I have worked out why I like Gumley so much: it reminds me of Bishop's Castle in Shropshire. Both settlements have a long main street that runs uphill to a building that is no longer there. In Bishop's Castle it is the castle: in Gumley it is Gumley Hall. When I was in Gumley on Saturday I noticed that a couple of the large houses on its only street were looking run down. That is a shame, but it gives it something else in common with its Shropshire cousin. One of the things I have always liked about Bishop's Castle ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Wed 15th
21:00

Walls in Belfast

We went to the Ulster Museum yesterday, where there is a very good and full exhibition about the Troubles. One of the exhibits is a map from the Roads Service from 1979 showing exactly which bits of Belfast were closed off for security reasons. In the yellow zone, no unattended vehicles were allowed from 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday; in the red zone, no unattended vehicles were allowed at any time; and within the barriers, on the cross-hatched streets, only "delivery vehicles etc" were allowed. There were only seven points where vehicles could enter the city centre, ...

This 2-minute animation by www.rightsinfo.org will tell you everything you need to know about your human rights and why they matter.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Many thanks to everyone who has filled in our recent Public Transport in Prestwich survey. With congestion and pollution a major issue across Prestwich, we're keen to find out more about what local people think about our local Metrolink and bus services, what stops you using them more and what you would do to improve them. You can fill the survey in online at www.loveprestwich.co.uk

Posted by prestwichfocus on Tim Pickstone

During National Allotments Week allotment sites across the UK are opening their gates, showing off their skills, sharing their joy in gardening and communal endeavour to encourage everyone to grow food in their own in gardens, balconies and backyards. Click here to view a list. National Allotments Week started in 2002 as a way of raising awareness of allotments and the role they play in helping people to live healthier lifestyles, grow their own food, develop friendships and bolster communities. The campaign week is still thriving 12 years later and interest in growing your own fruit and vegetables has never ...

Posted by prestwichfocus on Tim Pickstone

If the Tories throw caution to the wind and somehow manage to leave the EU because they put dogma above the consequences of leaving with no deal, what will the impact of that be for us? Below is a small account of the possible results of that action. I put this forward to reinforce why the Lib Dems are against Brexit and now (as another possibility has emerged) an exit without a deal. Currently, there are no queues of countries enthusiastically waiting to trade with us (as the Leavers said they would be) and even if there where it will ...

Posted by Tahir Maher on Liberal Democrat Voice

If you were to ask me which politician of the 20th century was least likely to have delivered Good Morning leaflets, I think Attlee would have been near the top of the list.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Wed 15th
13:15

Immigration White Paper

Before a mass of Liberal voices condemns the party's immigration paper and the related motion for party conference, we need to reflect on two underlying issues: first, that global population growth, combined with weak states and intermittent conflicts across the developing world, and exacerbated by climate change, mean that migration to richer and safer countries is becoming one of the most intractable issues democratic nations will face over the next generation; second, that the white working class in Britain (above all, in England) have real grievances, which we cannot dismiss, and which are partly - though only partly - associated ...

Posted by Lord William Wallace on Liberal Democrat Voice

weekly_food_challenge | Challenge #48 - Hot Weather Comfort Food 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

Wed 15th
11:00

My tweets

Tue, 12:56: RT @simongerman600: Wonderful #map shows the name for the #Smurfs across Europe. The map also wins my award for best legend of the year! So... Tue, 16:05: RT @evankirstel: 🌊 🏄 Dude! > #Brazil's Rodrigo Koxa sets record for biggest wave ever surfed #SundayMorning #surfer https://t.co/5FA5rt31S7 Tue, 17:28: From the @UlsterMuseum collection: practical consequences of a customs border in Ireland. #Brexit https://t.co/CpyFct3VXv Tue, 20:48: RT @DmitryOpines: 1/ Over the last few weeks, myself, @JasonJHunter and others have laid out the regulatory disruptions UK-EU trade will fa... Tue, 22:35: Doctor Who Files: 7) The Daleks, 8) The Cybermen, 12) ...

YouGov

In 2005 the EU established a cap for carbon emissions and trade program. This cap set a limit on the CO2 industry and utilities could emit. The cap is to reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. A low cap will cost business, and a high one will have little impact reducing global warming. In 2017 the cap was 1.7 per cent annually that would reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. In the EU carbon targets affect 11,000 energy and industrial plants. With the trade program, each company has an emit target and can emit what they ...

Posted by Tahir Maher on Liberal Democrat Voice

This post was first published on the Radix blog... Heaven knows, I am no supporter of Boris Johnson, but I wonder whether there may be issues - perhaps of less symbolic value - but of more importance than what he meant, or didn't mean, about burkas. This is not actually a post about either of them. It is about the widening gulf between what is symbolic in politics and what is genuinely important because it will affect people's lives. The political left has always revelled in the importance of symbol. That is because they regard themselves as outsiders. The political ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

It is some time since a senior politician stormed out of an interview with a reputable journalist. It is not the sort of thing I expect to happen on the BBC anymore, following their peculiar redefinition of balance, which seeks to reclassify facts as opinions and places good journalists in the impossible position of trying not to offend anybody. Kudos then to Wales on Line journalist, Ruth Mosalski for her robust and challenging interview with the new Welsh UKIP leader, Gareth Bennett, in which she sought to have him justify some of his more controversial views. The full interview is ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

After failing to obtain the release of an American pastor unjustly imprisoned for twenty-two months in Turkey, the Trump administration imposed sanctions against the Islamic-nationalist government of President Reccep Erdogan. Andrew Brunson is a married pastor and father of three who for more than two decades had been calmly building a very small Protestant community [...] The post Why Trump is right on Erdogan's Turkey appeared first on Radix.

Posted by Renaud Girard on Radix

A while back my wife decided that she would start to wear the hijab. She never discussed this with me nor did I have any indication she wanted to wear one. She felt that as part of her spiritual journey that she should wear one. I was a bit surprised, but it was her choice. She wore the hijab for about three years and then decided to stop wearing it. Again, she didn't discuss it with me and made her own choice (this time I was a bit annoyed - as I feared she might have stopped wearing it because ...

Posted by Tahir Maher on Liberal Democrat Voice

Seaforth Docks seen from the Mersey with work going on to construct the river berth for Post-Panamax ships in August 2015. There is every danger that I'll do this subject to death but the fact remains that building the new river berth at the Port of Liverpool well before the transport infrastructure to cope with the increased freight traffic was put in place was at best a very odd idea. The Liverpool Echo has the story of the new river berth's progress towards bringing in more and bigger ships to the port on its web site – see link below:- ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus
Wed 15th
07:01

Tunisia

As the story about "the conference" in Tunis unfolds it is necessary for me to clear the air. I have been to Tunisia, and specifically to Tunis I did not attend any conferences or attend any memorial services It was in ( about ) 1995 It was a family holiday based in Nabeul I visited Carthage I hope that helps clarify things [/irony]

Posted by Alisdair Gibbs-Barton on Alisdair Gibbs-Barton

From the City Council : Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating the All Under One Banner parade travelling through Dundee. The Order is expected to be in force for one day on 18 August 2018. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit temporarily all vehicular from 1230 hours in (1) Arbroath Road from Dalkeith Road to Albert Street, (2) Princes Street from Arbroath Road to King Street, (3) King Street ...

As part of their celebration of the 70th birthday of the NHS, Prestwich Hospital are holding a volunteer recruitment day on 31 August 2018. They are looking for Volunteers for our inpatient services at Prestwich Hospital. This includes our adult secure services, young people's services, deaf service and substance misuse service. Pop in on Friday 31st August between 2pm and 7pm The Curve Prestwich Hospital, Bury New Road Prestwich If you can't make this date, please contact Noreen McCole on 0161 271 0294 to arrange a more suitable time.

Posted by prestwichfocus on Tim Pickstone

The pay of FTSE 100 chief executives has soared by 11% in the past year, according to analysis by CIPD/High Pay Centre. This is partly inflated by a £47.1m payout for Jeff Fairburn, the chief executive at Persimmon. The housebuilding group has benefited greatly from the Government's Help to Buy scheme, which helped trigger the enormous payout. Responding, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: "Despite so many efforts, including my own legislation, to ensure there is moderation in executive pay, some companies are still getting away with unjustifiable awards. What is particularly galling and outrageous is the Persimmon payout, because ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats
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