Here is Tim Farron's speech in full from the Queen's Speech debate. He cracks some pretty decent jokes, maybe a couple that aren't quite as funny, and sets out what we would have done differently. He also took time to pay tribute to David Rendel. The text follows. Mr Speaker, may I first start by commending the Honourable Member for Meriden and the Honourable Member for Bracknell for the grace and humour with which they moved and seconded the humble address. These occasions often show the House at its best and its worst and I think we would all agree ...
Our text for this evening is 2 Kings 13:21 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.Miracles have long been associated with royal bones. So it is natural to see a connection between the reinterment ...
All Unsworth residents and business owners are invited to attend the next meeting of the Whitefield and Unsworth Home Watch Association 7.30pm on Wednesday 25th May 2016 in St. George's Church Hall, Hollins Lane, Unsworth. AGENDA 1. Intros & Apologies. 2. Previous Minutes. 3. Matters Arising. 4. Correspondence. 5. Treasurer's Report. 6. Police/PCSO Report. 7. Guest Speaker To be arranged 8. Refs and Raffle 9. Open Forum 10. Any Other Business 11. Dates of Next Meetings May 25th July 27th September 28th
Erica and Her Majesty chatting about the Queen's Speech!! QUEEN'S SPEECH: COUNCILS RESPOND TO NATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE BILL Responding to the National Citizen Service Bill announced in today's Queen's Speech, which includes plans to dramatically expand the National Citizen Service, ... Continue reading →
A Parliamentary by-election is being held in Tooting next month following Sadiq Khan's election as Mayor of London. The Liberal Democrat candidate will be barrister Alex Grassrbook: Mr Glassbrook... said: "The NHS is under threat and we must protect its vital work, as well as step up the Lib Dem campaign for better mental health care." He is a volunteer lawyer for south west London Law Centres, volunteers overseas and said safer streets is a top priority for him. Amongst the praise Alex Glassbrook has received for his legal work are these quotes: "Meticulous ... Fearless in challenging his opponents" ...
Earlier today, along with some fellow councillors and council officers including the Head of Planning and Economic Development and the Head of Roads and Transportation, we had a very useful discussion about ways the City Council can further support the Perth Road District Shopping Centre. Although there have been some shop closures recently, including the disappointing loss of the TSB bank branch, there have been positive developments with a new French restaurant in the former Parrot Café and the former Spokes unit (following their move to Annfield Row) about to be occupied again. Our discussions included holding a consultation event ...
The Conservative Party in Ipswich has been fined £1,100 for taking an illegal donation of £3,000 just before the 2015 general election. The donor failed to meet any of the options for being a legal donor, such as being on the UK electoral register, and, to quote the Electoral Commission, the Conservatives "did not conduct adequate checks on the donation". There is one piece of good news for the party, however. The fines get paid to the Treasury, so that's £1,100 for George Osborne to pay off a bit of debt. Interested in more stories about how our elections are ...
[IMG: Intogether] Team #INtogether want to say a massive THANK YOU to all our LibDem activists and friends who hit the streets last Saturday and made our first National Day of Action a huge success! [IMG: INtogether 2] Last Saturday, the Liberal Democrats proved that we are back, fighting harder than ever. Over the course of the day, over 1000 LibDems across England, Scotland and Wales hit the streets, holding over 200 street stalls and talking to countless people, making a positive, progressive case for Britain to remain in Europe. [IMG: INtogether 4] Thank you so much to all of ...
Second sentence of third chapter: Back in the good old days, he'd soon learnt that if he left a row of glasses out of the washer for more than five minutes, they'd develop a dry red skin that would have to be rubbed away before any drinks could be poured. Not that it had been such a problem in the old days. Some nights, the glasses barely seemed to touch the shelves before somebody or other was yelling for the same again, Colesy. Now he barely even got them out of the washer; most nights the bar was empty. Most ...
[IMG: The LGA response to the Queens Speech] Following today's Queen's Speech the LGA Lib Dems have responded to the bills outlined within it. In addition, you can see a full on the day briefing later this evening on-line at http://www.local.gov.uk/ queens-speech-2016 QUEEN'S SPEECH: COUNCILS RESPOND TO NATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE BILL Responding to the National Citizen Service Bill announced in today's Queen's Speech, which [...]
Watch the latest video from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign: Here's independent Oxford University academic Professor Timothy Garton Ash talking about the risks of Brexit. 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.
To the Welsh Assembly building this morning to dispose of the effects from my office there and to say goodbye to old friends. Of course once I was there I decided to stay and watch the Plenary session from the public gallery, a new experience for me. Carwyn Jones was nominated as First Minister as expected and all the party leaders were called to speak. To be frank, none of them distinguished themselves, all seeking to make self-justifying political points instead of addressing the issues which Wales faces over the next five years. It took UKIP's Assembly leader to really ...
Watch the latest video from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign: Here's independent Oxford University economist Professor Sir Paul Collier from the Blavatnik School of Government talking about the risks of Brexit. 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.
The Panama Papers starkly revealed that Britain's Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have become the venues of choice for the anonymous corporations that facilitate tax evasion, organised crime, and terrorist financing. Indeed, more than half the companies exposed by the Papers were based in the British Virgin Islands alone.
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] Highlighting Political Leadership The LGA's range of political leadership development programmes helps to support and develop councillors ensuring our local politicians are confident and capable; well-equipped and well supported to make a difference, deliver and be trusted. Interested? More details can be found here: http://www.local.gov.uk/councillor-development Let's find a Liberal Solution to Term-Time Holidays In response to [...]
What has Europe ever done for me? It's a question that the impending referendum has caused me to ask myself. I had always been supportive, but throwing myself into the campaign to remain meant I needed to be clear in my mind why I was supportive and what the benefits were. And having helped so far at street stalls in Truro, Plymouth, Taunton, Yeovil, Bristol and Stroud, it has proved a useful exercise as voters have rightly demanded to know what good the EU has done. And the way I thought about it was to think about the generations of ...
Commenting as Nicola Sturgeon announced the new Scottish Government cabinet, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP said: "The new cabinet is made up of the same old faces pushing the same old polices. "There is no evidence that the new Government will implement a programme that is anything but utterly timid. "Shifting Fergus Ewing [...]
[IMG: kickstartsized] Results night/morning in Scotland got off to a great start with the news that we had held Orkney with a massive swing to the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Liam McArthur had won in style with 67% of the vote and the SNP's challenge had been blown away. Arriving outside my own count (Perthshire North) just after [...]
Wed 18th
12:53
Farron: Queen's Speech is dogmatic assault on civil liberties and empty rhetoric on key challenges
Funnily enough, Liberal Democrats aren't that impressed with the Queen's Speech. There certainly is a lot to worry people of a liberal disposition. Three immediately come to mind: The Queen might as well have said: "My Government will indulge all its prejudices regardless of the evidence." For "upholding the sovereignty of Parliament and the primacy of the House of Commons" read "My Government will do all it can to avoid being held to account despite only having the support of a third of the electorate." The counter-extremism stuff is pretty sinister, as Alistair Carmichael said the other day: Rumours about ...
The Liberal Democrats have chosen barrister and volunteer lawyer Alex Glassbrook as their candidate for the upcoming Tooting By-Election on June 16th. He will be competing against Rosena Allin-Khan for Labour who will be hoping to protect the party's 2,842 majority after Sadiq Khan resigned the seat following his election as London Mayor. Other declared [...]
Pick up any newspaper today, particularly the Scottish ones, and you'll find a whole load of froth about two SNP MPs who have apparently had relationships, not at the same time, with the same woman. Both MPs have separated from their wives, most recently Deputy Leader Stewart Hosie from Scottish Health Minister Shona Robison at the weekend. Those events will be particularly traumatic for the people involved and most especially for their children. I can't however, see why it is any of our business. If either of them had shown hypocrisy and sought to curb others' personal freedom, then perhaps ...
This video clip sums up the whole EU referendum debate. It hits the nail on the head. It is virtually all you need to see, to make your mind up on the matter. It's from a Daily Mirror debate, chaired by Mark Austin. The Guardian summarises the clip thus: Ukip's Nigel Farage accuses Labour and Peter Mandelson of encouraging immigration to "rub our noses in diversity", during the Daily Mirror's panel discussion on the EU referendum on Tuesday. The comment sparked a furious row between Farage and other members of the panel, with novelist Dreda Say Mitchell saying many from ...
What happens when the tax credits go? | Flip Chart Fairy Tales RT @How_Upsetting: "Poverty in the UK has shifted from being a problem of worklessness to one of low pay." This is a jar full of major characters ... | Time-Machine? Yeah! This is an excellent analogy for writers to bear in mind with character creation Changes to hospital services - Greetland « Calderdale Lower Valley RT @CaldLValley: Changes to hospital services - Greetland The Evolution of an Accidental Meme — Medium The problem with Nancy Drew isn't that it's too female 'Wear a weave at work - your ...
Embed from Getty Images On BBC Radio Berkshire's Andrew Peach show this morning there was a great tribute to David Rendel. Andrew Peach said some touching words about the many times he interviewed David. He then played a superb clip of David in full "fighting form" defending the Newbury by-pass at its 20th anniversary in January. Then Tim and Paddy came on the line and paid superb, eloquent tributes to David. It really is a great 15 minutes of radio. You can listen to it here on BBC iPlayer at 1′ 17". * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist ...
So the Government thinks the solution to the crisis in our prisons is to give governors more power rather than have a more strategic sense of what the prison system is for and how best to lessen re-offending and properly rehabilitate offenders. Liberal Democrat peer Jonathan Marks is unimpressed with the Government's plans. He said: It is a scary thought that the grand architect who oversaw the dismantling of the school system as we knew it is now getting his hands all over the nation's prisons. It is no secret that our prison system is in crisis. We lock up ...
I can imagine senior members of Vote Leave gathered around a conference table several months back. The topic of discussion: Nigel Farage. "If we can keep him contained, we can win," one of them says. "Impossible," another retorts. "Not impossible, just extremely difficult." "This is his life's obsession. You think he's going to keep quiet though until June 23rd about this?" "Imagine if we could contain him." "Then we've got a shot." "We can do this." "We can do this." Last night, at a panel event on EU membership hosted by the Mirror, that dream finally died. Farage was on ...
The fallout has barely started from the police investigations into constituency election expense returns from the 2015 general election. Will an elected government be stripped of its Parliamentary majority by court action? Or will it be the dampest of damp squibs with all the investigations dying in a Crown Prosecution Service in-tray? Wherever between, or at, those two extremes events end up, two things should be clear already. Constituency expense limits are dying off in the UK, but neither politicians nor the regulator will actConstituency expense limits used to be a key part of UK election finance regulation, but they ...
Wed 18th
08:50
Merseyside's Metro Mayor – Many don't know about one being foisted upon us and many don't want...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above:- Who wants a Metro Mayor for Merseyside? No one that I know wants yet another politician living off the taxpayer's purse. But many who do know about us getting a Metro Mayor don't want Joe Anderson even though Liverpool voters seem to love him if the recent Mayoral election is anything to go by. In my view Joe has been a huge drag on Liverpool moving forward and he would be no better for Merseyside. And I don't say this because he represents the Labour Party; I would hold ...
With thanks to Sheena Wellington, here's the latest update from Friends of Wighton : Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library Cappuccino Concert Saturday, 21st May - 11am (doors open 10.30am, refreshments available for a small donation); tickets - £5 Helen Forbes, whistle, and Lou Lewis, guitar Helen Forbes is one of Scotland's finest whistle players, much in demand as player and teacher. She will present reels, jigs, slow airs and a surprise or two, sensitively accompanied by ace rock guitarist Lou Lewis.
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton yesterday warned that cuts to drug and alcohol treatment services will not help drug users kick their habits as new figures revealed that more than 12,000 people were assessed for drug treatment services last year. The Scottish Drugs Misuse Database (SMDM)annual report showed 12,402 individuals were assessed for specialist [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader yesterday said tackling homophobia, transphobia and biphobia starts with education as he marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Mr Rennie called on the Scottish Government to ensure that teachers receive training necessary to ensure that all Scotland's schools are inclusive environments for learning. Commenting, Mr Rennie said: "Improving education [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles today said urgent action is needed to tackle Scotland's GP crisis as new figures showed increasing concern over access to GP services. The 2015/16 Health and Care Experience Survey reports on the responses of 100,000 people registered at GP practices. The latest figures showed that positive responses to questions [...]
A meeting on synthesising the human genome, convened behind closed doors at Harvard, has caused a stir. Should we worry about scientific secrecy? Secrecy has long been a part of scientific and innovation practices. For instance, research on nuclear, biological or chemical weapons is often conducted in secret. In his excellent book on Secrecy and Science, Brian Balmer describes how the Manhattan Project epitomised the way in which scientific secrecy operates, explaining how specific sites were kept secret, but also how projects were compartmentalised, so that knowledge was exchanged only on a 'need-to-know' basis, meaning that only a very few ...
When the Government sets out its agenda for the next year in the Queen's Speech, it gives the other parties a chance to do the same. What can we learn from the frenzy of Liberal Democrat activity in the press in the past few days about where we might be going. Well, Tim had a piece in the Huffington Post the other day that put education at the heart of our thinking. This is far from being a new concept. It's one of our core principles that we've always talked about. Tim had developed a 5-point education charter with the ...
I was shocked to receive the news via the 35% campaigning group that Southwark is one of the worst three boroughs in London for social rented housing delivery. Only 3% of the total homes delivered in 2014/15 across Southwark were affordable and -5% of the total delivered was social rented (it is a minus figure because more have been knocked down or sold off than have been built). Across Southwark 170 fewer social rented homes were built that were sold or demolosihed but 1,914 private homes were built. So 97% of net new homes are private. But Southwark has a ...
