A gentle travelogue from the 1930s.
A chicken yesterday BBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award.
"We must accept that our recent failures to understand the tensions in society, and find answers, have partly led to our undoing." The Liberal Democrats need answers, not just anger, says David Hopps. Don't nationalise Southern Rail: mutualise it. David Boyle is on the money as usual. Liz Lightfoot shows there is hope for the future after all: "Children at this state junior school have lessons in using sharp knives, saws and even air rifles. They get to cook food and smelt metal over an open fire and to skin and bone rabbits." Sightings of evil clowns have spread to ...
Embed from Getty Images Good news from the Inverness Courier: The vacant Inverness seat at Highland Council has been filled by Trish Robertson. The Liberal Democrat won the Culloden and Ardersier by-election by just 25 votes, overtaking Scottish National Party candidate Pauline Munro in the eleventh hour. As no clear winner was returned based on voters' first preference, a process of elimination was used based on voters' order of preference. A result was not produced until the eighth stage, when Ms Robertson overtook Mrs Munro, who had been leading until that point.In other words, voters who do not support Nationalism ...
I know that many of you will rightly be focused on the positive by-election campaign that we are currently running in Witney so you might have missed that internal elections to our Party's Committees are now underway. Nominations opened last Wednesday. This is the biggest exercise in internal party democracy which the Party has undertaken in decades, following the implementation of One Member One Vote. For the first time, every member is allowed to vote for committee members and any member who receives the required nominations can stand for election. There are four committees up for election: the Federal Board, ...
Sutton Council is promoting apprenticeships as good value for local businesses and offering great opportunities for young people. Last year it launched the Sutton Apprenticeship Hub which brings together information, apprenticeship opportunities and people seeking apprenticeships all in the one place. The site is currently listing 270 vacancies in the local area and highlighting a number [...]
[IMG: View from Hillockhead towards Chanonry Point] There seems to be something special about Highland Council by-elections in early October for the Liberal Democrats. On 8 October last year, Jean Davis won the Aird and Loch Ness ward. Now, a year later, Trish Robertson has been elected as Liberal Democrat councillor for Culloden and Ardersier in a thrilling count that went to the wire. The photo shows a bit of the ward on the other side of the firth from our holiday cottage near Rosemarkie. Trish Robertson (Scottish Liberal Democrats) has been duly elected as Cllr for @HighlandCouncil #Culloden & ...
So, for the last few years I've not been very good at keeping up with the comics scene. I was always more a DC person than a Marvel one, and since DC's godawful New 52 thing (which was five years ... Continue reading →
Given that I plan to stand, it would involve a conflict of interest were I to run the usual "asking questions of candidates" series of blog posts that I normally do for federal committee elections. Any volunteers to take over? I can send you the forms and things that I have previously used if you think that'd be useful. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Those of you who are not Lib Dems might want to look away now. ( Those of you who ARE Lib Dems might want to skip it too, but if you want to see my rant, click here ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
[IMG: Gail Smith Mosborough] 'Who Dares, Wins' was our catchphrase used by my campaign manager and Leader of the Sheffield Lib Dems Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed to motivate the many members and supporters who came to Mosborough to support my campaign to be elected as Councillor for the Mosborough Ward on Sheffield City Council. It was a stunning victory that saw us go from 4th place to 1st, increasing our vote share by a whopping 32%. I have lived locally in Mosborough for 25 years, I've brought my children up here and feel passionately about the community. I have been fortunate ...
Fri 7th
14:40
Fiasco drowns NHS Future Fit project: "Future Fit has been a perfect storm of bad events"
Today, the Future Fit project to reorganise health services in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin stumbled to the edge of collapse. The two Clinical Commissioning Groups involved in the project have said David Evans has left his key role with immediate effect. Tracey Huffer says: "This is a real shocker. Future Fit has been in... Continue reading Fiasco drowns NHS Future Fit project: "Future Fit has been a perfect storm of bad events" →
Theresa May's triumphalism over the Brexit election result is divisive and shocking. 48% of the electorate voted Remain, apparently including, inconsistently, Theresa May. Her statement that anyone continuing to campaign to Remain is 'subverting democracy' is equally shocking. Do Remainers no longer have the right to freedom of speech and democratic campaigning? The Brexiteers campaigned long and hard against a previous democratic vote to join the EU, so Remainers are equally free to do the same now. And they should. I'm ready to join and support any such campaign. Her claim to be uniting the country whilst setting 'the working ...
There were nine council by-elections last night, seven in Labour held seats and overall giving a good insight into what is happening to the Liberal Democrats outside the small number of seats which have caught the headlines and propelled the net seat gain figures. Not winning yet: Exmouth Brixington (East Devon) result: CON: 41.1% (-2.4) IEDA: 31.3% (-2.6) LDEM: 27.6% (+5.0) Con HOLD. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 7, 2016
The Conservative Party conference has opened the floodgates to a torrent of populist policies aimed firmly at what Theresa May calls 'ordinary working-class people'. The NHS is to become self-sufficient in British doctors. British firms will come under increasing pressure to hire British workers. Our military will 'opt out' of the European Convention on Human Rights. The hard-working people of Britain, says Theresa May, will no longer be ignored by 'the powerful and the privileged'. And she rails against those who see their patriotism as 'distasteful' and call their fears about immigration 'parochial'. The message is clear: If you're working ...
Lilliput Park All five local entries for the 2016 South West In Bloom awards have been given the top grade of 'Outstanding' in the Neighbourhoods category. This recognises the effort put in by our dedicated groups of volunteers and the support given by Dodington Parish Council and Yate Town Council. The award winners are: Dodington Allotment Association (Dodington) Friends of Kingsgate Park (Yate) Friends of Lilliput Park (Dodington) Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve (Dodington) Wapley Common and the Orchard for the Future (Dodington) Representatives of the groups were presented with their awards at the South West In Bloom ceremony in ...
Fri 7th
12:17
Nearly every Lib Dem digital channel is run independently of HQ - and that should determine HQ's own...
The exact wording of a job description is one of those slabs of text which often get hugely over-edited and over-analysed in advance and then rapidly become mostly irrelevant. For all the well-intentioned effort that goes into the wording, once someone starts in a job that wording almost always becomes, at most, a fairly small part of what happens and why. How well the new person gets on with a colleague three desks across matters far more than the wording in the ninth paragraph about which way round the dotted reporting lines go between them. So the job description for ...
[IMG: Liz, Tim & Adam Knight] Liz Leffman's campaign in Witney has received another boost as a rival candidate has thrown his weight behind her campaign. Adam Knight, who last week put in papers to stand as an independent, has now endorsed Liz. The photo shows Adam, Liz and Tim Farron at the Lib Dem HQ in Witney. Adam is an Angel Investor, supporting initiatives to give opportunities to young people, and has previously been Head of Commodities for Credit Suisse. He was educated locally and is campaigning to bring more affordable housing to a greater swathe of the population. ...
In a letter published in the Financial Times, our economic spokesperson, Baroness Susan Kramer argues that it would be "economic vandalism" for the government to fail to financial services sector during the Brexit process: The financial services industry generates over £65bn in taxes each year, over one-tenth of total government revenue. The loss of full access to the single market in financial services would not just hurt those in the banking industry. It would mean schools, hospitals and services across the country going without funding. We all want to rebalance our economy to be less reliant on financial services, but ...
Excellent & thought-provoking piece - which side will you be on? RT @Gary_Bainbridge: COLUMN: Which side will you be on? WATCH: Major UKIP & Brexit donor says Theresa May has stolen their policies and 'rebranded as UKIP' | Political Scrapbook RT @jamesoflynn: While @BBCNews is telling everyone May launched a centrist platform, look at what UKIP think. What do immigrants do for the UK economy? Nine charts Conservative ministers seem to be ignoring | The Independent RT @IndyPolitics: 9 immigration charts Conservative ministers seem to be ignoring Our world is awash in bullshit health claims. These scientists want to train ...
Most Labour moderates have jumped all over Rosie Winterton's sacking as Corbyn at his worst, but I disagree. She and Corbyn clearly didn't see eye to eye, and I've always said that the leader of any political party needs to feel totally confident their chief whip is on board. Besides, he has replaced her with Nick Brown, hardly the most divisive character in the PLP to put it very mildly. He's a good choice, has plenty of experience of the role and will just get on with it in the most straightforward manner available to him. It is other areas ...
Second frame of third page: Barbara: "O tree, how can I achieve complete serenity?" As previously noted, I'm a big fan of the Dutch graphic artist Barbara Stok, whose only work translated into English (so far) is her biography of Vincent van Gogh - I bought Toch Een Geluk (roughly, "It's Just As Well") at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Her work is generally autobiographical, ranging in length from a single frame to a half-dozen pages for individual pieces. In this 2016 volume she recounts incidents from her life around 2010 when she wrote and then published the van ...
An interesting thread in the Mumsnet Am I being Unreasonable? forum: ...To Join The Liberal Democrats Some interesting (and encouraging) responses. I was at a professional conference yesterday and was talking to someone who offered up that having voted Tory in 2015 (and Labour in the past) he would now vote LibDem as "they were the only ones talking sense". Straws in the wind...
A brief report from Lydiate Parish Councillor Edie Pope who attended the meeting of West Lancashire Borough Council's Planning Committee last night as it decided (or didn't decided) on the application to build wind turbines between Ince Blundell and Lydiate. [IMG: Cllr. Edie Pope outside Lydiate Village Centre] Cllr. Edie Pope outside Lydiate Village Centre * The decision to either grant or refuse the application was deferred until November. * One councillor said it should be on low quality land not high grade agricultural. [My point all along. Ed] * The committee saw four thousand geese arrive at gore house ...
"Nieuwsuur", the Dutch equivalent of BBC Newsnight, on Wednesday October 5th had an item about the situation that the tens of thousands of Britons (43,000, according to estimates) living in the Netherlands landed in because of the Brexit. In the capital Amsterdam alone, there are 15.000 British inhabitants; so it was logical that the local "Expat Center" opened an information desk once the result of the referendum became known. The town mayor, Mr. Van der Laan (PvdA/Labour), organized an information evening at which he recommended not to be too hasty in taking decisions about one's status and/or position. He also ...
Fri 7th
09:39
Suspended Southport Tory Councillor disowned by former colleagues after Police deny bizarre claim
Claims made by Councillor David Barton at (21st September) Southport Area Committee that an unnamed officer from Merseyside Police sanctioned his plans for a 'private army' to patrol the streets of Southport has prompted a senior Lib Dem councillor to call for an inquiry. Birkdale Councillor Simon Shaw is Vice-Chair of the Merseyside Police Panel which oversees the work of the Police Commissioner. He was written to the Commissioner, Jane Kennedy, asking her to ensure that "Merseyside Police investigate to establish who is telling the truth here." Last week suspended Conservative councillor David Barton announced his controversial plan for a ...
LD James Cross 423 [78.9%] Labour 113 [21.1%] Majority 310 Turnout 25% LD gain from Independent
What's this about then? The Tory controlled Peterborough City Council preparing to sign a deal with estate agents Stef and Philips Ltd which has bought 74 properties from a private provider at St Michael's Gate off Keys Park, Parnwell. The plan is for the present residents to be forced out and then to use the [...]
Residents have raised with me the condition of the footbridges over the rail line at Magdalen Green (see right) and further west, south of Harris Academy. I highlighted this with the City Council and the Team Leader, Bridges and Structures, advised : "All bridges in Dundee are inspected on a two year cycle in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Management of Highway Structures. The footbridge at Harris Academy was last inspected on 02 August 2016 following the first phase of planned maintenance works on the structure. These works ensured that the structure is safe to use through ...
Yesterday I joined fellow member of English PEN along with other human rights activists at a vigil outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London for the imprisoned Bahraini human rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab. He was due to be sentenced that day by a court in Bahrain, but in the event the decision was postponed [...]
Willie Rennie writes in the Times that the Tories are throwing petrol on the fires of prejudice unleashed by the Leave campaign during the EU Referendum. Telling doctors from other countries who are here saving lives in our NHS that their position is only secure until we can rush a crop of new graduates through medical school is not responsible. Telling people from other countries who are thinking about moving here to work and pay taxes that their names might be included on a list of foreign workers is not responsible. If we are publishing lists of foreign workers, we ...
Yesterday proved to be a day of intense frustration. Ludlow lost a perfectly fine sycamore tree, which was cut down unnecessarily by a housing association. The second tree was saved with moments to spare after interventions by us councillors and Shropshire Council's tree team. Until yesterday, two very fine sycamore trees stood on the green... Continue reading The day we saved a Ludlow tree from the axe but lost another →
Theresa May joins ranks of delusional Brexiteers "Brexit negotiations: a discussion by the Tory party with itself" (tags: ukpolitics eu brexit )
Just when you thought that UKIP could not surprise us anymore, their latest leadership crisis descended into violence. The Independent says that leadership contender, Steven Woolfe MEP collapsed on the floor in the middle of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg shortly after a brawl with one of his MEP colleagues. The paper says that UKIP MEPs, including Mr Farage, Mr Woolfe and defence spokesman Mike Hookem had attended a party meeting to discuss the leadership crisis, following Diane James's unexpected departure: But the exchange at the meeting went beyond the usual political to and fro. A statement Mr Woolfe ...
The "thinking man's copper", one of the last candidates for the old Liberal party, and a pioneer of community policing, died five years ago today.
