There continues to be much chatter about the possibility of creating a new political party to oppose Brexit from a position somewhere towards the middle of the political spectrum.* Much chatter, including from many with deep financial pockets, but very little sign of anything concrete. For Liberal Democrats, that's frustrating as of course the response we'd give to this search is 'hello, the party's here already'. But it would be foolish to ignore the problem that, at the moment, the Lib Dems are not a sufficiently attractive home for such seekers. A combination of legacy of the Coalition years and ...
Nick Clegg really didn't get on that well with Michael Gove when they served in the Cabinet together and Gove's position as a key Brexiteer merely exacerbated the antipathy between them. There was even less love lost between Nick and Gove's former special adviser Dominic Cumming who went on to run the leave campaign. So it is quite amusing to see the two men on the same side of an argument – over those trees in Sheffield that the Council insists on chopping down, against the wishes of local residents. Last year Nick compared the Police reaction to protests to ...
Here's Vince on Good Morning Britain talking about the 10th anniversary of the financial crash. Could it all happen again? What does he think about the current state of our economy?
Party President Sal Brinton has tonight written to party members about the resignation of Tim Gordon. She reported that the Federal Board is making arrangements to appoint his successor. Sal said: Yesterday Tim Gordon announced that he was resigning as Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats, after five years service. On behalf of the party I want to place on record a huge thank you to Tim for his all his amazing hard work over what have been some often very gruelling years. He has run the party machine during extremely demanding times with the Liberal Democrats in coalition government, ...
This image was among those rejected by the Government committee that oversaw the "stronger in" campaign. Saatchi and Saatchi complained that all their best work was vetoed by someone or other. Well that is history, and we can learn from it. I count myself lucky to be a member of a small group of pro-European campaigners who are free to develop their own creative ideas, untrammelled by the need to answer to any committee. Last week we were out on the streets in Stratford-upon-Avon, talking to people about Brexit. Any changes in Stratford could be significant, for the town voted ...
Three tweets: "Past time for sensible MPs in all parties to admit Brexit is a catastrophe, come together in a new party if need be, and reverse it." "Let's be honest, if we had an effective electoral law leading Brexiteers would now be in jail." "[The main parities are] paralysed and they are terrified of being called saboteurs, wreckers and people defying the will of the people." (As reported here.) These very apt comments on our present political scene come not from an enthusiastic and bewildered Europhile such as myself, but from the very heart of the Brexit team. Their ...
[IMG: Sandgate Sea Festival 2017] SATURDAY 26th AUGUST Granville Parade 19:00 - 22:00 A spectacular firework display sponsored by the ROGER DE HAAN CHARITABLE TRUST at approximately 9pm. Live music, food outlets, Folkestone Party Mascots and flashing wands will be on offer throughout the evening. SUNDAY 27th AUGUST Granville Parade 11:00 - 17:00 Entertainment for all ages including numerous stalls, workshops, Punch & Judy, Gurkha Dancers, "Marsh Vintage Amusements." live music provided by KL Music, "Days Gone By," Saltdash Ukulele Group, Mr Zenn, and "The U3a Shepway Swing Band." DO NOT FORGET TO VISIT SANDGATE HIGH STREET where shops and ...
Yesterday on LBC, Sadiq Khan acknowledged that the taxpayer is unlikely to see anything for the £50 million which has been spent on the Garden Bridge. The Daily Express did its best to portray Khan, rather than Boris Johnson, as the guilty party here. Following James O'Brien's show, they wrote a piece which totally failed to recognize the fact that it was Khan who had been the one who had instigated the enquiry which Margaret Hodge produced. A report which made it clear that no more public money should be invested in this project. It is clear that there were ...
The war of words between Washington and Pyongyang has intensified alarmingly. Each side threatens the use of nuclear weapons and neither is led by someone one could consider 100% rational. Kim Jong-Un, like his father and grandfather before him, is surrounded by sycophants; just look at how the smiling generals around the Supreme Leader hold [...]
It seems as though the Labour controlled NECA is intent on pulling out of investment in the Tyne and Wear Metro if the government pushes ahead with the option of a PFI deal for new trains. The aging fleet needs replacement as it is 40 years old and is approaching the end of its shelf-life. NECA has written to the government threatening to walk away from a PFI deal, even though it was the system
The UK's monthly trade deficit soared by £2bn in June, driven by a 3.5% slump in exports, figures from the Office of National Statistics have revealed. The figures also show that exports to EU countries increased by 2.0% between the first and second quarters of the year, while exports to non-EU countries fell by 1.4%. Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented: "As with the extra £350m a week for the NHS, the export boom dreamed up by the Brexiteers has failed to materialise. "The advantage to UK exporters from the fall in the pound has been offset by the rising ...
Thu 10th
11:19
Want to meet European liberals? Applications open for the ALDE Party Congress delegation
The 38th ALDE Party Congress will take place from 1 to 3 December 2017 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Preliminary information about the programme, political deadlines, venues and logistics will soon be available on the ALDE Party website, here. The UK Liberal Democrats are currently one of the largest voting blocs in the ALDE Party, with strong representation on the Bureau, in the Council and at the Congress. The Congress is the largest event of the year for ALDE and it is a policy-making event, with policy motions submitted by member parties for debate and voted on during the Congress. The ...
Wed, 12:07: RT @MSmithsonPB: This is from former Daily Mail pol editor https://t.co/LPhHZmuLky Wed, 14:01: Looking for bolts... (@ Alppi-Rauta in Helsinki) https://t.co/0jlfUZKiS1 Wed, 14:13: The man with some bolts. (@ Ruuvi-S�ve Oy in Helsinki) https://t.co/QCcrn7L2gI Wed, 17:46: A good day's work. Thanks to @KathrynDuval for the picture (and much else). https://t.co/XCkJUHTP4L Wed, 23:19: RT @worldcon75: We have had to close membership sales. Please see full announcement: https://t.co/ypRr9FPKix Thu, 09:11: Wow. Tove Jansson illustrated The Hobbit at the request of - Astrid Lindgren! @stskontu #WorldCon75 Thu, 09:13: RT @Nukapai: Morning! #worldcon #worldcon75 #moomin #finland #tolkien #hobbit @ Worldcon 75 https://t.co/e5o2KqXZe6 ...
Thu 10th
10:37
Could Brexit be stopped altogether? It would probably take a new party at the very least
A feeling of anti-Brexit momentum is in the air. Perhaps it's just the silly season that accounts for it and such ideas will seem quaint come the autumn; perhaps the tide really is turning against the UK leaving the European Union. Yet for all of the James Chapman hits Twitter inspired hope stirring Remainers the truth is, Brexit still looks pretty healthy as an immediate destination (where that leads us and what happens after we get there in terms of public opinion is another matter). Here's why: the politics of Brexit stack up. For now at least. One, we haven't ...
Over the past number of years, the Met have had flash points with different groups, some of which have led to issues in how they are perceived negatively by residents in London. Locally, in Chiswick, the police have been and are continuing to take a more proactive approach which is welcoming to see. The Liberal Democrats know that if the police are to be trusted they need to not just stop crimes from happening, catch criminals but socialise with people from all backgrounds in life. If they are seen out and about where people meet then it is likely that ...
Have supposed liberals become the most illiberal of all? The latest fracas happened at Google. An employee published a note arguing that women and men had different interests and capabilities and that this may account for some of the differences seen in male/female employment in tech companies. The employee has been dismissed. Sundar Pichai, Google's [...] The post When liberals become tyrannical appeared first on Radix.
[IMG: Roadworks sign] MILITARY ROAD, SANDGATE TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 - Section 14 (2) as amended by The Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Act 1991. Kent County Council gives notice that Military Road, Sandgate will be closed to through traffic, on 9th August 2017 for an estimated period of 2 days. The road will be closed in the vicinity of house number 25. The alternative route is via Enbrook Road, Romney Avenue, Coolinge Lane, Sandgate Hill, Sandgate High Street and vice versa. This emergency closure is due to a dangerous manhole cover situated in the middle ...
Thu 10th
08:52Latest Social Liberal Forum publication: Universal Basic Income as a tool for tax and benefit reform
At the recent SLF Annual Conference in July, a well-attended fringe session discussed the benefits and drawbacks of Basic Income. My contention, as Chair of this session, was that we now need to be looking more closely at Basic Income, given increasing robotisation and technological change that will massively shake up conventional work, and given that our welfare system is creaking and needs modernisation. Basic Income is a policy that seems fundamentally socially liberal, and so it seems to naturally deserve attention from the SLF and all who are socially liberal. Therefore the SLF is very pleased to be announcing ...
Last year I raised the condition of the former industrial units on the east side of Hawkhill Court, Mid Wynd where there was dumping of rubbish, weeds and graffiti. At that time the site agents for the privately owned units kindly arranged a tidy up at my request and placed barriers to prevent further rubbish being dumped - the latter has worked well. However, residents have pointed out to me that the area has become overgrown again and has a lot of graffiti - see photo below :I therefore contacted the site agents again seeking removal of weeds and graffiti ...
The Liverpool Echo has the story on it web site – see link above There's been a lot of talk in recent times about how to give this iconic symbol of Liverpool in the Blitz a sustainable future. On a personal level though I can't escape the story of what happened on the night the incendiary bomb hit St. Lukes and the fact that I had the privilege to talk with a person who was fire watching that night and saw it happen. My previous posting from 2010 refers:- Sadly 'Uncle Albert' died earlier this year but whenever ...
The Independent reports that Ministers have been accused of wasting taxpayers' cash in a legal fight to "suppress" the results of fitness-to-work tests, to protect the "commercial interests" of private firms. They say that the Information Commissioner ordered the release of the information about controversial Work Capability Assessments (WCAs), which have been repeatedly attacked as cruel and unfair:. It would reveal the monthly performance details from each testing centre used to decide if people are sick or disabled enough to receive benefits. But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is now appealing the watchdog's ruling to a legal tribunal, ...
About 2,600 athletes in Sheffield are leading the way in showing how sport is an inclusive event. These athletes from Scotland, Wales and England have learning disabilities and are celebrating a week of sporting achievement and glory in the city from 7 to 12 August 2017. The 'Highland' team with their 'Highland Cow' mascot I attended the opening ceremony and was blown away by the sheer energy and excitement of the participants. The 2012 Paralympics were instrumental in opening the nation's eyes to the tremendous ability within sport to accommodate people with disability. The Sheffield games possibly carry on the ...
