The Prime Minister has started campaigning. David Cameron has correctly said that this referendum is more important than the General Election. He began his fight with a speech at O2's HQ in Slough. You can read or watch the speech and Q&A afterwards, here. The PM began by talking about his reform deal. As I've said before "I've made it less bad" is insufficient to win. He needs to make the case "it's a good thing" and he did go on to that, talking about the economy and security. Mr Cameron said: Far better off inside the European Union. Three ...
St Enoch station closed in 1966 and was demolished in 1977. Buchanan Street station was also closed in 1966 and was demolished the following year.
Conservative seat. Cause: Disqualification. Candidates TBC. To help, please contact David Hurds (01432 265528, info@herefordlibdems.com) or Lucy Hurds (07827 011611, lhurds@aol.com)
Independent seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Jonathan Pratt. To help, please contact Jonathan Pratt (07782 284764, jonny012697@hotmail.com).
UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Death. No LD candidate.
UPDATED DETAILS. Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD candidate.
UPDATED DETAILS. Labour seat. Cause: Death. No LD candidate.
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Hazel Wright. To help, please contact Richard Vos (stratford@libdems.fslife.co.uk).
It's not often that I give a prepared speech – they're usually from brief notes or a mind map. But unusually, my speech tonight to Cambridge City Council was one I wrote in advance, so I'm able to share it with you. The background is in the context of the Liberal Democrat amendment to the Labour City Council budget tonight. As part of a fully costed budget amendment, we've asked the council to fund a part time post in the not-for-profit sector to help coordinate efforts. There is a lot of goodwill from the residents of Cambridge towards those in ...
I've been getting more and more concerned as of late with the amount I'm hearing about a progressively more illiberal student experience throughout the country. From speakers being no-platformed by the National Union of Students and subsequent campuses, to religious tensions in political societies at Oxford University - our education system has gone drastically wrong. [...]
These are the Settling Rooms in Market Harborough. They stand in the car park that marks the site of the town's cattle market and were once the offices where purchases made at the market were paid for. The Harborough Mail reports that they are to be put up for sale by Harborough District Council. Its story quotes understandable concerns: For the Liberal Democrats, Cllr Dr Sarah Hill said she was concerned about the existing tenants at The Settling Rooms - Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) and Shopmobility. "Both offer important services to the community - where will they go?" she ...
Thu 25th
21:00
York conference motions published in full along with other key consultations - UPDATED
All the documents for the forthcoming Liberal Democrat conference in York are now published, including the reports to conference booklet featuring updates from various party bodies – one of which has prompted me to lodge an appeal with the Federal Appeals Panel. That booklet was not initially released electronically but it now has been and you can read it in full below. Also amongst the public documents are the detailed agenda with the full text of all motions – such as the one on improving the diversity amongst our MPs – and the consultation paper about how the party is ...
I bought this soon after it came out, but didn't get around to reading it until now. I really enjoyed it; a witty sexy Islamic virtual reality novel with djinn in, set in an unnamed Gulf princedom this year or next, with a flavour of the diversity and depth of the local culture - Arabic with many other infuences too. It was good to come to it so soon after reading the Arabian Nights and also at a time when I've been seeing (but not reading properly) a number of comment pieces about how and why the Arab Spring failed. ...
Thu 25th
18:35
Catherine Bearder MEP writes...Government U-turns on EU flood funding in victory for Lib Dems
As many of you know Tim Farron and I have been fighting for months to persuade the government to apply for EU solidarity funding for flood victims. The European Commission had confirmed to me last December that this money was there for the taking, so it was flabbergasting that the government had so far refused to apply on the flimsy grounds that it would not offer immediate help (an application takes a few months to process). The real reason I suspect was that the government was worried about upsetting its eurosceptic backbenchers by asking for help from the rest of ...
More from Michael Crick and his investigations into questionable Conservative Party election expense returns in the 2014 Parliamentary by-elections: Conservative Party workers involved in the controversial Clacton by-election have tonight demanded a full investigation into tens of thousands of pounds in undeclared spending – which they say may have breached the law. Channel 4 News has obtained new evidence that hotel rooms booked and paid for by the party during the by-election were seemingly not declared. Even the Party's own election agent, who signed the declaration, had a room at one of the hotels. The extra spending would have put ...
Thu 25th
18:03Why you should ignore all the news reports about the size of the new electoral register
Given how many times I've blogged about the move to individual electoral registration, I guess I should blog about the new electoral register figures and what they tell us. But I've given up trying to because of one basic fact: lots of numbers have been published and no-one has a clue what they really mean. What we do know is that the total number of entries on the electoral register has fallen. But what we don't know is either context or meaning. We don't know context because it's natural to expect there could be a cycle in electoral register entries ...
Thu 25th
17:27Kirsty Williams: "Lib Dems have used our influence to get investment in schools and more nurses"
[IMG: Kirsty Williams 2] Kirsty Williams came out fighting in a BBC Wales pre-election interview at around 15 minutes in. The introduction contained a very gloomy forecast from an academic. Kirsty pointed out that they same forecasts had been made about our performance 5 years ago in the early days of the Westminster coalition. She talked about how her group of 5 AMs had punched well above their weight in the last 5 years and cited times when they had stood up against the establishment, being the only party to vote against a pay-rise for AMs. She talked about how ...
Here's the latest film from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, which continues a revival of an old Liberal Democrat policy favourite: We want Scotland's children to have the best education in the world. That's why we'll invest half a billion pounds in early years education, schools and colleges. Watch the video and find out why. And find out more at scotlibdems.org.uk/education.
At around 50 minutes to the 11th hour, the Government finally agreed to Tim Farron's request that they apply for EU funding to help with the aftermath of the flooding that hit Cumbria and other areas of Northern England as a result of Storm Desmond on 5 December. The EU Solidarity Fund is there to help out when natural disaster strikes. Accountancy firm KPMG has estimated the total cost of the flood damage at £5bn, which means that the UK could be eligible for up to £125 million of, of which 10% would be made available immediately. In 2008, the ...
Back in December Stockport was one of only two Greater Manchester boroughs lucky enough to escape flooding, but it was a close-run thing. The Fire Service have since said that they were stretched to breaking point and, had the Mersey flooded, they wouldn't have been able to cope. There aren't many parts of Stockport Borough at risk from flooding, but areas of Gatley and, even more so, Cheadle are among them. [IMG: Environment Agency flood risk map] Environment Agency flood risk map The Lib Dems are calling for more work to be done on flooding risks locally, and for the ...
Tim's previous video on Europe is here.
The A34 study Keith and the Lib Dems have been calling for is moving a step closer. "We think we have agreement from Stockport, Cheshire East and TfGM for the study to go ahead." said Keith. "It's absolutely essential it does. With thousands of new homes being build and the planned Poynton Relief Road likely to add to the traffic coming down the A34, we will only find an answer to the traffic chaos by taking a proper look at the whole area." The Lib Dems have worked to improve the Kingsway junction over the last few years, making a ...
One of the many beautiful trees in Calderstones Park My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I appear to have fought off implied legal action against us by Liverpool City Council in an increasingly bitter row over the sale of part of ... Continue reading →
Seriously, what is the world coming to when in the Mother of Parliaments, the most powerful politician in the country invokes his own mother to castigate the Leader of the Opposition. Here's their exchange: The Prime Minister: I am very proud of the NHS in Oxfordshire and everyone who works in it. Having met the head of the Oxford Radcliffe trust recently, I know that he supports the move towards more seven-day services. That is absolutely vital. Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab): Ask your mother! The Prime Minister: Ask my mother? I know what my mother would say. She would ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35293307 [IMG: A Merseyrail Class 507 EMU arriving at Formby Station from Liverpool.] A Merseyrail Class 507 EMU arriving at Formby Station from Liverpool. The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above Crew shortages cause almost one in 10 delays and cancellations on Britain's railways, the BBC has learned. They accounted for 9.42% of 1.93 million delays and cancellations from 1 April 2013 to 12 December 2015, figures from the Office of Rail and Road show. So what about Merseyrail? It was 7th on the league table where all the train operators should be aiming ...
The Guardian has the story on its web site – see link above. Warning 'Exiters' won't like it and it may well raise their blood pressure but that does not mean it is wrong. With thanks to Roy Connell the spotter of this story
[IMG: obamas mclaurin] Official White House photo by Lawrence Jackson. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet 106-Year-Old Virginia McLaurin during a photo line in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a reception celebrating African American History Month. You can get the "Full Monty" of this truly joyous occasion here: * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
With Tory MPs and cabinet ministers split over Europe it was inevitable that the Welsh Conservative Group in the National Assembly for Wales would also be split. And so it proved. There is already controversy because the Conservative leader in Wales, Andrew R.T. Davies has come out for leaving the EU, effectively abandoning the many people in Wales reliant on EU funding and markets. It may not play well with the farming community when they realise the implications of this move. But Andrew R.T. Davies is no Boris, whilst his group do not have the level of influence that can ...
[IMG: ecosse] STOP PRESS We are delighted to announce Tim Farron as our special guest speaker at the Association of Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners ASLDC annual general meeting. The AGM will be held during Scottish Spring Conference in Edinburgh at the Assembly Rooms this Saturday 16:50 to 17:50 in the East Drawing Room. We hope [...]
I've actually written about this before, but this week I really do need to say it again: the Leave campaign at present eerily resembles one of the AV referendum campaigns, and not the side that won. The most immediately relevant piece of evidence for this being the already legendary Mandy Boylett "Three Lions" video that needs to be seen to be believed. Yes, it is really that bad. I thought it was a bunch of pro-Europeans exaggerating, but nope – it really is some sort of Alex Zane "Worst Crap off the Internet Ever" TV show level horrible. Then there ...
One for readers interested in the constitutional details of how the Liberal Democrats are run... Here's the request for a ruling I've submitted to the Federal Appeals Panel. Submitted not only so I can claim a prize for the most boring blog headline of the year, but also because it's one of those details which is irrelevant 99% of the time but can then derail major issues the other 1% of the time. I would like the Federal Appeals Panel to make a ruling on how the party's rules should be interpreted in any cases where the Federal Constitution and ...
Thu 25th
10:20LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott: Making the case for Britain as a strong force in Europe
Former Lib Dem MEP Edward McMillan-Scott has written for the Yorkshire Post, unsurprisingly on the subject of the forthcoming EU Referendum. He compares and contrasts this referendum with the last one in 1975: Today's media will play a decisive role in shaping the debate but is far more diverse both in attitudes and structure than in 1975. Then there were a handful of radio and TV channels whereas now there are hundreds; then only the Morning Star and the Spectator opposed Britain remaining in, but now the print media are much more evenly split. The role of social media has ...
miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 24-02-2016 posted The Blood is the Life for 24-02-2016 on #dreamwidth Instagram Back of the menu at the random pub near the theatre we picked for lunch. Trust me to pick a pub... Instagram York Grand Opera House is quite pretty. Yes we are right in the front row - seats are cheaper... The Very Fluffy Diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant: Day 5533: 1% - A Decade of Millennium celebrating ten years of @millenniumdome, everyone's favourite fluffy elephant To Men I Love, About Men Who Scare Me — Life Tips. — Medium ...
From Dundee Airport's Manager this morning - good news : I am writing to confirm an exciting development for Dundee Airport. Today Flybe, Europe's largest regional airline, has confirmed that it intends to launch a new service from Dundee to Amsterdam Schiphol. I am sure you will agree that this is a significant milestone for the airport and city. A considerable amount of work has gone into securing this route, with Flybe, HIAL, Dundee City Council and Transport Scotlandworking in partnership to deliver the new service, Dundee's first ever international route. We are delighted that this hard work has now ...
[IMG: Maslow Hierarchy ofNeeds.svg] Thank you to Politcal Betting's Alistair Meeks for giving me the idea of using Maslow's hierarchy of needs to offer insight to Britain's referendum on whether to leave the European Union. It poses an interesting conundrum about the campaign for a Leave vote. Maslow's hierarchy is old-fashioned psychology, which has no doubt been left behind by practising psychologists long ago. But it contains enough truth to resonate with political analysts. This hierarchy is presented as a series of layers, usually visually presented as a pyramid. At the bottom are physiological needs (food, shelter, etc.); at the ...
Last night at Bury's Budget Council Meeting the ruling Labour group of Councillors voted for an increase in Council Tax from 1 April 2016 of 3.8%. The increase is made up of a basic increase of 1.94%, plus a further 2% social care levy, together with Police and Fire increase of £5 and 1.99%. Council house tenants will see their rents reduced by 1%. The bulk of the extra money raised in this 3.8% increase (£2.7 million) will go towards increasing costs in social care costs, particularly the need to pay staff the Government's living wage. A smaller amount (£0.6 ...
Here's the new film from the Liberal Democrats: The latest Tim Talks focuses on Tim Farron's visit to Cologne last Friday to see the work the city and organisations are doing to help alleviate the refugee crisis, support the integration of those arriving in the city, and discuss how they have handled any tensions and pressures on local services.
Message to Michael Gove: this deal is binding, and it's the best Britain will get | Guy Verhofstadt No means no. (tags: eu ukpolitics )
