Embed from Getty Images A 1910 poster for the Midland Railway by Fred Taylor.
You think you know everything there is to know about our parliamentarians' backgrounds and then, all of a sudden, you find out something new. That happened to me tonight as I watched the BBC1 programme about The Coronation. For me, the big "wow" moment wasn't watching the Queen chatting away about her big day, or her obvious fascination with her crowns. It was when they showed 4 former choristers who sang on that day that I thought – that looks like William Wallace, our Peer and regular LDV contributor. Keeley Hawes, narrating, then said their names, and one of them ...
An excellent 5 minute video from the Lymphoma Association on watch and wait. It explains why not being treated immediately for some non-Hodgkin lymphomas is a good idea. The speaker is Professor Simon Rule, one of UK's leading experts on Mantle Cell Lymphoma. The post Watch and wait for low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma appeared first on ten pence piece.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 502nd 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 (7-13 January, 2018), 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. Unsurprisingly, the subject of Tim Farron and his interview on Wednesday dominates. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and ...
Embed from Getty Images Tom Peck of the Independent has noticed the impact that Layla Moran, the newly elected Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, has made: That it is Layla Moran's name and no one else's doing the rounds is because she is articulate, extremely intelligent, easy company, and she absolutely screams Lib Dem ... She is young (she's 35), she's a teacher, she's got a constituency full of academics in Oxford West and Abingdon, she has a Palestinian mother and a father who was a diplomat for the EUThe article talks up Layla's credentials as a ...
Sun 14th
18:13
Exhibition at the Abdij van Parc, Leuven - (Un)worldly. Images of Seclusion and Liberation
Earlier today Anne and I went to the Abdij van Park, a former monastery near Leuven, to see their current exhibition, "Van de Wereld: Beelden van Beslotenheid en Bevrjding" which they translate as "(Un)worldly. Images of Seclusion and Liberation". It's a small but quite powerful exhibition with some fascinating images of monasticism and mysticism. Just a couple of pieces that really struck me: This is the only signed work by Jan Mandijn, clearly a follower of Hieronymus Bosch (who would have been at least a generation older), showing the Temptation of St Anthony, painted around 1550. Normally it's in the ...
Hamilton also, like President Bartlet, recognises that decisions are made by those who show up, and takes the decision to prioritise serving the nation, even when it comes at a cost to his relationships.
Sun 14th
16:55
VIDEO: Online campaign tips #2 - finding images online you are legally allowed to reuse
Today's online campaigning tips video show you how to find images online which you can reuse in political campaigning without getting into copyright problems.
Vince has been speaking about the Carillion crisis. The FT reports: The Lib Dem leader's intervention suggests the crisis at Carillion is about to become highly political; Sir Vince claimed last November that the government was "feeding" contracts to the company to try to keep it alive. On Friday lenders to Carillion dismissed the company's rescue plan and urged Downing Street to intervene. But ministers will face fierce political criticism if they have to bailout a company which continued to receive major public contracts — including on the HS2 high speed rail line — after it issued a profit warning ...
In my last job, I got very much engaged in the issue of Western Sahara - the territory in northwest Africa which was abandoned by Spain in 1975 and mostly occupied and illegally annexed by Morocco in the subsequent years, with a promised referendum on its future status perpetually postponed by the Moroccans. In particular, my best achievement in EU politics was to help persuade the European Parliament to reject a 2011 extension of the EU-Morocco fisheries protocol which would have allowed the continuing exploitation of the seas off the territory. (Unfortunately a later extension was approved in 2013 and ...
It seems like every day I'm having conversations with people who aren't involved in politics who are resigned to the idea that we're stuck with leaving the European Union. When I tell them that we aren't, and that the dangerous folly of Brexit could be stopped, they get very interested indeed. I can't be alone in that. Just before Christmas, Parliament debated the Liberal Democrat amendment on a referendum on the final deal. To go along with that, the party published a timetable of how that could happen. April 2018: Royal Assent given to the EU Withdrawal Bill April 2018: ...
The Remain narrative failure.. I can hardly believe this is my first blog post about brexit. Maybe it's always felt too big a subject with so much that needs saying. Possibly it's because so many fantastic people are already saying much of what I would, and saying it better. Maybe it's that I spend too much time on Twitter (@Untidy_mind) arguing about it. But, there is one aspect I don't see
The Remain narrative failure.. I can hardly believe this is my first blog post about brexit. Maybe it's always felt too big a subject with so much that needs saying. Possibly it's because so many fantastic people are already saying much of what I would, and saying it better. Maybe it's that I spend too much time on Twitter (@Untidy_mind) arguing about it. But, there is one aspect I don't see
That was the question posed by a recent edition of the excellent* left-of-centre** podcast Not Enough Champagne. One of their picks is the new Liberal Democrat MP and education spokesperson, Layla Moran. Who do you think will be the most influential politicians this year? (Before you answer, you may wish to consult these research-based tips on how to make better predictions.) * Even when they are being mean about the Lib Dems. ** Unless you are a Jeremy Corbyn fan, in which case replace 'left-of-centre' with 'traitorous right-wing Blairite revanchists'.
If you fancy a job with the party's media and digital teams, you'll have to act quickly as the deadlines are very soon. There are three jobs in the party's press team that close at 12 noon tomorrow. The party is looking for a Head of Media, to lead the team with the aim: to promote the Liberal Democrats and the Party leader Vince Cable in regional and national media. You and your team will be expected to secure daily coverage in a diverse range of national and regional print, broadcast and online news media, and you will collaborate with ...
Many people are put off politics because they don't trust what politicians say. Alas, that situation has got worse over the past year or so, with the election of Donald Trump to the White House and the chaotic Brexit discourse in the UK. Of course, with Trump one can never be sure whether he is [...]
Wonderful stuff from 1968 that turned up on BBC Radio 6 Music the other day. "Despite the heady atmosphere," says Wikipedia, "the group insists the recording, along with their other self-penned material, was not composed under the influence of LSD." Read more about The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, one of whom went on to produce the Osmonds.
The digital geniuses at Party HQ have been giving a New Year Spring clean to the Members' Area of the party website. If you've never had a wander around there, why not make yourself a cup fo tea and go and have a wee look. There's all sorts of information there. For a start, I realised how outdated my profile was and changed it. The site is organised into sections for conference, policy, campaigning and training, If you're interested in what's going on in the party, you can find committee reports there. The training section is brilliant, with all sorts ...
Over at HITC, Richard Wood has produced a list of politicians to watch this year. Vince Cable, Layla Moran and Christine Jardine get mentions: Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has failed to make much of an impact this year. But with the Brexit drum beating louder than ever before, and the UK just one year away from exiting the EU, Brexit anxiety will likely increase, thus resulting in Cable rising to prominence. Cable and his party will likely capitalise on remain sentiment, but can he expand on that and turn the Liberal Democrats into more than just the anti-Brexit party? ...
Sat, 12:56: The country that brought yoghurt to the world https://t.co/QqB6kPXVTS Surely you know which country? Sat, 13:58: RT @itsmelukepenny: Eliza Dushku discloses that she was sexually molested while filming TRUE LIES by Joel Kramer, the film's stunt coordina... Sat, 15:10: Fungi - I hope. @ Heverlee Bos https://t.co/DbrwwStmmN Sat, 16:05: RT @jonlis1: Bloody EU, banning card surcharges and saving us all money. What will the power-crazed superstate force on us next? https://t.... Sat, 16:15: RT @apcoworldwide: The revised #EU Directive on Payments goes live today. Our @AnnalauraGallo says that questions remain: https://t.co/4VBl... Sat, 17:22: Duolingo - how it worked ...
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I suppose that in a week in which the President of the United States has branded dozens of countries as 'shitholes', a minor spat between Norway and Australia can easily be ignored. And so it would be, if it wasn't so amusing. The origin of the non-row lies in official advice given by the Australian Government to its citizens thinking of journeying to the northern reaches of Europe. As the Telegraph reports, Smart Traveller, which appears to be an official Australian Government travel advice website, advises that there 'are risks for travellers to the arctic archipelago of Svalbard relating to ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-42665674 The BBC has the sad story on its web site – see link above My good friend and leader of the Opposition on Knowsley Council, Cllr. Carl Cashman, has been one of the loud voices saying 'NO' to Knowsley Council's Labour leaders as they plough on with their parks sell-off plans. But things are looking grim in that the all-Labour Cabinet of Knowsley Council is pressing on with the sale of many parks and gardens. Merseyside Labour Councils just don't get environmental issues Urban green spaces are crucial in any community; once they are gone they are effectively gone ...
This is the second part of a series Brexit is a luxury for the few. The EU is a necessity for the many. Part 1 can be found here. The negotiations with EU27 are the point at which Brexit fantasies meet reality. Allegations that the EU needs us more than we need them have been exposed as false as the Government jettisons previously trumpeted 'red lines'. The Phase 1 joint report of the UK and EU negotiators shows the Government has given into virtually every EU demand. This should be no surprise as the negotiations were never going to be ...
Delivering leaflets is such an apparently straight-forward activity that you don't see any training sessions or briefing materials in the party about how to do it.
Perth Road at Seafield Road :
[IMG: Let's talk about Asian Feminism] When I was growing up in Asia feminism was seen as a far away concept associated with White women in the Western world who burned their bras. The secondary role of women in Asian society... The post Let's talk about Asian Feminism appeared first on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas.
