The post first appeared on the Radix site... I was a little late last night and nearly missed the Nesta event in London to launch the report they wrote with Osca. But I'm very glad I went, because I believe this one of those reports we will look back on as important. It is called Good and Bad Help: How purpose and confidence transform lives. This is the kind of territory that I've been working in for a couple of decades, about why public services succeed and why they fail. In fact, in 1990, I linked up with two friends ...
'Arty' photo by SJS Residents have been reporting problems with drainage. I have reported several sites to the council where the situation is significantly worse than is usually experienced after a downpour. These include outside Tesco's on Liverpool Rd, Halsall Rd and Hartley Cres where this photo was taken. The gullies have been cleared but the problems persist suggesting that some more significant is the at fault. I am pleased to see workmen at the Tesco site but I am still awaiting confirmation of when the other sites will be dealt with. The incidents of flooding are on the increase ...
Wed 7th
21:58
Lib Dem Southport Conference, places to go for food, drink and visit for interest starting with brea...
The tide comes in at Southport surrounding the longest iron pier in Britain The Lib Dem Conference is coming to Southport in March so I thought it might be helpful to if I did a guide to our town. In later posts I will go into more detail about some of the things that should be part of any visit to the town like the British Lawnmower Museum, excellent bookshops like my favourite Broadhurst's , the best places for afternoon tea (top choice Lillibet's), pubs and breweries, restaurants, Southport shrimps ,fish and chip shops, our brilliant municipal gardens, RSPB nature ...
Leave voting areas of the UK are amongst the worst hit in the Government's own analysis of the impact of Brexit. Staying in the single market, which the Government refuses to do, would see a 3% fall in GDP in the North East. That is best case scenario. If we crash out with no deal, that hard-hit area of the country stands to lose 16% of GDP. Similarly in the West Midlands, no deal amounts to a 13% fall in GDP. Here's the full analysis: Tom Brake said: This is a damning outlook for Britain. The Tories are putting everything ...
From BBC News: A councillor suspended by her party for saying US president Donald Trump should be beheaded has been reinstated. Laura Benson posted on Facebook she hoped Mr Trump would be assassinated for allowing remains of legally-hunted elephants into the US. Liberal Democrat party leaders said her remarks were "extremely tasteless".God knows what those party leaders will make of Lord Bonkers' comments here. They should remember, however, the old saw that it is better to have an eccentric peer inside the tent than outside the tent accompanied by trained militiamen, elven archers and Well-Behaved Orphans armed with catapults. Anyway, ...
[IMG: We have the vote so why do we worry about silly things like school cake days?] In the 1950s the American baking company, Betty Crocker, introduced a baking mix to make women's lives easier. Rather than source the ingredients from scratch the company thought that a one-box solution would sell like... The post We have the vote so why do we worry about silly things like school cake days? appeared first on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas.
Theresa May's non-answer to Vince Cable's question at PMQs today about whether a future trade deal with the US will safeguard the NHS could end up as being one of the turning points of the Brexit debate. One of the huge advantages of the EU is that you have a lot more clout if you approach a protectionist like Trump with 27 of your mates rather than if you show up on your own. Watch the exchange here: The text is below: Sir Vince Cable The Prime Minister knows that one of the key objectives of American trade negotiators in ...
Polling unusually on a Tuesday, the Alyn and Deeside Welsh Assembly by-election saw a comfortable Labour hold with the Donna Lalek taking the Liberal Democrats up to third place, from fifth last time.
Here's the new film from the Liberal Democrats, featuring Ed Davey introducing a proposed new piece of legislation to help homeless people with terminal illnesses.
An update has been published on http://www.sulisdown.com/updates/ The Hignett Family Trust and Bloor Homes have submitted revised plans for a new neighbourhood on land at Odd Down in Bath. The proposals continue to aim to deliver Phase One of the wider Sulis Down Masterplan, which will now provide 171 much needed new homes to the local area. The amended application documents can still be viewed
Budget for B&NES adopted by Cabinet - Lib Dem commentsB&NES Cabinet has this evening adopted a recommended budget for the 2018-19 financial year. The proposals will see a council tax rise of 4.95% whilst the Council will shed 300 jobs, becoming a smaller organisation. The coming years will see further shake-ups to the services provided by B&NES, with some services being cut altogether and others
All the chapter titles in my new novel The Glam Rock Murders are taken from classic glam rock songs (sometimes the song itself has resonance with the chapter, sometimes it's just a good title), so I thought it might be ... Continue reading →
In the last few years there have been a number of reports which consider the introduction of a Citizens' Income and how it can be funded. Towards the end of last year I came across the Compass report – "Universal Basic Income: An idea whose time has come?" written by Howard Reed and Stewart Lansley (and partly funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation). Howard Reed and Stewart Lansley in the Compass report set out two schemes for a Citizens' Income, both of which keep the existing means-tested benefits, the existing State Pension, replaces Child Benefit and increases the higher National ...
Wed 7th
14:51
The Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog, by Doris Lessing
Second paragraph of third section:Dann had wanted to leave the Centre - leave the past - because of the weight of sorrow on him, which he believed he understood. It was natural. Of course he was bereft, but he would get over it. He had no intention of subsiding into unhappiness. No, when he got walking, really moving, he would be better. But he had not got into his stride, his rhythm: it was what he needed, the effortlessness of it, when legs and body were in the swing of the moment, a time different from what ruled ordinary sitting, ...
So far my lymphoma symptoms have been relatively easy to deal with. Yes, I'm now developing lumps on my neck of a size that make small children cry and their parents cross the street to avoid me. Well, at least that's what I imagine. I get tired easily too. The one symptom that might just be a little bit more ... The post Itching – an infuriating symptom of lymphoma appeared first on ten pence piece.
Optimists and pessimists alike can find plenty to feed on about the current state of the Liberal Democrats. Dramatic council by-election gains. Stuck in single figures in the opinion polls almost constantly for over seven years, with our best monthly average only 11%. A massive growth in party membership taking us to all-time record levels. A local council base that has been shrinking steadily since the peak of 22.3% of councillors being Lib Dem in 1996. A distinctive position on the big policy issue of our times, providing plenty of political space for the party. The list could go on. ...
Wed 7th
11:55
Jo Swinson MP writes...Wringing our hands or shrugging our shoulders isn't enough to fight discrimin...
Editor's Note: Out this month is Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson's book Equal Power. Here she writes about the battle for equality and you can get her new book yourself from Amazon, Hive or The Guardian bookshop. With rampant sexual harassment at a corporate charity dinner, the BBC accused of breaking equal pay law, and Easyjet's new male CEO admitting he was offered £34,000 more to do the same job as his female predecessor, you don't need to look far to find gender inequality in the news. And that's just stories from one week. When I was the Liberal Democrat ...
Peckham is a culturally distinctive area of South London, part of the borough of Camberwell, but with a palpable character of its own, thanks to an artistic undercurrent to ongoing regeneration and a diverse community. In this picture are several artistic and cultural elements: the pub (obviously, pub culture!); the mural above, and the lampposts, both designed by Tom Phillips; and the bollard (one of a few on this road) designed by Anthony Gormley! We began our exploration of the neighbourhood at the South London Gallery; a contemporary art and community space which was originally a fire station, but re-purposed ...
Tue, 12:56: RT @GuitarMoog: Only 19 months after the EURef 10 mths after Art50 4 mths after pleading for sufficient progress 2 mths after getting it 14... Tue, 16:05: RT @irishwol: On the light of what's going on with the @ireland account this week, it's time to re-retweet this thoughtful piece. https://t... Tue, 16:38: RT @BoykoBorissov: #WesternBalkans strategy is a recognition for the strategic importance of the region and gives a clear #EU perspective f... Tue, 16:52: RT @jessicaelgot: Seems appropriate today to tweet the greatest reader's letter ever written #vote100 https://t.co/gszh2a6iVC Tue, 18:04: The Tree of Life, by Mark ...
miss_s_b | PSA for fellow Lib Dems: Southport conference Agenda is now online I posted PSA for fellow Lib Dems: Southport conference Agenda is now online to my dreamwidth blog Police 'don't want' new law against intimidating politicians backed by Theresa May And nor does Diane Abbott, who, whatever you think of her, is by far and away the biggest victim in all this. By all means strengthen the law against intimidation in general, or the enforcement of existing laws, but don't make politicians a special case. A comprehensive list of intimidatory acts that are illegal offline but legal online ...
Wed 7th
10:25Floella Benjamin on trouser suits, pioneering pregnancy at work and fighting for gender and race equ...
As recently as 1981, Floella Benjamin was a trailblazer at the BBC. It wasn't the done thing to be pregnant and be a tv presenter. She did it. In a fascinating speech in the Lords on Monday, she talked about her life and various careers and campaigns. I actually can't believe where she started off her working life. Enjoy. My Lords, I rise to speak in this important debate and declare an interest as a woman who, like other noble Baronesses speaking here today, has had a long journey to reach this Chamber. Many of us, as we stand on ...
Gina Miller, the Emmeline Pankhurst of the Remainer movement, tweeted yesterday: YOUTH TO CORBYN: GET OFF THE FENCE ON BREXIT, OR ELSE! What struck me as so odd about this tweet is that Jeremy Corbyn isn't on any fence on Brexit. I can't say he was never on the fence on EU membership – he equivocated a lot during the actual EU referendum campaign itself (remember the "I give it a 7 out of 10" routine?). Yet since June 24th, 2016, Corbyn has been very, very clear on Brexit in terms of both his words and his actions. He wants ...
To be frank it is difficult to lower the bar any further when it comes to our expectations of President Trump. The man who has retweeted racist groups in the UK, mislabelled incidents here as terrorism, claimed that Britain is unsafe when there have been 1,516 mass shootings in 1,735 days in the United States and 11,004 murders by firearms there in 2016 alone, and who has attacked the NHS when there are 28 million people in the USA who have no health cover at all, has very little to boast about. Trump's latest 'wheeze' however, just takes the breath ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42937218 The BBC has the story on its web site – see link above An alternative title for this posting could 'Well John Pugh are you happy now?' because during his time as MP for Southport John fought to get the appalling Pacer Trains replaced. To be fair many, many other people were on a similar track (sorry about the pun) but John made it onto a BBC North West TV programme about his fight to rid the rails of Pacers. John has now returned to his political roots as a Sefton Councillor and leads the opposition on Sefton Council. ...
I was a little late last night and nearly missed the Nesta event in London to launch the report they wrote with Osca. But I'm very glad I went, because I believe this one of those reports we will look back as important. It is called Good and Bad Help: How purpose and confidence transform [...] The post When services don't help, they hurt appeared first on Radix.
From Sheena Wellington : Today - Wednesday 7th February - Lunchtime Recital at 1.15pmWighton Heritage Centre at the Central Library - Lorraine Wilson with Tosh Flood! Lorraine Wilson is a Dundee-born singer who has performed with various bands in her home city over the years. A freelance journalist, she is the author of Take it to the Bridge, a book charting the history of rock and pop in Dundee, and Facing Forward, a fascinating account of her solo back-packing trip around Europe. She is currently working on an album with her husband Tosh Flood, a highly respected Dublin-born musician, songwriter, ...
Wed 7th
07:52Donna Lalek goes from 5th to 3rd and increases vote share in Alyn and Deeside by-election
We don't often see Tuesday by-elections, but the Welsh Assembly's Alyn and Deeside by-election took place yesterday. The result was a solid one for Liberal Democrat candidate Donna Lalek. She moved the party from 5th to 3rd and put on 1.8% in vote share. Alyn & Deeside, assembly result LAB: 60.7% (+14.9) CON: 25.4% (+4.4) LDEM: 6.3% (+1.8) PC: 5.7% (-3.3) GRN: 1.9% (-0.5) No UKIP (-17.4) as prev. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) February 7, 2018 And the numbers: Jack Sargeant, Labour – 11,267 Sarah Atherton, Conservative – 4,722 Donna Lalek, Liberal Democrat – 1,176 Carrie Harper, Plaid Cymru – ...
Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, Daniel Lewis, and Nigel Ashton are holding their next advice centre on Saturday 10th February from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We also hold a monthly advice centre in Churchtown, at BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt café, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, fourth Thursday of every month (except December) from 10:30 to: 11.30 am. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may ...
This one's on The Minstrel's Shakedown/Barbecued Batman?
