The Electoral Reform Society has highlighted a huge drop in the number of young people on the electoral register since individual electoral registration came in. From the Independent: The ERS, which campaigns on access to democracy, said while the move to IER had improved the accuracy of the register, it has also led to a "significant fall" in the number of young people on the electoral roll. Of the nations which introduced IER in 2014, Scotland has seen the biggest drop in the number of "attainers" (16 and 17 year olds on the register), at 35 per cent, followed by ...
A valuable scrap of footage. Boxmoor gas works stood close to Hemel Hempstead station on the Euston main line. But passenger trains from Harpenden never made it that far, terminating at Heath Park Halt. The whole line was closed when Hemel Hempstead new town was built, which in retrospect seems an odd decision. It could have linked the town's main line station with its main shopping centre and industrial estates.
Embed from Getty Images A pact too far? In return for the Green Party not fielding a candidate in Harrogate and Knaresborough, the Liberal Democrats have agreed not to fight Skipton and Ripon. As the Craven Herald says: What makes this deal more remarkable is that the Lib/Dems have been second to the Tories in every general election from 1992 to 2010. And for two general elections prior to 1992 the Liberals were runners up.Going back a little further, the Liberal Party won the old Ripon constituency in a 1973 by-election and came within a few hundred votes of winning ...
I'm going to do a proper post tomorrow, but thought I'd signal-boost something Penny Goodman told me about just now. One of the things I'm most worried about this election is that while the Lib Dems have our highest number ... Continue reading →
A vote for the Liberal Democrats on June 8 is a vote to put the future of Britain in your hands.
Gina Miller, known for taking the government to court over invoking Article 50 and founder of the Best for Britain pro-European tactical voting campaign, is backing London's two Lib Dem MPs, Tom Brake and Sarah Olney. As David Hill reports of them: Tom Brake, defending Carshalton and Wallington. The only Lib Dem in town to survive his party's meltdown two years ago, Brake has told On London he believes he faces an even bigger challenge from the same candidate, Conservative Matthew Maxwell Scott, this time. He's in the anomalous position being solidly Remain in one of just five London boroughs ...
The Labour Party manifesto for the election has not actually been published but, but predictable scorn has already been poured on the leaked versions by predictable sections of the media (ie most of it). But to the less partial eye there's a lot to like. If the leaks are correct a Labour government will: Resume council-house building and make private sector house building an infrastructure priorityTake the railway companies back into public ownership as their franchises expire;Ensure there is at least one publicly owned energy provider in each region;Guarantee the rights of EU nationals in the UK;Make no false promises ...
One thing I saw today, and naming no names, was someone questioning why the Tories stepped up the 'Jeremy Corbyn is an evil terrorist sympathiser' over the weekend when we're still so far from polling day. Were they concerned that Labour were doing better than they thought and hitting the panic button early? On the face of it, doing something like that with over three weeks to go until polling day would seem a little over the top, except it's not three weeks until polling day. Sure, we're all waiting for June 8th, but the first votes in this election ...
Mon 15th
19:45
Disability, a Teresa May encounter and the need to create a more civilised society where we care mor...
The Guardian has the story and video on its web site – see link above I know nothing of Cathy but I do know that we need to do very much more to ensure that with people with disabilities can play as full a part in our society as they wish to. People with disabilities are close to my heart and I am sorry to say that the way we treat those less fortunate than ourselves does no credit to our society at all. This is supposed to be 2017 when we are not ashamed of disability and when ...
I have received several disturbing reports about people being denied the opportunity to vote at the Shropshire Council unitary elections on 4 May. One report is of a postal vote denied, even though the voter had used the same details since 2009. I have more reports of people being asked for evidence of identity at one polling station. Some people, I hear, were turned away before casting their vote. There is no requirement for a polling card or proof of identity at a polling station. Before I make a formal complaint about this, I need more details. Please contact me ...
Dispiriting afternoon doorknocking - lots of people saying they just won't vote this time. They didn't vote LD before, but even so :( #fb— Julian Huppert (@julianhuppert) May 15, 2017There was a rare outbreak of honesty from a general election candidate today as Julian Huppert, who hopes to regain Cambridge for the Liberal Democrats, sent this tweet. Generally, of course, every candidate reports that they have received "a great reception on the doorstep". So much so that you see people making fun of such tweets whenever they appear. Why do they do it? One reason, as I blogged a couple ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:'I see you're enjoying yourself,' said Maan to her in English.Well, this was heartily recommended to me and you were right. It's a great massive epic of India immediately post-independence, told from the point of view of several upper-middle-class families in the fictional capital of a fictional Indian state, though with plenty of real places (and even real people: Nehru makes an appearance at one point). It's full of politics - religious, factional, class, sexual and electoral (I always like a book with a good election campaign; there are not that many of them). British overlordship ...
Commenting on figures published by the Electoral Reform Society, whose analysis shows the number of school leavers on the electoral roll has dropped by more than a quarter in three years, Cllr. Allan Knox said: "Young people's wishes have been swept under the rug since the EU referendum when 75% voted to remain. At a time of monumental political change, many feel hurt, ignored and powerless. "The Liberal Democrats will not allow young people's pro-European aspirations to go unnoticed. Their priorities must be our priorities. This General Election is a chance to change the direction of our country. Register to ...
Mon 15th
16:45
Cole-Hamilton challenges Ruth Davidson to disown Tessa Munt's Tory opponent for foul mouthed indepen...
The chair of the Scottish Liberal Democrats' election campaign Alex Cole-Hamilton has today called on Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson to disown the Conservative MP for Wells who has been caught in foul-mouthed tirade against a young person. The Sunday People has the details: A Tory MP blasted a Scottish girl who said she would vote for independence in a second referendum, saying: "Why don't you f*** off back to Scotland." James Heappey, 36, fighting to stay MP for Wells, Somerset, has apologised, insisting he was joking. He asked sixth-formers at nearby private Millfield school how they'd vote in a ...
The Liberal Democrats have announced plans to address the housing shortage in Birmingham and build more affordable homes.There are currently 15,110 families in Birmingham on a waiting list for council homes, down from 16,130 last year.In addition, official figures show 4,397 homes in Birmingham have been empty for over six months.The Liberal Democrats would introduce a legal requirement for
One of the things that Lib Dem members really liked about the last General Election was the strategy briefing that came out a couple of months before. In it, the party's high command explained what they were trying to achieve and how they were going to do it. They also gave suggestions on what members could do to help them achieve our common aims. We had years to prepare for that election. We had two weeks between Theresa May's announcement and Parliament being dissolved and we had the local elections going on at the same time. Surely there wouldn't be ...
Embed from Getty Images In an interview with the Sunday Times magazine Harry Styles revealed his political views: I'm probably going to vote for whoever is against Brexit. I think the world should be more about being together and being better together and joining together, and I think it's the opposite of that. Apart from giving Lib Dem Voice an excuse to post a photo of the singer, it also gives us a chance to remind everyone of the power of the anti-Brexit vote, and how it worked for us in Richmond Park. Sarah Olney said: It's a sign of ...
Utopian and dystopian visions of an AI-dominated future are everywhere, from films to tech company press releases. But what are people really concerned about? The Royal Society created a public dialogue to find out When we don't know much about a new technology, we talk in generalisations. Those generalisations are often also extreme: the utopian drives of those who are developing it on one hand, and the dystopian visions that help society look before it leaps on the other. These tensions are true for machine learning, the set of techniques that enables much of what we currently think of as ...
I didn't like it. I don't know what was the worst thing - ( spoilers under the cut ) Eurgh. Doctor Who (neither the character nor the show) should not be needlessly cruel to ramp up tension in the story. Doctor Who is about hope. The idea of it was interesting, the effects were good, the acting was top notch. But the politics of it horrified me, and I am stunned by the number of people who are lauding it as an example of how Who is progressivist just because it has an on-it's-face critique of capitalism. Sorry, people who ...
Great to see Lib Dem leader Tim Farron in Southport today backing Sue McGuire in her quest to succeed Lib Dem MP John Pugh. Sue is pictured here with Tim and John Pugh.
What's this about? Over the last few years, there's a been a number of leading people at the Town Hall who have complained about cyclists who ride on footpaths in the city. One stretch that has received a lot of attention of course is Bridge Street, outside the Town Hall, in the City Centre. The [...]
We need to licence, regulate and tax cannabis like tobacco if we are to have any chance of controlling drugs and crime on the streets of Liverpool "Liberal Democrats will take back control from criminal gangs, take 'skunk' off the ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Plimsoll Line (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brinkmann/509192200/)] THE FOLKESTONE SAMUEL PLIMSOLL MEMORIAL CAMPAIGN presents: An event to commemorate: SAMUEL PLIMSOLL. 'The Sailor's Friend'. SATURDAY: 03 JUNE 2017 From: 2.30 pm Speaker: Captain Charles Woodward. Member: Honorable Company of Master Mariners and the Marine Society. ST MARTIN'S CHURCH. HORN STREET, CHERITON, nr FOLKESTONE CT20 3JJ. Refreshments in the Community Hall after: £2.50 pp. A retiring collection will be held in aid of the MNA and FSPMC. ALL WELCOME TO ATTEND. Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 ...
Yesterday on Peston on Sunday David Davis claimed that in the Referendum those who supported Leave were knowingly voting to leave the single market, ie a hard Brexit. That's not what Liberal Democrats are hearing on the doorstep. Davis also said that we might leave the EU without any deal at all, and we had to plan for that possible outcome. You can watch the interview here, starting 6:20 minutes in. Tim Farron said: David Davis is completely out of his depth. Brexit without a deal would be a disaster. It would mean no deal on trade, no deal on ...
Gateshead Council's cabinet have agreed to declare part of Chase Park in Whickham as surplus to requirement. They have included in that the main entrance to the park. We have been fighting this plan and there is the potential for a legal challenge if the sale goes through from Lib Dem councillors. In this video, Cllr Peter Maughan and I discuss what the cabinet decision means for the park. It
The Nibsmith has had a load of valuable fountain pens pinchedIf you're in USia keep a weather eye out Instagram photoWaiting for ISIHAC to start :) UK plummets from 11th to 156th in UNICEF children's rights rankingsThis is just embarrassing Government pledges to upgrade NHS ZX Spectrums to Commodore 64sgallifrey_times | GT for Monday the 15th of May 2017A video of all the doggie pictures I took on my phone yesterday.I met famous whippets Arthur and Smith off Twitter, and Arthur let me play with his flat rugby ball and EVERYTHING! This is my happy thing! [IMG: comment count unavailable] ...
The Tories face but one hurdle on June 8th: complacency. That thousands upon thousands of people who would vote for the Conservatives could they be arsed to drag themselves to a polling station will figure why bother, May has it in the bag, there's no way that Corbyn can win. If you were Lynton Crosby, looking at a plan for this general election campaign you did up in mid-April, written in caps across the whole of this week would be "INSERT LABOUR POLL BOUNCE HERE". Now's precisely the time you would want Labour to creep up a little in the ...
Voters in next month's general election are being asked to support Theresa May's 'strong and stable' leadership in the Brexit negotiations. What voters may in fact be choosing is a weak and unstable United Kingdom. Inflation, first prompted by the 15% fall in sterling after last year's vote to leave the European Union (EU), will continue to erode real standards of living. The drip drip of foreign firms reallocating future investment and jobs outside the United Kingdom will continue. As a result Government tax revenue will decline and Tory austerity will last longer. The Scottish Government will progress a second ...
I am aware that several people who read this blog and my newsletter are running rather ancient computers. Many feel there is no need to upgrade, don't have the cash to upgrade or don't want the hassle of learning a new operating system. The ongoing cyberattack shows that this may be unwise, particularly if you are using Windows XP, and many people still are. To the best of my recollection, this is my first article on computer viruses nearly 30 years (more on that below). Computers are better protected than then. But the threat is greater than ever. The National ...
Young people aged 17 or 18 are being urged to register to vote in time for the General Election on 8th June. New figures just released by the Electoral Reform Society show that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped by over a quarter between 2013 and 2016 - with most of these missing voters now eligible to vote in this election. Shockingly, in one parliamentary constituency 75% of young people are not on the voting register. This follows the change from registration by household, to each voter having to register individually. Claire Young, Liberal Democrat candidate ...
All of the serious mainstream parties are keen to put forward policies at this General Election to tackle the shortage of affordable housing but by far the most disingenuous are those plans being promoted by the Tories. As the Observer reports the Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon admitted on Saturday that his party's commitment to build what they called a "new generation of social housing" has no new money attached to it. Instead they propose to pay for it from existing resources, the £1.4 billion put aside in the autumn statement. There are currently 300,000 fewer homes for social rent than ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 15 MAY 2017 Riverside Esplanade/Riverside Drive (Tay Road Bridge off ramp to 75m along Riverside Drive) - westbound nearside lane closure for 27 weeks to facilitate V&A construction works. SSE Glenagnes Cable Renewal - Lochee Road lane restrictions and closures on Blinshall Street, Fleuchar Street and Scott Street for 10 weeks. Riverside Approach (Roseangle/Magdalen Yard Road to Riverside Drive) - closed for one week for carriageway resurfacing works. Perth Road (at Farington Street) - temporary traffic lights from Friday 12 to Monday 15 May for ...
Mon 15th
08:17
Underinvestment is link between attacks on NHS computers and unexpected Ludlow home birth
At the time I write this, there are predictions that the attack on NHS and many other computers in organisations worldwide will get worse. The ransomware is exploiting a specific vulnerability in computer operating systems. In the NHS, that vulnerability is chronic lack of investment. In a seemingly unrelated event last weekend, maternity campaigner Alison Hiles gave birth at her east Ludlow home after Ludlow Maternity Unit was closed at short notice. But the reason that the doors of the maternity unit were shut was yet again the chronic lack of investment in the NHS. When I visit NHS medical ...
10 Things I Learned Arguing With Strangers Online Actually quite good advice. (tags: internet rhetoric ) Some Very Curious Maps of London Sounds like an interesting book! (tags: london maps )
