This year will see the most important vote that any of us under 60 have cast so far in our lives. We will be deciding whether Britain remains a member of the European Union or leaves it for an uncertain future in an increasingly globalised world. Back in 1975 when the last referendum on Britain's [...]
It's been a mostly dank, drizzly sort of day in Mid Suffolk but, as the saying goes, not rain, nor snow, nor gloom of night shall deter the bureaucrat from his ten thousand steps, and so I set off into the irritatingly persistent drizzle to buy a loaf of bread and the Sunday paper. The advantage is that I can cut across country using one of the parish's many footpaths. There is, however, a slight glitch, in that the routes of a number of those paths were disrupted by the small matter of a four lane trunk road that was ...
Embed from Getty Images The new Liberator is out, which means a limited amount of copy from it is available on the magazine's website. From there you can download a PDF of an article by Seth Thévoz - "A Very Nearly Successful Coup." It tells the story of the attempt to topple Nick Clegg as Liberal Democrat leader and argues that it came far nearer to succeeding that was generally realised at the time: What destroyed the coup was when the second wave of MPs got 'the wobbles'. A disciplined media grid had set out a detailed timetable of MPs ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, on behalf of the Lib-Dems in Broxtowe. It was great to be part of the launch of the Lib Dem by election campaign for Toton and Greasley last week (although it did snow on me whilst I was delivering leaflets in Toton on Saturday). Our candidate for Toton is Graham Heal, who is the only one of the candidates to actually live in the ward, and our candidate for Greasley is Keith Longdon, the Mayor of Eastwood and one of the most wonderful people ...
What does it mean to be a Liberal Democrat today? (It's About People) To be a liberal is to champion people. Championing people is the eternal and universal truth that is the core of liberal values. We exist to protect the rights of all people, regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality, ability or background [...]
A varied selection from this part of West Yorksshire. I can remember Altofts being open - it closed in 1990. There are lots more of these videos on this blog. Find them on the Disused Stations label.
So writes Nick Clegg with the Czech Prime Minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, in The Guardian: We all know that drug use can cause great damage to individuals, their families and communities. Drug addiction can be miserable, debilitating, and often fatal. And a profitable illegal market only strengthens the organised crime groups that we fight so hard to contain.We want to get to grips with these problems... [But] the "war on drugs" has failed. The black market is booming. Criminal gangs are raking in huge profits and leaving a trail of violence and misery in their wake. More and more lives are ...
I am not an American citizen and never will be, so I will never have the chance to vote in a US presidential election. But that does not stop me — like so much of the British political class — following US presidential contests with fascination. Or fascinated horror, might be more truthful. The horror [...]
Non-fiction: 6 Lois McMaster Bujold, by Edward James Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J. R. R. Tolkien, eds. Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan Baptism of Fire: The Birth of the Modern British Fantastic in World War I, ed. Janet Brennan Croft The Story of Ireland by Brendan O'Brien No Official Umbrella, by Glyn Jones On The Way To Diplomacy, by Costas Constantinou [IMG: 0252080858.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] [IMG: B00SDKSDDK.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] [IMG: B010Y8FNAO.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] [IMG: 0862788811.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] [IMG: 9609947085.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] [IMG: 413cd72096b252a592b505a55674346414c3441.jpg] Fiction (non-sf): 2 Travelling Light, by Tove Jansson The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro [IMG: 095489958X.01._SX133_SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg] ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 448th 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 (24-30 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. Lib Dems to leave Great George Street ...
[IMG: Img_2205] The campaign to bring speed calming measures to Henthorn Road looks to have been successful, reports Cllr Allan Knox. "Concerned local residents and myself have received a communication from the Highways Department informing us that the Council has gone out to tender and the work should be done in the spring," said Allan. It would appear that the plans involve build outs at various points to slow the traffic as well as a Zebra crossing. There has been no suggestion so far that speed bumps will be used. "My main concern is that, like many of these schemes, ...
The 'Alive Believers' Choir' preparing to sing today in St Nicholas' Church As a liberal I don't really believe in compulsion. However as I sat in the Annual Anglican Civic Service this morning I really wished I could make very ... Continue reading →
Last week, the House of Lords debated the current state of adult education and lifelong learning. I've now taken some time to read through the transcript and I've picked out a number of highlights from the excellent contribution made by Baroness Sharp. The debate was also notable for providing a vehicle for the farewell speech of Baroness Williams to be delivered, ... The post In praise of Baroness Sharp – the Lords debate adult education and lifelong learning appeared first on ten pence piece.
I was discussing something on the internet today, and someone noted how useless a particular organisation was by way of an argument against a thought of mine. And indeed, said organisation may well be useless - I've never encountered it and am unlikely to do so. But then I thought, "hang on a minute, we're supposed to be a political party. If an organisation is useless, why aren't we wondering what we could do to make it better?". I have always struggled with the concept that success in politics comes from opposing things. Yes, opposing stupidity, or callousness, or ineffectuality ...
Tim Farron was on Sky News Murnaghan this morning. It was quite refreshing to hear him introduced as "leading the charge" on the refugee crisis. It is actually blindingly obvious that we have been, but it's not so often acknowledged. The Murnaghan programme provides very helpful transcripts of their interviews, for which I am very grateful. Terry Wogan He was interviewed only an hour or so after the news that Terry Wogan had died and was asked for his reaction: I am genuinely very, very upset. He formed an enormous part of my childhood, interviewing all sorts of people on ...
Yesterday Kevin Lang told us how excited he was to be heading off to Iowa for the Democratic caucuses. He wrote that post in the departure lounge in Edinburgh. Thankfully, he is now safely in Chicago and on the way to Iowa, but his journey was, to put it mildly, not without incident. Somewhere over Iceland yesterday afternoon, the pilot realised that two sets of the landing gear were not working. He had no choice but to turn and head back to Heathrow and make an emergency landing. The Mirror has footage of the landing – and Kevin is quoted ...
You might have noticed that posts have been a bit thin on the ground here for the past month or so. Some of it has been because I've been focusing on job/PhD applications and interviews amongst other things, but it's also been because there's not been much that's inspired me to think 'ehy, I should blog about that'. So, here's an open call for some crowdsourced inspiration. What things are there that you'd have liked to see me blog about, but haven't? What posts have I written 'I'll write more about this some other time' in, then to your disappointment, ...
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Director of Elections Hilary Stephenson to leave after Spring Conference (18 comments) by Caron Lindsay Farron says there's "not a lot of truth" in Independent report on secret talks with Corbyn over electoral reform (47 comments) by Caron Lindsay It's our legacy – let's proclaim it (58 comments) by Katherine Pindar Does a perceived distrust of politicians justify redistributing an image meme that was discredited 14 months ago? (21 comments) by Paul Walter Be careful with home education registration ...
On I promised a Sunday music choice inspired by the great drought of 1976. And here it is. The other day I was followed on Twitter by Mike Batt, the man behind The Wombles. They were the biggest selling British band of 1974 - and if you look at what else was in the charts that year, you can see why. By 1976 drugs, Bungo's relationship with a Japanese conceptual artist and the inevitable differences over musical direction had caused the furry creatures to fall out with one another. The result was that Wellington Womble tried a solo career with ...
Embed from Getty Images A new theory about what happened Lord Lucan after he murdered Sandra Rivett in 1974 emerged this week. According to the Daily Mail, he shot himself and was then fed to a tiger at John Aspinall's zoo in Kent. I don't believe a word of it, but the Lucan story has always fascinated me. The best picture of John Aspinall is to be found in John Pearson's The Gamblers, but a few quotes will suffice. Here is the Daily Express from 2013: "Aspinall was a total crook," says Sir Rupert [Mackeson] now. "He started in the ...
Wake up to Wogan news this morning. I'm not sure what his other listener will be doing to mark the sad passing of the great raconteur but my thoughts are with the current Lady Wogan and the rest of the family. Sir Terry may well have been doing the Radio 2 Breakfast show for longer than even I could remember. I must apologise for in my rebellious youth listening to those young upstarts on Radio 1 or even Virgin (although that voice sounds awfully familiar with my Radio 2 wake up no). When I was driving into Edinburgh for a ...
There's been a bit of a stooshie this week about SNP MP Philippa Whitford earning a small fortune working as a locum consultant for the NHS. From the Irvine Times (so I don't have to link to the Daily Fail): It's been revealed that Philippa Whitford MP worked seven times for the cash-strapped hospital over the Christmas period. The SNP's Westminister health spokesperson earned £57.60 an hour on August 20-21, the equivalent of £490 a day, as well as working on September 25 during conference season. But Dr Whitford says it is "absolutely ludicrous" to make an issue of her ...
At a recent scrutiny committee meeting, the issue of school governors arose (once more) and the need to attract more people from varying backgrounds. I've previously served as a governor, so am fully aware of the importance and responsibilities the role requires. Playing a guiding role in the early years of local school children has [...]
When Tim Farron went to Newcastle this week (where he impressed a room full of young people), he spoke to the local paper. His speeches always used to feature football metaphors somewhere but in recent years, they've been less prevalent. However, he had no choice when he was asked which football manager he'd compare himself to. He told the Chronicle that he saw his role as being like Graeme Souness when he was at Blackburn Rovers. The Scottish football manager had a string of successes with that club. Then he left it and went to Newcastle, which wasn't such a ...
Terry Wogan passing today has brought up a lot of childhood memories. On BBC Radio 2, he used to have the early morning slot. When going to school, my brother and I used to have to make a bus for ten to eight and the family radio was never retuned from Radio 2, well until my teenage years at least. So it was always our mother sending us out with Terry babbling away in the background. He had a good sense of often zany humour and his presence on the airways seemed both rousing and reassuring. In those years Wogan ...
Willie Rennie will challenge the SNP in a parliamentary debate on their budget this week to actually use the powers that are coming the Scottish Parliament's way and raise the rate of income tax to pay for a £475m investment in education. The SNP, of course, are holding out for independence and have no intention of showing that the powers they have can make a huge difference. In their 9 years in office, they've not even used the tax-raising powers that came to Scotland with devolution in 1999. Willie's penny on tax for education is a bold move. Saying you'll ...
A mere three and a half years late*, I've come across this very apt statement from Helen Lewis: As I've just told @alicetiara, the comments on any article about feminism justify feminism. That is Lewis's Law. — Helen Lewis (@helenlewis) August 9, 2012 * Thank you Caron Lindsay for the reference that made me aware of it.
Sun 31st
10:21
Shropshire bus services, including those in Ludlow, will be decimated by the subsidy cuts planned by...
Come to discuss the cuts at the Bus Users Shropshire public meeting tomorrow. Ludlow Assembly Rooms, 1 February, 10.45am. "Bus routes may be at risk of being scaled back." This line in Shropshire Council's latest budget figures must have been written with the deepest sense of irony. The council is proposing a 91% cut in... Continue reading Shropshire bus services, including those in Ludlow, will be decimated by the subsidy cuts planned by Shropshire Council →
If it was not bad enough that the Welsh Labour Government were seeking to ban the use of e-cigarettes in public places without evidence of harm to support their case, the latest incarnation of that ban has just added confusion to the case against. As the Western Mail reports, the Welsh Government had originally wanted to ban e-cigarettes from all enclosed public and work places in the Public Health Bill. But health minister Mark Drakeford backed down from the initial plans in the face of opposition pressure and the Health and Social Services Committee has passed amendments tabled by him ...
In a free society we value free speech and that means at times we are going to be offended by our views, beliefs and opinions being challenged and insulted. The easy answer is to say that so and so should be banned for saying what they have said but if we were banned from saying something how would we feel? Our religious views or the lack of them is often an area where offence can be intended and indeed taken but that does not mean whose who offend should be stopped from making their views known. The difficulty we face ...
Tim Farron has been superb on the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Europe. He was the first Leader of any party to visit the camp in Calais; in Lesvos he witnessed the desperation and fear of those fleeing Assad; for many months he has been calling for 3000 unaccompanied children in Europe to be brought to the UK. Whilst lawyers and parliamentarians challenge the Government to implement the safe and legal routes into the UK, thousands upon thousands of people on the run from brutal regimes are suffering the most appalling conditions. Humanitarian aid is needed. What you can ...
The bridge at Seabraes officially opened only last June but there's unfortunately already been a number of lift breakdowns. Unfortunately another - the third - occurred last week and, in addition to seeking repair, I asked the Senior Engineer in the council's Structures & Bridges Team - who is in charge of the project - for assurances that the lift is fit for purpose and we won't see further regular breakdowns. I have now had feedback from him as follows : "We are satisfied that the lift meets the performance specification required for an external lift and has been installed ...
The West has been in denial about Syria in many, many ways since the civil war there kicked off in the spring of 2011. In denial about its reasonable proximity, preferring to think of the conflict as being something happening far away, with no impact on Europe; in denial about the idea that because the West was reticent to intervene, that didn't mean that it was some sort of isolated arena – but was rather one being intervened in quite heavily already; in denial about the civil war's ability to drag on and on, thinking it would resolve itself somehow ...
It's easier to pretend Cologne-style sex attacks never happen in UK, right? Politics, law and economics students tend to be more overconfident than others, study finds It's ok, though. Fifteen years of minimum wage drudgery will knock that right out of you. Whistleblower judge: austerity policies have made courts dangerous So, SO glad I didn't make it in the legal profession Mrs Slocombe's Pussy, with handy downloadable graphics Stockholm attack on refugees as gang of 'hundreds' of masked men beat up children - I hate everything WARNING: this i100 link only works if you pronounce things like a southerner. If ...
Naomi Long: 'When I got the first death threat I wasn't worried for myself, I was scared for mum, who was very sick' Life in politics. (tags: northernireland ) The End of Twitter It may all be over soon... (tags: twitter )
Bernie Sanders has the aspect of an old testament prophet. Most politicians make great play of showing that they have a life outside politics. But Sanders's furious insistence that the nation has become corrupt and must amend its ways is largely unleavened by such frivolities. The messenger is the message and he apparently intends that it be taken most earnestly, for [...]
