It's not the wisest thing in the world to take down someone who agrees with you and is instinctively going to do what you want. Shadow Labour Justice Spokesperson Richard Burgon was excessively grumpy with Jo Swinson this evening. Having gone on about how the big enemy was the Conservatives, he chose to then go on the attack about the Coalition. You'd never think that Labour had been propping up the Conservatives and enabling their Brexit shambles. Any half competent main opposition party would have made sure that Theresa May was coming back from Buckingham Palace in a taxi within ...
Our people have been out and about today, talking about the run-up to the vote and its aftermath. No deal should no longer be an option. Go back to the people https://t.co/ANbKGNC8BH — Vince Cable (@vincecable) January 15, 2019 You can soak up a wee bit of the atmosphere from this view of Christine Jardine's: Earlier, she had told Sky News why she was fighting for a People's Vote: * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
If you are at a loose end Saturday lunchtime, come to The Crown in Tur Langton, near Market Harborough, at 12.30 and meet Charles I. After a bracer, I shall be taking him back to the well he last visited in 1645 as he fled his defeat at Naseby. Dan Martin in the Leicester Mercury explains: Expect a curious sight on Saturday - King Charles I in all his finery stumbling through a Leicestershire field to find a little known landmark. Dance DJ and musician Daniel Williams is heading to Tur Langton in the guise of the Stuart monarch, who ...
The Prime Minister's proposed Brexit deal suffered a bruising defeat this evening. (Photo: BBC) Well, that wasn't remotely close. Before Christmas I actually thought the Prime Minister might actually get her deal through Parliament. And while in recent days it was obvious Theresa May would fail, I didn't see such a crushing defeat on the horizon. The result: Ayes 202, Noes 432. That is massive. Absolutely stunning - the worst defeat for sitting UK Prime Minister. And the scale of this defeat will inevitably lead to questions being asked about both the Prime Minister and the substantive issue in question ...
Responding to the crushing 230 vote defeat for the Theresa May's Brexit deal in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said...
Well, that was quite something. I had thought the estimates of a 200+ majority against were expectation management, so a defeat of less than 100 looked great. But, no. The vote was lost by 230 votes. The biggest defeat in living memory. A Government with a competent main opposition party would be in serious trouble. But what was Theresa May's instinctive reaction? She started talking about how this put EU citizens at risk. I mean, really. She turned them back into bargaining chips. I, for one, am not having that. Jeremy Corbyn has finally won a motion of no confidence ...
Current From Here To Eternity, by James Jones Blue Box Boy, by Matthew Waterhouse Last books finished The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010 Edition, ed. Rich Horton The Time Lord Letters, by Justin Richards Heartspell, by Blaine Anderson α1 "The Queen of Air and Darkness", by Poul Anderson β1 Lambik by Marc Legendre Tales from Moominvalley. by Tove Jansson Next books Avalanche Soldier, by Susan Matthews The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga α1 and β1 to be revealed later.
Today, 15th January 2019. the UK parliament finally gets its chance to have its "meaningful vote" on Brexit. Voting starts at 7pm tonight though I doubt we hall be much wiser than than we are now. The print media and airwaves have been full of opinions from people who pretend to know, and who doubtless receive substation fees. I doubt if most of them know much more than I do. One who does know more than most must surely be Mrs May, but her expressed views are clearly designed to persuade (secure her position?) rather than enlighten She pretends that ...
With the crunch Brexit vote coming up in Parliament and talk of votes of no confidence, here are the latest general election voting intention figures from each of the main pollsters currently polling in the UK. Polling company Con Lab LibDem Ukip Green Con lead Fieldwork Method BMG 36% 36% 12% 6% 5% 0% 8-11/1 Online ComRes 37% 39% 9% 6% 3% -2% 30-2/12 Online Delta Poll 43% 40% 6% 5% 2% 3% 24-26/10 Online Ipsos-MORI 38% 38% 9% 4% 5% 0% 30-5/12 Phone Kantar TNS 38% 38% 9% 5% 5% 0% 5-6/12 Online Opinium 39% 39% 6% 6% 4% ...
Joan Walmsley tackled the "will of the people" argument in her speech. The noble Lord, Lord Hennessy, asked us to be optimistic. I would not be a Liberal Democrat if I were not. I have great respect for the House of Commons and am optimistic that next week honourable Members will do the right thing. They will vote against making their constituents poorer, damaging the future of their young people and removing this country's influence in Europe. They will vote against Mrs May's deal and reject the disaster of leaving the EU without a deal. Let us be clear, to ...
Tue 15th
13:12
A sideways look at a Liberal Democrat institution: how to run a Lib Dem raffle, properly
Chances are, if you've been to a Liberal Democrat event, you've bought a raffle ticket or two. Now don't get me wrong. I like raffles. But Lib Dems are often rather poor at running them well.
Ming Campbell's take on the Brexit deal was that it didn't deliver what was promised and put the UK in a much more precarious international position. My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, not least because he drew attention to the absence to any reference either to Wales or Scotland in the documents with which we are concerned. I have wondered to what purpose I would be here, and I suspect my purpose now is served by the opportunity to support the amendment put down by the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Basildon. Nothing ...
The English style of burlesque - musical pastiche and parody, with risqué songs and bawdy humour - was introduced to America in the 1860's, with the arrival of Lydia Thomson and 'The British Blondes', who were accused of violating 'gender norms with their topsy-turvy bold speech and male clothing that revealed their female contours.'[1] This caused a panic, with burlesque being blamed for 'diseasing and polluting the nation's morality.'[2] But, alongside social and political changes allowing women increased public participation, traditional binary roles were already being disputed, and openly experimenting with gender performativity allowed performers to expose illusions of power ...
The distinctive performance genre of Commedia dell'Arte - notable for use of mask, stock characters, and improvisation - is also considered a contributor to modern understandings of burlesque. (It is notable that Commedia troupes included female players at a time when women were banned from most public stages, potentially adding an unsettling sense of destabilising social constructs.) Image Source: carnevale.venizia.it The genre was artist led (dell'Arte), and thus placed in opposition to the prevailing literary dominance of elite theatre. Dwight Conquergood calls this the 'class-based arrogance of scriptocenterism'[1], which places scripted theatre in a hierarchy above that of 'low' entertainment. ...
The Econocracy is a book written by three recent British economics graduates. It had quite a big initial impact, especially about the teaching of economics in universities. But although it rated a chapter in John McDonell's recent book Economics for the Many, it looks as if not much is actually changing. Does that matter? The ... Continue reading The Econocracy – is something rotten with the state of economics?
Theresa May's Brexit deal is dead in the water. This has been true for a while, but with no obvious mandate for the Withdrawal Agreement, however it is tweaked, the political future for the Prime Minister looks bleak. Her steel and resilience have been tested many times before and have so far survived, but the seemingly hopeless situation before her now may be the final time that Mrs May bleats out her rhetorical tangents. With a government in disarray and a poignantly undecided Opposition, the Lib Dems need to find a logical and realistic Parliamentary solution to break the impasse. ...
Burlesque, as female-oriented entertainment, is celebrated, and criticised, by opposing arguments. Allegations that it creates the 'concept of empowerment and self-efficacy and how it relates to a woman's body'[1] contend with arguments that dancers 'replicate the patriarchal images of women, femininity, and female sexuality instead of challenging them'.[2]Proceeding from Judith Butler's assertion that gender is 'a constructed identity, a performative accomplishment',[3] Burlesque is an opportunity to investigate how cultural behaviours and representations of female gender alignment are interpreted, and troubled, theatrically through performance, a genre characterised by a 'delicious parade of hyperbole'[4] and playful, sometimes subversive depictions of femininity.[5] Image ...
[IMG: Of all the ridiculous instances of nepotism] A modern day instance of "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" ("Let them eat cake") is being played out in the unhallowed halls of Trump's White House. While public sector workers are facing their third week without... The post Of all the ridiculous instances of nepotism appeared first on FeministMama.
Mon, 12:07: RT @JunckerEU: My reply to @theresa_may, together with @eucopresident, providing clarifications to the #Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Pol... Mon, 12:56: This really isn't difficult. Smith wrote one novelisation which wasn't as good as the original story (more recent a... https://t.co/sVOCV6BSse Mon, 16:05: Ways the world improved in 2018, in charts https://t.co/kSFSI2K6D7 Still plenty to be done, of course, but be very... https://t.co/I8Eg3RYDly Mon, 16:21: RT @SimonFraser00: One of many sad things about this destructive, humiliating #Brexit fiasco is that people with knowledge & experience cle... Mon, 16:27: Of course, Tories have a history of breaking pairing agreements with ...
David Steel did not mince his words in his contribution to the Brexit deal debate in the Lords. He talked about the need for Government to do something to help those who were struggling. My Lords, exactly three weeks ago today as I was leaving the House to go home for the Christmas Recess I passed three people sleeping in our entrance to the Underground station. It was reported next day that one of these had died in the night—on our own doorstep! That typified for me the paralysis of the Government over these last two years, as they have ...
It was almost midnight when Christine Jardine finally got to her feet to make her speech. She talked about how her constituents are even firmer in their view that we should remain in the EU and, crucially, she highlighted how the deal fails Leave as well as Remain voters. She called on MPs to rise to the enormity of the occasion and do what's best for the country. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Bim Afolami). I rise to oppose the Government's motion and to give largely the speech that I was due ...
The next Community Engagement Forum will be held on 31st January at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall from 7pm to 9pm. This is your chance to talk to local councillors, the police and other services. You can raise issues, get them looked into, and get answers about local problems. The meeting will include a presentation by the Alzheimer's Society.
Last year, Roger was on the front page of the Daily Mail for upsetting the Brexiteers. Now, the octogenarian Liberal Democrat had two of the most prominent Tory Brexiteers in the Lords intervene on him in his speech. My Lords, those who argue for this deal say that the people have voted and that we must honour that. The people voted two and a half years ago, when they were a different constituency. Many of them have now departed and millions more are now eligible to vote. Therefore, we are disregarding the views and the future of many of these ...
In England, we have come to rely upon a comfortable time-lag of fifty years between the perception that something ought to be done and a serious attempt to do it. H. G. Wells Those of us without a vested interest in growth, now see increasing symptoms of no growth, especially in prosperity. The goings on [...] The post Building homes in a no-growth economy appeared first on Radix.
Every time I watch Question Time I want to throw something at the television screen. Yesterday, it was possible to see similar levels of frustration from the Welsh commentariat, as they reacted to claims by Theresa May in a draft speech, that both sides had accepted the result of the Welsh assembly referendum in 1997, and by implication should also accept the result of the Brexit referendum. The Guardian tells us that in the original version of the speech, given yesterday at a factory in Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister was due to say the result of the narrowly-won 1997 referendum ...
It's horrifying to think that an MP has been forced to delay her caesarean section in order to vote on the Brexit deal tomorrow. Hampstead and Kilburn's Tulip Siddiq told The Standard If my son enters the world even one day later than the doctors advised, but it's a world with a better chance of a strong relationship between Britain and Europe, then that's worth fighting for." The Royal Free has been very clear on their legal and health duties. This is a high risk pregnancy and I am doing this against doctor's advice. Any idea that a pairing arrangement ...
Tue 15th
06:15
Shropshire Council: A "perfect squeeze" leaves the council scrambling for £19 million cuts
Shropshire Council is suffering a perfect squeeze. Costs are soaring. Government cuts are hurting. And the council is not raising enough money. The council is short of money because the government has cut grants to local authorities, taking £44m from Shropshire alone. Shropshire Council leaders refused to increase council tax for six years. That political dogma has left the county short of £15m a year, money we desperately need. As income fell, the cost of providing adult social care in Shropshire shot up by 50%. That's an extra £46m the council is struggling to find. The result is significant planned ...
