Tue 11th
22:56

Six of the Best 683

"No flourishing urban environment has developed around the Hepworth in the manner of London's South Bank, in spite of its riverside location." Matthew Green visits Wakefield and asks what can be done to revive its economy and those of similar places. Osita Nwanevu explains why the alt-right hates Donald Trump's air strike against Syria. "Making streets not just safe but obviously safe will require years of effort and some politically very tricky decisions." Peter Walker explains why scrapping speed bumps is a ludicrous solution to air pollution. "A lot of us had been in combat over the last few weeks, ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

A new planning application has been submitted to Bury Council by the owners of the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Whitefield. LSH Auto Properties (UK) Ltd via their Agent Terence O'Rourke Ltd have submitted a proposal to demolish two cottages on Manchester Road (numbers 853 and 857) which adjoin each other and are located next to the [...]

Posted by Steve Middleton on Steve Middleton

Embed from Getty Images The Leicester Mercury wins our Headline of the Day Award, but there is more to it than that. The story below sounds amusing: During the October meeting Coun Porter was questioning the city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby about a land sale in his Aylestone ward. The incident, caught in its entirety on the council's webcast, shows Coun Thomas heckling Coun Porter as he speaks, shouting he 'bottled it'. Coun Porter immediately responded saying: "I won't be taking any lectures from somebody named after a male appendage.' Lord Mayor Steven Corrall, who chaired the meeting, asked Coun ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Last year I wrote a blog about how two years I went to the doctors about my anxiety and depression and was basically shooed away because the doctor couldn't deal with it. It put me off seeking medical help again, which when you have an unseen illness that is surrounded by stigma and misunderstanding, isn't the best choice to make. So for two years, I simply dealt with it and I feel I have done well in that regard. I do struggle occasionally but in the main, I haven't taken any dark tumbles close to the suicidal nature I hit ...

Posted by Matthew Metcalf on The Mec Journal

Recently, I blogged about Iain Sinclair's London Review of Books essay The last London. I rather like this letter to the LRB in reply: Like Iain Sinclair, I too walk on the canal path between Victoria Park and Broadway Market, but in many years of doing so I've never seen anybody fall into the canal. Sinclair, on the other hand, reports witnessing two such episodes, apparently within a short interval of time. Correlation doesn't entail causation, but I can't help asking whether these incidents might be correlated with the presence of a psychogeographer wandering dreamily in search of evocative connections ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

With election season fully underway, now's a good time to be thinking about podcasts to listen to whilst out delivering, stuffing envelopes or typing up data. So rather than a long post about what I hope Lib Dem members will respond to the consultation on party strategy with support for a core votes strategy, here's a podcast in which I talk about the issue. It's the third of a three-part interview with me for the Limehouse Podcast: The earlier parts are also still available: You can subscribe to the Limehouse Podcast or download individual episodes on iTunes.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

I don't live in London. I live in Preston, a city in the North of England. In fact, it is 234 miles to Westminster Bridge from my home and would take me four hours and seven minutes in the car to reach. Some may say that it doesn't affect me. That it shouldn't. Such a terrible event happening so far away. But it does. I don't live in Stockholm or Brussels or Istanbul or Orlando or any of the other places where Islamist terrorists have struck. They have proven they can strike anywhere, anytime with a variety of different methods. ...

Posted by Matthew Metcalf on The Mec Journal

Ever since Jeremy Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader, there has been a steady drip drip of Labour councillors and activists leaving the party. Sometimes leaving politics, sometimes moving over to the Liberal Democrats and sometimes switching to independence: Four Gloucestershire councillors have walked away from the Labour Party blaming the politics of Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters for their departure. Councillors Paul Hiett, Roger James, Tim Gwilliam and Bill Osborne have set up their own Independent Labour group saying they no longer like the direction the official party is taking. Sources close the local politicians say the controversial Momentum movement, ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Not disclosing my ranking: A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers Second paragraph of third chapter:It was too much. Too much, and yet, the restrictions that were in place made processing the Port all the harder. Things were happening behind the kit, she knew. She could hear them, smell them. The visual cone of perception that had rattled her upon installation was maddening now. She found herself jerking the kit sharply around at loud noises and bright colours, trying desperately to take it all in. That was her job. To look. To notice. She couldn't do that here, not ...

Last month I wrote about how the Lib Dems were at 23% in the London sub section of a YouGov Poll. Well today I've seen another YouGov poll breakdown and even though the numbers are ever so slightly worse for the party, it shows that there is a real consolidation of support for Tim Farron's lot within the capital city and that it wasn't just a rogue. You can see the chart below. YouGov Poll – April 2017 The sense of opportunity to rebuild the base of the party in London town seems to be one that has been created ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery
YouGov

In my column last week in the Visiter I promised that there would be more music and so it has proved. The Mayor's Charity Ball was held at the Floral Hall in Southport on Saturday and topping the bill was Dannielle Louise Thomas. She is one of our own- in so much as she was brought up in Crosby and attended Sacred Heart School. Her performance and her choice of music were pitch perfect. It was the high point of a successful evening. Around 200 people attended from across the borough and supporters of some of the key charities I ...

Posted by iain on theMayoralBlog

So I'm there having a perusal of the Guardian website today and I click on a story about the 1997 Election triumph of the party. An absolute landslide that led to 13 years of Labour rule while the Tories sat in opposition and never got close to winning back power. I scroll down to the comments and the one with the moves up votes sums up everything: No mention of the fact that Blair, Mandelson & Co. rendered Labour unelectable by moving so far away from Labour values, starting illegal foreign wars and stealing billions from ordinary people's pensions? So ...

Posted by neilmonnery on The Rambles of Neil Monnery

Since the result to the EU referendum result was declared on 24th June last year, one thing that has been crystal clear is that of the three main Britain wide political parties the Lib Dems are the party of the 48% whose driving ambition at the moment it seems is to fight to remain in the EU. If a man or woman on the street were approached by a pollster and asked which of the main nationwide parties has the most defined position on Brexit it would be the Lib Dems and that it is very much the most pro-EU ...

Posted by Wayne Chadburn on Liberal Democrat Voice

Lydiate's famous Scotch Piper Pub is back up and running after the devastating fire to its thatched roof not so long ago. And it looks a treat now with it's new wig, a coat of whitewash and bedecked with flowers. I understand that Edie Pope of Church View Farm did the planters/flowers. And this is what it looked like after the fire:- What a difference a few weeks can make to this famous Listed Building known across the north west of England. The top photo is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

I'm delighted to announce that I am standing for election in the Camborne Treswithian ward for Cornwall Council, Polling Day is May 4th. This ward covers Weeth, Kehelland, Treswithian and Camborne School areas of Camborne, so if that's where you live, expect to see me or one of my team calling around very soon to listen to your views. In the meantime, do get in touch via social media or the contact me buttons.

Posted by Anna Pascoe on Anna Pascoe

Yesterday, at Wadham College, Oxford, the Bureau of Liberal International (LI) gathered, along with several other members of the LI Executive, including myself, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the organisation. We stood for a group photo on the very steps where our predecessors posed for a photograph in 1947. At its [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

Chicken grows face of dinosaur Dinosaur is dinosaur shock BBC Radio 4 - Did the Victorians Ruin the World? You should all listen to this excellent radio series. Each episode is Less than 15 mins, so the five eps will only take just over an hour. Put the final Brexit deal to a referendum with revoking Article 50 as an option. - Petitions Look, we all know that this is going to get the usual government response of "sod off", but it adds infinitesimally to the pressure. 15 honest British seaside postcards that'll make you laugh with recognition if you've ...

Last week I spent a few days in Wakefield, a small city to the east of Leeds in West Yorkshire. The economic fortunes of such small towns in Britain is one of the big issues in British public policy. I am still searching for the answers. Wakefield goes back at least to that era which Britons refer to ... Continue reading Where is the light for towns like Wakefield? →

Posted by Matthew on thinking liberal

I would like to make a further call for evidence regarding my independent inquiry into the processes and culture within the party, with a focus on issues relating to race and ethnicity. Thank you to all those who have already contributed to the review, whether by written testimony, in person or via other means. There is no set deadline for the submission of evidence however, as I begin to draw together my initial findings, it is important that I hear from all those who have relevant experiences, insights and views to help me form an accurate picture of the party ...

Posted by John Alderdice on Liberal Democrat Voice

With the Brexit negotiations looming I feel we need to look at our countries digital skills. We also need a nationwide digital strategy linked to the devolution plans for building digital skills, diversifying private IT investment UK-wide, support of digital start-up companies with both finance and IT mentoring and encouraging 'pay it forward' schemes for finance and IT mentoring for digital business and Government services. However, we also must focus on diversity and inclusion as part of this digital strategy. One example of this is the Northern voices programme which has been set up to get more women in IT ...

Posted by Diane Reddell on Liberal Democrat Voice
eUKhost
Tue 11th
09:26

Heaton Park Update

Last month local Lib Dem Councillors had a regular 'catch up' with the Manager of Heaton Park, joined this time by the Community Impact Manager for the Parklife Festival. There is a lot happening in the Park at the moment which we wanted to feed back to you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have questions or comments you would like us to pass on. Tree Top Trek People may be aware of the 'Tree Top Trek' which is being contracted in the area of woodland to the south of the reservoir. The trek is being ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

What's this to do with? A few months ago, I was contacted by local residents who were dismayed by the design and lack of effectiveness of the relatively new barrier introduced at the footpath entrance to Elter Walk, at the Gunthorpe Road end. In response, I contacted Council Officers, paid several site visits, and raised [...]

Posted by Cllr Darren Fower on Cllr Darren Fower

I am a bit slow on this one but have decided to comment because the row does not appear to be going away anytime soon. Yesterday's Independent reports that a UKIP councillor who blamed problems faced by the NHS on female doctors has defended his comments, calling the high number of women in medical training a "major problem". They say that Nigel Pearson distributed a leaflet that claimed a nationwide shortage of doctors was caused by "positive discrimination in favour of women", who are more likely to work part-time. The leaflet, produced by Mr Pearson and other Ukip candidates in ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Harris Education and Recreation Association had an excellent start in its first term running a great choice of evening classes at the school. The new Spring session of evening classes will commence later this month with the following options : Holiday Spanish Introduction to PhotographyPilates Painting & DrawingBeginners Art for FunFoods of the World Ballroom Dancing for Beginners The Therapeutic Art of Crochet Enrolment night will take place on Wednesday 19th April at 6pm in Harris. Spaces will be allocated upon registration and payment at that time. You can read more by clicking here.

A guest posting from Jen Robertson Is our favourite word selling us short? A quick google of the phrase 'Lib Dem tolerant' and you get a lot of hits, resulting in quotes like these: "I will build the open, tolerant, united party that can be the opposition to this Conservative government... Together, we must fight to keep Britain open, tolerant and united." - Tim Farron (http://www.libdems.org.uk/tim-farron-speech-16) "Join the Liberal Democrats to help shape a more liberal, tolerant, inclusive society" (https://lgbt.libdems.org.uk/en/) "The Liberal Democrats are the party that will stand up to the decent British values of tolerance, moderation and generosity." ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Perhaps the most common mistake political campaigners make is to think that it's boring, unnecessary and Luddism for political campaigns to keep on repeating a small number of messages long past the point at which they personally are bored with them. It's a mistake, because when put to the test the public repeatedly shows limited knowledge of basic political information (though that isn't as damaging to democracy as you might think). This is demonstrated once again by the latest polling by Lord Ashcroft, in which 37% say they don't know the Liberal Democrat position on Europe and another 3% think ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

You're Not Mad at United Airlines; You're Mad at America Probably. (tags: uspolitics unitedairlines )

Tue 11th
05:59

Gender Pay Gap Reporting

A small, but important, measure which was championed by the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government, came into effect last week. When Jo Swinson was Minister for Equalities, she introduced the requirement for companies with more than 250 employees to report on their gender pay gap (the difference between what men get paid and what women get paid). In this article in on the Huffington Post website, Jo Swinson explains that the gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay: "The media often mangles the distinction, so it's not surprising many people confuse the two concepts. Equal Pay ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

Just to wish residents a Happy Easter, and a Happy Passover. Passover started last night (Monday, 10 April and ends in the evening of Tuesday, 18 April 2017). All of our local churches have special services and activities over the weekend. More information: Our Lady of Grace, St Mary's, St Margaret's and St George's (Simister), both Methodist Churches and the Studio Church. Information on St Gabriel's and St Hilda's can be found at this Church of England Website. There is information on pharmacy and NHS opening times below.

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

Only on weekends and bank holidays are GP services limited. On all other days surgeries are open from 8am to 6.30pm as normal. Saturday, 15th April is normal working day for pharmacies and so pharmacists will be open as normal. Pharmacists offer expert health advice and recommend over-the-counter medicines that offer relief from the most common illnesses such as colds, headaches, cuts or an upset stomach. Patients are advised to telephone their usual pharmacy before travelling, as opening hours may vary during the holiday period. Click here for opening times and phone numbers for pharmacies and GPs over the Easter ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone
Tue 11th
05:13

Interview Skills Classes

As part of the Big Lottery funded project 'No Barriers' there is a short course in Interview Techniques being offered at Radcliffe Works, staffed by Bury College staff. This course is offered free of charge for unemployed adults. Details of the course and the No Barriers project are attached for information. If you would like to refer a client or to discuss further please give them a call on 0161 280 8645.

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone