Nick Clegg continues to use his regular Evening Standard column to champion liberal causes: Give doctors the right to prescribe cannabis for those in real pain Thousands of Britons suffer from chronic conditions but face breaking the law to get treated. That must change. Imagine being in constant pain, so much so that you can't work, you can't walk around town, you can't lift things, you can't even find a restful position to sleep in. Imagine that every medicine your doctor prescribes to you is either too weak to make a difference or comes with crippling side effects. Now imagine ...
LD candidate- Gavin Blake-Coggins.
Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Shailain Shah. To help, please contact Lloyd Harris (hertsmere@eastlibdems.org.uk).
Labour seat. Cause: Death. No LD candidate.
Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. Prospective LD candidate: Lauren Pemberton-Nelson More details on our candidate and how you can help can be found here
UPDATED DETAILS. SNP seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Norman Rae.
LD seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Christoph Von Kurthy. To help, please contact Darren Grover (darren.grover@gmail.com) or Judith Ost (judithaost@gmail.com).
Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Jane Clark.
Watford West stood on the branch from Watford Junction to Croxley Green. It closed along with the rest of the line in 1996. This video shows it one evening in 1990 when it was already semi-derelict. For some photographs of it in happier days see the pages for Watford West on Disused Stations. The line through Watford West is due to reopen as part of the Croxley Rail Link. The station itself will not be revived, as one will be built nearby to serve the local hospital and Vicarage Road stadium. In 2012 I visited Watford Metropolitan which will also ...
Embed from Getty Images If the subject matter of Dame Janet Smith's report into Jimmy Savile and the BBC were not so serious, he conclusions would be funny. Exaro, which has a leaked draft copy of her report, tells us: In this second package of pieces, Exaro today reveals how Smith's report: reveals that Savile carried out far more sexual assaults on BBC premises than previously realised; says that the BBC continued to use Savile to present Jim'll Fix It, a BBC1 programme aimed at children, despite "danger signals" about him; exposes a failure by BBC bosses to notice even ...
[IMG: Caroline Pidgeon] Today it was announced that the Transport for London would take over London's suburban rail network. From the BBC: Transport for London (TfL) has announced it will be taking over the running of the capital's suburban rail network. It will take over the routes as the various rail franchises come up for renewal. The new partnership between the Department for Transport and TfL says it aims to ensure there are more frequent trains and increased capacity. The first rail franchise up for renewal is South West in 2017. Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon welcomed this move, ...
Thu 21st
20:07
Ludlow library is to be reviewed - I think the right plan for its future is absolutely obvious
Very shortly, Shropshire Council will launch a review of the six hub libraries - Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Whitchurch, Market Drayton, Bridgnorth and Ludlow. I'll write more about the review when I know more. But I do have a firm view on what the result of the review should be. We know we will have to work... Continue reading Ludlow library is to be reviewed - I think the right plan for its future is absolutely obvious →
More educative entertainment from Tom Scott (and outrageous comments about Blackberry): In Slough, outside the headquarters of Blackberry, I talk about an urban legend that's almost true: the idea that calling 999, the British emergency number, could actually charge your phone battery. It's not quite right, but it's close.
[IMG: ACH gas mask] Edinburgh Western and Lothian List candidate Alex Cole-Hamilton took to the most polluted street in Edinburgh this week. St John's Road in Corstorphine, where he has his campaign office, is the most polluted road in Scotland. It's one of the main routes from the west into Edinburgh. Pollution levels in Corstorphine and Queensferry Road are a national disgrace. They represent a clear and present threat to public health, yet the SNP, who have been in charge of this City and this country for nearly a decade, continue to drag their heels. Almost 2,000 Scots die prematurely ...
3 things have managed to make my blood boil this week, not only because I fundamentally disagree with the arguments posed but because the opposing arguments just totally miss the point. Swing and a miss. The three things are; Meninism and men's issues in feminism Why University free speech rankings say more about the frailty of [...]
The Liverpool Echo has the tragic story – see link above – and my posting of 8th August 2015 also carried the story of the previous tragedy – see link below:- Clearly Network Rail and Sefton Council have to urgently find a way of replacing this dangerous level crossing with a bridge which is suitable for pedestrians (and cyclists) of all abilities. If this latest tragedy is not the spur to take urgent action I don't know what will be. Why on earth did Network Rail not come up with an acceptable bridge after they withdrew their previous ...
Iain MacWhirter has pushed my rage buttons (The Herald). Every single one of them. This piece he's written for The Herald is completely and utterly hysterical about how tuition fees are a dreadful idea that should be opposed regardless of context. He would do well, of course, to take a look at this very blog, in which I showed three years ago now how a student finance system that includes a fee component can actually lead to poorer graduates paying less and richer graduates paying more. But let's deal with some of the specific nonsense in his Herald article today. ...
Thu 21st
14:20
Farron and Brake say that those who killed Alexander Litvinenko must be held to account
Tim Farron and Tom Brake have reacted to this morning's publication of the report into the nurder of Alexander Litvinenko which concluded that Andrei Lugovoi, a key ally of Vladimir Putin, and Dmitri Kovtun killed Litvinenko and that Putin probably authorised it. Tim Farron said that those responsible must be held to account: A UK citizen was killed on the streets of London with polonium. It was an attack on the heart of Britain, our values and our society. I call for EU travel bans, asset freezes and coordinated action to deal with those who committed this evil assassination. I ...
The number of students studying at The Open University has fallen for the 5th consecutive year, according to figures released by The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Data for student enrolments in 2014/15 was published a few days ago. It makes dismal reading for HE part-timers. Overall, the number of part-time students fell 6%, to below 600,000. This compares to ... The post Open University student numbers fell 12.2% in 2014/15 appeared first on ten pence piece.
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Nigel Ashton and Jo Barton are holding their next advice centre in Churchtown. We will be at Cafe Moo Moo on Cambridge Road (by the junction with Preston New Road, next to Boots) from 10:30 to 11:30 am on Thursday 28th January. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Crossens, at St John's School, Rufford Road, Crossens every month (except August) on the second Saturday of the month from 11:00 am ...
Lydiate has long had decent quality parks and gardens but at the end of 2015 I saw a couple of pieces of evidence that folks really do appreciate the work that goes into them by the small team of grounds staff that the Parish Council employs. Here are a couple of examples of how locals feel:- e-mail to Parish Council dated 3rd November – 'Lydiate Parish Council should be congratulated because of the way it keeps our area clean, tidy and nice to look at. I'm talking particularly of the ares by the bus shelters in Southport Road. I would ...
[IMG: this boy] While this is a very late review, hopefully it will persuade anyone left in the political community, who has not read Alan Johnson's "This Boy", to read it. I tend to read at a snail's pace and also have a habit of (accidentally) reading volumes of memoirs back to front chronologically. I read both Alan Clark's and Chris Mullin's volumes backwards. I read and reviewed Alan Johnson's later work "Please Mister Postman" last summer. Just before Christmas I was kindly loaned "This Boy". The book is a remarkably detailed, harrowing account of a one-parent (and then no-parent) ...
Sir Robert Owen, as expected, has today filed his report into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. The conclusions are stark: 1. I am sure that Mr Litvinenko did not ingest the polonium 210 either by accident or to commit suicide. I am sure, rather, that he was deliberately poisoned by others. 2. I am sure that Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun placed the polonium 210 in the teapot at the Pine Bar on 1 November 2006. I am also sure they did this with the intention of poisoning Mr Litvinenko.3. I am sure that the two men had made an ...
Ten years ago today, give or take a time zone or six, I got married. (Coincidentally, so did my wife.) I'm not very good at talking about my feelings, so I won't talk about how much I love her, or ... Continue reading →
On Tuesday night I was one of the speakers at the pilot for the excellent Your Liberal Britain project. It is being run by a group of Liberal Democrat members who are pioneering a new way of engaging with members and supporters about what the Liberal Democrats believe and why. The idea is to hold a series of events on the theme of: What kind of society do you want to create and how would it be different from the society we have today? The basic format is a short speech setting from someone out a vision of their Liberal ...
Residents of South Gloucestershire have been shocked to learn that Highways England have no idea about long standing hopes for more sustainable parking at the Tormarton motorway Junction. Highways England closed the Picnic /Parking Site last year without any consultation, resulting in more cars dangerously parked on the nearby verges. Sue Hope (Liberal Democrat, Cotswold Edge ward) has been fighting for years to get a formal Park and Share site at this busy junction. This would be of vital strategic importance to the area, and dramatically reduce congestion on local roads. It is included in the West of England Joint ...
I would have thought it almost impossible to come up with a Trident policy dafter than the one the Liberal Democrats were saddled with at the last general election, but Jeremy Corbyn and his trade union colleagues seem to have done just that. They are seriously proposing buying the submarines but no warheads. The submarines are to be a job-creation scheme to satisfy unions who care more about their members' jobs than about the overall national interest. These giant submarines are the main cost of the Trident renewal program, £16bn for the four of them? Who knows exactly? If Mr ...
Thu 21st
09:19
How the "hammer the rich" story encapsulates perfectly the confidence of the Tories these days
Yesterday, Tory MP Mark Garnier told the Independent the following in regards to George Osborne's plan to level out pension provision for higher earners: "I am not sure the politics of hammering the rich works. The people who will benefit are very unlikely to change the way they vote, while those who lose out will be understandably angry. If you say to 40p taxpayers that they are going to be penalised, there would be a certain amount of unrest." Putting aside the notion of what "unrest" might be caused by wealthy pensioners getting stiffed (insert a lame joke here involving ...
Last night's Evening Telegraph highlighted the overflowing rubbish problem at a set of flats on the Perth Road and my taking up the problem on their behalf to get the matter resolved. I have had feedback from the City Council's Neighbourhood Services Department who advise that the problem occurred at the time of a complete change of crew dealing with the bin collection and I have been promised a prompt rubbish uplift. I have also asked for the bin store area to be given a proper clean-up as bags have been ripped open by seagulls, causing a mess.
From the City Council : Planners are now preparing the next Local Development Plan for Dundee. The first stage in the process was to produce a Main Issues Report. This discusses key planning issues and informs the preparation of the next Local Development Plan by considering which areas of the City are suitable and unsuitable for development and discussing the way land should be used, managed and developed. The Main Issues Report was approved for consultation at the City Development Committee on 7th December 2015. The public consultation runs until Monday 29th February. Officers will be hosting workshops, exhibitions and ...
The Illegitimacy of Aragorn's Claim to the Throne Fair points. (tags: tolkien ) Disarmament is key Kazakh foreign minister wants to get rid of nukes. (Rightly.) (tags: kazakhstan nuclear ) How the UK's housing crisis builds a case for Brexit Everything is connected. (tags: ukpolitics eu housing ) 92-year-old woman faces deportation UK Govt cracks down on elderly migrants. (tags: ukpolitics migration ) David G. Hartwell (1941-2016) A colossally important and much-loved editor. (tags: sf deaths ) British Man's Husband Died On Honeymoon, Australia Refuses To Recognise Their Marriage The compassion of traditional values. (tags: sexandgenderandsexuality australia )
The Freedom of Information Act has just one problem: it doesn't go far enough Because I'm lazy I posted an existing recipe for challenge 10 on Weekly Food Challenge How blind cricket made an England star of Hassan Khan The Fat Gay Vegan expalians why @GBKburger's "funny" advert was so staggeringly ill-conceived New website to help parents worried that their children could join Conservative Future Men twice as likely to appear on TV as women, finds Channel 4 study [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The Electoral Commission has published the national expenditure returns of the various political parties and as usual it is full of surprises. The revelations seems to have upset Labour MPs in particular who are said to be spitting feathers after it emerged that their party spent £600 on chicken suits during last year's election campaign, while their widely mocked "pink bus" cost close to £5,000. One Labour MP told The Sun: "We could spend £6 million on chicken suits at the next election, but until we accept the fact we had an unpopular leader and no economic credibility we'll just ...
