Lovely footage of these two lines and their intermediate stations shot in their final days in the 1960s. Holden Webster explored the remains of the remains of the Coalport to Wellington line, which we glimpse here, in videos that have appeared on this blog. All in all, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Wellington is not the junction it once was.
Going to the shop on Thursday this week, as I was laid low with a bout of apathy. List of new releases is here.
This week Cllr Ruth Dombey and I visited Emmaus, the homelessness charity that has taken over the Missionary Mart operations in Wallington. Based in Lambeth the charity provides not just accommodation for ex-rough sleepers, called 'Companions' but a community and work opportunities so they can start to rebuild their lives. The charity generates income via [...]
On Saturday, my home village of Sunniside had a famous visitor. Jack Charlton of England's 1966 World Cup winning team, was a guest at the Christmas market at the Simply Local shop. Great to meet an English footballer who was a member of a team that actually won something, and did so without the fat cat football salaries of the 21st century. Also at the fair was Alistair Lawrence who runs
Wed 7th
22:19
Is Chris Grayling going to reduce Market Harborough's train service for party advantage?
I fear the answer may well be yes. Yesterday I blogged about the postponement of the access improvements at Market Harborough station. In that post I went on to discuss the promise of better train services that Chris Grayling has made to Kettering and Corby, When, earlier on yesterday, I asked on Twitter if this would mean poorer services for Market Harborough - and I suspect it will - someone replied that this was the price we pay for living in a safe seat. I smiled at the time, but today it became clear that Grayling does make decisions on ...
Douglas Carswell, Ukip's only MP, sent a tweet ridiculing the judges during Gina Miller's original Article 50 court case. I replied asking what he proposed putting in the place of an independent judiciary. I didn't get a reply. I didn't really expect to. Now I find he has blocked me. It's odd. Ukip pretend to believe in robust debate - no time for political correctness and all that - but the reality is that they are incredibly thin skinned. Poor Douglas, it seems, is a special snowflake who must never hear an opposing view. So what did he want to ...
I have had a busy and varied week honouring people who served in WW2, handing out prizes to students and launching the Mayor's Toy Appeal. Captain Johnny Walker was not always the 'top brass's' favourite man. He broke with received naval wisdom to develop new ways of tackling the U-Boat menace in WW2 and protected the convoys that brought a besieged Britain essential supplies in the darkest days of the war. From the Gladstone Dock in Bootle he set out to hunt down and destroy the enemy's submarines and he was the most of successful naval commander. Bootle Town Hall ...
@CCHQPress @LibDemPress pic.twitter.com/ZyodOR6ps7— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) December 7, 2016This Telegraph article has all the action. And this is a good point to say that the Liberal Democrat Press Office Twitter account has been in particularly perky form these past few weeks. Keep it up, chaps.
OK – DCC have suspended the dismissal notices and promised a review, but the tone at County Hall today suggested no change of heart towards Durham's Teaching Assistants, just a change of tactic. The response to the question about whether ATL (100+ TA members) would be included in negotiations was a straight "NO". But Unite (1 TA) member will be included! The response to the question about what "new information" had emerged to trigger the review was effectively, "there is none". What was most disheartening of all was the tone of the occasion. Labour Party councillors behind me in the ...
The women and men of the RNLI are my family, just as much as are my father, my mother and my three sisters. I have grown up with them and know them as my own kin. We share a bond that is not easily broken. Continue reading →
Yesterday the House of Commons terrace hosted the Winter Reception of the All Party Writers Group, sponsored by the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), on whose Board I sit. These events seem to grow each year, which is a good reflection of a growing awareness in both the Commons and the Lords about the [...]
[IMG: levensquadfeat] Campaigners across Fife are working hard to pull off a surprise victory in what will be the final Council by-election in Scotland before the full council elections next May. Steve Wood is working hard to win and to cement the Lib Dems' position as the real challengers to the SNP in the 4-member Leven, Kennoway and Largo ward. With just a week to go before polling day organiser Rory Roberson and the team are pulling out all the stops. You can help with the postal voter telephone knock up using the Virtual Phone Bank codes for VPB 1: ...
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] Lib Dem Group Lead on Adult Social Care, Richard Kemp says: "We are getting stories through from local council groups about their local Clinical Commissioning Groups and how they are responding to winter pressures and whether or not sufficient support is being given to social care. For example, one county group has found that a [...]
[IMG: The LGA Lib Dems support Liberal Democrat council groups across England & Wales] Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have achieved a significant victory after the Conservative-run administration finally agreed to invest in key worker housing for staff. The proposals will see the county council investing in housing for staff in key roles such as social workers, highways engineers and those who work with children, and were agreed [...]
For those who are interested, I'm Kickstarting a second edition of my book on the Monkees. The main changes, if it happens, will be a complete revision of the chapter on Pool It!, a new chapter on Good Times!, chapters ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Sleaford campaigning ] Okay, it's true I enjoy elections! I get a buzz, enjoy the friendships made and love the campaign. Every election has a different vibe, atmosphere – much set by the tone and timing of the campaign and much set by the candidate & campaign manager. I started with Brent East and have a string of by-elections under my activist belt – Leicester South, Bromley and Chislehurst, Ealing Southall, Henley, Norwich North, Oldham East and Saddleworth, Croydon North, Eastleigh, Rochester and Strood, Witney, Richmond Park and now I will be helping Sleaford and North Hykeham. I don't ...
Are there any Parliamentarians left in Parliament? That was the question that kept occurring to me as I watched the submissions to the Supreme Court in the Article 50 case this week. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy an interesting court case as much as the next person. The Supreme Court will do an excellent job determining the law, and it has every right to do so. The problem is that it should not have been necessary for the court to consider the matter in the first place. Parliament alone has the right to determine what the division of power ...
[IMG: website-story-10-things] Check out this list of 10 things we provide for our members, so that you can make the most out of your membership! 1. Online advice articles As an ALDC member you can access our Knowledge Base account and read any (or all – if you have the time) of our advice articles. From Facebook to [...]
[IMG: ncBgMz4cA] The Christmas period isn't an obvious time to be sending Lib Dem emails but it's certainly when you should be. Even if you have an email list that you haven't used much, you should be doing emails now. However, the style is important and the emails you send should be what I call 'a trusted [...]
I’m afraid we’ve become too inured by or too focused on whether or not Therese May actually has a plan to exit the EU.
It seemed as if all the Balkan peoples, in trying to claw out their separate identities, would drag one another into the abyss. Yet, hope finds a way. We will hold our formal signing ceremony in Kosovo's parliament, on Friday.
Unsurprisingly, the Liberal Democrats have confirmed that the party's MPs will vote against any motion which backs the unconditional invocation of Article 50. Tonight's vote will be a test for the SNP, too. Will they back the Liberal Democrat amendment calling for: the Prime Minister [to] commit to a referendum on the final deal following the negotiations and prior to the UK departing the EU. Tim Farron said: We cannot support a parliamentary stitch up that would deny the people a vote on the final deal. An amended motion would fail to include any meaningful commitment from the Conservative Brexit ...
[IMG: img_9323] Sheila and I went along to the Dickensian Fayre held in the church last Saturday and despite the cold (the church heating had broken down so it was only warm in the Vestry) we had a good time. [IMG: Sefton Church's Dickensian Fayre. You can see the candelabra I lit as a young chap for church services.] Sefton Church's Dickensian Fayre. You can see the candelabra I lit as a young chap for church services. This 800+ year old church is fascinating and I have to confess that I was a choir boy there from around 1969 to ...
I went to have a look at the pub this morning and the photos below say it all really. [IMG: img_9374] [IMG: img_9375] I got into a conversation with chap and it turned out he was the new licensee/landlord. He was full of praise for Merseyside Fire Brigade (who were there until 11.30pm last night) and said it looked like the fire had started in a similar way to the previous one a few weeks ago i.e. chimney related. The inside/structure is OK but there is considerable water damage if I understood correctly. I wished him all the best and ...
Hotfoot from the Richmond Park by-election, I arrived at ALDE Congress in Warsaw on Friday. This was my second trip to this annual event, which sees the Alliance of Liberal and Democratic parties across Europe get together to discuss the hot topics of the day. I was part of a 40-strong Lib Dem UK delegation. I wondered how welcome the UK delegation would be in light of Brexit – but I was pleased to find a buzz around our recent by-election win. The annual meeting showed the obvious benefits in the current climate of sharing campaign ideas and tactics on ...
[IMG: Photo of me at MeCon 9 in August 2006 taken by Cate Murphy] At MeCon 9 in Belfast in August 2006, taken by Catie "C.E." Murphy In Helsinki in November 2016, taken on my phone by a friend I had more hair then. I weigh more now.
Following the news that Labour has been fined £20,000 for failing to include some spending items in its general election expense return comes the news that the Liberal Democrats have been similarly fined: The Liberal Democrats have been fined £20,000 as a result of the Electoral Commission's investigation into the party's 2015 UK Parliamentary General Election campaign spending return. The Commission concluded that the return was not complete as required by the law. The penalty is the highest that the Commission is able to impose for a single offence... The investigation found that 307 payments totalling £184,676 were missing from ...
David Cameron famously told his party to 'stop banging on about Europe', are we in the Liberal Democrats in danger of doing the same? I fear we are. With our seemingly exclusive focus on Europe we are missing a more fundamental concern for British voters, to paraphrase Bill Clinton's campaign message 'it's the economy stupid!' An Ashcroft poll conducted in September this year showed that although most voters agreed that negotiating the best Brexit deal possible was the top priority for the country as a whole when it came to issues facing themselves and their families it came fourth behind ...
Over the last few months, I've had many conversations in Westminster around how appalling Labour's handling of the Brexit debate has been. Many respond to my exhortations about Corbyn's incompetence in this area by saying "what else could he have done?", as if everything that has taken place since June 24th has been part of an unstoppable force of nature. To be fair, I couldn't think of an exact plan that was infallible myself. Until this morning, that is. Corbyn should announce that the Labour Party will back May's timetable for triggering Article 50 and allow the government a free ...
Twitter RT @webofevil: 2016: thwarting even the lowest expectations. Twitter @GeneralBoles Twitter RT @artbyailbhe: Do the people want a Brexit that can be used nasally? Twitter RT @timfarron: This is just jingoistic claptrap. The Union Jack represents an open, tolerant and multicultural Britain. Twitter @CharlotteGore Twitter RT @drunkenbutcher: Never been a big fan of his music but this is out of line Twitter RT @janeswitzer: On Dec. 6, 1989, 14 Canadian women were murdered by a man who screamed he was "fighting feminism." Remember their n... Twitter RT @LibDemPress: Hello Richard! Twenty reasons why Brexit will be even trickier than ...
Irrespective of the outcome of the ongoing Supreme Court hearing and whatever the phrase 'red, white and blue Brexit', it seems that Theresa May will be forced to offer up more than enigmatic but meaningless sound-bites before she can invoke Article 50 and take us out of the EU. The Guardian reports that Tory backbenchers have now joined in demands for more meat on the Brexit bone before being asked to vote for us to start negotiations. They say that May's backbench MPs will demand today that the plan produced by the government before it triggers article 50 is a ...
This sculpture by Elisabeth Frink can be found near St Paul's Cathedral in London.
Wed 7th
08:55
Emotion, mischief, hard work and an absent friend: inside the Sleaford & North Hykeham campaign
Yesterday, sitting at my desk here in Sleaford and North Hykeham two of the best activists I have had the pleasure of working with over my 28 years in the party, were somewhat surprised to see me holding my head in my hands and crying. The morning had been busy, too busy, the press have just noticed that this by-election is happening, and I have lots to do. Too much to do. In fact we are doing massive amounts and it's going well. But I had a wobble and so went out delivering a round of leaflets or two. It's ...
Friends of Wighton has a Lunchtime Recital today with The Wighton Singers - at the Wighton Centre, Dundee Central Library, Wellgate. It starts at 1.15pm and runs until 1.45pm. Seasonal and Scottish songs from Friends of Wighton's own song group. Admission is free although donations welcome!
News is breaking that the Liberal Democrats have been given the maximum £20,000 fine by the Electoral Commission over anomalies in the reporting of General Election expenses in 2015. The national expenditure return submitted by the party did not include details of some national expenditure reported separately by local parties. Even with this expenditure included in the total, the party was nowhere near the limit that the party had to spend. However, they have made the decision not only to give the party a fine under civil law, but to ask the Police to investigate whether the criminal law has ...
Why I Will Not Cast My Electoral Vote for Donald Trump - NYTimes.com A Republican elector writes. (tags: uspolitics ) Russia's Top 5 Myths about NATO (PDF) Just in case you weren't aware. (tags: Russia nato politics ) Share of households owning at least one cat in the EU in 2014, by country Romania top, Slovakia bottom. (tags: cats statistics eu ) Hamildolph (An American Christmas Story) Hilarious! (tags: christmas hamilton videos ) UK will have under 18 months to reach deal, says EU Brexit broker Barnier's timetable. (tags: ukpolitics eu brexit ) The European Regions Where Women Earn More ...
