelve and a ...
Forest Hill Liberal Democrats have joined a chorus of anger over the new majority Conservative Government's abandonment of environmental policies introduced and promoted by the previous Coalition Government. In just three months since the general election the Conservatives have: Scrapped subsidies for onshore wind and commercial solar – the two cheapest forms of clean energy [...]
Many of you enjoyed the black and white photographs of the A52 bypass being built through Spondon I posted here a few weeks ago. I've also managed to unearth a few colour slides of Spondon in 1956. These were taken before the bypass was built, presumably in late spring / early summer judging by the state of the foliage. Willowcroft ...
[IMG: Ashes-Urnx640] A few years ago, I came up with the concept of the Alternative Ashes, effectively a linear championship of Test cricket, looking at what would have happened if every cricketing nation played for the Ashes rather than just England and Australia. The rules are the same as those for the regular Ashes – a team holds the title until they lose a Test series to another nation who then hold it until they're defeated and so on until there is no more cricket left to be played. At our last update a couple of years ago, Australia had ...
Another month, another scandal involving Police Scotland. Alison McInnes has called for an enquiry that could see senior police officers and government ministers brought before a Holyrood committee to provide answers on Police Scotland's involvement in accessing the communications data of journalists without judicial approval. Alison has written to Convenor Christine Grahame to ask that the parliamentary committee investigate the claims. If agreed, an inquiry could result in senior figures from Police Scotland and the Scottish Government being asked to provide evidence. It emerged last month that two un-named UK police forces had been involved in spying on journalists and ...
I mentioned in my last post that I was knee deep in reading for my dissertation proposal. I'm still knee deep, but the ideas are starting to become a little better formed now. One thing I can confidently say is that all of the questions I'm interested in researching involve understanding the way that language is used in the context ...
[IMG: The Tower of London. CC0 Public Domain] This eleventh book in Christopher Fowler's series about the Peculiar Crimes Unit is as enjoyable as any of the earlier volumes. The two (very) elderly eponymous detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, are back along with their regular supporting cast. [IMG: Bryant and May - The Bleeding Heart - by Christopher Fowler] This time they set off to investigate an apparent case of a dead man rising from his grave and the disappearance of the ravens from the Tower of London. As ever with Fowler's novels, there is a very strong London ...
The Liberal Democrats are setting up a more streamlined parliamentary policy team as befits our new circumstances and, for the first time, one team will serve both Commons and Lords. Applications close at 5 pm this coming Wednesday. The job description for the three parliamentary adviser posts is as follows: The PAU is a dynamic, exciting and fast paced team working to support and promote the efforts of Liberal Democrat Parliamentarians in both the House of Commons and House of Lords. The Parliamentary Adviser will specialise in one of six key policy areas, supporting all Parliamentarians in carrying out their ...
Mavarine Du-Marie 8th Aug '15 – 12:54pm From the open letter: "A vote calling for legalizing pimping would in effect support gender apartheid, in which some women in society can demand protection from rape, discrimination and sexual harassment, while others, the most vulnerable among us, are instead set aside for consumption by men and for... More Amnesty should support decriminalisation of sex work
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This post was originally written for Lib Dem Voice. This month, Amnesty International delegates will vote on a proposal to make decriminalisation of sex work a campaigning matter for the human rights organisation. This, understandably, has raised ire from many people, but none so large as parts of the feminist movement. Just last week, we saw several Hollywood actors - ordinarily staunch allies of Amnesty's work - sign an open letter promulgated by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women calling for Amnesty to reject the policy. One notable signatory was Anne Hathaway, who received an Oscar two years ago for ...
The Worthing Herald reports: Liberal Democrat Steve Creed emerged victorious in the Lancing Parish Council by-election... The Churchill ward by-election saw Mr Creed beat Green Party candidate Paul Hendy by 211 votes to 112. Turnout was just 9.5 per cent - largely expected after a decision was made not to send out poll cards to save money. The election was triggered after the resignation of UKIP councillor Sidney Hilsum. Speaking to the Herald before the poll, Mr Creed said: "As a lifelong Liberal I am committed to a free and fair society where the solutions to local issues are provided ...
This month, Amnesty International delegates will vote on a proposal to make decriminalisation of sex work a campaigning matter for the human rights organisation. This, understandably, has raised ire from many people, but none so large as parts of the feminist movement. Just last week, we saw several Hollywood actors - ordinarily staunch allies of Amnesty's work - sign an open letter promulgated by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women calling for Amnesty to reject the policy. One notable signatory was Anne Hathaway, who received an Oscar two years ago for her portrayal of Fantine in Les Miserables. Fantine's story ...
It's an Ashes series, and one side appears to be spectacularly out of form. Their first innings has been a very bad performance where the opposition's "seamers had shown what could be done by bowling straighter and to a fuller length than their counterparts" and their batsmen "were occasionally undone by deliveries performing contortions at speed". At the forefront of the falling wickets, one of their bowlers had "moved further up the list of bowling immortals". Batting was much easier for the other side, and they racked up a score around 400, declaring with nine wickets down, creating the sort ...
Willie Rennie certainly is a pretty good role model for a healthy lifestyle. This is the sight that greeted me when I arrived at Scottish Lib Dem HQ for a meeting yesterday morning. That @willie_rennie is really putting us all to shame in @scotlibdems HQ with this cycling lark. Thankfully no Lycra! pic.twitter.com/mnUVyT6ryP — Adam Stachura (@adamstachura) August 7, 2015 Willie had cycled from Fife for the meeting. As if he hadn't had enough exercise when he'd run up a couple of the mountains on the Drumochter Pass in Perthshire on the way home from the Black Isle Show on ...
Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said: "These are the core issues I want the Liberal Democrats to stand out on and take a lead on. "Sensible, liberal and evidence-based views are already being woefully ignored by the Tory government – so it's up to Liberal Democrats to make this case. "Whether it's helping young people in rural areas find work, or ensuring those with mental health difficulties have effective support, our liberal voice is needed now more than ever. "Whether it's investing in green energy, building the homes we need; understanding the plight of refugees, or ensuring the state can't ...
Good to see Logie and St John's (Cross) Church running a daytime free café from 10th-14th August, 10am-12 noon each day - with evening events too. More information is available on the church website.
Lynton Crosby appeared at a speaking engagement in his native land very recently and took aim at political pundits. Fair enough – if I were him, I'd do the same thing. It's hard not to gloat when a whole contingent of people are shown to be definitively wrong about you (I'm in that category of being wrong about Lynton myself, by the way). He also had a suggestion for Nigel Farage and what he should do with his career now that the electorate has once again chosen not to have him in the House of Commons: "Sixth or seventh time ...
E Pluribus Hugo vs Slates Patrick May re-calculatees the 1984 Hugos; and finds that EPH works . (tags: sf hugos ) What Greece Needs to Prosper Some interesting numbers here. (tags: greece ) Mike Huckabee Is Wrong: Iran Isn't Nazi Germany Calibrating rhetoric with facts. (tags: uspolitics iran israel middleeast )
Fabulous xkcd today: Water Phase Diagram The UK just made iTunes illegal - LOL best tattoo ever Stonewall Movie Erases Trans Women And Black Drag Queens From History Seriously, Hollywood, stop doing this shit EE was warned of safety flaws in power bars BEFORE one exploded and maimed a medical student I have a new hero, and she is German news anchor Anja Reschke. Wish I could imagine Huw Edwards doing this. ... mind you, thinking on it, Paxo probably would. Come on, Kirsty Wark, liven up Newsshite with a bit of righteous anger! Catoflage If you think Tube drivers ...
