Today has been Time to Talk day, Time for Change's annual initiative to get more people to talk about mental health. It's something we've done to great effect over the last couple of years. You can read the many moving and personal articles our readers have written here. One Liberal Democrat parliamentarian who was definitely talking about mental health today was Welsh AM Eluned Parrott. She led a debate in the Senedd this afternoon. Delighted that my individual members' debate on mental health has been accepted by the Assembly #TimetoTalk — Eluned Parrott (@ElunedParrottAM) February 4, 2016 Debate tabled looks ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

UPDATED DETAILS. Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD candidate.

Posted by Michael Powell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD candidate.

Posted by Michael Powell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

LD seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Suzanne Tomsett-Ince. To help, please contact Steve Churchman (01766 530661, libdems.gwynedd@gmail.com) or Suzanne Tomsett-Ince (07963 716063, suzannetompsett@gmail.com)

Posted by Michael Powell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

LD candidate- Andrew Wood.

Posted by Michael Powell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Cause: Disqualification of Conservative for non-attendance LD candidate- Helen Belcher. Contact for help: Helen Belcher helen.belcher@virgin.net

Posted by Michael Powell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. Prospective LD candidate: Steven Aronson. Contact for helpers: Charlotte Cane ccane@cix.co.uk or 01638 741064. Virtual Phone Bank for the final week – code: 050E61D-1892

Posted by Anders Hanson on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Amanda Woof Contact: heather.kidd@shropshire.gov.uk 01938 561651

[IMG: mail england] Much deserved mockery greeted the Daily Mail's portentous front page plea for a plucky patriot to take up cudgels on behalf of Brexit: Today the Mail asks a question of profound significance to our destiny as a sovereign nation and the fate of our children and grandchildren. Who will speak for England? To which there is only one answer, and it's an answer as uncomfortable to the right-wing Mail as it is to the right-on Twitter crowd: David Cameron speaks for England. And I say that as someone who views his re-negotiations as, largely, a sham. Like ...

Posted by Stephen Tall on Stephen Tall

David Cameron is to be congratulated in helping to initiate, and to host, the London Conference which has pledged a total of $10bn to help refugees from war-torn Syria, and in particular to ensure that as many as possible of the displace children receive an education. Cameron is also correct to emphasise the importance of helping those refugees displaced to camps near Syria rather than concentrating only on those who have made perilous journeys and entered, or are on the borders of, the EU. As a contributor to the BBC Radio 4 programme " Start the Week" last week (still ...

Posted by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal
YouGov

So much for my early night tonight. I have to get up before the Cool Kids have gone to bed to get a flight to Cardiff to go to Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference. I can't miss Sal Brinton on Question Time (BBC1, 10:45pm), though. Especially as there may be a bit of an awkward moment for Nigel Farage. He's on the programme yet again on the day that Tim Farron and Meral Ece have complained to the BBC and Ofcom about UKIPs Party Political Broadcast last night. They say that it incited religious and racial hatred. I don't normally go ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

[IMG: http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-old-smithfield-1959/] There's no sound, but there is plenty of great colour footage in this 1959 film of the last day of Smithfield cattle market in the centre of Shrewsbury. Click on the image above to go to the film on the BFI site.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Tim Farron has been out and about doing what he loves best around the country – campaigning with big groups of Liberal Democrats, knocking on people's doors and spreading the Lib Dem word. In a hectic 36 hours, he fitted in stops in Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff. He's actually going to Cardiff again on Saturday to speak at Welsh Conference, too. He recorded this video from the campaign office of Alex Cole-Hamilton, candidate for Edinburgh Western and one of the few human beings who could challenge Tim for sheer campaigning energy: Tim understands the importance of getting out there and ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

As the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign (aka StrongerIN) gets up and running - with our own Richard Pinnock as the SW regional organiser - it will need all the help it can get. This means political parties, trade unions, churches etc all mobilising to persuade people to stay in Europe. But it also means all those organisations working together in a common campaign under the StrongerIN umbrella. The common campaign probably has a better chance of persuading more people. And it will attract support from internationalists everywhere. You may already have received a mailshot from StrongerIN. Many SW households ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

Writing his latest Evening Standard column, Nick Clegg says: So in the end, it wasn't The Donald but Ted Cruz who won. Cruz, the man who claims Obamacare is "the biggest job-killer" in the US, who will "build a wall that works" on the US border, who wants to carpet- bomb Syria until "sand can glow in the dark", and who has called the Roe vs Wade ruling to legalise abortion a "dark anniversary". Perhaps one of Donald Trump's most unexpected achievements is to make Cruz look mainstream... The politics of identity, of us versus them, is on the rise. ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

The Government has been accused of a real gap between rhetoric and reality for cyclists in a debate in Parliament. Speaking for the opposition, Shadow Transport Minister, and Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner demanded to know whether the Government's "cycling and walking investment strategy" actually has the resources to deliver any investment. A third of the cash for cycling has already been allocated to cycle city ambition grants and spending on Bikeability training will continue, but Mr Zeichner said he had "repeatedly run into a brick wall" when attempting to get answers from the Government on if there was any remaining ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

Your vote matters! Not registered to vote? Then register now at: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote Keep up-to-date with electoral reform matters at: http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

Lib Dem Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Chris White has called for an end to 'years of complacency' following the election of a Conservative to be the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire in November 2012. Chris said: 'It is really disturbing to read the papers being presented to last week's meeting of the sadly toothless Hertfordshire Police and Crime Panel. 'Commissioner Lloyd acknowledges that crime is up with a 4.6% increase in anti-social behaviour, a 6.8% increase in burglary, a 21.1% increase in motor vehicle crimes, as well as a troubling 40% increase in crimes against the person. ...

Posted by Andy Pellew on Focus on Bar Hill

The old boy turns out to have known Labour's new Executive Director of Strategy and Communications since he was so high. Jeremy Corbyn sends for Christopher Robin Milne There is only one area of our national life where the hereditary principle holds greater sway than it does here in the aristocracy. I refer, of course, to the press and broadcasting. There are whole neighbourhoods of London where it is impossible to toss a brick without hitting a Coren or a Dimbleby - not that one would try too hard to avoid doing so. Thus I was not surprised when the ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Who is going to look after the children? One of the biggest worries for working parents is finding high quality and affordable childcare. It is also one of the biggest barriers, especially for women, to getting back into work. So, when the chance came to ease those worries by improving what childcare the Government were offering, we grabbed it. Liberal Democrats, of course, recognise that childcare is a critical issue for parents of pre-school children and successfully introduced childcare for two year olds from disadvantaged families. An increase in hours available for all 3 and 4 year olds was in ...

Posted by Baroness Kath Pinnock on Liberal Democrat Voice
eUKhost

Willie Rennie has made clear that he wants to see a more diverse team of parliamentarians elected at all levels over the next 5 years. Today, he has emailed Scottish Party members to set out the case for them to back his plans at Scottish Party Conference in three weeks' time. His email is copied below: In periods of adversity organisations have opportunities to renew, refresh and reorganise to prepare for future successes. For the Scottish Liberal Democrats that opportunity is to build a team of candidates in winnable seats that is more reflective of society. It cannot be a ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

It was Saturday 6 April 1895. The weather was windy and drizzly as the passengers packed onto the quayside at Dover to catch the steam packet to Calais due on the evening tide. Perhaps it was packed that night because of Easter the following week. Perhaps it wasn't as packed as some of the witnesses claimed later, or the downright gossips who weren't actually there. But it was still full. Those waiting on the quay wrapped up warm against the chilly Channel breeze and eyed each other nervously, afraid to meet anyone they knew, desperately wanting to remain anonymous. Among ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

I want to give Bernie a fair shout, so I went to his website to see what are his proposals for reforming Wall Street...

Posted by Chris Connolly on A Yellow Guard

To the mental health campaign Time to change has its Time to talk day Time to Talk Day Time to Talk Day - Thursday 4th February 2016Join us and let's get the nation talking about mental health to help end the misconceptions around it. Mental health problems affect 1 in 4 people every year, yet too often people are afraid to talk about their experiences because they fear it will affect their jobs or relationships. That's not right and it's why we need your help to break the silence and end the stigma. [IMG: IMG_0472] To join the conversation on ...

Posted on birkdale focus

The famous Lawnmower Museum which gets post addressed to Stockport A rare thing happened last week, the town spoke with one voice. The packed town hall meeting agreed that in developing the town there were a number of key challenges: Rail links to the North and EastMaintaining the line to Manchester Piccadilly and AirportImproving roads to the North and EastPromoting the town's name and a commensurate dropping of the failed and hated 'Seftonisation' approachmake the most of the legacy : Lord St., The Pier, Botanic Gardens etcthe town is a place people want to live and commute from as with ...

Posted on birkdale focus
Thu 4th
14:41

Standing up for Syria

On the first day of the Syria conference currently taking place in London billions of dollars have been pledged to help Syrian refugees, including $1.7bn from Britain. That's the good news and the UK Conservative government, which rarely gets praise from me, deserves it in this case. However, the bad news is that the Syria [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

The Telegraph reports that reforms proposed in the Trade Union Bill, which will ban public sector bodies from automatically deducting subscription fees from workers' wages, could lead to Labour losing £8 million a year from its funding. The Labour Party depends on the unions for millions of pounds in donations every year and under the current system all donations are automatically collected as part of the regular membership fee. However, Conservatives have argued that the approach is "outdated" and leaves the taxpayer with a £6.5 million bill every year to help fund union payments. That may well be the case, ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
Thu 4th
13:31

David Rimmer RIP

My friend David Rimmer died today having been ill for quite a few months. He was well known in Southport as a councillor (retired), a big supporter of Southport Football Club, and a keen supporter of Birkdale & Southport Cricket Club. [IMG: David Rimmer (left) with Cllr. John Dodd.] David Rimmer (left) with Cllr. John Dodd. I first got to know David many years ago in the early 1980's when he was a member and a local mover and shaker within the SDP. This was in the SDP/Liberal Alliance days when I was a fresh faced lad who had just ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Part of our role in both houses of Parliament is to hold the government to the commitments they - often reluctantly - give. One of the five conditions Lib Dem parliamentarians established in return for supporting the extensions of air operations over Iraq to Syria was that the government should set up an enquiry into sources of funding for extremist versions of Islam within the UK. Alastair Carmichael in the Commons, and myself in the Lords, are holding the Conservatives to the promise they made to report on this by 'the Spring of 2016'. Alastair has pressed ministers on the ...

Posted by Lord William Wallace on Liberal Democrat Voice
Thu 4th
12:38

#Timetotalk Day 2016

Today is #TimetoTalk Day 2016, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to ponder something positive, namely how it feels to be "doing better". I chose the phrase "doing better" because a lot of mental health conditions are essentially lifelong, but with symptoms occurring temporarily under specific circumstances. When I get up in the morning I feel tired, but not completely drained. I can focus on getting ready for work, and I'm calm in myself (assuming the alarm goes off at the right time). I look forward to the day, be it a day at work, at home, or relaxing ...

Posted by Gary Fuller on Gary's Garbled Gabblings!
Thu 4th
12:36

Yesterday in King's

Most of the day at King's from 10.00 to 16.00. The transport department had been asked to provide oxygen but tried to pretend he had said it wasn't needed. Kidney function bad, deteriorated a little but not to the extent that it required action. Haematologist had not seen the complete blood results but enough to tell us there had been further deterioration over the 5 days since our last visit. "Leukaemia is taking off", she said. She made arrangements for me to have a blood transfusion next Tuesday. I only had a magnesium infusion through the wonderful PICC line which ...

Posted by Eric Avebury on Eric Avebury

[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across the country] Our friends at the LGA Liberal Democrat Group are recruiting a Political Assistant to work at their HQ in Local Government House. Smith Square, Westminster. Applications can be made via the LGA website or Work4MP. Good luck! Summary The LGA is the national voice of local government which seeks to support, promote and improve councils [...]

Posted by Craig Whittall on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities represent a growing proportion of the UK. In 2010 they made up a total of 14% of the population and 8% of the voters. Yet at the last general election the majority (52%) of BAME voters cast their ballot for Labour not the Lib Dems. In fact over two thirds – 67% – of the black community voted Labour, with 38% of the Asian community voting Conservative. Lib Dem opposition to the Iraq war in 2003 won the party a legion of new supporters, many from BAME communities, who felt let down by ...

Posted by Shoaib Bajwa on Liberal Democrat Voice

Mark Pack and David Howarth have published a second version [IMG: 80-20] their 20% Strategy, originally published last summer. In the preface the authors bemoan the lack of controversy over their proposals, which signal that their implications have not been fully internalised. This is exactly what I predicted in my reaction to the document at the time. I stand by my suggestion then that the party must work on a political strategy too. The document is well worth a read if you haven't already. If you read the first edition, I'm not sure the second version says much that is ...

Posted by Matthew on thinking liberal

The County Council, after discussions with the residents' association via Chris, will be formally be consulting on the additional weight restrictions shown above. If you have any comments let us know or email to tro@hertfordshire.gov.uk (please state Britton Avenue PTRO in the title) by Friday 19th January 2016. Please be specific with any comments you make. [...]

Posted by chriswhite on Chris White

Yesterday witnessed a London mayoral hustings in which all of the conceivable candidates for said position spoke. Those who were there and I consider reliable witnesses claim that Sadiq really won the night, with Zac being a little flat (and predictably, Galloway getting way too much floor time as he refused to shut up). There was one interesting moment when Zac had to talk about the fact that his only sizeable donation to his campaign thus far is a 50,000 pound one – from his mum. Sadiq made a pretty good joke out of this, while Sian Berry used Sadiq's ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

Last night, I attended the February meeting of Community Spirit Action Group - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Pentland, Tullideph, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area. The meeting took place at the Mitchell Street Centre and there was an excellent presentation by Barry Farquharson of the Friends of Riverside Nature Park about the birdlife in the nature park. Barry was really interesting, informative and entertaining and everyone really enjoyed his talk. The meeting was also a good opportunity to discuss local issues and I updated the group about a number of matters including bus ...

[IMG: Barack Obama at White House gun violence meeting] Just about every government in the world, except (UKIP's favorite) Russia, has expressed a view that it hopes Britain remains in the EU. This includes Commonwealth countries and allies in North and South America, Africa and Asia. President Obama intervened again this week by advising David Cameron in a phone call on Tuesday that the US sees Britain's interests as best served in the EU rather than outside. Of course, the White House will fully expect that this information will become public knowledge and will hope that it will have a ...

Posted by Antony Hook on Liberal Democrat Voice

In December we voiced our concern about Cheadle's Conservative MP voting to allow fracking in national parks and the way the Government immediately opened up large parts of Greater Manchester for exploration and potential fracking. This week we have been receiving a number of campaigning emails concerned about another aspect of fracking – the suggestion that the Government will override local councils and force through planning decisions to allow fracking regardless of the views of local people and elected councillors. The emails are along the lines of: I am very concerned about leaked government plans to attack local democracy. It's ...

Posted by Iain Roberts on Keith, Graham and Iain

Andy Zaltzman: Let's talk about Canterbury - brutal cricket geekery from Andy Zaltzman 6 reasons why we need better sex education Sarah Reed: if even half of this is true it's horrific. If all of it is? Jesus. This country. "Lots of folk can't afford a car" & other crap spewed at disabled people If you've had enough of Prick Dawkins there are more interesting things harrowing in atheism [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments

My 'More Nurses' bill came a step closer to reality yesterday as it passed stage 3 in the National Assembly. The More Nurse bill, also known as Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Bill, will now go to its fourth and final stage on Wednesday next week. This proposal would see Wales become the first country in the UK with a legal duty to have safe nurse staffing levels on hospital wards. My name was drawn out of a ballot for the chance to introduce her own law in December 2013. In the history of the Assembly, only one other Private Members ...

Posted by Kirsty Williams on Freedom Central