When back in 2015 former Cambridge MP David Howarth and I wrote our pamphlet setting out a core votes strategy for the party, including a call for the creation of a registered supporter scheme, we were by no means the first to talk of such an idea. Long-time readers of Liberator will recognise echoes of the late Simon Titley's exhortations in what David and I argued. Likewise, the idea of local parties building up a network of helpers outside the ranks of official membership goes back decades. Indeed, when back in Charles Kennedy's time I was closely involved in updating ...
The saga of Tur Langton village hall and Merton College, Oxford, was amicably settled, but on Saturday the hall looked as though it was out of use, Perhaps it is showing its age? A look at the Victoria County History for Leicestershire shows the hall has an unexpected history: The village hall, near the west end of the street, is a wooden army hut brought from Cannock Chase, erected by public subscription after the First World War.Still, that history has nothing on Mowsley village hall.
A.E. Housman is not the only poet honoured with a London Review of Books podcast. Among the others is one on another of my favourite poets, W.H. Auden. It takes a little while to get going, but it is very good when it does. Like me, Auden had a fondness for ruined lead mines. The photograph above shows the Tankerville Mine in Shropshire, but Auden's favourites were those of the Northern Pennines.
Andy Boddington, the Liberal Democrat councillor for the Ludlow North ward of Shropshire Council, has submitted written evidence to the House of Commons transport select committee's inquiry into the health of the bus market. His evidence addresses the committee's interest in "how bus services are provided to isolated rural and urban communities and their dependence on services." It argues that buses are "a social service that promotes wellbeing and should be funded on this basis, not just as a means of getting people from A to B". Andy writes: Clun with population approaching 700 people has only two bus services ...
Second paragraph (and first paragraph of embedded quote) of third chapter: This is what the cover page of Seychelles Political Castaways stated when it was published in 1976, the year of our independence: Seychelles: ninety-two islands and atolls lying 1000 miles east of the Kenya coast in the Indian Ocean, and often described as the world's most beautiful archipelago. Each of the coral banks or islands has a beauty of its own that is captured rarely by camera and almost never by pen. Straight palms, white sands, vari-coloured seas and clear lagoons with their patchwork of coral form a backcloth ...
Back to something resembling normal today... Cable: UC's practical problems are being ignored, creating real hardship In a pre-Budget speech to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this morning, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable will call for a series of reforms to Universal Credit. These include the reversal of cuts to the work allowance, worth around £3bn a year, and ending the benefits freeze a year early. Vince Cable is expected to say: The problems stem from conflicting objectives: providing minimum family income; providing incentives to work; simplification; and saving money. Simplification, saving money and work incentives have taken precedence over the ...
As I understand it there are only two meetings scheduled for November Thursday 15th November - Environment Committee Tuesday 27th November - Community Development Both are at Arms Evertyne House, starting at 6:30. As ever it is advisable to check with BTC before attending the meetings. At the time of writing there are no meetings scheduled for December
Second paragraph of third chapter:Apart from the slight pain in my hands I have rarely felt so well and tranquil and at ease in my body as I did that morning when I first began to speculate about where I was. It was not by any means my first day of consciousness. I knew that I had been in that bright and airy room, with its scent of flowers mingling with the fainter odour of drugs and disinfectant and floor-polish, for quite a number of days. The white painted door and window-frame, the pretty curtain and the white wood furniture ...
Wed 24th
19:09
My evidence to the House of Commons transport select committee said rural buses are a social service...
The House of Commons transport select committee is investigating the state of the nation's buses. The health of the bus market inquiry is looking at a number of technical issues and matters like congestion - which is barely relevant in Shropshire. But one of the themes of the inquiry caught my eye: The committee is particularly interested to receive evidence on... the provision of services to isolated communities in rural and urban areas, and the reliance of particular communities and groups of people on bus services. This is a theme dear to my heart. I have long argued that buses ...
I am what you might call an armchair Lib Dem. Rather like most football fans in this country. So far, I have not attended a local match let alone a national one. Although this year I did put the Brighton Conference in my diary, house selling, family and friends, the Boat Show and my other writing took precedence. On a positive note, my left hand has signed many cheques, and my right hand has pressed the carriage return key on many Lib Dem pages and surveys. It also sent an email to my local Chair apologising for not being able ...
Wed 24th
15:07
You don't run a national economy as if it was a business - understanding the productivity "crisis"
Economists, especially the macro sort, look down on ordinary members of the public when they suggest that a nation's finances operate in the same way as a household's. They have a grand name for it: "the fallacy of composition". And yet most of them suffer from very similar fallacious thinking. They imagine that running the ... Continue reading You don't run a national economy as if it was a business – understanding the productivity "crisis"
There are over 8,000 wards to fight in the 2019 local elections and we have the potential to make a lot of gains. To help us make Thursday 2 May 2019 a resounding success we have set up a campaign – 2019: The ALDC year of MORE. We have four aims: More campaigners More candidates More councillors More councils To wake up on Friday 3 May to a great set of results, as a Party, we need to be actively campaigning now. We have a section on our website where we've been listing things that campaigners should be doing throughout ...
Austerity wasn't because of economic necessity but a political choice. The economic argument was that if you save your money/reduce your spend, you can clear your debt otherwise we were told we would end up like Greece. This view was accepted by Osborne resulting in this long period of austerity. It should be noted that in 2012 a report by IMF said that austerity had been a mistake. A better approach would have been to reflate the economy which would have left it in a better place to pay off the deficit. The report also said that the UK couldn't ...
There's only one land border for the United Kingdom to consider in its negotiations with the European Union, right? And, admittedly, it's a serious problem, courtesy of the Good Friday Agreement. Ah, but what about Gibraltar? Yes, it's a very short border, with only one crossing point, but for the Gibraltarians, dependent on 10,000 Spanish workers to fulfil a whole range of economic activity, anything that adds grit to the carefully oiled machine is of serious concern. There is, however, one more rather more complicated land border, that of the Sovereign Bases in Cyprus. Akrotiri is relatively simple, in that ...
Tue, 12:56: Guest post: "The aim of my Bill is to stop women facing the criminal courts for decisions about their own bodies... https://t.co/k5D5Kk2hEF Tue, 14:18: RT @greensideknits: Have just found out that @VivFaull is to be introduced as Bishop of Bristol in the House of Lords today! @nwbrux @nickb... Tue, 16:05: RT @gavi: In 1988, there were 350,000 annual cases of wild polio in 125 countries. In 2017, there were 22 in two. We are SO close, but we... Tue, 18:15: Doctor Who: The Women Who Lived - Tales for Future Time Lords, by Christel Dee and Simon Guerrier ...
Three cheers for the Women and Equalities Committee report on sexual harassment of women and girls. Action must follow at least along the lines suggested by them. In the 21st century, it cannot be right that as a society we fail to act to control behaviours that are unacceptable because of the fear, anxiety and restriction they place on others. Yobbish, bullying and intimidator behaviour, whether in the House of Commons or in the street should not be tolerated. The report proposes a range of measures that the Committee believes will begin to address the problem, with seven key recommendations: ...
Just to report back on some of the questions that the Liberal Democrat team of Councillors on Bury Council asked at the last Full meeting. Please let us know if you have any comments or ideas for questions in the future. Greater Manchester Spatial Framework There had been significant concern in local councils across Greater Manchester that there had been a 'downgrade' in the status of the final decision on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework when it happens (presumably next year). Originally the GMSF would have to be voted on and agreed by all 10 local councils, including Bury, but ...
M58 and the vast Maghull East Urban Extension Site The BBC has an interesting article on its web site about car dependency which is built-in to modern housing estates – see link below:- www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45956792 Having read the piece above, by Roger Harrabin, I immediately thought of the vast urban extension which is planned for the Maghull East site because surely it will become yet another one to add to the list of almost complete car dependency will it not? I've mainly opposed the building of Maghull's urban extension on environmental and food supply grounds because the land which it is ...
The Movember Foundation exists to help prevent early death for men across the world and Movember itself was created to highlight some of the most common illnesses that affect men's lives. Mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. You can help protect our fathers, brothers, sons and friends by helping to draw attention to these health problems. This Movember the foundation are asking you to grow, move or host your way to saving lives. Go to uk.movember.com to find out more about how you can get involved this Movember. Mental Health 3 out of 4 suicides in the UK are ...
A final reminder to residents that the deadline for the Holyrood Ward Community Grants is 31 October 2018. Councillors right across Bury have been given an amount of funds to spend in their local areas at their discretion. In Holyrood Ward, we're giving 100% of this money in grants to residents groups and projects. Grants would not normally be more than £500. We would specifically like to ideas for: ● Improving the local area – tackling rubbish or unsightly or problematic areas. ● Helping develop community groups or events in Holyrood Ward. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2018. ...
The BBC has the disturbing story on its web site – see link below www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-45439954 What on earth were the Police up to and why? Does it not come across as power and control being exercised by the Police because they can do that? What does this say about how our Police go about their work?
There are are many citizens of other EU countries who live in the United Kingdom who need information regarding their rights and their status in the UK over the coming years, particularly with the current level of uncertainty about Brexit. An event has been organised by "The3million", to provide information about EU citizens' rights in the UK during Brexit, about the 'settled status' scheme, and to offer a Q&A session. This is 8 November 2018, at Bury Town Hall, 6.00-8.30pm. The session will include information from a lawyer, offered for free by the European Commission Representation in the UK, through ...
Pottery courses are back at Bury Adult Learning Service. The 12-week courses begin on Monday 29 October, Wednesday 31 October and Friday 2 November. Courses are held at Elms Bank, Pinfold Lane in Whitefield (formerly Whitefield Library and Adult Learning Centre) from 10am to 12noon and 1pm to 3pm. For information on costs and how to enrol, phone 0161 253 5772 or visit www.bury.gov.uk/adultlearning
Whilst debate rages around a near £2 billion scheme that will drive a three lane concrete highway through five SSSIs and lead to a further increase in polluting traffic on the M4, it is worth noting that the proposed Newport by-pass is not the only way that the Welsh Government is breaching its own Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. As this Wales on-line article points out the Welsh Government is still subsidising an entirely unnecessary air route between Anglesey and Cardiff, largely for the benefit of politicians and civil servants. The website reveals that sustaining the air service between south ...
[IMG: Brexit March in London] Brexit March in London I remember before the Sunderland result on the night of 23rd June 2016 (Brexit referendum) Nigel Farage was being interviewed, and he thought Leavers had lost. During the interview, he stated that because the results were so close and even though his side had lost he would continue to call for another referendum to leave the EU. Ever since our entry into the EU in 1973 there have been increasing calls from Tories (in the main) to leave the EU regardless of election manifesto's and commitments from party leaders to stay ...
The Steeple, NethergateSaturday 27th October 2018 - 7.30pm to 10pm Eric Lomax's book, 'The Railway Man', records his terrible experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war. The book inspired the film of the same name starring Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jeremy Irvine. Charmaine McMeekin is Eric's daughter and she will speak movingly about living with the painful legacy of her father's experiences and her own journey to find peace and reconciliation with him. Charmaine was a nurse and midwife, she is now a counsellor and psychotherapist in Edinburgh. Captain Clarkson Blackater was also captured by the Japanese in 1942 ...
Yesterday, the South Planning Committee voted by a large majority to reject plans to build five bungalows on the Sidney Road green at the bottom of Charlton Rise. The plans would have led to the loss of nearly half the green space and a second Norway Maple would have been felled. This is the second time plans for housing on this site have been rejected. We hope this is the end of the matter but the Connexus housing group could still appeal the refusal. Saved! At the beginning of August 2017, the South Planning Committee rejected plans for five bungalows ...
