Embed from Getty Images Michael Crawford, in his memoirs Parcel Arrived Safely: Tied with String, describes the break up of his marriage: I moved out of our Wimbledon home in November 1972. But we had gone our separate roads months before we ever parted, and it was fairly clear in Gabrielle's mind that our marriage was over, although, at the time, I adamantly refused to admit it to myself. Later on a friendship developed for Gabrielle which gave her the strength of face the realities of our own relationship. I had always been a passionate football fan and loved going ...
Photographs from this afternoon's wanderings. The cool kids call it psychogeography. I am pleased to report that the Jos. Rogers & Co. 1½p sign is still there.
In the olden days when by-election candidates were selected, there was a press release with lots of biographical information and some lovely quotes from the candidate. These days, Ed Fordham just tells everyone on Twitter. The @LibDemPress @LibDems have selected #DrZulfiqarAli for #StokeOnTrentCentral @SentinelStaffs @BBCRadioStoke pic.twitter.com/6d0g5CNxFe — Ed Fordham (@edfordham) January 20, 2017 I have heard massively good things about Dr Zulfiqar Ali. He's an NHS consultant who lives in Stoke and fought the seat in 2015. The Party President was one of the first to congratulate him. Delighted #DrZulfiqarAli selected @LibDems candidate for Stoke C. A local passionate about ...
Sat 21st
14:27
Tim Farron's message to the London Women's March: We fight back against divisiveness and intolerance...
I may have spoken too soon last night. Seems like the leader was on the case after all. We change the world when we fightback against intolerance and divisiveness by working together. #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/d8c2Mq2Uh0 — Tim Farron (@timfarron) January 21, 2017 And here is Sarah Olney MP leading the Lib Dem delegation at the march. .@LibDems out in force at Londons #WomensMarch with @sarahjolney1 pic.twitter.com/YNBX2btKrh — Lib Dem HQ Diversity (@LibDemDiversity) January 21, 2017 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Liberal Democrat President Sal Brinton says: Delighted that Dr Zulfiqar Ali selected as PPC for Stoke Central last night. His speech to members showed that he is passionate about his town, and the problems that towns like Stoke face after the Brexit vote. As a doctor, he also understands the crisis that the NHS is facing at the moment. Great news! He stood in the seat in 2015, winning 4.2% of the vote. There is however a history of greater Liberal Democrat strength in the seat with the party having polled 22% in 2010 and 18% in 2005, finishing second ...
What's this to do with then? Each year the Peterborough Liberal Democrats undertake an on-line Resident Survey, asking people in Peterborough to take a moment and share their thoughts and opinions on a range of community topics. What were the results? We asked whether respondents if they'd like you like to see more police on [...]
Sat 21st
12:59
Liverpool – Calderstones Park Miniature Railway & a rather unpopular house building schem...
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above Those who know me will realise that I am into railways of any scale so it will be no surprise that I picked up on this Echo article. The Echo story reads as a good news one until you get towards the end of it because the potential bonus for the miniature railway (must get around to visiting it) is really built upon the loss of much loved green space for housing. The story is also very different from the one the paper published in October 2014:- Obviously ...
There are two sorts of councils and hence council elections in the UK. Those called "principal authorities", which cover bodies such as* county councils, district councils, unitary councils and London Boroughs. Then there is a lower tier made up of parish, community and town councils. Politically, there is a key difference between the two which explains why systematic analysis of council by-elections, vote share changes in them and collections of local by-election results all cover (only) principal authorities. That's true for academics, the better sort of political pundits, reference works and the like. Parish, community and town council elections are ...
Note: I am writing this quickly on my phone, so apologises for spelling and grammar errors and the lack of citations I saw the above on my Facebook feed this morning from the most important right-leaning magazine in America. And it made me realise that many conservatives have no idea how lucky they have been [...]
In blaming human error for a self-driving car crash, US regulators have missed an opportunity to learn from such incidents The Tesla Model S is an extraordinary machine. As part of my research into the regulation of self-driving cars, I've had the privilege of driving one. Or more accurately, I've had the privilege of being driven by one. On a Colorado highway in July, with some trepidation, I flicked the lever to engage Autopilot mode. I told the representative from Tesla that I was worried about handing over control, taking my feet off the pedals and my hands off the ...
So now we know what Brexit means. Other than the famous tautology, it means we're out of the Union, out of the market, out of the travel area, out of the customs union, everything. To cut a long story very short, it means I feel lied to. Far from governing in the interests of both Remain and Leave voters, this government's Brexit objectives leave pro-Europeans with no stake in the proceedings that will define this United Kingdom perhaps for the remaining duration of its existence. Worse, we are being asked to meekly unite behind the most trenchant version of the ...
Angela Merkel and Barack Obama Barack Obama left office with justifiably high approval ratings. Donald Trump comes in having lost the popular vote badly, and with poor and declining approval: for him, the honeymoon period is over even before it began. A brave woman is preparing to sue him for sexual harassment. We are in the surreal world where a wise and highly-experienced candidate who got more votes than him watched him be sworn in, knowing her campaign was damaged by false allegations that had her dubbed "crooked Hilary" while Trump has shaken off allegations that would finish most political ...
I hate harping on the guy, I really do. Unlike when I point out when Jeremy Corbyn has done something daft, I really don't enjoy it when I have to take the member of parliament for Holborn and St Pancras to task for a silly move. But Starmer leaves me no choice this week. After Farron managed to get onto the front of the Guardian following Labour's terrible moves of late on Brexit, Starmer felt he had to take to the offensive against the Lib Dems. I get that – but you have to wonder it he stopped to think ...
Some of the first acts of the Trump presidency were to remove all references to US Government policy on climate change and LGBT rights from the White House website. He also announced that he plans to stop funding the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA budget is $148 million, Trump's inauguration cost $200 million. Over at the Guardian, Richard Wolffe makes a strong case as to why it could be all downhill from now on for the Trump Presidency. Now he has to take responsibility for his ramblings on Twitter, for his relationship with Vladimir Putin and his corporate ...
Remember how, last week, Jeremy Corbyn's relaunch was such a runaway success. Not even Tony Blair in the early years could gather such positive headlines. Ok, so maybe that's not quite how it happened. At least we're now clear on their policy on freedom of movement. They love immigration and they hate it, depending on who they are talking to. Labour has stepped up its attacks on the Lib Dems in the last couple of days, presumably because they have to fight two by-elections on 23rd February where the Leave vote will be split 3 ways and we are the ...
From Blether Tay-Gither : Our January meeting will be held on Tuesday 31st January in Madigan's Tea Emporium, Castle Street at 7pm The theme this month is Rogues and Fools. Hope to see some of you there - all welcome!
A new year, a new committee and a new chair. However this first meeting of the English Lib Dem Executive will be a surprisingly short one. First, with many of the other party bodies having taken a rest over Christmas and the New Year, and even more so this year given the membership of most [...]
Democrats in the Wilderness A brutal analysis. (tags: uspolitics ) The EU's New Political Landscape My colleague Timea on the European Parliament's new leadership. (tags: eu ) Report on US elections recommends universality and equality of vote for all citizens OSCE/ODIHR hitting the mark. (tags: Uspolitics osce ) Can Trump save the euro? Daniel's take (from last month) (tags: eu euro )
And so the revolution at the Journal continues. This North East newspaper is normally loyal to Labour but in recent weeks, it has been putting out positive coverage of the Lib Dems. On Friday, it carried a front page lead on Tim Farron's attack on the useless and ineffective Labour "leader" Jeremy Corbyn who is abandoning the role of opposition to join Theresa May in pushing through the
If Brexiteers believe that Britain is in line for a great free trade deal with the US, can I just refer them to Donald Trump's inauguration speech. He made it absolutely clear, in every capital around the world, that America is first. He wants capital and wealth "returned" to America. I'm left wondering what will happen to American businesses that have invested in the UK. Are these factories to
Sat 21st
00:03
"I warned David Cameron over failing Brexit strategy" - Owen Jones interviews Nick Clegg
Left-wing commentator Owen Jones's latest interview subject is former Liberal Democrat leader and current MP Nick Clegg.
