From Twitter tonight: I see the Lord Greaves is complaining about being banned from @libdemvoice. — Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) August 9, 2015
I am very sorry to hear of the death of the comedy writer David Nobbs. It has been widely reported on Twitter this evening, but not yet in the mainstream media. When I was in the sixth form we practically conversed in lines from Fawlty Towers and Reggie Perrin. I don't know how the latter holds up today, but it meant a great deal to me at the time. Nobbs' comic novels are very good too. Very sad today to hear of the death of David Nobbs.First worked with him on the Frost Report in 1966 ; then on many ...
De Montfort University* has got in a kerfuffle after awarding its highest honour to David Cameron in recognition of the importance of same-sex marriage and its impact in social progress. There's a petition here which has that rare quality of being an online petition I can entirely sign up to the sentiments of despite not having written. Far too many throw in peculiar delusions along the way. How I feel about it all though is a little complicated. Dave was sticking his neck out in backing the marriage bill: it cost him support within his party (who were divided 50-50 ...
[IMG: farron_fightback] Tim Farron has announced his seven campaigning priorities for the Lib Dems this Parliament. And one topic is notable by its absence: Rural Communities and Vice Chair – Mark Williams MP EU referendum – Catherine Bearder MEP and Lord Jim Wallace (Deputy) Mental Health – Norman Lamb MP Immigration – Shas Sheehan Civil Liberties – Alistair Carmichael MP Green Economy – Baroness Susan Kramer Housing – Tim Farron MP Nothing wrong with any of the seven, of course. And I realise that any prioritised list will disappoint someone or other. But, for me, education must always be at ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 426th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (2-8 August, 2015), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1.Tragedy of Lib Dem Councillors turned winning Independents ...
We've been working hard to commission new youth services for Ludlow after Shropshire Council decided to make its youth staff redundant to save money. We've been allocated just £10,700 a year for services and even that is not guaranteed beyond March 2017. We've never been happy with the commissioning process, which has been too centralised [...]
I've just signed a petition calling on Haringey Council to divest its money from businesses that are involved in exploring or producing coal and tar sands - and freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies.
[IMG: 7 ver 4 full] Many thanks to the visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... An open letter to Nick Clegg (119 comments) by Mark Argent Sad news: Sutton and Cheam's organiser David MacDonald dies at 28 (9 comments) by Caron Lindsay A smaller state is a liberal ideal to be proud of - the question is how you get there (131 comments) by Max Parish Good luck, Jeremy (83 comments) by Ed Fordham Tim Farron's seven campaign priorities (55 comments) by Caron Lindsay Tim Farron goes to Calais to see the ...
As I noted in yesterday's post on Tower Hamlets, the new issue of Liberator is with subscribers. Which means it is time to spend some time with Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. Sunday After Divine Service at St Asquith's a bevy of elderly ladies gather surrounds me. "When is the Reverend Hughes coming back?" they demand to know. Now, I find it best to keep on the right side of this element of the fairer sex - in my experience they are generally armed to the teeth with duck-handled umbrellas - but what can I say? Everyone's favourite padre disappeared ...
How sad to hear of it's demise seemingly because of issues to do with the structure of the pier and I assume the weight of tram. Here is a shot of it in happier days:- [IMG: Southport Pier Tram 1] The photo is also on my Flickr pages at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
Saturday morning, the sun was shining, and it was time for a trip on the subway. Our destination - Brooklyn or, to be more precise, Clinton Hill, a long-established residential suburb, for brunch with Leon, Patti, Vayden and Finley. We walked across Times Square in search of an ATM, withdrew some spending money and purchased two 7-day Metrocards - pretty good value at $31 each (never let it be said that you don't learn anything here at "Liberal Bureaucracy"), before heading into the underworld. It is, it must be said, just as hot as Hades down there. However, we eventually ...
Sun 9th
16:06
'The green belt can be rightly protected' – Really? Do you mean it? Just look at Sefton Counci...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33472405 [IMG: This is a major Green Belt and high grade agricultural land site allocated by Sefton Council for future development in Lydiate off Liverpool Road, Lambshear lane, Sandy Lane & Moss Lane. Liverpool Road and is often referred to as Tyson's Triangle.] This is a major Green Belt and high grade agricultural land site for future development in Lydiate off Liverpool Road, Lambshear Lane, Sandy Lane & Moss Lane. The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above If you read down towards the end of this article the following appears:- "The green belt can ...
Attempting to understand the mindset of the typical voter is a fool's game. The last election bequeathed upon us a huge amount of commentary attempting to explain why it was that the Tories had such success – not least from the Tory high command itself, hastily moving to pretend that a majority government had always been [...]
Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, has made some comments about the Calais situation, reported in the Telegraph: Millions of African migrants pose a threat to the standard of living and social structure of the UK and the rest of Europe, the Foreign Secretary has warned. Philip Hammond said under EU laws migrants can be "pretty confident" that they will never be returned to their home countries, adding that it will not be "sustainable" if Europe has to "absorb" millions of African migrants. He also said that there will always be a threat to the security of the Channel Tunnel ...
New federal party leader Tim Farron has announced his campaign priorities. Chaired by Greg Mulholland MP, his Parliamentary Campaigns Team will consist of: Rural Communities and Vice Chair - Mark Williams MPEU referendum - Catherine Bearder MEP and Lord Jim Wallace (Deputy)Mental Health - Norman Lamb MPImmigration - Shas SheehanCivil Liberties - Alistair Carmichael MPGreen Economy - Baroness Susan KramerHousing - Tim Farron MP Tim explained: 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 - ...
The glimpse of Mick Jagger in Performance the other day - the link was in the post about an interview with James Fox - has put me in the mood for the Stones. They have appeared here twice before: Let's Spend the Night TogetherShe's a Rainbow
Issue 373 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers and this one's free sample online content is the Commentary on Tim Farron's election as Lib Dem leader, and Tony Greaves' article in which he argues that the party has forgotten how to campaign and must avoiding wasting the potential of its thousand of new members. The full version of Liberator 372 is now also online. See: www.liberatormagazine.org.uk The new issue also includes: THE PATH TO PADDY'S HAT – the general election exit poll should not have surprised those who had followed what the market research industry was doing, says ...
Well you will not be surprised, if you know me that is, that I went along to this show in the former church now exhibition/performance venue in Waterloo, Crosby. There were all kinds of 'boys toys' both inside and outside the building. Model trains were of course the draw for me and I was pleased to see Dave Howel there with his Hornby tinplate layout, which is always a delight to see. [IMG: Dave Howel's Hornby O Gauge tin plate layout r] Meccano was also well represented and this model of what is in real life a huge (now preserved) ...
At the public meeting on 30 July, it was suggested that the current hospital site has planning permission for 47 homes. This is not the case. In July 2013, the site was accepted for 47 homes during consultations on SAMDev - the local plan for development sites. The hospital site had been put forward by [...]
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
As Sal Brinton reminded us on Wednesday, the deadline to nominate people for this year's Party Awards is 9 am tomorrow morning. Who do you think deserves to be recognised? Sal wrote: The deadline for this year's Party Awards has been extended to Monday at 9am - don't forget to nominate! I know there are people all over the country who deserve to be rewarded for all the hard work they put in during the election period, not to mention the invaluable ongoing work which so many party officers and others have been carrying out. As a reminder, please see ...
Sun 9th
08:42
Shropshire Council advice on organising street parties is confused but it's really all very simple
If there is one thing that Ludlow does well, its organising a party. But the rules for organising in our county a street party are somewhat confused. I'm trying to get them clarified and have issued a simplified application form in the meantime. I know a number of people are thinking of organising a street [...]
There will be changes to National Express Dundee bus services from Sunday 13th September (and the company will be rebranding locally as Xplore Dundee this autumn too). I am grateful to Suzy Scott of dundeebuses.info for the detailed breakdown below (in which I highlight only the changes as they affect the West End) - these are now in the public domain, having been published by the Traffic Commissioners in their weekly Notices and Proceedings. There are significant changes across the city but the changes that particularly impact on the West End are as follows : Service 5, X5 - Ninewells ...
As British politics drifts into a weird zone, with the Labour Party moving ever more leftwards, I take great comfort in American politics. Because when I look at Corbyn and his band of moony-eyed followers, I can't help but feel very right-wing. However, all it takes to feel like some left-wing pinko again is to watch twenty seconds of Donald Trump. I value this more than you know. I've said something along these lines before, I know, but I repeat it for context: the Republican Party is very hard to be right-wing enough to be a part of (as many ...
2015 is the year the old internet finally died How the online world is changing. (tags: internet ) The Blue Zones Solution How to live long through diet (no kale salad). (tags: food health ) Jacques-François-Xavier de Whyte - Assassin's Creed Wiki A distant historical relative appears in a recent videogame. (tags: history genealogy games )
"I am not friends with all the black people I see. We don't have much in common based upon skin colour. I've learned that whatever community I may have once felt with other black people, or even black women, isn't particularly sustainable on anything other than a purely social or cultural level." (Michele Wallace)... More Liberalism: I-Feminism and Race
The new issue of Liberator is out. There is a particularly interesting article by Gwyneth Deakins, once a Liberal councillor in Tower Hamlets, about the fall of Lutfur Rahman and race and politics in the borough more generally. She writes: The first issue is the use of accusations of 'racism' as a political tool. This subject was debated at length in court as counsel for the petitioners sought to demonstrate that Rahman and his followers had use (false) accusations of racism to undermine Labour's mayoral candidate John Biggs at the 2014 election. It was amply illustrated how such accusations were ...
