The fourth of these videos cover Leicester Market - described these days as "the largest covered market in Europe," though I don't know who measures such things.
If you currently vote by post (or signed up to vote by post before the deadline passed on Tuesday) you should have received your postal vote by now. If you are a postal voter and have not received your ballot paper, please contact Bury Council's Electoral Services on telephone 0161 253 5252 or complete the Contact us form here. If you have a postal vote you can return it freepost using the envelope provided or your ballot taken down to the polling station (any polling station in Bury) before 10.00pm on Thursday 5th May 2-16. If you intend taking your ...
I've been in touch with United Utilities again regarding the water leak on Langdale Drive. The leak hasn't been fixed yet, but United Utilities have informed me that an engineer has visited the site and examined the leak. I'll report back again once the leak has been sorted by UU. Hi @unitedutilities we have a very bad leak opposite 22 Langdale Drive, Unsworth BL9 from water stop tap. Can u fix? pic.twitter.com/wlgMYXdcWA — Steve Middleton (@SteveMiddleton) April 21, 2016 @unitedutilities no problem. Really appreciate the quick response [IMG: 😀] — Steve Middleton (@SteveMiddleton) April 21, 2016
Andrew Hickey says the Liberal Democrats should support Basic Income: "The person receiving the benefits will always know better than some Whitehall bureaucrat who earns a hundred grand a year what they most need to spend money on at any given time." Internet voting is a terrible idea. In a video, Andrew Appel explains why. "Having first placed Eliot in his historical and literary context, then having pointed to what is unique in him, Obama ends by showing how he speaks to any individual reader who pauses to listen. This is what the finest literary criticism has always done." Edward ...
Embed from Getty Images Early this week the Telegraph looked at the prospects for the Holyrood election in North East Fife, which is the seat Ming Campbell used to represent at Westminster. The Liberal Democrat candidate is Willie Rennie: Rennie is not prepared to predict victory in the constituency (he is more likely to get in as a regional list MSP), but says the fact the Lib Dems came second in the general election last year by around 4,000 votes is "not insurmountable". He adds: "It's the right combination of a good team, the right message and the right circumstances ...
Like many other cities, Leicester is keen to develop St George's Day as a folk festival. Quite what it should contain is still up for grabs, but there seems to be a consensus that morris dancers are a central feature. Today Danger Mouse put in an appearance. I am sure he played a part in the legend of St George, but I forget whether he fought on the saint's side or that of the dragon.
A few weeks ago I wrote about why we desperately need a basic income system (or a negative income tax — the two are basically identical in their important effects) rather than the horrible benefits system we have today, which ... Continue reading →
A bit of a gem this, that reminds us of John Cleese's strength as a comedy writer and his work outside of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers. This
It's Shakespeare's birthday! Or at least, the 400th anniversary of his death. What better day to celebrate his greatest villain, Richard III? Part of the attraction of Hamlet is that we don't really understand him, and he doesn't understand himself. Part of the attraction of Richard III is that he understands himself perfectly well, and explains himself to us. He deceives and seduces the other characters one by one, and although he doesn't deceive us the audience, he certainly seduces us. His mistake of leadership is quite different from his rival Henry VI and his brother Edward IV, both of ...
Thank you for your email on protecting the NHS and the specifically-targeted question of what I would prioritise if I were to become our community's MSP. In order to answer your question, I will have to refer to both Edinburgh-wide and larger national issues but I will do my best to stick to the brief! My main concern with health delivery in Edinburgh is the ongoing rollout of combined health and social care services. I, along with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, understand the need for this process. In general, the population is getting older and this means more long-term, chronic ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has branded Tory claims that having a slightly higher tax level in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK would drive people south of the border as utter nonsense. Mr Rennie has said the best way to boost Scotland's economy is through his party's penny for education, which [...]
The Liverpool Lib Dem Manifesto section dealing with health. We are the only Party to mention health in this election I attended a really excellent meeting of the Drinkaware campaign last Thursday, indeed I gave a speech and joined a ... Continue reading →
Sat 23rd
18:03
The USA: The clue is in the title - and it is the greatest example of pooled sovereignity between st...
Embed from Getty Images Four of the USA's founding fathers: (l to r) Adams, Morris, Hamilton, Jefferson There was a rather strange moment on Thursday's BBC Question Time. There was a discussion about President Obama's intervention in the EU referendum debate. Liam Fox was waxing lyrically about how the USA has great democracy, and all we want is the same democracy ourselves without our country being, he posited, controlled by "Brussels". What this argument seemed to miss is the title of the country: "The United States of America". That great country is the most outstanding example of a federation known ...
Current Watership Down, by Richard Adams (a chapter a week) Het Spaanse Spook, by Willy Vandersteen Last books finished JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner, by Richard Marson 1491, by Charles C. Mann Thing Explainer, by Randall Munroe Gorgon Child, by Steven Barnes Next books Banewreaker, by Jacqueline Carey The Quarry, by Iain Banks Lila, by Marilynne Robinson Books acquired in last week A Ship Is Dying, by Brian Callison
Sat 23rd
16:55
WATCH: Alex Cole Hamilton on the SNP's "smog and mirrors" and singing the recycling song
This week, Edinburgh Western and Lothian list candidate took part in a Scotland 2016 debate on energy and the environment. After his success at getting in John Swinney's face on tax, expectations were high, and he didn't disappoint. Here are some of his highlights: Pointing out that the SNP consistently miss its climate change targets while they cut the budget for measures to tackle climate change. "There is no question in the climate change challenge which shows that tracking is part of the solution" Describing SNP MInister Fergus Ewing's justification of a planned cut to Air Passenger Duty as a ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie today said that helping more Scots get on their bikes will not happen by accident as he set out a Lib Dem three point plan to encourage more people to cycle and walk. Speaking from Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh after riding in with a group from Fife, [...]
Embed from Getty Images Greenpeace has been asking the London Mayoral candidates about how they would tackle air pollution in London, where air quality is one of the lowest in Europe. Here is Caroline Pidgeon's response: It was not long ago that understanding about air pollution was pitiful, especially amongst MPs. Just 18 months ago a poll of 100 MPs revealed that hardly any recognised that air pollution the second biggest public health risk, with only smoking posing a greater risk.Thankfully things are changing. Yet while the greater recognition of the horrific consequences of air pollution is welcome, the real ...
[IMG: members forum wordle] LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you're reading now. The second is our private members' forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access. If you're a member and want to chat with fellow party members about any issue that's on your mind, then why not sign up? In addition, you'll be included in our regular surveys' of party members' views. Here's some of the most active discussions this past 10 days: TTIP Local election results to watch What is our strategy for making ordinary people better off? Draft ...
Watch the latest video from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign: And of course don't forget: If you'd like to know more about the wider topic, see my other European referendum posts, and in particular Nick Clegg's demolition of the anti-EU case.
[IMG: Joe Otten] Given half a chance, Liberal Democrats would get rid of Police and Crime Commissioners. While the positions exist, though, it's important that voters have the chance to choose a Liberal Democrat. It's good to see that the party is putting more effort into contesting these positions than we did four years ago. Two members of the LDV team are even standing, Chris White in Hertfordshire and Joe Otten in Yorkshire. Last Sunday, Joe was interviewed, along with the other candidates, on BBC Sunday Politics. Have a watch here. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice ...
I was very honoured to be asked to speak yesterday at the Mayor of Truro's fundraising event for the homeless charity, Emmaus UK. Unfortunately for me and two other speakers we were the warm up act for the remarkable Terry Waite. For those too young to remember, Terry was held captive in Beirut for nearly [...]
A great profile of the former Lib Dem MP John Leech bidding to make a political comeback as a councillor (for which the auspices are good): John Leech has been a thorn in Manchester Labour's side for years. After securing a shock 2005 general election victory in Withington - ousting Labour's Keith Bradley in the fall-out from the Iraq war following a bitter campaign - he then repeated the feat five years later, to the horror of Labour officials who considered the seat back within their grasp. Then came coalition. Last May Labour finally took its revenge, unseating the Liberal ...
Sat 23rd
10:50The USA: The clue is in the title - and it is the greatest example of pooled sovereignity between st...
Embed from Getty Images Four of the USA's founding fathers: (l to r) Adams, Morris, Hamilton, Jefferson There was a rather strange moment on Thursday's BBC Question Time. There was a discussion about President Obama's intervention in the EU referendum debate. Liam Fox was waxing lyrically about how the USA has great democracy, and all we want is the same democracy ourselves without our country being, he posited, controlled by "Brussels". What this argument seemed to miss is the title of the country: "The United States of America". That great country is the most outstanding example of a federation known ...
The Independent reports that British spies have been collecting bulk data on people for years, and abusing it to find out people's addresses for birthday cards. They say that new documents obtained by Privacy International during a legal hearing show that MI5, MI6 and GCHQ have been collecting and relying on huge amounts of data collected on almost every person in the country. And the papers show that spies have even been hacking themselves to find out that personal information so that they can use it for booking holidays and spying on their family members to get personal details. The ...
It is interesting that Barack Obama has been clear about what is entirely obvious in terms of trade agreements. The EU is a Common Market. It starts out as a trade agreement. It has rules as to how the trade agreement's detailed rules change, but it is a trade agreement. There is a debate about establishing an agreement between the EU and the US which is called TTIP. However, the UK should
Embed from Getty Images Let's celebrate – it is St. George's Day! St George is not only England's but one of Europe's most popular patron Saints. Today he will be celebrated across Europe, especially in Portugal, Malta and Romania where he is their national saint as well. Far from being a unique icon of Englishness he is the very embodiment of how European the English are. He is celebrated and venerated by all the Christian traditions including Greek Orthodox, Catholic and the Church of England. He is also venerated in Islam and is therefore perfect for a modern forward looking ...
Sat 23rd
08:46
Could this person - not Trump, Hillary or Cruz - become the next president of the United States?
For those of you watching the US presidential primaries with horror/interest, here's a question: why is John Kasich hanging in there still? He has almost 700 fewer delegates than Donald Trump, with only 733 of them left to play for in total. He's almost out of mathematical contention – and he's obviously out of any realistic prospect of winning the nomination on pre-convention delegates. So why does he bother? I asked this question to an acquaintance yesterday and he told me his very interesting theory: that if Trump can't get the delegates he needs prior to the convention, Kasich not ...
Here in Sefton Labour have gained a reputation for saying one thing and then doing just about the opposite and they also claim credit for things they have had little or nothing to do with. In one case they claim credit for a motorway junction upgrade that is only happening because they voted to build houses on Green Belt/high grade agricultural land that they said they were going to defend from development! Lets look at the local cases of Labour claims:- Brooms Cross Road/Switch Island – Thornton Link Road:- Not down to Labour at all. The last Labour Government failed ...
Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden The next talk arranged by the Friends committee is tomorrow, Sunday 24th April, as usual in the Botanic Garden's Education Centre at 2pm. Les Hatton will talk about "The decidedly odd world of bats. A quirky introduction to a little known group of amazing animals". Free to members; donations welcome from others.
Sat 23rd
08:33
Ludford Bridge update - repair work delayed - bridge may be closed for May bank holiday weekend
There is an air of excitement around Ludlow. The May Fair rolls in on Wednesday night. It is the highlight of the year for many people in the town. The arrival of the fair means the town centre will be closed from Thursday to Monday - King Street, High Street, the Market area and the... Continue reading Ludford Bridge update - repair work delayed - bridge may be closed for May bank holiday weekend →
Brexit and the small UK wargames business | The Strange Worlds of Orun hi Kharsan A report from the world of toy soldiers - serious SME perspective. (tags: ukpolitics eu games ) Boris Johnson's attack on Barack Obama belongs in the gutter Nick Cohen gives BoJo both barrels. (tags: ukpolitics eu ) 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly results animated These are lovely - click on each constituency. (tags: northernireland ) The Secret Shame of MIddle-Class Americans 47% cannot find $400 for an emergency - a must-read. (tags: uspolitics )
