I was in the Lib Dem office in Consett again last night and tonight. Our next Focus is now ready to be delivered. I do my patch tomorrow.
Remember how taken I was with the bridges over the Nene at Irthlingborough? The concrete viaduct from the 1930s and its little medieval companion. Well, whether you remember it or not, I can assure you I was. This video shows the bridges from the point of view of a boat on the river. We are in the company of a grumpy skipper who wrongly believes the medieval bridge is "just for show". It must have been here that my mother and late stepfather, in their cruising days, once had to wait several days for the Nene to go down before ...
It's not surprising that an MP for a university town is horrified at the actions of a Government whip in writing to universities demanding to know who is teaching what about Brexit on their campuses. It was reported today that Chris Heaton-Harris, a leading eurosceptic MP and a senior government whip, wrote to vice-chancellors at the start of this month asking for the names of any professors involved in teaching on Brexit and the content of their lectures. Layla who is also Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson said: This chilling letter could have come straight out of a dystopian novel. Conservative ...
'Mong' is a word commonly used by apes masquerading as humans to describe people with disabilities, especially people with Down's Syndrome. Given the current psychological condition of the convenient use of one's age as an abdication of responsibility for irresponsible talk that comes out of one's mouth, I thought I would set in context right at the start of this post how old Guido Fawkes was when he tweeted the above message. Guido Fawkes, the well known British blogger, was 46 years old when he tweeted the extremely offensive word 'mong'. At that age I don't believe that there is ...
Embed from Getty Images BBC News reports that a former school in Fort William has been reopened as a community centre and named after the former Liberal Democrat leader. It quotes the SNP Highland councillor Blair Allan, who proposed it be called the Charles Kennedy Building: "Charles Kennedy was educated in Fort William and throughout his career was hard working and dedicated to the communities he represented. "I think it is very fitting that the new offices which will serve the local community well for many years to come be named in his honour and I would like to thank ...
Let us know what you think! Click on the links below. London Road Alma Road Roundabout Option – Build Out-A3H London Road Alma Road Roundabout Option-A3H
Our 3 Universities should be encouraged to undertake meaningful and vigorous research into Brexit as it will cause so many problems to the people of the Liverpool City Region The Leader of the Lib Dems in Liverpool Cllr Richard Kemp ... Continue reading →
[IMG: A football ground] From showing games on mainstream TV to featuring in the sports pages of newspapers, a lot has happened in women's football in the last 5 years. In a country obsessed by football the women's game is beginning to gain the recognition it deserves. I have long believed that equality of pay would be the best way to get the football business to focus on promoting the women's game. Change the economics and there is an incentive to stimulate the demand – generating gate receipts, TV rights and brand endorsement. I admit there is a long way ...
If you live on Fernwood the options for public transport unfortunately are limited. There is the 341, which drives around the village (clockwise, so Goldstraw Lane then Dale Way) Monday to Friday and goes to Newark Bus Station. Or the 24, which goes between Newark and Grantham passing Fernwood along Great Northern Road, visiting Claypole, Dry Doddington, Westbrough, Long Bennington and Great Gonerby (Downtown). This runs Monday to Saturday excluding Bank Holidays. There are also the numbers 2 and 3 which start in Balderton, but you'll need to make your own way there. 341 Fernwood to Newark (Mon to Fri) ...
Today marks one year since the makeshift refugee camp in Calais known as the 'Jungle' was demolished. Three weeks after becoming leader I got to visit the Jungle for myself, and the experience was both eye-opening and heart-breaking. The word 'jungle' is actually not an appropriate or accurate description of what these desperate people had built for themselves. It was more like a city. It sprawled for miles. Conditions were grim, but it was amazing to see the strength and grit of the people living there, despite the unimaginable situation they had found themselves in. But on 24th October 2016 ...
Last week's photograph of former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr, George Bush Jr, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama was a striking reminder that, for only the fourth time in history, there are five living ex-Presidents of the United States. The other three occasions were in the first three years of George Bush Jr's term, when Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan were still alive (until Reagan died in 2004); in the first year of Bill Clinton's term, when Richard Nixon was still alive; and rather more obscurely, between March 1861 and January 1862, in the first few months of Abraham ...
... and we get the Civil War that some brexiteers promise. You can see the thread here. It has lots of people joining in with what they think the political landscape would be, how they think the mechanics of it would work, all having a nice, dispassionate, theoretical discussion. I can't do that, because what I think would happen if the brexiteers ramp up the violence to civil war levels - what is starting to happen, if news reports are to be believed - is that people would die. People of colour, disabled people, LGBT+ people, anyone with a slightly ...
Over the last 70 years, an inexorable long-term structural change has taken place in the economy. Source: ONS, defining 'labour income'= wages + self-employed earnings It's very clear that aggregate 'labour income' (=wages + self-employed earnings) has declined compared to consumer expenditure, with a turning point in 1995, such that From 1948 to 1995, labour income exceeded consumer expenditure. From 1995 to 2016, consumer expenditure now increasingly exceeds labour income. By 2016, labour income only funded 86% of consumer expenditure. 14% of consumer expenditure was funded by unearned income. This trend is structural, long-term, and inevitable. Its most likely cause ...
When an ambitious Labour politician is appointed Shadow Health Secretary, she invites her closest friends round to the house for a small celebration. But from the moment her neglected husband starts acting weirdly it becomes clear that things are not going to plan. That turns out to be the understatement of the year, as the [...]
Today, 24th October, is United Nations Day, though I haven't heard a whiff of information about it on the BBC news, or seen any mention in the papers. However, there is no shortage of news about disunited squabbling (Mrs May v the EU and the rest of the world; Donald Trump v North Korea; to mention just two) I suppose it is no surprise that the British press, and not only the Red Tops, should choose to demonise the negotiators on behalf of the EU and make desperate attempts to turn the fumbling efforts of the Brexiteers into heroic shots ...
Mon, 12:56: Thread. https://t.co/mOYcQMbHCM Mon, 12:58: RT @UNGeneva: ⏭️70th anniv. of Univ.Decl.of #HumanRights>Read 1 art. of #Standup4HumanRights Record yourself & Share w/ yr friends https://... Mon, 16:05: RT @MarrShow: Actor Andrew Garfield on his British polio survivor film #Breathe. A reminder that #WorldPolioDay is Tuesday 24th October #En... Mon, 17:29: RT @SportsCenter: Never, ever celebrate early. #SCNotTop10 https://t.co/f6Ej9uGucn Mon, 18:37: What Made Now In Northern Ireland, ed. Maurna Crozier and Richard Froggatt https://t.co/V7QsGTXnf8 Mon, 20:48: RT @Rotary: #WorldPolioDay is 24 October! Join a live global update on the fight to #endpolio. https://t.co/KCgyWHyVyg https://t.co/D3ydscK... Mon, 22:44: RT @EUTweetup: Welcoming @quarsan back ...
A helpful explanation of the different between an unwanted pass and sexual harrassmentFor all those fellas out there who claim not to know the difference "Dave The Period Fairy" Has Become A Viral Sensation After A Woman Shared A Nightmare Hiking Experience On RedditThe Case of the Small Shoes —a.k.a. Survival Bias: No, people were NOT "just smaller then."I was under this misapprehension myself. Mitch Benn: All men share responsibility for Harvey Weinsteins of this worldDoctor Who casting spoilersTime to Remove the Lib Dem Invisibility CloakAll these Diwali fireworks prove how much Islam is taking over our country, insist Britain ...
It was bad enough when the Leader of the House of Commons was accusing members of the media of being unpatriotic for asking tough questions on Brexit, but it seems this anti-democratic, almost authoritarian mindset is catching, That is the only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from this story in the Guardian. They report on the outrage felt by academics, who have accused a Tory MP and government whip of "McCarthyite" behaviour, after he wrote to all universities asking them to declare what they are teaching their students about Brexit and to provide a list of teachers' names: Chris ...
Last week was the regular meeting of Bury Council's Cabinet. This is the meeting of the eight Cabinet members from the ruling Labour Group, also attended by the two opposition Leaders on the Council – though Labour changed the rules so we couldn't vote at the meeting earlier in the year. Councillor Tim Pickstone reports: The full papers for the meeting are here, the main items which may be of interest to residents included: Business Rates Discretionary Relief You may recall a lot of discussion earlier in the year about a review of business rateable values which meant that many ...
The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed it is investigating whether "further action" is needed against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for the way it treated small business customers. In 2013, then Business Secretary Vince Cable commissioned a report by Lawrence Tomlinson that alleged RBS of pushing SMEs to the brink of financial ruin for their own profits, sparking the FCA investigation. The regulator published an interim summary of its independent review into RBS' treatment of SMEs that were put into its Global Restructuring Group during the depths of the financial crisis. RBS claims the most serious allegations have not been ...
This post first appeared as a column in Town & Country Planning magazine... When I bought my house a few years ago, on the edge of the South Downs, I was surprised to read in the survey that the chances were that it would not be flooded for about a thousand years. This seemed to [...] The post Ikea's floods and the perils of groupthink appeared first on Radix.
The latest Draft Joint Spatial Plan has been published. You can read it here (all 337 pages...) The JSP looks at housing and employment needs up to 2036 (the "plan period"), but makes predictions of need and provision beyond that. It's being discussed at various West of England Combined Authority meetings and will next go to the 4 member councils. Subject to them all agreeing, it will go out to public consultation. The plans include: 1,800 new homes at Coalpit Heath, all within the plan period1,000 homes plus employment land within the plan period on the edge of Yate, at ...
Just to let residents know what has been going on last week and over the weekend on Bury New Road outside Marks and Spencer. A hole developed on Wednesday last week. Following investigations this was revealed to be a collapsed sewer. Over the weekend United Utilities Ltd managed to successfully repair the sewer and the hole has now been backfilled and UU's excavating plant was removed from site yesterday. Some of the traffic restrictions that were put in place to undertakethe repairs are being removed but apparently signing and coning will continue to be 'fluid' as the A56 narrowing works ...
A new Stadler Merseyrail train artist impression I recently contacted Steve Rotherham the Liverpool City Region Mayor about this dispute and here is his response:- Thank you for taking the time to e-mail me about the issue of Train Safety. Can I say that this is a dispute between Merseyrail and the RMT Union. I am happy to use whatever influence I have to try and settle the matter but I am unable to instruct either party to come to an agreement. The contract for new rolling stock was signed prior to my election and I respect that decision. The ...
From Blether Tay-Gither : International Storytelling Festival Partner Event - From South Asia to Dundee - with storyteller Wajuppa Tossa Once again Blether Tay-gither brings the International Storytelling Festival to Dundee, taking place later today - Tuesday 24th October - 7pm to 9pm. At this special event, Thai myths and legends will flourish by the River Tay. Originally from north east Thailand, storyteller Wajuppa Tossa will join Blether Tay-Gither storytellers for a night of stories from home and abroad - in the historical and atmospheric setting of the HM Frigate Unicorn. Tickets: £5Tickets: sheila@blethertaygither.org or 01334 474 836.HM Frigate Unicorn, ...
[IMG: Networked people] Devolution is boring. Nobody understands it. Nobody knows why it is important. Above all, nobody cares. Why on earth should Liberal Democrats consider put devolution front-and-centre? At an Autumn Conference event run by a centrist think-tank, Radix, a floor member asked Norman Lamb a question. She said one word that stuck: powerless. The three most successful electoral campaigns in the Anglosphere in the last 10 years are, to my mind: Trump, Vote Leave, Obama. Agree with them or not, they had two things in common. They were positive campaigns (whether or not you believe America is now ...
Local sporting heroes have been shortlisted for the 2017 Bury Sports Awards which will be held on Wednesday 1 November at the Elizabethan Suite. This is an opportunity to recognise, reward and celebrate some of the many Bury people and clubs for their contribution to sport and physical activity over the last year. Tickets are now on sale for this event, which includes drinks on arrival, a three-course dinner, entertainment and a guest speaker. Winners of the Bury awards will go forward to represent Bury at the Greater Manchester (Greater Sport) Sports Awards on 17 November. For more details, and ...
On Friday 10th November 2017, 2 - 3 pm, The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust will be hosting a free talk on 'Eye Conditions', at the Education Centre, Fairfield General Hospital, Bury. The event will look to raise awareness of eye conditions including; Cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration – the leading cause of sight loss in people with Diabetes. There will be an overview of the treatments available at the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust for common eye conditions. Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine which deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual senses, which means that ...
So, following the Guido* revelations earlier about Jared O'Mara's online comments concerning Michelle McManus winning Pop Idol in which he called her "fat" before launching into a rant about "fatties", I wrote a Twitter thread, that spawned this post, and also prompted an invite (unfilled) to go on Newsnight. No really. Now, before we go any further, let me be unequivocal: the remarks were lamentable and are to be condemned. In addition, they seem to fit into a pattern of misogynistic and homophobic comments that give a great deal of cause for concern despite the time lapse. Given the quantity ...
Jared O'Mara is hardly the first MP to have been caught out expressing prejudiced views. It just goes to show that if you are known to have said something dodgy on the internet over a decade ago, it is likely to find its way into the hands of your political enemies. For Liberal Democrats, though, it's all a bit galling. O'Mara beat our Nick Clegg in a particularly cruel twist of fate in June's General Election. His victory meant that Parliament was deprived of the most expert voice on Brexit. Where Nick fought for equality, O'Mara's views as an adult ...
