BBC Genome has a nice article on one of my childhood heroes, occasioned by the fact The Basil Brush Show was first aired today in 1968: Basil Brush started his own show in the traditional Crackerjack slot at five to five on a Friday afternoon. The first series of The Basil Brush Show debuted on 14th June 1968. Again scripted by George Martin, it was produced by Johnny Downes, and Basil was partnered by actor Rodney Bewes, late of The Likely Lads. In Basil's inimitable fashion he was addressed as 'Mr Rodney'. The first series also benefited from impressive musical ...
Embed from Getty Images The fire at Grenfell Tower is horrific. And there is little you can say beyond that after you have praised the emergency services. But I have a feeling that this is a disaster that will have deep political implications. It is not just that residents had repeatedly raised their concerns about safety and even been threatened with legal action by the council for their pains. Because Grenfell Tower has forced us to face up to a London in which the poor live in dangerous accommodation close to luxurious buildings that the rich keep empty. Our age ...
Embed from Getty Images Tim Farron more than doubled the Liberal Democrat membership and presided over an increase in the number of Lib Dem MPs at last week's general election. But that was not enough for those anonymous "Lib Dem sources". Understand some Lib Dems inc Paddick went to see Tim Farron to ask him to go. He initially said no.— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 14, 2017I am sorry to see Tim go. I think he did as well as could be expected in the near impossible circumstances in which he won the leadership. The election campaign came too soon ...
Earlier today, Tim Farron stood down as Leader of the Liberal Democrats after barely two years in the job. He didn't have to do so, as the LibDems increased their number of MPs by 50% last week, in contrast to 2015, when there was devastation for the party at the polls, and Nick Clegg had [...]
This afternoon Tim Farron resigned as Liberal Democrat leader. At party HQ in London he gave the following speech to party staff: This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election. That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election. Most importantly the Liberal Democrats have established ourselves with a significant and distinctive role - passionate about Europe, free trade, strong well-funded ...
In the last hour, Tim Farron has resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats. In a statement made to staff, and also issued on the party's website, Mr Farron said: "This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election. That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election...Against all the odds, the Liberal Democrats matter again. "We can be proud of the ...
This evening Tim Farron has announced that he will step aside as party leader at the time of the Parliamentary recess so that the Liberal Democrats 104,000 members at last count can have a say in the new leader. In his resignation statement Tim says: "From the very first day of my leadership, I have faced questions about my Christian faith. I've tried to answer with grace and patience. Sometimes my answers could have been wiser. "At the start of this election, I found myself under scrutiny again - asked about matters to do with my faith. I felt guilty ...
Responding to Tim Farron's resignation as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, local party chair and recent parliamentary candidate Nick Perry said, 'As an out and proud member of Tim's campaign team for the leadership back in 2015 I am sorry to see him resign this afternoon. His tenure as Leader has helped our party to [...]
It has just been announced this evening that the leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron is to step down as leader at the end of the current Parliamentary session so that a successor can be elected in line with the party rules over the summer months. In his resignation statement Tim said: "A better,...
News just out: Tim Farron is stepping down as leader of the Liberal Democrats. His full message is below, the crux of which is: To be a political leader – especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 – and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me. Sad news, and, whether you think Tim's resignation was necessary or not, he should be given credit for making a very difficult decision with the best interests of the party at heart. Many would have hoped that by the next general election ...
In total 42.5% of those who voted in the 2017 election opted for the Conservatives. 42.5% of the 650 seats in the Commons is 276, but the Conservatives actually won 318, so, in proportionate terms. they have 42 more than their real entitlement. Labour polled 39.95 of the total vote and won 262 seat, just 2 fewer than their proportionate entitlement. We poor old Liberal Democrats polled a miserable 7.37% of the vote, but even that would entitle us to 48 seats instead of the meagre 12 we won. The even more badly served gGeens won only one seat rather ...
Tim Farron has stepped down as Liberal Democrat leader. In a searing speech, he said: The text is below: This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election. That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election. Most importantly the Liberal Democrats have established ourselves with a significant and distinctive role – passionate about Europe, free trade, strong well-funded public services underpinned ...
Liberal Democrat peer and former Mayor of London candidate, Brian Paddick, earlier today stood down from the Liberal Democrat team in Parliament: I've resigned as @LibDems Shadow Home Secretary over concerns about the leader's views on various issues that were highlighted during GE17. — Brian Paddick (@brianpaddick) June 14, 2017 Given Brian Paddick's background as previously Britain's highest-ranking out policeman, it's widely assumed (I think correctly) that this is a reference to how Tim Farron responded to question on equalities issues and his religious faith during the (first) 2017 general election. I wrote more about how Tim Farron fared in ...
A very short entry today. The fourteenth my Lord Justice moved from Askettyn towards Aherlow, through the grete wood, where he founde some cattel, and camped that night within a mile, one of another. "Aherlow" can't be right here, as it is south-east of Limerick and this half of the expedition had gone west. There is a place called Ahalin which is in the right direction for the two armies to rendezvous.
Lib Dem Peer Brian Paddick has resigned from his position as Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary. Brian, a former Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, has always been a credible and authoritative voice on matters pertaining to crime, terrorism and civil liberties. The party owes him a debt of gratitude for his work in the role. It's the fashion these days to use Twitter to make announcements. In a tweet this afternoon, Brian said: I've resigned as @LibDems Shadow Home Secretary over concerns about the leader's views on various issues that were highlighted during GE17. — Brian Paddick (@brianpaddick) 14 ...
This General Election campaign has given me pause for thought about the nature of prediction. When we make a political prediction we use information that is available to us such as polls, statistical calculations based on data such as turnout and past performance and what we hear on the doorstep when campaigning. But we also use our past experience of such matters and our hopes. Computing all of this we come up with a prediction of likely outcome. Our predictions are important to us personally as they reflect the quality of our judgement, an aspect of our being that we ...
The morning after another disastrous General Election for the Liberal Democrats, the party's press office issued a statement which started with the breath-taking words: "It has been a good night for the Liberal Democrats." It went on to say: "We hoped to hold our ground but instead we have increased our number of MPs by 50%. We welcome back big hitters to our ranks in Jo Swinson, Vince Cable and Ed Davey, who all regained their seats with emphatic majorities. We have won stunning victories in Eastbourne, Bath, Edinburgh West, Caithness and Oxford West & Abingdon." Well yes, and I ...
Wed 14th
13:36
Lib Dems call for Urgent Review of the running of Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group
The NHS needs to have people within it capable of developing long-term strategies in the light of short term difficulties. Today I have written to the Chief Executive of NHS Improvement asking his organisation to undertake an immediate inspection of ... Continue reading →
Wed 14th
13:30
Lord Martin Thomas writes...The House of Lords has the right to say "no" to Conservative/DUP Bills
In early 1868, Mr Disraeli became the Prime Minister of a minority Conservative government. Mr Gladstone, leading the Opposition, took his opportunity and thrust a Bill to disestablish the Irish Church through the House of Commons. The then Marquess of Salisbury advised his fellow peers that: "when the opinion of your countrymen has declared itself, and you see that their convictions - their firm, deliberate and sustained convictions - are in favour of any course, I do not for a moment deny that it is your duty to yield. But there is an enormous step between that and being the ...
I wrote this as a response to the large amount of negative comments I received on my Facebook campaigns page from SNP supporters during the 2017 Spring election campaign. https://www.facebook.com/martinveartedin/ The problem with the SNP is their agenda is both popularist and regressive. How can this be? The popularise bit is easy: free tuition fees, free proscriptions, opposition to London. Regressive insofar the government is purposely not using available powers to change the Westminster (Conservative) agenda. Sure, the SNP will block the bedroom tax (good) and not hand on the tax cut to higher earners (okay) but will not actually ...
I wrote in dispatches about this yesterday, certainly Tim's problem with the gay sex question. I will reiterate that I don't think it is fair that he (or anyone) gets those kind of questions when all that matters is how they vote and treat people, yet that is just the way of the world. Everyone knew the question was coming and not having a simple and straightforward answer that would have ended that line of questioning once and for all was a whopper of a mistake. Another issue I had was his interview on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday ...
Or to be more precise, a new Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons is to be elected. It is up to the party's MPs to decide whether or not to elect a Deputy Leader, and Tim Farron has announced that: In the last parliament, we didn't have any women in our parliamentary party and we didn't feel it was right to elect a deputy in those circumstances. But I wanted to revive the role as it gives the party another powerful voice and has helped give prominence to many of our notable MPs, ...
Tim Farron has announced that the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons, to give our group of MPs its Sunday name, will be electing a Deputy Leader from among its number. He said: In the last parliament we didn't have any women in our parliamentary party and we didn't feel it was right to elect a deputy in those circumstances. But I wanted to revive the role as it gives the party another powerful voice and has helped give prominence to many of our notable MPs, including Ming Campbell, Simon Hughes and Vince Cable. Now a third of our ...
The amount of money workers are taking home continues to fall as inflation rises, according to data released by the Office of National Statistics today. Average wages grew by just 2.1% in the three months to April, well below the 2.7% rate of inflation in that month, according to the Office for National Statistics. This means that, after adjusting for inflation, wages fell by 0.6% Commenting on the news, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "For a government that used to bang on about the Just About Managing, they are doing diddly squat to help them. This represents the biggest ...
I have a partially sighted friend who uses a guide dog, although he is presently awaiting a new dog as his previous one sadly died not so long ago. Phil Marshall is his name and he lives in Maghull. I raise this subject because Phil raised it with me whilst we were having a pint in the Derby Arms in Aughton. Phil had been contacted by Guide Dogs for the Blind recently asking him to lobby his local councillors about the problem of a small minority of taxi drivers who refuse to have a guide dogs in their vehicle. Yes ...
Brexiters claim that 82% of voters supporting the Tories and Labour validated Brexit in last week's General Election. This has a grain of truth in it. However subsequent polls found issues such as health, the economy, and security were more important to voters. Furthermore, the election marked a return to two party politics in which smaller parties, including ours, were squeezed. A vote for Labour was not necessarily a vote for its ambiguous Brexit stance, but arguably one for hope and an end to Tory austerity. Shielded from many by her two former advisers and campaign managers, yet at the ...
It was a tumultuous political time. The Conservative British Prime Minister wanted to consolidate their authority and called a snap General Election. The signs had looked good for an increased majority, but in a surprising result, they actually lost their majority and were forced to enter coalition talks with a minor party. Meanwhile, across the Channel, it was a rare year in which a British General Election coincided with a French Presidential one. This election saw a centrist former Economy Minister win the election, and then go on to turn the movement that had won him the presidency into a ...
miss_s_b | Regular reminder: journos/pundits worth following on Twitter are not all white men based in London In which I list the top 10 political journo women I like to read on twitter The facts don't lie, and nor do I - An open letter to Jeremy Hunt MP From his NHA party opponent at GE2017mkI miss_s_b | A message for the lib dem leader: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STOP IT I posted A message for the lib dem leader: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STOP IT to my dreamwidth blog [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Brexit may indeed mean Brexit, though that looks a little less certain these days. But what else does it mean? To answer the question of meaning, you have to delve back into history, especially in a nation where Brussels assumed the peculiar position of Rome in the English psyche in centuries gone by. But there are some truths that are not really communicable in the usual think-tank reports with an executive summary. Sometimes you have to fall back on fiction to help people understand parallels that are actually a good deal stranger. So I have. I have become obsessed with ...
Yet again, "staff sickness" has closed Ludlow and Oswestry maternity units. The level of staff sickness in our rural maternity units is extraordinary. Almost week in, week out we see a closure due to "staff sickness". This is not staff sickness. It is understaffing and underfunding. It is a strategy that is set to deprive rural areas from vital maternity services. It looks like rural maternity units won't last long. Why on earth would a mother book into units that could be closed at a minute's notice? Mothers won't go there because they don't want uncertainly at the most important ...
Having blogged recently about how nice it's been the last couple of years not having to post about the stupid decisions Our Glorious Leader has taken twice a week, every week, I had this drawn to my attention this morning. I'm sorry, Tim, but what are you DOING? The absolute worst possible thing you can do right now is water down our position on brexit. It's a colossal national act of self harm, in ten years' time you won't be able to find anybody who will admit to having supported it, our membership and voters are massively against it, and ...
Prestwich Carnival returns to St Mary's Park on Sunday 25 June 2017 – this year the decision has been taken to combine all the weekend events into just a "spectacular showcase" on the Sunday. The event includes the parade, fun fair, stalls village, music and much more. More information, including information about volunteering here.
At Spring Conference last March, Tim Farron set the bar high – calling on us to replace Labour as the official opposition after the next election. With this in mind, I understand why some Lib Dem members may be angered by our performance last Thursday. It's true that our national campaign failed to get off the ground, and that it added little value to our hard-fought local victories. But despite this, I think the party should be proud of how we fought hard, targeted well, and avoided a disastrous result. We were never going to become a national force again ...
Greater Manchester Police have issued a warning about a scam email circulating informing the recipient that they have been caught speeding. The Police say: "This email is fraudulent and may ask you to give your personal or financial information or attempt to infect your computer with malware. Once your computer is infected with malware cyber criminals may be able to access your personal and financial information which could be used to defraud you. GMP would never send out correspondence via email requesting payment of fines nor will we ask for your personal and financial information. They urge people to delete ...
Last weekend was the 'Parklife' festival in Heaton Park, attended by an estimated 80,000 people each day. As your local councillors we are keen to receive feedback from residents, which we can then discuss with the event organisers and with the Heaton Park management. In previous years issues raised by residents have often been taken on board by the event which has resulted in additional measures in place to make life easier for local residents near the park. One significant issue that the event had to deal with this year was the closure of the Metrolink following the tragic death ...
There have been a lot of quips on social media regarding Theresa May's decision to restore Michael Gove to the cabinet, not least that he should take the opportunity to prevent any more idiots running through wheat fields (that was Have I got news for you, not me). The more serious comments however, have looked at the new Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary's record and questioned the wisdom of appointing him to that particular portfolio. In the Independent, Green MP, Caroline Lucas sets out the objections in full: It is hard to think of many politicians as ill-equipped for the ...
Commenting on reports that London could lose its EU euro clearing role, former Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "Our financial sector is fast becoming the latest casualty in Theresa May's pursuit of an extreme Brexit. "Thousands of British jobs are now on the line because Theresa May wants to drag us out of the single market. "She has lost any mandate she claimed to have, the people have voted against her extreme vision for Brexit."
