So, just as Theresa May left Buckingham Palace, I had to leave home to go for a meeting. When I stepped out into an Edinburgh street and checked my phone two hours later, I realised I'd stepped into a parallel universe. I must have done. I mean, a new Prime Minister known for careful and cautious deliberation appointing a man who had grossly insulted the President of the United States just a few weeks ago as the country's top diplomat? It's probably worth reminding ourselves of Boris's response to President Obama's "back of the queue" speech. Johnson, a high-profile figure ...
Embed from Getty Images So Boris Johnson is the new foreign secretary. Our relations with other countries are now in the hands of a man who, only a couple of weeks ago, destroyed his own chances of becoming the Conservatives' leader with one undiplomatic newspaper column. And he has previous. In 2004 Johnson was ordered by his leader Michael Howard to go to Liverpool and apologise to the people of the city after he marked the murder of Ken Bigley by running an article in the Spectator that said of them: "They see themselves whenever possible as victims, and resent ...
I am extremely grateful, not to say humbled, by the response to my book about the Southern crisis, Cancelled! I've also published this blog on the Real Press website. Every day, I am getting feedback, information, insights - particularly from Southern's guards and drivers. I am blogging madly to keep up, though the mainstream media has finally now caught up with the story of the Southern trains which don't run - even if they have not yet grasped the full implications for other services, which I set out in the book. It has been a strange experience and I've tried ...
The House of Lords debated the Chilcot Report on 12th July 2016: here are some of the key quotes from Peers who spoke, giving some flavour of the debate:- "The noble Lord, Lord Touhig, said that there was an atmosphere of mutual respect at the time of the vote. I beg leave to question that judgment. Charles Kennedy was described as being guilty of appeasement. He was told that he was similar to Neville Chamberlain, and a national newspaper printed a photograph of him with the word "Traitor" underneath. There was by no means mutual respect. So the reactions on ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: He held his breath on the final step, and the panic drove him to near unconsciousness. His vision blurred at the edges, closing to a single pinpoint of light, and then ... he floated. The all-consuming celestial blue of the horizon hit his visual field an instant after he realized that the thermal updraft had caught him and the wings of the paraglider. Fear was behind him on the mountaintop, and thousands of feet above the resplendent green rain forest and pristine white beaches of Copacabana, Hans Keeling had seen the light.Ferriss believes that he ...
[IMG: Jim Wallace] Jim Wallace has announced this afternoon that he is to step down as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Jim, the former MP and MSP for Orkney & Shetland, has been leader of the group of 107 Liberal Democrat peers since October 2013, during which time he was also Advocate General for Scotland and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords in the Coalition Government. he of course previously served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland between 1999 and 2007. Jim explained his decision: This has been a difficult decision for me, and ...
Embed from Getty Images As David Cameron leaves, it dawns on me that this is the 10th time the Prime Minister has changed in my lifetime. I thought I'd share with you my memories of the other changes. When I was born, Harold Wilson was PM. I don't remember him losing out to Ted Heath in the 1970 election because I was just a toddler. Nor do I really remember Wilson really getting back in again in 1974. I have a vague memory of walking along Dell Road in Inverness with my parents as they went to vote, though. The ...
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] Below is a sample letter from Lib Dem Cllr Lisa Brett who is our lead member on the LGA Safer and Stronger Communities Board in response to the recent rise in reported hate crimes since the referendum. Dear XXX Thank you for your email regarding the recent alarming rise of racist and xenophobic incidents and hate [...]
Thursday 21 July 2016, 2-6pm – Carer Celebration Event.
The first meeting of the Prestwich Township Forum in the new municipal year took place on Thursday 30 June 2016 at the Longfield Centre at 6.30. The aim of the Forum is to bring together the Prestwich residents and the people that serve this community - Police, Councillors, Bury Council Officers, Local Religious leaders, Community Group leaders etc. Prior to the meeting (5.30) there is a chance for local residents to meet the police, to allow them to raise issues they have, and to report any low level crime, ASB. As it was the first meeting of the year, the ...
Changes are proposed to Bus Service 484 (operated by Arriva Northwest) which provides an hourly daytime link from Prestwich, Agecroft, Pendleton and Swinton to Eccles and Salford Royal Hospital, with the peak time extension of some journeys to/from Whitefield. As part of measures to improve punctuality on the route the route and timetable of Service 484 will be revised to omit Mossfield Road, the Wardley estate and Kersal Road Road/Oaklands Road in Kersal Moor. Please do let me know if you have any comments or thoughts on this proposals. The implementation date would be 31st October 2016. (Higher resolution copy ...
How Political Parties Have Lost Their Sense of Purpose Several years ago I was in a meeting between senior commercial and research staff in a multinational pharmaceutical company. Discussing various research projects, one commercial person declared with obvious exasperation "Don't forget that we're here to make money not to indulge in fancy research projects." The President of R&D, a Scotsman, looked him in the eyes and responded "Laddie, you're wrong. We're here to make medicines that make people better. And if we can do that, then we'll make money as a result." This episode illustrates what has happened to business ...
[IMG: Ealing Lib Dems have run a number of different types of welcome events so that everyone feels welcome.] More than 16,000 people have joined the Lib Dems since the EU Referendum, and a lot of them will get involved in party activity if we give them a warm welcome. That DOES NOT mean just turning up on their doorstep with a large pile of Focus leaflets! Here are five things you can do [...]
Britain has traditionally done without referendums. It's time to reinstate that tradition. One of the perils of being a Brit abroad at the moment is being repeatedly asked to explain Brexit. I got a small foretaste of this a few years back, when I was travelling in Southern Europe during the climax of the vote on [...]
[IMG: Ceiling of Empire Theatre Liverpool] Liverpool's Empire Theatre is a treat. The photo above was taken by me on a recent visit to see a production of Agatha Christie's Mouse Trap play. My first visit there. that I recall, was in the 1970's to see 10CC playing live when they were just emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the pop music industry. Indeed it was memorable for two odd reasons. The amplifying system had a 'buzz' that they could not get rid of despite many attempts to do so and the backing/warm up group was none ...
The House of Lords has been debating Chilcot this week. Ming Campbell, our foreign affairs spokesperson at the time, spoke in the debate. Here's his speech: Contrary to popular belief, I have never believed that what we were presented with was a false premise—implying that there was some effort at deception—but I have always believed that it was flawed, and the distinction is important. But it is clear that throughout these events Mr Blair thought that it was the right thing to do—and he still does. That was inevitably a moral judgment, but the strength of it gave rise to ...
Citizens Advice Sutton is the lead agency for Advice Link Partnership Sutton (ALPS). ALPs is a partnership of local Not for Profit organisations providing free, confidential, independent and impartial advice for people who live or work in the London Borough of Sutton. You can contact Citizens Advice Sutton, Sutton Carers Centre and Age UK in [...]
Consett residents will get their only direct and personal chance to feed into the "new" Durham County Plan tomorrow (Thursday July 14th) at St Patrick's Church Hall, between 4 o'clock and 7.30. This "son of" the earlier attempt at a county plan which was trashed by a Planning Inspector last year has all the same flaws as the last one. It is too Durham-centric and based on an enormous gamble that some multi-national's HQ can be persuaded to colonise Aykley Head in Durham once County Hall has been bulldozed. It makes plans to build twice a many houses per acre ...
Embed from Getty Images In the week of Chilcot, we can at least observe that David Cameron didn't cause an unnecessary Middle East invasion which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. But sending the country into chaos through the referendum, just to manage his own backbenchers and stave off a party with one MP, comes a close second to Tony Blair's Iraq disaster. We were warned at the last election of chaos if Ed Miliband had won, supported by the SNP. But the UK under Ed Miliband would have looked like a summer holiday compared ...
The Liberal Democrats have an opportunity to distinguish and differentiate themselves in the midst of the current whirlwind. Let’s move…
Having Multiple Devoted Boyfriends Is Wonderful, Polyandrous Women Confirm | Broadly RT @broadly: Polyandrous women confirm: Having multiple devoted boyfriends is awesome The Top 10 Best Iron Maiden Videos - Feature - TeamRock I would quibble about the placing of one of these in particular: CLEARLY The Wicker Man should be number one. Partly because I remember the trepidation before it came out - please don't let it be shit, please don't let it be shit - and then it was awesome. Partly because fuck you, a band CAN have three lead guitars. Partly because of all the cult references ...
Wed 13th
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As Ludlow rises in protest, Shropshire Council leader backs down on September services transfer dead...
Last night, more than one hundred people met at Ludlow Brewery for the launch of the People's Alliance for Ludlow (PAL). The mood of the meeting was angry and constructive in turns. The anger was directed at Shropshire Council for the way it is managing cuts and forcing town and parish councils to take over... Continue reading As Ludlow rises in protest, Shropshire Council leader backs down on September services transfer deadline →
The Arab-Israeli conflict is often presented in black and white terms, depending on which side one's sympathies mainly lie, yet when it comes to the lives and emotions of people on the ground in Israel or the Occupied Territories there are in fact many shades of grey. Journalist and novelist Jemma Wayne chooses for the [...]
The upcoming Brexit negotiations will be difficult for Liberal Democrats to watch. The vast majority of us campaigned to remain, and even those who voted to leave will, I imagine, be nervous at the prospect of an authoritarian Tory leader, probably without a specific mandate from the electorate for her party to run these negotiations, having so much power over what Britain's negotiating position is to be. As a parliamentary party, our lack of numbers will make it hard for us to get our message across when we're needed the most. This is a time we as members and supporters ...
In the midst of everything happening around a meeting of Labour's national executive committee regarding the future of Jeremy Corbyn (which didn't go so well), there were some interesting bits of Brexit related news yesterday. Martin Schultz, the president of the European Parliament, wrote an interesting article in the Guardian. In it, he comes across as someone trying to lure you into their house so they can club you to death once you're inside. He talks about how the UK really needs to trigger Article 50 soon – no pressure – and that once this happens, Britain and the EU ...
Two interesting opportunities working for the party are currently available. The first is an internship in campaigning and communications for the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Camapigners. Details are as follows: This is a full-time role, paid at the UK National Minimum/Living Wage (currently £7.20 per hour for 25 year olds and over, and the applicable rate for under 25s) based at our offices in Manchester city centre. ALDC is the national organisation for Liberal Democrat councillors and campaigners. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the work of the organisation as we continue to build on ...
As David Cameron leaves No 10, his legacy is being scrutinised. I have to say that I found the glowing tributes coming from his Cabinet colleagues as they entered Downing Street yesterday pretty nauseating. Much of the news commentary has been way too positive. I am dreading the inevitable fawning over him that's going to happen as he faces his last Prime Minister's Questions. I will not be happy if, as they did for Blair, any of our lot indulge in any applause or standing ovations for him. Let's look at some of the key compliments people are paying him: ...
Residents have expressed concern to me about the state of the area around the privately-owned empty industrial units at Hawkhill Court at the north end of Mid Wynd - see photos below : I have contacted the site agents to request a clean-up of the site.
The debate on the Chilcot report has thrown up quite a few revelations but none as unsurprising as the judgement by former Cabinet Secretary, Lord Butler that Tony Blair's Government was dysfunctional. According to the Guardian, Lord Butler told the House of Lords that the former Labour Government misused intelligence. He claimed the former prime minister was caught in a trap over Iraq: Lord Butler added: "Plans were not shared with senior ministers for fear that they would leak. The full legal reasoning of the attorney general was not made available to the cabinet. Official papers were not circulated. "With ...
Country of Pils, Jagr and Havel Finally Shortens Unwieldy Name It's Czechia! (tags: czechrepublic ) How the Clinton America sees isn't the Clinton colleagues know One of Ezra Klein's brilliant pieces. (tags: uspolitics ) UK scientists dropped from EU projects because of post-Brexit funding fears Confirmed now. (tags: ukpolitics eu research ) Q Interview with an aid official. (tags: southsudan ) Why I'll Be Leaving Post-Brexit Britain Very sad. #fb (tags: ukpolitics eu race ) Hungary built a razor-wire fence to keep refugees out. Now, it's desperate for migrants Grim irony. (tags: migration hungary ) The Rise of Theresa May ...
