I was in Whickham this morning to deliver 450 Focuses in my ward. I started in The Cedars and spent about two and a half hours putting them through doors. The resident whose house I parked opposite patiently waited for me to return so that he could hand over the library petition in the Focus he had signed. He was surprised at how long I had been out delivering. I admitted that I had 3 patches
My beloved husband and I lurched to the cinema this afternoon to see Doctor Strange - a 'put the clocks back day' treat (all right, birthday, too). Always a risk. Happily, Marvel's latest won us both over. A few thoughts why... Capes! Clocks! Consequences! Characters! Cumberbatch! Most of all, I've always loved psychedelia. This gives you all the spectacle you could wish for, from Sixties trippery to far-out realms to folding cities. It is, very much, my bag. Though for ideal Blu-ray play we're going to need a bigger telly. Or four. Or six. And a big room to experience ...
As I had 14 books published by a variety of "traditional" publishers, I was quite surprised when my literary agent suggested that I should self-publish my latest book, the childhood memoir Eccles Cakes. It was so different from anything that I had written before that it did not sit neatly with my back catalogue (six of [...]
Do the British really know what makes success? I found myself wondering this after getting seriously irritated at something that really shouldn't irritate anyone at all.I was watching 'Strictly Come Dancing' (yes I sometimes do). My favourite judge is Craig Revel Horwood, the camp Australian who isn't scared to be highly critical of someone's dancing. The reason I like him has nothing to do with him as a person - he may be lovely, he may be a pain, he's probably a bit of both, I really don't know - but because he says it straight.It's been fascinating seeing Ed ...
The Richard Jefferies Museum at Coate, Swindon, is up for an award tomorrow. It has been nominated in the in the Best Community Action project category in the Historic England Angel Awards, and the winners will be announced tomorrow evening at a ceremony at the Palace Theatre, London. This film tells you all the about the recent revival of the museum, which is housed in Richard Jefferies' birthplace. When I visited some years ago it was run by a few enthusiasts and owned by the local council, which had no love for it. It had a certain ramshackle charm, but ...
The Liberal Democrats claim to have thrown the party's kitchen sink at the Witney by election. Buoyed by the strong showing there they will now throw the whole liberal house at the Richmond Park by election, which is much more promising territory. Victories and strong showings in parliamentary by elections used to be strongly associated [...]
One of the great critical rehabilitations of recent years has been that of Jake Thackray. During his life he was dismissed by many who were aware of him at all, thanks to his regular appearances on Braden's Week and That's ... Continue reading →
Sun 30th
19:32
Bid to put petrol storage tanks underground at proposed Bromfield Road store is betrayal of trust
In May 2015, the South Planning Committee approved a new store and petrol station on the corner of Bromfield Road and Coronation Avenue. I had previously objected to this application but changed my mind after the developer went the extra mile to make the development work on this sensitive site. I asked the planning committee... Continue reading Bid to put petrol storage tanks underground at proposed Bromfield Road store is betrayal of trust →
[IMG: 7 best] Many thanks to the visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... ++BREAKING NEWS : Zac Goldsmith has resigned as MP for Richmond Park (77 comments) by Mary Reid Brexit is a war already lost (54 comments) by Phil Aisthorpe In the mayoral election, why did Zac Goldsmith get such a low vote in his own backyard? (13 comments) by Lester Holloway Oppose Brexit – it's bad for the country (46 comments) by Katharine Pindar 'What the hell is going on?' – Farron asks as reports say Hammond briefly given number ...
Sun 30th
18:49
Conservative MP: Zac Goldsmith is a "rich boy playing fast and loose with the electorate"
Embed from Getty Images Alec Shelbrooke, the Tory MP for Elmet and Rothwell, has told Sky News that his party is making a mistake by not putting up a candidate in the Richmond Park by-election. According to my favourite newspaper the Shropshire Star, he told Sky: "I have said quite openly that I think it's a big mistake the Conservative Party is not putting forward a candidate. "Let's be clear: Our majority will be cut from 12 to 10. Zac Goldsmith does not cut it to 11, it cuts it to 10 because he will be an opposition MP. "The ...
Congratulations to @sarahjolney1 #RichmondPark byelection PPC for Richmond Park @LibDems pic.twitter.com/4h1dOg5DS6 — Julia Cambridge (@juliacambridge1) October 30, 2016 Sarah Olney has been selected to contest the Richmond Park and North Kingston December 1st by-election for the Liberal Democrats. An opinion poll has shown it is a two-horse race between local woman Sarah and Zac Goldsmith, the out-going Conservative Brexit MP whose resignation triggered the by-election. Sarah, an accountant and married mother of two, was selected at a meeting of the local party in Richmond today. Sarah Olney said: This by-election is a chance for people to have their say on ...
Earlier today Liberal Democrat members in Richmond Park voted to select Sarah Olney to fight the Richmond Park by-election.
Welcome to the latest in my series of tips and advice for Liberal Democrat members, which appear first in the email bulletin run by London Region for party members. There's a free app available for Android and iPhone which makes canvassing much easier and quicker, as used successfully in the Witney by-election. It's called MiniVAN and works with the party's Connect electoral database. It cuts out completely the need to print off canvass cards, write down information as you go around (hoping it isn't raining and making the paper go soggy) and then have someone type up the results (hoping ...
Embed from Getty Images Nick Clegg talked this morning with Robert Peston about Brexit and the Richmond Park by-election. Here's a transcript of the interview: Robert Peston: Last time I looked the bookies actually I think put you just as favourites to win Richmond Park. Are you going to win? Nick Clegg: Well we're the underdogs, he's obviously the, Zac Goldsmith's obviously the establishment candidate, he has the sort of glamour of minor royalty in Richmond, he has the support of the Conservative Party, of UKIP, of a lot of the papers and so on, he's poured a lot of ...
The background.... A few weeks ago, one local resident launched an on-line petition, via the popular platform Change.org in response to the #StMichaelsGateSAGA that has been making the headlines in recent weeks. Within days, hundreds of local people supported it and the last time I checked the petition, well over 1400 had added their support! Then what happened [...]
Sun 30th
14:21
Tim Gordon writes...REMINDER that nominations close for party internal elections on 2 November
From one by-election we run straight into another, with Richmond Park getting off the ground as a result of the Government's decision on Heathrow expansion. It is absolutely vital that we all contribute to the campaign as early as we possibly can to keep up the momentum from Witney. In the midst of the excitement for a second by-election in a matter of weeks you may however have missed that the deadline for nominations for internal elections to our Party's Committees is fast approaching. Nominations close on Wednesday 2 November at 12 noon. As a reminder there are four committees ...
The ubiquitous signs of Facebook and Twiteer can be both good and bad for democracy I had a long discussion this morning with one of my constituents about an article he had seen via a Twitter link about a ... Continue reading →
Yesterday, Jo Swinson, as chair of Maternity Action, helped to launch an action plan aimed at tackling maternity discrimination. If you think that this stuff doesn't go on any more, take an hour out to watch the video of the event and you will see that it very much does. A woman called Amelia tells the shocking story of what happened to her when she told her employers she was pregnant. The video is available on Maternity Action's You Tube channel here. Unfortunately, it's not embeddable here, but do go and watch it. Here are some tweets from the event: ...
As well as being seasonal, this song sounds a warning for Brexit Britain. It is from one of my favourite bands of the 1980s. The great lyricist Paul Heaton on vocals; Stan Cullimore, now a children's writer, on lead guitar; the future Fatboy Slim on bass; and Hugh Whitaker on drums. Whitatker, who comes across as an amiable eccentric in all recorded interviews, made it into a Guardian list of the 10 most dangerous in music for "firebombing the house of a business associate and, according to Paul Heaton, 'hitting the guy straight on the head with an axe'."
As if the world was not absurd enough the Telegraph reports on the appalling suggestion from UKIP leadership contenders that Nigel Farage should receive a peerage once he finally hands over the reins as leader of Ukip. The three frontrunners to succeed Mr Farage as party leader - Paul Nuttall, Raheem Kassam and Suzanne Evans - have all said they will seek to secure him a seat on the benches of the House of Lords if they win, according to The Sunday Times. Given Farage's constant railing against how Britain is run by an unelected elite, then he will clearly ...
It's not only in the UK where taking a polling station selfie can cause legal problems as Justin Timberlake has found out.
Two years ago, I was quarantined. Following a trip to Nigeria (and the privilege of working with the DFID funded ESSPIN programme), I returned feeling a little unwell and, before I knew it, people in biohazard suits were bundling me into an ambulance. Fortunately it was not Ebola and, in fact, just a slightly embarrassing case of man-flu. However, I was still extremely grateful for a responsive NHS keeping me safe. At the time, the Ebola epidemic was a terrifying prospect with a wide range of possible outcomes. One of the worst scenarios I heard was that the largest annual ...
The presentation at the Friends' AGM yesterday I was delighted to attend the Friends of Balgay Autumn Meeting & AGM yesterday afternoon at the Mills Observatory. Liz Houghton from the Scottish Wildlife Trust gave a fascinating talk about urban wildlife, complete with a superb photographic presentation. Its always a good sign when the turnout requires extra chairs to be found for all the attendees! I wish the Friends of Balgay committee every success in the forthcoming year.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37802386 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above As a trade unionist and indeed as a Liberal I welcome this Employment Tribunal result. There is a trend these days for companies to require those who do work for them to treat themselves as self employed. The question is why do that? Is it in the interests of the person doing the work, or is it to reduce employment costs and responsibilities? But if I understand this particular case properly then the requirement is not even full self employment rather a restrictive version of it. ...
