Every year, the Woodland Trust runs the Tree of the Year competition. Rather at the last moment, we councillors decided to put forward the horse chestnut at St Julian's Well as a candidate. The tree itself is striking and its symbiotic association with the medieval well makes it very unusual. Among our aims in entering... Continue reading We've put forward St Julian's Well tree in Ludlow for a national award →
Our Headline of the Day Award goes to the Guardian.
At a recent meeting of Full Council, Devolution Proposals were discussed and while the Tories were keen to have it adopted, and even Labour supported the idea (they think they'll take the elected Mayor role), the Liberal Democrats were not so keen ............ I stood up and made the following points to the Conservative administration: [...]
So the Bank of England yesterday lowered the interest rate from half a per cent to a quarter per cent, and producers and consumers have joyfully hit the streets, the former to invest and the latter to buy like crazy with such a low borrowing rate. It was probably not Albert Einstein who said: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results", but it is never-the less a good definition of the UK's economic policy. After the crash of 2007/8 the interest rate was dropped from 5per cent to 0.5per cent, ...
First of all, i would like to say my thoughts go out to the family and friends of Darlene Horton, the woman who lost her life and those who were injured in the horrific knife attack in Russell Square on Wednesday night. BBC News reports: A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was killed and five injured in a knife attack in Russell Square, central London. A 19-year-old man was arrested at 22:39 after a Taser was discharged by an officer. The Met said mental health was a "significant factor" in events. Metropolitan Police Service ...
Whilst last night's results were a mixed bag, with only three Liberal Democrat candidates running across the seven by-elections, we are delighted to announce that one of our candidates, 22-year-old Thomas Sheriff, won his by-election for the Eden District Council. Sheriff won 54.6% of the vote in the Alston Moor ward, compared to just 45.4% [...]
The Big Kid Circus is at Meggies Burn Field from today ( 5th August ) to Sunday ( 7th August ) Details of show times are at :- http://www.bigkidcircus.co.uk/upcoming-shows/
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur MSP said people will feel betrayed following reports that Fire Service staff are set to spend months working out of portable cabins after the closure of control rooms in the north of Scotland. Media reports this week revealed that control rooms in Aberdeen and Inverness are set to [...]
Whilst last night's results were a mixed bag, with only three Liberal Democrat candidates running across the seven by-elections, we are delighted to announce that one of our candidates, 22-year-old Thomas Sheriff, won his by-election for the Eden District Council. Sheriff won 54.6% of the vote in the Alston Moor ward, compared to just 45.4% for the Conservatives, with two Independents choosing not to stand on this occasion. Sheriff is an active member of the community, responsible for running a local music festival, and he ran his campaign on an opposition to the proposed closure of essential cottage hospitals in ...
Commenting following a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) found 37% of participants saw a drop in permanent appointments due to "economic turbulence" following Brexit, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP said: "While Brexit campaigners, now at the heart of the UK Government, brushed aside economic warnings before the vote in June they [...]
The following are the scheduled meetings at Blyth Town Council for September 2016 Unless otherwise stated all meetings start at 6:30 at Arms Evertyne House. As ever, you should check with the council before attending a meeting. Thursday 1st September - Staff Committee This is a closed meeting due to staffing matters being discussed Tuesday 6th September - Finance Committee Thursday 8th September - Planning & Development Committee Thursday 22nd September - Full Council , preceded by Question Time at 6pm Tuesday 27th September - Events Committee Thursday 29th September - Planning and Development Committee
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today called on SNP Ministers to get serious about supporting doctors and nurses after UNISON raised concerns over NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's £69 million funding gap. Ahead of a protest today, the union claimed planned land sales indicate that the Health Board are at the point [...]
Below is my press release to the Aintree & Maghull Champion in support of Cllr. Matt Gannon's campaign Former Sefton Council Leader backs NHS Walk-In Centre Campaign for Maghull Former Lib Dem Sefton Council Leader Tony Robertson is throwing his support behind Independent Cllr. Matt Gannon's push to get an NHS Walk-In Centre in Maghull. Says Tony "We fought but sadly lost this battle once before so I am pleased that Matt is giving it another go. Back a few years ago local councillors led by former Sefton Lib Dem Cllr. Geoff Howe put South Sefton and then the merged ...
Blaydon Labour MP David (Call Me Dave) Anderson has been shooting from the hip recently about the potential for Virgin East Coast to bring in staff from elsewhere to tide the company over if on-board staff go on strike over changes to working practices. The RMT union is balloting staff now despite Virgin guaranteeing there will be no compulsory redundancies. Mr Anderson has announced he does
Suicide Squad Review: Margot Robbie Can't Save The Latest DC Disaster | IndieWire RT @ManVsPink: Ouch "There are more shots of [Margot Robbie's] ass than there are of several of the film's supporting characters." CHRISTMAS LECTURES Assistant | The Royal Institution: Science Lives Here RT @Ri_Science: Want to work on the #xmaslectures? We're looking for this year's assistant: Twitter RT @YorkshireTea: Happy birthday to John Venn - Yorkshire-born creator of the Venn diagram! We've made this in his honour. Don't 'diagnose' Donald Trump, it's not helpful | Dean Burnett | Science | The Guardian RT @garwboy: A post combining Trump ...
As much as it saddens us we need to be realistic about our electoral chances over the next few years. We have the opportunity, especially with the ongoing collapse of the Labour Party, to do quite well, but we have a very tall mountain to climb - to come back from just 8 seats to a position of potential government is a tall order. That doesn't mean that we should give up, of course, but it does mean that we should look at alternative ways of having influence over the politics and governance of the country. If our prospects of ...
Fri 5th
10:28
The Casual Misogyny, Racism and Prejudice-Stoking of the press: unpacking a Daily Mail headline
First, a couple of caveats: I haven't read the article itself, just seen a grab of the front page in my twitter stream and read other articles on the same story. Obviously, the fact that someone has been killed (which I found out from the other articles, not from the Fail's headline) is awful. My deepest sympathies to Ms Horton's family and friends. None the less, the wording of the Fail's headline is very interesting in what it tells us about how they wants us to see the story. The headline in question is: Professor's Wife Victim of Teenage Migrant's ...
News came through yesterday that Baroness Zahida Manzoor, has quit the party as she is opposed to our policy following the EU Referendum: This comes after Emma Nicholson apparently left us for the same reasons last month. Politics Home has the details. A Liberal Democrat spokesperson told PoliticsHome: "Baroness Manzoor has resigned the whip as she disagrees with our view that we should be at the heart of Europe. "We are disappointed with her decision as it is the Liberal Democrats who are standing up for hope and unity in the face of Brexit. "More than 18,000 new members take ...
Those of us who have been arguing for some time that the UK Government's badger cull is misguided, ineffective and without scientific basis may feel further vindicated by the latest study, reported in the Daily Telegraph. The paper says that for the first time, scientists have proved that badgers rarely come into contact with cows, which means the disease must be spread through bodily fluids on the ground or in feeding troughs: Scientists at Imperial College and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) attached GPS collars to hundreds of badgers and cows and monitored how close they came to each ...
When Owen Smith came out with his policy pledges, I can't say I was blown away. Of the twenty on offer, I think four were really good, four were really terrible and the rest very mediocre. Saying that, at least there were some ideas there. What has Corbyn offered? And instead of asking that question rhetorically, I decided to answer it. Corbyn has come out with ten "pledges". You'll see why I put that word in quotations in a moment: Corbyn's ten "pledges" An economy that works for all Secure homes for all A free National Education Service Action to ...
Yesterday, I attended a Scottish Water information event at the Mitchell Street Centre about the next phase of the water mains upgrade in the West End, which will follow on from the current work in Perth Road/Nethergate, which is thankfully thus far on schedule, meaning a return to roads normality in the Nethergate and Perth Road shopping area later this month. The well-attended event updated residents on this next stage, which is due to begin next week, and will see work in the Blackness Road/City Road and Lochee Road areas. This phase of the upgrade is expected to take 10-12 ...
Being a northerner, I have always had a slight disdain for beers made "down south". It's not a rational disdain, just "north v south prejudice" But in the last couple of weeks the only real ale I have had has been from southern breweries, and I have enjoyed them all. Greene King IPA. Because of what Greene King did to the excellent Hardy & Hansons brewery, I did not drink their beers for a few years, in a type of mini protest. But their IPA was a guest ale in a Tyneside pub the other week, so I thought I'd ...
We've had an e-mail from the office of our new MP for Bury St Edmunds, Jo Churchill. Apparently, she is touring the constituency next week, visiting towns and villages, and offering an opportunity to meet her in an informal setting. It is, you may be surprised to discover, the first we've heard about it, but it is nice that she is coming to one of the smaller, furthermost corners of her patch. A poster has been sent, which can be printed off and used to publicise the event. Well, we only have one noticeboard, and the leaflet doesn't actually say ...
Really. There was one: [IMG: Screen Shot 2016-08-05 at 00.45.02] There's a surprise. Lena Pietsch, Nick Clegg's former Special Adviser when he was Deputy PM, gets an OBE. This is what the Standard had to say about her two years ago when they named her one of the most influential people in London. Nick Clegg's director of public relations The happiest Lib-Dem in Britain on July 13, German-born Pietsch was celebrating her team winning the World Cup. On maternity leave during the summer, having given birth to her second child, she continued to advise Mr Clegg from home, including on ...
So, I've had a little criticism for my post the other day about Islington Momentum MoreUnited; some justified, and much of it saying "at least they're doing something — what's your alternative?" Which is actually a good question, because at ... Continue reading →
Well, well. The list of by-election results was depressing. Four came in with not so much as a Lib Dem candidate. If people are going to develop a habit of voting for the Lib Dems, they need to have the opportunity at every possible election. I know to isn't always possible to field a candidate, but it is something we need to prioritise. But amid the gloom, this happened. Liberal Democrat GAIN Alston Moor (Eden) from Conservative. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) August 4, 2016 Congratulations to new Cllr Thomas Sheriff. It's good to see that we are making gains in ...
Corbyn caught out clearly lying. Once this would've been career ending. Now Momentum thugs cheers him. https://t.co/dhiMB4gSzl— (((Ian McKenzie))) (@iMcKenzied) August 4, 2016 I do not think Jeremy Corbyn is wicked, though he is far from the political Gandalf his younger supporters regard him as. But as these clips show, he is incompetent,
