As I've covered on several times over the last year here and in Liberal Democrat Newswire, Vince Cable is interested in talking with those outside the party about how to break the current political system. There have been a consistent five strands to this approach, which to recap for more recent new readers (hello and welcome!) are: Putting the Liberal Democrats at the heart of policy debate: "Cable insists they are now an "ideas factory," and are talking to think tanks like the IPPR and Resolution Foundation about policies for addressing issues he believes led millions of people to vote ...
Photograph © Lamberhurst from Wikimedia Commons This photograph was taken in 1966, which was the year the line to Rugby closed. I remember a school friend's father telling me that there used to be a train from Market Harborough to Birmingham in the morning and how useful it was. As Wikipedia says, the line from Rugby to Peterborough offered a more direct route from the Midlands to East Anglia than the line via Leicester that survives. It was closed because it served fewer centres of population. It was the remains of this platform, and of the bay platform beside it, ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 525th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the five most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (15-21 July, 2018), together with a hand-picked seven you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Liberal Party Councillor joins Liberal Democrats in ...
Sun 22nd
20:54
Legitimate criticism of the BBC must not be lumped in with conspiracy theories from the tin foil hat...
Yesterday I wrote a piece on Nick Robinson's worrying approach to political interviewing. In a tweet, the experienced former BBC and ITV political editor and current Today presenter argued: The purpose of interviews is not always to challenge. It is to get people to say interesting and revealing things that others can & will challenge ... Continue reading Legitimate criticism of the BBC must not be lumped in with conspiracy theories from the tin foil hat brigade
Edward Morello is the pick of Liberal Democrat members in the West Dorset Parliamentary constituency from a shortlist of three.
Sun 22nd
19:39
The green lane should be the fast lane but Shropshire Council limps slowly on EV charging
We are a naturally green county. That's not just our verdant rolling hills. We have a huge green thinking community in Shropshire. That's why it is frustrating that Shropshire Council is always in the slow lane when it comes to green technology. I have already written about the council's lack of interest in green verges. In an answer to another question on charging points for electric vehicles, the council says it is planning to install some. How many? Two. Roll out of extra charging points will depend on "evaluation", "solving issues", "clarity at a national level." I don't understand why ...
From BBC Sport: It was the scoreline that the late, great Eric Morecambe always used to joke about but had never come true - until now. East Fife 4 Forfar 5 was the much-loved comedian's idea of the ultimate tongue-twister for anyone trying to read out the football results. On Sunday, that result finally happened for the first time in the fixture's history - sort of. The Scottish League Cup Group B tie between the sides went to penalties after a 1-1 draw. And the score in the shootout? East Fife 4 Forfar 5.
The Network Rail works next to Chedworth ground to a halt a while ago when the main contractors Carillion went into bankruptcy. The good news is that Network Rail's new contractor is now on site for the remaining 4 weeks or so of work, so we hope to see an improvement there soon. On the project to electrify the main line, the Besom Lane temporary compound just across the footbridge from Shire Way is expected to remain until February 2019.
Imagine for a moment that a group started up in your local area wanting to ban you - just you, personally – from the local post office. You would probably find it odd, a bit unnerving, but you would probably shrug it off. The campaign grows and now they're banning you from the local supermarket, then the pubs, then the town centre as a whole – except for one hour a week when you're permitted to enter. You start to get hate mail and threatening messages on your phone from the campaign group. Then your local Lib Dem Executive starts ...
Embed from Getty Images First it was secret talks about founding a new centre party: now it is a challenge to Vince Cable's leadership. The Mail on Sunday reports: A group of senior Lib Dems are planning to meet this week to push for Dr Cable to be succeeded by 35-year-old Layla Moran, the party's education spokeswoman, who became an MP only last year.It's those senior Lib Dems. they do get about. The anti-Cable group is split between those who want him to go now and those who want to position Ms Moran as the natural successor when he stands ...
Sun 22nd
17:55
How an ideology that was political poison for decades worked its way back into mainstream American p...
To British eyes, the way in which even the word liberal is often used in American politics as a term of venomous insult can often be nearly as baffling as our differences in attitudes towards gun control. Which makes the small but growing trend of US politicians self-identifying as socialist and being successful a particularly interesting one – and the reason I listened to Planet Money's latest podcast, "The New Socialists". As its blurb says: Three years ago, the Democratic Socialists of America had about 6,000 members across the country – fewer than the American Racing Pigeon Union. Since then, ...
Son of Schmilsson is the first Nilsson album which everyone, almost without exception, agrees is a step down from the album before. It is, in fact, generally considered to be the album that killed Nilsson's career. Partly that reputation comes ... Continue reading →
As previously mentioned, we spent last weekend at my sister's in Burgundy. She is based near a small village called Lys whose main square has not changed much in 100 years (the first of these two pictures is dated 1913 by Wikipedia) [IMG: 412ADEAA-FDC4-4085-9474-1CC6A02BAC4B.jpeg] [IMG: AA92B25F-1758-4354-8D8B-808117AA1081.jpeg] Lys has an ancient church of Notre Dame, dating probably from the early 12th century. It's not all that striking except that it obviously looks Old. Inside it, however, modern researchers have revealed some striking if primitive murals over the altar. With the wonderful aid of image enhancement, you can see that it's Christ ...
Time for some English art song, alebit with a Welsh singer, and a title appropriate for this heatwave. Fear No More the Heat of the Sun comes from Shakespeare's Cymbeline and, like a lot of good poems, is about death. The couplet:Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.Encapsulates the whole of Housman's verse centuries before he was born. I sometimes suspect Bryn Terfel of overacting in this sort of work, but his voice is simply magnificent.
Sun 22nd
11:00There is a huge pool of volunteer labour that could help the party do well next May. But will it be ...
During the week I went to speak at a Westminster Liberal Democrats event. The local party is typical of many across London which pose a particular opportunity/challenge (delete according to your mood) to the party.
The Sunday Times reports (£) that the reason missed that vote the other night was because he was at a meeting discussing the formation of a new centre party. A few brief thoughts from me: First of all, I think that if it is finally going to get off the ground, @libdems need to know about and work with it where it shares our values. It would be daft to stand against each other in an anti-Brexit election. It may be that we can only work together on the anti-Brexit stuff because @libdems couldn't work closely with a party that ...
Since it was established by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 the Electoral Commission has impressed by just how unimpressive it has been. Those of us involved with elections, whether as candidates and politicians or as administrators have seen many instances where their judgement and understanding have been drawn into question. For me it was their failure to properly administer the 2011 Assembly Election, when the names of candidates on party lists were kept off the ballot paper and promises to have them posted in polling stations instead were not kept. It is little wonder then that the ...
Congratulations to Alex Hegenbarth who has been picked by Liberal Democrat members in Tewkesbury to be their next Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC). He says, I'm really honoured to have been selected as Tewkesbury's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate and can't wait to get started turning the constituency Lib Dem. The party has a great reputation for dedication and hard work, so I am keen to get them out there knocking on doors and finding out the issues that matter most to the people of Tewkesbury. We know we have a hill to climb, but I look forward to working with the team ...
I visit Ludlow's Eco Park almost every day. It should be Ludlow's flagship business area but I am growing angry about the lousy way that Shropshire Council manages the site for safety and for wildlife. The main ecological problem right now is the drying out of the main flood water retention pond. Shropshire Council is making water retention worse by mowing around the pond as though it is in a suburban housing estate. The next problem may sound minor. It's a hole in the fence surrounding the pond. But that allows dogs into the wildlife area. Readers will know by ...
This unfortunate leaflet comes courtesy of the Conservative Party in Stoke ward, Plymouth where there is a council by-election polling on 26 July.
Sun 22nd
08:55
My passion for bold and radical Liberalism reaffirmed, as my time as SLF Chair comes to its end
Last September, Paddy Ashdown said that since the coalition, the Lib Dems had not managed to have even "one big, dangerous idea". He said in a blog for Lib Dem Voice: Unless we are prepared to be realistic about where we are, return to being radical about what we propose, recreate ourselves as an insurgent force and rekindle our lost habit of intellectual ferment, things could get even worse for us. It prompted him to launch the Ashdown Prize in March this year, and the winner was announced in June—Dorothy Ford, who proposed an idea on food waste which will ...
