Jaime Bullock's film about the Richard Jefferies Museum's Open Air Project. Running from October to December 2016, it was funded by Arts Council England and Swindon 175,
Embed from Getty Images Following Theresa May's Brexit speech this week, we know what will (almost certainly) be the defining Parliamentary vote of this political generation – the vote promised in Parliament on the terms of the Brexit deal she and her government negotiates. Just as with the vote on going to war in Iraq, there's a side-debate to be had about how much practical difference the outcome of the vote will make. (The US was going to war in Iraq anyway; depending on the circumstances, a vote against the Brexit deal may result in the UK leaving the EU ...
The party has announced a team of Brexit spokespeople who will speak for each region of England. The spokespeople were briefed in Westminster this afternoon by Nick Clegg on where May's speech leaves the fight to protect Britain's European future. Nick Clegg said: Brexit is going to be a major upheaval for people up and down the country. It is easily the biggest political decision in modern history and the repercussions of the decisions made in the next few years will be felt for a generation. The pound has already fallen in value and jobs have already migrated overseas. We ...
The Government has agreed to back Sal Brinton's calls for a strengthened Victims' Code following a hard fought campaign by our Party President. During ping-pong of the Policing and Crime Bill the Government made concessions on the principles of Sal Brinton's amendments which put the discretionary Victims' Code on to a statutory footing. The current situation sees thousands of victims let down every day because of inconsistent and unenforced practice by those in the criminal justice system. The Government has now agreed to a review of support for victims reporting back within six months, including consultation with victims groups and ...
Second verse of third poem:I was running the tombola At our church bazaar today And doing it with gusto In my usual jolly way......and shortly afterward the narrator gets groped by the vicar, because sexual assault is funny. A collection of poems by Dahl, ostensibly for children. The longer poems, which are subversions of well-known stories - Dick Whittington, the Tortoise and the Hare, the Emperor's New Clothes, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Hansel and Gretel and Aladdin - are generally much better than the short ones which seem too often to be doggerel encoding a club-room joke, usually ...
Liberal Democrats Press Office: 020 7340 4949 EMBARGO: Immediate Jonathan Fryer appointed Lib Dem Brexit Spokesperson for London The Liberal Democrats have announced their team of regional spokespeople for Brexit. Jonathan Fryer, a former candidate in the EU elections for London, an academic and a journalist, has been appointed as the regional spokesperson for London. He will [...]
Peter Grender, Dad, showed tactical genius from an early age. So determined was he to win the heart of my Mum - Iris, the girl he met at the school dance, that he offered to memorise her phone number for his mate who had spent the evening dancing with her and promptly pretended to forget it. When Iris went out with another boyfriend, Peter would pop round for a regular cuppa with Iris's Mum, his innate charm won the day! He was a mix of generosity, wit, creativity, relentless attention to detail but most of all a loyalty and warmth ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Tavish Scott has branded efforts by Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) bosses to reduce teacher workloads as a "dossier of failures", following their appearance at the Parliament's Education Committee today. Scottish Liberal Democrat analysis has found that the CfE Management Board discussed rising teacher workloads on numerous occasions since 2012 but ... Continue reading Scott: 'Dossier of Failure' on Teacher Workloads
So this morning I tweeted: Fellow Remainers, please stop pretending Vote Leave said UK would stay in the single market. It didn't. Let's not join the fake news rush. pic.twitter.com/TrFHclaZ5c — Stephen Tall (@stephentall) January 18, 2017 I got a fair few replies to this and to my blog-post yesterday, in which I wrote: I can't feign the outrage I've seen expressed today about our departure from the single market. Of course I think it's the wrong choice. And yes, I think Vote Leave was deliberately disingenuous in the referendum campaign in eliding single market membership/access. It's also quite possible ...
During today's plenary debate with the Prime Minister of Malta, ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt has called on the pro-European parties to work together rebuild Europe. Guy Verhofstadt said: "Trump is openly against Europe, saying the European Union will fall apart. The turning point is here. This is the moment for unity, reform and integration. The ... Continue reading Verhofstadt: 'Let's Work Together to Rebuild Europe'.
This might just about be acceptable with trade rules or corporation tax rates but not, in my view, with people's lives. Continue reading →
Theresa May's speech today was a mixture of vacuous soundbites and ominous indicators of the direction of travel. Shorn of the window-dressing, it is clear that she leads a government of the Hard Brexit. She concluded with a nauseous section suggesting that the country is "coming together" after June's referendum. As one wag put it on Twitter, that is like setting a fire, burning the house down and expecting those who queried what you were doing to "come together" in the rebuilding project. More seriously, by opting for a Hard Brexit, exiting the single market (ironically, an achievement of Margaret ...
[IMG: cz0jdu3xuamv87_] I was taken by a short article in a recent Merseytravel staff briefing which reads:- RMT Union story We received a number of enquiries regarding the RMT announcement regarding a dispute with Merseyrail in relation to new trains which were directed to Merseyrail who issued a statement. This was picked up by several local and regional media including the Liverpool Echo. Firstly lets get a few explanations in The railway unions are ASLEF and RMT The public transport body for the Liverpool City Region/Merseyside is Merseytravel which is a Committee of the Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City ...
[IMG: Welsh picture] ALDC and the Welsh party have teamed up to offer a series of training events in Wales over the next two months. These are free to attend and respond to training requests raised in the Welsh party's recent local party survey. The first event is in Cardigan on Saturday 28 January followed by Cardiff on [...]
Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Mike Rumbles MSP has today branded proposals to fund one week of free travel for ScotRail season ticket holders out of the fund designed to pay for service improvements as "scandalous and fraudulent". At this morning's Rural Economy and Connectivity committee, Phil Verster, the Managing Director of ScotRail Alliance revealed ... Continue reading Rumbles Outraged by 'Scandalous and Fraudulent' ScotRail Fund Raid
My week began with a Citizenship Ceremony held in the Mayor's Parlour at Southport Town Hall. I am a great fan of this relatively recent introduction which marks the awarding of British Citizenship with a dignified ceremony. These events clearly lay out what it is to be a British Citizen and, for the individuals concerned, mark the culmination of what may have been a long and exacting process. This week we welcomed two new citizens; Priya Sugadhamma and Mohammad Mahmud Hasan Sarker. They were accompanied by their family and friends. Both have been settled in the UK and I am ...
Very nearly every political movement since the late 18th century has its roots in the enlightenment, from American constitutionalism to the rational imperialism of Napoleon. It is hard to overstate its influence on every strand of modern political thought, from conservatism to socialism to liberalism. All built on this revelation: that facts matter more than faith, and reason is greater than fear. The fascism of Italy, that spread like wildfire across Europe and then the rest of the world, was not built on the foundations of the enlightenment. It was instead a rejection of the values espoused by it, a ...
I don't actually know much about La La Land but I do know a great deal about Gilbert and Sullivan operas. In The Mikado the Lord High Executioner, Koko,explains away the fact that he has not actually executed the tenor lead, Nanki-Poo, as follows: It's like this:When Your Majesty says, 'Let a thing be done' it's as good as done - practically it is done - because Your Majesty's will is law. Your Majesty says, 'Kill a gentleman' and a gentleman is told off to be killed. Consequently the gentleman is as good as dead - practically he is dead ...
Wed 18th
10:51
LibLink: Tim Farron: Whether you are Leave or Remain, Theresa May just betrayed you on Brexit
Tim Farron wrote a long response to Theresa May's speech yesterday for the Guardian. Here are some of the highlights; The new Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, himself commented that May's words could have come straight from a Ukip party conference speech. Farage and Nuttall might like to convince themselves that the referendum was an endorsement of their nationalist, populist politics, but that is an injustice to most of the British people who voted leave. Pursuing Ukip's warped vision will not only have severe consequences on our economy, it will also severely damage our standing in the world. A reckless exit ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson, Cllr Carolyn Caddick, has today said that significant investment in education and skills is the key to reducing unemployment and growing the economy as new figures show Scotland has continued to slip behind the rest of the UK on both unemployment and employment. GDP figures, also released today, show the ... Continue reading Caddick: 'Education Key to Strong Economy'
This is a reminder that the call for evidence for the Alderdice Review is still open. The independent inquiry, currently being led by Lord Alderdice, is an examination into the processes and culture within the party, with a specific emphasis on race and ethnicity. Below are some of the key questions and issues the inquiry is investigating: 1. Are there barriers to participation for BAME members? If so, what and where are they? 2. Do barriers differ in different parts of the party? 3. How effective are existing mechanisms/procedures in addressing the issue? 4. Does the Party do enough to ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP spoke out yesterday against short-term prison sentences after new statistics revealed short-term sentences of up to 3 months made up 30% of custodial sentences in 2015-16. Statistics released by the Scottish Government also show an increase in domestic abuse and sexual crimes of 44% and 53% respectively since ... Continue reading McArthur: Short Sentences Show Reform is Essential
Wed 18th
08:55LibLInk: Paddy Ashdown: Theresa May's Brexit is not what people voted for. They deserve another say
Paddy Ashdown set out his view of Theresa May's Brexit speech in a typically blistering article in the Independent: Nobody voted, he says, for the Britain the Tories have planned, as revealed by Phlilip Hammond over the weekend: Last weekend in Germany, Chancellor Philip Hammond blurted out the truth about the course May has chosen. Retain the closest economic links with the EU, he said, and Britain will remain a broadly European-style nation. If we cast off all our European moorings and head for the open sea, we risk having to turn ourselves into a low-tax, no-regulation, cheap-labour equivalent of ...
Please join the One World Centre on Monday 23rd January 2017 to hear renowned author Colm Regan's presentation: Food is Power. It takes place at the University of Dundee, Dalhousie Building Room 1F01, from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.
Wed 18th
06:59
This may be the weirdest thing said in the House of Commons - and weirdest move by the Labour Party ...
Sorry to write about what is essentially the exact same topic two days in a row, but two factors play into me doing this. One, I'm in Italy this week, interviewing people for several projects I have on the go, thus I'm away from Westminster at present and two, the totally bizarre statement given by Kier Starmer in response to Theresa May's Brexit plan speech needs go be called out. I suppose a third factor is that Starmer's Bizzaro World response has got very little attention in the press (or not much I can see clearly while dashing about in ...
Enhancing the EU's Engagement With Separatist Territories Interesting as ever from @Tom_deWaal. (tags: georgia Armenia Azerbaijan moldova eu ) May's 12-point shopping list Euractiv's analysis. (tags: eu brexit ) A full English Brexit is on the menu Brilliant Spectator analysis. (tags: eu brexit ukpolitics ) The problem with the English: England doesn't want to be just another member of a team Polemic on difference between English and British. (tags: ukpolitics brexit eu )
We brought you Tim Farron's response to Theresa May's announcement that Britain is seeking reckless isolation, but what have other Liberal Democrats been saying about it. Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder: This government's pursuit of a hard Brexit and pulling Britain out of the Single Market will mean losing so much more than just free trading arrangements. Theresa May's hard Brexit will strip future generations of the life-changing opportunities to travel, work and study across Europe. Millions who voted both Remain and Leave on 23rd June don't endorse this extreme version of Brexit. It must be the people who have ...
He is only due to be inaugurated on Friday but already Donald Trump looks set to ditch his main campaign pitch, the many things he promised to do on day one. As the Independent says, Trump made many promises for his first day in office, from saying he would deport two million undocumented migrants in his "first hour" to claiming he would start building a wall along the border between Mexico and the US immediately, his first day was set to be action-packed. However, now the President-elect has announced that he will not start attending to presidential duties until two ...
