Embed from Getty Images Tim Farron has commented on Theresa May's Conservative conference speech: Theresa May has just confirmed that we are going for a Hard Brexit. This means no single market for Britain. This means disaster for British jobs, businesses and our economy. The Lib Dems are now the only party fighting for Britain's membership of the Single Market. The Conservatives have lost the right to call themselves the party of business. The Liberal Democrats are the only free market, free trade, pro-business party now. Nigel Farage's obsession has officially become government policy. * Newshound: bringing you the best ...
In March I posted a video that recorded local people's memories of the Bishop's Castle Railway and looked at its remains today. This video, the first of two, sets out to record those remains in more detail. We start in Bishop's Castle at the museum devoted to the line and then go back to Craven Arms to begin the exploration. The trackbed from there is now a footpath, the Onny Trail, but it turns out to be harder to follow than the map suggests. That's the Shropshire hill country for you.
Caron Lindsay interviews Liz Leffman, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Witney by-election. "The rapid growth of renewables - both wind and solar - means that within a year that £92.50 is likely to be more than double the price for the latest renewable energy." Chris Bowers says Hinkley Point C will be out of date before it is built. Sunder Katwala believes that appointing Arsene Wenger as the next England manager would send a positive message to Europe. Being bored is good for children (and adults), says Teresa Bolton. "After the brief and deafening alarm call of punk, the ...
The DWP's decision to cease re-testing chronically ill claimants is, a rare thing for the DWP in its current guise, welcome. It could be interpreted as part of Theresa May's ambition to govern for "everyone", but it would be unwise to be too optimistic about further possible decisions and strategies. Firstly, we do not know yet who this will apply to. The criteria are yet to be drawn up, and they could easily turn out to be quite restrictive. Secondly, it is effectively a cost free exercise. The repeated assessments, with attendant reconsiderations and appeals, cost the department money, and ...
Originally published in Liberal Democrat Voice on October 1st. Go there for a vibrant comment thread. Are we barking up the wrong tree? I have wondered for a while if we are focussing on the wrong things, particularly where the EU is concerned. For the record, I want to remain in the EU. I see it as a flawed institution, run by the same cadre of neoliberal capitalists as those who run this country and most of the other countries in Europe. It has, however, two things going for it. The first is the possibility of deeper co-operation across national ...
A year ago, I proposed that Shropshire Council set up a working party to examine how the council should react to the Syrian refugee crisis. Days later, the then prime minister David Cameron announced that Britain would take 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020.[1] The council's cabinet agreed that Shropshire would take 60 Syrian refugees as... Continue reading #RefugeesWelcome: "Syrian Salopians" are settling in Shropshire - we are seeking housing in Ludlow →
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above The Borough of 'Sefton is the happiest place in Merseyside. People in the [Sefton] area rated their happiness levels at an average of 7.3 out of 10 in 2015/16. In comparison, people in Liverpool were the least happy, giving an average rating of 7.1 out of 10.' to quote the Echo article. I'm not really sure that such surveys actually take us anywhere as clearly there will be people living in Sefton Borough who are profoundly unhappy, so at best this is a generalisation to fill media outlets and ...
Second paragraph of third chapter (on the Hereford Mappamundi): [Archbishop of Canterbury John] Pecham was particularly concerned about bringing the Welsh clergy into line on the issue of pluralism. This was as much a political as a religious matter. Throughout the 1270s and 1280s King Edward [I] was involved in a long and bitter conflict with independent Welsh rulers in an attempt to incorporate the realm within England. Situated in the Marches (border regions) between England and Wales, the diocese of Hereford represented the furthest extent of English political and ecclesiastical authority, and Pecham was keen to ensure it abided ...
Tim Farron rightly points out that Theresa May's decision to trigger Brexit in March 2017 is the same as Britain "jumping out of a plane without a parachute": Tim Farron – decision to trigger Brexit in 2017 is essentially Britain "jumping out of a plane without a parachute" https://t.co/LsrzlrLZqM — Sky News (@SkyNews) October 2, 2016 There is a better way of doing things, as set out in the Liberal Democrat plan for Europe.
[IMG: Liz Leffman] I spent a couple of days in Witney this week. Events since my return have prevented me from telling you too much about my trip – but I would say that if you can get there before the by-election on October 20th, do go. We have a brilliant candidate and a huge team doing an incredible job. I spent Tuesday canvassing with Liz and some of her team in Eynsham and I was surprised by the warmth of the reception on the doors and it's clear that the more people who go to help, the more people ...
On taking over briefly as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2010, Liberal Democrat David Laws famously received a note from his Labour predecessor Liam Byrne saying "I'm afraid there is no money".
The latest quarterly update to my database of British voting intention opinion polls since 1943 is now up. Aside from another three months of data, this update includes: Addition of several BMG polls from earlier in 2016 which were not published until September An extra poll from 1992 – one which actually got the election result right. Extra exit poll information for 1983, 1987 and 1992 – thank you to Amolak Mann for drawing this to my attention. Some further small updates to opinion polls late in the general election campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s. Thank you once again ...
I was glad to see Liberal Democrats recently call for a 45 billion pound investment in house-building, enough to build and additional 150,000 homes a year for five years. This sort of serious investment is needed in Peterborough. Sadly, in our city, too many people, particularly younger people, can't afford a home of their own. [...]
Liverpool Airport in which the Council does not have a stake! For some time my Lib Dem colleagues and I have been concerned about the purchase by the Liverpool City Council of 'shares in Liverpool Airport' that was announced earlier ... Continue reading →
Embed from Getty Images Perhaps we should have known. The Witney constituency is West Oxfordshire, a quiet, beautiful farming area of fields dotted with golden-stone villages and small towns. It is an area for hunting, real ale and country dancing. Among the little towns is Chipping Norton. And Chipping Norton became identified with a 'set', including David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks - and you remember then about the News of the World and the phone-hacking scandal. Probably we should have been wary. 'O Rose, thou art sick!' wrote William Blake. But there was a rose garden in 2010, and two ...
From the Leicester Mercury: The multi-million pound upgrade of Market Harborough's railway station can go-ahead as planned after a £9 million funding shortfall was bridged. Network Rail said the plan that includes longer platforms, straightening of the line improved disabled access and a new bigger car park can now progress at full speed. The £46 million scheme was being held up because there was a gap in funding. It's not been revealed whether all that cash has been secured or whether savings in the cost of the overall re-vamp have been found.I am relieved to hear the existing station building ...
Councils to be allowed to opt out of child protection laws @Jamesdbaker1 this might bear some relevance to recent happenings on the council Instagram Doggies completely uninterested in Batman The Avenging Uterus vs. Donald Trump RT @MattBors: The Avenging Uterus vs. Donald Trump Now Show axes Jon Holmes and Mitch Benn : News 2016 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide The mail on Sunday have put a screaming THE BBC SACKED ME FOR BEING A WHITE MAN headline on this story, and made it all about Jon Holmes. He is upset about this because that's not exactly what he ...
The answer is yes, according to Councillor Steve Charmley, the deputy leader of the council. We know his opinion because he tweeted it during the full council meeting on 22 September. Councillor Charmley made the front page of the Shropshire Star with his tweet. The newspaper also quoted him saying that councillors are using meetings... Continue reading Shropshire Council meetings - are they a waste of time? →
The Sunday papers are full of speculation about what precisely Theresa May is going to announce at this week's Tory Conference. Tory spin doctors say she will be unveiling a great reform bill putting all EU law onto our statute book. They do not say if this means all EU laws and regulations or whether ideologically inconvenient laws will be quietly forgotten about. Elsewhere there are demands that May use her speech to name the Brexit date. There are still many divisions within the Conservatives however, as to how they will go about meeting the demands of the British people ...
This video (below) shows a spirited Tim Farron opening our large HQ in Witney. Please do help with Liz Leffman's campaign! You can help by following this link. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. As part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team he helps with photos and moderation on the site, as well as occsionally contributing articles. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
As I said the other day, I have been reading a lot about the assassination of President Kennedy lately. At the back of my mind when I started doing this has been this couplet from a song: I remember the night Walter Kronkite said JFK was just shot dead,It turns out to come from I Remember by Bill Amesbury - not a great song, but I can see how it would have impressed the 16-year-old me. Amesbury turn out to be Canadian and an interesting figure. After having hits in the 1970s - and producing No Charge by J.J. Barrie, ...
With Monday's public holiday taking place - and the following week, the October school holidays commencing, here are details of my surgeries during October : Monday 3rd October - No surgeries at Harris Academy and Mitchell Street Centre - Public Holiday Thursday 6th October - Surgery taking place at Blackness Primary School (staff room on ground floor) at 6.15pm Monday 10th October onwards - No surgeries during school holidays but I can be contacted at any time at home on 459378 or via my e-surgery - esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk Monday 24th October - Surgeries recommence with the start of the new school ...
A constituent recently contacted me to say: "Over the last six months I have personally guided three separate groups of visitors to the VisitScotland office in City Square. Directions are sparse to say the least. Two groups had arrived by train and one by bus. Driving past the train station I often see folks emerging with clearly no idea of which way to turn - never mind find their way the VisitScotland office." I took this up with VisitScotland as its a very reasonable and pertinent point. I have since received the following helpful response from VisitScotland : "I was ...
The public inquiry into 137 homes off Foldgate Lane in Ludlow resumes at 9.30am on Tuesday, 4 October at the Gateway, Craven Arms. We face two days of technical arguments over housing land supply followed by a summing up of the arguments for and against this development. The future of planned development in Shropshire rests... Continue reading Foldgate Lane housing inquiry to resume - it's a battle for Shropshire as well as Ludlow →
[IMG: MTC Notice Board -L'pool Rd Nth 09 16] I wonder how difficult it is for Maghull Town Council to keep the notices on it's Liverpool Road North noticeboard up to date? Well it's behind a fence on what is now private land following Sefton Council selling the site a few months back. You would have thought the noticeboard should have been relocated? Odd that it has not been.
Re-tests axed for chronically ill claimants At last, UK Govt retreating in its war on disabled. (tags: disability ukpolitics ) What Caused Crime to Decline in the U.S.? Many answers, none completely convincing. (tags: uspolitics crime )
Local users of Denmark Hill station asked me how the chaos that has become Denmark Hill station could be allowed to happen. After digging.... The coalition government agree to fund making the station Access for All. When Network Rail contacted Southwark Council the Labour council insisted that as the existing walkway was part of the overall station listing it couldn't be touched. The planners refused to discuss widening the walkway sufficiently to support station growth and adding lifts. Instead they insisted upon a new bridge and structures to link the platforms. This then meant a new ticket office and blew ...
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