The Labour Party on Tyneside has, for decades, had a one-party state mentality. Recently, the four constituent authorities that make up Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, all Labour run, decided to scrap the joint committee, made up of three councillors from each council, and replace it with a "strategic board". This will consist of one member from each authority, along with a small number of "
At the first sight of the two children Penny whistled softly in surprise and Jon polished his glasses again. They were boy and girl twins about 10 years of age and were amazingly alike. With most twins it is possible to see a general likeness, but it was difficult to tell these two apart at first glance. They were both wearing dark blue shorts and khaki shirts open at the neck, but the girl wore a bright green bow in her hair, which was curlier than her brother's.These words of Malcolm Saville may have defied biology, but they did not ...
There will be a a by-election in the Uplands ward of Oadby and Wigston Borough Council on 21 September. This was the seat represented by Gurpal Atwal. He resigned after an unsuccessful court hearing to challenge the finding by his own council that he is not a fit and proper person to drive a taxi. Uplands is Labour's only seat on Oadby and Wigston, which is run by the Liberal Democrats. And as you can see from the inevitable bar chart, they beat the Lib Dems by only 30 votes when the seat was last fought. The local party is ...
Embed from Getty Images Last week I discovered that Mike Brearley is about to publish a new book. Today I found that there are two good recent pieces by or about him behind The Times paywall. In one he is profiled by Mike Atherton and, as ever, has something enlightening to say about cricket and captaincy:The peculiarities of this Yorkshire ground, Headingley, are intriguing him as we chat and our conversation is peppered at my insistence about the Test in front of us ... "Shouldn't first slip be a little wider? I don't think enough thought is given to the ...
No idea why this hasn't autoposted the last couple of weeks, but then the whole thing is available at the link at the bottom if anyone gets too desperate for the next chapter The drive back towards Bletchley was, for ... Continue reading →
Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas, president of the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales, has warned that a 'perfect storm' was leaving forces with fewer officers who are working longer hours. Commenting, Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said: "Hardworking police officers are being failed over and over again by a government that continues to show blatant disregard for officers' well-being. "The Conservatives need to rethink their entire approach to our emergency services. They have failed them for too long and we are on the verge of a major crisis. "Our police forces keep us safe. It is frightening ...
Mon 4th
17:58
Now about all that personal debt that is hanging around the neck of many folk – If this does n...
The Guardian has the opinion piece on its web site – see link above Oh dear and let's face it we are not really being told anything here that we didn't really know already yet we still keep on creating more debt. Is this like Brexit in that we are becoming addicted to financially self-harming ourselves? With thanks to Roy Connell for the lead to this posting.
Second section of Part III ("Of Sir Lancelot, who abode in Benwick"):There Lancelot over leagues of sea in heaving welter from a high window looked and wondered alone musing. Dark slowly fell. Deep his anguish He his lord betrayed to love yielding, and love forsaking lord regained not; faith was refused him who had faith broken, by leagues of sea from love sundered.This is minor Tolkien, an uncompleted epic poem about the end of Arthur's reign, not far from the version recounted by Malory - which I know only via T.H. White, who was working on The Sword in the ...
This week NHS Blood and Transplant services, hospitals and charities are this week encouraging people to talk about organ donation with their families. Find out more about how organ and tissue donations and the choices we can make visit the special website here.
The biggest ever global celebration of Roald Dahl's birthday takes place during the week beginning 13 September. Drop in to your local library dressed as your favourite Roald Dahl character? Or look at our bogswizzling displays, borrow a book by Roald Dahl or try our free craft sessions? Also, from Monday 4 September, children are invited to write 'Their Dream' and pop it into a 'Dream Jar' at Prestwich Library for a chance to win a small prize. On Friday 29 September the best dream from the 'Dream Jar' will be chosen after an hour of Roald Dahl activities, which ...
The next Prestwich Dementia Friendly Community meeting takes place on Monday 11th September 2017 10am - 12noon Main Building, Heathlands Village, Prestwich, M25 9SB General Aim: To raise awareness of dementia and its impacts and to spur and support local action which will help transform the quality of life of people with dementia, their carers and families in Prestwich. Objectives: To support the development of a dementia friendly community (DFC) in Prestwich To carry out actions that will improve the quality of life for people living with dementia in Prestwich Purpose: Develop an action plan for Prestwich Encourage and invite ...
The grim reality of parts of the property market in Liverpool. Worked stopped on this property Norfolk Street in November last year. Unless it starts again soon it will probably need to be demolished. The recent legal cases against property ... Continue reading →
So at spring conference in York I did a bit of Hall Aideing. This time I was expecting more of that and a bit of Stage Aideing. Maybe get my first actual thing to chair next Spring - possibly chair a speech first, to break me in easy, before chairing a debate. So I'm Hall Aide in two things, and Stage Aide in two things. Then I got to Tuesday morning in the schedule. Tuesday morning 9am. Tuesday morning being the morning after Glee, that Tuesday morning. The notation for who is doing what in an agenda item for FCC ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] and in Liberal England's 'Six of the Best' I was killing time between meeting on Monday so I popped into the National Portrait Gallery. I have to confess that one of the reasons I chose that above other central London venues was because it is one of the few places that will accept my Brompton bike into their left luggage complete with its Harris Tweed bag. I went to see the BP Portrait Awards for 2017 Exhibition, after checking that Mary Wollstonecraft had made it safely back from her loan visit to Russia. I ...
Well, this must be some sort of record. It's 11 days before I go to Conference and I've actually downloaded the Conference App and filled in my schedule so I know roughly where I'm supposed to throughout Conference. That's not strictly speaking true because there are still times when I'll be required to split myself in three or even four. If anyone has a Hermione Grainger time-turner I could borrow, I'd be ever so grateful. This year's Conference app (available by searching Lib Dem Conf on your chosen app store) is the best yet. There were no problems with using ...
Responding to reports today suggesting that the Conservatives will scrap the public sector pay cap in the Autumn budget, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said: "Reports that the Conservatives will look to end the pay cap in the Autumn budget are welcome but this is long overdue. "The situation has changed since the public sector pay cap was first introduced, at a time when there was a real budget emergency and fear of large scale unemployment. "The issue we face now is very different. We are struggling to recruit and retain public sector staff and the effects of this recruitment ...
The true test of leadership is strategic focus – trying to work their organisations into a favourable position over the long term, and then making tactical (short-term) choices accordingly. British politicians of all parties are very bad at this. Advisers who tout themselves as "political strategists" offer no more than tactical advice, on messaging or ... Continue reading The Tories are agonising over Brexit. They should be more worried about housing. →
Sun, 12:04: Here for the Aperitif Concert! (@ Sint-Annakerk in Oud-Heverlee, Vlaams-Brabant) https://t.co/Vov9Y38r1o Sun, 12:12: Really good point. https://t.co/6sqm4NUxZA Sun, 12:53: RT @JolyonMaugham: Icarus: "The sun will not affect my flight path." https://t.co/DmLRqXbgUx Sun, 12:56: Don't be fooled: Brexit Britain wants a deal. Europe just wants a clean break | Natalie Nougayrède https://t.co/H0s4alSPie Good summary. Sun, 15:04: RT @Mich_Cooke: My friend is staying in a hotel in Belgium. They've offered her the option of renting a fish for the night, in case she's l... Sun, 15:35: RT @helenlewis: Siri, how could I dogwhistle "western women are too empowered to fulfil ...
It's strange to be sat here, watching him breathe. I've been here every day for the last three weeks since they brought him in. The bruises have faded now. But the damage is still there. He's lain there asleep for three weeks. They don't know if he'll wake up ever. Everyone's been to visit him. Nathan just left. He's heading back to Preston because he has work tomorrow. He didn't want to go. He hated having to leave. But what can he do? What can any of us do when James is lying there, unconscious? Not knowing how many people ...
Mon 4th
10:25
The drugs which kill the most have been legalised for centuries, so how will legalising cannabis mak...
Embed from Getty Images It was good to hear Vince recently confirm his whole-hearted support for our policy of legalising cannabis. I also fully support the policy, which is actually quite a "baby step" when you consider the plethora of drugs readily available today – with more becoming available (including via the internet to one's postbox) by the day. I do think we need to be careful not to portray the cannabis policy as a black and white "cure all". The whole area of drugs is extraordinarily complex. There are no quick fixes/easy answers. We must continue to listen to ...
For many it's a disappointment. Some have no doubt heaved a sigh of relief that nothing very substantive is going to change. This week the government published its response to the consultation on corporate governance. We submitted our own report in response to the original Green Paper. To be honest, following the election results, I [...] The post Government tiptoes, achingly slowly, on corporate power appeared first on Radix.
So MSPs and MPs head back to Holyrood and Westminster this week. For MPs, it'll be a short-lived two week session before another three week break for Conference recess. AMs in Cardiff have another two weeks off. MEPs have their plenary session in Strasbourg next week. To say that the agenda was light for this week would be to over-estimate things. On Tuesday, we have all the remaining stages of the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Relief from non domestic rates) Bill. I might be wrong but I can't see this being too hotly controversial. Wednesday has questions, including PMQs and an adjournment ...
Poor Larry! Number 10's cat may well have the ear (or the lap) of the Prime Minister but his work record is far from perfect. According to the Telegraph, he has a record of snoozing while the mice play around him. By contrast, Foreign Office cat, Gladstone is setting new records for kills The paper says that Palmerston, the FCO's resident mouser, has caught at least 27 mice since his arrival in Westminster in April 2016: Palmerston's prolific record is likely to heap further pressure on the performance of Larry, the Number 10 cat, who was pictured earlier this year ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2017 Riverside Esplanade/Riverside Drive (Tay Road Bridge off ramp to 75m along Riverside Drive) - westbound nearside lane closure for 14 weeks to facilitate V&A construction works. SSE Glenagnes Cable Renewal - Lochee Road lane restrictions and closures on Blinshall Street, Fleuchar Street and Scott Street for one week. A85 Riverside Drive - prohibition of right turn from westbound lane of Riverside Drive into Riverside approach and prohibition of right turn from Riverside Approach in to Riverside Drive for 14 weeks ...
