An hour of railway nostalgia porn for you. Click on the still above to view it on YouTube, Besides much else, this film shows the lost station of Yeovil Town. Wikipedia says its site "served for years as a car and coach park but now has a cinema and leisure complex built on it," but I am sure I remember it being occupied by a supermarket in the 1970s.
One of my arguments for accepting the government's devolution offer to the North East was to ensure the region had a strong political voice that could speak for our area. I am no fan of elected mayors but I like my home area being emasculated even less. Thanks to Labour's tantrum and dummy-spitting activities that resulted in the North East being left behind with no devolution settlement, our
The scale of the recovery facing the Liberal Democrats means that some of the important landmarks for the party to pass may not at first seem reasons to celebrate, but when put in the context they are. So it is with the latest leadership polling from YouGov, which finds 23% have a favourable view of Vince Cable and 38% a negative view. Both the 23% favourable rating and the 15% net negative rating are significant improvements on mid-August ratings for Vince Cable. They are also both better than Tim Farron ever scored during his time as party leader.* That's promising ...
It looks as though England has a new monarch. Congratulations to seven-year-old Matilda Jones from Doncaster. As the Independent tells it: A schoolgirl pulled a mysterious sword from the same lake in Cornwall that King Arthur's legendary blade Excalibur is said to have been thrown into. Seven-year-old Matilda Jones, from Doncaster, was paddling in Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor with her father, Paul, when she stumbled across the object. According to folklore, that is where the legendary King of England threw Excalibur before he died.Of course there are those who argues that strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is ...
Commenting on news that Downing Street have approached leaders across a number of British businesses, including FTSE 100 companies, asking them to sign a letter backing the government's Brexit strategy, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said: "It's interesting the government want to start a letter signing competition on this. I rather suspect the number of businesses wanting to remain in the single market and customs union far exceed those gagging to leave it. "It's already becoming clear that their so-called transitional arrangement, designed to appease the business community, is not going to work."The government has unwisely made a unilateral commitment ...
With the latest Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton coming up soon, here are some tips for would-be new, and indeed, experienced, speakers at party conference.
For me, the Liberal Democrats have always been about reducing the inequality that poisons our society, that holds people back from opportunities. We have always talked about it, but perhaps in the last few years the language has been a bit different. I was really chuffed when Vince talked about the need to tackle inequality so explicitly in his leadership manifesto. Today, his first major speech since becoming leader is on this issue and you can watch a clip here. The full text of the speech is below. It's thoughtful, serious stuff as you would expect. Yes, under his leadership ...
Wed 6th
19:25
Is this any way to treat a work colleague? Layla Moran jeered as she questions PM about childcare
Asked my first question at #PMQs on the government's misleading & failed free childcare policy. Unfortunately I didn't get a proper answer. pic.twitter.com/LBrn828c8q — Layla Moran (@LaylaMoran) September 6, 2017 Layla Moran became the first of the Lib Dem newbie MPs to question the PM today. She asked a very reasonable question on underfunding of childcare and was met with the usual boorish jeering from Conservative MPs. Layla took it all in good spirit as she retweeted an article in The Independent which commented on their behaviour. There are now 208 women in the Commons, more than ever before. Yet ...
The buck stops with the the Mayor and the Labour Party as to why the questions raised in today's Rotherham report and its implications for Liverpool were not investigated properly after the first Rotherham report So today we have the ... Continue reading →
Second frame of third chapter ("Moomin and the Farm"): There are four extended narratives of around 80 frames each here, which I guess would have run for about three months each in 1961. The first is "Moomin the Colonist", a story of colonialism which would have been inspired by the winds of change; the Moomins settle a new continent and come into conflict with their neighbours (who are in fact their old neighbours from Moominland, also attempting colonisation) - the indigenous inhabitants are barely seen. The other three, "Moomin and the Scouts", "Moomin and the Farm" and "Moomin and the ...
The BBC web site has the story – see link above This is an interesting read in many ways and it makes you wonder why our UK education standards are generally so low when other western societies, like Canada, seem to have cracked it. Could it be that our centralised control model (one size fits all) just does not work and that Canada via its far more decentralised processes finds ways to make education work for virtually all its young people?
Following David Davis' comments in the House of Commons that MPs would not be given a vote on the final divorce settlement, leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said: "This is yet another example of the government undermining parliamentary sovereignty. At the end of it all we must have a first referendum on the whole package. "We want a vote on what David Davis is doing with our money."
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has weighed into the row about a leaked Home Office report on immigration post-Brexit by saying that the Home Office under Theresa May suppressed up to nine reports which showed that immigration did not hit wages or jobs of existing UK workers. Vince Cable said: "When I was Business Secretary there were up to nine studies that we looked at that took in all the academic evidence. "It showed that immigration had very little impact on wages or employment. But this was suppressed by the Home Office under Theresa May, because the results were inconvenient. ...
Commenting on the announcement today by the defence secretary of a new 'national shipbuilding strategy', Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson Judith Jolly said:"My party welcomes the jobs that this programme will bring to shipyards across the country. But every ship needs a captain, and every captain needs a crew. Urgent assurances are needed about the personnel who will run these ships in the future. "In the latest Armed Forces Attitude Survey, only 33% of personnel said they felt valued by their service, and recruitment and retention numbers continue to plummet. The latest pay review also highlighted particularly high rates of voluntary ...
The think tank Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) has produced a damning report on the present state of the British economy. It must be true because the Archbishop of Canterbury is a member, but just to balance any wishy-washy "do-goodery" the Institute also contains hard-headed businessmen as well. Actually His Grace, before changing careers, was a pretty hard-headed and successful businessman himself. The report points out among other things, that: Britain has the most geographically unbalanced economy in Europe, with 40% of our output now from London and the South East, and average incomes 30% lower in much of ...
It's nearly time for the Heritage Open Days, which give everyone a chance to find out about our local history. Unsurprisingly given the importance of the industry locally, there will be several events where you can find out about our mining history. These include Brandy Bottom Colliery (Friday 8 September: 1000 - 1600, Saturday 9 September: 1000 - 1600, Sunday 10 September: 1000 - 1600), Ram Hill Colliery (Sunday 10 September: 1000-1630) and Oldwood Pits Coal Mine (Saturday 9 September: 1400-1700 and Sunday 10 September: 1100-1530, tours every half hour). You will also be able to visit Winterbourne Medieval Barn ...
Are you involved in a community spaces volunteer group? Then come along to the annual Community Spaces Network Celebratory Event on Wednesday, 27 September 2017 from 17:30 to 21:00 at the Nest Cafe and Community Centre in Page Park, Staple Hill, BS16 5LU. It's a good event and an excellent opportunity for networking and getting new ideas. You'll need to register - if your group hasn't received an invitation, please email the Community Spaces Team
In case you have not received it, here is a message sent out by the Borough Council about a public exhibition on the Relief Road: "Wokingham Borough Council aims to submit a planning application for the Winnersh Relief Road Phase 2 project at the end of November / early December this year. Before the planning application is submitted, the Council will be holding an exhibition of the proposed alignment. The Council has undertaken significant site investigations, ecology surveys, plus design and analysis. This work will accompany the planning application and be in accordance with recognised national and European standards. A ...
With our autumn conference on the horizon and after that, in many ways, a new beginning for our party I feel it is a good time to pause and reflect on how we pace our work. Having become an active Liberal Democrat member since the 2015 general election I am very aware that, quite understandably, our work is about doing, delivering leaflets, campaigning on the doorstep, meeting people, the general public and party members, committee work, speeches, writing, media interviews, and all the additional activities of being a councillor or MP etc. Especially during the general election campaigns the pace ...
Tue, 12:56: Liam Fox: Britain does not have capacity to strike trade deals now https://t.co/RlYnhNA6d4 Told you so. Tue, 13:57: RT @billiepiper: Yehhhh she would 💁🌹💃🏻.... Jodie's a babe xx https://t.co/twHxIGm7YU Tue, 15:20: RT @pickwick: So when DID "if you work full-time you should be able to comfortably afford shelter, food and utilities" become an extreme le... Tue, 18:49: You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), by Felicia Day https://t.co/ZiQ6nJWBuF Tue, 20:48: Brexit: Dealing with withdrawal symptoms (8 page PDF) https://t.co/D3u2eKICHV More sensible stuff from @AndrewDuffEU Tue, 21:55: RT @Five_Rights: Trump to host event on UN reform on 18 Sept ...
miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 05-09-2017 I posted The Blood is the Life for 05-09-2017 to my dreamwidth blog [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The Brexit referendum was supposed to be an exercise in democracy. Instead it is turning out that the Brexit decision is being used to push the tyranny of the government in office over the democratic scrutiny of parliament. "Take back control' was pitched as a way of re-establishing parliament's sovereignty. Instead we see the prospect [...] The post The miserable state of UK democracy appeared first on Radix.
We now have a glimpse of Brexit Britain following the leaking of a government paper on immigration in the brave new world after March 2019. The Brexit extremists have clearly put a great deal of work into this report, looking at all sorts of ways to strangle the economy by making the UK as unwelcoming as possible to anyone from abroad (except for Australian media tycoons and PR bosses) who want
Wed 6th
10:25Willie Rennie's programme for government: Better schools, mental health care, more democracy in poli...
Yesterday the Scottish Government unveiled its Programme for Government for the coming year. It wouldn't have to go far to beat last year's which saw precious little legislation. However, there is some stuff that we can welcome, so long as it delivers what it says on the tin. Lib Dems pardons for those convicted of consensual same sex activity, consultation on gender recognition and more inclusive sex education, presumption against prison sentences under 12 months, free personal care for people under 65 with seriously disabling conditions and raising the age of criminal responsibility from 8 to 12. This last measure ...
The seeming collapse of the power sharing talks in Belfast would be scary enough on their own. The ability for the Unionists and Nationalists to work together in the devolved Assembly is one of the pillars upon which the peace we've had for the last couple of decades in the region rests. Yet if that were all Northern Ireland had to contend with at present, I wouldn't be quite so scared, even as both the UK and Irish governments get involved in a slanging match in regards to this themselves: Dublin has expressed concerns about rule from London being imposed ...
Wed 6th
08:50Sal Brinton receives apology from Transport for London after being denied access to bus
You would think, by now, that bus drivers would not be so crass as to refuse to ask someone with a buggy to make way for someone in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, this is not the case as Party President Sal Brinton found out on Monday. Just been refused entry to this bus as driver won't ask parent 2 move buggy 2 side for me to get on. @TfLAccess pic.twitter.com/nsaXFBFjwo — SalBrinton (@SalBrinton) September 4, 2017 She later spoke to the Evening Standard about this: Transport for London has apologised to Baroness Brinton and launched an investigation. She told the Standard: ...
From the City Council : Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating carriageway resurfacing works. The Order is expected to be in force for 10 days from 11 September 2017. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Kirsty Semple Way between James Arnott Drive and Tom McDonald Avenue. This Order only affects buses and taxis as no other vehicles are permitted within this area. No alternative route ...
Can you place this archway? Can you remember what previously lay behind it? Do you know how it originated? Probably most readers will recognise it as being on Delves Lane, opposite the entrance to B&M Superstore (formerly Tesco). Many will remember that it used to front Lister's scrapyard. Fewer will know that it was once the entrance to the Victory Pit which closed in the 60s. Now it's under threat as Lidl seek to build a new store on the site, and the councillors for Delves Lane have asked for maximum publicity to be given to this application and the ...
Having opened the door to Anne Marie Waters to stand for the leadership, UKIP are now facing the consequences with 18 of their 20 MEPs pledging to leave the party if she wins on her controversial anti-Islamification platform. Just how damaging Ms. Waters' candidature could prove to be was illustrated by her comments on Newsnight in which she asserted she would not prevent former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson from joining UKIP. Ms Waters is the director of Sharia Watch UK. She co-founded anti-Islam group Pegida UK with Mr Robinson. The Independent says Ms Waters, who has previously branded ...
A new milestone reached on my YouTube account: my videos have now been viewed 5 million times (5,025,276 to be precise). Over the past 11 years of making videos, I've posted 1,128 to YouTube. The most viewed is "Inside a former Soviet Secret submarine base", filmed in Balaklava in the Crimea, then part of the Ukraine and since stolen by the Russians. Viewing figures are 291,246. "View from the
The Liberal Democrats (and the Alliance and Liberal Party before that) have always struggled somewhat to have a distinctive policy on the economy in the eyes of voters which is more than 'not quite as left as Labour and not quite as right as the Conservatives'. Probably the party's greatest period of success in attracting support for its economic policies was during Vince Cable's time as Shadow Chancellor after the financial crash. Having a trained economist (sorry Mr Gove, that is a good thing) as party leader provides an opportunity once more to win support on the issue that is ...
