Some good news today, as the Government has withdrawn the £65 charge for EU citizens to register for settled status. Admittedly though, they're still at the mercy of a Home Office not necessarily recognised for its compassion or competence, but it is at least a start... And with that, here are today's press releases... Home Office settled status scheme risks new Windrush scandal Swinson: Govt Chief Whip must resign if he is blocking proxy voting New laws only help domestic abuse victims if there's cash to enforce them Lib Dems: Will Corbyn agree with Gardiner and vote for a People's ...
Another lost London river. This time it's the Westbourne, which rose at Hampstead Heath and flowed to the Thames at Chelsea.
It's certainly a cold and frosty evening in the Creetings, but regardless, Parish Council got through, with me in the role of compère and continuity. We weren't at full strength due to illness and injury, but with the need to adopt a budget for 2019/20, and to set a precept, I was keen to get through the business briskly. A very prompt start as the clock reached the half-hour, and we were off, racing through apologies, declarations of interest and applications for dispensations (none of the latter two, I'm pleased to note), before we adopted the minutes - it's so ...
Liberal Democrat members in the West Worcestershire constituency have selected Beverley Nielsen as their new Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC).
More comedy genius from The Capitol Steps with a little homage to Vladimir Putin and his use of the internet.
Now that the dust has settled a bit on the great victory by LOGS in the High Court last week, I have expanded my questions. I have written to a senior officer at the council today asking for responses to ... Continue reading →
Lib Dem MPs tackled the Prime Minister this afternoon as she made her Groundhog May "nothing has changed" statement. Christine Jardine, Jo Swinson, Vince Cable, Jamie Stone and Tom Brake challenged her on various aspects of her intransigence. Christine Jardine asked the Prime Minister to consider asking to extend the Article 50 period. The PM isn't even willing to ask the EU the question – and we all know that if we don't ask, we definitely don't get. Vince mentioned the troops put on standby over the Brexit period and asked how they would be carrying out their duties. I, ...
This morning Finedon's Revd Richard Coles tweeted that it was Rasputin's 150th birthday. He added our Trivial Fact of the Day: Rasputin's murderer Prince Felix Yusupov had been a member of the Bullingdon Club. It's on Wikipedia so it must be true. Oh, those Russians.
Long long ago, when I was an undergraduate at Cambridge in the late 1980s, I vaguely knew one of the university academics. He was famous for his rudeness. One evening I happened to be out with an Asian friend, and bumped into this famously rude academic at a bar. He offered to buy a drink "for you and your monkey". My friend was appalled. So was I. But because this chap was in a position of privilege (not directly; my friend and I were at different colleges to him, studying different subjects to the one he taught) I felt unable ...
I have been beginning a debate with my friend and Radix colleague Joe Zammit-Lucia about whether or not a general election is the only way out of the government's current impasse. Quite reasonably, he suggests that the Conservative Party will never call one - to quote A A Milne, "for fear of finding something worse". What has given me an excuse to return to the debate are the rumours emerging from the government that, like me, they believe first, that Jeremy Corbyn's refusal to talk to Theresa May has guaranteed that he would lose any election. Second, that this is ...
Back in 1992 Francis Fukuyama wrote a highly influential but seriously flawed book; "The End of History and the Last Man". The general idea was that after the fall of the Berlin Wall the great ideological conflict between liberal democracy and communism had been settled. Liberal democracy had won, was spreading rapidly around the world and in due course every country would become a one. Good would triumph over evil. The end of history meant the end of ideological conflict. Democracy would continue but the disagreements would be relatively minor. Ironically this view was similar to the Marxist belief in ...
Over the last fifteen months, I have been watching the winners of the Oscar for Best Picture from the beginning - I have now got through the first 26 of them, from Wings (1927) to From Here To Eternity (1953). I'm not especially a film buff, so I think I have been learning a lot. I generally enjoy the films (and carefully note the exceptions. But one of the particularly negative things that has jumped out at me is how little non-white representation there is in the most successful Holywood films of 70-90 years ago. The first scene in an ...
So, according to the press, Local Conservative Associations have been put on alert for a potential General Election on 28th February. This would presumably be intended to solve the Brexit crisis - though for the life of me I cannot see quite how. I have no idea what the chances are of an election happening on that date, but it might be worthwhile for Liberal Democrats to think about how we might respond practically if it were to happen. Let us assume a) that the Tory position in such an election would be to back the May/EU Deal, and b) ...
In a post in August 2018 I argued that, although a People's Vote on Brexit would be highly desirable, an even better step would be for the party whips to be taken off and our MPs to be free to debate the merits and demerits of every conceivable option and then, perhaps having narrowed down the viable alternatives to two or three, make the final decision themselves. If they decided not to leave the EU after all on the grounds that no deal which involves leaving, on whatever terms, is anywhere near as good as the one we already have, ...
This week hit the half-way mark of the January Challenge! It's definitely keeping me occupied during the longest month of the year, and bringing a little creative spark to each day. There's a Facebook group for challengers' too, so whenever I open the app I'm greeted with a stream of pictures detailing how others have approached each prompt, and it's lovely to have such positivity and creativity filling up my feed. Day Fifteen How does music impact your mood and the atmosphere around you? Reflect When we listen to music our heartbeats can actually sync with the rhythm of the ...
[IMG: A cat's take on Brexit] The post A cat's take on Brexit appeared first on FeministMama.
The original remain campaign was negative and defensive. Nigel Farage, in his debate with Nick Clegg, has been described as "pushing on an open door". Is all we can offer negatives - there is no European Army - there is no federal state - Turkey is not going to become a member - when all of these things are partly untrue? Our opponents will say that "remain in the EU as we were before" would be to ignore the previous result; to betray the people's vote, to disillusion the country and cast doubt on democracy itself. The Remain side were ...
Sun, 12:29: RT @claytonhickman: At the request of @Purves_Peter I've added a splash of colour to this beautiful shot from 'War of God', the first episo... Sun, 12:32: RT @faisalislam: Dominic Raab on Marr suggests that in conversations as Brexit Sec with @simoncoveney "there was an opening" to get a backs... Sun, 12:37: RT @MrJohnDorney: Reading the ever disappointing Graham Linehan stuff today. Personally speaking, the one thing I know about being trans is... Sun, 13:25: Last day of the Arenberg exhibition. (@ M - Museum Leuven in Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant) https://t.co/xLgnCRL6zu Sun, 14:16: RT @anandMenon1: Oh my God. They're saying ...
Former senior legal counsel to the government Stephen Laws QC was on the Today programme this morning. He had a very interesting take on what's happening in parliament at the moment. He presented the notion that the Queen might be required to decide whether certain Bills that had passed the Commons should get Royal Assent or not depending on what the government asks of her on the matter. "It is a sacred duty of all UK politicians not to involve the Monarch in politics. They have a constitutional responsibility to resolve difficulties between themselves in accordance with the rules, and ...
Britain is one of the most overcentralized countries in the Western world. Our political and financial institutions are concentrated in London, perpetuating regional inequality and overburdening the capital's underfunded public services. London might be open but it's also full: strangers share bedrooms; commuters collapse on crowded trains, gentrification ravages local communities, savings accounts stay empty and the Westminster bubble remains as tight and cosy as ever. There seems to be no end in sight to London-centrism. Jobs flow to London without serious consideration being paid to whether or not they might be better off elsewhere. For example, in 2015 George ...
I suspect that when the House of Commons voted to insist on the Prime Minister presenting her Brexit Plan B to them today, they were expecting a realistic rethink of her approach based on cross-party working and an alliance of MPs, which by-passed some fairly reluctant and intransigent leaders. Instead, it appears that Theresa May has given up on bringing other parties on board, cannot see past her own red lines and has decided that she is capable of defying political gravity, with a proposal that would be more at home down Alice in Wonderland's rabbit hole than in the ...
I have been beginning a debate with my friend and Radix colleague Joe Zammit-Lucia about whether or not a general election is the only way out of the government's current impasse. Quite reasonably, he suggests that the Conservative Party will never call one – to quote A A Milne, "for fear of finding something worse". [...] The post It is time to remember 1918, and to hold a 'multi-coupon' election appeared first on Radix.
Liverpool Lime Street Station at night. The Liverpool Echo has the article on its website – see link below A Virgin Trains Pendolino train at Liverpool Lime Street Station. There's every danger with looking at crime stats and trying to interpret them that folk become more fearful of crime than they need to be. But the positive side of talking about railway stations where crime is an issue is to make travellers more aware of what is going on around them on busy stations. It's a question of balance as with most things of course. Southport Station.
Yesterday, Vince Cable wrote to Theresa May, offering her a way to solve her Brexit crisis... Prime Minister I appreciate the opportunity to have had a proper conversation with you about our views on the way forward on Brexit and my colleagues have had a useful discussion with yours about the practicalities of a referendum and its timing. We have followed up the discussions with a note to David Liddington setting out our views on how a People's Vote could be organised quickly. Our positions are, at first sight, far apart. But I reiterate the point that, as it currently ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 21 JANUARY 2019 Old Hawkhill (junction of Park Place) - temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for water connection works. Forthcoming Roadworks West Marketgait (northbound from Hawkhill to Ward Road) - closed on Sunday 27 January for crane lifting operations.
A new episode of "A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs", looking at Bill Haley's first big hit, "Crazy Man Crazy", and how it was connected to the Mafia, school assemblies, yodelling, and changes in radio regulations in ... Continue reading →
