Yesterday I was locked out of a church full of monuments to the local aristocracy - Exton in Rutland. Today I got into St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford, where the Dukes of Rutland are buried. More of their tombs another day. For tonight, let's just enjoy the view of the church's 212ft spire as you approach it across a field path from the village's railway station. The Bonkers tombs in St Asquith's are very fine too, of course.
"During last month's election campaign, I made the most important political decision of my life. I resigned from the Conservative Party, for whom I had stood as a parliamentary candidate in 2015, to join the Liberal Democrats." Azi Ahmed explains why she is proud to be a Lib Dem newbie. Jay Rayner was asked to a meeting by Michael Gove so that he could share is expertise on the implications of Brexit for our food supply. He declined, but this is what he would have said. "The council's advisors were clear that if planing guidance had been applied strictly then ...
If you are familiar with Tim Harford's work, whether as an author, print journalist or broadcaster, then this book is not a surprise.
October 2002, aged three and a bit Planting the municipal tree in February 2006 Posing in suit for high school graduation last month Caught casually on our trip last weekend Happy 18th birthday, F!
My bowling skill is nowhere near good enough for this to matter to me, but it's fascinating to learn about how the best have to allow for different oiling patterns on different lanes.
I have always wanted to put together some figures to see what has been happening to total government expenditure. It was clear at the start of the coalition government that what started as a government which was really quite tight as to finance developed into a government with some financial flexibility. At the time I knew that was because the interest rates on government debt were coming down
This post first appeared on the Radix website... Let's give credit where it is due. UK governments over the past decade, and perhaps most of all, those led by Tony Blair, demonstrated a kind of obsessive technophilia which meant that, the bigger a proposed solution was, and the more obsessively, blindly linked to IT, the more the government would embrace it. Also, and linked to that, the more they would pay. But that is another story, as Rudyard Kipling would say. As I say, let's give some credit to Theresa May's government that they have begun to row back a ...
During last month's election campaign, I made the most important political decision of my life. I resigned from the Conservative Party, for whom I had stood as a parliamentary candidate in 2015, to join the Liberal Democrats. As I explained in an article for The Guardian, I could no longer support a party trying to drive through an extreme Brexit with disastrous consequences for our country. Unlike Theresa May, I was not prepared to campaign for a cause in which I did not believe. I was honoured to be asked to introduce Vince Cable at a packed election event in ...
Tue 25th
12:42
What does the US election integrity commission need to be credible? Some actual experts
The commission includes no political scientists or election experts to test claims of voter fraud or suppression. No wonder it's already been called 'a sham' Last Wednesday, the US Presidential Advisory Commission on Electoral Integrity (PACEI) held its first meeting, with many election experts and political observers anxious to get clarity on the group's composition and stated objectives. But even before its first meeting, experts have called it a sham and orchestrated chaos, and have accused it of breaking the law. Our assessment of the first meeting is that, as currently structured, the commission will almost certainly create more problems ...
One month ago today I made the big move to move in with my girlfriend. Had you told me I'd be doing such a thing a year ago, I'd be calling you loopy and calling the men (or women – I'm all about equality) in straitjackets to come and take you away. Yet here we are. This blog post isn't about that part of the equation. One month in and everything is going great in that regard. This blog post is about the second part of the equation. I didn't just move in with her, I also moved in with ...
As the teredo tunnels in, destroying for its life, its warm and fertile purpose ending in itself; so the worm of doubt lives in my ear and burrows through: my intimate. The worm has been fine-tuned by open source, placed expertly as if by one who knew the weakness to exploit, and how; to feed its fill on friendship's tap [...]
Let's give credit where it is due. UK governments over the past decade, and perhaps most of all, those led by Tony Blair, demonstrated a kind of obsessive technophilia which meant that, the bigger a proposed solution was, and the more obsessively, blindly linked to IT, the more the government would embrace it. Also, and [...] The post Powerlessness in the face of looming tech monopolies appeared first on Radix.
Mon, 12:56: 9 dangerous toys that prove kids were just tougher before 1990 https://t.co/onnyv1VwXv Those were the days! Mon, 16:05: For whom does the bell toll? https://t.co/BRs1GrAV4b Good (Greek Cypriot) analysis. Mon, 18:22: Doctor Who: advice for someone who hasn't seen it yet https://t.co/72qiIM0QCK Mon, 19:48: RT @PattyJenks: My producer just sent me this... ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! This makes every hard day worth it. Thank you to whomever wrote it!... Mon, 20:48: Nixon, Trump, and How a Presidency Ends https://t.co/8xQIMWy3oQ Looking at the historical parallels in detail. Tue, 10:45: On Estonia, the EU and tech https://t.co/834Zw9emit Why the EU is good, ...
England Winning The World Cup Was A Massive Day For All Sport, Not Just Women's Sport Please let us not waste this opportunity. Please please please. Women's World Cup: England head coach Mark Robinson targets Ashes & Knight wants more internationals Boss Tells Woman Her Headscarf Is "Unprofessional" So Now She Shows Up in Cosplay Every Day [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Tue 25th
10:34
The British are bowing out. Now the EU is a battle between the French and German visions.
The European Union dominates British politics at the moment – but in a rather superficial way. It is focused on the short-term implications of the country's relationship with it, and not on the institution itself. And that is true especially of continuing Remainers. They concentrate so much on stopping or diluting Brexit that they avoid tackling ... Continue reading The British are bowing out. Now the EU is a battle between the French and German visions. →
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – the use of text messaging to raise turnout as studied in Moving the campaign from the front door to the front pocket: field experimental evidence on the effect of phrasing and timing of text messages on voter turnout by Yosef Bhatti, Jens Olav Dahlgaard, Jonas Hedegaard Hansen and Kasper M. Hansen (Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, Volume 27, Issue 3, 2017). The short version: sending voters one text message out of the blue from a sender they did not have a prior ...
My latest short piece for the London Lib Dem email bulletin: Although only elected the new Liberal Democrat leader on Thursday, Vince Cable has already several times made the point about how important social media is for the party. It provides us with a route to reach voters even though newspaper owners often dislike us and so many voters have letterboxes locked away behind intercoms and security doors. Vince is an active tweeter and has also been regularly using his Facebook page, such as to set out his views on Europe and immigration. So if you don't already, do go ...
Embed from Getty Images As a fan of Mrs Thatcher it might seem odd that I have just joined the Liberal Democrats. However times change, hard right policies are more likely to drive the large number of people depending on in-work benefits or working in the government into the hands of Mr Corbyn. Labour, who shout loudly about democratic mandates, are likely to have another go at bankrupting the country as well as bring democracy into disrepute by promising endless giveaways. The worst possible case for the UK is to have a Labour government and be outside the EU. Labour ...
Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid is absolutely right, the increasing use of leasehold sales on new build houses is exploitative and positively feudal. As the BBC report, the UK Government is proposing to outlaw leaseholds on new-build houses, while ground rents could be dramatically reduced, under government plans which are subject to public consultation. Modern day leases on houses, often contain provisions that lead to ground rents doubling every decade, crippling home owners and in some cases making a property impossible to sell: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said the terms of some leases "were becoming increasingly onerous". ...
Liverpool's once extensive tramway network got as far north as Aintree Sefton Arms/Queens Arms pubs and Aintree Sefton Arms Station/Aintree Central Station on Warbreck Moor road. Whilst at a recent open day of the Wirral Transport Museum & Heritage Tramway, at their Taylor Street Birkenhead Tram Shed HQ, my eyes lighted upon Liverpool Tram No.762 sat in Taylor Street Tram Shed. It took my attention as the destination board was set for Route 22 – Aintree via Scotland Road. In fact Route Number 22 and the Destination Board of Aintree seen in this photo seem to be slightly at odds ...
From the Dundee Partnership Team : Our plans to improve Dundee The Dundee Partnership is determined to make Dundee a more successful and fairer city and we've been preparing our ideas and plans about how we will do this over the next ten years. We've prepared a draft Local Outcome Improvement Plan for 2017-26 that builds on the ongoing extensive community engagement undertaken by partners and agencies across the city. It also incorporates the results of the Engage Dundee process. So we've been listening carefully to your views and we hope that this plan shows that we know what your ...
Tue 25th
08:15
Passenger who stuffed £10 into a barrister's mouth after being asked to stop pinching snacks f...
The judges were unanimous in their praise for the reader who nominated today's winner, the Daily Telegraph.
After a couple of weeks of not being able to type much because of arthritis, here's the final post in my look at Doctor Who season twenty-two, on Revelation of the Daleks. Patreon backers can also find an ebook of ... Continue reading →
I was asked by Radio Newcastle to go into the studio last Wednesday to be interviewed about bus lane camera enforcement. I agreed - and was then told they needed me in the studio at 7am! Gateshead Council are introducing cameras on 6 lanes. I have no problem with the cameras being installed but I have concerns that two lanes will not be open for taxis to use (any using the two lanes will be
Vince Cable is 74. To put that into context, the retirement age for people who are now in their fifties is 67. Given the low rates of wage growth many will probably have to work beyond that. Pensioners are seen as a prize political grab when it comes to votes. Donald Trump (I can't stand him just for the record), Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are closer to Vince in age. Politics, historically, was the domain of older men. Lord Palmerston was 70 years old when he was appointed in 1855. William Gladstone was 82 years old when appointed in ...
Before Labour turned Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums into a one-party state, I was a member of the joint committee that ran the service. So I was made aware then that Stephenson's Rocket is to return for a temporary stay in Newcastle, where the locomotive was built. It will arrive in 2018 for the Great Exhibition of the North but will then be returned to the Science Museum in London, the
