Click on the photograph above to go to the British Film Institute site and a film of the line from Swansea Victoria to Pontardulais shot in June 1964, the same month it closed. There is a commentary, but it is very muffled. Swansea Victoria is long gone, but Pontarddulais (as it is now called) is still open as a stop on the Heart of Wales line.
David Cutts and Andrew Russell analyse the electoral meltdown of the Liberal Democrats. "We project cardboard fantasies onto Tories, as selfish, rich cynics. But we need to understand their true humanity and complexity - and Mrs Thatcher is such an important figure,that she is a good place to start." Matthew Green reads the first volume of Charles Moore's biography of Margaret Thatcher. Jeremy Corbyn isn't interested in diversity and is on the side of big against small, argues David Boyle. "The contribution of independents is undervalued and seldom nurtured. The concept of a 'team player' - bubbly, socially needy, energetic, ...
You will have probably heard by now that the Assisted Dying Bill was defeated in Parliament this afternoon by a margin of about three to one. The scale of victory for opponents of the Bill was almost exactly the same as when it was last debated in 1997. This is remarkable, given the degree of public support for reform – over 80% according to a poll earlier this year. I respect the deeply held convictions of those who oppose assisted dying but I can't help but reflect on how out of step with public mood Parliament appears to be on ...
Just back from a business trip, and was interested to note that neither of the two Cyrillic-alphabet languages used for the safety instructions was Russian:
Rob Marris MP's Private Member's bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill patients who wished to end their lives was defeated in the House of Commons today by a surprisingly large majority: 330 to 118. Even if the vote had gone the other way, it is doubtful whether the Government would have made the [...]
Second paragraph of third chapter: The words were still ringing in the old man's ears when he walked down the steps to leave and stood still, blinded by the fierce autumn sun. As his pupils slowly shrank, he held on tight to the handrail and breathed in, slow and deep. He listened to the cacophony of cars, trams, the beeping sounds telling pedestrians they could cross. And voices-the excited, happy voices which hastened by to the accompaniment of the clatter of shoes. And music. Had he ever heard so much music? Nothing managed to drown the sound of the words ...
Second frame of third chapter (set in the Royal Ontario Museum dinosaur gallery): [IMG: dinosaur skull] A classic graphic novel from the early 1990s, claiming to be autobiographical, about a Toronto comics artist who becomes fascinated with a Canadian cartoonist of the 1950s and 1960s, and goes on a voyage of discovery about both his predecessor and himself. I'm trying to identify who recommended this to me, or whether I just picked it up because I liked the title; I really enjoyed it, though I hope that the writer is a nicer person in real life than he comes across ...
[IMG: Anders Hanson delivering ALDC campaigns training] ALDC has a packed schedule of campaigns training lined up for Bournemouth. We've split our training into three distinct series; our You Can Do It! series features basics and essentials for new campaigners; On The Council is a series of modules for councillors on making the most of their roles; and our Activists Network sessions [...]
I was convinced that my haemoglobin had dropped, so I persuaded King's to do a blood test half way between appointments at haematology outpatients and sure enough it had fallen to 81. Two pouches of blood were prescribed starting at 14.00 yesterday, but when I arrived they weren't ready. The first pouch wasn't started until 16.30, finishing at 19.35, so I had to come back for the second at 08.30 this morning. As a pouch takes roughly three hours they wouldn't have been able to fit the second one in even if they had started promptly at 14.00. There is ...
Watch the new fun (yet educational) video from CGP Grey:
Apologies for the massive delay in this post; I made a second speech at the Lib Dem conference in March, this time on the five green laws that formed one of the key planks of the manifesto. In particular, I spoke about the need for green transport. The speech is, as always, below the cut. It's been said that there are two things that will pack a Lib Dem debate: beer and trains. And I'm glad to see so many people here proving me right. Make no mistake, green transport is an important issue. 45% of emissions come from transport. ...
It was Paddy Ashdown's dream, and pre-1997 it looked to be tantalisingly within reach, yet with the imminent coronation of Jeremy Corbyn increasingly likely, the realignment of the anti-Conservative Left looks to be further out of reach than ever. Indeed, Corbyn's happy band of followers have spent months labelling everyone else involved the contest as a 'red Tory', particularly Liz Kendall (whose father, let's not forget, was a Liberal Democrat councillor) and including such known Conservative sympathisers as Harriet Harman and Neil Kinnock. As Guido Fawkes has demonstrated, the Conservatives' plan to deal with Corbyn is to paint him as ...
Fly tipping has increased in St Albans District over the past year, councillors have been told. St Albans City and District Council is having to spend extra money to remove some of the illegally dumped rubbish. Small fly tips are dealt with by a contractor as part of the street cleansing component of its Council [...]
Most left-wingers I meet think of left-wing politics as being about reducing poverty. If that's left-wing, then I regard myself as a left-winger. They usually only believe in a bigger state, because they think the state is the best way to help the weakest in our society. That can be true, but it depends how far you take it. In my previous article "Is evidence-based policy losing out to populism?", I argued that two supposedly left-wing policies, which Jeremy Corbyn has proposed, could actually increase poverty. Raising the national minimum wage beyond the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission will ...
There are rightly many areas where the Liberal Democrats can be proud of what we achieved – and stopped – in government. There were other areas where we had little impact and left things in a much worse state than we found them. For me the most noticeable of these was immigration. Not only did we countenance some highly unfair changes, particularly the income requirement for spousal visas, for which our Ministers must take the blame, but our Conference passed policy which reflected what the coalition had done rather than our own liberal values. In York two years ago I ...
Yesterday the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority decided not to pursue 26 existing and former MPs for failing to settle their expences debts because the sums involved were all less than £500 so it wasn't worth the bother. In 2011, following the London Riots resulting from the shooting by the police of Mark Duggan, a woman who was not involved in the riots was sentenced to five months' imprisonment for receiving a stolen pair of shorts. I can't find confirmation, but I seem to remember that a boy was also prosecuted for stealing a bottle of water. See previous post for ...
Seven principal council seats were up for grabs in yesterday's set of by-elections. There was an encouraging result for the Liberal Democrats in Tunbridge Wells (BC), with the party's vote share increasing by 23.9% from the ward's previous election in May. With 39.3% of the vote, Trevor Pouile feel agonisingly close to securing a gain [...]
[IMG: Photo1315] Click on the map to enlarge it The North Eastern Railway had a number of these tiled maps produced for major railway stations. Each one was made up of 64 ceramic tiles with a ceramic decorative border. The photo above was taken at the national Railway Museum in York where a restored one is displayed. Although it does not show all railways the routes around Liverpool are well displayed. The sadly missing lines, in the present day, are the Southport Preston line (known locally as the Lettuce Line) and the Ormskirk – St Helens line via Rainford which ...
Graham Facks-Martin, one of the stalwart servants of Launceston and North Cornwall, died this morning after a long illness. Graham was a town councillor for many years. Previously he had been the chairman of North Cornwall District Council. He was a Conservative, but of a sort not frequently encountered these days. Passionately pro-European, he was also a keen advocate of more social housing and served on the board of Cornwall Rural Housing Association, latterly as chairman. Graham was awarded the MBE for public service in 2006. Graham and I didn't always agree on everything, but his passion for the town ...
Well, there's a turn-up for the books. A former Business Secretary teams up with the head of the TUC to warn about the draconian effects of the Trade Union Bill introduced by the Government. In an article for the Guardian, Vince Cable and Frances O'Grady say that the Bill is trying to resolve a problem that doesn't exist. Anyone who was brought up in the 70s would surely find it hard to argue that today is even remotely as bad as it was then. They say: Strikes, when they happen, are not always popular. The public, and business, face disruption. ...
North Cornwall's Conservative MP Scott Mann has asked the Prime Minister to intervene to force Cornwall Council to abandon a policy of seeking to devolve public toilet provision. The trouble is that he forgets that his own party, when in power, did exactly the same thing. According to the BBC: Mr Mann said their closure would "bring disastrous consequences upon the county" and this was a "fundamental public health issue". Cornwall Council, in the face of a government requirement to make £196m of savings over four years, is seeking to find commercial, community or local town and parish council partners ...
More City centre bars and clubs are being asked to give financial backing to the Taxi Marshall scheme that has been making St Albans safer. St Albans City and District Council has been helping to run the project designed to ensure people return home safely after a night out. The Marshalls patrol taxi queues in [...]
[IMG: bark in the park]
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... My Blair Lady shuts early. Next, Jezza Corbs Superstar | The Times Funny, harsh and fair by @patrick_kidd on the failure of Liz Kendall's "My Blair Lady" show http://thetim.es/1i2JRXy This suicide law will not turn us into killers | The Times Tho still sceptical abt assisted suicide law, this para by @Dannythefink is persuasive http://thetim.es/1UGjCbg Three simple rules for paying compliment without causing offence | Gaby Hinsliff | Comment is free | The Guardian I think this, from @gabyhinsliff, is the ...
At http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/euromyths-a-z-index/ there is an A-Z debunking of myths spread by the popular media in the UK.
Former Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West Stephen Williams found himself on a list released by IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, of 26 MPs and former MPs who had had debts to them written off. He was the only Liberal Democrat to appear on the list. The BBC report said that he owed £209.18. Stephen took to Twitter to tell a journalist from Sky News that there had been an error and that he did not owe any money. @DMcCaffreySKY No. All clear with them. They may have allocated something to wrong heading, a very common error. I don't ...
I was initially very saddened to hear of the lady killed crossing the road in Peckham by a lorry 4 September. What a waste. This has now turned to anger from the reports that almost no one did anything to help the tragic lady concerned in her last moments of life. Instead they gawped taking photos and videos. That's bad enough but then posted them on online. At best this shows crass disregard for a fellow human being. At worst is just plain evil. This case has really shone a light that we need UK laws to enforce the good ...
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Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron is going to reprise the previous pattern of party leaders chairing the Federal Policy Committee (FPC), something which stopped under the pressure of government business with Nick Clegg. Given the number of MPs who in one form or another get to sit on the FPC is rather high compared to the size of the Parliamentary Party, the more interesting question yet to be settled is whether Norman Lamb will also be on the committee. Norman has experience of chairing FPC and is one of the party's few MPs with a good record of engaging fully ...
Last month, I updated residents about the bus changes across the city insofar as they affect the West End. With the changes affecting National Express Dundee starting on Sunday (now to be branded as Xplore Dundee with launch event today) the City Council has produced a helpful city-wide schematic map that represents all the new routes. You can download this here.
T-minus one day until the Corbyn era is set to officially begin. The Blairite wing of the Labour Party, so convinced after the massacre of May 7th that everyone would see that Miliband had been too left-wing and thus the party would revert back to them, lies in tatters. Along the way, calling someone within Labour circles a Blairite has become the worst insult that can be thrown at them. Even worse than "Tory" in a way, as that seems by its very nature to be hyperbolic; Blairite sticks because it's by definition true. How did this happen? The person ...
I am sure that the Prime Minister would agree that the best way long term solution to the refugee crisis is to provide stability to countries such as Syria, which has seen 4 million people flee from war and persecution. The same David Cameron however is cited as wanting to launch a bombing campaign in Syria, whilst the invitation by his Government to regimes criticised for "appalling" human rights records to attend the world's largest arms and security fair in London hardly gives us the sense of ministers assuming the moral high ground. As the Independent says providing stability and ...
ALDC members have access to our 'closed' Facebook group. With over 800 members, the group has established itself as a secure online space to ask questions, seek advice, discuss campaigns and share good practice. The ALDC Facebook group is just one of the major member benefits of joining ALDC. If you are already an ALDC member, [...]
Great old photo of the Mitchell Street School - now the Mitchell Street Centre :
Swarm of morons arguing 'this is a Christian country' despite never setting foot inside a church George Osborne's higher minimum wage won't make up for his tax credit cuts, IFS confirms Top doctor: social inequality in UK costing 550 lives every day Also more people should wear this t-shirt It's been far too long since this vid did the rounds. Travelling to work 'is work', European court rules - biggest news story of the week in terms of affect on Actual People Terror arrests reach 'record high', Home Office figures show Calderdale Liberal Democrats urge local support for refugees - ...
How did we get here? A history of migration in Britain. (Thanks, @quarsan!) (tags: ukpolitics migration history )
The full plans for the proposed development on the Tatton Cinema site in Gatley have now been put online on the council's website. [IMG: tatton front] The planning application 58809 can be seen here and you can click-through to see all the documents here. Keith and the Lib Dem team have long worked to get the site developed. This proposal is for 35 flats, a small supermarket at the front and retaining the art-deco frontage. To have a planning application is a big step forward. We want to know what you think about the application. We have to bear in ...
Put Monday 5th October in your diary and in your phone now! That's if you haven't already responded to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's Consultation on Temporary Changes to Women's and Maternity Services. Monday 5th October is the last day you can submit your views. Whatever other campaigning you choose to get involved in, please give your support to Ysbyty Wrexham Maelor. One of the options being considered by the Betsi Board is taking away consultant-led maternity services from the Maelor Hospital. That would mean a 1000 mothers would be "likely to deliver their babies" at the Countess of Chester ...
