How far south did Bonnie Prince Charlie get? The history books will telly that he turned back at Derby, and the really good books will mention that he sent men to sieze the bridge over the Trent at Swarkestone before he made that decision. But did some of his troops venture further south? Maybe. There is a tradition at Anstey that a Jacobite foraging party reached the village. (I am sure there used to be more about this on the web - its disappearance is surely suspicious.) Then there is the story that the last wolf in England was killed ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Sensitive studies of grammar school boys growing up in the North of England used to be everywhere. I read what must have been one of the last of them, Saville by David Storey (which won the Booker Prize in 1976), when I was in the sixth form. Another work of that school was Joby by Stan Barstow, which was published in 1964. Eleven years later it was filmed by Yorkshire Television in and around Horbury, the village near Wakefield where Barstow himself grew up. We lost a lot with the demise of the regional ITV companies. Joby's chief interest today ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Applications have been submitted to replace the ugly length of frontage at 10 Bullring with a traditional shop front. The intention is that the former bank will become a shop. There is no information on whether a retailer has been secured for the building and it is still advertised for let. These plans look good to me. They will remove an eyesore from one of our historic streets. The building is Grade II listed and within Ludlow conservation area. Very little of the original Arts and Crafts style structure remains. The frontage is dated 1836 and 1903 over the door, ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

Welsh Liberal Democrats have elected Jane Dodds as their new leader. She beat the Ceredigion councillor Elizabeth Evans in what can only be described as a two-horse race. The Brecon & Radnor Express says Jane Dodds won 53.1 per cent of the vote on a turnout of 35.2 per cent of the party's membership of over 3000. That paper quotes her as saying: "It is an honour to have been elected as the next leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats - to focus my energy on bringing like minded people together to rebuild our party and to re-establish the Welsh ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Congratulations to Jane Dodds on her election today as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. She won 53.15 of the vote over Ceredigion's Liz Evans. ICYMI – @DoddsJane is the new leader of the @WelshLibDems! Read more here: https://t.co/WrDNvv0WM9 pic.twitter.com/LvFd63SJb2 — RhI Cymru (@rhicymru) November 3, 2017 What do we know about Jane? Here's her biography from the Lib Dem website: Jane Dodds is a Welsh speaker, having been born and raised in Wrexham, North Wales and studied at Cardiff University. She then trained to be a social worker in child protection and has continued to work in that area ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

Embed from Getty Images As you may have noticed, one of this blog's heroes is the former England cricket captain Mike Brearley. If you want to know why, listen to the latest The Analyst podcast. In it he talks to his former Middlesex teammate Simon Hughes about his recent book On Form, England's prospects in Australia and much else. As ever, he is wise, humane and teaches you something about cricket and life.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

The Liverpool Echo has the story on its web site about the ongoing Merseyrail and the separate Arriva buses strikes that are hitting the Liverpool City Region – See link above The Arriva buses strike is over pay and the Liverpool Echo article below tries to pin down what Arriva drivers are paid:- Merseyrail's new Stadler Trains, to be delivered in a couple of years time, are at the heart of the dispute about driver only operated trains. The Merseyrail strikes are of course over the next generation of Merseyrail trains being run without Train Guards. A decision ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Second paragraph of third chapter: Because the Mission travelled by road and arrived, by intent, on the Sabbath, its ears and eyes were spared the immediate impact. It heard, in the clear, biting air, only the battling clangour of church bells and the crackling tread of the welcoming cortege, followed, as they entered the city, by the dutiful salutes of the citizens. Only when riding down the wide street to their lodging did Kathi glimpse through the portals ahead the wharves of the little Mottlau, Danzig's river, and the second, watery city that dwelled there. Seventh volume in the series ...

'No taxation without representation' was the call to arms which shook Westminster to its very core, and drove the American Revolution. And yet nearly 250 years later here we are again. In this country today 16 and 17 year olds can pay tax and national insurance, and yet they have no say, no representation in how that money they contribute to the public purse is spent. They can also get married and join the armed forces, but they cannot vote and have no say in our society's decisions on their future. Yet, nobody has provided a reasonable explanation as to ...

Posted by Christine Jardine MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

What a great result! Whilst anyone who had done any canvassing felt John was going to win few expected him to scoop 56 % of the vote. This was our first by-election GAIN in Southport since December 1938 when a certain Simms Mitchell (of who more on another occasion) won the Talbot Ward by-election. Simms came from a strong Methodist family and his Mother right up to her death in the early 1960s was a prominent member of the Southport Woman's Liberal Association. Simms said he owed his victory, at least in in part to the Tory candidate, a Mr ...

Posted on birkdale focus
YouGov

The Liberal Democrats have criticised Conservative MPs for blocking proposals to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote today. A parliamentary vote on the issue today was shelved due to a lack of time, after several Conservative MPs made lengthy speeches on the previous topic of debate. Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine commented: "Conservative MPs have shamefully talked out this attempt to give 16 and 17 year olds the vote. "It's ironic that a debate about expanding democracy should end in such an undemocratic way. "The Conservatives claim that young people don't have the political maturity to vote, but have acted ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

According to The Equality Trust the UK has the 7th most unequal distribution of income amongst OECD countries. Earlier this year The Resolution Foundation estimated that the richest 1% of the UK population owns 14% of the nation's assets (some £11 trillion worth), while the poorest the 15%, or nearly 7.3 million people, own no assets or are in debt. Understandably given this massive inequality in the distribution of wealth there are often calls for the rich to be taxed more. After all, clearly they can afford it, right? And yet the richest 1% of taxpayers already generate nearly 30% ...

Posted by Edward Morello on Liberal Democrat Voice

Councilors, Mayors, Officials and Partners working together in Morocco to improve the quality of local government throughout Africa On Wednesday when I opened the two-day training programme for Mayors, Councillors and LGA reps in Morocco I said, "It's a great ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

Talking about periods apparently is still taboo. In fact we have had to wait until this month, in 2017 for the first ad ever in the UK to show a hand pouring a test-tube of blood-coloured liquid onto a sanitary towel, in lieu of the standard sterile-blue. The advert, which forms part of a new campaign called 'Blood Normal', attempts to get rid of the embarrassment around the 'Aunt Flo' after a recent survey found that nine out of ten women attempt to hide the fact they are on their period, and 56% of girls said they would rather be ...

Posted by Jo Swinson MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

Women have faced sexual exploitation and harassment since time immemorial. But today, something different is happening. Sex pests, gropers, untamed rapists, physical and mental abusers are being 'outed' and exposed by media outlets as they are named and shamed. So, Michael Fallon has fallen on his sword. If all of the gossip is to be believed, then more will follow. It brings not only the individual into disrepute, but the system too, that allows those individuals to behave as they do, with impunity. He says his behaviour of ten years ago is not acceptable today. I have news for him. ...

Posted by Flo Clucas on Liberal Democrat Voice

Commenting on reports that Priti Patel held undisclosed meetings in Israel, Shas Sheehan, Liberal Democrat International Development Spokesperson, said: "Priti Patel has made a grave error of judgement, which goes against the openness, accountability and scrutiny the work of a government minister demands. "The Department for International Development is facing a litany of disasters around the world in which UK aid will play a key role in recovery and rebuilding. Shockingly, in the face of that responsibility, the Secretary of State has seemingly swanned off to Israel to pursue her personal career. "It is objectionable that Priti Patel chooses to ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

We're happier people in Southport after our council by election which we won decisively in what used to be a rock solid Tory Ward and left Labour in a poor third place. People might be surprised to know that whereas I owe my success to my small and dedicated team, I drew what inspiration I had from my limited reading not of J.S.Mill or Jo Grimond but from the Hindu classic ,the Bhagavad Gita. Let me explain. We've had a rough time lately in Southport – pushed from first to third place on a rising tide of Corbynism in the ...

Posted by John Pugh on Liberal Democrat Voice

Commenting on the latest guidelines for Personal Independence Payment recipients, Norman Lamb, former Liberal Democrat Care Minister, said: "While I am pleased that the Government has budged slightly on giving disabled people the money they need to live with dignity, these changes leave much to be desired. "These concessions ignore several other major tribunal rulings earlier this year, which ruled that people should receive greater amounts of PIP if they have difficulties traveling alone or monitoring a health condition. Instead, the Government chose to restrict eligibility criteria in order to save money, effectively balancing the books on the backs of ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

The government has quietly announced it will be delaying a planned tax cut for self-employed workers by a year. In a ministerial statement yesterday, it was announced that changes to National Insurance including the abolition of Class 2 NICs will be delayed until April 2019. The planned tax cut would have led to savings for most self-employed workers of around £148 next year. Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented: "This is a slap in the face for self-employed workers. "The Treasury is trying to bury bad news. "Small business owners are already being hit with a double whammy of rising ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

The government has tried desperately to withhold publishing the Brexit impact studies, even from relevant parliamentarians such as the Exiting the European Union select committee. The answer they give as to why that is comes down to the idea that releasing them will negatively affect our negotiating position with the EU. It is hard for me to fathom why anything within any impact studies would affect the negotiating position whatsoever; I have to believe that this is a bluff by the government and that no one within in it actually believes this. They can't be that clueless about the parameters ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com
eUKhost
Fri 3rd
11:27

11 minutes of peace

We are in an odd state of affairs when both Trump's machinations on Twitter and his temporary absence from it both make news headlines. The member of staff at Twitter on his/her last day kindly gave the world 11 minutes of peace from the Trump bile. Sadly, it was just for 11 minutes. The flow of venom has resumed.

Posted by jonathanwallace on Jonathan Wallace
Fri 3rd
11:00

My tweets

Thu, 12:56: Jet-set Boris's 'flying buttress' Brexit plan brought to ground https://t.co/MZSbuPGOVq Harsh but fair. Thu, 15:47: RT @davidallengreen: Brexit and the 'Age of Easy Answers' By me, at @FT https://t.co/BnSQq6ImJw https://t.co/URCwn8zNKa Thu, 16:01: Spain and Catalonia: A Personal Perspective https://t.co/owCUO8wDFE Thu, 16:05: RT @RCorbettMEP: Telegraph stunned to learn how #Brexit also badly undermines our #Trade with rest of world... https://t.co/Iud9lwV0jq via... Thu, 17:07: RT @dannyctkemp: Friendly reminder, having covered that nightmare too, that Julian Assange case against European arrest warrant took nearly... Thu, 17:08: RT @pietercleppe: Spain may fail to get Belgium to extradite #Puigdemont with Eur Arrest Warrant: ...

[IMG: Roadworks sign] Having asked KCC why there are not currently traffic lights on Sandgate Esplanade whilst roadworks (including installation of a new crossing!) are in progress, they've confirmed they will be in place from Monday 6th November. They say: "there are two possible methods of traffic management that can be used whilst constructing this project. The current system using priority boards is working, however, some commuters are not always reading the signs causing two vehicles to come together resulting in the vehicle driving towards Sandgate having to mount the kerb. "This priority system works well keeping the traffic congestion ...

The new leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats is Jane Dodds of the Montgomery party. Congratulations to Aberavon and Neath chairman Cen Phillips on being elected to the National Executive Committee.

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

Are we Liberals, radical liberals, or Liberal Democrats? It's interesting that a current piece aired here about radical liberalism doesn't mention democracy or refer to the second part of our name. Is democracy then less relevant to our party identity? This set me thinking, and there seem to be three different aspects it may be worth beginning to consider. Our party's own understanding of its identity. Are we here to promote liberalism more than democracy? What do we mean by that, if so? The party's identity in relation to that of the Conservatives, Labour and the nationalist parties. The party's ...

Posted by Katharine Pindar on Liberal Democrat Voice

The poppy has lost its original meaning - time to ditch it Provocative article, which I think I agree with, but the main reason I am linking to it is the masterpiece of SEO that is the url. European nurses and midwives leaving UK in droves since Brexit vote 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. Great value eats Want cheap food, but have moral objections to the brexit-enabling scumbag Tim Martin? Check this map out. I faced a ...

Those who believe in the decentralisation of public services do so because it is thought that better decisions will be made the closer service users are to decision-makers. Not so. Take social services as an example, where you might expect social workers to be at the interface between service users and the care system. I [...] The post Janet's story: why decentralisation is not enough appeared first on Radix.

Posted by Barry Cooper on Opinion - Radix

Global warming has been a constant threat for most of my adult life, but it is only in recent years that the stark reality of what it means for future generations has become clear. The question we all face is whether the consequences of our past actions are reversible or not. I suspect not. This story in the Guardian then, should not surprise anybody. They say that hundreds of millions of urban dwellers around the world face their cities being inundated by rising seawaters if latest UN warnings that the world is on course for 3C of global warming come ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Scottish Lib Dem Autumn Conference takes place next Saturday, 11th November, in Dunfermline. There are keynote speeches from Willie Rennie and Jo Swinson and a dazzling array of debates and policy motions. The Scottish Young Liberals have provided some excellent motions on getting young people more involved in shaping public services and on civil education. Also, a young member has independently put forward a motion calling for gender neutral school uniform. Christine Jardine MP and Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP put forward West Edinburgh's motion to support women affected by changes to the State Pension age. Housing standards and mental health provision ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

On Wednesday morning, Profesor Robert Winston made some wild claims regarding trans people on BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme. He talked about "horrific" surgeries, extremely high surgical complication rates and linked this to a high level of regret. For those not familiar with the topic this might sound like solid science from a respected personality. It's not science. One possibility is that he's just clueless about the topic. After all, he's a fertility rather than gender specialist. Another option is that he's dishonestly using statistics to engage in scaremongering based on a political, not scientific, viewpoint. Winston made equally wild ...

Posted by Zoe O'Connell on Complicity

Residents have drawn to my attention an apprently forgotten road excavation in Elliot Road - see below :I have asked the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership to ascertain responsibility - I suspect a utility - and request this gets completed as soon as possible.

Lib Dem (John Pugh) 1680 55.96% Conservative 790 26.32% Labour 417 13.89% UKIP 69 2.30% Green 45 1.50% Lib Dem gain from Conservative Wow this was some result indeed last night, especially because of the collapse of the Conservative vote and Labour's really poor showing. This old political warhorse went to assist John and what was really noticeable was the number of young people involved in the campaign to get John elected. So often middle aged and old folk are involved in politics so it was great to see a new generation of Lib Dem campaigners pounding the streets. As ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

I was nine years old when Jim Clark was killed in a motor sport accident in 1968. It was a huge tragedy, cutting short the life of a vastly talented Scottish/British motor sport driver who was a quiet-mannered gentleman. Well done BBC 4 for this splendid portrait of the man, which is much recommended. Advertisements

Posted by paulwalternewbury on