Congratulations to Cllr John Pugh. Southport's former MP who retired from the Commons at the General Election has had a cracker of a win in a by-election for the Dukes Ward of Sefton Council. Duke's (Sefton) result: LDEM: 56.0% (+28.4) CON: 26.3% (-9.4) LAB: 13.9% (-2.3) UKIP: 2.3% (-13.5) GRN: 1.5% (-3.1) — Britain Elects (@britainelects) November 2, 2017 Well done to all our new Councillors and their campaign teams. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Continuing the story told by previous figures, new data shows the damage Brexit is causing to the NHS: The number of nurses and midwives coming to work in Britain from Europe has plunged by 89% since the UK voted to leave the EU, figures have revealed. The sharp fall coincided with a sudden increase in qualified European medics leaving the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) register: from 2,435 in 2015-16 to 4,067 in the last year - a rise of 67%... "These dramatic figures should set alarm bells ringing in Whitehall and every UK health department. [They] represent a double ...
Thu 2nd
21:44
Damian Green's friends try to save his career by claiming woman 'may have mistaken his hand for a ta...
The Daily Telegraph wins our Headline of the Day Award by a distance.
It's a long time since I have posted one of these videos, but I don't think Gwynedd has appeared here before.
Jonathan Cooper celebrates the 50th anniversary of David Steel's Abortion Act: "1967 was the year that changed so much. Before then the state criminalized desire. If you were a woman or teenage girl and had sex the chances of pregnancy were high. Once pregnant your real options were non-existent." "Since the crisis household debt in Britain has been bumping along at about 140% of income, and it has been trending up in the last two years. But people's capacity to repay debt is weakening." Matthew Green believes household debt is "the slowly developing crisis of capitalism". Richard Kemp says it ...
Second paragraph of third chapter: 'I thought I told you to split up,' said the Doctor. 'Why are you still with me?'The only Who novel this year to feature Nardole as well as Bill, here we are in Edinburgh in 1645, with plague stalking the streets, the dead not staying dead, and horrors lurking in the night, while the authorities (led by the provost, the historical Sir John Smith) are deeply suspicious of strangers in strange clothes. The claustrophobia and horror of the plague-run capital is well conveyed, though of course the core plot concept was done very early in ...
On Monday 30th October I asked the Government what action they were taking to ensure that children and young people could access mental health services in a timely way. I have been campaigning to improve CAMHS and this was my latest attempt to put the Government on the spot. The best that Lord O'Shaughnessy, the Lords Health Minister, could offer was that each year 70,000 more children will receive evidence-based mental health treatment. This is less than half of the 150,000 CAMHS appointments that children and young people miss each year for various reasons - another issue that I have ...
[IMG: Piles of money. Photo credit: czbalazs - http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1236662] Aditya Chakrabortty, a Guardian Columnist, recently travelled to Finland to interview a man who's been part of a Universal Basic Income trial. The scheme gives 2,000 randomly chosen people, who were already receiving unemployment benefits, £493 a month unconditionally. The scheme will finish properly at the end of 2018 and no official results will be published until then, but there is anecdotal evidence from a number of interviews conducted with people chosen to take part. One such person is Juha Jarvinen. When asked by Chakrabortty what difference the trial money had ...
Thu 2nd
14:51
Theresa May just missed a big chance - and it suggests she'll miss the next one, should it come alon...
The sexual harassment scandal currently engulfing Westminster is the very last thing Theresa May needed. Although it does not represent a threat to the government nor to Brexit to the extent many pundits are (rather over hopefully) predicting, it has placed the prime minister in a tricky position at a time when she already had more than enough to deal with. Then, Michael Fallon, her defence secretary, resigns on her. May was faced with two options last night: either do the big reshuffle and bring in some of the newer talent within the parliamentary party, one of whom might one ...
Since Simon announced on his blog a couple of weeks ago that he's sent a version of it to the publisher, it's probably safe for me to say that I'll have a story in the upcoming Faction Paradox anthology The ... Continue reading →
Commenting on the heavily-trailed doubling of the Bank of England interest rate, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, a former Business Secretary, said: "This marks a significant change of direction towards a world of higher interest rates after almost a decade on the life support of ultra-cheap money. "The move comes amid growing signs of economic weakness, particularly the uncertainty of Brexit. This will present a serious problem as many individuals, families and companies rely increasingly on borrowing to get by. "We are already seeing signs that consumers are losing confidence. If consumers get the idea that interest rates are going ...
[IMG: Image result for michael fallon] Sir Michael Fallon: apologised for behaviour not befitting of a representative of the Armed Forces Over the last few days, alleged sexual misdemeanours at Westminster have - not for the first time - become headline news. Firstly, Mark Garnier - a junior minister at the Department of Trade - admitted asking his secretary to buy sex toys and referring to her as "sugar t*ts" - a remark he claims was a joke referencing Gavin & Stacey. Next, the pro-family former minister, Stephen Crabb, admitted (and apologised for) sexting a young woman he had interviewed ...
Lib Dems led the way with hugely successful plastic bag charge, leading to a reduction of over 85% in plastic bags, and followed last year with policy to introduce a small charge on disposable coffee cups. The plans were rejected by government last year, but there appears to have been a U-turn. Yesterday, Environment Minister Therese Coffey told the environmental audit committee that the government will consider introducing a coffee cup charge to tackle the 2.5 billion disposable cups thrown away each year. Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron commented It is good to see the government is now giving ...
Commenting on the appointment of Gavin Williamson as the new Defence Secretary, Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson, said: "The surprise new Defence Secretary has a mountain to climb, and quickly. "There are persistent reports of proposals with the Ministry of Defence to cut the number of Royal Marines, to sell off warships, and to reduce the number of helicopters. "Gavin Williamson's first phone call should be to the Chancellor of the Exchequer urging him not to propose any reduction in defence spending in the coming budget." [The BBC has announced that Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, has replaced ...
The number of nurses and midwives coming to work in Britain from Europe has plunged by 89% since Brexit, figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) have revealed. The figures also show a 67% rise in the number of EU nurses leaving the NMC's register: from 2,435 in 2015-16 to 4,067 in the last year. Jeremy Hunt recently said he was "confident" EU staff in the NHS would be able to stay, but could not give a firm guarantee. Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Judith Jolly commented: "This is yet more evidence of a deeply worrying Brexodus of EU nurses ...
Amber Rudd has told police she does not want to see them "asking for more money" from the Government, despite a major increase in recorded crime and an unprecedented terror threat. Ed Davey MP, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, commented: "To ignore the advice of Britain's most senior police officers is reckless and deeply irresponsible. "The Conservatives are planning major cuts to police budgets when crime is rising and the terrorist threat has never been so high. "If the Home Secretary continues to ignore the facts, she will be putting our country and communities in serious danger."
(CN: there's discussion of the legal aspects of sexual harassment and assault here, but nothing explicit about the behaviours themselves. However, you might want to be prepared if you click on a couple of the links.) So now that the floodgates have opened and the shoes are starting to drop, the bullshit excuses are starting to swarm1."It was 10 years ago, and things were different then" - legally, things were not all that different ten years ago, as this twitter thread from Sean Jones QC neatly, concisely, and with references, illustrates. Even if that legal argument didn't hold water... I ...
Responding to the IFS research, Stephen Lloyd MP, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesman said:"These figures from the respected IFS hammer home just how damaging this government's welfare policies will be for millions of families. It is particularly heartbreaking to learn that child poverty will increase in every single part of the country, harming the future prospects of over half a million children. "Cruel and senseless Conservative policies, such as freezing working-age benefits while prices soar and slashing funding for Universal Credit just as it rolls out across the country, will worsen inequality by harming the living standards of the ...
Environment Minister Therese Coffey has said the government will consider introducing a coffee cup charge charge to tackle the 2.5 billion disposable cups thrown away each year. It comes despite the same minister last year rejecting Liberal Democrat calls for a charge to be introduced, claiming that coffee shop chains are already taking enough action to cut down on waste. Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron commented: "It is good to see the government is now giving into growing pressure, after having rejected our proposal for a coffee cup charge last year. "Ministers must stop burying their their heads in ...
This week there is much debate on whether the Bank of England or the US Federal Reserve should raise interest rates from their current rock-bottom level. Behind this lies an important debate on the future of our economic system. A crisis, arising from high levels of household debt, is in the making. Let's set this ... Continue reading Household debt: the slowly developing crisis of capitalism
The government has introduced draft legislation to ban letting agent fees in a victory for the Liberal Democrats, who called for the change in a Private Members' Bill last year. Wera Hobhouse MP, Liberal Democrat Communities and Local Government Spokesperson, commented:"I very much welcome the ban on lettings fees and the cap on deposits, which Liberal Democrats have long been campaigning for. "The detail of this legislation must now be looked at closely to ensure that there are no loopholes which unscrupulous letting agents could exploit. "The ban must include all types of fees, so that they can't simply be ...
Wed, 12:56: John Boehner Unchained https://t.co/X0e4G9x1SM Long but fascinating. Wed, 12:56: My discussion with @tianwei on China Global Television News, about #Catalonia. https://t.co/OwKlaMYkdQ Wed, 15:17: An American in Paris https://t.co/L8lURhSqeq Wed, 16:05: I'm Northern Irish, European, and I want to keep it that way https://t.co/uiTuw6fVk4 Me too. Wed, 16:41: RT @Books_Pieces: I vote for Nicholas Whyte to start narrating audiobooks. That voice! #TheHugoAwards Wed, 20:35: RT @bbclaurak: BREAKING- Michael Fallon has resigned as Defence Secretary, admitting his behaviour in the past may have 'fallen short' Wed, 20:46: RT @jimwaterson: Michael Fallon's resignation letter. https://t.co/J3dip0d8mq Wed, 20:48: From top graduate to ...
Readers of Geoff Payne's report on the last FPC meeting, on 18 October, may remember that we took the decision to establish a new policy working group on Race Equality. The first stage in the process is for the FPC to appoint a chair of the working group, and we're advertising for applicants now. The chair will lead a group of around 15-20 members to produce policy proposals setting out the party's plans for improving race equality and helping us reach out to BAME communities, while exemplifying the party's values. The working group will take evidence in the first half ...
Instagram photoNo, mummy, PLEASE don't take the Precious Thing away!!! [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Amongst the many reasons given by Brexit campaigners to leave the EU was the alleged red tape that surrounded the regulations impacting on business and our day-to-day lives. What do we do, as soon as Article 50 is implemented? The Government introduces a law to bring all those EU regulations onto the statute book, because we cannot trade with the EU once we leave unless we meet their rules and standards. So much for that excuse. But it does not stop there. The Independent reveals that far from having more cash to spend on front line services as we were ...
In the current sexual harassment scandal enveloping Westminster, a spokesman for the Prime Minister was asked whether the PM had seen a dossier listing all the misdemeanours of her MPs. He was quoted in The Guardian as saying: "There is no dossier and therefore the Prime Minister hasn't seen one." Writing in The Daily Telegraph (paywall), Rob Wilson, a former [...] The post The black book: someone is lying – but who? appeared first on Radix.
Be Winter Ready is a national campaign to encourage people to prepare in case they experience a power cut or gas emergency this winter. Here's some simple advice: Know your free emergency numbers: In a power cut dial 105 or, for a gas emergency, dial 0800 111999.Prepare your home: Keep a torch handy and get your appliances serviced by a Gas Safe registered engineer to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Register as a vulnerable customer: Vulnerable households can get extra support by signing up to the Priority Services Register. If you live in the Midlands, South West or South Wales you ...
Thu 2nd
08:46
Maghull – Council still worrying over problems they did not fight when they had the chance to
My letter to the Maghull Champion newspaper in response to Maghull councillors crying crocodile tears over the massive Maghull East development site:- Dear Sir, I did not know whether to laugh or cry when I read in the Champion that Maghull Town Council leaders are still worrying over the huge urban extension housing development to the east of Maghull which will go a long way towards making the Town 25% larger. If Maghull Council had got up and fought for the Town when Sefton Council was developing its Local Plan, which dumps 1600+ houses plus some industrial units on some ...
Residents have contacted me about the extent of fallen leaves on the pavement of Blackness Street - see below :I have asked the City Council's Neighbourhood Services to attend to this.
Ahead of the today's debate in the House of Commons on "Calais and unaccompanied child refugees in Europe", and in the House of Lords on "Government assessment of the condition of refugees and migrants still in Calais and the surrounding area" (led by Lib Dem peer, Lord Roberts of Llandudno) Lord Robert's parliamentary researcher writes: As anyone in the vicinity of Parliament Square last Tuesday will likely have gathered, given a well-attended protest in its recognition, October marks a year since the demolition of the Calais 'jungle.' Outside Ronnie Scott's on Friday, where I was singing as part of the ...
A new report just released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that benefit cuts will increase child poverty, especially in the North East and in Wales. Absolute child poverty would increase by 4%, and three-quarters of that would be linked to the freeze to most working-age benefits and limiting of tax credits and universal credits to two children. Using forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, combined with current benefit plans, the study shows child poverty will increase in each English region and nation of the UK. Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesman, Stephen Lloyd MP, says These ...
