This evening York Mix posted 12 vintage films of the city. One caught my eye straight away, because it comes from August 1979 and so falls during my time as a student in the city. Watching it today does confirm one memory of mine - and I don't mean the gruesomely distorted sound, which reminds me of film shows at primary school. No, that memory is of a time before the Jorvik Centre opened. In my student days there was a large archaeological dig on the site. You can see it on the film from 2:27. As I recall, there ...
So, we're now twenty-one days in to this walking thing and, so far, so good. I've managed my 10,000 steps every day, and am averaging over 11,000 (just in case, you understand). Today, I walked to our nearest supermarket which, given that we are in the countryside, is a gentle half-hour stroll across the fields, along Mill Lane, over the A1120 into Creeting Road East, before cutting through part of the Cedars Park estate to arrive at our local branch of Tesco. In the sunshine, and with some villanelle to listen to on the headphones, it was reassuringly pleasant. I ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, on behalf of the Lib-Dems in Broxtowe. 1. By Elections There are to be two by-elections in Broxtowe. There was already a vacancy in Greasley and now Conservative councillor Natalie Harvey has resigned from Toton. She had only been a councillor for seven months but had told the people that she wasn't enjoying it. Unfortunately her resignation will cost the council several thousand pounds. Both by-elections will take place on 18 February. The by-election in Toton will give voters an early chance to have their ...
I was in Ryton today for a door knocking session that saw 4 of us call at over 400 houses. It was a very positive day despite the cold and my decisions to keep adding further streets to the list of those to be canvassed. We handed over a survey form to each household. On one estate of 125 houses alone, 65 surveys were returned and we expect more to come back via the post. So, this estate has now
Are you sure about this? Ed. Gareth Epps reports that Liberal Democrat Conference has lost a day. "Contemporary advocates of No-Platforming have so far failed to provide any convincing, rigorous definition of 'harm' to justify their practice." Monica Richter argues that only the most noxious of speakers should be banned from university campuses. Robbie Simpson has been to Tbilisi to visit our liberal colleagues, the Republican Party of Georgia. "Imagine if Neil Young needed Simon Cowell's approval in order to get the label backing necessary to become a known musician." POWERevolution thinks many millenials are uncool and think it knows ...
Every year, the first Thursday in February sees Time to Talk Day, run by Time to Change. The idea is to get people talking about mental health and share their experiences with the aim of ending the stigma that people face. For the last two years, we at LDV have taken part in the event and our readers have produced some outstanding pieces. You can read them all here. Two years ago, Eleanor Draycott wrote about her experience of living with BiPolar: Many people don't understand what being Bi-polar actually means, I guess this is why I'm putting this down ...
This is what makes Republicans and Democrats so different Repubs believe in (wrong!) ideas, Dems in people. (tags: uspolitics ) Why are Pluto and Charon so different? Pluto stole Charon's atmosphere! (tags: astronomy ) When Video-Game Worlds End Experiencing online apocalypse. (tags: internet games ) Peter Jackson: "The Very Hungry Caterpillar Will Have To Be Five Films" LOL! (tags: funny ) The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment It has failed. (tags: internet economics ) One road and one thousand languages Photographs of refugees. (tags: eu photos migration ) Friday is market day Scene from Belfast. (tags: northernireland ) Macedonia: The ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 446th 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 (10-16 January, 2016), 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. Happy Birthday to the oldest living former ...
There is a mutual incomprehension between London and those parts of Britain that are not London (by "London" here I include most of the Home Counties and the satellite towns around London). There are many aspects to this incomprehension, but ... Continue reading →
Residents of Manor Drive, in Gunthorpe, have raised the issue of the footpath they use, becoming so flooded, that recently it became impassable, forcing them to cross the Parkway instead, in order to reach the other side of the A15. The footpath runs adjacent to the Parkway and Manor Drive, and both myself and Cllr Davidson [...]
The Independent has an interesting story about the Liberal Democrats and Labour working together to defeat the Government on the party funding aspect of the Trade Union Bill. When you read the story, it's a real collaboration, with Paul Tyler drafting the amendment now in the name of the Labour leader in the Lords, but the headline makes it look like we are simply supporting the Labour effort. Liberal Democrat peers are to help Labour water down the Trade Union Bill, which will dramatically reduce the party's funding, in an amendment on Wednesday. The support should give Labour enough votes ...
As we reported recently, Yate Town Council has now bought the land at the front and back of the Abbotswood shops. They have held a meeting with local residents and Abbotswood Action Group to talk about the future management of the area. The meeting was very positive and the Council and local people are looking forward to working together to improve the area. The first priority will be sorting out the broken and wonky paving. This isn't a trivial job - there are more than 50 broken slabs to replace, plus many more that need resetting. Yate Town Council is ...
[IMG: The Casked Crusader] We know that Greg Mulholland valiantly stands up to the big pubcos and was part of a very successful move to give tenants more rights which resulted in one of the few Commons Government defeats of the last Parliament. In yesterday's Times (£), he accused the pubcos of passing on costs of duty to their tenants that they didn't have to pay themselves. The Lib Dem MP for Leeds North West believes that the pubcos are taking advantage of the agreement between HMRC and the brewers that duty need not be paid on, for example, four ...
We are led to believe that David Cameron's "negotiations" with the other European leaders are coming to fruition, are about to be crowned with success, and our "IN - OUT" referendum could be held this year. Not only those of us who are enthusiast for the EU, but also, I suspect, most of those who are quietly accepting of it, realise this is all a sham. Cameron will declare "victory" whatever the terms (as Harold Wilson did in 1975) and the whole show is not about Britain's future but a shabby device by the Tory mainstream to outsmart UKIP and ...
A lovely illustrated short history of Ireland for younger readers, starting with prehistory and running up to (almost) the present day. Hits most of the highlights that you would expect in less than 100 pages, and I think does it in a way that would encourage kids to find out more and to relate to other things they knew about. A nice winner from my old friends at O'Brien Press.
Tomorrow, Parliament debates whether Donald Trump should be excluded from the UK. MPs are doing this because getting on for 600,000 people signed an official e-petition calling for him to be banned from the UK after his appalling anti-Muslim comments. We've talked about this on LDV before. In December, I said that he should be allowed to come here: Much as I understand that people are repelled by his views, there is a certain irony in them responding to his ignorant call to ban a group of people with a call to ban him. I have less than no time ...
[IMG: Lynne FEatherstone 2007 Brighton conference by Liberal Democrats] Energy and Climate Change spokesperson Lynne Featherstone has accused the government (perfectly reasonably) of making "ideological cuts" to the renewables sector. Speaking ahead of a Lords debate on the Energy Bill tomorrow, she said: Liberal Democrats have made changes to the Government's Energy Bill in the House of Lords, and will be fighting to protect onshore wind subsidies in the debate. We will be fighting to keep these changes, which will help protect our renewable energy industry in the face of brutal Conservative cuts. Now they are in government alone, the ...
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the 12200 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Welcoming former Labour Party supporters to the Liberal Democrats (71 comments) by Rob Jackson Farron: We must not pull up the drawbridge because of the Cologne attacks (55 comments) by The Voice Nick Clegg launches cross-party commission on inequality in education (41 comments) by Joe Otten The stars look very different today – tributes to David Bowie (3 comments) by Mary Reid Tim's pick a ward and win it – how that's part of the Isle of Wight's ...
The Liverpool Echo has the tragic unfolding story – see link above
Sun 17th
12:06
Birkenhead – Vandals caused £20,000 worth of damage when they set the Swiss bridge on fi...
[IMG: _87709977_a16cf3cc-e053-444b-bfa0-c62dc79678aa] www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35315248 The BBC web site has the story – see link above. The vandals who caused £20,000 worth of damage when they set fire to the Swiss bridge in Birkenhead Park last September make you despair of their utter stupidity. Why destroy what is so historic and beautiful?
When David Bowie died local newspapers scrambled to find a local angle on the story. The Leicester Mercury did rather better, reprinting a rather sniffy review from 1973 of a concert he gave at De Montfort Hall: He's become the figurehead of a new phase of rock sub-culture with its transvestitism and glitter trappings. There are those who have dubbed the Bowie-Roxy-Cooper glam-rock as the decadence preceding the demise of rock. But I can't believe that Bowie or his followers really take the Gay Liberation bit seriously. Certainly the man himself seemed to have his tongue firmly placed in cheek ...
[IMG: rally kirsty williams 1] The agenda for the important pre-election Welsh Lib Dem Spring Conference has been announced. It takes place in Cardiff from 5-7 February and you can find all the details here. It's packed with keynote speeches – each of the AMs gets a slot, along with Tim Farron – and policy debates. Not surprisingly, the manifesto and a motion on policing feature ahead of the Assembly and PCC elections. After some initial hesitation, the party has decided to stand candidates in all 4 Welsh PCC areas. Flooding and a motion on childcare and education, reflecting the ...
Though we don't yet have an official date yet for Britain's IN/OUT EU Referendum, the hot money is on 23 June — or at least that is what the attendees at yesterday's London Liberal Democrats' EU Referendum Rally were told. That assumes that David Cameron will get what he considers a satisfactory response to his [...]
A news release from the Liberal Democrats brings the news: Commenting on the Energy Bill which will be debated in the House of Lords tomorrow (Monday), Energy and Climate Change Spokesperson Lynne Featherstone said: "Liberal Democrats have made changes to the Government's Energy Bill in the House of Lords, and will be fighting to protect onshore wind subsidies in the debate. "We will be fighting to keep these changes, which will help protect our renewable energy industry in the face of brutal Conservative cuts. "Now they are in government alone, the Tories have reverted to type and have shown they ...
As a politician, there is nothing more frustrating than the fact that Easter falls on a different weekend each year. It makes planning election activity much more difficult as you have to account for the bank holidays at different points in the campaign every time. To be honest, I have never been sure how the date for Easter Sunday is worked out. I knew it had something to do with the moon but that was it. Many Christian holy days appropriated pagan festivals as a means of ensuring a less troublesome conversion but I am told that in the case ...
The image of Alistair Carmichael looms large on the Guardian's website this morning. This is connection with his leading the campaign to launch an inquiry into the funding of jihadi and extremist groups operating in the UK. The report states: Political pressure on Cameron to investigate extremist revenue streams in the UK has come from the Liberal Democrats who requested the inquiry in exchange for supporting the extension into Syria of British airstrikes against Islamic State. I think this is referring to the last sentence of the fifth of Tim Farron's "tests" for supporting Syrian air strikes, which says: We...call ...
Yesterday afternoon whilst Everton were playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge I was at AFC Wimbledon watching my second team, Mansfield, lose 3-1. Just after half time at that game, with Mansfield leading 1-0, AFC Wimbledon equalised, or at least they thought they had. A pretty simple through ball cut the Mansfield defence in half and Wimbledon's Lyle Taylor scored - however it was clear to everyone that he was at least five yards offside, and despite that Wimbledon celebrate and Mansfield get ready to kick off again. But then the referee (Fred Graham, I name him here so he can ...
Watch the new video from Amnesty International UK: Waleed Abu al-Khair is a human rights lawyer in Saudi Arabia. In 2014 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison simply for his human rights activism. Find out more about Waleed and human rights in Saudi Arabia at https://www.amnesty.org.uk/waleed
Sun 17th
09:39Merseyside Labour's big shots who barked up the wrong tree – What will become of them?
It was this recent article in the Liverpool Echo (see link above) that made me think about how many of Merseyside's Labour MP's and prominent local authority notables must now be pondering their future because they backed the wrong horse in the 2015 Labour Leadership election. The link below reminds us of those who publicly backed Andy Burnham, a chap many see as being very much on the right wing of the Labour Party. This link shows just how many of the big beasts in Labour's Merseyside jungle refused to back Corbyn who, of course, won the election ...
Embed from Getty Images We are an internationalist party. We believe in human rights. Our constitution commits us to equality, as well as liberty and community. So how can it be that we, the Lib Dems of all parties, have absolutely no women MPs? Zero. 0.0%. Round the world, countries and parties have addressed the paucity of women in elected positions. Our sister parties have done so. We have a history of trying to do so - but trying is not the same as succeeding. That must change now. I am extremely glad that our Party President, Sal Brinton, and ...
Sun 17th
08:52
Whatever else is happening under Corbyn, Scotland clearly isn't returning to Labour under his leader...
There was a new poll Holyrood election poll that was published late last week: SNP 52% LAB 21% CON 16% LD 7% OTHER 4%. Other than seeing again the by now predictable massive Nats lead, what does this poll tell us? Principally that whatever else Corbynites are constantly saying about what Jeremy will do for the electoral prospects of Labour, the big one that isn't happening at present (and given how long he's been in post versus how far away Scottish elections are, won't now happen) is a recovery for the party in Scotland. This isn't to be taken lightly. ...
From the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden : Big Garden Birdwatch Day : Saturday 30th January 11am - 3pm Join RSPB Scotland at the University of Dundee Botanic Garden to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch - the world's largest wildlife survey! Discover which birds can be found in the garden and get useful tips from RSPB staff and volunteers on identifying them. You can also find out more about how to Give Nature a Home in your garden and children can get messy making bird feeders to take home. The event is free to Friends ...
Rebuilding the towpaths | Canal & River Trust talks to a volunteer Caroline Lucas on basic income david bowie... COMICS?! - found objects The tube at a standstill: why TfL stopped people walking up the escalators Elland Bridge to get £5m rebuild - picture is of Brighouse bridge, OfC. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
I've just finished another 2 days of campaigning in Gateshead. Yesterday (Friday) I spent the afternoon in Ryton during which time I helped deliver nearly 600 calendars. Today I was in Dunston, helping to do a survey. Generally we had a good response and we got plenty of replies to our survey. What I found interesting is that those who are Conservative supporters seemed more likely to say so
