A bumper set of fourteen council by-elections this week and, after last week's disappointing dip this time there are eleven Liberal Democrat candidates (79%). That's up four on the last time all these wards were contested. None of the seats up are Lib Dem held. Rather, seven are Conservative, four Labour, an increasingly rare Ukip one, an SNP seat and residents group one. Check back later for the results as they come in. These by-election results round-ups cover principal authority by-elections. See my post The danger in celebrating parish and town council wins for your own party for the reasons ...
One of the topics of the BBC's 'The Big Questions' this Sunday was 'Is Britain Still Racist'. I was sure that the general consensus would be that racism is very much alive in Britain but I was shocked to see so many people, some of whom were people of colour, denying the existence of racism in this country. How can this be when you consider Britain's history - it is a country built on imperialism, slavery and its current political atmosphere is defined by Brexit, a referendum that was largely shaped by racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. If you apply the ...
Yes, talk of forming new parties (to add to the many new parties already created in the last few months) is back in the air again. So let's remember that one of the most basic rules, if not the most basic rule, of using evidence is to look at the full range of evidence and not just pick the most eye-catching outlier. Hence my comments on Twitter earlier about the foolishness of looking at Emanuel Macron's success in France and simply saying 'hey British centrists, do that here too!': Striking that I've yet to find anyone who says 'hey, X ...
This view of the town's Grade I listed church was taken from Montgomery Castle.
A paper for the Local Government Information Unit by Janet Sillett looks at the elusive but important concept of 'a sense of place'. She writes: A place that works could be seen as one where the people who live there have a sense of affinity with it, and one where the past, the present and the future are connected: so that its history is part of what makes it special and the people who have lived there for a long time, but where it welcomes new people and communities, and embraces change. People can feel a sense of place about ...
First published in LibDemVoice on 12th February. If there is a referendum on the final deal about leaving the European Union, what would we say? Here is my starter:BackgroundWe recognise that the vote to leave the EU was fuelled (in part) by dissatisfaction with growing levels of inequality, and felt pressure on cultural values and identity. So we need to address a) the reasons why staying in the EU is better than leaving, as well as b) how we are going to address inequality in the UK and the identity issues tied up with some of our suspicion of foreigners. ...
The Forestry Commission has published plans for "new opportunities" in the Mortimer Forest to the south of the town. It promises "benefits for day and overnight visitors, including new and improved paths, trails, natural play, habitat enhancement and a viewpoint for all to enjoy." That will include 68 holiday chalets in the heart of the forest and a £2.8 million boost to the local economy. I am concerned that this will spiral into a Centre Parcs for Ludlow. The case for the development is overstated. The development will be on Juniper Hill. It will be paid for and run by ...
Morning coffee at The Atkinson in a café run as a social enterprise by the charity Autism Initiatives called A Great Little Place is recommended .This venue is part of the Atkinson Art Gallery/Museum/Theatre/Library complex on Lord St next to the Town Hall. There is lots going on there during the conference, check out their calendar of events Caron Lindsay rather jumped the gun by mentioning Afternoon Tea when she was reporting the most read Libdem blogs last week. Now is the moment: Southport is fortunate to have a goodly number of independent tea room. We do, of course have ...
This gross and unsympathetic development for Liverpool's historic North Docks will not now proceed and a new master plan for the whole area will be drawn up by Peel Holdings My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have welcomed a report ... Continue reading →
Researching a small project on what would happen if the 2014 European Parliament election had been carried out using the proposed new seat allocation for the 2019 election, I came across an interesting quirk of the electoral system in Slovakia. In 2014, Slovakia elected 13 MEPs. The turn out was dismally low - 13% of registered voters - with the interesting result that the MOST-HÍD party got an MEP elected with only 32,708 votes, lower than any other political party in the EU. Eight political parties got more than the 5% of the vote needed to qualify them for seats ...
Mencap has launched its Treat Me Well Campaign today, calling for those with Learning Disabilities to be given reasonable adjustments in hospitals. The facts are shocking. Every year, 1200 people with a learning disability die avoidably in hospital care. I blogged this morning on the disgraceful state of PIP and ESA assessments, many suffered by those with learning disability. This is another aspect of how people with learning disability are not listened to, are not enabled, and are sidelined in assessments. This video gives you a good idea of the issues: I am on the Board of the Fragile X ...
23rd June 2016, you probably remember where you were, you probably remember thinking "How did we lose this? How did this happen?" There were many reasons, but one big one was messaging. Messaging and, in particular, framing. Framing is how we approach an argument, the context we give to a debate. You see, that figure we kept on disputing, £350m, only reinforced the Leave campaign's message. Every time we presented the truth about this false figure we brought the topic of discussion, or the frame, onto the Leave campaign's message. Why are we giving money to the EU? Why do ...
On 13 February, eve of Valentine's Day, members of the Race Equality Policy Working Group met for the first time at LDHQ. I mention Valentine's Day because this is very much a labour of love for those of us who have volunteered to assist the Party in its policy making on this important subject. The first meeting was also timely for another reason: it follows the issue last week of Lord Alderdice's report on Race, Ethnic Minorities and the culture of the Liberal Democrats and an email from our leader, Vince Cable MP, calling on each and every member to ...
One of my favourite places to stop off whilst on a cycle ride locally is Scrummies Cafe at Treeview Court/Station Road in Maghull. One wall of the cafe is all about the local area using historic photos and a great representation of an Ordnance Survey map painted directly onto the wall. It depicts Maghull as per the 1909 OS map. I love OS maps and can spend hours looking at one so if you see someone in Scrummies staring vacantly onto the wall I'm taking about then you'll know it's me. Oh and btw their bacon barms are great too. ...
We had spoken about this – When I gave you my safeword. We had exchanged safewords before. I sighed. I felt your fingertips move down my back Your rapid breathing heightened my excitement As I turned expectantly : Your hot flush still drying, cooling on my chest, my belly and my thighs... Your hesitation had been [...]
Still fascinating and informative is this 2013 talk from Buzzfeed's Jonah Peretti on how you get ideas to spread online.
Wed, 12:56: RT @Hugo_Book_Club: If you're nominating in the #RetroHugo Best Series category, @nwbrux has a good list of potential nominees: https://t.... Wed, 13:07: RT @stephenkb: Is it really Johnson's contention than France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, etc do not have "self-government"? Wed, 14:35: RT @kevinhorourke: Who is this fellow who thinks that the UK could sign FTAs with Malta and Cyprus, and why is the FT giving him coverage?... Wed, 15:12: RT @MichaelPDeacon: We live in remarkable times https://t.co/0OEtppBLqS Wed, 16:05: Grandfathering EU free trade deals for the UK: a look at an actual text https://t.co/ZlCiQ66OuT Wow. Not impossible... ...
Instagram photo:Roses are red Violets are blue My dogs are hairy And cuddly too Here's what Siri would have been like on MS-DOS in 1987Banned Georgian sex manual reveals strange beliefsWhat I don't get about this is how many children don't end up looking like artexed ceilings. If you like what you see here (or even if you don't) please consider dropping me a tip: [IMG: Paypal Donate Button] [IMG: Buy Me an uncaffeinated beverage (because I'm allergic to coffee) at ko-fi.com] [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Yesterday, the government published the latest Work and Pensions Select Committee report on PIP and ESA Assessments. The benefits system is clearly failing – asking a claimant how they caught Down's Syndrome is appalling. One lady was put down as able to walk her dog, even though she did not own a dog and could hardly walk. The most vulnerable in our society are not being properly supported, enabled, protected and listened to, but rather treated disdainfully and cruelly. Stephen Lloyd MP, Liberal Democrat DWP spokesperson, said : This is an utterly damning report from the Select Committee on the ...
There was a certain inevitability about the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's speech yesterday. It was meant to reach out to Remainers by presenting a liberal case for Brexit, but instead it drew raspberries. Britain's polity is bitterly divided. It was always going to take more than a few speeches to change that. Is there anything ... Continue reading If Brexiteers want to reassure Remainers they will have to start talking specifics
The latest Syrian-Israeli military incident is not simply an unfortunate slip-up. It indicates an escalation in the Middle East, one fraught with danger in the short- and medium-term. On Saturday, February 10, shortly before dawn, a drone guided from Syrian territory entered Israeli airspace. It was immediately chased and shot down by Israeli Defence Force [...] The post Why we need to work with Russia in the middle east appeared first on Radix.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=91G5wb6GNY8 Open the link above to the You Tube video to hear a wonderful song, I'm sure you'll like it. It's probably one of my favourite tracks of all time. The great American jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour hits the spot here as only he can. And what about the great voices of Grady Harrell and Kenya Hathaway; yes she is the daughter of Donnie Hathaway.
The City Council now operates the sheltered housing shoppers' bus service that takes residents direct from their sheltered housing complex to a supermarket and then back to the complex after around an hour for shopping. The West End routes are as follows : Tuesday Timetable : Tullideph Place 1150Logie Avenue/Gardens 1205TESCO RIVERSIDE - arrive 1225TESCO RIVERSIDE - depart 1325 Thursday Timetable : Corso Street 1000Pennycook Lane 1005Muirlands 1010Patons Lane 1015TESCO RIVERSIDE - arrive 1015TESCO RIVERSIDE - depart 1125 I have requested that the Morven Terrace Sheltered Housing is included in future (I've discussed this previously with the tenants) and have ...
There was a time when a letter in support of an Asylum claim from an MP or Peer would be pretty certain of a reply from the Home Office. People have received permission to stay in the United Kingdom following such letters. Deportation decisions have been reversed. It is not too much to claim that lives might have been saved. That is not the case today. I myself am still waiting for six or seven responses. Tens of thousands of Home Office decisions on an individual's status have been declared unsound. - the initial decision found to be wrong and ...
Talks to restore the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland collapsed yesterday, as the DUP said there was no prospect of a compromise with Sinn Féin and accused Theresa May of an unhelpful and distracting visit to Belfast earlier this week. The DUP leader, Arlene Foster added to Theresa May's woes on Tuesday by ruling out any current prospect of a compromise between the DUP and Sinn Féin. The Guardian reports that the former first minister and her party say they have been shaken by the level of opposition within the DUP and in the wider unionist community over any deal ...
Art can be a form of resistance, especially for an occupied people, whether it is in the form of graffiti on walls, paintings or cartoons. So there is little wonder that the 50 years of illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the ongoing blockade of Gaza have been the subject of many works [...]
This article first appeared in the Ludlow Advertiser. Many people have received first class treatment from the NHS, including myself after a recent stroke. Regrettably, that is not everyone's experience. It is no secret that our health system is creaking at the seams. Telford A&E unit is threatened with closure overnight from next month due to a shortage of consultants. Health bosses aim to shut it forever. Ludlow Maternity Unit closed overnight at the end of January. The plans are to close it permanently to live births. This pattern is being repeated across the country. Everywhere, there are insufficient resources ...
