Tomorrow's English Lib Dems Council meeting held at University College London will probably be one of the more interesting ones in a while. I say this as someone who has always found English Lib Dem Executive interesting, but been less engaged by the English Council. The reason for this is that it sees motions to [...]
UPDATED DETAILS. UKIP seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Matthew Brown.
How can Britain find a way out of its current crisis? Carl Gardner knows. David Hencke says Michael Gove cannot be trusted with your money. "The historic idea of what the Labour Party in fact is revolves around the synthesis between its elements being strong and working as one unit. By insisting that the PLP is voiceless, Corbyn has destroyed this - possibly temporarily, possibly forever." Nick Tyrone argues that Jeremy Corbyn's refusal to stand down challenges the basis of his party. Maria Pretzler says Boris Johnson should have remembered the Ostracism of Hyperbolus. "The women's game has, until now, ...
I King of the perennial holly-groves, the riven sandstone: overlord of the M5: architect of the historic rampart and ditch, the citadel at Tamworth, the summer hermitage in Holy Cross: guardian of the Welsh Bridge and the Iron Bridge: contractor to the desirable new estates: saltmaster: moneychanger: commissioner for oaths: martyrologist: the friend of Charlemagne. 'I liked that,' said Offa, 'sing it again.' Another day, another hero gone. The poet Geoffrey Hill has died. Mercian Hymns brought together his West Midlands boyhood, legends of King Offa and the present day in 30 short prose poems. The first of them is ...
Two blogs were added to the LibDemBlogs aggregator in June. Thanks as ever to Ryan Cullen for sending me this information. John Anderson has just joined the Liberal Democrats after previously resisting joining any party. Here he takes a random walk through the rubble of Brexit: The single biggest value-added employers in the country - the investment banks - are deserting the ship like rats. One could make an argument that Brexit is simply giving them an excuse to pull the trigger on drastic restructurings. Maybe, maybe not. But the reality is those jobs which pay well above the national ...
The David Tennant / Catherine Tate partnership was a particularly good pairing in the history of Who (and actually there have been very few obviously bad pairings). It's weird to think that that was already back in 2008, longer ago than the entire Tom Baker era lasted, or as long ago as any two other Doctors from Old Who combined. And Big Finish, hurrah! have brought them back - just for three 75-minute adventures, plus a bonus disc of extra interviews with cast and crew, but gosh it's entertaining. If you're nostalgic for the days when Bertie handed over to ...
Liberal Democrats leadership @timfarron & @CarolinePidgeon visiting @posklondon #PolesinUK pic.twitter.com/rrrQBOz8sE — Jakub Krupa (@JakubKrupa) June 30, 2016 Probably the most awful of many bad aspects of the referendum is that that very small section of the population who are racists and bigots feel emboldened. They think they have 17 million mates. Social media is awash with reports of attacks and the Police say that reports of hate crime are up 57%. While only a tiny minority of Leave voters are racists, they all need to take some responsibility, alongside the Leave campaign, for allowing this appalling behaviour to flourish. It's ...
Lets not beat around the bush. I am a Nick Clegg guy. A total Nick Clegg guy. I have always been a Liberal Democrat voter but Nick is the reason why I'm a card carrying member. Nothing against any leader before or since but there was something extremely special about Nick Clegg. He could've been a great leader of this country but instead it'll be a generation before people truly understand what they've missed out on by essentially nailing him to the cross based mainly on the tuition fees situation and of course some voters believing that working with the ...
This morning we assembled at the Lord Street war memorial to remember the men who died at the Battle of the Somme. Afterwards I went the British Legion Byng House to hear a talk about the battle . I have produced below the script I had . The poem was written by Mike Morris to whom I wish to extend my thanks. Mike, a man from Netherton , wrote the poem to commemorate the men who died from his area on the first day of the battle. Mike helped me adapt the poem so it was relevant to Southport. I ...
[IMG: illustration of european union map with flags, from 1 july 2013] illustration of european union map with flags, from 1 july 2013 Like many others, I've been mesmerised by the news since last Thursday's narrow referendum win for Leave. The pace of events has been extraordinary. You feel like if you nip to the shops for an hour it is almost guaranteed that you'll miss some further seismic political event while you're out. For political nerds it's like Christmas, New Year and your birthday all rolled into one. If it weren't so seriously alarming. There has been oceans of ...
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Tim and Vince write for the Times on the need for ministers to provide leadership on Brexit strategy
Tim Farron and Vince Cable have written for the Times' Red Box website setting out what they think should happen in negotiations with the EU and in economic strategy as we face a self-induced Brexit recession. As Nick Clegg said before the referendum, so called Project Fear was understating the impact Brexit would have. We are also suffering a void of leadership and some very unrealistic thinking from the Brexit camp who, as we discovered, didn't really have a plan. We can't hang about, they say: Business and investors won't wait around forever to see leadership. Many first tier organisations ...
A little over twelve months ago, the Lib Dems in York entered into a joint administration on City of York Council. It wasn't an easy decision to take, but we knew that having increased our representation by a third despite the disappointing national picture, we had a real opportunity to deliver on our manifesto commitments to the people of York. I am very grateful to many colleagues in the city, including fellow Executive Members, Councillors, local party activists (and our very new members this week!) for their ongoing work. A year on, we thought we'd let you know how we're ...
New Opinium poll: 7% of Leavers regret the way they voted, 3% of Remainers do. That would wipe out #Brexit's majority. — Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) July 1, 2016 Both of these echo the previous Survation poll (whose final referendum poll was within the margin of error of the actual result).
The Liberal approach to dealing with the unpopularity of immigration and immigrants is to challenge that concern. It's to robustly make a positive case for immigration as a policy and — crucially — immigrants as human beings. The Liberal approach is to shift attention unfairly directed at them to where it belongs: Government unwillingness to fund housing, the NHS and other public services. The Liberal approach includes strongly differentiating between migrants and refugees, which lately have all too often conflated by media and politicians, so that everyone understands the different reasons that people want to be welcomed into the UK, ...
[IMG: CmOidvkUgAEIHkO] Having selfishly driven the UK to the brink of destruction all for the leadership ambitions of some of their leading lights is there any wonder folks now think of them in these terms?
Below is a letter written to the Champion newspaper by Maghull resident Mal Gore who found a recent visit to a Council meeting hugely disappointing. Dear Editor Arriving at the meeting like a drowned rat, due to the torrential rain, I thought they were going to discuss amendments to the Local Plan as outlined by the government inspector but instead we had to endure two hours of behaviour more like that of an infant school playground. It was evident that, as far as the ruling party is concerned, the complete destruction of Maghull and Lydiate is one huge joke. Most ...
A massive 27.4 increase in the vote saw the Liberal Democrats gain a Council seat in deepest Tory Mole Valley last night. Liberal Democrat GAIN Leatherhead North (Mole Valley) from Conservative. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) June 30, 2016 Leatherhead North (Mole Valley) result: LDEM: 56.6% (+27.4) CON: 22.3% (-11.7) UKIP: 10.3% (-7.9) LAB: 8.9% (-5.7) GRN: 1.8% (-2.1) — Britain Elects (@britainelects) June 30, 2016 Leatherhead North (Mole Valley) vote result: LDEM: 862 CON: 340 UKIP: 157 LAB: 135 GRN: 28 — Britain Elects (@britainelects) June 30, 2016 The other two by-elections from last night saw us field candidates where ...
Forget the politics - Brexit may be unlawful | Philip Allott | Opinion | The Guardian RT @guardian: Forget the politics - Brexit may be unlawful | Philip Allott Statue of 'great Black Briton' Mary Seacole unveiled today | The Voice Online RT @TheVoiceNews: There she stands - the 1st statue of a named black woman in the UK. Her name is #MarySeacole I voted to send 'em back so you better bloody send 'em back, warns Brexit voter Sometimes @newsthump is a little TOO close to the bone: What can you do if you experience a hate crime? | ...
No matter how we try and fool ourselves, migration issues played a substantial part in the Leave vote, and many Remain voters, myself included, voted to remain despite reservations about immigration levels. Doubtless racism played a part, perhaps 2 million of those Leave votes representing the percentage that the BNP received in 2009. The racists didn't stop being racist, they simply moved to a new home. But over 90% of the 33 million voters were not racists. When you dig down further as to why people are concerned about migration there is a common theme. As a country we have ...
You can read all the articles that have caught my attention this week here: https://delicious.com/stephentall Below are a selection... Sponsored: 64% off Code Black Drone with HD Camera Our #1 Best-Selling Drone–Meet the Dark Night of the Sky! Telegraph cartoons, June 2016 – Opinion EU working dinner http://bit.ly/29nW5Hw Of course the Brexiters didn't plan. Arsonists never carry water | Rafael Behr | Opinion | The Guardian Farage Brexiteers hv created impression English politics is now "the pursuit of football hooliganism by other means" http://bit.ly/293DDVe gavinkellyblog.com Gavin Kelly looks into his crystal ball ?"Will there be a snap Brexit election?" http://bit.ly/29dcSOK ...
In Macbeth Shakespeare wrote a soliloquy for his lead character: I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, And falls on th'other. . . . Macbeth Act 1, scene 7. 25-28 If he were writing today the bard might have difficulty who to apply that judgement to. We live in extraordinary times in which all the political certainties of my lifetime have been turned upside down. This is not just one party self-destructing as in the 1980s when Labour ripped itself to shreds, or the 1990s when the Liberal Democrats ...
All the runners in the Conservative Leadership steeplechase may be denying that they would seek a General Election before 2020, but I suggest that you should examine their track record in terms of broken promises. If the Labour Party is still suicidal, and if the dishonest Brexit commitments are beginning to unravel with devastating effect on people's expectations, what Prime Minister could resist the temptation to go to the country? In any case, there will be a strong reaction to the imposition of a new PM and Government on the whim of a 130,000 electorate. Where is our much vaunted ...
The following are the scheduled meetings of Blyth Town Council for July Tuesday 5th July ( 5:30 pm ) Special Events Committee Tuesday 5th July ( 6:30 pm ) Community Grants Committee Thursday 7th July ( 6:30 pm ) Planning and Development Committee Thursday 14th July ( 6:30 pm ) Full Council ( preceded by Public Question Time at 6:00 pm ) Thursday 21st July ( 6:30 pm ) Planning and Development Committee Tuesday 26th July ( 6:30 pm ) Events Committee Thursday 28th July ( 6:30 pm ) Environmental Services Committee All meetings are scheduled to be at Arms ...
The map below indicates the bus options available to Harris Academy pupils from the start of the new academic year in August - this includes new school bus routes as well as service bus options :You can download a full leaflet about transport options for pupils here - it includes a high-definition copy of this map. In addition to this, I am anxious to see additional Stagecoach Service 16 buses to ensure the far west of Perth Road and Perth & Kinross domiciled pupils have adequate transport options.
The Liberal Democrats are advertising for members of four policy working groups – on the economy, Britain's place in the world, education and rural communities. Here is some of the blurb explaining the role of policy working group members followed by the remit for each of the working groups. You can apply for membership of the policy working groups here. All the Lib Dem policy papers referred to below are available here. What do I need to be a member of a Lib Dem policy working group? You don't need anything specific. As an idea, group members usually have one ...
Another extraordinary day in British politics was had yesterday. It rounds off an unbelievable week, the likes of which has never been seen previously. Everything has changed in a way that would have been hard to fathom seven days ago. Just when it looked like one item was settled – who the next PM is going to be – that changed dramatically. Boris with Gove and a chastened Osborne on his side looked unstoppable. But then Gove decided, for whatever reasons, that he wanted the prize for himself. Whether Boris screwed up in some way (took Gove for granted) or ...
Brexit: Loss of passporting rights could halve UK exports "could" ≠ "will". But sobering enough. #fb (tags: eu ukpolitics ) Brexit Just Made Dublin Look Even More Attractive for Tech Yup. (tags: ukpolitics eu ireland ) The European Union has agreed on two important questions regarding Brexit A good summary. (tags: ukpolitics eu ) The World's Most Efficient Languages Something a bit different! (tags: languages linguistics ) On parliamentary sovereignty and post-Brexit Britain "Parliament, and the political class, simply do not have the moral authority to overturn a popular vote at the moment." (tags: ukpolitics ) What's wrong with the ...
Congratulations to Joe Crome and the team in Surrey.
While I'm interested in any Scottish solutions with regards to stopping an EU Brexit I think they are a distraction from the priority. The Scottish dimension is not really about Europe it is about Independence. For the Scottish Government see everything - absolutely everything - through the prism of Independence. For me the priority is for Britain to remain within or as close we can to the EU; and to be clear, for me, the EU has always been far more than just a free trade area. There can't be a Second Referendum on the EU. That would be undemocratic ...
