Some years ago an ambitious plan was floated to turn Leicester station around. Rather than disgorge passengers straight on the busy London Road, it envisaged directing them into the city via its new Cultural Quarter. That plan came to nothing, but this week a more modest version of it resurfaced. Gone is the proposal to demolish two tower blocks near the station, but there would still need to be significant road works for the scheme to make things better for pedestrians. Certainly, pedestrian and taxi access to the station is currently poor, even though money has recently been spent on ...
I have never seen a politician so diminished by office as David Davis.— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) June 1, 2018I explained Kieron Dyer Syndrome when discussing the appeal of Dan Jarvis: In the day when we all believed that England's 'golden generation' (Ferdinand, Campbell, Beckham, Owen, Scholes Butt) was going to win us the 2002 World Cup, there was just one problem. We had no one to play in an attacking role on the left. But there was an answer. Kieron Dyer had broken into the Ipswich side as a teenager and then signed for Newcastle. He looked a great prospect. ...
The acronym FBPE, often used as the hashtag #FBPE, now pops up frequently on social media, especially Twitter. It stands for 'follow back, Pro-European Union' and is the label used by a campaign to cultivate a strong pro-European voice online. The basic idea is simple: use it to highlight your support for the pro-European / anti-Brexit cause and others of like minds can more easily find you and join the pro-European community. It's like a pro-EU version of the old* 'follow back Friday' #FF trend on Twitter – an easy way to highlight who else may be of interest to ...
Embed from Getty Images Caroline Frost has been speaking to Liberal Democrats about A Very English Scandal, the BBC drama series on Jeremy Thorpe. The most substantial quotes in the piece come from the party's former leader Ming Campbell, who was leading the Liberal Party in Scotland at the time of Thorpe's trial. Remembering Thorpe he says: "He was quick-witted, not always kind, occasionally cruel. But when he looked at you and talked to you - and I'm about to go into Women's Own language - you felt you were the only person in the world he was interested in. ...
This was a huge four-part four-hour audio drama produced by Big Finish in 2012, entirely written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Ruth Bradley as the one and only Irish companion in the whole of Who, Molly O'Sullivan, plucked from the battlefields of the First World War to battle the Daleks and navigate cross-temporal conspiracies. Here's the trailer: The first episode, The Great War, is very strong, with excellent soundscapes of the battlefields and a good firm introduction of Molly as a character who is more of a time-traveller than she realises. It ...
Following on from the news that Geoff Payne is taking over as FCC chair, the party also has a new chair of the Federal Finance and Resources Committee (FFRC): Tony Harris. He takes over from Peter Dunphy who had decided to stand down after 13 years in the role. Tony Harris is co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Business and Entrepreneur's network, the working Chair of Vince Cable's Corporate Tax Group and treasurer of Newbury and West Berkshire Liberal Democrats. Previously, he has been a tech entrepreneur, including building a $150m company which won four Queen's awards for export He was ...
BBC's Any Questions panel tonight is even less diverse than usual, but our Layla Moran will be there on the Isle of Wight to make the case for a People's Vote on Brexit. Layla has had a very busy recess week, talking about period poverty: Ministers must take action on #PeriodPovery in England, especially girls skipping school. The @WelshLibDems Education Secretary @Kirsty_Williams announced £1m in March to tackle the problem in Wales, and Scotland has announced a scheme today. https://t.co/uhuoVHX7MS — Layla Moran (@LaylaMoran) May 30, 2018 You can listen on Radio 4 at 8pm tonight. * Caron Lindsay is ...
Burscough Junction Station on the Ormskirk – Preston line. I posted a few days ago about the usually closed (on a Sunday) Ormskirk – Preston Line having trains running whilst Liverpool Lime Street Station is partially shut down for the 2nd phase of its major upgrade this summer. A full timetable is now available and is reproduced above. Please click on it to enlarge for reading. So if you are travelling northwards this summer you can do so via the Ormskirk – Preston Line. One day all trains will run on a Sunday! With thanks to OPSTA for the lead ...
Jeremy Hunt will face no further action over property complaint - BBC News Parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Stone ruled that although Mr Hunt had breached the MP's code of conduct, his offence was "at the less serious end of the spectrum". If you like what you see here (or even if you don't) please consider dropping me a tip: [IMG: Paypal Donate Button] [IMG: Buy Me an uncaffeinated beverage (because I'm allergic to coffee) at ko-fi.com] [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The other day, I raised an eyebrow that Nick Clegg had so far only interviewed white men on his Anger Management podcast. Yesterday, a fair few of my Christmases arrived together when a new episode had one of my favourite politicians, Harriet Harman in conversation with Nick. I was going to say that she was the first elected politician he'd had on, but then I remembered he'd had Farage who is pocketing a fortune as a part-time MEP. I haven't quite had the spoons to listen to that one yet. It was a good chat with a couple of newsworthy ...
Thu, 12:56: The Meeting of the Waters https://t.co/2W8kaRZ0BB @kevinhorourke on the history and economics of Wicklow. Thu, 16:05: Repeal the Eighth: What can Britain learn from Ireland's abortion referendum? https://t.co/Gneep4xjtA Not just Brit... https://t.co/eJQSjHgR7c Thu, 19:10: RT @nazirafzal: At least 5 immediately and several more later I then charged the most serious offenders with Soliciting Murder rather than... Thu, 19:36: RT @julianHjessop: US steel #tariffs clearly bad news, but (i) we've been here many times before (eg Bush in 2002), (ii) EU response limite... Thu, 19:45: RT @ameliagentleman: This lost passport story is the worst Home Office incompetence story - ...
Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson MP Tom Brake has branded President Trump as a "petulant three-year-old" over his handling of steel and aluminium negotiations with the EU. The remarks come as the head of UK Steel warned that EU leaders have a "gun held to their head" over the threat of US tariffs on steel imports. The US tariffs came into effect this (Friday) morning.Mr Brake said: "Trump has handled these complex trade negotiations with all the delicacy of a petulant three-year-old. Had he been a contestant on his own show, he would have already been fired. "There is a hard ...
Tony Harris. Tony lives in Newbury and is currently the Treasurer of the local Liberal Democrats. He previously owned a software company and has held a number of charity and non exec positions. He has been a member of the Party's policy working groups on social security and tax. He is about to complete a PhD in Mediaeval Studies and is a rowing umpire and helicopter and aeroplane pilot. He now takes on the challenge of keeping the party's finances in order, a job which has been done admirably by Peter Dunphy for the past five years. Peter has to ...
The announcement by US President, Donald Trump yesterday that new tariffs will be imposed on steel (25 per cent) and aluminum (10 per cent) imports from the EU (including Britain), Canada and Mexico has underlined one of the central arguments for voters being given a second-chance to vote on Brexit. There is now no doubt that we can rely on the USA to bail us out with a preferential free trade deal. As the New Statesman argues, "America First" means Britain second (at very best). Trump's protectionist rhetoric has now been matched by action. Our isolation is further reinforced by ...
A broad theme appears to be emerging in this blog, which amounts to an attitude to the so-called 'populism' that has so undermined many of the political certainties of our age. I put the word in inverted commas because what they actually mean is 'rabble-rousers'. As Thomas Frank explained in the Guardian over the weekend, [...] The post Why average statistics turbocharged Brexit appeared first on Radix.
It was the marriage of the century. John Bull and Europa were tying the knot. After hundreds of years of on/off romances and on/off tiffs, the two rivals had decided they were both better off as one household rather than as two feuding neighbours. Let's be honest, JB was the more reluctant of the two. For centuries he had been top dog, with conquests right across the globe. He didn't just have a girl in every port, he owned the ports and the hinterlands beyond. Unfortunately two successive wars with Europa's close relative Herr Hun had cost him dearly. JB ...
The latest news on this long running issue (it first manifested itself at least as far back as 2015) of carriageway, pavement and garden flooding after prolonged rainfall is that drainage engineers may (I hope) be about to get on top of it. Cllr. Edie Pope outside Lydiate Village Centre Cllr. Edie Pope and I have recently heard from Sefton Council's drainage engineers to the effect that United Utilities have seemingly taken/accepted responsibility for fixing the problem and they are commissioning some works to try to resolve the flooding. Fingers crossed..........
The Victoria Park Primary School Summer Fayre is on Saturday 9th June at the school from 10am until 12 noon. There will be lots of stalls and a raffle - all welcome!
