I had ordered something to be delivered to the house. Not such a complex task, I thought, although I acknowledge that our home isn't as easy to find as it could be. You see, we live in a village where most houses have names, not numbers. To make matters worse, our house is set back from the road, behind other houses. Accordingly, I give pretty good directions, and always supply my mobile phone number so that the person making the delivery can call me if all else fails. I'm not an ogre, after all... And so, when I received a ...
A number of residents have contacted me recently about the future of the 204/204a bus service. The contracts for the council-subsidised bus services - that aim to ensure streets otherwise not served by bus services - are up for renewal from mid-August and passenger surveys have been undertaken about usage. The 204/204a has not been the best-performing of similar services - the 'split' part route meaning that for much of the route the services is only every two hours has made it difficult to built up passenger loyalty. On the current "204 version" (as opposed to the 204a) there have ...
The Spectacle stands, not unreasonably, on Spectacle Lane. Follow it and you come to this unexpected and pleasing ford. Scroll down this page on the Northants Weather site for a picture of the little river in spate.
UPDATED DETAILS. LD seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Dan Whitehead.
UPDATED DETAILS. Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. No LD candidate.
UPDATED DETAILS. Labour seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Rosa Jesse.
7 useful tips on encouraging new Lib Dem members to get involved and renew their membership.
Earlier tonight, at a very well-attended meeting at Harris Academy, the Harris Education and Recreation Association was re-established. This will take forward evening classes at the school now Harris Academy has returned to Perth Road. Prior to the school decant to Lawton Road to enable the school rebuilding in Perth Road, there was an active Harris Education and Recreation Association (HERA) that successfully provided a programme of evening classes over many years. At the time of the decant, the previous committee retired after many years' service to the community. It is great that there's now a new HERA and a ...
Liberal Democrat Voice published an article the other day saying the Liberal Democrats should not have supported the sugar tax on soft drinks. Written by Jack Watson, it was based on a briefing from the Taxpayers' Alliance. Its chief arguments were that the tax would hit the poor (note the tension between "everyday" and "occasionally": The TPA also suggested the sugar tax would "push up the cost of everyday products for hard-pressed families". Many low-income households consume soft drinks occasionally as part of a balanced diet. Is it fair to put the cost of tackling obesity on those households?And that: ...
Thu 9th
20:30
New images for large houses on Linney to not remove my objections to this scheme, which breaches loc...
Developer McCartney has published photomontages of two houses it wants to build on the last green space at the bottom of the Linney (14/04328/FUL). There have been three major objections to this scheme since its inception: 1) It removes the last green space in the Linney. 2) It damages important views towards Bringewood Chase. 3)... Continue reading New images for large houses on Linney to not remove my objections to this scheme, which breaches local plan rules →
Alistair Carmichael writes on the Commons debate on the Investigatory Powers Bill: "The Bill is rotten to its core and I wish we could have blocked it as we did in Coalition when faced with the Communications Data Bill. Dealing with Tories in government was difficult. Dealing with Tories in government and Labour in opposition is impossible." The Sports Direct scandal is the result of successive governments desperate for jobs, says Conrad Landin. "If I ever see you in the street, I hope you get shot." Dawn Foster on her experience of moderating comments on the Guardian website. Steve Parnell ...
Who are the Liberal Democrats and what are they for? It's a question that the electorate has struggled with, not least because different party members are likely to give differing answers. If all political parties are broad churches, then ours is broader than most. Classic Liberalism, Social Liberalism, Economic Liberalism, Social Democracy; you name it and I've probably encountered it during my 22 year association with the Party. It goes some way towards explaining why we have often been accused of trying to be all things to all people. The historic failure of Liberal leaders to nail any definitive colours ...
Thu 9th
18:56
Alistair Carmichael MP writes: Snoopers' Charter debate was a circle of Hell even Dante could not ha...
This week in Parliament we debated the Investigatory Powers Bill or, as some would have it, the Snooper's Charter take 2. It was two days of my life that I will never have back and, after fifteen years as an MP, it was two of the most depressing days I have known. Being an MP is a great job and when parliament works as it is supposed to it can be exhilarating. When it fails to do what it is elected to do, namely to hold the government of the day to account, then it is hell. The debate on ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above Poor old Bootle it's one piece of bad news after another recently. First it is to lose over 3,000 Civil Service jobs, then Wetherspoons say they are pulling out of the Merton Pub, then M&S says it is leaving town and now redundancies at Hugh Bard College! Time for some good news for Bootle please.
Embed from Getty Images Alistair Carmichael has written a post on PoliticsHome with the title: Refugee families divided by lines of Home Office rule book. He starts: Imagine that you have had to flee your home because of a repressive government. Imagine that you've then faced a long, life-threatening journey to reach a country where you are able to apply for asylum. Imagine going through an extensive, bureaucratic asylum system and eventually experiencing elation at being granted refugee status. Then imagine being denied the right to bring your family members to come and join you, or facing the invidious choice ...
Thursday: Daddy goes back to school to talk about a key Liberal Value:
Second frame of third page: Kim: That little creature! Let's follow it! It will lead us there. I was a bit dissatisfied with the previous couple of volumes in this series, which seemed to me to have a real middle-book syndrome feeling about them, but here we are moving satisfactorily towards a conclusion as Kim and fellow explorers, separated in their exploration of the lush planetary surface of Bételgeuse, endure deadly danger to eventually be led by the indigenous iums and the mysterious young human girl Mai Lin to the place where the secret of the planet can be found. ...
[IMG: Multi-cultural Britain] Multi-cultural Britain My life is vastly enriched by friendships with people who have come to the UK as immigrants and others who are the children of immigrants. They include people who came seeking asylum and people who came seeking a better life. My life is enriched by other friends who have emigrated, through whom I have valued networks of friends in many other parts of the world. Economically too, migration matters. People sometimes talk as if there are a finite number of jobs and immigrants increase the competition. This is nonsense. Immigrants come, they work, they buy ...
Thu 9th
16:45Farming, countryside protection and affordable housing up for debate at Bitterley meeting on 16 June
Farming, countryside protection and affordable housing will top the agenda at the next meeting of the Ludlow and Clee Local Joint Committee on 16 June. Committee chair Councillor Andy Boddington says: "We are lucky live amid the glorious countryside of South Shropshire. People come here to visit and to retire because the Ludlow area has... Continue reading Farming, countryside protection and affordable housing up for debate at Bitterley meeting on 16 June →
Embed from Getty Images The Conservative government (which includes the REMAIN and LEAVE camps) together with the British media have created a lot of fog, untruths and statistics (read 'lies') about the EU and Britain's membership. It does not seem meaningful to discuss IF we don't do this we can do that, when there are countless probabilities of an IF outcome, especially outcomes that occur in the future. My message to the Chinese community in Britain to support the REMAIN campaign is, firstly, to consider the historical context and the pursuit of peace, and secondly, the origins of the Chinese ...
[IMG: conscience] Hypothecation – the act of reserving a specific tax for a specific purpose – is making something of a comeback under this Chancellor. The question is how should Liberals respond? The treasury only has one commandment "Thou shalt not hypothecate". However, George Osbourne, forever a political Chancellor, has been busily pledging taxes for a number of worthy causes such as women's charities (Tampon Tax) PE in schools (Sugar Tax) and flood defences (Insurance Premium Tax) The Chancellor knows that linking taxes rises to specific benefits offsets some of the political damage caused by hitting tax payers in the ...
I was delighted to receive the email about the Lib Dem leaders European event and signed up immediately because, frankly, the EU referendum debate has been inundated with arguments that don't always make sense and are often factually ambiguous. I am quite often irritated these days because of this. The Lib Dems leaders,Paddy Ashdown, Ming Campbell, Nick Clegg and Tim Farron, didn't let me down and it was excellent to see a united front on display. It felt like quite a historic moment for a young person like me. The event took place at the BAFTA offices in Piccadilly. Each ...
[IMG: adjustable spectacles] Yesterday, I introduced a Bill in the Lords to permit over-the-counter sale of adjustable focus spectacles. At present only reading glasses can be sold in this way, with all other types of eyewear requiring a visit to a qualified optician or optometrist. The spectacles in question achieve the required focus for each eye by turning a dial found at the side of each lens. They are produced to a very high quality and are useful for both to deal with some medical issues - eg types of diabetes where sight varies from day to day - and ...
In some way it is always sad to see a bit of local history disappear even though the buildings in both cases were both relatively modern. None the less many local residents will have fond memories of them both. [IMG: The closed Stafford Moreton Youth Centre and the old Maghull Library] The closed Stafford Moreton Youth Centre and the old Maghull Library The Library has been out of use since 2010 when the new Maghull Library opened within Meadows Leisure Centre on KGV Park. The reason it moved was that the old building was expensive to heat and both the ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael will today call for the urgent overhaul of cruel and inhumane family reunion rules for refugees. Speaking ahead of a Westminster debate he has secured on the family reunion rules, Mr Carmichael said that the current rules are keeping loved ones apart and forcing children to live separated from [...]
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above I always adopt a highly sceptical view towards any politician offering something for nothing – in this case 50p child bus fares across Merseyside, but not ones requiring any public sector purse subsidy to achieve that end result. Clearly our Labour rulers are split on this Joe Anderson pledge as the Echo article points out. It will be interesting how many more something for supposedly nothing pledges are made by those wanting to be Merseyside's Metro Mayor. It's not that the end result is undesirable, far from it, but ...
[IMG: alde] Liberal Democrats campaigning hard to keep the United Kingdom in the European Union can perhaps take heart from the fact that the European Liberal family, as represented by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE Party), continues to attract new member parties, showing that European and Liberal Democrat messages still resonate on the Continent. At the ALDE Council meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, the other day, hosted by the city's Liberal Mayor,Remigijus Šimašius, no fewer than four newbies were welcomed into the fold: three as full members and one as an associate member (a stepping stone to ...
Writing for PoliticsHome, Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael has said: Imagine that you have had to flee your home because of a repressive government. Imagine that you've then faced a long, life-threatening journey to reach a country where you are able to apply for asylum. Imagine going through an extensive, bureaucratic asylum system and eventually experiencing elation at being granted refugee status. Then imagine being denied the right to bring your family members to come and join you, or facing the invidious choice of only being able to be joined by some of your very closest relatives, but not others. ...
An Open Letter to Paul Ryan From a Mother Living in Poverty The Midweek Quiz - Standard Issue I got 8/10 on the OITNB quiz (via @exitthelemming ) - Instagram There's something familiar about this chap in the megazine @2000AD I am running a poll on Twitter In a sure sign that most of my friends are liberals it caused a big row and has more replies than votes Both Calderdale MPs voted in favour of the Snooper's Charter :( Not that I'm really surprised. Labservatives are all the same on stuff I actually care about. Click the link for ...
The flooding under the railway bridge in Manor Road, Wallington has made the national news with pictures of the submerged cars and the dramatic rescue thanks to a quick thinking local man. The reason the road dips so dramatically here is that it was lowered many years ago to allow double decker buses under the [...]
To be honest, I hadn't really given a lot of thought to the EU referendum until after the Scottish elections had passed. Being an expat - or migrant, if you want to put it another way - in a country outside of the EU, it seemed, from a distance at least, that while the rest of the UK would support remaining, England might have a temporary moment of madness during the campaign but would come to its senses in time for the actual vote. But it was a Facebook post from Scottish Lib Dem stalwart Sheila Richie which really jolted ...
South Glos Lib Dems have announced a series of events called Liberal Drinks, get-togethers in pubs and cafes across South Gloucestershire for members and non-members to meet in a friendly and informal setting and to put the world to rights. Anyone is welcome to join us for a drink to get to know your local Liberal Democrats. There is no set agenda or topic. Simply come along to discuss politics or whatever else takes your fancy. Upcoming dates as follows: Thursday 9th June, 7.30 pm, The Swan at Nibley Thursday 16th June, 7.30pm, The Golden Heart in Winterbourne Thursday 30th ...
[IMG: 4 leaders and a president 1] I was delighted to receive the email about the Lib Dem leaders' European event and signed up immediately because, frankly, the EU referendum debate has been inundated with arguments that don't always make sense and are often factually ambiguous. I am quite often irritated these days because of this. The Lib Dems leaders,Paddy Ashdown, Ming Campbell, Nick Clegg and Tim Farron, didn't let me down and it was excellent to see a united front on display. It felt like quite a historic moment for a young person like me. The event took place ...
I was quoted in the Evening Telegraph and interviewed on Wave 102 yesterday welcoming the launch of multi-operator bus ticketing - now likely to take place later this summer - which will allow customers to use one bus smartcard to travel on both Xplore Dundee and Stagecoach buses. The ability to use different operators' buses with the same smartcard will be a great advantage to bus users across Dundee - constituents regularly complain that, having purchased a weekly or monthly bus pass from one bus operator, they can only use buses from that company. The multi-operator bus ticketing in Dundee ...
Jim Thomas: 'Gene drives' seem to be the ultimate high-leverage technology. Yesterday's report from the US National Academies begun the job of describing what is at stake, but it missed some important questions. If there is a prize for the fastest emerging tech controversy of the century the 'gene drive' may have just won it. In under eighteen months the sci-fi concept of a 'mutagenic chain reaction' that can drive a genetic trait through an entire species (and maybe eradicate that species too) has gone from theory to published proof of principle to massively-shared TED talk (apparently an important step ...
As you know, I don't agree with Owen Jones all that much. However, he wrote a piece the other day that was spot on entitled, "If Blairites want a future they must divorce themselves from Blair". In the piece, Owen describes beautifully how a need to link themselves with Blair continually undermines the right of Labour and their desire to gain control of their party again. He points out something I hadn't thought about previously – that when New Labour was establishing itself, it didn't present its vision as a continuation of the Wilson government. Instead, it talked of itself ...
Yesterday afternoon, Community Spirit Action Group, the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Ancrum, Pentland, the Cleghorn area and surrounding streets, held a walkabout across part of its area, and I was pleased to take part, alongside Community Spirit members and the communities officer for the West End. The idea of the walkabout is to look at local issues and then follow them up with the appropriate council department or other organisation to achieve repairs and improvements. We highlighted a number of issues that the group will follow up with the responsible department or ...
With the news agenda dominated by the European Referendum it is a good time for the two main parties to collaborate and pass illiberal laws in the hope that people do not notice. Alas that is what appears to have happened with regards to the draft Investigatory Powers Bill or snoopers' charter as it is more popularly known. As the Telegraph reports on Tuesday evening, 444 MPs voted in favour of the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, which would ostensibly give the government bulk powers to collect citizens' web records, as well remote hacking and monitoring of smartphones, and to potentially ...
"The thing is, I don't believe this stuff about staff shortages." That is what I said, and it doesn't sound like a magic phrase, but it was as if I had said 'open sesame'. I had gone to a different station to usual, and the conversation with the member of the station staff went like this. I had asked why there were no trains on their running timetable to London. It was odd, even by the low standards of Southern Rail, to have them take the trains they couldn't run off the timetable altogether. Usually, they just mark them as ...
EU immigration has no negative impact on British wages, jobs or public services, research finds | Home News | News | The Independent As we thought. (tags: eu migration ukpolitics ) Reading the runes Pete on the polls (tags: eu ukpolitics ) How 'Economists for Brexit' manage to defy the laws of gravity "Minford admits his model predicts that the policy would cause the 'elimination' of UK manufacturing and a large increase in wage inequality. But although he is relaxed about these outcomes, we suspect that voters in Port Talbot and elsewhere in Britain wouldn't be so impressed." (tags: ukpolitics ...
