Climate Change is in my view the most serious issue facing us on the Earth. As climate becomes more variable and more unpredictable and areas become unsustainable then people will simply move en-masse. We have to solve the problem and solve it fast. Unfortuneately one of the first acts of the new Tory Government was to slash and burn all the environmental achievements of the coalition government. Just as renewable energy is about to reach self sustaining level the Conservatives butcher the industry and the environmental gains it brings. Its attitude to solar power and land based wind beggar belief. ...
One of the concerns of the day expressed several times by several people and businesses was the Tory EU referendum. The Tories may well be leading the Country into economic and social disaster with its EU referndum merely as a salve to its extreme Eurosceptic wing. Building up myths and fears rather than woprking from within to improve it as an organisation that works for citizens across Europe. In the conference hall listened to good speeches from Willie Rennie and Nick Clegg and the main debate of the morning on Climate Change . In Scotland the Independence dabate continues apace ...
Current Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo Luna: New Moon, by Ian McDonald The Unlimited Dream Company, by J. G. Ballard Last books finished Who's Next?, by Derrick Sherwin Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Manuscript Found in a Milk Bottle, by Neil Gaiman Next books Galactic North, by Alastair Reynolds The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuition Deceives Us: Or Why You Have No Idea How Your Mind Works, by Christopher Chabris Books acquired in last week Gráinne, by Keith Roberts The Sea and Summer, by George Turner Deep Time, by Trevor Baxendale Big Bang Generation, by Gary Russell Royal ...
Or Scotland Road, Little Bowden, actually. When I first moved here the Market Harborough to Northampton line had closed (I was on the last train in August 1981) but there were still rails in the road where the level crossing had been. In my mind's ear I can here cars going over them. This slideshow combines shots of the area today with ones taken when the railway was still open. Before my time, and before the first vintage photograph was taken, there was a footbridge over Scotland Road beside the signal box. You can now find that box, rechristened Pitsford ...
I've been following the news on the scandal surrounding Volkswagen with keen interest. It appears that at the heart of the matter is a piece of software, written for or by Volkswagen, that forms part of their engine management system. As a software professional of more than 30 years standing, it angers me that an apparently reputable organisation (of which ...
"I handed in my Masters dissertation a couple of weeks ago ... I thought a summarised version of the key arguments would be of more interest than the whole thing." Congratulations to Nick Barlow, who argues that equidistance will help the Liberal Democrats win votes but not seats. Joshua Lachkovic (a good man fallen among Liberal Reform) offers some thoughts from his first Liberal Democrat Conference. "A working class lad from an ordinary working class estate in Preston, Lancashire, stood on a stage and did something new." Iain Donaldson was there too. Chris Dillow says Jeremy Corbyn's 'people's quantitative easing' ...
Thu 24th
19:52
Cow in Cambridge 'moos in disgust' after man urinates in front of police, officers say
Continuing our recent lavatorial theme, Cambridge News walks away with Headline of the Day.
Extracts from Tim's speech yesterday
The Lib Dems are making housing our number one priority over the lifetime of this parliament. There is a chronic shortage of decent homes in this country and we need to have a proper programme for building new ones.
Sunday started with two training sessions on websites which proved very useful and learnt lots of new techniques. The challenge is now to see if I can implement them. Back at the Confernece listened to a great speech from Sohie in t'Veld about the importance of the UK staying in Europe. She is from D66 – a Dutch Liberal party that had a traumatic election experience a few years ago and is now bouncing back. Lunchtime Fringe event was at Trussel Trust fringe on food poverty in the UK. There is real concern that the new Conservative Govenments ruthless attacking ...
As one of thousands who joined the Liberal Democrats after that fateful day in May, I was wondering if I could make any difference in the rebuilding process. The Bristol Lib Dems were welcoming from ... Continue reading →
We gave you the preview yesterday, now here's the whole thing. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have finally found some production values in a very well produced Party Political Broadcast: The transcript is below: I'm Willie Rennie, I'm leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. I was born and brought up in a small village called Strathmiglo in the north of Fife. Beautiful part of the world. We lived above the family shop with my three sisters and my Mum and Dad. My mother, she was secretary of the community association. She got involved in meals on wheels and helping out people ...
I have just emailed in to respond to the consultation paper of the aforementioned Review (pdf). I at least partly based my responses on comments made at the recent consultative session at Bournemouth Conference, so they may make more sense to readers who also attended that, but they shouldn't be incomprehensible to those who didn't. [...]
[IMG: The 2015 Liberal Democrat autumn conference takes place in Bournemouth from 19-23 September] Many ALDC members will have had a great time in Bournemouth, attending training, catching up with friends and listening to some great speeches and policy debates in the Hall. Now is a time to focus on making the most out of Conference and we have put together a few ideas. Emails to members – If [...]
Tim Farron gave one of the most inspirational and moving speeches I have ever heard when he spoke to the Lib Dem conference yesterday. It sets out what it means to be a Liberal. You can watch it here.
Even as a youth Graham had been concerned with major philosophical questions. Not content to room the streets of Market Harborough abusing freemasons like normal children of his age, Graham wanted something more, something deeper, something that would last. From the sleeve notes for the Monty Python's Meaning of Life soundtrack album. Exciting news from the Harborough Mail: A planning application has gone in to Harborough District Council asking for permission to put a plaque on a house where Graham Chapman lived as a teenager. The plaque would be on the wall of Caffe Nero in The Square, formerly a ...
Thu 24th
15:29
Caroline Pidgeon writes...Why open government is good government and why it is time to defend the fr...
The announcement this Summer that Ministers are now seeking to 'review' the freedom of information act had a most depressing ring to it. For a start any fundamental review of freedom of information (FOI) legislation is hardly necessary. Just three years ago the cross party House of Commons Justice Committee, chaired by Alan Beith, carried out an extensive investigation into the operations of the Act. It reported that: "The Freedom of Information Act has been a significant enhancement of our democracy. Overall our witnesses agreed that the Act was working well. The right to access information has improved openness, transparency ...
[IMG: save stockport courthouse] Thank you to everyone who has already signed our petition against the closure of Stockport's courts and the cuts to police budgets. There's still time to sign if you've not done so yet. Stockport Courthouse comprises; 1) Magistrates Court 2) Family Court 3) County Court 4) Problem Solving Court 5) Youth Court 6) Tribunals Despite our Conservative MP's claim that people in Cheadle could easily get the train into Manchester (in her defence, she isn't local so may not have realised Cheadle doesn't have a rail station) we believe this is a terrible move for local ...
The following meetings are scheduled for Blyth Town Council for October 2015 As always, these meetings are subject to change and cancellation: please check with the council that the meeting is still on if you wish to attend. Tuesday 6th October Allotments Committee Thursday 8th Octiber , Assets Committee Thursday 15th October , Community Grants Committee Thursday 22nd October , Planning & Development Committee Thursday 29th October , Staff Committee * All meetings are at Arms Evertyne House, and start at 6:30 pm * Given the nature of this meeting, this Committee will be held under "Part 2" ( ie ...
The Lib Dem team would like to wish all our Muslim friends Eid Mubarak for Eid Al-Adha.
Jeremy Corbyn's election has brought speculation about people on the right of the Labour party switching to the Liberal Democrats. Some of those comments make sense, but others don't. At its best, there are times when a genuine change of conviction makes a change of party into a home-coming. I think of the authenticity of Jacob Whiten, writing in Liberal Democrat Voice on his move from UKIP to the Liberal Democrats, and the enormous contribution of people like Shirley Williams, who came into the Liberal Democrats by moving from Labour to the SDP. But defections can backfire, and the language ...
There was a time when evangelists disapproved of singing. The along came William Booth of Salvation Army fame - or so it is said - and famously asked why the Devil should have all the best tunes. I thought of that yesterday afternoon, as I listened to the new Lib Dem leader's first big speech. I may have mentioned this before, but I find the Left deeply irritating these days. I don't say this because I am somehow part of the Right. But the rage, the conservatism, the symbolic language derived from the 1917 October revolution - slogans, banners, barricades ...
[IMG: libby on the wall3] The Liberal Democrat bird of liberty has never before flown this low. It has been a long 45 years of pride as the only real third party in British politics. Now liberalism has been driven into the wasteland. Politically irrelevant and utterly ignored by the British media. You'd have hardly guessed there's a new leader with how little has been seen of him. Back in 2010 the Liberal Democrats stood for three things - The hopes of the young, the distrust of the authoritarian tendencies of the major two parties, and the protest vote. The ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above I don't know about you but these two would be very far from the top of my list to send to China, or indeed anywhere else, to try to bring investment into Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region.
This post is slightly delayed due to a lot a sleep and a trip to Lib Dem conference! But I wanted to publicly say a massive thank you to thank everyone who supported me at the by-election last Thursday. Residents who voted for me at the ballot box and activists who helped me knock on doors and deliver leaflets (including Lib Dem leader Tim Farron) - I am so, so grateful for your support. Unfortunately, I did not get the most votes on the night - but I did come a clear 2nd and the Lib Dem vote share increased ...
Tim Farron's speech at the end of the Liberal Democrats Conference yesterday was a resounding success on several levels, but don't just take my word for it. The Guardian's editorial has validated it and underlined how the country still needs the Liberal Democrats: His (Farron's) talk at the start of the conference of Labour MPs ready to defect, and the possibility of a return to power within five years, had sounded more like a wish-fulfilment programme than a faithful account of recent events. Yet an opportunity has now opened up on the centre ground of politics, and in his speech ...
September's meeting went on for over 2 hours but that seems to be par for the course these days. We had a presentation from Protect Aughton Landscape Together who are campaigning against high grade agricultural land in their Parish being potentially taken out of crop growing use only to be replaced by solar panels. Aughton is to the north of Lydiate so the issue is of interest and concern to Lydiate residents. Here's a link to the campaign group's facebook page:- Lydiate Parish Council had already sent in an objection to West Lancs Borough Council to the proposals on ...
[IMG: Graham Greenhalgh and Iain Roberts at the Kingsway junction] Graham Greenhalgh and Iain Roberts at the Kingsway junction Cheshire East Council have issued their latest plans for new housing, including nearly 4,000 new houses to be built near to the Stockport border. The Lib Dems fully support new houses being built – they are needed for our communities in both Cheshire and Stockport. We also hope that the correct process has been followed to ensure houses are only built on greenfield sites where there is no viable alternative – the Planning Inspector will be considering that issue. We are ...
Despite a spectacular setting and cast, Everest is ultimately underwhelming. There's a question that is likely to have occurred to anyone who's ever seen a 'cabin in the woods' type horror film: instead of waiting to be murdered, why don't the hapless teen victims just get the hell out of there? The fact the characters ignore [...]
I need to be in Cardiff Bay next Thursday morning by 10:00. I don't drive and I live in West London. You guessed it, I have to get the train. So I look on the National Rail website for train times and prices. The only route for me to go is from Paddington to Cardiff Central, then change at Cardiff Central. Only First Great Western operate the Paddington to Cardiff Central route, so I am at the mercy of their prices and service (I'm not picking on First Great Western, I'm from the North West originally and often get Virgin ...
It's fab to see that once again bi activists were invited to a roundtable debate at the White House this Bi Visibility Day. But what about here? I took to twitter to see the engagement from political groupings Lib Dems: Now a long time ago - in the 90s I think - the Lib Dems LGBT+ group got me and some other folk in to help with bi inclusion and representation. It's well reflected with about ten tweets on the day including photo and video content. Tory: Their LGBT wing had nothing of its own but retweeted a couple of ...
[IMG: Related image]
Thanks to the European Movement for this: TODAY'S PORKY: We only Voted for Free Trade"We thought we were only joining a free trade zone"Not true. We were never hoodwinked. We actually left a free trade zone (EFTA) to join the EU, specifically because we felt free trade was not enough. The government, setting out its reasons for applying in 1967, stressed that "Europe is now faced with the opportunity of a great move forward in political unity and we can — and indeed we must — play our full part in it". And before the referendum in 1975, national newspapers ...
Liberals must be on the side of business - ambitious for business - tearing down the barriers that stop businesses from fulfilling their ambitions. It is unambitious for the government to power down the Northern Powerhouse by stalling promises to electrify the Transpennines route. Instead, we say - invest in the best rail links in Europe. Tim Farron, 23rd September 2015 This is the first of a couplet of articles on the subject of the railways this morning. In August, on a comments thread, I outlined the Liberal Democrat railways policy, in response to a commenter. I notice that commenters ...
Throughout the prolonged and ultimately ugly Labour leadership contest, a line in the sand was crossed that will be difficult to roll back from again. Those on the left of the party went beyond using the word "Blairite" in a pejorative sense for those on the right they disagreed with and began using the "T" word about their own internal candidates. Liz Kendall even had a mock website of her done up by someone as if she were literally running as a Tory, with the Conservative logo and a blue rosette. Yesterday I wrote about political parties and said that ...
Michael Deacon liked it: With this speech, he shook awake a conference hall that had spent the best part of five days slumped in torpor. He spoke with feeling; he was self-deprecating; he was funny; he showed warmth. Party leaders always pump their conference speeches with stories about their childhood, mainly in the hope of persuading us they were born to human parents. But Mr Farron's reminiscences had a point to them. Unlike most party leaders, and indeed most MPs, he grew up in a single-parent family, with little money, in a high-unemployment northern town. So when he went on ...
UPDATED DETAILS Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD Candidate- Christopher Brown.
UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD Candidate- Adrian Beavis. To help, please contact Heidi Worth (heidiworth@icloud.com)
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD Candidate- Michael Crapper.
UPDATED DETAILS Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. LD Candidate- Daniel Woodlock. To help, please contact Mark Goodair (markgoodair@gmail.com)
UPDATED DETAIL Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD Candidate- Ernest Green.
Yesterday I had to work so I couldn't be at Bournemouth to watch Tim's speech. So, through the miracles of the smartphone, the BBC and the car auxiliary connection point, I listened to Tim's speech on the way to work this morning. I therefore had a chance to test how the speech came over via audio only on the M4 in Berkshire. Were all these rave reviews coming from people in the hall yesterday mere hype? The result of mass hysteria which would not catch on outside the immediacy of the hall? Well, no. I approached my listen of the ...
Yesterday I eulogised Tim Farron's Bournemouth conference speech (along with publishing it in full). But what did you think of it?
[IMG: 2015-09-23 12.15.44] I'm just back from Bournemouth where Britain's Liberal Democrats have been having their Autumn Conference. This was the first conference after this year's General Election completed five successive years of rout for the party, and the first under its new leader, Tim Farron. It went as well as the party could have hoped for. The depth of the party's defeat in May can barely be described, as it was reduced from 57 seats to just 8. This was most spectacular in the south west of England, which had been the party's main stronghold, but where the party ...
A Storify of my tweets from Tim Farron's first conference speech as leader of the Liberal Democrats. [View the story "@timfarron's first conference speech as leader" on Storify]
The photograph below - strictly speaking - shows St Andrews Place, Dundee, where Cowgate and King Street meet; the trees behind the wall with railings are in the grounds of St Andrew's Church. Fleming Brothers' City Clothing Warehouse at No. 16 dominates the corner of the scene, nextdoor to David McLardy & Co.'s domestic machinery warehouse. Fleming Brothers also had a Household Furnishing Co. at No. 15 and another shop in Lochee High Street. McLardy's advertisement in the 1904-05 Dundee Directory lists mangels, wringers, sewing machines, etc., ice cream freezers and all kinds of household furniture, and drapery and boots ...
Cheadle Area Committee is at 6pm on Tuesday 29th September at the Ladybridge Residents Club, Edenbridge Road, Cheadle Hulme. It's a public meeting and all are welcome to attend. On the September agenda: A petition asking the council to improve the skateboard ramps at Gatley Rec Ground. Requests for funding from the council's Ward Flexibility Funding which allocates grants of up to £1,000 to local community groups and clubs. Requests this month are for money towards a sculpture on Gatley Green to commemorate servicemen who have lost their lives in war, towards Cheadle's Victorian Christmas market and towards repairs of ...
A New Universal 'New Yorker' Cartoon Caption "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." (tags: funny linkedin ) Masquerade I remember it well. (tags: books )
You can read the full text of the speech here.
Maghull resident Malcolm Gore wrote this letter to the Champion newspaper Dear Editor, I found Bill Esterson's pledge of 100% support for Jeremy Corbyn in last week's Champion rather alarming. Corbyn's extremist views have been well documented recently in the press, his opposition to the monarchy, his willingness to share a platform with terrorist friends, his desire to axe our nuclear capability and probably the army as well, his stance on immigration and his ideas that the solution to any economic problems is to print money, which any A level economics student will tell you, leads to hyper-inflation, are disturbing. ...
