My if-you're-a-Lib-Dem-slash-your-wrists notebook on Wednesday prompted a handful of people to get in touch privately. Their message: that, if anything, I had been too positive. Which given I suggested the Lib Dems might get entirely wiped out in three weeks' time tells you something of the prevailing mood. I think it's becoming clearer by the day that while the party's anti-Brexit crusade has been good for picking up members and picking off low-turnout by-elections, it's melting in the spotlight of this national election. By our own admission, the Lib Dems won't be in government, so a vote for the party ...
The Liberal International was founded in Oxford 70 years ago, as Europe and the wider world emerged from the physical and psychological trauma of the Second World War. The idea was to bring together political parties, originally predominantly in Europe, who had enough of a shared ideology to collaborate in the interests of promoting liberal [...]
Embed from Getty Images Eddie McCreadie was the left back in the glamorous Chelsea team that won the FA Cup in 1970 and the European Cup Winners Cup the following year. Move on to the 1976/7 season and things had gone sour. The club was heavily in debt, could not afford to sign any new players and been relegated. But Chelsea got back into the top division at the first attempt. The team consisted of a few survivors of the glory years (Peter Bonetti, Ron Harris, Charlie Cooke) and a host of youngsters. It was captained by an 18-year-old Ray ...
Robert Tindall, recently re-elected councillor for Brown Clee, has today announced his resignation from the Conservative group on Shropshire Council. I'm not surprised that Councillor Tindall has taken this action. He was one of at least three councillors from the south of the county that did not vote for the new leader of Shropshire Council, Peter Nutting. The makeup of the new cabinet has concentrated power further towards the north of the county. Councillor Nutting has said he wants the council to care for all the county. But without key cabinet members to represent the rural south, investment is likely ...
Remember Jack Hickey, chair of Leicester Conservatives? He was the one who told the Leicester Mercury: "West is the target. It's where we think we can do well. "We are huge underdogs. We are outnumbered, we are outmatched but we are like the 300 Spartans. "We are fewer but we are better."Well, things have moved on. First, because Hickey also told the Mercury that he would not seek to be a candidate himself and then emerged as the Tory candidate in Leicester West. And second because the Spartans of Leicester Conservatives have turned out to be more like snowflakes. Here ...
With the latest issue of Liberator on its way to subscribers, it is time to spend another week with Lord Bonkers. We arrive on his estate to find preparations for polling day in full swing. Sunday I am writing this at the top of the hawking tower at Bonkers Hall; I have set up my HQ here for the local elections. The view commands a sweep of country from the shores of Rutland Water to the Uppingham road. Armed with a pair of field glasses or a sharp-eyed orphan, I will get an early warning if any other party has ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: Get up, you fool, fight the pain and run. The thought spurred him into action, forcing him up from the ground. He had only forty yards to go, so he lowered his head and sprinted for the drawbridge. Mercifully, it was down and he muttered a quick prayer of thanks to Nartis as he flew across. The light from the arrow-slit windows illuminated the rain that prickled the surface of the black moat water. In his desperation Isak had thought only to get into the protective lee of the gate towers; now he slammed into ...
Embed from Getty Images The Lib Dem Manifesto of 2017 gives canvassers plenty to promise on the doorstep, but past achievements can be more convincing. Yet who among canvassers can instantly name three achievements attributable to the Liberal Democrats, against Conservative inclinations, in the Coalition Government of 2010-2015? Here is a short list, which will no doubt benefit from correction or expansion. A full list can be found in an Appendix to David Law's book Coalition. The allocation of 0.7% of GDP to International Development, both in practice and as law The raising of the Income Tax personal allowance from ...
There's an assumption politicians often make that they are perfectly in tune with the electorate. Elections are often a way of finding out whether or not this is true and seeing just who knows best bout what the electorate wants, but underlying this on all sides is an assumption that the political awareness of politicians and the electorate has the same cultural base. One of the more interesting side-effects of this was in the last election where the debates featured numerous politicians talking about austerity and its effects, and the resulting effect that one of Google's most popular searches in ...
Ada tells the story of visionary pioneer of the digital age, Ada Lovelace, incorporating groundbreaking performance technology. But like all great theatre it needs funding to make it happen! You can become one of Ada's Angels here. The post Angels needed to bring Ada to life appeared first on ten pence piece.
So what's this about? Well you know that issue, that many people think is an urban myth, about Peterborough getting what most describe as a "proper" university? Well, according to the Principle of Peterborough Regional College, the earliest we can expect to see one is 2022. Have a listen to the interview below and then [...]
The solace of anger loiters: a fire to which I'll give myself invitingly – my whore – to be consumed and sintered among ash. I am not a subtle man but prone; and prey to louder voices than my feeble, flabby, flubbing tongue can manage or control.
[IMG: The Great Sandgate Get Together] As a part of the Great Get Together, there will be a Great Sandgate Get Together on Saturday 17th June from 11.00 am at Sandgate Library & Sandgate Beach. For our younger neighbours, there will be stories and rhyme time in the library, and evertyone is then welcome to get together with a (bring your own) picnic on the beach. Activities begin at 11.00am in Sandgate Library (if weather is bad you can also picnic in the library). Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater ...
Embed from Getty Images Nick Clegg writes with great passion in the Guardian about the Tory plans to scrap universal free infant school lunches: So much for compassionate Conservatism. So much for helping the "just about managing". During my time as deputy prime minister, I repeatedly blocked the Conservatives from proceeding with tax, welfare, education and pensions policies that did not cater for the neediest in society. I became wearily familiar with the Conservative party's habit of placing greater priority on the needs of "their" voters than those of society at large. ...It's less than a year since Theresa May ...
Last night saw two council by-elections, both fairly unremarkable Labour holds. They both did, however, feature a Lib Dem candidate when there hadn't been one in the ward before, hooray. They also both featured the Lib Dem candidate finishing a long way back – a reminder of how big the leap is from standing to winning, and hence why targeting is so important in the general election – winning seats is very hard work and needs concentrated effort. Labour HOLD Enfield Lock (Enfield). — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 18, 2017
The first set of donation figures for the 2017 general election are in, and unsurprisingly the Conservatives top the league. But look into the details and you find this: Liberal Democrat fundraising – £180,000 Labour fundraising excluding trade unions – £61,300 Labour fundraising including trade unions – £2.7 million (These donation figures are for donations about the threshold for declaring to the Electoral Commission.) Aside from showing how well the Liberal Democrat fundraising operation is going compared to Labour's, these figures also illustrate the enormous dependence on trade union funds for Jeremy Corbyn. And perhaps also therefore that the question ...
The Burscough Curves are in West Lancashire. This historic shot of them is from when they were in place, in 1960's. My good friend Roger Bell, former Chairman of OPSTA and former Lab' Leader on West Lancs Council, gave a talk last Wednesday at Hurlston hall Golf Club about the history of the Burscough Curves to members of the West Lancs Heritage Association. As an OPSTA member I went along to both hear and support Roger. I had never been to Hurlston Hall Golf Club before. Roger spoke for quite some time with photos and videos which were really interesting. ...
This bizarre election campaign is based on building a personality cult around a virtual reality leader who can parrot well-rehearsed lines in controlled surroundings, but doesn't have the guts to risk exposing her façade in a proper leadership debate. It demonstrates both the arrogance of the Tory PR machine and a press propaganda juggernaut that Putin must envy. Behind deceptively simple messages there appears to lie a skilful use of psychology, particularly an understanding of cognitive dissonance; the propensity to ignore, distort or misinterpret incoming information which does not align with existing beliefs or is otherwise unsettling. The dissonance ramparts ...
The idea that the UK is a nation perched on a knife-edge division between Brexiters and Remainers has begun to unravel over the last few days - and probably a good thing too. Let me cite three pieces of evidence, at least two of them deriving at least partly from the new thinktank Radix. The first is the Financial Times report on what they called the 'Re-leavers', the people who voted to remain but now want to accept the result and get on with it. The report suggested they were about 23 per cent of the electorate. Or a big ...
A Reminder of the Electoral Reform Society's Views on Voter ID A very polite criticism of the proposal put forward in the tory manifesto yesterday Net neutrality going down in flames as US FCC votes to kill Title II rules Oh for... Paul Nuttall calls for all women from Wales and other countries to be renamed 'Natalie' for convenience I'm Natalie and so's my wife xkcd: Doctor Visit I want a doctor like this. Julie Andrews: I have 'always' been an LGBT ally 3 3 3 missdiane | RIP Chris Cornell :((( Electoral Commission wants powers to tackle election meddling ...
I have a confession to make: I've only watched bits of last night's debate between Tim Farron, Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood (aka Natalie), Caroline Lucas (apparently, also aka Natalie), and Paul Nuttall. It was simply too depressing to watch the whole thing all the way through. Remember a few years ago when everyone was talking about the death of two party politics; how no one party was ever going to be able to get a parliamentary majority ever, ever again? How young and naïve we all were. Last night was like a parody of that idea. In fact, the whole ...
The Conservatives are proposing to make older people pay for social care costs from the value of their own homes when they die. This means on average, families in Wales would expect to see 32.3% of the value of their home spent on care costs.Welsh Liberal Democrat Frank Little (candidate for Neath) commented:"I guessed early on that when Mrs May made her famous speech about the Conservatives' being seen as the 'nasty party', she was more concerned about appearances than reforming the party from within. Since taking office as prime minister she has delivered a lot of warm words, but ...
This is a link to a debate in 2007. At that debate I asked a question of the minister: John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD): As an ex-cub scout, venture scout and assistant scout leader, I welcome the recognition of the importance of scouting in its centenary year and hope that funding follows. The Minister will be aware that I am concerned that children are inappropriately put into care
Issue 384 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers. This necessarily rather truncated pre-election issue's free sample online content is from Claire Tyler on why the poor pay more by being excluded from financial services, and Andrew Duff on why the UK should seek an association agreement with the EU Elsewhere in the issue there is: How the Lib Dems Lost Their Think Tank – Seth Thevoz analyses Centre Forum's slide out of liberal politics and eventual demise Out With the Old – English county results show some old guards should step aside, says Chris White Better Than the ...
BMA GP committee warns general practice is on the "brink of collapse" John Hemming says: "Instead of £350m a week for the NHS, under the Conservatives we've seen the health service being gradually run into the ground. "Patients across the country are struggling to get appointments with their GP. "The NHS cannot take five years of a Conservative landslide that would give Theresa May free rein
For many people the European referendum was about immigration. They were convinced by the racist propaganda of UKIP and others that if we left the EU we will have more control over our own borders, despite the fact that half of all immigration comes from outside the EU and that the UK Government had failed to use all the tools at its disposal to control EU immigration. The reality has always been very different though. Whole sectors of our economy depend on migrants. The higher education sector needs overseas students to be financially sustainable amongst other factors and of course, ...
GWR have told us that work to widen the platforms at Bath Spa has now been successfully completed and Network Rail have moved on to work on the track around Swindon and Chippenham. This will affect rail services through Didcot Parkway, Swindon, Chippenham and Bristol Parkway over the late May bank holiday (27-29 May) and the weekend of 10 and 11 June. Full details of the revised arrangements are on their dedicated web page www.gwr.com/Swindon2017 There will then be further work at Chippenham from Saturday 8 July through to Sunday 16 July. Services between London and Bristol Temple Meads will ...
The new French President is the latest international political darling, man of the hour and flavour of—well at least a month. He is young, multilingual, charismatic, exceptionally well-educated and bright. When he speaks common sense pours forth as from an intellectually gifted Parisian fountain. His election has saved—at least for now—the European experiment which was reeling from the body blow of Brexit. And when it comes to the politically important field of economics, Emmanuel Macron is one of the world's top whizz kids. BUT, just as every cloud has a silver lining, every blue sky has a thunder cloud over ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee (and, as part of the university's 50th Anniversary celebrations) : Sunday 21st May, 11am, Dundee Contemporary ArtsThe University on Screen We're teaming up with DCA and the University Archives to present a one-off screening of some rarely seen films made about the University in decades past. From biology expeditions in the 1930s to Stephen Fry's installation as Rector in the 1990s, we present a fascinating glimpse into the various activities that make up University life in Dundee. The centrepiece will be a unique 16mm promotional film from 1977 called ...
Welcome to tmy series of tips and advice for Liberal Democrat members, which appear first in the email bulletin run by London Region for party members. There's a free app available for Android and iPhone/iPad* which makes canvassing much easier and quicker, as used successfully in the Witney and Richmond by-elections. It's called MiniVAN and works with the party's Connect electoral database. Using the app cuts out completely the need to print off canvass cards, write down information as you go around (hoping it isn't raining and making the paper go soggy) and then have someone type up the results ...
Today, Tim Farron is in Hazel Grove. With Lisa Smart, our candidate there, he will attend a digital inclusion class. In Scotland, Willie Rennie will be visiting a candlestick maker in North East Fife. He has already visited a butcher and a baker during this campaign. He will use the visit to condemn the Conservatives for embracing UKIP policies over Brexit and immigration. He will say: The Conservative immigration policy is badly thought through and will hit Scottish universities, businesses and our NHS hard. Nigel Farage himself has said that the Conservatives are adopting his old policies. The Scottish Conservatives ...
Good morning, and welcome to Liberal Democrat Voice's coverage of the 70th Anniversary Congress of Liberal International from sunny Andorra. Liberals from around the world have gathered in the Co-Principality to talk about human rights, debate the big global issues of the day, elect a new Bureau and, most importantly, formally adopt a newly-updated "Liberal Manifesto" which aims to express how liberal values and ideas are relevant in a rapidly changing world. For, whilst policies are forever evolving in the face of events, values offer insight into the types of solutions on offer. The Liberal Democrat delegation is a small ...
Many of you might be worried at the prospect of a massive Conservative majority, for all sorts of reasons. But it's often hard to know what to do, especially if you've got little time and little certainty about where to donate your money. That's where this guide comes in, helping you micro-target your donations to [...]
On Wednesday Cllr Cook & I took Veolia reps around the ward to show them some areas where there are persistent issues with the new waste collection service. At some places we called on the residents who had complained so Veolia could hear direct the problems they were having. It was clear that the [...]
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