I'm an optimist by nature. And whilst that tends to help if you're a Liberal Democrat, there is a risk that one is blinded to the underside of politics. Being reasonable in the face of the irrational may help you to remain calm in the face of provocation, but reasonable involves measured, nuanced messages and an aversion to sound bites. The EU referendum was, as it turned out, not a place for the reasonable. Saying that there are positives and negatives to our membership of the European Union risked being shot by both sides, and it did become a rather ...
I was knee deep in pond water in Sunniside being filmed for a local history DVD this morning when I got a call from the BBC to ask for an interview. At long last, Gateshead Council's Cabinet appears to be on the verge of a u-turn and next Tuesday is expected to agree to sign up to the North East devolution settlement, complete with elected mayor. So far, Gateshead has been the lone voice
Good start for the Liberal Democrats to this week's five council by-elections with a gain from Ukip.
It's been a busy few days. Time to catch up on the next instalment of my quest to take one photo a day during the last year of my 40s. #349 There are so many photos I could choose from ... Continue reading →
Labour seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Nick Webb.
Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Jason Jones. To help, please contact Vikki Slade on 07717358330 or 01202658629 or email vikki4mdnp@gmail.com.
LD seats. Cause: Resignations. LD candidates- Kim Holmes and Penny Robinson. To help, please contact James Seabright on 07434096045.
UKIP seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate: Nathan Mark Billings.
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Jack Davies. To help, call 07553 247746 or email jackdavies.newforestwest@gmail.com.
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Stephen Plant.
Conservative seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Jason Jones.
We have visited Aberdeenshire before. This video casts the net a little wider.
If Labour were going to split they'd have done it by now, argues Nick Barlow. "Before this election, Duck Soup resonated in the United States through the ways it lampooned concepts like nationalism and political decorum. Because of Trump's ascension, however, Rufus T. Firefly no longer seems like an alien political figure. It's a notion that even Groucho Marx would've found absurd." Luke Epplin says the Marx Brothers can teach us about Donald Trump. Matthew Green asks if central banks should raise their inflation targets. "People are often surprised when I tell them that the Telegraph obituaries column has only ...
Most British cities are palimpsests. Turn the corner from a row of 1960s council houses, and you're equally likely to run into a thirty-story glass skyscraper or a medieval cathedral. And those cities have microcommunities, often only a few streets ... Continue reading →
... until the 2nd edition of 101 Ways To Win An Election is out.
Engel's England: Thirty-nine counties, one capital and one man Matthew Engel Profile Books, 2015, £9.99 When I was a small boy one of my favourite things was a wooden jigsaw of England and Wales, where each piece was an individual county and the pieces were decorated with little pictures showing the local industries. It is very much that England that Matthew Engel sets off to look for in this book. Rarely does he find it, but he is an amiable companion and Engel's England is a likeable book. I first came across Engel as the Guardian's cricket correspondent. He reminds ...
Welcome to another email digest list - this time for news from the Liberal Democrats in London, combining official news stories from the region with those from London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon.
[IMG: overall] Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Focus teams through our Campaigner Awards and ythe voting is now open to select your best Focus teams from across the UK. The Campaigner Awards are presented at the ALDC AGM at Federal Conference. Winners in each category and our Overall Winner will receive cash prizes [...]
[IMG: community] Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Focus teams through our Campaigner Awards and ythe voting is now open to select your best Focus teams from across the UK. The Campaigner Awards are presented at the ALDC AGM at Federal Conference. Winners in each category and our Overall Winner will receive cash prizes [...]
Normally I like to give a flavour of what I am reading by excerpting the second paragraph of the third chapter, or for a play the second speech of the third scene. However the third scene of Edward II consists of only a single speech. I am therefore giving you Gaveston's opening speech to get in the mood: "Enter GAVESTON, reading a letter. Gav. My father is deceas'd. Come, Gaveston, And share the kingdom with thy dearest friend. Ah, words that make me surfeit with delight! What greater bliss can hap to Gaveston Than live and be the favourite of ...
[IMG: squeeze] Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Focus teams through our Campaigner Awards and ythe voting is now open to select your best Focus teams from across the UK. The Campaigner Awards are presented at the ALDC AGM at Federal Conference. Winners in each category and our Overall Winner will receive cash prizes [...]
A careers fair aimed solely at deaf and disabled people will held in Southmead next week. Bristol Community Transport offering free transport and the event itself is free. The evnt will run from 10am to 4pm on 9 September 2016 at the Greenway Centre, Doncaster Road, Southmead, Bristol BS10 5PY The careers fair is open to all Deaf, Hard of Hearing People, and Disabled People. It will be fully accessible. A range of employers will be seeking to engage with Deaf and Disabled People from apprenticeship to experienced. Further details can be found here Please book your place via Eventbrite ...
[IMG: lit] Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Focus teams through our Campaigner Awards and ythe voting is now open to select your best Focus teams from across the UK. The Campaigner Awards are presented at the ALDC AGM at Federal Conference. Winners in each category and our Overall Winner will receive cash prizes [...]
[IMG: Innovation] Each year, ALDC recognises the outstanding work of local Focus teams through our Campaigner Awards and ythe voting is now open to select your best Focus teams from across the UK. The Campaigner Awards are presented at the ALDC AGM at Federal Conference. Winners in each category and our Overall Winner will receive cash prizes [...]
Although straight after the referendum result in favour of our leaving the EU I signed the petition calling for a second referendum since I felt the issue should be debated) I argued that it would be wrong at that stage to try to overturn the decision. The "people" had spoken and that was that. Yes, the referendum was technically only advisory, yes the margin for Leave was very narrow, and yes there was a lot of misrepresentation and some downright lies in the campaign. But these matters should have been anticipated dealt with before the campaign, not as an afterthought ...
Today is a national day of action. #StartsAtHome aims to highlight the importance of supported social housing, including projects like the Ludlow Foyer. Young people have been out in the Market Square today, explaining how the Foyer is helping them get from a crisis into work, education and training. They are telling people that funding... Continue reading Vital campaign to save Ludlow Foyer launches on #StartsAtHome Day →
[IMG: laboursplit] Amidst the fun (for certain values of the word 'fun', anyway) of this summer's Labour leadership contest, there's a regularly repeated assumption that the result of it will lead to the party splitting. As the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn appears likelier and likelier, so does the volume of people anticipating the bulk of the Parliamentary Labour Party splitting off to form their own parliamentary grouping and/or party. Party splits in British politics are much more predicted than they ever actually occur. Sure, there's the odd defection between parties (though even those are rare at a Parliamentary level), but ...
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Jenny Willott writes: Is Citizens' Income the answer to the failures of our social security system?
I recently wrote a piece for Lib Dem Voice about "Mending the Safety Net", the policy paper on social security which will be discussed at conference in Brighton. One of the issues raised in the comment on the piece was, understandably, why the group ended up not supporting a move to a Citizen's Income. Rather than a long comment on the original piece, I thought it would be helpful to explain the groups view in a separate post. In a nutshell, the Citizen's Income pays the same amount to every resident, regardless of whether they are in work or not. ...
Last week's Economist carried a remarkable article about education policy. It looked at the idea of allowing independently managed but state-funded schools, called charter schools in the United States and academies here in Britain, an idea the newspaper has long supported. It reveals weaknesses in the policy. These weaknesses are very revealing. Independent management of ... Continue reading Academies and charter schools show the flaws in modern policymaking →
miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 31-08-2016 posted The Blood is the Life for 31-08-2016 on #dreamwidth Twitter RT @mxrtharose: not all heroes wear capes Twitter RT @APHClarkson: Tabloids will be returning to this quote in a few years time How the new nomination rules might have affected previous Hugo Awards 15 Dogs Before And After Their Spring Haircuts BBC Radio 4 Extra - Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space, The Red Planet, Episode 1 RT @Clwydian: Journey Into Space - The Red Planet, Episode 1 - @BBCRadio4Extra QUALITY RADIO c1954 Twitter RT @seanbamforth: Proud to be in ...
Big meeting of the cabinet to discuss what Brexit means at Chequers this week. Obviously it means Brexit, but given no one seems able to actually define what "means" means, "Brexit means Brexit" has become a political Mobius strip. How May plans to escape from it is no clearer from what her spokespeople have said this week. "Several cabinet members made it clear that we are leaving the EU but not leaving Europe, with a decisive view that the model we are seeking is one unique to the United Kingdom and not an off-the-shelf solution. This must mean controls on ...
In many ways the decision by the UK Cabinet to press ahead with Brexit negotiations without a vote in Parliament was predictable. May has been adamant that 'Brexit means Brexit' though we are still none the wiser what exactly that phrase means, enigmatic as it may be. This decision of course relates to the start of talks, an event that could be said to have legitimacy by virtue of the referendum result, though that vote was only advisory and the final decision rests with Parliament. It cannot and must not apply to the final deal, which in my view has ...
At the very outset of the referendum campaign both Norman Lamb and Anna Soubry took part in a BBC Radio 4 Any Questions programme broadcast from Spalding. During that debate a North Lincolnshire farmer appearing on the panel alongside Kate Hoey for the leave side said he wanted free movement of labour to remain, because he would be unable to recruit workers without it. He also made positive remarks about the diverse nature of shops in the town. Both remarks resulted in audible boos from the audience, showing the strength of feeling in the hall. Frankly you would not have ...
Worldcon 74 Interview: Dave McCarty Talks Hugo Award Process Thanks for shoutout to me at 17:50! (tags: sf hugos ) Four reasons why Brexit negotiations are harder than you (or the Cabinet) might think Good analysis. (tags: brexit eu ukpolitics ) Russia blocks re-appointment of Finn as OSCE Minorities High Commissioner Outrageous! (tags: finland russia humanrights ) Wavy Greenland rock features 'are oldest fossils' Or maybe not; your mileage may vary. (tags: fossils greenland geology ) Basra, dystopian city Well done, Bush and Blair. (tags: iraq ) Why isn't the 75th anniversary of World War II a bigger deal? Good ...
Just a quick admin note here, to point out that I expect my per-post Patreon amount to drop *substantially* in the next couple of days, but that I don't want anyone to worry that this means I'm going to be ... Continue reading →
I have suspected for some time that, with Stowmarket growing like Topsy, the distribution of Mid Suffolk District Council's forty council seats was becoming increasing distorted. And today, there is news that someone who matters agrees with me, as I see that there will indeed be boundary proposals to take effect for the 2019 elections. It turns out that Stowmarket North has about 31% more voters than it should (might building the Cedars Park estate have something to do with that?), and so a redistribution is needed. Assuming that Stowmarket gets an extra councillor, which I think is likely, a ...
