A prolonged bout of man-flu meant that I had little energy for much apart from lying in bed reading and watching films over the last week or so. (Fully recovered now, thanks.) So that takes me to The Best Years Of Our Lives, winner of the 1947 Oscar for Best Motion Picture, with another seven (eight by some counts) Oscars on the night - Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Music, an honorary award to Harold Russell for the role which also won him Best Supporting Actor and arguably also earning ...

So there I was walking beside the River Wreake,* which saw commercial traffic between 1797 and 1877 as the Melton Mowbray Navigation. On the edge of town I came across a railway embankment. The bridge that had taken it across the Wreake was gone, but it had been replaced by a footbridge. I knew what I had found: this was the GNR & LNWR Joint Railway. It started just north of Market Harborough and, branching at its northern end, ran to Nottingham and Bottesford. Passenger services (including Northampton to Nottingham via Market Harborough and Melton Mowbray) ceased in 1953, but ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

I see Dawn Butler has spoken in praise of Labour councils that refused to set a balance budget because of the limits Margaret Thatcher's government set for them. Which gives me a perfect excuse for reprinting one of this blog's favourite quotations. Here is George Galloway reminiscing in 2008: When I first met him 35 years ago Darling was pressing Trotskyite tracts on bewildered railwaymen at Waverley Station in Edinburgh. He was a supporter of the International Marxist Group, whose publication was entitled the Black Dwarf. Later, in preparation for his current role he became the treasurer of what was ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Here's a quick summary of the Lib Dems' reaction to Theresa May's statement on the Brexit negotiations yesterday: Tom Brake called for Parliament to be recalled: The Prime Minister has had the most humiliating European summit in recent memory and returned with a tattered Chequers deal, making a no deal Brexit more likely than ever. Two years down the line and the only consensus the PM has made across Parliament and the EU is that Chequers is unworkable. Instead of pontificating to television cameras, May must now recall Parliament to explain how she got the country into this terrible mess, ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

We did it. Five weeks from conception to completion. Just ten days on site. An eyesore is now a head turner. Below are images of the project in progress and completed. Our thanks to Morris Property for funding the project. Also to Shropshire Council for providing youth workers for the Young Zone. A huge part of our community contributed to this project. Thank you all. [See image gallery at andybodders.co.uk] [See image gallery at andybodders.co.uk]

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

There was a positive interview with Layla Moran ("The bright new face of the centre") in the Evening Standard the other day: She'd like her party to come up with more "exciting, liberal policies". "Since coalition we've stopped doing that. When we lost badly in 2015 we were sad and hid under the duvet a bit and we didn't develop policies that are clear about what it means to be a liberal democrat." Would a different leader have changed this? "I think that passes the buck."

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

It's little over 18 months before the Greater London Authority and London mayoral elections. Doesn't time fly? This time they are more important than ever. Not only are these critical elections for London, they also garner national media attention, so a good showing will help deliver a stronger national performance for the Liberal Democrats at the next general election. That means now is the time to do some serious research so we can devise our strategy on how we can win in London in 2020. This is why I have helped commission and fund a full professional, programme of polling. ...

Posted by Dinesh Dhamija on Liberal Democrat Voice

In the current issue of Times Higher Education (13 September), you'll find a piece by Palestine's Raja Shehadeh, about the way Israel discourages foreign faculty from teaching in Palestine. Precisely half of the 64 foreign academics working in Palestine, have been adversely affected by denial or restriction in their permission to work, over the past two academic years. Once a university has invited a foreign academic to join its faculty, Israel uses an opaque two-tier system of control, through the Civil Administration in the occupied territory and, if an application clears that hurdle, the power of veto by Israel's Interior ...

Posted by David McDowall on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Lib Dems may not have gained a seat in this week's council by-elections but the party ends the week up in councillors thanks to news from Kent. Conservative Canterbury councillor, and former Lord Mayor, George Metcalfe is joining the Liberal Democrats: I have increasingly found myself moving to the left of centre and have frequently voted with the Lib Dems on the Canterbury City Council on several issues. I no longer feel able to continue as a supporter of the Conservative Party. Alex Lister from Canterbury Liberal Democrats has welcomed him to the party: Like George, I once campaigned ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Here is my response to the consultation paper for proposed 'reforms' to the Liberal Democrats. The consultation paper can be found here. Questions: Supporters' Scheme: 1. Do you agree that the party should introduce a registered supporters' scheme? Yes. Many local parties already run informal supporters' schemes locally, and it is a very good idea to broaden this out as a national scheme and open up the party to new voices and new ideas. 2. Do you support this paper's proposals to give registered supporters a vote in future leadership elections, providing nomination rights are left with party members? No. ...

Posted by Cen Phillips on Liberal Thoughts
YouGov

Just when we needed Her Majesty's Official Opposition to step up and take responsibility they are nowhere to be found. It is little wonder that former Labour Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, has accused his party of a 'dereliction of duty'. As the Independent reports, Miliband believes that Labour has "no strategy" for Britain's withdrawal from the EU and that the party's failure to back calls for a Final Say on Brexit amounts to a dereliction of duty: Mr Miliband, a former Labour leadership candidate, told BBC Radio 4 Today: "Labour has got to be much, much stronger. The truth is ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Theresa May returned from the Salzburg EU Council in angry bird mode. In a fiery statement at 10 Downing Street she accused our 27 EU partners of a lack of respect and demanded that they come up with a workable alternative to her rejected Chequers Plan for Brexit. She was obviously riled by EU Council [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

Theresa May's bizarre speech leaves the United Kingdom on the verge of a no-deal Brexit AAAAAAAAAAAARGH Definite Tweet of the Day from yesterday miss_s_b | Theresa May's speech just now was a big fat blob of nothing I posted Theresa May's speech just now was a big fat blob of nothing to my dreamwidth blog 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

So, under cover of an incendiary and irresponsible statement by the Prime Minister on Brexit, the Home Office slips out a statement announcing that it is betraying the Windrush Generation by denying some of them the citizenship that it rightfully theirs. From the Independent: In a statement issued late on Friday afternoon, the Home Secretary said a number of Caribbean nationals who came to Britain between 1948 and 1971 would not qualify for citizenship because they failed to meet the "necessary good character requirement" due to committing criminal offences. Windrush citizens are supposed to be afforded the same rights as ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

So, I'm four months or so into my term as Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council. No-one has died yet, the Council is still at full strength, and our Clerk is still talking to me. So far, so good. In those four months, we've seen the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit, the erection of a new noticeboard and the installation of a defibrillator. I take no particular credit for any of this, as what we do is entirely a team effort, with decisions made by consensus, trust placed in our Clerk, and a willingness amongst councillors to ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Bureaucracy
Sat 22nd
11:00

My tweets

Fri, 12:22: A different view from @davidallengreen: "One day a historian, looking at contemporary documents, will wonder why an... https://t.co/t3nad2SRVe Fri, 12:56: RT @davidallengreen: From May 2017, a tale of how May as Home Secretary raised expectations with backbenchers and the tabloids, and then ga... Fri, 12:57: Revealing comment from #Brexit expert at @oxfordanalytica #GlobalHorizons conference: Some in UK govt expect Irish... https://t.co/LC2WtLMZBV Fri, 13:28: On another subject entirely, As mentioned last week, I'm planning to go to the Asterix exhibition at the Jewish Mus... https://t.co/gf1zMSU2me Fri, 16:05: RT @davidallengreen: If we are surprised by anything at Salzburg you have ...

The guilty pleasure of my political life is the years I spent involved in student politics. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I attended no fewer than 10 conferences of the National Union of Students – as a result I accidentally became a connoisseur of the various factions of theLabour party. Even as a Liberal, if one spends much time in student politics you are bound to make friends with folks in Labour. To me, Labour is like a fascinating enemy country. We are at conflict with them, but I am somehow fond of their natives and traditions. ...

Posted by Tim Farron MP on Liberal Democrat Voice

Sometimes you really need to watch a political advert all the way to the end, as with this one from Democrat Congressional candidate in Arizona, David Brill.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Last night saw my final dose of IV antibiotics administered. The blood cultures they took from me a few days ago grew nothing nasty and my temperature has been nicely in the normal range ever since. I'm still being given drips to protect my stomach, but these are short in duration. I'm slowly reaching for normality again. My Hickman line ... The post Transplant +10: Reaching for normality appeared first on ten pence piece.

Posted by tim on ten pence piece

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SATURDAY 22 AND SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2018 Blackness Road (at Seymour Street junction) - temporary traffic controls for gas repair works. Forthcoming Roadworks Riverside Drive (at Barnetts) - temporary traffic lights from Monday 1 October for 3 weeks for gas main installation. Riverside Approach closed southbound for final 2 weeks.

eUKhost

Hightown Station will have no trains stopping there during The Giants event in Liverpool. This is indeed an odd story which is carried on the Liverpool Echo's web site – see link below When it was first pointed out to me it read like an April 1st leg pull but there's no joke about it, stations such as Hightown, Aughton Park and indeed many others will be closed when The Giants event is being staged in Liverpool in early October. Unsurprisingly rail passengers who usually get a train from one of the closed stations are less than impressed and ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Responding to reports that the Government has begun refusing applications for UK citizenship from some of those applying in the wake of the Windrush scandal, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:"The Windrush scandal was caused by Home Office hostility and inflexibility. "People who'd been living here perfectly legally for decades were detained and even deported because they couldn't produce documentation going back 45 years. If people are now being refused citizenship for the same reasons, that would be totally unacceptable. "But we're being asked to trust that same Home Office to get it right. And those who are ...

Posted by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats