Embed from Getty Images Congratulations to the amazing Shirley Williams who has been made a Companion of Honour in the New Year Honours list. Tim Farron said: Shirley is a liberal lion. She is a hero of mine and many, many others. She is a tireless and doughty campaigner for progressive politics. Britain is a better place because of her. Her determination created the enlightened comprehensive education system we have today. Shirley is also an inspiration for female politicians across the world. She is a trailblazer who has shown girls, like my own, that they can do anything they want ...
Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 are also on this blog. October Remember Liam Byrne's "I'm afraid there is no money" letter? David Laws should have burnt it, not tried to make political capital out of it. I blogged about the eight attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria, beginning: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. I warned the Conservatives that chasing public opinion can end in tears. When an obscure backbench Tory announced that Gary Lineker "needs to decide if he's a political ...
It has been a horrible year. Truly horrible. Much has been said about the political reverberations of the actions from the previous 12 months and much also about the incredible loss of well known celebrity and professional life during this tumultuous period. I will touch upon it all only very briefly in a rare blog post. The Postitive?! Now it hasn't all been relentlessly awful. But whilst the highlights have been overshadowed considerably by a cesspit of despair, I have to mention that wonderful summer in France. As I wrote in this blog at the time, Wales's odyssey to its ...
Over the next few days, we will be publishing our twelve most read posts of 2016. Many thanks to the 533,000 people who have visited the site over the past tumultuous 12 months. For Liberal Democrats, internationalism, democracy and human rights are core values. For that reason, many of us are very upset at the thought of losing our EU citizenship and all that signifies. Stuart Bonar wrote for us last month about an idea to enable those of us who want it to retain that citizenship. Embed from Getty Images Since the vote to leave the European Union back ...
It's probably a reflection of my age and general grumpiness, but I don't find radio comedy very funny these days. There are too many right-on political lectures and even Count Arthur Strong was a disappointment this year. A shining exception to this was the first programme in the new series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, which had a Christmas theme. I particularly liked the turkeys explaining why they had voted for Christmas in the referendum. They were attracted by the promise of a "lovely big dinner" for everyone: And are you aware of how the Christmas campaign are planning to ...
At the University of Salford's Energy House, all the energy use is monitored and controlled, allowing researchers to experiment with all sorts of insulation and energy-saving techniques. But how to control for factors like sun, wind and rain?
Embed from Getty Images It looks as if the fighting in Iraq and Syria will draw to a close in 2017. We won and lost. Isis, Isil, Daesh, Al-Nusra, A lQaeeda, whatever name the Jihadists call themselves have been pushed out of the remains of Aleppo and are hanging on by their blood-soaked fingertips in Mosul and Raqqa. Also destroyed and seeking peace terms are Western-backed rebels in the Free Syrian Army and its dozens of feuding constituent parts. The Obama Administration and its 13 allies backing air strikes could claim victory. They may even try to do so. And ...
Ever since I bought a scanner I have been searchng the house for old photographs. This one is rather sad. I would guess it was taken a dozen or so years ago at a Liberator gathering in Putney. That is me looking rather pleased with myself under the hanging basket. Next to me are Ralph Bancroft and then Simon Titley, both of whom have died in the last couple of years. The moral is to treasure your friends, because you don't know how long you will have them. That's not a bad resolution for any new year.
Fri 30th
15:30
LDV's Top Twelve of 2016: #6 Undeclared Conservative election expenses unearthed by Channel 4 News
Over the next few days, we will be publishing our twelve most read posts of 2016. Many thanks to the 533,000 people who have visited the site over the past tumultuous 12 months. The second half starts off with a report from Channel 4 News about Michael Crick's investigations into Conservative election expense returns for the 2015 General Election. Michael Crick, Channel 4 News's political correspondent, has spent months investigating the Conservative Party's election expenses from last year's general election, focussing on the party's "battle buses", which moved activists around the country, and the associated costs incurred (e.g. hotels). Last ...
How could a Liverpool lottery begin to compete against the three national lotteries and the plethora of local ones? Daft ideas in Liverpool seem to be like buses sometimes – they tend to come in threes. So far we have ... Continue reading →
Second paragraph of third chapter:Back at the council offices Linda Wei had got him to sign several forms on the dotted line, and had issued him with papers and instructions as to his exact role and responsibilities, and details of bank accounts had been confirmed, and then it had taken him an hour - a whole hour - to find Ted's Cabs following Linda's directions wandering up and down the endless grey-black streets of Tumdrum, which meant that in total he'd been on his vast trek now from London to here for nearly two days - two whole days - ...
For Liberals, 2016 has been a grim year. The EU Referendum provided a narrow win for Leave and the dogs of hate and prejudice were thereby released. Over in America, Donald Trump became President-elect, thanks to that country's arcane electoral system. Several EU member states started to question the principle of free movement following a [...]
Over the next few days, we will be publishing our twelve most read posts of 2016. Many thanks to the 533,000 people who have visited the site over the past tumultuous 12 months. In this post a long time attendee at Liberal Democrat Conference points out some behaviour they experienced at Conference which indicates that the culture of the party needs to change. As a long time conference attendee, I adore the opportunity to meet Lib Dems, old and new, and engage and enthuse with like-minded people. But sometimes behaviour boundaries are pushed and we need to make a note ...
Back in January, I explained why I wasn't going to try and predict what happened politically in 2016 because things were just so chaotic as to make predictions pointless: My only prediction is that all your predictions will be wrong. Of course, my grounds for predicting that weren't entirely right, ascribing unpredictability to just the EU referendum and Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party, and entirely failing to mention Donald Trump. It feels like we're now in a period where politics is incredibly febrile and chaotic and the sort of certainties we base our predictions on are washed away ...
BAD NATIONAL & GLOBAL EVENTS [IMG: 13511053_1614311592194015_4578317925991669418_n] * Given the biggest self-destruct button the UK electorate has probably ever been tempted by i.e the EU referendum – they pressed it! * Sociopath Trump wins in America, seemingly with help from Putin in the Cremlin! * We manage to get rid of a centrist (for a Conservative that is), if hardly competent, Tory Prime Minister (Cameron) for him to be replaced by someone who looks utterly lost, is in a job probably well above her pay grade and who is riding us off into a inglorious right wing sunset! [IMG: nhs-logo] ...
Recently the FT's Wolfgang Munchau referred to an article by prominent US economist Paul Romer, The Trouble with Macroeconomics, published in September 2016. Mr Munchau used it as an argument to rethink the conventional wisdom of macroeconomic management, such as independent central banks and inflation targeting. I agree we need a rethink, but Mr Romer's ... Continue reading Macroeconomics is becoming a pseudoscience, and that's not good for us →
Embed from Getty Images First of all, I would like to express my deep sympathy to everyone who has lost close ones this year. Particularly at this festive period, I am conscious of the hell of grief many people are going through. I'm not saying anything new here. But we seem to have lost one heck of a lot of famous icons, heroines and heroes in 2016. The Mirror has a theory on why this is: Between 1946 and 1964, there was a massive growth in population. This means people in their 50s, 60s and 70s now make up a ...
Many papers are reporting today that Theresa May is planning to fight the next election on a platform of pulling the UK out of the European Court on Human Rights so as to suppress dissent in her own Parliamentary Party and force the measure through. Wales on-line report on Welsh reaction to this plan, but opposition is not just confined to this side of the border. Many commentators agree with me that pulling the UK out of the ECHR would undermine our status in the world, provide an excuse for the more dodgy members to also withdraw and consequently see ...
As phase one of Corbyn Mark 2.0, the Labour leader has given a series of interviews and filmed his New Year message. From this we can glean what the "populist re-launch" will look like. All I can say so far is: oh dear. Let's see what the supreme leader has told the Mirror: "I will challenge UKIP on the basis that UKIP attacks minorities who run our health service, offers to privatise the health service but doesn't offer to build any houses, doesn't offer to deal with the issues facing communities and doesn't do anything to challenge the appalling underfunding ...
[IMG: 6th] On the sixth day of Christmas, ALDC gave to me... a helpful guide for your year of campaigning. For Liberal Democrat campaigners, 'working hard all year round' is so much more than a slogan; it is how activists, candidates and councillors are hitting the doorstep, making calls and delivering Focus leaflets whatever the weather. We've [...]
As usual, I'm asking advice from my collective readership as to what I should read next year. You should be able to participate in this poll with Twitter, Dreamwidth, Facebook or maybe even Google logins. Make the most of it - I have a feeling that this may be the last time I do this, with the decline of LJ and as my unread books become increasingly obscure. Your advice is much appreciated, and particular recommendations (of books on the lists below) are very welcome in comments. I got most of the way through last year's recommendations. NB that the ...
Fri 30th
09:30LDV's Top Twelve of 2016: #8 Mockery of Diane Abbott shows why our political culture needs to change
Over the next few days, we will be publishing our twelve most read posts of 2016. Many thanks to the 533,000 people who have visited the site over the past tumultuous 12 months. In our 8th most read post, Caron Lindsay argues that the social media mockery of Diane Abbott by various right wing types is not a sign of a healthy political culture. Labour MP Diane Abbott is being roundly mocked in various parts of the internet because of a question she asked as Shadow International Development Secretary, a position she held until last week when she was promoted ...
It is bad news if you are about to give birth over New Year. Both Ludlow and Bridgnorth maternity led units are suffering overnight closures, with Ludlow closed on New Year's Eve. This is a taste of the future. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is planning to close midwifery-led maternity units, including Ludlow, overnight. Campaigners have set up a parliamentary petition calling on our local maternity units to remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please add your signature here... The petition beings: Bridgnorth and Ludlow MLU's are in danger of becoming birthing units and ...
With thanks to Suzy Scott at dundeebuses.info, here is an Xplore Dundee bus change from 3rd January 2017 affecting the West End : Services 5/9/10 (Barnhill - Ninewells and Outer Circle) (timetable is Monday to Friday only - no change to Saturday or Sunday) - Service 10 at 20.40 and 21.40 from Ninewells Hospital will divert to pick up at Tesco's call centre in Baird Avenue at 22.06 or 23.06, running five minutes later through to Ninewells Hospital. As a result, Service 5s from Ninewells to City Centre at 22.30 and 23.30 will run five minutes later as a result. ...
Theresa May 'lacks courage to admit complexity of Brexit' A messy under-resourced process. (tags: ukpolitics brexit ) A slave mother's love in 56 carefully stitched words An eloquent testimony in thread. (tags: race history ) The Strange Death of Municipal England: Assault on Local Government Long, analytical, brutal. (tags: ukpolitics ) David Fahrenthold tells the behind-the-scenes story of his year covering Trump Wow. (tags: Uspolitics ) On reflection, not very dangerous: Harlan Ellison's The Last Dangerous Visions Reviewed by @bluejowalton. Hee! (tags: sf )
