I've had a mega stressy weekend* and as a result of that was reading everything through black dog glasses and got unjustifiably upset with some people who didn't deserve it on twitter. So I'm going to have a Twitter Sanity Break for a few days. I'm still on Mastodon, and I'm still here, and you can all email me and text me and stuff as per normal. But twitter is the stressiest of my online interactions and when spoons are low it needs to go. Comments disabled because there's nothing really more to say. *for reasons which, were I to ...
Vince Cable told Sky News' Niall Paterson this morning that there was a 20% chance that Brexit wouldn't happen. He said: The government is of course pressing ahead with negotiations but the sheer complexity, the practical difficulties, the fact that government is internally divided - we may get to the middle of next year and find this is just a horrible mess and there will be a growing political mood in the country and in parliament to find a way out and that's why we think at the end of the day the public should have a choice as to ...
Sun 26th
21:01
Lord Bonkers' Diary: "There's another part of me that flipping well wants to hold my seat"
Having given Nick Clegg one barrel on Thursday, the old boy gives Tim Farron the other one today. Sometimes I think he will not be satisfied until he is leader himself. Anyway, this entry completes are week with Lord Bonkers. Sunday Were you in the hall for Tim Farron's speech in the Europe debate at our Conference in Bournemouth? To the best of my recollection, it went like this: "The day I took over as leader, one journalist predicted confidently that 'the party that began with Gladstone will now end with Farron'. I resolved that we were going to survive, ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 496th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the five most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (19-25 November, 2017), together with a hand-picked seven you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Darren Grimes, Liberator and Liberal Democrat Voice ...
Twitter was awash with rumours the other night that Jared O'Mara, the MP with the racist, misogynyist and homophobic internet past, was close to resigning. That would create a by-election in the Sheffield Hallam seat where he beat Nick Clegg in June. In what we are sure is an entirely unrelated development, Vince Cable went to Sheffield yesterday to campaign with the new Sheffield Hallam candidate, Laura Gordon. Fantastic day launching our campaign with @vincecable – we have a great team in Sheffield and really excited to be getting out on the doorsteps in the next few months to win ...
Last month Jason Zadrozny, the Liberal Democrat who almost won Ashfield from Labour at the 2010 general election, was cleared of all charges of child sex abuse. Today he is interviewed in the Mail on Sunday. He tells them: "My life has been changed beyond recognition,' he told The Mail on Sunday. 'I never go shopping now until late at night, when I know the supermarkets will be empty. "I can be walking down the high street and someone will confront me and call me a paedophile. "I'm broke. Clearing my name has taken almost every penny I had. And ...
A few years back, The Young Foundation launched a website, First Political Memory, which aimed to reconnect people's everyday lives with politics through sharing stories about when we first became aware of the wider world. It's still running (though may force you to jump through some Flash warnings / installation prompts). You get an interesting - and broad - snapshot as you browse the site. Which makes me ask: what's your own first political memory?
From a shortlist of five, Liberal Democrat members in Cheltenham have now selected Max Wilkinson to be their next Parliamentary candidate and to try to retake Martin Horwood's former seat: @cheltlibdems new parliamentary candidate @mpmwilko #Cheltenham #Libdems pic.twitter.com/89xWtYmD1r — Cheltenham Lib Dems (@cheltlibdems) November 25, 2017
Sun 26th
17:00
How Margaret Thatcher really won in 1979 - and why it isn't a role model for a Corbyn-led Labour Par...
1979 is now a long time ago. But like 1945 its political lessons - or supposed lessons - still echo, feeling relevant to very contemporary questions.
Thank you to the visitors to this blog - regulars, occasionals and the mini army of local Labour people who can't seem to get enough of it. Your splendid reading habits have helped my blog to reach 400,000 pageviews. Keep visiting and keep reading!
Current Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (a chapter a month) The Bounty Trilogy, by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall Everfair, by Nisi Shawl Guided by the Beauty of Their Weapons: Notes on Science Fiction and Culture in the Year of Angry Dogs, by Philip Sandifer Last books finished Virginia Woolf, by Hermione Lee Wolf in White Van, by John Darnielle Corum: The Prince in the Scarlet Robe, by Michael Moorcock Next books The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses, by Kevin Birmingham Alexander the Corrector: The Tormented Genius Whose Cruden's Concordance Unwrote the Bible ...
During this centenary year of the two Russian Revolutions there has been a tsunami of books, articles and documentary films, most accepting that the birth of Soviet Communism was a catastrophe which distorted the political development of much of the world for the rest of the century. So there is certainly room for a counter-narrative. [...]
This picture reproduced from the Liverpool Echo claims to show Kingdom staff 'stalking' potential offenders. This is not the right way to proceed. A few months ago, the Council asked all City Councillors to highlight where we would like the ... Continue reading →
Alistair Carmichael has criticised the appearance of two senior Conservative Ministers at the DUP's annual Conference. The Conservatives are beholden to the DUP for a majority and in June agreed a deal with them which cost us £1 billion. The greater cost, though, is the damage to the sensitive political relationships in Northern Ireland. Was is really necessary or wise for Damien Green to go for a dinner and Tory Chief Whip to be welcomed to the stage with such obvious pride by the DUP? Great to have Conservative Chief Whip Rt Hon Julian Smith MP at our Party Conference. ...
For decades, in the post-war era, there was not a budget day when the Liberal Party did not move an amendment to promote employee ownership and industrial democracy. Jo Grimond and Richard Wainwright were always looking for opportunities to make the case for the redistribution of ownership. Not only did they believe that this would lead to a fair distribution of wealth and influence they saw that it would contribute to productivity improvement-but more of that later Donald Wade, (who for younger readers, was the MP for Huddersfield West,) laid out the argument in his pamphlet Our Aim and Purpose ...
In an article for Esquire, Robert Bateman, a former American army officer, makes an argument that the US should be more grateful for Japan and South Korea. He persuasively posits that these countries are ...much more prepared than many Americans know, and with good reason: They're a lot closer to the danger [from China and [...]
A fantastic live performance from 1978. Later. If had had more time this morning I'd have said something pretentious like: "I always suspected this was a greater song than the studio version made it sound. This live version proves I was right."
Cheltenham Liberal Democrats have selected their new Parliamentary candidate. Max Wilkinson was chosen from a shortlist of five at a selection meeting last night. @cheltlibdems new parliamentary candidate @mpmwilko #Cheltenham #Libdems pic.twitter.com/89xWtYmD1r — Cheltenham Lib Dems (@cheltlibdems) November 25, 2017 Recently Gloucestershire Live got its hands on all the candidates' selection leaflets. Max's said: Former political reporter for the Gloucestershire Echo Is currently Cheltenham Borough Councillor for Park ward- was the first Lib Dem to win a seat there for nearly 25 years Stood at Liberal Democrat candidate for Stroud in the 2017 election. Organised and chaired the Your Liberal ...
Sat, 12:56: This is a brilliant thread. https://t.co/sddxwTcR1J Sat, 14:24: It Happened One Night (1934) https://t.co/SeAh8Tor9t Sat, 16:05: The inside story of how David Cameron drove Britain to Brexit https://t.co/2gm350M0G6 Sir Ivan Rogers puts Camer... https://t.co/QWPqmf1Pzi Sat, 18:46: RT @SkyJohnnyNelson: My 68yr old brother has been in the UK for 53yrs. He has received a letter stating he has 10days to leave or appeal. H... Sat, 20:48: Brexit: Crucial Regulatory Challenges for the UK https://t.co/Nc8KRD3B75 As @AndrewDuffEU points out, it's all rather complicated. Sun, 09:36: Everfair map confusion - what do you think? https://t.co/0QgauumjP3 Sun, 10:45: The inside story of ...
Sun 26th
10:05
Does Momentum's loyalty test threaten to disrupt an uneasy truce within the Labour Party?
If there is one thing that has been fuelling discontent within the Parliamentary Labour Party around Jeremy Corbyn's leadership it is the fear that his allies will use their foothold in the party to initiate a series of deselections, to purge disloyal MPs. Corbyn and his praetorian guard have been at pains to reassure those who are considered to be disloyal that this is not going to happen, however recent developments seem to suggest otherwise. The Observer report that the left wing pressure group Momentum is asking Labour parliamentary contenders to sign a contract that ties them to the "political ...
Sun 26th
09:23
Scottish Liberal Democrats reveal prisoner escapes, incorrect releases and detention errors
Those intrepid Lib Dem Scottish Parliament researchers have discovered that Scotland's prison service is struggling in a number of ways. In response to a freedom of information request from the party, the Scottish Prison Service revealed that in the past five years two prisoners have escaped from custody. There have been a further 34 incidents where prisoners have been either released or detained in error. Justice Spokesperson Liam McArthur said: While these incidents are few and far between they represent a threat to the wellbeing of prisoners and a risk to the public. Public protection must remain the top priority ...
Yes there really was once a station serving the rifle range but it closed for good in 1921. The Station was only a third of a mile north of the present Hightown Station (on the modern-day Merseyrail Liverpool – Southport line) and if my eyes were not deceiving me I am sure I could make out the brickwork of one of the platforms when I cycled by the site recently. The station opened in 1862 and was called 'Hightown Rifle Station' but was renamed 'Altcar Rifle Range' in 1886. A small narrow gauge munitions tramway ran from the station into ...
I'm just starting Nisi Shawl's Everfair, which made the Nebula finalists this year (but missed the Hugos, finishing 8th on the Best Novel ballot). The frontispiece is this map, which I found a little confusing: The book is an alternate history where the Fabians create an idealistic colony in the Congo, and the map shows the different stages of its territorial expansion. The problem is that the map legend has four colours, but the map itself seems to have only three. My best guess is that the south-eastern corner is the 1893 first buy, the 1897 second buy is missing ...
Book Week Scotland starts tomorrow! It is an annual celebration of books and reading, and since this year's theme is 'nourish' there's a jam packed programme of free events for you to sink your teeth into at Dundee Libraries. Read the full programme here.
Sun 26th
07:49
Everyone seems to be taking the current situation with Ireland and the EU very lightly considering w...
Ireland has an effective veto on allowing the EU-UK trade talks to proceed further. The EU has given the UK 10 days (now eight, I suppose) to come up with a solution to the border problem or trade talks will be further stalled. Furthermore, the Irish want a real solution to the problem, not a fudge like "okay, we want to avoid a hard border too, so we'll try our best" or "zeppelins will patrol the Irish border" – they want the UK to decide on what they will do to avoid a hard border and commit to it. Which ...
