Readers might recall that, three weeks ago, I noted that the proposed new ward boundaries for Mid Suffolk had been delayed. It now transpires that they weren't wildly convinced by the population predictions offered to them by the District Council and, as it turned out, they indeed contained some anomalies, as pointed out by some of the Parish Councils. And so, it was back to the drawing board in the light of some revised data. For Creeting St Peter, there is no change from the original proposals, in that we are included in the expanded Needham Market ward, a notional ...
There's a new post from me on Mindless Ones about Crisis on Infinite Earths issue 3, and for Patreon backers, a bonus post on Animal Man. (Incidentally, I know I've been away quite a bit recently, but I'm building up ... Continue reading →
I was sad to hear of the death of Ken Dodd. He was a great clown and felt like our last link to the world of the music hall. There is also comfort as you get older in figures that, as far as you are concerned, have always been there. Now one more of them has gone. The photograph above shows the statue of Dodd at Liverpool Lime Street. I am not sure it quite catches him - the one of the Labour MP Bessie Braddock that stares across at him is better. Below, in the style of a harassed ...
Tom Scott: "Many people sent me this story: it covers my favourite topics of power grids and temporal anomalies. But when the mainstream press have already covered it, how could I add something more? The answer: by adding another pet topic, Unnecessary British Patriotism. And a teasmade." The post Why European clocks are running slow, and British clocks aren't appeared first on Mark Pack.
Current Julian, by Gore Vidal The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver Last books finished A History of the Universe in 100 Objects, by Steve Tribe and James Goss Iain M. Banks, by Paul Kincaid Doctor Who Storybook 2009, ed. Clayton Hickman So, Anyway..., by John Cleese Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift Something Changed, ed. Simon Guerrier Next books Free Radical, by Vince Cable Jade City, by Fonda Lee No Going Back To Moldova, by Anna Robertson
Listen to Liberal Democrats make speeches and there are frequent references to historical figures, but drawn from a small cast. Just the quartet of John Stuart Mill, William Gladstone, David Lloyd George and David Penhaligon corner almost all of the market. Some of the forgotten figures deserve their obscurity but others do not. Charles James Fox's defence of civil liberties against a dominating government during wartime or Earl Grey's leading of the party back into power and major constitutional reform are good examples of mostly forgotten figures who could just as well be a regular source of reference, quotation and ...
Vince Cable was on robust form this morning, being interviewed by John Humphrys on Radio 4's Today programme. He commented on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" regarding the country's deficit. Vince acknowledged that the government is roughly in balance on its day-to-day spending. He said, however, that the government would be very foolish to assume that they have turned the corner and that there's no need to worry about the country's finances. He added that the government should take advantage of its low lending rate to invest in the ...
Given that there has been some comment about this policy proposal in the media and in some Liberal Democrat circles, it seemed like a good idea to publish Jess's speech to Party Conference this weekend by way of answering some of the sceptics... Thank you Chair, thank you Conference. I am bursting for positive change. As a feminist, as an LGBTQ+ rights activist, and as a liberal democrat. And we are making so many positive changes, but our schools are being caught short. There is one problem that causes so much harm, but is so simple to fix. Uniforms. I ...
Despite overnight rain, residents and councillors turned out on Saturday morning to spring clean the newly public open space behind Cambrian Drive. Back in December, Yate town councillors finally won their long fight to save the land from developers. The Town Council managed to buy the land for just £35,000 and immediately opened it up to the public. Residents who had helped the councillors fight a series of applications to build on the land joined councillors for a spring clean. John Ford, Mayor of Yate (in blue overalls rather than chain of office!) said "It was a brilliant morning, the ...
In the upcoming local elections, for the first time ever, Bromley residents will have to produce verifiable ID at polling stations to cast their vote. The Borough has volunteered to take part in a pilot scheme which, if successful, could see this scheme rolled out across mainland UK. The move follows a Conservative government report which claims such moves are necessary to prevent voter ID fraud. On the face of it, this doesn't seem unreasonable. Many other countries insist upon ID before you can vote. Surely people can do the same when voting here? But here's the thing - millions ...
Mon 12th
12:23
How we could be headed for a serious Brexit related constitutional crisis - but not the one you've h...
I'm going to try and keep this as straightforward as I can – but a warning that this gets into heavy constitutional technicalities as a matter of course. That's where we've got to now. Best for Britain, the Remainer campaign group, is launching a legal challenge against the government with the aim of getting a second referendum on Brexit to occur. In 2011, the Tory-Lib coalition government passed a law called the European Union Act which specified that anything that would result in a transfer of powers from Britain to the EU would require a national referendum. Best for Britain ...
What is Sutton Council delivering for you? As a continuation of a series of posts setting out current activities in the areas covered by my committee portfolio – the Housing, Economy & Business Committee I have previously posted about Housing, and Employment and Skills. This post focuses on business. SUPPORTING BUSINESS IN SUTTON Sutton Lib Dems [...]
The type of housing build shown here is a direct result of us treating housing as an asset and not a home At our conference over the last weekend we looked at a number of policy areas and I must ... Continue reading →
Sun, 12:56: Brexit feels like David and Goliath—but you're rooting for Goliath https://t.co/Ar1A1EtSGL @jonlis1 on form, again. Sun, 13:44: RT @BrigidLaffan: The days when @openBritain or any other #Britain could say to #Ireland 'take it or leave it' are long over. Ireland as an... Sun, 15:54: Catching a glimpse of Mercury https://t.co/unBGPPBhgc Sun, 16:05: More robots opening doors https://t.co/qKnHSSms8m Cruel humans! Sun, 16:54: RT @happydisciple: @nwbrux And: this year @esa will launch BepiColombo to study Mercury (mind, it'll only arrive in 2025. Getting down to M... Sun, 18:27: An Outline of the History of Pharmacy in Ireland, by William D. ...
It's taken me a while to get round to putting this up. Apart from a broken cassette, it is the only record I have of part-time working at Radio 210 in Reading in the late 70s/early 80s. I am very grateful to the folks at Radio 210 for letting me have a lot of fun ... Continue reading Radio 210's Golden Days January 16th 1983
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a major overhaul of the powers of local councils to meet the goal of ensuring that everyone in Britain has a home. The package, passed by the party at its Spring Conference in Southport, calls for new powers that will see local authorities able to build and invest in more affordable and social housing. This includes greater access to borrowing for local authorities, strengthened powers to bring empty homes back into use and the power to direct the use of otherwise unwanted public land. Alongside measures to allow local government to abandon Right to ...
Aberavon Lib Dem activist Tehani Taylor, one of the Welsh party's diversity champions, has an article on Liberal Democrat Voice. She writes: The Welsh Liberal Democrats have recently approved a Diversity Workplan that is at the heart of our plans to move our party forward. As one of the Welsh Lib Dem Diversity Champions and being visually impaired, I want us to be the party that is all talk and all action! In an effort to help the Welsh Libdems I sit on the National Executive which enables me to work alongside the people who are working on our future ...
A recent survey by Contact the Elderly showed that a third of people had noticed a lonely older person in their community and been concerned, and 40% did not feel confident that they knew how they could help. South Gloucestershire Disability Network are hosting an information evening for community members to find out: How to approach this situationWhat you can do to helpWhat schemes exist to help isolated people locallyThe event will take place on Tuesday 20th March at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. Registration starts at 6pm, after which attendees can have some nibbles and a look around stalls of ...
During the past 50 years or so, growth has been part of my mindset. I thought my prospects were good when the GNP was predicted to increase. Not so now, maybe? In the past it was assumed that growth would underlie our thinking about the future. Even in the aftermath of the Second World War, [...] The post No-growth: how we see the future depends on our vested interests appeared first on Radix.
Mon 12th
08:15
Macdonald Report goes back for a rethink - a member of the English Appeals Panel reflects
The news that the Macdonald Report, and its allied recommendations, had been narrowly referred back came as something of a surprise, as least to this observer. The ground is normally pretty well prepared for changes like this, and whilst the debate about the Party's internal disciplinary procedures has been going on for some time now, there appeared to be agreement that something needed to be done. And whilst that possibility isn't ruled out – yet – there must be some doubt as to whether the proposals will, even if amended, be accepted by a Federal Conference at some future date. ...
During that storm a lot of top soil was taken up by the wind and dumped on Southport Road between the junction with Hall Lane and Church View Farm. Sefton Council got the soil off the road but there are great heaps of it blocking the pavements on either side of this busy road. I fear the consequences of pedestrians being forced to walk in the road so have asked Sefton Council to remove the soil as soon as possible. Cllr. Edie Pope has been on this issue too I might add. Stop Press – After I posted this Edie ...
Mon 12th
07:42Welcome to my day: 12 March 2018 - for those of you recovering from Conference, I salute you...
It's a long way from Mid Suffolk to Southport. Actually, it's a long way from Mid Suffolk to any of the Party's usual Federal Conference venues, which may explain why I didn't travel up. Conference isn't, after all, everyone's cup of warm beverage... That does mean that I've had some time to prepare for today, so what do I have for you? In light of the decision by Conference to refer back the Macdonald Report on the Party's disciplinary procedures, I offer some thoughts from the perspective of someone who sits on Appeal Panels. I've tried to be reasonable... For ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 12 MARCH 2018 West Marketgait (Overgate Lane to Nethergate) - southbound nearside lane closure for one week for SSE cable overlay. South Union Street/South Marketgait at Dundee Railway Station - northbound nearside lane closure from 9.30am for 9 weeks for footway works. Riverside Drive/South Union Street at Dundee Railway Station - off-peak (9.30am - 3.30pm) east/northbound nearside lane closure for up to 3 weeks for footway works. West Hendersons Wynd (from Douglas Street for a distance of 50m) - closed on Tuesday 13 March ...
In the light of the shocking attack on former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia the news that the Tory Party has received £820,000 in donations from individuals linked to Russia has led to inevitable calls for them to repay the cash. Amongst those demanding that the money be given back is Marina Litvinenko, the widow of murdered former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. She makes the very valid point that, "You need to be sure what kind of money these people bring to your country." The Conservatives have received more than £3m from wealthy Russian-born donors since 2010, ...
