• Experienced Trafford councillor and NHS worker, Jane Brophy, selected by Greater Manchester Liberal Democrats for the mayoral election. • Cllr. Jane Brophy: "Looking forward to being a fresh voice for Greater Manchester residents." • Former Manchester MP, John Leech: "Thrilled we have such an energetic, enthusiastic and passionate candidate." Jane Brophy won the nomination to be the Liberal Democrat Candidate for the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester on Wednesday evening. This followed a hustings meeting in the city centre and a ballot of the party's members across Greater Manchester. Cllr. Jane Brophy said: "I am absolutely delighted to have ...
A photograph of this encounter often turns up on Twitter, but I have not seen this film before. The meeting took place in July 1963 when Bill Clinton was 16. Four months later, JFK was dead.
The Guardian reports: If you think you saw fewer butterflies than ever this British summer, you are probably correct: the Big Butterfly Count has recorded its lowest number of common species since records began. Normally ubiquitous butterflies such as the gatekeeper, comma and small copper experienced their worst summers in the history of the count, which is run by Butterfly Conservation and began in 2010. Scientists said the low number of butterflies is "a shock and a mystery" because this summer was warmer than average and much drier in England than the previous worst year for butterflies, 2012, which was ...
Nick Clegg has had a right go at David Davis over the lack of Parliamentary Scrutiny over Brexit. He questioned after Davis made a statement to the Commons. From the BBC: Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, now his party's EU spokesman, says the Commons has a "rightful role of scrutiny". David Davis suggests that Mr Clegg "cannot tell the difference between scrutiny and micro-management" – to some degree of uproar in the House. Labour MP Angela Eagle says this is "the first time I've ever heard Parliamentary sovereignty described as micro-management". His intervention was well received: Brilliant intervention from ...
My great great great uncle refused to shave his beard off for Queen Victoria. Penny Pepper's great great great uncle tried to shoot her. In an article published by the Guardian on World Mental Health Day, she tells the story of Edward Oxford's crime and of his humane treatment when he was found innocent by reason of insanity. She concludes: It's tragic that there is very little sense of true asylum, of sanctuary, within today's mental healthcare system.Remarkably, Oxford's attempt on Victoria's life - he fired two pistols at the royal carriage at Constitution Hill near Buckingham Palace in May ...
What voters say when asked if they used Facebook. Clue: lots of them say they use it.
Today is World Mental Health Day organised by the World Health Organisation. This year's theme is around offering support to those in psychological distress – mental health first aid. Norman Lamb has written for the Guardian arguing that there should be parity between physical and mental health in the workplace with employers being required to provide mental health first aid. He said that he had recently done a training course in mental health first aid. Employers could find that investing in mental health support saves them money given that mental ill health accounts for 70 million days of sickness absence ...
Mon 10th
17:20
Clinton and Trump as the should have been: a Bad Lip Reading of the first Presidential debate
Donald and Hillary go head to head in classic games such as "Time to Act!", "Five Favorites", and "I Can Do This!"
Second line of third episode:The Fifth Doctor: "Cathy? From Hurley Hall...?"A straight historical story from the pen of Paul Magrs, dealing with the infamous attack on protesters in Manchester on 16 August 1819 by what we would now call security forces, in which 15 people are known to have died (though the real number was probably more). I realised writing this that I walked through the scene of the attack in central Manchester every day over the Easter weekend while at Mancunicon - it took place roughly where the Radisson Blu Edwardian is now, and I was staying down Oxford ...
[IMG: Mouth gagged] Today I'm sickened by the actions of Shepway Council having had written notificationthat they have refused even to accept the call-in of the decision of Cabinet Member Malcolm Dearden to impose a Sandgate CPZ for consideration by Overview and Scrutiny Committee. This is despite 96% of the 342 people who responded to the formal consultation objecting to the plan. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee could have reviewed the decision and made recommendations on either amending, abandoning or upholding the decsion. Even that level of oversight has been refused. Alistair Stewart writes that "there has been no 'call ...
I think Theresa May's decision not to have a Parliamentary vote on Brexit is a mistake. Firstly, because it means that it's all on her. Without a mandate from Parliament the "bumpy ride" of Brexit is sure to end up with a blame game occurring. And without even being able to have a whipped operation of her own MPs behind her, that normal human nature in face of blame will be to ask who else, or who is majorly to blame. Secondly, her Ministers for Brexit have already shown form on blaming anyone or anything than the idea of Brexit ...
This weekend (13 – 16 October 2016) the East Lancashire Railway will see the return of the 'Flying Scotsman' for a whole weekend. The locomotive is famous for being the first steam engine in the world to travel at 100mph in 1934. [IMG: Screenshot 2016-10-10 13.16.50] The locomotive take to the tracks for, passenger services, luxury dining trains and photography experiences. There are a very small number of tickets left unsold to ride on the Flying Scotsman hauled trains available here. The timetable for when you can see trains at the weekend is here. (Trains hauled by the Flying Scotsman ...
The world of politics has been in a state of flux since the general election last year but the past week must take the gold medal for the You-Couldn't-Make-This-Up competition. Ukippers losing a leader and then having a scrap in the corridors of power; Conservatives at their conference calling for Britain to be impoverished by shutting us off from our biggest market while bashing business,
Claiming to occupy the "centre ground" is a popular ploy in British politics and the Tories did so vociferously in their conference last week. However, Ian Dent (5th October) and Simon Wren-Lewis (6th October) have paid more attention to the detail of the conference than I have and between them have enumerated the following proposals: to phase out foreign doctorsto cut down on the number of foreign studentsto jail landlords if they fail to check their tenants' residency papersto "name and shame" companies with a high percentage of foreigners in their workforcesIn addition, leading-up to the conference, the government has ...
Mon 10th
12:02
I thought Corbyn would at least drag British politics leftward - he's done the opposite
When Jeremy Corbyn became the surprise leader of the Labour party in September 2015 (surprise as in no one gave him a chance at the outset of the contest – obviously we all knew it was inevitable well before the result was announced), I thought that amongst all the very negative things this would do for Labour and the centre-left generally, at least one thing would probably take place: by having a very left-wing Labour leader, the conversation within British politics would lean to the left. Instead, everything has got more and more right-wing since. Some will argue that Cameron ...
[IMG: Sunday Politics Tim Farron IDS] Yesterday on the Sunday Politics, Tim Farron and Iain Duncan Smith went head to head. The former Tory leader is no longer the quiet man. He spent much of the interview muttering over Tim, telling him he was talking "utter rubbish." It was the sort of aggressive sneering that would be more at home at a Trump rally. Despite all that, Tim did really well. He made his point that it would be a massive mistake to leave the single market. He said that it was vital that the eventual deal was put to ...
Brexit Britain: British Election Study Insights from the post-EU Referendum wave of the BES internet panel - The British Election Study RT @ellie_knott: %Vote Leave vs. Trust in Experts or "why trust the fossil record" @besresearch What can we expect on immigration and asylum policy post-referendum? | Institute of Race Relations RT @HenryKrinkIe: wow. not a good sign. Rape Culture Must Be Put To Death | The Left Hand of Ehud: Matt's Bible Blog RT @starmanjack43: Rape Culture Must Be Put To Death Brexit-related death and decline: a rant | Nicola Griffith RT @nicolaz: My rant about the decline and ...
Silivri prison is a deliberately colourless place; the grey concrete, beige walls and lack of plants and even soil are all part of the system's attempt to grind inmates down, to remove hope and joy from their lives and to drive them to obedience and conformity. In Silivri are thousands of Turkey's political prisoners — [...]
Embed from Getty Images Tony Blair says he is considering ways in which he may be of use in returning to UK public life, as reported in an interview write-up in Esquire magazine. Perhaps he needs our help to suggest ways he could be of use to the public and UK politics in general? Prior to its complete and expensive refurbishment, the Houses of Parliament are notoriously draughty. If he puts on a thick coat, our esteemed former PM could lie down and stop one particularly nasty draught circulating. He could do impersonations of Banquo's ghost at parties. He could ...
I'm visiting Bogota but I doubt that I will see much of it! Often I get told by my constituents that I e-mail them at funny times. Whilst I do keep funny hours the most usual reason for this is ... Continue reading →
The Longfield Suite and Bury's other civic venues in Bur and Ramsbottom have announced their programmes for the Christmas and winter period. Music attractions range from the famous Besses o'th Barn Band and Affetside Choir to the LongfieldLive! series with Johnny Cash and Abba tribute bands. The Elizabethan Suite also has tributes to Simon and Garfunkel and Lady Gaga, plus classic Motown and Northern Soul nights. The Longfield also hosts a Prestwich Winter Fair for those looking for the perfect Christmas gift, and you can dance the night away on Hogmanay. Full details of all shows and details of how ...
Our future trade relations are the major battleground in the Brexit process. Unfortunately the public debate on trade remains poor, fuelled by the Brexiteers' misleading, if not self-delusional, narrative of how the global world trading system works. Brexiteers tell us the EU is more dependent upon us because we import their cars, cheeses and wines so we shall secure a good deal. When Brexiteers are reminded about our large trade deficit, International Trade Minister Fox blames our "fat and lazy" businessmen. Brexiteers argue we shall be free to conclude our own trade deals. However, a free trade deal with the ...
Hard on the heels of us learning that Bootle is in the frame for a £100m make-over the Southport Visiter newspaper tells us that the seaside end of the Borough is also in for a spruce up. See the link above to the Southport Visiter web site. [IMG: Southport viewed from the end of its pier] Southport viewed from the end of its pier There is no doubt that Southport has the potential to be far more successful than it already is but that will not be fully achieved until more radical plans come forward to deal with the ...
Photopolis is a major photographic resource in Dundee City Council's ownership that I have, with the permission of the Communities Division of the council, featured photographs from in the past. It consists of a significant selection of quality photographs from various collections in the Central Library and the City Archives that can be accessed via the City Council's website, allowing easy access to large numbers of historical photographs. By popular request, during this month, I'll again feature some of the superb West End photos on Photopolis. As a start, pictured below is Grosvenor Terrace - 307-313 Perth Road - and ...
The Guardian reports that the government has abandoned plans to force businesses to reveal how many foreign staff they employ, following widespread condemnation and accusations that the policy was akin to tattooing workers "with numbers on their forearms": Justine Greening, the education secretary, announced on Sunday that companies will not be made to publish the data as suggested by the home secretary, Amber Rudd, during the Conservative party conference. She said the information would be confidential and instead used by the government to identify skills shortages, rather than to "name and shame" businesses that rely on foreign employees. The paper ...
Theresa May's plan to get firms to list foreign workers goes too far, Ukip MEP says Yep. (tags: migration brexit ukpolitics eu ) Lessons from Georgia's Parliamentary Elections A good summary by @LincolnMitchell. (tags: georgia ) What did the FCO say to the LSE about foreign academics? @jackofkent's different take. (tags: ukpolitics eu brexit ) These Three Scientists Are Leaving The UK Because Of Brexit Who needs experts? (tags: eu brexit ukpolitics )
Embed from Getty Images The second Clinton/Trump took place early this morning. This time it was "Town Hall" style – with questions from audience members. It started without the traditional handshake (which has one precedent in the shape of one of the Nixon/Kennedy debates) but finished with a brief one. Some of the subjects covered were: the leaked video-tape of Trump, Bill Clinton's misdemeanours, taxes, the Clinton emails, the character needed to be President, ISIS, Syria, Supreme Court judges, energy and healthcare. Donald Trump stalked the stage, sniffing frequently, petulantly arguing with the moderators, continuously interrupting. His answers were rambling ...
Yes, it's the Trump Tapes (like the Troggs Tapes but far more crass) post you all knew was coming, because since when was I sensible enough to not open my big mouth about a controversial topic? (Obviously, trigger warnings for ... Continue reading →
