Thu 7th
23:48

Discussing rail

There was a rather useful seminar yesterday at Gateshead Council for members about rail services in the North East. One of the senior officers from Nexus was there to talk us through rail issues and how they are likely to impact on the North East economy. I think it is fair to say that rail systems in the North East are at the limit of their capacity and without investment, they will deteriorate

Posted by jonathanwallace on Jonathan Wallace

After a few fairly quite weeks on the council by-elections front, this week brought a bumper set of fourteen contests. Only one Lib Dem defence but also plenty of other opportunities to see if Vince Cable's promising start in the polls is being reflected in elections. The news from Ely certainly backed that up with a good swing resulting in a seat gain from the Conservatives: Ely South (East Cambridgeshire) result: LDEM: 39.9% (+13.2) CON: 31.1% (-19.7) LAB: 29.0% (+6.5) Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) September 7, 2017

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

I ran a series in Liberal Democrat Newswire highlighting essential online tools for campaigners. Given their continuing relevance, here's what I had to say about Canva in LDN #74. Canva is a free web-based design tool. In that, it is one of many, many such tools. But what makes it stand out for political campaigners is that it is focused on one main task: designing graphics which are optimised for use on social media. From picking basic templates which are the right size, to easily adding simple images and text, Canva makes producing effective graphics for Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

This story caught my attention in the Newcastle Journal on 31st August: the grade II listed building on Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, which is the former home to the HQs of both Northumbria Police and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue, has been sold to the British Virgin Islands based arm of Motcomb Estates, owned by billionaire brothers Simon and David Reuben. The sale was made possible by the

Posted by jonathanwallace on Jonathan Wallace

Most parents hold the memory of their child's first day of school quite dear. My daughter started school in 2003 and I still remember every detail of it with emotion bordering on extreme nostalgia. Dropping your child off at the school gates or walking them into the classroom itself, as some schools allow, is a memory making moment. Starting school is a defining moment in a child's life. It marks a transition from being a toddler to entering an institution tasked with instilling a sense of discipline and responsibility in the child. As a responsible parent we feel it imperative ...

Posted by Jane Chelliah on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas

There is a little square at the top of the main street in Bishop's Castle. It's where the town's Market Hall stood until it was demolished in 1951. The Powis coat of arms that used to be on the building can still be found there. If you visit the square you may well find a grey and white cat keeping an eye on things. I met her this summer and you can see her photograph above. But then her photograph has appeared here twice before. You will see that she has a habit of looking into the observer's soul. This ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Tom Brake spoke for the Lib Dems in the Commons debate on the Brexit Bill today. Watch in full here. The text is below. There were some excellent speeches after the Secretary of State's. Things went slight downhill after that but things started to look up with the maiden speech by the hon. Member for Canterbury (Rosie Duffield). I have just one slight criticism: she did not mention Barham in her list of villages, which is one I know very well. I thank the right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) for his speech and his reference to ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

There are no fewer than 14 (count 'em) local by-elections being held. This gives me a good excuse to pay tribute to the magnificent by-election previews posted by Andrew Teale every week. They give the geography, sociology and political history of each ward being contested. You can read today's preview on his website. Looking at that preview, there are some good prospects for Liberal Democrat advances when the results come through later on this evening. I hope we celebrate them - no doubt the #libdemfightback hashtag will make a reappearance if we do. But I hope we will also pay ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

We know Jacob-Rees-Mogg is opposed to same-sex marriage and to abortion in all circumstances. The question now arises as to whether he is against masturbation too. It arises because the Rees-Mogg family has form in this matter. Simon Raven's series of novels Alms for Oblivion contains a character called Somerset Lloyd Jones, who is based on Jacob's father William Rees-Mogg. Lloyd Jones is intensely ambitious, but hides it behind a mask of moral rectitude. He is in the novels because Raven was at school with William Rees-Mogg. Raven was also at school, and in the cricket team, with the future ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Earlier this week I was invited to speak to a group of young people who aspire to be journalists, or otherwise to write in other ways. Actually, it was more of a Q&A session, and as I told them, my career has hardly been typical. Whereas most aspirant journos would leap at the chance of [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer
YouGov

Second paragraph of third chapter:Hilary had snatched the phone from its cradle as soon as it rang, her shoulders slumping when she realised it wasn't her daughter on the other end of the line.Cavan Scott has done a lot of Who spinoff fiction, often in collaboration with Mark Wright; my favourites are the Big Finish Six/Seven audio trilogy Project: Twilight / Project: Lazarus / Project: Destiny, the Big Finish Five historical The Church and the Crown, and a Third Doctor story with David Troughton, The Prisoner of Peladon. The late Sarah Jane audio Wraith World, also a good 'un, is ...

As I usually do this time of year, I have been leading seminars with some of the annual crop of Darzi fellows, the cadre of doctors, administrators and senior NHS health workers who take time off out of their career to do some thinking and investigating. It is a brilliant programme, and I hope I [...] The post When you concentrate on saving money, you push costs up appeared first on Radix.

Posted by David Boyle on Opinion - Radix

Commenting on the Social Mobility Commission's study that young Muslims living in the UK are being held back from reaching their full potential at every stage of their lives, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said:"There are some very worrying facts here which help to explain why there are a lot of alienated young Muslims. Their chances of getting a job are significantly worse than for the rest of the population."While the wider population is ageing rapidly, half of British Muslims are under the age of 25 and a third are under 15. The government must take action to ensure discrimination ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

We're all vulnerable to settling into echo chambers - being happiest reading and listening to those whose opinions we already agree with, even if we know it isn't good for our mental stimulus. But are we also guilty of falling into a different kind of echo chamber, one that means we only listen to famous people?Fame is a dangerous concept in a multi-media world. There was a time when the only famous people were those who had earned fame by being powerful, admirable or diabolical - kings, queens, presidents, generals, pioneers, groundbreakers, notorious criminals etc. These days fame is often ...

Posted on chrisbowers

When Hermann Goering lived in Rutland ... pic.twitter.com/Kr8krNxulX— Jeremy Clay (@Ludicrousscenes) September 7, 2017Back in 2010 I posted about the story that Hermann Goering has spent some time studying Greek with the vicar of South Luffenham in Rutland. I was not certain it was true, but a cutting from the Leicester Mercury tweeted by Jeremy Clay quotes chapter and verse.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Thu 7th
11:00

My tweets

Wed, 12:56: RT @JenniferMerode: European commission to publish more Brexit position papers Thursday. @MichelBarnier will give a press conference same d... Wed, 13:47: RT @apcoworldwide: Looking forward to our @BradStaples speaking on social media at @oxfordanalytica's #GlobalHorizons2017. Learn more: http... Wed, 15:48: RT @StevePeers: Timely reminder: Hannan's endless claims that nothing would change for EU citizens after Brexit. Against strong competition... Wed, 16:21: RT @Five_Rights: Helpful review from @ISHRglobal on #Qatar's candidacy for the UN's Human Rights Council: https://t.co/65cqrJgIgZ #UN #HRC Wed, 17:16: If HoC goes to 650 equal constituencies (646+4 islands), I make that: 543+2=545 Eng [+12] 54+2=56 Scot ...

If you were genuinely outraged by what Jacob Rees-Mogg said on TV this morning, you're a fool | The Independent RT @h0llyb4xter: If you were genuinely outraged by what Jacob Rees-Mogg said on GMB today, you're a fool [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments

Every year, the International Office delivers an extensive programme of events primarily aimed at diplomats and international guests at Autumn Conference. This year, in addition to this programme, they have teamed up with the ALDE Party to host a special fringe debate with a panel of liberal politicians from across Europe. The fringe, entitled From a European Perspective: is a 'successful' Brexit possible?, aims to take a look at Brexit from the oft-forgotten perspective of other European countries. When - or if! - Brexit happens, it won't just be Britain paying the price. Britain's exit would constitute a monumental shift ...

Posted by Harriet Shone on Liberal Democrat Voice

Site for the new Maghull North Railway Station. Photo taken looking north from School Lane road bridge. The former Moss Side Hospital site is to the right and Mersey Avenue to the left. I have been chasing up the latest position with regard to the Maghull's 2nd railway station and with the help of Merseytravel Committee member John Dodd. I can supply the following information which has been provided to John by Merseytravel. ***** The contractor for the Maghull North station began the mobilisation stage for the station works on Monday 4 September. Work has also begun on the de-vegetation ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Stagecoach West has introduced a useful new service from Chipping Sodbury to Cribbs Causeway via Yate and Thornbury - full timetable here

Posted by Paul Hulbert on Focus on Sodbury, Yate and Dodington
eUKhost

A recap for new readers: the Liberal Democrat Federal Board (FB) is shepherding the party through a new process for creating and then managing a party strategy – which covers both political and organisational matters. The plan is to have a motion go to the federal conference next spring. The run up to that included a consultation paper and member survey earlier this year. There is now another consultation paper and member survey to go with the session coming up at Bournemouth party conference. You can read this new Lib Dem strategy consultation paper below. More details about the survey ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Today sees the start of this year's Heritage Open Days The scheme allows historic buildings to open to the public when they are not usually open. You can search the attractions near you on:- https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/advanced-search I am very disappointed that Blyth only has two buildings on the list, Blyth Battery and Royal Northumberland Yacht club . Both are extremely interesting place to visit, but there are many others in the Blyth area that deserve to be seen by the public - churches, Masonic building, the former harbour commissioners' building even the recently closed Police Station and so on So let's ...

Posted by Alisdair Gibbs-Barton on Alisdair Gibbs-Barton

I recently received complaints about the quality of pothole repairs in Dunmore Gardens and therefore asked the Roads Maintenance Partnership to re-inspect these. I have now received the following response : 'The repairs were inspected and I note that these pothole repairs do not have a film of bond coat painted on the existing road surface prior to filling which will affect the long term adhesion and therefore durability, and I will take this matter up internally. DCC Actionable Pothole Definition: "A surfacing defect will become actionable when it is greater than 300mm in diameter, the leading edge of a ...

Shropshire Council leader Peter Nutting will be travelling to Ludlow for a public discussion on public services in the area. The meeting will be hosted by the Ludlow and Clee Local Joint Committee on Thursday 14 September from 7pm. From 6pm, the meeting will also feature an exhibition on proposed changes to car parking charges and length of stay in Ludlow. Peter Nutting says: "The council is still under huge financial pressure but it is not quite the doom and gloom we have heard in the past. I am looking forward to talking to people in Ludlow about how Shropshire ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

Shortsighted politicians are reaping the consequences of an unsustainable market in higher education that they themselves created The government has a problem. Open any newspaper or turn on the news and there are items about the cost of universities and the burden of debt on students, at levels higher than the cost of most of their parents' first house. People are complaining about universities at a time when the present government thought it had the issue sorted. The creation of a full-blown market for higher education with its own regulator - the Office for Students - heralded by the recent ...

Posted by Sir Keith Burnett on Political science | The Guardian

The UK Government and their Labour backers may well think that that they are doing the right thing in pursuing a hard Brexit, with or without a transition period, but that self-belief does not appear to be shared by business. The Independent says that Theresa May has been accused of an embarrassing own-goal after business leaders refused a plea to publicly declare their support for her Brexit strategy. They add that a letter, asking top companies to say they "welcome" the Government's bid for a transitional deal, to cushion the exit was leaked to Sky News, apparently, after some refused ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black