I left the Knitted Bible behind and headed for the Floral Hall to the Annual Dinner and Dance of the International Dance Teachers Association. The Association has been coming to Southport for four days of dancing, lecturers and dining for about a dozen years. On the steps of the Floral Hall I was greeted by Wayne Sleep and we chatted about the Mayoral chain. He was clearly pleased to be in Southport and later in the evening performed an amazing comedy dance routine based on Charlie Chaplin. I did reflect that it one day I was encountering full range of ...
© David Hawgood Two former Liberal Democrat leaders are taking part in the 2016 Write on Kew literary festival in September. The organisers say: Nick Clegg offers a frank and honest account of his spectacular rise in the 2010 general election, through his tumultuous years as Deputy Prime Minister, to a brutal defeat in 2015 in order to tell the inside story of this change and reflect on what it means for our future. Paddy Ashdown - Join the renowned politician and former marine and intelligence officer to hear the true story of a lethal spy triangle in Bordeaux between ...
I was invited to open the Knitted Bible Exhibition at Birkdake URC on Sunday afternoon at the suggestion of Brenda Porter. The exhibition has its origins in Hartlepool and is now touring the country, this is its first visit to our borough. A full explanation can be found on the website of St George's church . I must admit that ever since I received the invitation have been intrigued and every time I am asked what I do a Mayor I have told them about the knitted bible. I was intrigued and almost everyone I spoke was equally curious. My ...
Mon 4th
19:30
Maghull – Netto – As it pulls out of the UK again what happens to the one being built in...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above Now here's a turn up for the books as a Netto Store is presently in the early stages of construction on the site of the old Maghull Library and Stafford Moreton Youth Centre in Maghull Town Centre. [IMG: Stafford Moreton Stafford Moreton Youth Centre gone for a Netto store to be built - June 2016] Stafford Moreton Stafford Moreton Youth Centre gone for a Netto store to be built – June 2016 Will another retailer step in an acquire the Maghull site ? Why pull out when you are ...
Mon 4th
19:05
Support for electoral reform at record high as voters also call for early general election
Support for electoral reform is at a record high in Britain according to the authoritative data from the British Social Attitudes survey.
[IMG: Amnesty International have launched their #AgainstHate campaign in the wake of post-referendum increases in hate crime and xenophobia] The rise of reported hate-crime since the referendum result is a shocking reflection of the prejudice and xenophobia that the tone of the Leave campaign helped legitimise across our country. However the politics of Brexit develop over the coming weeks and months, it is our duty as citizens, as campaigners, and as public servants to [...]
Despite what most Brexiteers believed, the European Union has been a great success as a peace project. That is the central thesis of veteran Indian peace and justice campaigner Vijay Mehta's latest book, Peace beyond Borders (Catapult, £9.99), in which he argues that exporting the EU model to other parts of the world would help end [...]
The rumble of the Brexit earthquake continues. As both Labour and Tory politicians jockey for leadership in their prospective parties, it is becoming all too clear that a new political system is now struggling to be born. The traditional left-right split has for some time been overlaid with a different matrix. Partly one might call this a socially liberal vs socially conservative spectrum. David Cameron, by campaigning on issues such as gay marriage, laid claim to a socially liberal stance, and such issues were not always split on conventional party lines. More to the point there are now far wider ...
Embed from Getty Images These are turbulent times in politics - dangerous and at the same time offering great opportunities to seize the initiative. The Lib-Dems have always been pro-European and we must lead the argument for a very close relationship with the EU post brexit. How to do this? Make a coalition pact with another Westminster party pre the next election. The Labour party is in disarray with the majority of its members pro-Europe and anti Corbyn. Like all MPs, what they want, above all, is to retain their seats at the next election. This will be a wipe-out ...
I nominated three works for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) in the 1941 Retro Hugos - Pinocchio, The Thief of Bagdad and Fantasia. All three of these made it to the final ballot - rather better than my usual strike rate! - but for some reason Pinocchio has been placed in the Short Form rather than Long Form category, even though two of the Long Form nominees (One Million B.C. and Dr Cyclops) are actually shorter. Anyway, it's (mostly) a good list, representing a decent spread of what could be considered genre film in 1940 - the nominations process doing ...
When I reviewed the finalists for Best Novelette, I queried the inclusion of "Darker Than You Think" by Jack Williamson as it seemed to me too long for the category. This year's Hugo Administrators have concurred, and the story has been replaced by "Vault of the Beast" by A.E. van Vogt, which you will easily find in the widely available collection edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, and published under three different titles: The Great Science Fiction Stories: Volume 2, 1940 (1979); Isaac Asimov Presents The Golden Years of Science Fiction (second half, 1983); and Great Science Fiction ...
In 2010, I hated the Liberal Democrats. The rage I normally reserved for the Conservative Party was now pointed squarely at the new enemy: the Yellow Tories. I wasn't of voting age in the 2010 General Election. My family had voted Liberal on the back of believing the party was further left than Labour. They were going to abolish tuition fees! I was soon to become a student and although no abolishing of the fees system would affect me, this was the way to win an idealistic young person's vote. And then came the "big betrayal". The Liberal Democrats entered ...
Embed from Getty Images With the referendum already having had a number of impacts on the value of the pound and the political stability of the UK, what impact will it have on the education of future generations and, more specifically, regarding language education? It seems that people forget what a huge influence the European Union has had on our workers' rights and the contribution towards farmers, the NHS, Cornwall... this list could go on forever, but has anyone really thought about the ability for our children to learn languages? Language education is already at risk due to Nicky Morgan ...
In the early hours on the 24th June 2016, I was sitting at my count in Eastleigh waiting for our results to be announced for the Borough. Worrying that the result for our country and our future was not the one I was hoping for. Not long after 10pm, the ballot boxes began to arrive [...]
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above I use Switch Island regularly and am always cautious about where the new road joins it as I have seen red light jumpers taking big risks flying across this busy junction. If I have noticed correctly it is traffic leaving the M57 travelling northwards onto the new road that is involved. But of course there is a wider problem and I have spoken to drivers who say the road markings are not clear or that there is too much information to take in and it is confusing. Take confused, ...
After voting for the Conservative party in the last General Election, I abruptly left the Conservatives and joined the Lib Dems. It appears over 10,000 people have taken a similar step in joining the Party since the EU Referendum. Every extra member is a positive BUT c.98% of the population are not members of political parties. It is the 98% this Party must attract on General Election day (importantly, date TBC). I am not advocating populist policies. I do not want Tim Farron to mimic Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, or even Donald Trump. What I want is for the Lib ...
[IMG: Your chance to join the 'Next Generation' of local Lib Dem leaders] Applications are open for the next cohort to undertake the Liberal Democrat 'Next Generation of Leadership' programme, funded by Local Government Leadership and co-ordinated by ALDC. The Next Generation comprises a series of training events and discussions over the course of one year, designed to bring out the best of your leadership qualities and help [...]
Embed from Getty Images You may have noticed that we haven't used many photos on Lib Dem Voice since 23rd June. We have all been ridiculously busy just dealing with the posts that have been streaming in – dozens every day. It does takes a while to set up a new user, prepare a post for publication, and correspond with the contributor if a post needs editing. On the days when I am editing LDV I spend several hours on my laptop scheduling posts and dealing with the ones we can't publish. As I wrote last week we haven't been ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above I probably bored for England during my attempts to try to stop the straight closure of 7 of Sefton Borough's libraries. And yes of course others did far more than I did to try to save their local libraries and the huge campaigns in Churchtown, Aintree, Crosby and Birkdale come to mind – all of which were sadly ultimately unsuccessful. [IMG: Fighting for Southport's Libraries] Fighting for Southport's Libraries What angered me was the lack of imagination and forward thinking in Sefton Council. The fact that under the dead ...
[IMG: Site for the new Maghull North Railway Station. Photo taken looking north from School Lane road bridge. The former Moss Side Hospital site is to the right and Mersey Avenue to the left.] Site for the new Maghull North Railway Station. Photo taken looking north from School Lane road bridge. The former Moss Side Hospital site is to the right and Mersey Avenue to the left. The next stage of this £7m+ project includes the planning application which will be submitted by Network Rail to Sefton Council after the summer holidays. Thoughts are also turning to detailed works including ...
... but I think the disgusting spectacle of politicians of all stripes grubbing over the votes of racists, by pretending to understand their "genuine concerns about immigration" might be caused by our first past the post electoral system. Let me explain. In the last few days there has been more than one piece on Lib Dem Voice which might as well, as Andrew puts it, have been entitled "Immigrants: Threat or Menace?". One of them was written by Vince Cable. Vince sodding Cable, who, lets not forget, was married to a lady from Goa. Vince is clearly not racist. Yet ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg Q&A Liverpool Spring conference 2015 Photo by Liberal Democrats] In today's Guardian Nick Clegg has been making the case for calling an early General Election before any steps are taken towards Brexit. He writes: Who would have thought? The Conservative party, the party of continuity and tradition, is now the cause of the greatest constitutional crisis in modern times. The party of business is now the source of reckless economic turmoil. The natural party of government is now presiding over paralysis in Westminster and Whitehall. The party of the British bulldog spirit is now leading our great ...
There's a titan arum - a corpse flower - blooming at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
Andrea Leadsom interview: Thatcher, God, and why I should be Prime Minister RT @HSLibDems: "I actually study the Bible in Parliament". Very right wing. Wants to be next PM. Be very afraid. Brexit hate crime: Man 'performed Nazi salutes and yelled 'this is our country, go back' in Tube race rant' | Crime | News | London Evening Standard RT @standardnews: Man 'performed Nazi salutes and yelled 'this is our country, go back' in Tube race rant Post-Brexit Racism Documented On Social Media RT @SadekHamid: Updated massive, depressing list of all the #PostRefRacism so far via @HuffPostUK Poll reveals young ...
[IMG: Flag of EFTA] Tim Farron is playing a blinder at the moment. Our clear support of the European Union, while accepting the referendum result, is absolutely right. But we need a dual track approach here. We need to have an alternative to EU membership lined up. "Plan B", if you like. It seems to me that rejoining the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (we left in 1973 after 13 years membership) and staying in the European Economic Area (EEA), is the answer to the current UK post-Brexit conundrum. This will give us the economic benefits of access to the ...
Saturday saw the opening of the Ainsdale Horticultural Show, truly on of the great little shows. This is their 96 year and it is good to see that this well loved community event has adapted and is thriving in the 21st century. Congratulations to all those who give up their time to keep this show on the Green at Ainsdale, I saw lots of local people enjoying the day. The weather was remarkably kind to us as once again Southport's micro climate bucked the national trend and there was no rain at the showground I was met by the Chair ...
There is a reason why the Liberal Democrats were born to lead the 48%; it's because we have always been on the side of the minority. Admittedly, at nearly half of those who voted, 48% is a pretty astoundingly large minority. But perhaps that is exactly why this is such an exciting moment for us. By pledging to take Britain back to the heart of Europe, we have taken on the leadership of the largest, most energised and inspired minority of voters to emerge in modern times. For years we have sought to find a core of voters who share ...
Boris Johnson is the Dr. Strangelove of the Brexit campaign, a half-crazed genius who shouts and stomps whilst the world falls apart around him. Okay, I may not have done the film much justice but hopefully you have got my drift. I have never been so outraged by a newspaper column than I was this morning with Boris Johnson's latest contribution to the post-Brexit debate. Having led the UK to the edge of economic disaster he has retreated to his ivory tower and is now demanding that others clean up the mess. Yes, he has a five point plan, but ...
The latest quarterly update to my database of British voting intention opinion polls since 1943 is now up. Take polling averages with a good few pinches of salt, but it's worth noting that overall Labour's poll rating has now sunk back to its general election level of support. The slight rally, which included three polls putting Labour ahead of the Tories, looks to have receded when you take a step back from individual polls and look at the overall pattern. Aside from another three months of data, this update includes: Various corrections and extra polls for the final round of ...
Since the Leave vote hit us, it has occurred to me just how little the political class understands our relationship with the EU pre-referendum, never mind what the public has really absorbed on the subject. There have been many misapprehensions, but the one that really stands out is the idea that somehow we can stay inside the single market while limiting free movement. This is another thing that – sadly in this case – does not conform to a right-left axis. Boris Johnson, in what is now a rightly infamous post-Brexit vote piece of folly, wrote in the Daily Telegraph ...
I had wondered whether the situation with Southern Railways had improved a little. It seemed unlikely that we could lose a Prime Minister, most of the shadow cabinet, the England football manager, Boris Johnson - and still face chaos on the train lines to the coast. But that was clearly naive of me. I went to London three times last week and had three trains cancelled under me. Perhaps the element that I find particularly frustrating about the situation is the way that government ministers are defending operators Govia Thameslink Railway - the rail minister Claire Perry even went out ...
Magnificent Macedonia is one of Europe's undiscovered holiday highlights Amen. (tags: macedonia ) A FiveThirtyEight Guide To Veepstakes Speculation From a few weeks ago but still valid. (tags: uspolitics ) The Tory party has probably now passed peak chaos. Not so Labour These are extraordinary times. #fb (tags: ukpolitics ) Thousands marched, but what are the options for keeping UK in EU? Dave gives four scenarios. #fb (tags: eu ukpolitics ) Cthulhu launches late bid for Conservative leadership "would favour trade links with other EU countries on an exclusively import basis." (tags: eldritchhorrorsfrombeforethedawnoftime ukpolitics ) Brexit roadmap: A guide to ...
