I first walked the canal through Nottingham has a student almost 40 years ago. I remember it as a landscape of abandoned warehouses and derelict railway land. This September I found it altered almost out of recognition. Almost.
"Hammond presented a narrative that explained who the Tories were, what they had done and where they were going that was fathomable and even a little compelling to the objective viewer." Nick Tyrone finds Philip Hammond a more impressive politician than his leader. Silkie Carlo explains why we should be worried about the mass surveillance of shoppers. "As the years went by the idea of a confident working class taking its destiny into its own hands - either collectively or through some individual expression of rebellion such as Arthur's - gradually went out of fashion." James Bloodworth debates the meaning ...
Lib Dems fight expansion of Snoopers Charter Liberal Democrat peer Brian Paddick will today lead the opposition to new government regulations that he describes as "yet another erosion of people's civil liberties". Lord Paddick has tabled a motion to regret the Data Retention and Acquisition Regulations 2018 after Ministers failed to answer privacy concerns he raised in a Grand Committee debate last week. The regulations would amend the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, also known as the "Snoopers' Charter", to give police the power to access communications data when investigating any crime "which involves, as an integral part of it, the ...
Responding to reports that the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has admitted to members of the Airport Operators Association that no talks on route access have been undertaken in preparation for Brexit, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson Baroness Randerson said:"Grayling's complacency is breathtaking and is not shared by the aviation industry, who are at the sharp end of the uncertainty Brexit has created."Only last week the NAO reported on the lack of preparation at our ports and airports and the huge economic and security impact that is likely to have. Instead, the Tory Government is happy to muddle on leaving passengers with ...
This post first appeared yesterday on the Radix blog... Why would a relatively sane man like me (perhaps that is overstating the case) dare to risk tiptoeing back into questions of gender politics that got him so roughed up online last time? A good question. Because this time I particularly have something to say about men, in relation to women of course. Because despite everything, all the violence against them and the unequal pay gap and much more besides, women have one great advantage over men. Not in all times but now, in the western world. They have a clear ...
Responding to the Chancellor's Budget today, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said: "Given the sharp rise of serious violence on our streets and the worsening crisis in our prisons, it's almost unbelievable that the Chancellor's Budget contained not a single penny to tackle these problems. Merely promising to 'review police spending power' isn't nearly good enough. "Liberal Democrats demand better. We are calling for an extra £300 million a year to boost community policing and urgent investment to recruit more prison officers."
Responding to the Chancellor's Budget, Liberal Democrat Leader and former Business Secretary Vince Cable said:"This was all very modest stuff, with more in it for potholes than schools and the police. A standstill non-event. "With growth remaining stubbornly low and Brexit weighing down our economy, it is clear the big problems are still to be tackled. It was a sticking plaster Budget, when major surgery lies ahead."If we are to see an end to austerity, then we need a proper injection of cash - at least £19bn according to the IFS - in our public services. The Chancellor said he ...
Mark Oaten, who was Liberal Democrat for Winchester between 1997 and 2010, has left the party. We know this from a report in the Hampshire Chronicle and because he has tweeted the letter he received from Great George Street confirming his resignation. Oaten, who now works as the chief executive of the trade body for the fur industry, even stood for the leadership of the party in 2006. He had to abandon the contest once the press took an interest in his private life. He tells the Chronicle "I have resigned from the party so I can take time to ...
Responding to Chancellor Hammond's Budget, former Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said: "This budget is grossly disappointing for those, like me, who care about fighting climate change and protecting the environment. The Chancellor has simply thrown in the towel."The Tories have frozen fuel duty, slashed electric car subsides, committed £30bn to new road building and promise to continue at the same level subsidies to the oil and gas industry, while offering a measly £60 million to planting new trees, as if that will negate the damage they're doing."Liberal Democrats demand better. We would ...
Responding to the Chancellor's announcement today that the £2 maximum stake for Fixed-Odds-Betting-Terminals will not be implemented until October 2019, former Liberal Democrat Communities Minister Lord Foster said:"We know with absolute certainty that this delay will see yet more lives ruined by these highly addictive machines. "Communities up and down the country see the damage that can be done when hundreds of pounds can be lost in minutes, if not seconds, day after day. "Families will be despairing tonight that a problem gambler that they care about faces another full year of living captive to these machines until the Government ...
Tue 30th
19:34
Chancellor's Universal Credit spending barely recovers half the cuts of his predecessor
Responding to the Chancellor's Universal Credit plans from the Budget, Liberal Democrat DWP spokesperson Stephen Lloyd said:"After stubbornly resisting for far too long, the Government has finally responded to pressure from the Liberal Democrats and put back some of the money into the Universal Credit Work Allowance, which they stupidly cut the moment we were no longer around to stop them. "However, the £1.7 billion per year the Chancellor committed to still does not make up for the £3 billion pa his predecessor George Osborne slashed from the benefit in 2015. We also heard nothing on ending the gratuitous benefits ...
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey has warned Brexit "risks a repeat of the Windrush scandal for EU citizens" following the appearance of Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes before the Home Affairs Select Committee this afternoon. Under questioning, the Immigration Minister was unable to answer how employers would be able to tell the difference between EU citizens who have been living in the UK for five years or more - and are therefore entitled to settled status - and those who haven't, and would therefore be subject to new controls. The Home Office is currently trialling the scheme for applying ...
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Housing, today met the Ministry of Justice to call for the guidelines on prostitution to be updated to include digital platforms to help tackle 'sex for rent' crimes.Following the meeting, Wera Hobhouse said: "The housing crisis is leaving many vulnerable individuals unable to afford their rent and at risk of exploitation. 'Sex for rent' crimes are not only vile, but completely illegal and the Government must do more to ensure those committing this crime are being brought to justice. "The current Crown Prosecution Service guidelines for prostitution cover advertising in telephone boxes and newspapers, ...
Anti-Bullying Week will take place this year between the 12th and 16th November. This year's key theme is 'Choose Respect'. The theme has been chosen to highlight the fact that bullying is a behaviour choice and that a positive example can be set by choosing to respect each other. There are two awareness days taking place, starting 'Odd Socks Day' on the 12th and ending with 'Stop Speak Support' cyberbullying day on the 15th. The 'Stop Speak Support' day will be Anti-Bullying week's first Cyberbullying focused day. Cyberbullying continues to be a significant issue for young people today and the ...
Second paragraph of third chapter of Larque on the Wing:Emergency bells were ringing in Larque's bones. She had to find Sky.I confess I had never heard of Nancy Springer before reading this novel, which shared the 1995 James Tiptree Jr Award with "The Matter of Seggri". It turns out that she is much better known for her YA novels about Sherlock Holmes' smarter younger sister. I found Larque on the Wing a complete delight. The viewpoint character, Larque Harootunian, undergoes a mid-life crisis similar to that in Doris Lessing's The Summer Before the Dark, with the important difference that she ...
One of yesterday's budget announcements was the lowering of the minimum premium bond purchase from £100 to £25 by March 2019. Inevitably the usual conspiracy theorists and/or people who don't understand probability came out to play on various forums. Some facts: Every bond in every draw has an equal chance of winning a prize. Currently, [...] The post Premium bond mythbusting appeared first on ten pence piece.
[IMG: Gary Fuller] Poverty is about how a society allocates what resources it has. We are born into a society to which we contribute as we can, with the expectation that what we do will benefit said society. In return we expect the society we are a member of to support us and our families when we need it. This is a simple contract. Where it gets complicated is when there are individuals or groups within a society whose contribution is rewarded in such a way that there are insufficient resources to support those in need. This is exacerbated when ...
[IMG: Page 1 of letter to Folkestone & Hythe residents about Damian Collins] Arron Banks, it seems, is upset. Received this morning, an unaddressed (but presumably paid for) delivery - a letter that seems to be intended to go to every door in Folkestone and Hythe. In it, Mr Banks - a businessman who made substantial contributions to the Leave campaign and was instrumental in the campaign itself - rails against Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins, as "a disgrace" who is using his position to "launch a pathetic witch-hunt against Brexit". I hold no brief for Damian Collins. He's ...
Local authorities will be compensated for the loss of income that ensues from these giveaways. Hopefully in cash, rather than jelly babies - though the Treasury's notes are not explicit on this point. Continue reading →
Mrs May had already announced "the end of austerity" at the Tory Conference in September/October. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, in his budget speech yesterday, was not quite so sure: "Austerity is coming to an end." In other words we're not there yet. Yet both of them imply that we, the British people, have endured eight years of "hard work" and are now to be rewarded as a result of its success. What nonsense. I've heard only snatches of Jeremy Corbyn's response in the Commons and have not yet found a written report, but in essence he said: ...
The Welsh Government has just announced a consultation on a Strategy to address loneliness in Wales. We know that 17% of the population in Wales are lonely, with 54% saying they have experienced loneliness at some time in their life. Research shows that loneliness is harmful to our health, and increases the likelihood of mortality by 26%. Loneliness affects many parts of the population; single parents, those suffering from depression and anxiety, the homeless, young people and the elderly. Studies have found that loneliness peaks in the experiences of young people and then again in older people. For young people, ...
Mon, 12:56: The Brexit trap: is there any way out? https://t.co/IMioa2AuSO @GeorgeEaton at @NewStatesman thinks not. Mon, 16:05: Former #DoctorWho producer Derrick Sherwin has died. This is my review of his autobiography, Who's Next? https://t.co/IsjheZ8oY6 Mon, 18:04: Monday reading https://t.co/buZxmVDJgm Tue, 09:19: RT @JSLefebvre: Si jamais vous lisez une analyse dans la presse britannique, qui vous explique que l'affaiblissement de Merkel va être une... Tue, 10:45: EU countries stop clock on Commission's time change plan https://t.co/Fjqe1W9WSU The Austrian minister "wants the C... https://t.co/N9dbCSACqE
Although these things are somewhat subjective, yesterday's budget could probably be considered a hit in pure political terms. Yes, some pundits, particularly on the left, have critiqued elements of it, such as the tax giveaways to the middle-classes. Yet there is no sense of danger here, of something on the level of the 2012 "omnishambles" moment – and given the state of the government, that's no mean feat. Most of this can be laid at the feet of Philip Hammond. His delivery yesterday was a throwback in many ways; back to a time when front line politicians weren't terrible at ...
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Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday afternoon announced a significant but temporary reduction in business rates for smaller retail businesses. This is good news for market towns like Ludlow. For the next two years, the Chancellor's statement will reduce crippling business rate bills by around £500,000 over the next two years in Ludlow. We are a town with more than 70 independent retailers. That money will help local businesses survive. It will be pumped back into Ludlow's economy. The news of a tax on digital retailers is also good news. Our high streets are not in competition with the internet giants but ...
One of the delights of editing this site is that I can be having a really crap day and then all of a sudden a wee gem lands in my inbox. And so it was last night, when composer Amy Collins sent me this brilliant animated video of her song, Stay with EU. Her words have been brought to life by the BAFTA nominated animators Brothers McLeod. I love it. I hope you enjoy it as much. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
The most significant announcement by the Chancellor in yesterday's budget had nothing to do with taxation, public expenditure or even the state of the economy. It was the single line about Brexit in which he signalled that austerity will continue for five more years if Britain crashes out of the EU with no deal. It was a clear warning to MPs threatening to vote down Theresa May's Brexit plans but it also underlined the significance of the ongoing talks and the threats emanating from the DUP, which may well dismantle the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Of course ...
We all used to believe that liberal democratic principles would inevitably spread to consume the whole world. Peace, stability and prosperity would, as a consequence, reign supreme. How wrong we were. The events surrounding the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi have shocked the world – or at least some of it. In its wake, many [...] The post Fish out of water: how we might save liberal democracy appeared first on Radix.
Many residents have contacted me recently about on-going flooding of Perth Road opposite the junction with Riverside Place. I contacted both Scottish Water and the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership about this recurring issue and both promptly responded. The council's Roads Maintenance Partnership has advised as follows : "An investigation is to be carried out in the forthcoming weeks. However the gully machine has been attending when required following heavy rain. "It will be checked again this week."
