I ought to declare my (lack of) interest straight away - I'm a Luton Town supporter, more in the technical sense than the "turning up in rain or wind" one. My life is too complex, and the journey too much hassle, to be anything more than an interested observer. But, living in the heart of Suffolk as I do, the one thing that you can't help but notice is the place of Ipswich Town in community life. It perhaps does help that there isn't an acceptable, credible alternative for some distance. Norwich City are beyond the pale, except perhaps in ...
In this early spell of summer weather it is natural that my thoughts turn to ice lollies. I have been thinking in particular of the Fab lolly, which had a relaunch last year to mark its 50th anniversary. What is really scary is that I remember when Fab was new. I was also sure that I remembered that when it first appeared in the 1960s it was marketed as an ice lolly for girls. In fact I was certain I remembered that because, as a small boy in those days, you were desperate to try one but daren't be seen ...
Commenting on the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Jo Swinson said:"Pinning all our hopes for the future of UK trade on the Commonwealth is reckless. "The UK currently exports nearly five times as much to the EU as it does to the Commonwealth countries. If Theresa May thinks that she can simply replace the EU market with new agreements with Commonwealth countries she is deluded. "The government wanted to use CHOGM as an opportunity to develop new relationships. Instead it has embarrassed itself in front of the whole world with ...
Commenting on the decision to fine Barclays boss Jes Staley, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: "I welcome today's announcement from the FCA and PRU, which recognises and penalises Mr Staley's unacceptable persecution of whistleblowers at Barclays. "Whistleblowers have played a crucial role in exposing misconduct at the time of the financial crisis and since. They must be supported not suppressed, and banks - or any other organisation - that try to do so must be held accountable and punished. "While some punishment is better than no punishment, Mr. Staley has been allowed to continue in his role, and it ...
This is the fourth of my political blog posts for this week, having previously reviewed Free Radical by Vince Cable, The Road to Somewhere by David Goodhart and After Europe by Ivan Krastev. I had actually read these four books separately over February and March, but I think that weeks of meditation on them collectively has enriched my thinking on them; I hope you think so too. Second paragraph of third chapter of Europe Reset: New Directions for the EU, by Richard Youngs: It has become increasingly clear that the EU suffers from major deficiencies in democratic accountability. Analysts have ...
Embed from Getty Images Our prepenultimate update from the LDV Fantasy Football League. Congratulations to Paul Noblet, our Manager of the Month for March. His Fisher FC scored an impressive 295 points, just edging out Alan Worthington's Iheanacho Cheese (288) and James Ludley's Mercedes-Baines (286). Here's the full league table: There are 200+ players in total. * Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.
1. Do you suffer from Spring Fever? I suffer from Spring Grump, because the nice coolness is going away and the horrible stifling warm is about to happen. 2. Have you ever been twitterpated (infatuated or obsessed. In a state of nervous excitement)? Oh lots. It happens to me regularly. 3. What does Spring taste like to you? Salad! Nice fresh salad. 4. When was the last time you visited an ice cream truck? Last summer at some point. There's one parks outside a local school that I have to walk past a lot, and I often fail to resist. ...
Corporate resources scrutiny committee on Monday had a report about contingencies for civil emergencies. The Council is required to have a strategy for tackling a flu pandemic. Personally, I think this is a waste of money. These flu pandemics rarely happen and we suffer instead from outbreaks of hysteria and panic.
Postal votes were about to arrive so I delivered lots of letters in Ryton and Dunston Hill and Whickham East wards.
Mark Zuckerberg prepared himself well for the congressional hearings into Facebook. On the first day he held his ground; providing slick answers that had clearly been polished and buffed by a team based at Facebook HQ. But on the second day, his inquisitors started to get into their stride, became more belligerent and pressed harder. [...] The post If Facebook charged for its service – would people pay? appeared first on Radix.
Today's anti-trans rhetoric looks a lot like old-school homophobia Issue 6 — HackSpace magazine If you download the free .pdf it tells you how to make your own gin! 12 simple ways to embrace zero-waste Tory MP lost his seat due to 10 retweets, insists government claiming Fake News didn't affect Brexit referendum A Powerful Committee Of MPs Will Ask Why The UK Refused To Raid A Tory Donor Accused Of Money Laundering The House of Commons Treasury committee will examine why the government refused to help the French authorities investigate a company suspected of money laundering and tax fraud, ...
On 3rd May all the Borough Council seats in Greater London are up for election, which happens every four years. The Borough I live in is typical and has 18 3-member wards. Each voter votes by putting up to 3 Xs on the ballot paper. In each of these wards the top three candidates in terms of Xs on the ballot win. Hence F3PTP rather than FPTP (First Past The Post). So what's wrong with that? Five national parties are contesting the borough election, plus around four parties with Residents' Association in their name, who are active in their own ...
Fri 20th
11:48
Nick Timothy seemingly tries to pass the buck for the anti-immigrant vans onto Mark Harper and/or th...
When Nick Timothy was given a column in the Telegraph, many groaned but I was quite looking forward to it. I figured here was a guy who had made some perfectly understandable assumptions that had turned out to be really, really wrong, the result of which probably changed the course of British history. I thought what we'd get was a man humbled but with some very interesting insights to share. This, it is fair to say, is not what his Telegraph column has ended up looking like. The humility that I took for granted is strangely absent to say the ...
Thu, 12:56: The wrong Brexit: what happened to 'Global Britain'? https://t.co/i7eCJvs7j0 @FraserNelson at the @Spectator makes... https://t.co/ofOuw9gwQb Thu, 13:05: Lunch in the square for the first time this year. (@ Square Fr�re-Orbansquare in Brussels) https://t.co/OdBOK0MK3n Thu, 16:05: Tech Firms Sign 'Digital Geneva Accord' Not to Aid Governments in Cyberwar https://t.co/iTmSif9RHP Expanding an old concept to Cyberspace. Thu, 18:52: After Europe, Ivan Krastev https://t.co/otjoGHoHfy Thu, 20:48: Who are you in 1917 Russia? https://t.co/ngqpeQuJcc New version of the Political Compass! Thu, 22:19: RT @ProfChalmers: Defending Theresa May by arguing that she'd lost control of her own department when she was Home Secretary ...
Let's create hundreds - nay, thousands - of individual apartments, cottages or other self-contained housing units that can once again reverberate with the sounds of people working, children laughing and dogs waiting excitedly for their evening walk. Continue reading →
Ten years ago a Commonwealth-wide poll revealed that support for the political descendant of the British Empire was highest among the developing countries. Not surprising, they had the most to gain from aid and trade. Support from the developed Commonwealth countries was half of that of the developing world. Britain was at the bottom. That is changing. Brexiteers have conveniently rediscovered their imperial roots and are now pushing for a revival of the Commonwealth as a replacement for lost European markets. It is, after all, the home for a third of the world's population and a total GDP of $17 ...
If you live in the Maghull area you will have seen the headlines in this week's Aintree & Maghull Champion about the contraction of the Town's library into a space only about one third the size of what it was when the new library was opened in 2010. The demise, reductions and contractions of public libraries is sad in any circumstance and it is a matter I have blogged about on many occasions. However, this particular posting is more about the consequences of the major changes at Meadows Leisure Centre and Library. In particular the remodeling of the Centre/Library is ...
With life expectancy increasing and people from the post-war "baby boom" reaching old age, the number of older people in South Gloucestershire is increasing. To help them plan for older people's housing needs, the council are carrying out a survey. You can find out more and complete the survey via the consultation web page. The survey will run until the 27th April.
I have spent three and a half decades dealing with the authorities, whether it is the local council, a health board, the Welsh Government, the UK Government or one of the many agencies that exist to deliver services to the public. And yet I have never seen anything like this. It is no wonder that MPs are to investigate an HM Revenue and Customs decision to turn down a French request for help with a criminal inquiry into a major Conservative party donor given the circumstances of the refusal. As the Guardian reports, the Treasury select committee and the public ...
This looks like an April 1st posting but its not. The photo below is real and was taken on Lydiate's Bells Lane on 4th April:- It looks like an innovative new method by Sefton Council to calm traffic speeds at first glance using hedging! In fact the sign has been spun around 90 degrees by the recent high winds making it side on to the road. Sefton Council were informed and it is now pointing the right way. Click on the photo to enlarge it The photo is amongst my Flickr shots at:- https://www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
There will almost certainly be several sore heads this morning as Alistair Carmichael held one of his celebrated whisky tasting events last night. Here's what's happening the rest of today. Morning Session Cervical Cancer Screening Police Reform Speech by Christine Jardine MP Emergency Motion Animal Welfare Lunchtime Fringe I am shamelessly abusing my position to put the meeting I'm chairing first – about addressing Scotland's housing crisis with Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP and speakers from Shelter Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the Chartered Institute of Housing. There's also an NFU Scotland fringe meeting with Mike Rumbles discussing The ...
Continuing the usual lower tempo of council by-elections in April, this week brings us just three contests. All three are Conservative defences. Highland ward, Perth and Kinross Council by-elections in Scotland have the quirk of being run under the alternative vote (AV) although the usual all-up council elections are run by STV. That's a necessary variation (you can't have STV for a single vacancy). It also means that if the seat up for election isn't one won by the party that topped the first preferences in the previous STV contest, then there's a very high chance of the seat changing ...
The next Friends of Balgay meeting will be at 2pm on Saturday 28th April at the Mills Observatory. Author and historian Murdo Fraser will give a talk on 'Montrose and Argyll' - his recent book - and all are very welcome to attend.
Throughout Shropshire, and across the country, minibuses and cars are ferrying people to GPs, hospitals, shops and to meet their friends. The benefits are huge. Community transport services in Shropshire make more than 100,000 passenger journeys a year, with passenger spending averaging £30 a trip. The of community transport benefits in reducing social isolation and promoting wellbeing are substantial. But a threat is looming. A new interpretation by civil servants of EU regulations may make many community transport schemes unviable. That will harm rural and vulnerable communities across Shropshire. From time to time, the government announces a "bonfire of red ...
The furore of the bombing of Syria in response to Assad's alleged use of chemical w4epons has already faded from the media and they and we moved on to the cruel, unnecessary and probably illegal treatment of the Windrush children. However, there are two crucial points which should go on record before they fade from the memory. First, Mrs May, who makes much of being the daughter of a Christian vicar and her regular church attendances, brazenly tells us that it was not possible to recall and consult parliament about the bombing becasue "speed [was] essential." This is obvious nonsense: ...
David Lister (Liberal Democrats) wins Thatcham Town Council by-election @NewburyToday pic.twitter.com/xPPDGEmTdP — Phil Cannings (@philc_nwn) April 19, 2018 * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. He is one of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
