Caron Lindsay reviews Towards a Liberal Future by David Howarth and Bernard Greaves: "It's a great read, and so fizzing with ideas that you might find it gives you the hiccups if you devour it too quickly." "The problem is that when these league tables are published, people have a very reductionist view of what they mean. And there's no doubt that they have spurred a lot of internal strategies in this country and others which are dedicated almost exclusively to improving ranking on these scales." Kenneth Robinson is interviewed about his new book You, Your Child and School. Alexander ...
This man is supposed to be the Mayor of Liverpool. He behaves much more like the Clown Prince! There comes a time in most political cycles when you can feel the change coming. It's a bit like a storm. It ... Continue reading →
Second paragraph of third story ("Cold", by Mark Gatiss): Then the dream was gone, Anna, and it was morning. Outside, the snow howled like an animal. And like an animal it beat and tore and hammered at the walls of the Hut. I opened one eye just a little - a thin, pink line - and then shut it tight again. I didn't want to move. Ten authors listed here, all of them men; no women among the artists either. It's a straightforward book of short stories featuring the Tenth Doctor and Donna (apart from the last two, in which ...
Yesterday evening was the last full council meeting of Wokingham Borough Council before the local elections. I submitted a motion about Elms Field and the town centre regeneration, criticising the Conservatives for the destruction of so many trees, and asking for them to involve residents in discussions about how the regeneration should continue from now on. So, you will be thinking, what happened when we discussed the motion? We didn't discuss it. Instead we had to sit through a very long series of speeches by Conservatives on earlier items on the agenda. A very very long series of speeches. I ...
Fri 23rd
13:30
LibLink: Nick Clegg: Brexiters wanted to take back control but we risk losing control of Ireland
Nick Clegg has been in Ireland this week talking about Brexit with fellow Remainers Michael Heseltine and Andrew Adonis. In his iPaper column, he talks about the massive problems Brexit will cause. We also share responsibility for a precious peace in Northern Ireland. But too many ministers, including the Prime Minister, have treated these obligations as inconvenient obstacles on the way to the hardest of Brexits. It was the same situation during the referendum, when leading Brexiteers were quick to dismiss any concerns about the Irish border. But there is no avoiding the obvious consequences of the British government's determination ...
I refer to my previous post on the failures of the England cricket set up. England's latest embarrassment has that sinking feeling of predictability about it. The only consistent thing about England's batting is its magnificent inconsistency. I would not bet against them scoring either 50 or 500 in their second innings, if the weather lets the game get that far. I have given up being frustrated by England's performances. I remain frustrated, however, by the level of analysis of what goes wrong when it goes wrong. I have named Jonathan Agnew, which is unfair to him, excellent commentator that ...
While most of the political world is engaged in the culture war around Brexit, I like to have fun thinking of all the possible constitutional and other assorted crises it might throw up. I thought of one last night that has to do with a possible second referendum scenario. Whatever anyone tells you, Theresa May seems to be aiming for the softest possible Brexit imaginable. Whatever big talk there is from her and the Brexity end of the cabinet every once in a while, this has been signified with every step of the negotiations. The idea that the Commission is ...
No doubt to the government's continued relief the alleged attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter allegedly by or with the connivance of the Russian state continues to hog the headlines. The otherwise beleaguered Theresa May has even gained some kudos by garnering support from most of the EU members, though some of it is qualified. The tabloids and Tory supporting press have poured scorn on the more measured response of Jeremy Corbyn, who, quite reasonably in my view, has pointed out that it would be wiser not to jump to conclusions before we have firmer evidence ...
In his conference speech, Vince Cable talked about having a party "fizzing with ideas." But to be able to present a liberal vision with liberal ideas, you have to have a clear understanding of liberal values and of how they should be applied in every area of our lives. In Towards a Liberal Future, David Howarth and Bernard Greaves set out their view of what liberalism is all about. They look at how the party has failed to practice and communicate its core values and set out how we can fix this. I'm very excited to say that they have ...
Thu, 12:24: RT @VoteWatchEurope: .@POLITICOEurope got it wrong on @GrosseteteF #EP record which it attributes to us: https://t.co/GOkMOIVBel. Her 99.... Thu, 12:44: RT @aoifewhite101: Brussels roads to be paralyzed by anti-Uber taxi protest on March 27. Great, as if regular public transport strikes and... Thu, 12:56: Molenbeek was Loubna Lafquiri's home, too https://t.co/nYMqeeB54z Brave testimony two years on. Thu, 15:29: RT @EuropeElects: EU28: Vote share for Liberals (ALDE) 10 years ago vs. today shows increased support in Spain and France while decrease in... Thu, 15:29: RT @EuropeElects: EU28: Vote share for G/EFA-parties 10 years ago vs. today shows bigger support ...
"I don't mind delivering leaflets, but I wouldn't want to do canvassing." My thoughts exactly, a few months ago. I joined the Lib Dems in the aftermath of the EU referendum, determined to do something to demonstrate my frustration at the direction the Tory Government was leading us. Delivering leaflets was a positive activity and in the excitement of the 2017 General Election, I felt I was doing my bit. But over time, it has become clear that the task to influence public opinion and make the Government take notice of the 48% is huge. The leaflets were great, but ...
Vince Cable met with ALDE leaders yesterday Yesterday afternoon the Lib Dem press team put out a statement making quite a claim. The media release stated that "Liberal Prime Ministers from eight EU countries have publicly backed the Liberal Democrats' call for the British public to have a vote on the final Brexit deal." The statement the Prime Ministers supposedly signed reads: "We regret Brexit, but acknowledge the choice made by British voters for the UK Government to negotiate withdrawal. We further acknowledge and support the Liberal Democrats' call for the British people to have the final say on the ...
Rimrose Valley Country Park Rimrose Valley Friends have the latest information on their web site – see links above
Over at the New European, there is a report of the latest embarrassing episode for UKIP in Wales. They report that Welsh UKIP leader and disgraced former Tory Minister, Neil Hamilton has complained to the BBC over a light-hearted segment on Radio 4's World At One in which children were asked for their views on Brexit: "The segment was completely biased and absurd," fumed Mr Hamilton, who once danced in a perspex box on TV while Johnny Vegas poured fish on his head. "Every child who featured on the programme was anti-Brexit and the segment lacked any form of political ...
Facebook's stated mission is "to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together." It also has an unstated mission: To make a shedload of money. It is incredibly successful at both. There are 2.2 billion active Facebook users. Mark Zuckerberg is worth $67.7 billion. But the rest of society is discovering that there is a price to be paid in invasion of privacy and erosion of political liberties. The problem is that the posted holiday snaps, political opinions and declarations of love don't belong to you. They belong to Facebook who run the data through ...
Did you have a cell phone prior to your thirties? Yeah, I had one at uni in 1999. Did they exist? Mobile phone networks have existed since 1981. So anyone born before 1951 (and thus age 67 or younger) had mobile phones around in their 30s. Did you have cable when you were a little kid? No. There were a few people with Sky (satellite) but we weren't one of those families. I got cable in 1999 when we moved to Nottingham for my postgrad, but we got it for the internet, not for the telly. We'd had Kingston Communications ...
There has been a great deal of media speculation about the prospect of a new centre party in the UK. Meanwhile in many countries in Europe, new insurgent parties have been spectacularly successful for example in Spain, France, Greece and Italy. We are publishing a series of blogs (on Fridays) describing the experience from other [...] The post Getting the political back: the Podemos experience appeared first on Radix.
Ormskirk Station – The train in the foreground is Preston bound. The one behind it is Liverpool bound. On 21st March Northern announced the services and timetables it has agreed with Network Rail that should come into effect in May. Although the two organisations have agreed this position it transpires they are still finalising details so nothing is absolutely certain until the timetables are published online some time from April 7th. Preston – Ormskirk An hourly service Monday - Saturday will be introduced with these timings: First service from Preston will depart at 06.25 Trains will then depart at 26 ...
Our coveted Headline of the Day Award goes to the Evening Standard.
Good news from Aylesbury where new Cllr Waheed Raja gained the Central and Walton ward from the Conservatives. Central & Walton (Aylesbury Valey) result: LDEM: 40.9% (+18.1) CON: 31.5% (-1.1) LAB: 19.8% (+0.9) GRN: 4.5% (-4.0) IND: 3.3% (+3.3) Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative. No UKIP (-17.2) as prev. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 23, 2018 The real drama of the night came in a seat without a Lib Dem candidates, in Thurrock, where it was a dead heat between Labour and the Tories. UKIP had held the seat but they weren't standing. It was the Conservatives who won the ...
Eight Thursday council by-elections this week. Plus a ninth slipped in earlier in the week: Last night's council by-election: Bishopsgate (City of London Corp.) result: IND (Joshi): 41.6% IND (Streeter): 32.9% IND (Abeyie): 13.9% LAB: 11.6% Independent GAIN from Independent. Turnout: 17.9% Previously uncontested. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 21, 2018
Our latest Focus is hot off the press in Gateshead and I was out in Dunston delivering it this morning. I did a patch of 180 before going to council. It leads on Labour's neglect of Dunston. The old Dunston Hill Primary School building has been left by Labour run Gateshead Council to stand unused and derelict for ten years. And people are understandably getting fed up.
