I've been awful at all kinds of internetting the last couple of weeks (hello election) but I just had to post to say OMFG Ariana Grande, I have been completely unaware of your music till tonight but that was ASTOUNDING in both technical and emotional terms. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 483rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the five most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (28 May – 3 June, 2017), together with a hand-picked seven you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Last night's BBC Leadership ...
What about immigration? Would you have targets? Those were the questions asked by Eric Smith on Radio Shropshire during last Wednesday's live husting. You can hear the debate online. For the Conservatives, Philip Dunne said the party's targets had been missed but would be easier to meet once we leave the EU. Lib Dem Heather Kidd said the NHS would grind to a halt without migrant workers and many farms couldn't operate. Hilary Wendt for the Green Party highlighted the contribution migrants make in taxes and to our society. Labour's Julia Buckley said immigration was divisive but the economy would ...
Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) Europe In The Sixteenth Century by H. G. Koenigsberger and George L. Mosse The Broken Road, by Patrick Leigh Fermor Last books finished Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen, by Josephine Wilkinson Belgian solutions 1, by David Helbich The Voyage of the Argo: The Argonautica of Gaius Valerius Flaccus, translated by David R. Slavitt The Case for Impeachment, by Allan J. Lichtman Short Trips: Defining Patterns, ed. Ian Farrington Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America, by Donald J. Trump The Infernal Nexus, ...
The Bristol Post reports that the artist Banksy, has offered a free print of one of his most famous artworks to Bristolians - but only if they vote against the Tories. The world-famous street artist is offering the free gift to registered voters in constituencies formerly represented by Conservative MPs. The Bristol street-artist wrote: "... This limited edition artwork on archival quality paper is completely free, but is only available to registered voters in the Bristol North West, Bristol West, North Somerset, Thornbury, Kingswood and Filton constituencies. "Simply send in a photo of your ballot paper from polling day showing ...
For my final election briefing video, I take a look at what Liberal Democrats do on polling day and why.
I was treating Wonder Women as Warner Bros and DC's last chance. I quite liked their first outing, Man of Steel, and complained that it was "a shame so many people were unprepared to forgive it for not being the Christopher Reeve films." Nonetheless, it was ok rather than stellar, so it only generate a modest amount of [...]
Sun 4th
17:25
Publishing exit polls in advance is banned - and that covers retweeting how someone voted
Section 66 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 often gets an outing around this time of year.
Should farming continue to receive government funding? That was the question asked by a Radio Shropshire listener during Wednesday's live husting. You can hear the debate online. Labour's Julia Buckley emphasised diversification and encouraging small farmers. Philip Dunne for the Conservatives said support would continue until 2022. Liberal Democrat Heather Kidd emphasised support for small and upland farms, and protection of the countryside. Green Hilary Wendt said farmers should be paid to protect the landscape and biodiversity, and help combat climate change. Labour, Julia Buckley. Farmers are absolutely going to need funding. Our farming, particularly here in Shropshire has adapted ...
An old friend from my Alliance Party days, Mervyn Jones, died suddenly last week. He was 66. When I saw the news (via a mutual friend on Twitter), I stared at the computer screen for a few minutes, as you do, and then wrote down a couple of memories of him for my Facebook readers, particularly those who knew him. This is really sad news. My activist days are long behind me now, but I'll always remember Mervyn for a particular act of kindness in the mid-1990s; he brought me as his guest to a civic dinner in Belfast City ...
A United Kingdom means not only uniting the four home nations but uniting all the faiths and beliefs into one coherent and tolerant entity After three recent terrorist atrocities those who seek to demonise one particular religion have had a ... Continue reading →
Sun 4th
13:29
If you read one thing today, read this: "Britain is being led to an epic act of national self-harm" ...
Well done to Will Hutton, in the Observer, for marshalling the words to brilliantly sum up what I have been thinking since June 24th 2016. I am not one of those who feel despair about our country. But I am old enough to have experienced what economic hardship and chaos feels, to an extent. This ... Continue reading If you read one thing today, read this: "Britain is being led to an epic act of national self-harm" – by Will Hutton @williamnhutton
It's a day for something peaceful. A Canterbury Tale can be found on Dreadzone's second album Second Light. It samples Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, and the line of dialogue at the end is spoken by Sheila Sim from the film A Canterbury Tale.
One of the many ways in which beloved husband is doing an amazing job right now as Liberal Democrat candidate for Macclesfield is answering approximately a gazillion emails a day. Some, by this stage, literally in his sleep. I'm long past ever standing as a candidate again, not least with this year's catastrophically unhelpful health getting in the way even of helping Richard anywhere near as practically as I'd like. So imagine my surprise and delight on receiving my own email enquiring about an urgent issue of Liberal Democrat policy which must be worrying people up and down the land: ...
Newark Castle stands beside the Trent, close to the centre of the town. Newark & Sherwood District Council is full of plans for it: The project aims to restore the Gatehouse area of the Castle (where King John died 800 years ago) by the addition of a roof, floors and windows. This will both protect the structure from future degradation and open up a series of new rooms which will allow for additional interpretation and exhibitions. In addition a new entrance into the gatehouse via the Castle's North West tower will allow for a separate, paying attraction to be developed ...
Another terrorist atrocity and our political parties hurry to suspend campaigning in the general election. I suppose they are afraid of what the press will say if they don't, but it does suggest that we British do not value our democracy as highly as we claim. And such suspensions can only help the existing prime minister. Theresa May's statement this morning contained more policy proposals than any speech she has made as part of the election campaign. I also fear that the parties are making killings more likely in future election campaigns. And not just from Isis. However wrongly, others ...
Michael Fallon has told the Telegraph that income tax will not rise under a Conservative government. This comes after the Conservative manifesto failed to clarify their policy on tax rises in their manifesto which gave only a vague commitment to keep tax "as low as possible". Responding to these comments, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "Michael Fallon's comments raise the obvious question as to where the Conservatives will raise the money that their Chancellor knows will be needed if promised funding for schools, the NHS, the police and defence is to materialise. "The Conservative manifesto has no ...
Awaking to yet another terrorist outrage this morning, my shock and my anger quickly turned to defiance. These murderers are trying to intimidate us and like the citizens of Manchester two weeks ago and those in London today, I am not prepared to be browbeaten by a few immoral and unprincipled killers into abandoning my values and my way of life. We live in a multi-cultural society, nowhere more so than London, and we are stronger for that diversity and for standing together behind common democratic beliefs. Those who seek to disrupt that unity through violence do not represent any ...
Back in February, I spent a couple of superb days in London. The last event of my trip was a delicious dinner at a Lebanese restaurant called Arabica Kitchen in Borough Market with some friends. When I was back in London a month later, I went back to Borough Market because I'd never seen it in all its foodie fantasticness. It was great to browse around and see the sorts of ingredients you only hear about on Masterchef, including truffle at about £190 per ounce. I met a friend there and we bought lunch from one of the street food ...
Turing had never been in this office before, but it wasn't as if any of the offices in Bletchley were radically different from each other anyway. While the main hall was pretty enough, in an ostentatious sort of way, the ... Continue reading →
The following piece I wrote for Hans van Mierlo Stichting, think tank to the Lib Dem sister party in Holland, D66. One of the 2015 editions of Liberal Democrat Newswire looked at what the Lib Dems can learn from D66. This piece, however, is about explaining the ideological approach the Lib Dems are taking in the 2017 general election. Political parties do not operate in a vacuum. Rather they operate in the context of what the voters currently think and what the other parties currently do. That is why, for example, a liberal party in opposition to a right-wing government ...
