"Labour under Jeremy Corbyn has more than ever become wedded to centralised statism and a return to the 1970s, whilst the Greens continue to support an anti-growth, anti-free trade agenda. Neither of these positions are compatible with our vision of a liberal Britain." Andy Briggs on the Lib Dem spring conference's rejection of a "progressive alliance". Kiron Reid explains why the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been observing the elections in Russia. "It has been described as one of the most loving and tender films about England ever made. It's a picture that's steeped in nature, in ...
Ah, bless. Fake news isn't getting it at its own way. An update on Ukip's problem with libel: UKIP could be wound up as a political party within a fortnight after a judge ordered it to pay a crippling £175,000 bill in legal costs for libelling three Labour MPs. The pro-Brexit party is now facing bankruptcy in the wake of the ruling by Mr Justice Warby on Monday that it had to pay the bill within two weeks. UKIP MEP Jane Collins falsely accused Labour's three Rotherham MPs of covering up the town's sex abuse scandal before the last election... ...
Details of the national election expense returns for the bigger parties at the 2017 general election have been published by the Electoral Commission. There is some intriguing detail in there, such as the £34.30 the Liberal Democrats spent at Legoland (+5 political geek points if this immediately made you think of Danny Alexander). There is also a striking big picture story for the Liberal Democrats: total central party spend was £6.8m compared with Labour's £11m. That means the Lib Dem spend was only a little short of being two-thirds of Labour's. Pause for praise for the fundraising team which achieved ...
Congratulations to Yate Town Council, their staff and all the volunteers of the Friends of Kingsgate Park! The park has been awarded FIVE STARS in South West in Bloom's Pride in Parks Award. It's a very well deserved recognition of all the hard work that has been put in. Yate Town Council in conjunction with the Friends of Kingsgate Park will be holding the annual Easter Egg Extravaganza on Easter Monday from 10 am - until all the eggs are gone! This is a free event, but please be aware the number of prizes available is limited. Judging of the ...
Apologies for taking 80 years to report this news. But the Orson Welles version of War of the Worlds is rather good. (In my defence, I was not yet born for a good chunk of those 80).
Classrooms like this should be places where young people (and the not so young) acquire a thirst for knowledge rather than understanding the techniques to pass exams. At our recent Spring Conference, the Liberal Democrats passed what I believe to ... Continue reading →
Current Julian, by Gore Vidal The Legends of River Song, by Jenny T. Colgan, Jacqueline Rayner, Steve Lyons, Guy Adams and Andrew Lane How Green Was My Valley, by Richard Llewellyn Free Radical, by Vince Cable Last books finished The Missy Chronicles, by James Goss, Cavan Scott, Paul Magrs, Peter Anghelides, Jacqueline Rayner and Richard Dinnick The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver Next books Free Radical, by Vince Cable Jade City, by Fonda Lee No Going Back To Moldova, by Anna Robertson
Today, Barnier and Davis held a joint press conference announcing that a transitional period, to last from the end of March 2019 until December 31, 2020, had been agreed by the two parties. However, as ever with these negotiations, it's worth looking into the detail. There are days when that whole "Theresa May is a secret genius" thing seems more believable on than on others, and today it seems like she may have slipped the UK into a position in which soft Brexit becomes inevitable. Again, I have no idea if that was her intention, but if it always secretly ...
A report received by the Council's Joint Consultative Committee (Teachers) has shown that the proposed 3,400 new houses between Prestwich and Middleton would require about three new schools to be built. The first draft of the GMSF, published last year, proposed to remove 47% of Prestwich's Green-belt and between Parrenthorn School and Heywood Old Road with land for a total of 3,400 houses as part of the massive 'Northern Gateway' area of development. The report circulated to members of the JCC showed an analysis undertaken on the impact of the plans on schooling needs. It shows that the plans would ...
So, a big announcement, with the outline of a transitional deal. The highlights; The transition period will end on 31 December 2020, three months earlier than sought EU citizens arriving during the transition period will have the same rights as those already in the U.K. at 29 March 2019 No veto on new EU legislation during the transition period – the "vassal state" clause Gibraltar excluded unless Spain can be persuaded to reach an agreement No repatriation of control over fishing quotas So, what does this mean for the Conservatives or for the United Kingdom? Good deal, bad deal or ...
In response to the many residents who ask when the A56 roadworks will be finished, we've had this update from the Council: "Unfortunately as a result of the recent drop in temperatures, particularly during the evening hours (when works were programmed to minimise disruption) the surfacing works could not be undertaken. This will likely delay completion so that (weather permitting) the works will be completed in April. Some other minor works and snagging could continue beyond April, however, the main works should be fully complete."
The 'ring and ride' service are providing some one-to-one district surgeries where you can: • meet the local Management • receive information on the service • discuss any topic in relation to the service Monday 9th April 2018 Manchester South 10:00 - 11.30, Didsbury Library, Wilmslow Road, M20 2DN Manchester North 13.00 - 14.30, North City Library, 1st Floor, Rochdale Road M9 4AF Tuesday 10th April 2018 Bolton 10:00- 11.30,The Hub Centre, Bold Street, BL1 1LS Stockport 10.00 - 11.30, Stockport Central Library, Wellington Road, SK1 3RS Trafford 10.00 - 11.30, Stretford Leisure Centre, Briggs Road off Great stone Rd, ...
We each have symbols we use to define ourselves. Some of us use religious symbols such as a crucifix on a chain around your neck, or we wear clothing from our favourite sports teams to demonstrate our loyalty and allegiance. Not all of us even realise we are using those symbols to represent us. For me, I use my jewellery. Each piece represents a particular aspect of me and my belief system. At this very moment, I am wearing a ring on my right index finger with a large V embossed on it. That V represents Veritas, the Latin word ...
The party is in the process of consulting on immigration, refugees, and identity. Given HQ's mealy-mouthed handwringing on these topics of late, I thought I'd better actually take a look at it. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, it is stuffed full of racist dog whistles and positions that have not so much been pre-compromised with the tories, but with UKIP. - When will the party learn that UKIP succeeded in dragging the Overton window in their direction by refusing to compromise on their racist bullshit, and we absolutely must not compromise on Liberalism if we are to have any hope of ...
Sun, 12:15: RT @JolyonMaugham: I have just learned that the Home Office has put a temporary stop on deportation proceedings "to try to find a way forwa... Sun, 12:56: This tweet has mysteriously been deleted. https://t.co/LEH3JKy2SS Sun, 14:17: Correction: this tweet has not been deleted. It stands as part of the historical record of deception. https://t.co/jp2n2YIO13 Sun, 15:59: Seventeen Equations that Changed the World, by Ian Stewart https://t.co/WF17EYNUv1 Sun, 16:05: Why Theresa May will almost certainly break her promise to avoid a hard Brexit border in Ireland... https://t.co/21qygRimeP Sun, 20:48: How the Original Bullitt-Movie Mustang Was Rediscovered https://t.co/yDLXWMkc8e Not my ...
miss_s_b | Because I'm in bed poorly I mainlined the entirety of Jessica Jones series 2 yesterday In which I give my somewhat disjointed and spoilery thoughts about Jessica Jones series 2 Eddie Jones: An apology Oh dear. This is what happens when you don't check whether or not the mike is on before you do a bigoted rant. Perhaps best to avoid bigoted rants, really. dlvr.it Announces Posting Changes Amid New Twitter Rules This is going to be a pain in the arse for me, personally. I'm going to have to manually tweet to my main account, I think, ...
Seven years ago, as the Arab Spring swept across North Africa and the Middle East, demonstrations began in Syria. By chance I was there when the first manifestations occurred, in Deraa, before they spread to other cities — especially after the violent way the authorities cracked down on the early protesters. This was hailed by [...]
Have you ever wondered if there's a policy the Lib Dems could be promoting that simply isn't part of the political landscape? One that doesn't fall under economics, health, education, environment or any of the traditional categories of modern-day politics? This question was raised during the 'Radical Liberalism' fringe meeting held in Southport last weekend, which was part of the Social Liberal Forum's fringe programme and which I chaired. The meeting itself was very unlike most fringe meetings which focus on a speaker or two from the top table - this was more of a brainstorming session, and I threw ...
A few changes at Maghull North Station as it nears completion ready for opening in a few weeks time – We are told it opens in May. Here are some photos of artwork displayed on the School Lane boundary fence to the new station by local artists attending local schools:- Here's a shot of the station as it looked on Sunday 18th March:- And the station building now has a roof, with walls being constructed:- Click on the photos to enlarge them
Jeremy Corbyn's performance in Prime Minister's question time last week on the nerve gas attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter was met with predictable opprobrium in the press. One of Corbyn's many intellectual flaws is that he generally assumes that people who stand up to the USA are OK, by virtue of them standing [...] The post Why Corbyn is (slightly) less wrong than the government appeared first on Radix.
As the UK disentangles itself from European regulation, it will have to find its own sources of expertise Brexiters pursue freedom of choice for the UK. After Brexit, even if UK regulations remain harmonised with the EU, it is we - the people of the UK - who will choose to be harmonised. We will be free to optimise consumer protection and negotiate our own trade relationships rather than fit into deals struck by Brussels. That is the theory. Whatever model of Brexit emerges, government will become responsible for swathes of policy and regulatory functions that have belonged to the ...
Another difficult weekend of cold weather over, it's time for me to return to my editorial duties for another week, on the 739th anniversary of the Mongolian victory at the naval Battle of Yamen, which ended the Song Dynasty in China. Also, on this day in 1628, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was granted land for settlement. Admittedly, this isn't quite as much of a challenge as it might be, because the stocks of submitted articles are close to non-existent. However, we do have a report from Chris Bowers on the "Reclaiming Liberalism" fringe at last weekend's Federal Conference, challenging you ...
I have raised with the Commercial Manager, Stagecoach East Scotland, the negative effect of the proposed removal of the X8 bus service that runs through the West End travelling to/from Perth Royal Infirmary from/to Arbroath and taking in both Ninewells Hospital and Royal Victoria Hospital. This issue has also been highlighted by my colleague Perth and Kinross Councillor Willie Wilson and we have pointed out that removal of the X8 will mean that the only linking hospital service between Dundee and Perth will be the X7 service which uses a coach-style vehicle, totally unsuitable for passengers who have mobility difficulties ...
Yesterday's Observer carried a feature on South Derbyshire MP, Heather Wheeler, who was appointed as the English Minister for homelessness in January. To be fair there are a number of encouraging signs. For a start, she is visiting projects in other nations of the UK to see how the devolved governments are coping with the problem. In doing so she recognises that Scotland is in a better position because it has more affordable homes in which to rehouse those in need and accepts that supply is a big obstacle to her brief to meet the Conservative manifesto commitment of halving ...
