I have been waiting with great excitement to see what Joss Whedon would do next. I have – with admittedly greater trepidation – waited to see where the DCEU was heading. That they have converged in making a Batgirl film ought to delight me. Yet I'm rather ambivalent. That's partly because there's a good chance this [...]
Those of you who are fans, or even mere users, of Twitter will have noticed in the last few days that they have changed how replies are dealt with. Now, rather than the handles of the people you are replying to being included in a tweet, they appear above it, like so: Like many of their recent changes, such as not counting links or images in the character count, it is designed to increase the space available in the tweet for text and emojis. Also like many of their recent changes, it takes what should be a simple platform and ...
Thirty-seven films before Blow-Up is surely an exaggeration, but Hemmings had done a lot of television too.
Today is the annual Transgender Day of Visibility, a day when we are asked to take the time to learn and understand about transgender people's lived experiences, where we celebrate our transgender and non binary friends and think about what we can do over the next year to make their lives easier. If you just take a look at the #TDOV hashtag on Twitter, there is so much you can learn from people sharing their experiences. I want to point out just three of the day's highlights. Two of them involve Liberal Democrats. First is the amazing Maria Munir. It's ...
"When I was 11 my favourite radio comedy was The Men from the Ministry," as I once blogged. This episode of that show was first broadcast in April 1980. It deals with the ministry's attempts to enforce a standard size for stick of rhubarb. A satire on the European Union's banana regulations? No. Because this is a remake of an episode that was broadcast back in 1962. I suspect the sort of people who believe government is ridiculous have always believed government is ridiculous. If we leave the European Union then they will believe Westminster is ridiculous - and that ...
It's just one opinion poll, but the one commissioned from YouGov by the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London, has some striking findings. As the university's press release says: The poll, carried out by YouGov between 24 and 28 March, finds Labour at 37 per cent, just three points ahead of the Conservatives. A year ago the gap between the two parties was 16 points. Labour is now seven percentage points below its share in the 2015 general election. Support for the Liberal Democrats has doubled since the last London poll in April 2016, and stands at 14 ...
I have never been convinced that chessboxing is a thing, but I cannot resist this story from Politico: Forget Brexit, the big British battle takes place Saturday as a UKIP MEP and a Liberal Democrat activist take each other on at chessboxing. Jonathan Arnott, who has represented UKIP in the European Parliament since 2014, will take on Toby White, a Lib Dem activist and Remain supporter, in a bout in East London. Arnott is a club-level chess player but has never boxed before, whereas White has competed in two chessboxing matches ... Chessboxing sees competitors do battle in alternating rounds ...
Fri 31st
19:45
Should we hide in a bunker where we're always right, or try and do things differently?
Sometimes, I wonder just how the various forms of the Right have become so dominant in our politics, and then sometimes I have days like yesterday that explain perfectly why they manage it. It's not that they have the best ideas or anything like that, it's that they know that the best way to build yourself back up when you're in opposition is not to form a circular firing squad and commence sniping at each other. Two things yesterday reminded me that liberals and the left are far too willing to form into a firing circle than they are to ...
Our eighth update from the LDV Fantasy Football League. Double congratulations to Alain Desmier, not only our Manager of the Month for March, but a runaway leader in the overall league. His Mountgrove Maulers scored an impressive 218 points, a nose ahead of Lynda Reid's Paris Saint Yer'ma (213) and Lucy Keating's FC Insert Name Here (210). Here's the overall league table: There are 202 players in total and you can still join the league by clicking here. * Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.
Fri 31st
15:51
City Centre is designed for cars, at the "expense of pedestrians and cyclists" says PCC
What's this about then? Liberal Democrat councillors have long claimed that under the Tory controlled City Council, the attitude regarding travel throughout our city is the "car is king!" Well now, thanks to the published Local Plan, an official document of the local authority, it seems that officers at the Town Hall agree? In the [...]
The Candidate & Diversity Team will be hosting a series of webinars on the candidate process; covering aspects of approval, selection and candidacy. The sessions will be led by some of the party's most experienced candidates and trainers. Full details below: Becoming an Approved Candidate |Thursday 13 April, 6.30pm| Trainer TBC Covering: The candidate application process Assessment day preparation Understanding the candidacy competency framework Successful Selection |Monday 24 April, 6.30pm| Trainer: Lisa Smart, PPC for Hazel Grove Winning your selection campaign Selection Literature Communicating your message Engaging local members Top Tips for First Time Candidates |Monday 8 May, 6pm |Trainer: ...
Good news in the latest London polling for the Liberal Democrats: London // Westminster VI: LAB: 37% (-7) CON: 34% (-1) LDEM: 14% (+6) UKIP: 9% (+1) GRN: 5% (-) (via YouGov / 24 – 28 Mar) Chgs w/ GE2015. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 31, 2017
I've not been able to post here much in the last few weeks, because it's been one of those times when multiple different causes of stress all rear up simultaneously. Of those, by far the worst was my maternal grandmother ... Continue reading →
Well. We knew that the Lib Dem Press Office could raise a smile with its constant sass. Last year the Huffington Post cited 17 occasions when it was the most entertaining thing in British politics. But last night, something extraordinary happened. Serious journalists heaped praise on our little press operation. It started with a tweet from Sam Coates of the Times: This. Every Lab MP should read this & be embarrassed. The Lib Dems do vg rebuttal, quotes and opposition research... pic.twitter.com/Ts9OiXewPY — Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes) March 30, 2017 ... while Labour aren't on the pitch. They aren't pitching ...
Carl Cashman I love this quote from Carl as it really does sum up why our part of the world voted to remain in the EU and why should all be fighting for the EU and against the headlong Hard Brexit of May & Corbyn. Our region has benefited massively from EU investment when Merseyside was really down at heel and Carl is right to point that out. Time to ditch old allegiances and get behind Carl to be our first Mersey Mayor. Labour and Tories (and of course UKIP) will simply continue to press for a Hard Brexit which ...
Fri 31st
12:34
Why the best Korean food comes from the least exciting parts of Korea (Cable from Korea #11)
The Haeundae area of Busan boasts an appealing medley of attractive beaches, impressive skyscrapers and delightful mountains. These impressive assets draw in numerous tourists and make it one of the most desirable places to live in the whole of South Korea. Ironically, it also has some of the worst food. I say that even though [...]
The Maghull East site with crops growing on it on 24th April 2016. Building on it is madness. I hear, from what I understand to be reliable a source, that a developer is is outlining its intentions with regard to the huge urban extension site on the eastern side of Maghull and into Melling. A recent sunrise over the presently farmed land off Poverty Lane, Maghull. I wonder how many sunrises the crops will see in the future as the land has sadly been designated to build hundreds and hundreds of houses on (plus an industrial estate) by Sefton Council ...
I would like to tell you about the Conference Access Fund which Liberal Democrat members have provided. It helps members on low incomes or those who have a disability by providing financial assistance so that they can take part at conference. I used the fund to assist with the costs of having a support worker to enable me at conference. May I firstly say how helpful the stewards and Lib Dem HQ conference staff were at conference. The Conference Access Fund is unique to the Liberal Democrats as the other four parties with the exception of the Green party (who ...
I know, I know! The reasons against are well known and she's said that she won't however this Guido story about CCHQ pushing out attack lines on Labour (weak on defence, soft on ISIS) seems odd otherwise. Why bother attacking Labour when you can just ignore them in their self-imposed irrelevance?
Fri 31st
11:57
How will the Lib Dems do in the May local elections? And what does a good day for them look like?
On May 4th, the electorate go to the polls in 27 non-metropolitan county councils in England, 7 unitary councils in England, one metropolitan borough in England (Doncaster), while every local seat in Scotland and Wales will be contested. Given how many local seats the Lib Dems lost in the last parliament, combined with Lib Dem excitement around local elections (it's up there with legalising illicit substances), I thought it would be interesting to do a realistic look at how the party might do on the day. Let's start with England. When most of these seats were last contested in 2013, ...
Theresa May's letter stated that H.M. Government seeks "a deep and special partnership" with "a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement" that covers financial services, where we "have to align with rules agreed by institutions of which we are no longer a part", and "manage the evolution of our regulatory frameworks to maintain a fair and open trading environment". The closest model would seem to be the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTAs) that the EU has already negotiated with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, and has offered to Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. Since all these jurisdictions account for ...
My visits to Rotary began with the Technology Challenge organised by the Southport Rotary group at Greenbank High School. I met students from local school and colleges who were participating in this event. Their task was to design and make an electrically powered car to travel along a course and pick up a load. I was genuinely impressed by the inventiveness of the students who ranged in age from 12 to 18 years old. Some of the older students from Southport College were undertaking apprenticeships or preparing to go to university, they had the task well in hand. But it ...
The Lib Dem Press Office has had its Weetabix this morning. Not only did it get its punchy analysis of the EU's statement about the Brexit negotiations out quickly, but it came up with a pretty eye-catching headline. Here's what Tim Farron had to say about the EU statement – and it does not reflect well on Theresa May and her Brexiteers: These guidelines show the strength of the EU in these negotiations, and the carelessness of the UK government in isolating themselves from our European allies. The terms are clear: no sector by sector deals, no bilateral negotiations and ...
[IMG: ns oppostn] The New Statesman's striking cover story this week — "Wanted! An Opposition" — is well worth a read. In one article, George Eaton reports the musings (they don't seem to be much stronger than that) that a new centrist party might emerge, uniting Labour and Conservative moderates left homeless by their parties' lurches to the left and right. Conservative backbencher Anna Soubry's quote is the most enthusiastic: "If it could somehow be the voice of a moderate, sensible, forward-thinking, visionary middle way, with open minds - actually things which I've believed in all my life - better ...
VoteWatch Europe reports: With Brexit process triggered, many observers wonder how the equilibrium of powers in the EU Council would change and who will be most successful in influencing the future EU legislation. We have looked at the voting dynamics over the past 7 years (over 22.000 votes of EU governments) to understand what is likely to happen after the UK leaves. Our analysis is based on the same dataset and methodology that indicated that the UK was increasingly outvoted in the Council in recent years, thus predicting the centrifugal policy orientation of the British government. These are our main ...
She's done it. Mrs May has gone and linked Britain's nuclear deterrent to Brexit trade negotiations. I can honestly stick out my chest, jut out my chin and proclaim: "I told you so. And I told you exclusively." Alright, Mrs. May didn't actually use the n-word in her letter to the European Commission which triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and the start of Brexit negotiations. But in just one document she explicitly linked economic concessions with security issues nine times. It requires only the smallest leap of imagination to realise that the British Prime Minister was talking about ...
What the EU27 wants from Brexit There's a lot of Brexit stuff floating round but this is very useful. (tags: eu brexit ) This Is Almost Certainly James Comey's Twitter Account Brilliant detective work. (tags: instagram uspolitics twitter )
Last October, Shropshire Housing Group (SHG) felled a healthy sycamore tree on the green space between Sidney Road and Charlton Rise. A second tree was saved after hurried negotiations. Now SHG has submitted plans to cut down the second tree and build seven bungalows on the site. When the tree was felled last October, SHG said: "The costs associated with trees are borne by our residents. It is imperative that we mitigate these costs to allow our tenancies to remain affordable. One tree was cut down, however, upon discussions with tenants and a representative of the council it has been ...
Over on Twitter, former Assembly Minister, Leighton Andrews poses an interesting question. He suggests that chapter four of the Brexit Great Repeal White Paper could involve the unravelling of all the devolution settlements. A reading of the relevant chapter shows that he has a point. In particular the white paper says: 4.4 To provide the greatest level of legal and administrative certainty upon leaving the EU, and consistent with the approach adopted more generally in legislating for the point of departure, the Government intends to replicate the current frameworks provided by EU rules through UK legislation. In parallel we will ...
I was in the Lib Dem office in Consett on Thursday afternoon. My mission was to print the front page of our next Whickham Focus. Cllr Chris Ord had already printed p2. 8000 copies went through the riso and I even managed to fold about 4000. That means they will start to go into circulation tomorrow.
Thursday saw the publication of the so-called "Great Repeal" Bill which will transfer European law into British law, all 44 years' worth, when the UK walks away from the EU and into isolation. "Great Repeal" is therefore a by rather ironic name. Parliament is then expected to spend the next decade unpicking all the European legislation incorporated into UK law and writing our own laws and
