As a senior member of a theatrical dynasty, James Fox has an unofficial role as father-in-law to the stars - Billie Piper for a while and Richard Ayoade. The other day I found this film that Fox and Ayoade made for a development charity. It shows Fox sending himself up admirably.
A system of auctions for low carbon electricity generation, introduced by the Liberal Democrats as part of the Coalition, has helped to bring the cost of offshore wind energy down to below that of nuclear. In the auctions, low carbon power generators bid for a price to be paid them for each megawatt of electricity. The company bidding the lowest price wins. The system has reduced the bid price
I have read that nothing remains of Bishop's Castle station - the terminus of a wonderfully eccentric line that ran from Craven Arms and necessitated reversal halfway through the journey. But when I was in the town a few years ago I thought that this building looked as though it might have been something to do with the railway. It was in just the right part of the town too. And I was right, because the Shropshire Star reported last month: A drive to save one of the only remnants of an ill-fated Shropshire railway line is to be launched. ...
There is a severe weather warning as Hurricane Brexit heads for the UK's shores. Landfall is expected in March 2019 and there are fears of widespread damage. The effects of the hurricane can already be felt with stormy economic seas resulting in the sinking of the pound. While Brexit is tearing up the country, Britain is expected to be cut off from Europe. In expectation of the arrival of the
A post on Liberator's blog yesterday began: After 400+ party members signed a petition to trigger a special conference to debate a Stop Brexit policy, the powers that be in the Liberal Democrats agreed to a compromise where they would enable the policy to be debated at autumn conference in Bournemouth in exchange for the petition being withdrawn. But now, at the last minute, it seems that the party's Federal Conference Committee (FCC) has broken a promise to remain neutral in a crucial conference vote this Saturday and will now oppose the attempt to suspend standing orders to allow a ...
One of the problems of being on the side of the angels and supporting truth, justice and traditional British values (modesty, understated patriotism, level playing-fields, a penchant for the underdog," my word is my bond, "etc) is that we have a sense of proportion and a sense of shame. Therefore, since the case for disregarding the Brexit referendum vote has been made by umpteen of us, from the great and good Professor A C Grayling down to this humble blog, we're embarrassed about going on about it. The case has been made, those concerned have presumably noted it, and the ...
Vol 1, second frame of page 3: Suger: "There's more. His last wish was to marry his daughter to the heir to the King of France. You, Louis!" The future Louis VII: "Me? What do you mean, me?" Vol 2, second frame of page 3: "They are too well defended! We won't make it!" "What? Get back down there! Order the ladders back up! And those catapults... Load heavier projectiles!" I have long been fascinated by Eleanor, ever since reading A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, and to my great joy discovered what may well be her astrological birthchart ...
For Dutch Social Liberals, being a party activist and being a feminist have always been strongly (90%) overlapping aspects of our social behavior and social activism. Whereas Dutch Social Democracy until 1934 neglected the women's emancipation struggle because the emancipation of all proletarians came first, we are proud that from the beginning, Dutch social-liberal parties (Radikale Bond/RB, 1892-1901, VDB, 1901-'46, D66) have always had feminist spokespersons in their parliamentary parties. Aletta Jacobs, our most famous late 19th century feminist, was a RB founder/activist, and it was a VDB bill which gave Dutch women the vote. And the 1966 founders of ...
Since the beginning of the second intifada in 2002, there has been significant Jewish opposition in the UK, Western Europe and the United States to Israel's occupation and settlement of Palestinian land, and to the repressive measures Israel takes against Palestinian resistance. Jews for Justice for Palestinians, now with nearly 2,000 signatories, is by far the biggest Jewish peace group in the UK or Europe. JJP is a founder member of European Jews for a Just Peace, the federation of 13 peace groups in 10 European countries. JJP's core beliefs can be summarised as: Palestinians have the right to their ...
The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow is closed with immediate effect. This is after Public Health England confirmed that the hotel is responsible for at least two cases of Legionnaire's Disease. Samples of water taken two days ago confirmed this. One person has died. Samples taken from the hotel's plumbing on Monday confirmed that water system contained the same species of Legionella that had made two guests ill. In the first case in April, the guest recovered. A second case in July led to the death of the guest. All recent guests are being contacted. The incubation period for the disease ...
My schedule is filling up pretty quickly, but I still have the odd gap, especially at times where there might be food available. I've got my conference schedule all typed up, but it's editable until Friday morning, so if you want to negotiate a gap, let me know :) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Whatever happens after the Brexit negotiations the problem of ordinary folk not having a voice in the ever expanding global village will remain. Leaving the EU will not make a jot of difference to isolated Stoke or distant Newcastle. I firmly believe that the only way to give people a meaningful voice over their day to day living is through devolution. As a Liberal Democrat I am excited by devolution. Devolution is about bringing power, influence and decision making closer to those it affects. It is meant to mean "Power to the People!" So where is the enthusiasm? Where is ...
Hello from Everyone Matters – what was formerly known as 'Activate'. We are a group of Liberal Democrats based in North Wales who decided after the General Election in June to try and raise awareness of what being a Lib Dem is all about. Unlike Momentum or the recently press covered Tory Activate, we are committed to running wholly positive campaigns based in local communities and working with charities to raise money for good causes. We aim to show constituents that as Liberal Democrats we will work with people all year round to make politics both local and real. Everyday ...
The City of Liverpool is poorly led and poorly managed. But even under Labour it could be a better council if we did the 5 things suggested here. In my last but one blog, I indicated a whole series of ... Continue reading →
Tue, 12:56: So much for that Voynich manuscript "solution" https://t.co/J0kX2C1VWD Too good to be true. Tue, 14:20: Who holds the power in the European Parliament? Assessing the influence of individual MEPs https://t.co/gSJGx0SdZr Very interesting! Tue, 14:29: RT @catherinenixey: An auspicious wedding venue if ever I saw one... https://t.co/4XvDdfW71D Tue, 15:46: RT @Five_Rights: Very interesting piece on the US govt.'s strategy at the UN in time for #HRC36 https://t.co/TM5qQfyvmw by @BrookingsInst Tue, 16:05: Presentation deck for Cersei https://t.co/ObK4c8xYs3 If Darnerys and Jon had used PowerPoint... Tue, 16:25: RT @Five_Rights: Powerful piece on failings at the @UN #HRC https://t.co/N7TASyHrGh Tue, 18:16: The ...
The impact of an increase to the cost of visitor car parking permits in the St Albans District is to be reviewed. The price of a single-use permit for streets that form part of a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) rose from a minimum 37p to £1.30 earlier this year. This rise was due to the [...]
I am writing this in response to Paddy Ashdown's Essay to the Party of Monday 11th September in which he extolls us to follow Vince Cable's lead and start coming up with our own new, dangerous ideas and debate them at conference. I know from talking with friends and meeting people on the campaign doorstep that many people have a very negative attitude to the Liberal Democrats. I know from being a member since 2015 that the party is well organised, with plenty of ground troops, puts its principles into practice in how it deals with members, has socially valuable ...
Last week I wrote about the strategic cul-de-sac that Britain's Conservatives find themselves in. I will write of Labour, whose strategic grasp is well ahead of all the other parties, later. But we are coming up to the Lib Dem annual conference. What of them? Alas the Lib Dems seem no better at political strategy ... Continue reading The Lib Dems must look beyond Brexit towards 21st Century liberalism →
Yate Leisure Centre have announced: "We are pleased to announce to all Active Customers, that both of our Swimming Pools will be opening again at the end of October following major redevelopment works. This is a little later than originally envisaged" "Both pools will be re-filled with water during early October. This is to enable the building contractors to monitor and test the integrity of the new pools. The water will then be gradually heated prior to opening for general use""We are really excited that we are nearing completion and the reopening date. We would like to take this opportunity ...
It's a long game. Any predictions of the eventual effects of Brexit on both Britain and the European Union are likely to be premature. The European Union and its predecessors are well past their half century mark - and they are still evolving. The eventual destination of the EU remains a contentious issue between those [...] The post Brexit mustn't lull Europe into a false sense of cohesion appeared first on Radix.
Issue 386 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers. Find out with our two free articles from this issue why Norman Lamb wants the party to tackle the endemic powerlessness that helped lead to Brexit, and why Sarah Olney might have benefitted from a 'progressive alliance' in Richmond Park, but views the idea with great suspicion. Also in this issue: John Pugh says a state that wants to enable has to be active too. Sarah Green looks at who the new Liberal Democrats are, as they now vastly outnumber the old ones. Jonathan Calder revisits the work of Richard ...
The Liberal Democrats have attacked the government's "car-crash Brexit" after Toyota said it might shift production out of the UK due to the Conservative Brexit government allegedly withdrawing assurances that Britain would continue to enjoy tariff-free access to the single market post-Brexit. Toyota announced £240m plans in March to begin upgrading its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire after apparently receiving written assurances from the government that car exports from Britain would not attract duty. Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake MP said: "The Conservatives are leading us to a car-crash Brexit. Ministers must come before the House to explain this dramatic ...
The Liberal Democrats have accused Theresa May of a "sinister power grab," after the Conservatives won a vote to give themselves a majority on powerful parliamentary committees. The controversial change will give the government the means to force through legislation, including on Brexit. A Liberal Democrat amendment was defeated, with the government winning with a majority of 20. Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael commented: "This is a sinister power grab by an increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister. "The Tories didn't win a majority at the election, but are now hijacking parliament to try and impose their extreme Brexit on the ...
The EU Withdrawal Bill, which secured its second reading this week, is an appalling piece of legislation. It hands unprecedented powers to UK Ministers, whilst rolling back devolution by centralising powers at Westminster. The Welsh and Scottish Governments are quite right to want to oppose it. The chosen method of resistance by both Governments is to table a Legislative Consent Motion so as to vote it down, effectively withholding their consent. A Legislative Consent Motion is a device that is required whenever Westminster introduces a law which impinges on the powers of a devolved body such as the Welsh Assembly. ...
Wed 13th
08:30
Dancing around in a bra in front of your neighbours may be weird but it's not a crime, court rules
The Daily Telegraph wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Having had complaints that some trees along Logie Avenue are overgrown (one resident indicated they are "almost touching cars as they pass by"), I took this up with the City Council. The council's Assistant Forestry Officer has responded positively as follows : "I have inspected the trees the length of Logie Ave as requested. A number of these mature trees do have low canopies obstructing headroom for pedestrians, vehicles, sight lines and grass cutting. In the coming months I will include the crown lifting and crown balancing of all the offending trees into our mid / late winter work programme." ...
