Writing over in the New Statesman (a smart choice given what follows), Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable argues that there is great instability under the surface in British politics: Looked at in one way there is stasis: the – supposed – return to two-party politics defined by tribal allegiances. A century-long ideological struggle between proponents of capitalism and socialism embedded in the Conservatives and Labour. Seen from another angle, there is political ferment and radical uncertainty. The two traditional parties are riven by internal conflict; dissident MPs treat their party leadership with open contempt. As he rightly highlights, this hasn't ...
Embed from Getty Images Our final update from the LDV Fantasy Football League. Congratulations to Alan Worthington, whose Iheanacho Cheese won this year's competition. He amassed 2,277 points, which saw him take not only the top-spot, but also a top 25,000 position — not bad for a competition with almost six million players. Alan just edge out his near-namesake, Alain Desmier — last year's champion — whose Gander Green Giants finished on 2,271 points. Ciarán McGonagle's Spartak Fantastak (2,263) came third. Well done to all. A belated well done, too, to Benjamin Moody, manager of the month for April. Thanks ...
I managed to use various plane flights and Eurostar journeys profitably to work through this category, all between 67 and 108 minutes in length so quite digestible. I generally enjoyed them, but some more than others. 7) Invisible Agent A frankly silly film about the grandson of the original Invisible Man, who is persuaded to use the invisibility forum for the USA's war effort, and infiltrates Berlin, getting mixed up with Allied spies and German and Japanese goons. (The chief Japanese baddie is played by Peter Lorre, a few months before his role in Casablanca.) The special effects are good, ...
Do you run one or more Liberal Democrat social media accounts, such as a Twitter account for a local party or a Facebook page for a regional party? If so, then I've got a specially curated RSS feed (https://feeds.markpack.org.uk/libdemamplify.rss) which has stories suitable for sharing on official party accounts. It collates stories from sources such as Vince Cable, the federal website and positive stories about the party in the media, putting them into on RSS feed. Why an RSS feed? Because that's the format with which you can easily automate re-posting of this content to social media accounts. For example, ...
In an article in the New Statesman, Vince outlines the three elements necessary to transform British politics from its current divisive, dystopian, dysfunctional state. The first is following the example of the Canadian Liberals who went from third place to Government in just a few years. Justin Trudeau was the result of a concerted effort to open up the Liberal Party to a wider support base through open primaries for the national leadership and MPs. He talks a lot about open primaries these days although we've yet to see proposals of how this would work in practice and already many ...
In many ways it is hardly surprising that the rather wealthy Nigel Lawson, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and chair of the Vote Leave campaign, might adopt the Marie Antoinette position of 'Let them eat cake' to those people he helped persuade to vote to leave the EU, whilst he applies for an official residency card so he can continue to live in France, unaffected by the chaos he has unleashed at home. As has been pointed out elsewhere, it was always the free movement of 'other people', especially the poorer ones, which was the concern of the wealthy ...
Sometimes it is hard to believe how fast time passes, however with the passing of Charles Kennedy, time seems to have past faster then ever. I personally cannot believe it is now three years that we lost him. That morning, I was awoken by my mobile phone ringing. The number was withheld, and I was tempted to ignore it. However, as someone was calling at 6.15 in the morning, I felt it must be important. I tried to shake the sleepiness from my voice as I answered. It was my local BBC Radio station. They asked it I could be ...
Fri, 12:56: Scots student brings Doctor Who's K9 robot dog back to life after coming across clapped-out shell in university lab... https://t.co/q048swqFkC Fri, 13:10: The EU Intellectual Property Incentives Framework Comes Under Revision but Raises More Questions Than Answers https://t.co/wAmj7WnMSP Fri, 13:29: It's wet today... (@ Chang Noi Thai Food Truck (Fridays) in Brussels) https://t.co/DIBwaE1TjR Fri, 15:19: APCO Brexit Bites https://t.co/jrDRAEbZJI Another monthly summary of news on the Brexit front, featuring many colleagues (including me). Fri, 16:05: Who lost Italy? https://t.co/jSza3LuI9x Daniel Gros of @CEPS_thinktank points out that Italy's problems are domestic in origin. Fri, 17:29: Italy's Political Rollercoaster https://t.co/wnRAnVFy8L ...
Responding to reports that the UK Government is set to reject a £1.3bn project to build a tidal power lagoon in Swansea Bay, former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said: "Tidal lagoons are the obvious next step in Britain's renewable power revolution. The Conservatives' decision to reject the Swansea Bay pilot against all the evidence, not least in the excellent review by Charles Hendry, is a historic mistake."This will mean more expensive electricity in the future for British consumers and leave others to lead the world's tidal industry. The opposite of what we ...
Former Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron has slammed the Transport Secretary for living in a 'parallel world' as the RMT calls for him to be sacked. Mr Farron said: "Chris Grayling is always happy to blame everyone but himself for the delays, cancellations and other problems facing so many train users."He seems to live in a parallel world to everyone else, where the running of trains is totally unrelated to himself and his Department."People are being forced to miss hospital appointments, work and exams. The Transport Secretary needs to wake up to this and act, not least before the public ...
Little by little, the Brexiteers are losing their battle to force our country out of the EU. Although it isn't yet generally recognised that the vaunted 'will of the people' is being exploited by wealthy individuals who have no interest in the economic well-being of ordinary citizens, moderate pragmatists in both the UK and the EU seem to be strengthening our ties, to mutual benefit - all the more desirable, in a time of trade war. First, there was the acceptance by Mrs May's government that things will stay the same, in UK contributions and rule-keeping and access, throughout a ...
Rue Canusa (or Canusa Avenue) is a street that's split in two by a border: the northern part is in Stanstead, Canada, and the southern part is in Derby Line, USA — and border crossings here aren't as easy as they used to be.
Chelsea FC have pulled out of the total redevelopment of their ground citing changed economic circumstances. Will this make the Everton Board reassess their proposal for Bramley Moore Dock? Liverpool Council's debt burden is already more than £1 billion in ... Continue reading →
It's three years since we woke up to the awful news that Charles Kennedy had died. Just weeks earlier he had lost his seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber. A few days after that, he wrote this article for us: I am very fond of political history. If nothing else, we can all reflect on and perhaps tell our grandchildren that we were there on "The night of long sgian dubhs!" I would very much like to thank my home team. They have been so energetic, dedicated and selfless to the task. Indeed, with them, I would like to thank ...
Sat 2nd
07:24
Maghull – 2 parks come BACK under Town Council control, but how will they generate income and ...
Old Hall Park, Maghull I scratched my head quite a bit when I read an article in the Aintree and Maghull Champion dated 23rd May headed 'All parks now back under control of town council' Firstly, the parks concerned Old Hall Park and Bobbies Wood had originally been taken from Sefton Council by the Town Council quite a number of years ago but then the Labour-run Town Council decided to give them back to the Labour-run Borough Council. Now they have reversed that decision and once again taken them back under control of the Town Council. Of course this begs ...
Three welcome initiatives to put a stop to Brexit have emerged this week. That billionaire George Soros,and other wealthy individuals are about to launch and finance campaign. There's to be a "Left against Brexit" tour to promote the left wing case for a pro-EU position. The "tour" wil involve trade union leaders and the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas. On this morning's news we hear of 16 London MPs who have written to Jeremy Corbyn emphasising the damage Brexit will do to London and calling for Labour to support a second referendum.As far as I know there is, as yet, ...
I'm going to post the next Good Post in a couple of days (it's already written, as are several follow-ups), but today and tomorrow I'm going to talk about music. Tomorrow I'll be reviewing the new expanded editions of Michael ... Continue reading →
