Older readers may just remember how Consett was once dominated by a clock. [IMG: Picture old bus station clock 1] Since then we've had a couple of attempts to restore a decent clock, but nothing adequate has been provided. The last one had such a weak pillar it blew down twice and was condemned to the scrapyard. Now, together with my co-councillor Alex Watson, I have sourced a clock sufficiently strong to have stood for more than twenty years in Seaham (below), at a price that we could find from our neighbourhood budgets (a budget which we can use for ...
Watch the Liberal Democrats Party Political Broadcast from September 2016 on Tim Farron's story.
Success at last with our campaign for a lay-by in front of bungalows 60 to 70 Westmorland Road which I submitted as a contender for funding out of the Council's Public Realm around 18 moths ago. Today I received the following confirmation that the work will start of 3rd October. "On Monday 3rd October construction works will commence to install a new lay-by on Westmorland Road. This project was one of the 72 Phase 2 Projects of the Boroughwide Public Realm Programme and will consist of the construction of a new vehicular lay-by and a relocated footpath between numbers 60 ...
Kent Online reports that Emily Fermor is the new Liberal Democrat PPC for Maidstone and the Weald. That was the seat at which the party threw a lot of money last time round, perhaps because the candidate, Jasper Gerard, had written an admiring book about Nick Clegg. Emily Fermor was the campaign organiser then and takes over from Gerard, who is now the party's head of press. She told Kent Online: "I am incredibly proud to have been selected as the candidate in my home town. It would be a huge honour to represent the people of Maidstone. "I am ...
With a slight air of "oh lumme, I thought I had another five minutes before I was speaking", this is what I said at the closing event of Bolton's second LGBT Pride, on the steps of Bolton Town Hall. I figured that on a cold windy evening they wanted something short and sweet, so I reflected on how different from many other Prides the weekend had been. B throughout, T throughout, and with more of a mix of ages and skin hues than just about any other Pride I've been to. "Hello and thank you for inviting me along. "This ...
Embed from Getty Images Phil Aisthorpe writes on Liberal Democrat Voice: The EU referendum was decided by the baby boomers, the generation to which I belong and a generation that has spent a lifetime romanticising about a conflict in which it had little or no involvement. I spent my boyhood immersed in the glory of World War II.'Baby boomer" is now used too widely and I am not sure I see cause and effect here. But it is true that in the 1960s I spent many primary school playtimes refighting Word War II. Whenever we played war we knew the ...
Tomorrow night at 7pm, we are expecting a huge crowd at Ludlow School for a public meeting on the future of health and council services in Ludlow and Shropshire. The headline act is Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow and Health Minister in Theresa May's government. Philip is due to speak first, after which he will... Continue reading The big Ludlow health and services debate is tomorrow at 7 o'clock - please join us →
Embed from Getty Images Here is Tim Farron's response to Jeremy Corbyn's speech at the Liverpool Labour conference today: Corbyn's speech shows Labour's problem, the last time I saw ovations like that was Iain Duncan Smith's Blackpool conference speech. Here was a quiet man turning down the volume, especially on Europe. He barely mentioned Brexit and said nothing on the importance of the Single Market. It is clear that the Liberal Democrats are the only pro-European party now. Labour are now two parties, one that wants to win but is being suffocated by Corbyn and his clique who just want ...
Most of us locally have long since realised that protecting the environment and Tories really do not go hand in hand. Even when they try to do something good, like solar panels, they end up choosing the wrong locations or fluffing up the whole process! So it's, sadly, no surprise to read that the Conservative government [...]
The United States Presidential debates seem to have confirmed two things. The first is that Donald Trump is totally unsuitable to be the President of the United States. I mean, not just inappropriate for the job, but most likely utterly catastrophic. His contempt for the niceties of the US constitution was just the cherry on a particular odorous cup cake of crap. His demeanor- petulant, childish, and his opinions- ignorant and boorish, suggest that as President he would respond to the slightest provocation with over reactions that could lead to breakdown domestically and war internationally. The second thing the debate ...
Wed 28th
15:25
Women in high places: senior female role models are essential in business and politics
[IMG: emma-walmsley-ccl-some-rights-reserved-by-gsk] Emma Walmsley – photo by GSK This week Britain took a huge leap towards greater gender equality on management boards. It was announced that Emma Walmsley is to become the most powerful woman in the FTSE 100 as CEO of GSK next year, making her Britain's most powerful business woman. In an interview featured in BBC Radio 4's profile of Walmsley, she appeared quick to play down the gravity of this moment: "I've never primarily defined myself by my gender... I think of myself as a business person". I balked at this. For some women defined by their ...
As witnessed in Liverpool over the weekend, Labour moderates are floundering in the face of Corbyn's even bigger win amongst the membership, not ready to split but not sure what the other options really entail. They are trying a few things out, experimenting. One trend we're seeing a bit of now is trying to re-pitch the Labour right as doubtful about the benefits of immigration. Rachel Reeves is in the headlines for this approach today. Her actual comments aren't quite as bad in context as the "tinderbox", Enoch Powell-esque headlines suggest, and the "Red UKIP" jibes are over the top ...
Embed from Getty Images The EU referendum was decided by the baby boomers, the generation to which I belong and a generation that has spent a lifetime romanticising about a conflict in which it had little or no involvement. I spent my boyhood immersed in the glory of World War II. I knew the names of German generals, built Airfix models of Spitfires and ME109s and listened to family war stories. And I believe there are far more people in the UK than is healthy, who like me can name every capital ship in the German fleet! Little wonder then ...
[IMG: Our thanks to everyone who made Conference such a success] As a result of some of the key policy discussions took place at Conference, ALDC have written a few drop in articles for you to use in your next Focus leaflet. These includes Norman Lamb's announcement about the party's clear vision for securing the future of health and social care services as well as the discussions [...]
Today's Western Mail contains the startling claim that Plaid Cymru received a donation of £25,000 from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 1976. This allegation has emerged from the autobiography of Dr Carl Clowes, a distinguished party activist and a public health consultant who co-founded the UK's first community co-operative at Llanaelhaearn in Gwynedd, as well as the Nant Gwrtheyrn Welsh language centre near Pwllheli. The donation allegedly came after a four-man delegation from Plaid Cymru visited Libya. In his book Super Furries, Prins Seeiso, Miss Siberia - a fi, to be published on October 1, Dr Clowes tells how ...
Wed 28th
13:15LDVideo: Liz Leffman: Come and help my campaign to save Oxfordshire's NHS & bus services
I spent Monday and Tuesday in Witney helping Liz Leffman's campaign. If it is at all possible for you to go there between now and the by-election on 20th October, please do so. You will be worked hard – 10,000 steps a day before lunch, I found – but it is so rewarding. We are already out-campaigning both Conservative and Labour parties on the ground and there will be no let up in our activity. We really need to keep ahead of them both. Liz is an amazing candidate. She combines a passion for the area, an anger against the ...
Embed from Getty Images If you want to read a short summary of the last 350 years of Liberal politics in Britain, the Liberal Democrat History Group has just the thing for you - a new edition of our booklet Liberal History: A Concise History of the Liberal Party, SDP and Liberal Democrats. This is designed as a comprehensive but relatively short (about 10,000 words) summary of Liberal, SDP and Liberal Democrat history for readers wanting more detail than they can find on the party website, but less than a full book. We produced the booklet originally in 2005, and ...
Last Wednesday at County Hall a journalist asked me if I would like to comment on a decision, as she put it, to privatise a part of the local council's social care provision. I couldn't. I didn't know whether it was true, or what had happened behind closed doors at a meeting of the county council's cabinet a week earlier. Press and Public had been excluded from the meeting, and the report excluded from the public domain with two legal reasons given: possible effect on industrial relations, and legal opinion being quoted. You can read the journalist's story here. As ...
Embed from Getty Images There is a story on the Guardian website today about the way Portpatrick harbour has been saved by the people of the village: In Portpatrick, a local seaside village, tiers of pastel houses stretch down to a small harbour where boats are moored. The place is so picture-postcard pretty, it's hard to imagine that the harbour was almost left to rot - and with it, the future of the village - until local residents raised enough money a year ago to buy it. As the closest port to Northern Ireland, Portpatrick was once the main crossing ...
[IMG: Lydiate] I attended a meeting of Lydiate Parish Council last night and was pleased to see Nick Pope there who organises Lydiate's volunteer litter pickers. We agreed as a Parish Council to put £250 to one side to assist the volunteer litter pickers with the items they need to purchase to continue their great work in the community. Below is a report of the last litter picking day from Nick:- It went very well thank you, with more to come. So this time we collected 11 bin bags of rubbish, covering the areas of; Southport Road Lambshear Lane Part ...
Embed from Getty Images The latest episode in the slide in Shami Charkrabarti's reputation came on Newsnight yesterday evening when Michael Crick put it to her that she had tried to get her son into Eton. Her non-denial denial - she just said Crick had "spent too long reading the internet" or something like that - suggests the charge is true. The story turns out to come from Heat Street a month ago: A source has told us: "I took my son to Eton to sit the entrance exam a couple of summers ago and was very surprised to soo ...
Wed 28th
11:13
My column in Midweek Visiter featuring Elderberries, badmintonathon, Four Season and The Game
Since I last wrote this column I have visited the Elderberries who are surely the borough's friendliest gardening club. There was a great turnout for their Tomato and Chilli Festival at St John's church hall where, under the watchful eye of their chair Derek Lewis Lavender, I was down to judge the produce. The Elderberries had their own categories for judging including 'ugliest tomato' and I added another one; cutest tomato. I was ably assisted by Mary seen in the picture who presented me with a bouquet. This is a thriving and happy club that meets one a month. So ...
Man who battered wife allowed to keep his job manning domestic violence abuse line - Mirror Online CW for graphic description of a beating Boris Johnson criticised by human rights groups after blocking inquiry into war crimes in Yemen | The Independent RT @WritersofColour: Boris Johnson condemned by human rights groups after blocking inquiry into Saudi war crimes This study reveals why the gender wage gap explodes when women hit their 30s - Vox National Black Dog Day October 1st: Adopt A Black Dog - Dogtime I wonder which nation this applies to? Instagram Spike has managed to obtain The ...
[IMG: (C) Manny Begum Yasadein Photography] Lib Dem Voice has run some cracking fringe meetings at Federal Conferences in the past, including the Blogger of the Year awards – the BOTYs. Even Tim Farron won one. The awards seem to have run into the ground, mainly because there are now so many forms of social media and it is difficult to capture good practice in all of them. But we do want to reboot our presence on the fringe, and we are looking for someone to join the LDV team in order to take on the job of organising fringe ...
The judges had no hesitation in awarding Headline of the Day to the Evening Standard.
Embed from Getty Images One of the noticeable features of last night's US Presidential debate (see full transcript here) was how Donald Trump was goaded into saying things to damage his chances with key constituencies. His "stop and frisk" proposal will not, I suspect, go down well with African American communities. Mention of his criticism of Alicia Machado, a hispanic former Miss Universe, probably met with displeasure from women and Hispanics. There was the airing of the "birther" controversy and a whole series of Trump favourites, as he was very successfully goaded by Hillary Clinton. This was, in microcosm, the ...
[IMG: facebook-gain] It has been an incredible few weeks for the Lib Dems when it comes to by-elections in local Councils. All around the country we are fielding more candidates and increasing our vote share. There have been some truly stonking wins and I have spoken to two teams about their recent success. 15 September 2016. Tupton. [...]
[IMG: Coffee Morning] We attach a draft press release below for your local area on Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning, showing your support for a local event. If you are unsure what events are happening in your area, please visit Macmillan's website here. Cllr NAME joins the World's biggest coffee morning Councillor Name was delighted to join local [...]
A further opportunity for local residents to view the new Harris Academy building :
This week a global summit will take stock of the impact of evidence and expertise on government policy. But it's already clear that there's still a long way to go Tomorrow, six hundred policymakers, practitioners and researchers from seventy-two countries will assemble in Brussels for a meeting of the International Network for Government Science Advice. All this week, hundreds more have been participating in the What Works Global Summit in London. If conferences are anything to go by, these are boom times for evidence and expertise in policymaking. But the mood of many participants will be sober rather than celebratory. ...
Brexit Britain: The poor man of Western Europe? Pesky facts. (tags: ukpolitics economics brexit eu )
