I was back in the Lib Dem office in Consett last night to print one side of the first Focus of the new year in Gateshead. A whole pile of them came off the printing machine and are currently sitting on the desk waiting to have the other side printed tomorrow. I expect to be walking the streets soon with a large bundle of leaflets in my hands!
Religion is not an excuse for discrimination. But that should not blind us to the fact that evangelical Christians are now a minority in the UK, whose rights liberals may need to fight for. Part 1: What liberalism is NOT To the surprise of essentially no one, Tim Farron has confirmed that he does in [...]
The construction sector has seen the biggest quarterly fall in output in five years, ONS figures published today have revealed. Construction output decreased by 2% in the three-months to November 2017, the biggest contraction since August 2012. Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable commented: "It's no surprise that the construction sector is being severely impacted by the Government's Brexit plans. "On top of growing economic uncertainty, the construction sector is particularly dependent on EU workers who are leaving in an ever-worsening Brexodus. "As the negative economic consequences of Brexit become clear, the public must be offered a way out. "That is ...
The Conservatives launch their 25-year environment plan tomorrow. Despite being heavily trailed to the media, the proposals are expected to be limited. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: "The Conservatives should be eliminating all avoidable plastic waste now - a target of 2042 beggars belief. They ramped up expectations only to disappoint. "The Conservatives have shown a complete lack of ambition. Notably, they have failed to deal with the excessive waste of coffee cups through the levy proposed by the Liberal Democrats and recently embraced by a powerful group of cross-party MPs. "This is only a small step rather than ...
There was a letter in the Guardian today from some of the literary great and good expressing concern at plans to downgrade Northampton's central library: This library is home to many a unique resource pertaining to Northamptonshire history and culture, but we are specifically concerned about the John Clare collection - arguably the world's greatest archive of the poet's manuscripts, of his books, and of a wide collection of unique ephemera and publications by or about Clare. The collection is used by international scholars and artists of all kinds, and has been a hub and stimulus of activity in response ...
Alright, so I've made it home after the best part of two weeks in conditions so cold that, without multiple layers of clothing, you might die of hypothermia fast. Despite getting four hours or so sleep - the East Coast is about six hours away if you're heading downwind - the journey from Heathrow to Suffolk was a bit of a drag. But I started on the laundry, and once Ros had reached home too, we made a surprising amount of progress. The suitcases were unpacked, clothes sorted or put away as appropriate, and we were able to get to ...
I made two points on Twitter about Tim Farron's recantation of his view on gay sex that seem worth repeating here. The first is in that interview, as he often does, Tim told hid interviewers "what Christians believe". But there are, says Wikipedia, more than two billion Christians around the world. They vary from the Russian Orthodox church to the Wee Frees of the Western Isles. It is simply wrong to suggest that they all share the conclusions of Tim's slightly home-made Evangelical faith. Christians believe all sorts of things and, in Britain at least, many of them are more ...
It has been a long time since I have blogged and that is not really like me. Today I am once again not feeling well it has been a tough 12 months for me health-wise. However, something has happened today that makes me feel used that makes me feel like I have to write. Speaking today on Premier Christian Radio the former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has said that he now regrets the statement he made during the last general election when he said he did not think gay sex was a sin. This is the latest in the ...
Vince Cable has responded to Tim Farron's interview today with a strongly worded tweet: I strongly disagree with @timfarron's personal views expressed today. @libdems have a long & proud record of fighting for #LGBT+ rights: campaigning to repeal section 28, equalising age of consent and legislating for equal marriage. I will continue to champion rights and dignity. — Vince Cable (@vincecable) January 10, 2018
Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has given an interview in which he expresses regret at saying that gay sex is not a sin, and that he felt pressured into making public statements at odds with his faith.
The first time I really had any contact with, or knowledge of, Tim Farron was when he was standing for the job of Lib Dem President. At the time, I was supporting the campaign of a friend of mine, who ... Continue reading →
Tim Farron is making headlines again. And what would the reason be? Yes, he just can't leave this issue alone. Much as I try not to identify Tim with any kind of sex (he is a political colleague after all), the inescapable reality is that he has become firmly associated in the public mind with same-sex relations. And sinful ones at that. When you're a former party leader with some forthright views on such things as Brexit, tackling poverty and cancer care at his local hospital, it might be a good idea to make sure the positive messages aren't overshadowed ...
As part of my gradual catching up with Big Finish audios, these are three main sequence releases from 2014, all starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and Francesca Hunt (India Fisher's half-sister) as temporary companion Hannah Bartholomew. The first of these, Moonflesh by Mark Morris was the last BF audio I wrote up before I got out of that habit. I wrote then: Oh dear. There are some nice ideas in this Fifth Doctor / Nyssa audio; a country-house story in the same style as Black Orchid and The Unicorn and the Wasp, an alien ...
In Gilbert and Sullivan's opera The Mikado, Ko-Ko, the rather timid Lord High Executioner, explains the fact that he hasn't actually executed anyone as follows: It's like this: When your Majesty says, 'Let a thing be done,' it's as good as done - practically it is done - because your Majesty's will is the law. Your Majesty says, 'Kill a gentleman' and a gentleman is told off to be killed. Consequently that gentleman is as good as dead - practically he is dead - and if he is dead, why not say so? Our government is following the same technique ...
Wed 10th
17:17
Re Tim Farron (again): Putting here for posterity what I put on Twitter earlier, & expanding a b...
*heavy sigh* In my view, the problem is not thinking sex is sinful. We're most of us familiar enough with Christian theology to just shrug at that. [IMG: Reverend Lovejoy delineates what sin is] The problem is thinking only "gay sex" is sinful, but "heterosexual sex" is fine. That's discriminatory and bigoted. I'm not even gong to go into the bi-erasure of the very concept of "gay sex" and "heterosexual sex" right now because I'm Just. So. Tired. This is someone I consider(ed?) a friend saying this shit. It's someone I actually care about. And it wears you down, you ...
Liberal Democrat Newswire #108 has a special free extract from a book I contributed to. It's a what-if political history, looking back at how the 2007 Lib Dem leadership election could have had rather different consequences for the party.
Tim has spoken at length on Premier Radio, including remarks on his faith and his role as leader of the Liberal Democrats: * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. He is a councillor and one of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
The release of serial rapist on parole after serving just 10 years has shocked many. Marina Hyde put it particularly well in the Guardian: In technical terms Worboys has "paid his debt to society". And yet, that doesn't feel like quite the right analogy. I prefer to think that he's been permitted to declare himself bankrupt to avoid paying said debt, and will be trading again in haste most unseemly to his creditors. Merely out of interest, I wonder which sex offender treatment programme Worboys could have undergone inside in a manner that would have satisfied the parole board? I ...
Lib Dem Peer Robin Teverson has written for Politics Home about the effect of China's ban on the importation of low grade waste should be a wake up call for us to sort out how we deal with this problem. China's import ban, at a stroke, destroys the business model of the UK waste industry, together with its supply chain. The knock-on effects are huge, impacting local authorities and business. But the UK has been slow to react. Defra is working overtime on Brexit agricultural and fisheries reform, producing a two-years late 25-year environmental plan, getting thousands of EU environmental ...
Readers may remember all the fuss on the Maghull Community Facebook Page late last November when Michael Portillo was seen on Maghull Station. Well he was there and he was making a new episode in his long-running Great British Railway Journeys TV programme. He was in Maghull because of it's world famous former resident Frank Hornby and the programme to be aired next Thursday picks up on how model railways became so popular. My dear friend Les French, who is Chairman of the Maghull based group The Frank Hornby Trust, will be seen in the programme talking with Michael Portillo. ...
This is the piece I wrote shortly after his death two years ago. It was longlisted for the Fish Short Memoir Prize. Ashes to Ashes Dead things come in threes. Monday, it had been David Bowie; Thursday Alan Rickman, then on the Friday morning... Like I did every day, soon after 8am I put the [...]
Tue, 12:56: Toby Young and wheelchair ramps https://t.co/VGS37mApG3 I know that this particular horse appears to be dead for no... https://t.co/2gsiEzW1J4 Tue, 18:06: L'Équation Africaine, by Yasmina Khadra [Mohammed Moulessehoul] https://t.co/pGY6HTLScN Tue, 19:46: RT @SebDance: Davis' letter proves three things: 1. He still thinks there's a magic cake-and-eat it option 🤦🏼♂️ 2. He doesn't understan... Tue, 21:16: I can't believe I got this question wrong on @hqtrivia! https://t.co/GwuCImky6W Tue, 22:24: RT @MichaelLCrick: Update. I hadn't realised the Attorney General gets a Cabinet minister's salary, so the average pay for the 19 men atte... Tue, 22:30: RT @APHClarkson: The other remarkable ...
miss_s_b | The Blood is the Life for 09-01-2018 I posted The Blood is the Life for 09-01-2018 to my dreamwidth blog Virgin Trains Will No Longer Stock Daily Mail On West Coast Route Oh this is glorious With ingestible pill, you can track fart development in real time on your phone ... isn't it amazing what they can do these days? Radio 4 host Winifred Robinson taken off air after gender pay tweet Odd that the women who have tweeted about this have been taken off air but Evan Davies hasn't... Brexit bill may have broken international environment law, ...
We have another new member! I love this country because all my life it's allowed me to be me – to think what I want, feel what I want and say what I want. Brexit means we can no longer take basic freedoms for granted. @LibDems are the only mainstream party that opposes it. I've joined. — Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) January 9, 2018 Tim spent 10 years till 2014, editing the Telegraph's diary column and wrote diaries for the Mirror during the last two elections. He has previously spoken of his concern that right wing newspaper owners are no longer ...
The people of Liverpool need to ask whether this man and his team have the legal, financial and commercial expertise to deliver a complex deal such as this. Liverpool's Lib Dems are questioning the outline of the deal announced yesterday ... Continue reading →
Yesterday, a Westminster Hall debate took place, led by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Lloyd. He aimed to highlight the effect of universal credit on the private rented sector. Simply, landlords aren't loving the prospect of not getting their rent money, so they are simply saying they won't rent to anyone on benefits. This is going to create a massive problem as people find they can't find somewhere to live. Here's Christine Jardine speaking in the debate:
Having secured the election of seven Assembly Members in 2016 it did not take long for UKIP to start falling apart. Right at the beginning of the session there was a coup during which Neil Hamilton ousted the party's Welsh leader from fronting up the group. Nathan Gill subsequently left the UKIP group and sat as an Independent before he decided that he would rather concentrate on being an MEP and resigned from the Assembly altogether. There are many who say that he will not be missed due to his erratic and infrequent appearances in the Senedd. And then the ...
This year, we will celebrate a chaotic fiftieth anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). All countries are signatories exception for India, Pakistan and Israel. Apart from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the P-5), all of which are nuclear powers, the signatories to the treaty undertake not to develop or acquire [...] The post Why 2018 is the year of nuclear peril appeared first on Radix.
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