Across Britain, Liberal Democrats have been out and about campaigning against Brexit this weekend — and the mood everywhere seems to be that people don't like the way things are going. Theresa May's Chequers plan is in tatters, yet the arch-Brexiteers among the Tories have failed to come up with an alternative of their own. [...]
I have been following test cricket for 50 years. My first memory of it is of Colin Milburn hitting Australia all round Lord's in 1968. If I were asked to pick the best England team from the 50 years I would refer enquirers to Mike Selvey, because I believe he has got it exactly right: Graham GoochAlastair CookDavid GowerKevin PietersenJoe RootIan BothamAlan KnottGraeme SwannJohn SnowBob WillisJimmy AndersonI worry about preferring Cook over Geoff Boycott and, particularly, about preferring Swan over Derek Underwood. On a pitch that favoured the spinners to any degree I would be happy to pick them both ...
Excellent news from St Albans, which was one of the stand-out constituency results at the 2017 general election, where Daisy Cooper moved up from third to second place (one of only two constituencies to do this).
Some enterprising organisation at our conference, my money is on Liberator, will be selling 'I'm a Liberal not a Mod' badges, although I'd be careful not to wear one outside the Brighton Centre for fear of upsetting the Scooter fanatics. That old rocker Vince Cable has certainly captured the attention of the Party with his March of the Moderates vision, but before it is dismissed out of hand by those who see dangers from opening up decision making powers to non-members, it's worth looking at how some of this vision is already working in practice, and why fears that Lembit ...
You may have seen various Lib Dems on your social media all getting angry about proposed new changes to the party constitution. I won't get into those here, except to say that in my view they're detrimental to the party ... Continue reading →
Cue excellent theme tune. Big Finish have scored a major coup by persuading Georgia Tennant to return to her brief role as Jenny, the Tenth Doctor's cloned daughter, for more sfnal adventures across space and time, flanked by Sean Biggerstaff as the innocent but mysterious Noah, and both pursued by Siân Philips (who was Livia in I, Claudius forty years ago) as a vengeful cyborg, the Colt-5000. (Georgia Moffatt, as she then was, had a part in a Big Finish audio back in 2000, when she was only 16.) The first of four stories here, Stolen Goods by Matt Fitton, ...
All lined up – Merseyside's waste packed into containers for a ride to the north east. Well it's sent to Kirkby (Knowsley Freight Terminal to be precise) where it's loaded into containers, put on the 2 trains that leave each day and taken to the north east of England to be burned. The destination is a power station called Wilton which uses the waste to generate electricity. Wikipedia has a page on the power station – look for 'Wilton 11' down the page for comment about Merseyside's waste:- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilton_power_stations A double-headed (2 loco) train departs Knowsley Freight Terminal on its ...
In which Nick Barlow is far more positive about the leadership's proposed "reforms" to the Liberal Democrats than I feel cargo cult bullshit I saw this this morning, it was very cool 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
Fri, 12:56: #Brexit and Ireland: A Personal View https://t.co/1EypOeh4Df The long view. Fri, 16:05: Six Flags on the Moon: What is Their Current Condition? https://t.co/n9b885OQwu Not great, as far as we can tell. Fri, 18:08: RT @MarietjeSchaake: Why did Greece arrest Syrian refugee and 'hero-swimmer' Sara #Mardini ? > Asked parliamentary questions https://t.co/P... Fri, 18:23: Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson https://t.co/hckwsask3G Fri, 18:32: RT @_doublearrow: Some fascinating pre-Eurostar branding (European Passenger Services)... https://t.co/Nhc4TKKT4g https://t.co/RxG9l4gDxi Fri, 20:44: It is the end. (But the moment has been prepared for.) https://t.co/4IiK299Awm Fri, 20:48: When You Explain Neil Gaiman's Career To Neil Gaiman, Gaimansplaining ...
Vince Cable was right to challenge us with a consultation about how we work and organise and we should consider all his views seriously. Over the past 24 hours I have looked with interest both at what Vince has had ... Continue reading →
It is a mad, mad, World and it is surely becoming more dysfunctional by the day. The USA is in the grip of Trumpism with his 'fake news' and his 'fake books'. In Sweden the far right immigration party looks like it will secure 20% of the vote tomorrow and hold the balance of power. Whilst UK politics is being dominated by incompetents and eccentrics, who are allowing foreign powers to run riot through our institutions. Putting aside the Boris gets divorced to clear his way for a leadership bid controversy, there are three news stories from the last seven ...
After much speculation, Lib Dem leader Vince Cable has finally come out and said he wants to step down from the leadership as soon as logically possible. The timing on this he left vague – understandably – and seems to centre around both next May's locals and Brexit being complete and/or halted. In addition, he wants to open the leadership up to non-MPs and indeed, wants to open up the voting for the leadership to non-members. All of this seems to be done with the idea of refashioning the Lib Dems into a sort movement. A lot of people will ...
Yesterday afternoon I was rejoined at my bedside by grey Eeyore. Quite rightly, Jane decided he was a little too unhygienic to be in here at first. He's now been through a full wash and tumble dry, so although he smells beautiful, he's understandably a little ranty today. Even though the nurses love him. His mood has rubbed off on ... The post Transplant -4: Ranty Saturday appeared first on ten pence piece.
Last night I was at Drummonds, the royal bank in Charing Cross, for the launch of this year's Mes Amigo or Amigo Month – London. Over the next five weeks there will be a cornucopia of cultural, religious and diplomatic events relating to the countries of Latin America, Spain, Portugal and lusophone Africa. Together, Spanish [...]
Given the huge amount of media coverage for Brexit, and the many twists and turns in the story since the 2016 referendum, it is striking how stable public opinion has been about it. Even granted the trend against Brexit in the polls, that trend is real but it also has been a gradual and (so far at least) fairly modest trend. That's because people's values are such a major factor in determining their view on Brexit. Getting people to change their mind on the topic is not easy for a position so rooted in values. Not all is static, however, ...
With the latest Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton coming up soon, here are some tips for would-be new, and indeed, experienced, speakers at party conference.
This week, Layla Moran held a Commons debate on cycling: I got a debate on cycling yesterday! [IMG: 🚲] Along with cycle safety, parking and infrastructure, I also spoke about the disgrace that is provision for cycling in new developments [IMG: 🏘] . It should be a no-brainer, but instead so often forgotten! #Oxford pic.twitter.com/0zjaPGIuVl — Layla Moran (@LaylaMoran) September 5, 2018 Here's her speech in full: I am extremely grateful to have the chance to speak this evening about the importance of cycling and, more specifically, the Gilligan report. Oxford is famous for being a cycling city. In fact, ...
