Nice work, Lara Pringle and team! Well done Cllr. Lara Pringle for smashing it in Northchurch, Dacorum. pic.twitter.com/U1qHHvwrKq — ALDC (@ALDC) March 8, 2018 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
After last week's full slate of Lib Dem candidates, this week's contestation rate slipped back to three quarters with six Lib Dem candidates in the eight seats. Disappointingly, that's down one on when these seats were last fought.
Our last post on International Women's Day Manchester deserves Better: Manchester needs April
Our last post for International Women's day is a video which shows exactly why the people of Withington ward need April Preston as their councillor in May. She has experience of snow much – a care leaver, she's been homeless, she's a mum, she's a carer. She gets how hard life is for those the Tories leave behind and Labour neglect. In order to celebrate #IWD2018 heres me on why I'm standing for council in #Withington this May, along with a message urging the importance of women and marginalised ppl to stand for public office.#Manchester deserves opposition! Mcr deserves better!#VoteAprilInMay ...
Commenting on reports from the BBC that a former private investigator who worked for the Sunday Times used illegal practices to target cabinet ministers Liberal Democrat Spokesperson, Christine Jardine, said: "This story, and these acts, would rightly cause outrage at any time, but just five days after the government announced their plans to abandon part two of the Leveson Inquiry, it couldn't be more damning. "Theresa May is doing nothing to improve the culture of ethics in public life and the failure to implement the Leveson proposals deters individuals from seeking justice. "Rifling through peoples bins, their personal data, reeks ...
New data out today from the DWP shows that the majority of ESA fit for work decisions that are appealed are overturned. 38% of fit for work decisions are upheld, and 62% overturned. Commenting, Stephen Lloyd, Liberal Democrat Work & Pensions Spokesperson, said: "These figures are absolutely appalling, but of little surprise to me. With the many constituents who come through my office and those of other MPs' across the country, we see with our own eyes some shocking decisions by Work Capability tribunals. "It is time that we stop faceless corporations making money off the backs of disabled people, ...
Christine Jardine introduces Bill to rename House of Lords on International Women's Day
If Lib Dems had our way, the House of Lords would be reformed into an elected House. Nick Clegg had plans to do this but they didn't survive the vested interests in the Tory and Labour parties. There's no immediate chance of it becoming elected, but a small but significant reform could be enacted. Today Christine Jardine presented a Bill to change the name of the House of Lords to the House of Peers to better reflect the contribution of women in the chamber. The current gender-specific House of Lords title is no longer appropriate. It feeds into an outdated ...
This is West Bay station in Dorset, which marked the end of an extension to the Bridport branch. It was hoped that West Bay would be developed as a tourist resort - the name was newly coined because it was thought to sound more attractive than Bridport Harbour. But it never really happened and the line closed to passengers in 1930 and to goods in 1962. But the station was still there, restored and home to a couple of vintage railway carriages when I photographed it from the hill above in 1997.
As some of you might know, in January the latest Faction Paradox short story collection, The Book of the Enemy, came out, and it has a short story (well, shortish — 10,000 words) by me in it. That story is ... Continue reading →
Welcome news from The Press: Two senior Liberal Democrats are making a dramatic return to City of York Council's executive - six months after being suspended by former council leader David Carr. Former council deputy leader Keith Aspden and Cllr Nigel Ayre have been re-appointed under a new deal struck between the authority's coalition partners, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. Cllr Aspden will be group leader and executive member for economic development and community engagement, while Cllr Ayre will be executive member for culture, leisure and tourism.David Carr was recently ousted by his fellow Conservative councillors. He never said ...
Portsmouth Lib Dem Councillor has been named one of Amnesty's Suffragette Spirit human rights defenders. Suzy represents the city's Central Southsea ward. From The News: While over in Southsea, Councillor Suzy Horton's dedication to inspiring people to think differently on issues from homelessness to equality. She recently tabled a motion to commemorate the centenaries of both women's suffrage in the UK and the election of Portsmouth's first female councillor. From an earlier News article: Liberal Democrat Councillor Suzy Horton has proposed a motion to have a blue plaque installed at number 2 Kent Road, Southsea - the former HQ of ...
In contrast to the Best Novel category, I found this a pretty easy selection to rank. With no hesitation, my top vote goes to The Enclave, by Anne Charnock. Second paragraph of third chapter: Zach chips in with a single question: did I see any stalls selling figs? I'm not surprised by his question. He told me one time that his family had fig trees, but when I asked how many, he didn't know. It's possible his family owned an entire fig farm. Or, just as likely, Mikey remembered a small garden at his family home -two or three fig ...
Local councillors at the Magistrates Court site South Glos Council is currently considering a planning application for up to 50 houses on the old Magistrates Court site off Kennedy Way. However the site access would be from Stanshawe Crescent. There is very little available space anywhere near the town centre now. Yate Town Council has objected to the proposal, suggesting that it would be better to have a town centre use here, and put new residential units on brownfield sites in less critical locations instead. With all the thousands of extra houses already proposed for Yate, perhaps the building could ...
Lib Dem Daisy (Benson) has been my 'muse' for this set of reflections from a male viewpoint on International Women's Day Let me make clear from the start that if you don't like this blog don't blame me blame Daisy ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Image result for universities] It is rare that governments get to do exactly what they want. Opposition parties, the judiciary and others have traditionally also wielded significant influence, tempering the more extreme ideas of those in power and highlighting the pitfalls of proposed policies. This era of moderation is, however, coming to a close. Those who once held our governments to account are being systematically declawed. Politicians who deviate from their party line are subjected to torrents of abuse and the threat of deselection. The House of Lords, with its essential powers of scrutiny, is ridiculed as stuffy and ...
100 years since women got the vote, and Parliament still woefully lags behind in terms of gender equality. Whilst there are more women in Parliament than ever before, we are still on 32% of the Commons. We languish at 49th in the world for the number of women in Parliament. At this rate it will take 50 years to achieve gender equality in Parliament. 100 years after women won the right to vote 50:50 are aiming to achieve better gender balance in Parliament sooner than this. I was thrilled to join 50:50 Parliament earlier this year as an Ambassador and ...
This April, not to miss, is the world premiere of my play Tea and Tentacles at Zeta Reticuli, an original sexy science fiction comedy thriller. Because, if we're honest, there is not nearly enough of that sort of thing on the stage. Set on a starship, 40 light years from earth, a human crew of 6, along with the humanoid avatar of the ship's mind, and an unduly annoying "morale-boosting" android, are on a mission to establish diplomatic relations with the ungendered swamp-dwelling tentacle aliens of Zeta Reticuli 3. How far are they willing to go to adapt to the ...
This is a roughly chronological list of seven women who have inspired me politically in one way or another. They're not all people I would agree with on all matters, by any means, but they're all pretty awesome. 1. Khutulun "Kaidu desperately wanted to see his daughter Khutulun married, but she refused to do so unless her potential suitor was able to beat her at wrestling. So she set up a standing offer, available to all comers: beat her and she'd marry you. Lose, and you give her 100 horses. She ended up with 10,000 horses and no husband." 2. ...
[IMG: Welsh flag] Equality and diversity should be at the heart of everything that we do. Whilst anecdotally I have heard from people who, on hearing our policies, have joined the Liberal Democrats because our party is more open and tolerant, our party doesn't always consider equality and diversity in the way that we work. I myself joined the Party because I felt, that although there is much still to do, people within our party are willing to learn and adapt to become more inclusive. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have recently approved a Diversity Workplan that is at the heart ...
A Merseyrail Ormskirk to Liverpool train rushes past the construction site of the new Maghull North Station on 19th February. Seen from the Park Lane overbridge. The Liverpool Echo has the story on its web site – see link above On this occasion (today) I understand that snow gathering above the collector shoe, which takes power from the 3rd rail, on the electric unit caused the failure and indeed the fireworks. Could the 507/508 electric trains not have been checked for such snow build up? But electrical problems on this line, particularly north of Maghull in recent months have ...
Back in November, developers submitted plans for 200 homes at Rocks Green on the outskirts of Ludlow in Ludford parish. The proposal will be considered by the South Planning Committee next Tuesday. The scheme is recommended for approval. I am not expecting the committee to reject it, though it might ask for modifications. The application is for full permission for 72 homes and outline permission for a further 132 homes.[1] The site is allocated for 200 homes in SAMDev. There have been modifications since the application was submitted. The layout and design of housing has changed, though I think it ...
[IMG: British Houses of Parliament] If you've missed them when they were originally broadcast, YouTube has a wealth of BBC political documentaries for you to watch at leisure. I missed Michael Cockerell's "The Secret World of Whitehall" when it was originally broadcast. All three programmes from the series are on YouTube in full: Episode 1 – The Real Sir Humphrey – This looks at the role of the Cabinet Secretary, chronicling the historic evolution of the role through its various job holders. Episode 2 – Behind the Black Door – Looks at how different Prime Ministers have organised Number Ten ...
Southwark Labour will be raising the basic level of Southwark council tax by 6% this year, which is the maximum they are legally allowed to without triggering a local referendum. Council Tax is a totally regressive form of taxation. The Liberal Democrat opposition produced an alternative budget which allows for the same increase in spending, but delivered through efficiency savings rather than a council tax increase. It is a legal requirement that all budgets and amendments must be examined and signed off by the independent finance council officer as being 'legal, balanced and implementable'. That means the savings found by ...
Wed, 12:33: Donald Tusk issues draft guidelines for post-Brexit trade deal https://t.co/stuigGx73j Wed, 12:56: RT @alexandrabulat: I am a Romanian PhD student, teaching assistant & researcher. One of @theresa_may's praised "brightest and the best" wh... Wed, 14:22: RT @Peston: By far the best analysis I've read of why @theresa_may Brexit trade plan may be dead on arrival. It makes you wonder who is giv... Wed, 15:53: RT @pbergsen: Among the best parts of Brexit: the UK government Britsplaining to the EU what's in its interest https://t.co/r2bjKDdY6z Wed, 16:05: RT @PoliticalEmilia: "Teenagers shouldn't be involved in politics!" ...and religion shouldn't be ...
Robot Hugs - Awful Animals"Look, I love the natural world, and all of its wonders. But sometimes evolution has obviously had a few drinks, taken things a little too far, and when called on it, decided to double down." The British Library's race to save old audio recordings(video, sorry) How Self-Aware Are People, Really, According to Science?Not very miss_s_b | This morning I are bin mostly enjoying freaking out my dadI posted This morning I are bin mostly enjoying freaking out my dad to my dreamwidth blog The Sun tried to attack 'snowflake' millennials and it backfired, badlyAKA how clickbait ...
Here's a review of a further Leeds Yellow Book (an earlier one was for 2015) edited by Michael Meadowcroft and others. You don't have to live in Leeds, or even be a Liberal, to find it valuable. The Leeds Yellow Book 2018Essays on a Liberal future for Leeds. 138pp £7 This volume of 11 essays is a powerful and informed plea to rebuild Liberalism in Leeds from the bottom up. (There really is no other way.) Inspired by the famous Liberal Yellow Book of 1928 the ten authors dedicate themselves to the analyses of the present condition of Leeds, with ...
We've gone from "we're all liberals" to the exact opposite in the last couple of years. What happene...
A few years back, Maurice Glasman, the academic and Labour peer, and Philip Blond, once described as "Cameron's philosopher king" and founder and director of the think tank Respublica, would run sessions on "Red Toryism v Blue Labour" and how that were not all that far apart. The basic pitch was two pronged: one, social conservatism was a communitarian impulse and thus would operate best under a statist yet socially conservative government. I agree with this, by the way, even though I want a society that is the exact opposite to this. In other words, even though I disagreed with ...
Are we returning to Dr Folamour's dark days? Are the Americans and the Russians looking to replay their nuclear war of the Cold War years, which culminated in the dangerous Cuban missile crisis of 1962? We got our first warning with the publication by the Pentagon on February 2 of its new nuclear 'posture'. America [...] The post Back to the bad old days of nuclear stand-off appeared first on Radix.
Professor David Howarth, formerly LibDem MP for Cambridge, contributes to the new Social Liberal Forum book with a powerful, closely argued essay on Liberal economics. This an extract: Here is a puzzle: if JS Mill, JM Keynes and James Meade were all Liberals and economists, what is a 'neo-liberal' economist? One might have thought that it would be someone who updated their thought to consider new facts and new problems. In a highly successful example of propaganda and disinformation, 'neoliberal' has come to mean the doctrines of Friedrich Hayek or Milton Friedman. But those doctrines are anything but 'neo'. They ...
Over at the Daily Mirror, they report that the chief civil servant in Tory Liam Fox's Department for International trade has admitted that Britain could suffer a "loss of trade" with around 40 countries when we leave the EU. They say that Antonia Romeo told the Commons Public Accounts Committee that some agreements Britain benefits from because of EU membership may not be successfully rolled over even if Theresa May succeeds in agreeing a two-year transition deal after Brexit day. Whilst Mr Fox's chief negotiation advisor, Crawford Falconer told the same committee countries are likely to ask for more favourable ...
International Women's Day is celebrated around the world. The theme this year is #PressforProgress. One startling fact: the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report shows that gender parity is 217 years away! And on to harassment in its many forms – our own Wera Hobhouse MP is calling on the government to make upskirting a criminal offence as reported by Caron on Tuesday. Wera says, The fact that this is not a sexual offence in England baffles me, as much as it horrifies me. In Scotland upskirting was made an offence back in 2009. There is simply no excuse for ...
[IMG: What does it mean to be a woman?] "It is time to effect a revolution in female manners – time to restore to them their lost dignity – and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves... The post What does it mean to be a woman? appeared first on FeministMama @ambitiousmamas.
I have recently received complaints from residents in the Eassons Angle, Fyffe Street and Fleucher Street area about dog fouling on local pavements. I raised this with the Animal Control Officer who advises : "Signs have been erected in Fyffe Street and Polepark Road. I will continue to monitor the area."
Today, International Women's Day, Liberal Democrat MP, Wera Hobhouse MP is calling on the government to make upskirting a criminal offence. The bill will make upskirting, the practice of taking photos of a woman from beneath her skirt, a specific criminal offence. Wera Hobhouse presented the bill to Parliament on Tuesday this week, asking the government to classify upskirting under the voyeurism section of the Sexual Offences Act. Only a very small number of people have been prosecuted for upskirting and in many cases the police have said that it is very difficult for them to prosecute. Dame Vera Baird ...