Embed from Getty Images Ben Bradley, the accident-prone Conservative MP for Mansfield, has been in the news again today. This time it was for tweeting a thumping libel of Jeremy Corbyn and then deleting it in the face of threatened legal action. Those Conservatives who defend Bradley generally do so by accusing his critics of snobbery. But is he really a local, working-class boy made good? Go to Ben Bradley's website and you will find his biography begins: Born in 1989 in Ripley, 28 year old Ben initially went to study Sports Science at Bath University, but after deciding the ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

In a speech tomorrow, Brexit Secretary David Davis will demand that the UK's regulatory standards are accepted across the EU post-Brexit. He will ask for "mutual recognition" and "close, even-handed co-operation". Responding, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: David Davis might as well be making the case for staying in the EU. He appears to be acknowledging the great achievements of the Single Market – a British idea introduced by a British government – yet the Conservatives want to leave that and the Customs Union. They want all the advantages of staying in the Single Market and Customs Union while ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 19th
17:19

Monday reading

Some long travels during the week, followed by some short books over the weekend. Current Toast, by Charles Stross Seventeen Equations that Changed the World, by Ian Stewart Grand Canyon, by Vita Sackville-West Last books finished Who Is The Doctor, by Graeme Burk and Robert Smith? Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier He, She and It, by Marge Piercy Hoger dan de bergen en dieper dan de zee: kroniek van een migrant, by Laïla Koubaa and Laura Janssens Four Doctors, by Paul Cornell and Neil Edwards The Sudden Appearance of Hope, by Claire North Outrageous Tales from the Old Testament, by ...

In 1978, I moved away from bureaucracy. I did so because I was disillusioned with the top-down system and wanted to live away from it. I had a naive belief that I would achieve this if we lived on the edge of the country, away from the centre, in the Welsh Marches. How wrong I [...] The post Down here, top down gets in the way of change appeared first on Radix.

Posted by Barry Cooper on Opinion - Radix

Labour Pro-Europe MEP Richard Corbett has published this alarming account of a conversation between 3 UK parliamentarians and a UK diplomat in a developing country. In a nutshell, the UK diplomat said that post-brexit we could offer the third world trade without insisting on International Labour Organisation [ILO] rules as the EU does. This basically means turning a blind eye to child labour! Brexit opportunities indeed!

Posted by LibCync on LibCync

The Leeds Yellow Book 2018: Essays on a Liberal Future for Leeds, was launched on Friday 16th February, in a packed venue by Lord Dick Newby, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Honorary Leeds Alderman Michael Meadowcroft, Liv Powell of Leeds Young Liberals and Ian MacFadyen (all pictured above at the launch from left to right, Ian MacFadyen, Lord Newby, Liv Powell, Michael Meadowcroft). The Leeds Yellow Book 2018 is a collection of essays by Liberal Democrats and liberals outside the party offering ideas on how to ensure that everyone in Leeds, however they started, can ...

Posted by Ian MacFadyen on Liberal Democrat Voice

Thanet District Council posted a long-winded press release which is contained below describing the last occurrences for Chris Wells as leader of Thanet District Council. Apart from Chris Wells and a few of his cabinet colleagues I doubt there'll be many tears shed, Chris Wells and his co UKIP colleagues were elected in the main not only because of their right wing views but because they claimed that they would be strongly supporting the campaign to have Manston Airport reopened and not as he latterly supported a housing estate. To councillor Wells credit I feel that during his time in ...

Posted by tony flaig on BIGNEWS MARGATE

Our local police have issued the following alert: "At some point between 1.30 and 2.15pm on Tuesday 30 January, an unknown male knocked on the back door of a home in Harescombe. He had gone by the time the elderly resident got there, but then knocked on the front door. He claimed that he had hit their garage with his car and the homeowner went to have a look. No damage could be seen, and when the caller left it was discovered that jewellery was missing, and it seems that another offender has entered through the front door when the ...

Posted by Paul Hulbert on Focus on Sodbury, Yate and Dodington

It seems to me that our position on Remaining in the EU is that people will see that we will be worse off outside the EU than in it. When they see the deal which is negotiated, they will have their 'Road to Damascus' moment and a significant proportion of the British will want to reject the deal and vote to stay in the EU. I don't think that will be happen. The 2016 referendum was fought on a campaign which stated we would be much poorer outside the EU than by Remaining in it. That campaign failed to get ...

Posted by Michael Berwick-Gooding on Liberal Democrat Voice

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 ...

Posted on birkdale focus
YouGov
Mon 19th
12:03

Wayne Casey

Jacqueline and I were shocked and deeply saddened to hear yesterday that our friend Wayne Casey had died at such a tragically young age. Our thoughts are with Pauline, his family and friends. I adored Wayne over many years and he was among the funniest and cleverest people I will ever know. I have rarely laughed harder than in his company and there was no better dinner companion. I often cite things that Wayne said to me in conversation and my thinking continues to be influenced by his observations about politics, history and life. He was a man I turned ...

Posted by Matthew Harris on Matthew Harris

In interviews with The Sunday Times and Andrew Marr, new Education Secretary Damian Hinds signalled he would encourage restrictions to pupils' rights to sex education. In the former interview, he is reported to have acknowledged he was reversing the policy of his predecessor, Justine Greening. Hinds also failed to commit to the reintroduction of maintenance grants for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds as part of a review of the university system. Responding, Lib Dem Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said: The sexual harassment and intimidation scandals – and the resulting need for the #metoo movement – and the shocking rise ...

Posted by News Meerkat on Liberal Democrat Voice

On Friday, former NI-Secretary Owen Paterson tweeted "The collapse of power-sharing in Northern Ireland shows the Good Friday Agreement has outlived its use" with a link to a Daily Telegraph article written by Ruth Dudley Edwards. The crucial paragraph from the Edwards piece is the final one: "Realists believe the GFA has served its purpose and run its course, leaving behind the unintended consequence of enshrining sectarianism in the political process. Rationally, Ireland and the UK should face the truth, and begin a renegotiation and updating of the GFA. But with Brexit preoccupying both, the hot money seems to be ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com
Mon 19th
11:00

My tweets

Sun, 12:56: RT @mrjamesob: My youngest has had my old phone for a couple of years. Just for games, which I download for her before disconnecting the in... Sun, 15:45: The Power of the Daleks - animated https://t.co/qx8saaPDUk Sun, 16:05: RT @KevinMKruse: As Florida insists there's nothing it can do to stop a 19-year-old from buying an AR-15 and shooting up a school, please r... Sun, 16:06: RT @KeohaneDan: I want as close an EU-UK defence relationship as possible post-Brexit, for lots of reasons. But, rightly or wrongly, there... Sun, 18:40: RT @apcoworldwide: #MSC2018 is a perfect example of this ...

Men and women in economics have different opinions In completely predictable ways, too. Twitter Instagram photo: Pippin relaxing on the end of mum's recliner chair. Note the toes. Lurchers are so adorably weird... 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

While Lib Dems in Gateshead were running our action day on Saturday, we made the occasional check on news websites to find out how the Kipper fight was going in Birmingham. After the last tabloids went through the doors, we still had no news. I returned home, had a cuppa, switched on Sky News and there it was - Henry Bolton had succeeded in being UKIP's longest serving leader in the last 2 years

Posted by jonathanwallace on Jonathan Wallace

Dodington Parish Band, in association with Dodington Parish Council, are giving a concert on Friday 16th March 2018 at 7:30 pm to celebrate the life of long-serving parish councillor Cliff Phelps, who died last year. Brass band music was one of Cliff's passions. All proceeds will be split between good causes of Cliff's choice - the eating disorder charity B-eat and Dodington Parish Band. Tickets cost £5 each from the Parish Office at Dodington Parish hall in Finch Road.

Posted by Paul Hulbert on Focus on Sodbury, Yate and Dodington

The Prime Minister's well-known obsession with immigration figures could come back to haunt her during the Brexit negotiations as she seeks to shore up her unattainable targets by removing rights from citizens of EU countries. Her demand that EU nationals coming to the UK during a Brexit transition deal should enjoy fewer rights than those already in the country has already upset the European Parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt who says that it amounts to "penalising citizens". The Guardian reports Verhofstadt, as saying: "It's not acceptable for us that rules will continue without change for financial services, for goods, for ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Rimrose Valley Country Park How do these 3 disparate subjects fit together? Quite easily actually. So the Port of Liverpool is expanding, that's hardly new news but the consequences of the expansion brings with it quite a lot of bad environmental news. You see the once well rail connected port is not so well connected to the national railway network these days. There is still one rail link with Seaforth Container Base/Liverpool 2 but just about the only rail freight moved via it are the biomass trains serving Drax Power Station. Containers have not been moved from Seaforth for quite ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORTREPORT FOR WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2018 Riverside Drive at Dundee Railway Station - eastbound nearside lane closure for 2 weeks for footway works. Glamis Road (Blackness Road to Dickson Avenue) - closed from Monday 19 February for up to 10 days for footway and tree works. West Marketgait (Overgate Lane to Nethergate) - southbound nearside lane closure from Monday 19 February for 2 weeks for SSE cable overlay. Riverside Drive (at Botanic Garden) - off peak (9.30am - 3.30pm) temporary traffic lights for one week for street lighting duct installation works. Forthcoming ...

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