They were speeches designed to appeal directly to the political heartstrings of the party faithful. In York last weekend, Tim Farron did what he does best: telling Liberal Democrats exactly what they want to hear. His carefully crafted rhetoric was designed specifically to remind Liberal Democrats what they and their party are all about: 'Community is what you make it, and where we - where you - make a difference. We say we care about people, and we prove it by serving people, empowering people, getting things done. And it is what makes us Liberals'. There cannot be any doubt ...

Posted by Energlyn Churchill on Towards Gunfire

At tonight's meeting of the City Council's Policy and Resources Committee, I moved the following motion : Committee notes, with concern, the decision by the Scottish Police Authority, to transfer all 999 and 101 call responses to three sites located in Bilston Glen, Motherwell and Govan, on or after 21st June 2016.This will mean the loss of the 999 and 101 Dundee response centre, with the resultant loss of local knowledge in call handling, which committee views as a detrimental step.Committee therefore instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Chair of the Scottish Police Authority Board and to the ...

As you may know, I find myself somewhat unbusy as far paid employment in the oil and gas sector is concerned. What I thought I would do therefore is, after the announcement by Nicola Sturgeon on the 1st of February about the Scottish Government's £12 million fund to help unbusy people like me become busy, is that I would contact the Scottish Government and see how one can get a slice of the funding pie. What I was hoping was, upon proving that I am who I said I am and my circumstances (being made redundant from the oil business) ...

Posted by Martin Veart on Martin's View

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of attending the official reopening of the Lochee Swim & Sport Centre, following its recent major refurbishment. The centre has been very well upgraded and is well worth a visit - more information about facilities and opening times are available here. Here's a few photos from today's opening event : The Lord Provost cuts the ribbon! The historic pool has been rightly retained but the pool area given a freshen up The new sauna The fitness centre

Lib Dems attack 'gutless' Labour over surveillance bill Labour is facing calls to help other opposition parties kill off the government's new surveillance laws, after the SNP and Liberal Democrats said they would vote against the legislation. Labour plans to abstain on the investigatory powers bill at second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday because it supports the main aims of the legislation... The Liberal Democrats, who blocked the legislation under the last coalition government, said Labour's decision to abstain was "gutless" and called on the party to reverse its decision. [The Guardian] Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Today the East Lancashire Railway is a thriving preserved line - one I should like to visit one day. This video shows its final days as a British Rail branch line in 1972 and there are also some still photographs of the desolation after it closed.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Embed from Getty Images After visiting Old St Pancras I wandered down to Brunswick Square and the Foundling Museum. As its website explains: The Foundling Hospital, which continues today as the children's charity Coram, was established in 1739 by the philanthropist Thomas Coram to care for babies at risk of abandonment. Instrumental in helping Coram realise his vision were the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel. Their creative generosity set the template for the ways in which the arts can support philanthropy.It also claims to be Britain's first children's charity and its first public art gallery. The ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Mon 14th
19:37

Six of the Best 580

"Eric's family hope you can join them for an afternoon to celebrate his life and work at The Royal Institution, 2.00pm on Thursday 30th June 2016. There will be a number of guest speakers, audio visual clips and music, followed by light refreshments." Details of the memorial service for Eric Avebury, "I wish I'd never decided to work in an immigration detention centre," says an anonymous article on politics.co.uk. Stephen Williams presents an electoral history of Bristol Liberal Democrats 1973-2016. "Newsagents reached parts of the population that most booksellers and stationers hadn't previously: the working class. Newsagents could provide a ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Photo credit: Hilton Marlton I was at a training session, a fairly intense one, at the end of January when my phone rang. It was Party President Sal Brinton. She asked me if I would propose the Electing Diverse MPs ... Continue reading →

Posted by caronlindsay on Caron's Musings
Mon 14th
19:11

Shortlists and Privilege

On Sunday, Conference voted for all-women shortlists. As part of the debate, I gave a speech outlining how my experience showed that lots of men simply aren't aware of the privilege they have. I was surprised that this speech would immediately precede the rare event of a leader's speech in a debate. Tim - I hope I set them up all right for you! For the first 40 years of my life I lived as male. Transitioning to female in 2004, and starting my own software company at the same time, showed me what I had anticipated - that I ...

Posted by Helen Belcher on Liberal Democrat Voice
YouGov

I like the sense of humour at Melling's Sandy Lane Nurseries and the plants are great too. They seem to specialise in insulting national politicians who have got to big for their boots so to speak. They are not averse to picking on any politician, the SNP's 'Jimmy Krankie' otherwise K/A Nicola Sturgeon and Mr. Cameroon were also in the firing line when we were there today. But this one really tickled me:- [IMG: WP_20160314_15_03_22_Pro] Click on the photo to enlarge it. I wonder if any other politicians have been 'offended', I certainly hope so.

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

A truly Liberal Britain would be based on the concept of freedom of the individual and the understanding that this freedom can only be fully realised if everyone is supported to maximise their potential. So. It would celebrate diversity rather than stigmatising it. This would enable everyone to develop without suffering from the fears, frustrations and indignities which discrimination brings. It would continue to skew spending on education towards poorer pupils, improve support for childcare and make it easier for children from modest backgrounds to get the best possible higher education or vocational training. This would give the best chance ...

Posted by Dick Newby on Liberal Democrat Voice

Embed from Getty Images 'Good for Youth, Good for Business' is the title of a publication by the European Alliance for Apprenticeships that contains a small selection of organisations, examples and projects linked to apprenticeships in the EU, including examples from Britain. What makes this relevant to a truly Liberal Britain? In my view you can tell we don't yet live in a truly Liberal Britain because: Apprenticeships are still seen as "second class" in relation to a conventional degree. Why does it matter? The word liberal is often associated with freedom of choice, with tolerance, with personal liberties. I ...

Posted by Thomas Liebers on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 14th
16:14

I Aten't Ded

Just to say sorry for not being around much at the moment. The methotrexate I was on gave me two weeks of low-grade migraine. The withdrawal from it gave me a week of bad mood swings. I've now got three ... Continue reading →

Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!

I'm writing this in the wake of a battle that has been lost, you might say. The main reasons for my opposition to All Women Shortlists, and the general principles of my alternative approach, were set out a while ago in my previous blog post here - I don't propose to revisit those arguments in too much detail again here, but I do want to expand on the system a little (which I will do later in this post), and mention a few things that have struck me during the debate about the issue. While the party has now voted ...

Posted by Cen Phillips on Liberal Thoughts
Mon 14th
14:31

Monday: Still a Lib Dem

... but only because so many people I care about made such impassioned pleas (and in some cases told me their own tales of teetering on the edge of leaving). I'm not the world's happiest bunny right now. But I'm clinging on. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments

On Friday night, I was in York for the Liberal Democrat spring conference. A strange experience - no lobbyists, no sharp-suited corporate exhibitors, no thinktanks and no press. But a surprisingly large number of bright and energetic young people in search of a big idea. These generally speaking, were not in great evidence at the Lib Dem History Group fringe meeting about Ideas that Built the Party - but the meeting was nonetheless lively and worthwhile. I was dressed as much as possible like Nehru and speaking next to Nick Thornsby and Teena Lashmore, but found myself debating with the ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

[IMG: York banner] Spring conference ended on a beautiful afternoon here in York, and whilst colleagues were journeying back to their own constituencies, as a local resident of the city I thought I'd spend the time saved in the commute to jot down some personal highlights. The rally on Friday served up some great speeches from new Lib Dem members, notably from broadcaster/ army officer/ junior doctor Saleyha Ahsan who spoke passionately in defence of her profession (the medical one) but conflated the junior doctors pay strike and privatisation of the NHS. Saturday was mostly fringe for me, and I ...

Posted by Tobie Abel on Liberal Democrat Voice

Readers of this blog site will know how angry I am about the closure of Maghull's unique Youth Coffee at Maghull Town Hall, but I was certainly not prepared for the reasons Labour have given for the closure. [IMG: Maghull TH Youth Coffee Bar] To be honest I thought they would try to blame it on cuts to Council grants from Government etc. even though as a Parish Council Maghull Town Council does not get any such grants. Certainly that's a line Labour have used before i.e. playing on the fact that Joe and Jane Public will not know what's ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

On Friday evening, Nick Perry was re-selected to represent the Castle Ward Liberal Democrats at the Borough Council election on 5 May. With the party hoping to get a foothold back on the Council after a period without councillors, Mr Perry launched the Liberal Democrat 2016 campaign with a strong attack on the Labour Council [...]

Posted by nickperrylibdem on Nick Perry For Hastings & Rye
eUKhost
Mon 14th
11:53

'Let them pick fruit'?

Marie Antoinette was clearly too focused on cake, at least that is one conclusion that can be drawn from this gem of a story in former Lib Dem Cabinet Minister, David Laws' memoirs. According to the Telegraph, David Laws claims that the-then-Tory Cabinet Minister, Owen Patterson suggested easing migration pressures by abolishing the agricultural workers scheme, which allowed migrants from Romania and Bulgaria to work in the UK and enlist retired people to do their jobs instead: Extracts published in the Mail on Sunday claim the suggestion "stunned" even the "more right wing" senior Tories around the Cabinet table. Mr ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Note: you can view the debate here, about 44 minutes in. The agenda for the conference is here and the Conference Dailies which include the amendments for Sunday are here. On an issue where it is entirely possible to be on either side of the argument holding a position that is Liberal, it is time for all concerned to be respectful of that fact and to acknowledge that the real hard work on diversity is yet to be done. Like a number of other people, I found myself supporting the Conference motion that included all-women shortlists despite my not supporting ...

Posted by Gareth Epps on Liberal Democrat Voice

It was striking that in his speech to the Liberal Democrat spring conference in York, Tim Farron devoted a lot of time to the refugee crisis and in particular the Conservative government's failure to step up to the plate adequately in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable people, especially those fleeing the carnage in [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer
Mon 14th
10:39

All women shortlists

At Liberal Democrat Conference in York this weekend I have been told by a number of women that they would not want to be the candidate for a seat that selected from an all women shortlist. I have some news for them, most of them won't be. The motion passed means that of the around 580 seats that the Liberal Democrats will contend 8 must have all women shortlists. I will now issue a direct challenge to those women, don't walk away from the party but instead as there are up to 572 seats not selecting on all women shortlists ...

Posted by Iain Donaldson on Liberal Democrat Voice

A gem from Chicago: Illinoisan Jim Bachor creates mosaic art in Chicago potholes. I saw this one at lunch today. It made me smile! Than... pic.twitter.com/IbtdpkuIup — Gaetano De Pasquale (@gaedepa) March 11, 2016

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

[IMG: Join the INtogether campaign] Both May 5th and June 23rd are critical to the party's future success. For areas where we are aiming to win in Devolved elections, Local Government elections or Police & Crime Commissioner elections, our priority until May 5th is delivering wins in those elections whilst building links, gathering data and preparing to move seamlessly on to the European [...]

Posted by Claire Halliwell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

The ever-popular Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Bonnet Parade will take place in Kingsgate Park from 10.00 am on Easter Monday, 28th March. See you there?

Posted by Paul Hulbert on Focus on Sodbury, Yate and Dodington

I filmed this video over the weekend - 7 minutes about everything that goes on at conference.

Posted by jonathanwallace on Jonathan Wallace

I know I'm writing about BoJo (BoGo now?) a lot at present, but I just can't help it. He's popping up practically every day with some new, ill-advised piece of "wisdom". I never thought I'd say this, but Boris is the new Corbyn. Yesterday it was about Barack Obama. From his Telegraph column came this: "Sometime in the next couple of months we are told that president Obama himself is going to arrive in this country, like some deus ex machina, to pronounce on the matter. Air Force One will touch down; a lectern with the presidential seal will be ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

Embed from Getty Images Note: you can view the debate here, about 2 hours 48 minutes in. First of all, kudos to our party. Who else would not only discuss an issue that is usually swept under the carpet, but broadcast that debate live on the Internet and then keep it there for everyone to watch / listen to. As a result, I shall summarise my thoughts on each of the speeches. Norman Lamb MP (Norfolk North) is of course, absolutely correct. Reports of this nature take a long time to compile and the panel who came up with this ...

Posted by Harry Hayfield on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 14th
08:32

Keeping Our Money Local

A contented customer at the Lodge Lane Credit Union One of the problems of the Liverpool economy is that it leaks like a colander. A really rich society keeps its money and circulates it locally. A poorer community lets it ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

Last week, I had discussions with Scottish Water's Regional Communities Team Manager about proposed major works planned for the summer in City Road and Perth Road. It is planned to start the Perth Road works in July (when university students and the schools are on holiday) with the City Road works starting as soon as Perth Road completes. As these works will have a significant impact - for example, resulting in one-way traffic in the area of the Perth Road shopping area for 6 weeks - I am pleased that Scottish Water is advising of these at an early stage ...

Unfortunately, the amendment to remove all-women shortlists was defeated at Conference earlier today. The debate was generally good on both sides, though the summation was patronising in the extreme. Ultimately though, the strength of the leadership support and the long-trailed campaign including paid Facebook and Twitter adverts, helped to win the day. Sarah Brown's excellent [...]

Posted by JHSB on Jazz Hands, Serious Business

Two recent programmes on BBC Radio 4 highlight a worrying anti-democratic bias in discussions of science and technology. A couple of experiences with BBC radio last week gave me a bleak impression of the current state of UK politics around research and technology. On Wednesday, I was invited to appear on Radio 4's Moral Maze. Recent calls by the Science Council for greater responsibility by scientists were framed as some kind of extremist effort to "choke off" science. The focus for the debate was that science is inherently morally and politically neutral - and so, effectively separate from democracy. I ...

Posted by Andy Stirling on Political science | The Guardian

Black and Blue Tochi reflects on race and the US election. (tags: uspolitics race ) Revenge of the Simple: How George W. Bush Gave Rise to Trump Rolling Stone's take. #fb (tags: uspolitics ) Tokelau, the World's Online Superpower .tk wins! (tags: internet maps ) Bright Eyes: A True Story For Bonfire Season About Rabbits, Death And Fire Tom Cox on rural England. Beautiful. (h/t @white_hart) (tags: writing ) A contested Republican convention, explained. Great overview. #fb (tags: uspolitics ) The Big Search to Find Out Where Dogs Come From Genetic history! #fb (tags: biology )

As part of their vision for an Opportunity Economy, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are today announcing that they will be the only party offering free childcare for families with children aged nine months and over. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will offer ten hours a week of free childcare to all working parents from the end of paid parental leave (nine months) until age 2 and ten hours a week of free childcare to all children age 2-3. They will also extend the statutory entitlement to early education to fifteen hours a week for all 3-4 year olds. Currently in Wales ...

Posted by Aled Roberts on Freedom Central
Mon 14th
02:57

Eric's Memorial

Eric's family hope you can join them for an afternoon to celebrate his life and work at The Royal Institution, 2.00pm on Thursday 30th June 2016. There will be a number of guest speakers, audio visual clips and music, followed by light refreshments. As you may know, Eric was a long-term supporter and Patron of Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy and in Eric's memory we will be holding a collection for the charity. We hope that guests may also take the opportunity to visit The Faraday Museum in the basement of the Royal Institution, where there will be a Book ...

Posted by Eric Avebury on Eric Avebury