Digital exclusion shows Universal Credit not fit for purpose Responding to reports that almost half a million people needed help to apply for the government's flagship Universal Credit benefit online, DWP Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: The Liberal Democrats raised the issue of digital exclusion with Conservative ministers months ago, but these concerns clearly haven't been taken on board. This underlines the need to look again at Universal Credit, which is clearly not creating the simpler and more accessible benefits system that was intended. It is failing the very people it was supposed to be designed to help. Now the Government ...
Our guide is John Rogers, who also showed us The Walbrook. The Tyburn Angling Society was included in an early Six of the Best on this blog.
When it comes to ABBA, I realised not long ago that the one I had always though was Benny was Bjorn. And vice versa. If this court case had gone ahead, Lord Bonkers would have got to know them better than I did. Saturday I still maintain that my great grandfather was fully justified in his decision to call out the militia to quell the Stilton Riots of 1819, but my sympathies are instinctively with those campaigning to widen the franchise. Why, I sat through Ken Loach's Peterloo the other day, even though I generally find his stuff Rather Hard ...
Nick Rushton, the Conservative leader of Leicestershire County Council, has a dream. He wants to abolish all the county's district councils and run everything from County Hall in Glenfield. But what do the people of the county think of the idea? Not much, judging by a survey conducted by Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, one of the authorities that Rushton wants to scrap. Out of the 477 responses received, 424 opposed Rushton's idea. Another plan, which would see two councils covering the whole country, was also decisively rejected. Oadby and Wigston, which has been run by the Liberal Democrats since ...
The Liberal Democrats are backing calls from consumer rights charity, Which?, for a regulator to protect access to cash following new analysis revealing a rapid decline in cash-points. New figures obtained by Which? show cash-points disappeared at a rate of 488 per month between June 2018 and December 2018 with over 250 free-to-use machines also closing monthly.Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron said: "This research will be concerning for people in smaller communities right across the country who depend on being able to access cash when they need it, without having to trek into the nearest town. "People ...
Responding to comments from Amber Rudd about the link between the rise of food bank usage and the roll out of Universal Credit, Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:"This belated admission of responsibility comes far too late for the tens of thousands of people forced to rely on food banks because of the Conservatives' stubborn refusal to fix Universal Credit. "In 21st century Britain no one should be dependent on charitable handouts for their survival, yet that is precisely the situation that Government policy has created. "While some tinkering around the edges has happened, the Conservative Government ...
Responding to reports that almost half a million people needed help to apply for the government's flagship Universal Credit benefit on-line, DWP Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:"The Liberal Democrats raised the issue of digital exclusion with Conservative ministers months ago, but these concerns clearly haven't been taken on board. This underlines the need to look again at Universal Credit, which is clearly not creating the simpler and more accessible benefits system that was intended. "It is failing the very people it was supposed to be designed to help. Now the Government has acknowledged that Universal Credit has created a greater need ...
Current Bitter Angels, by C. L. Anderson Expo 58, by Jonathan Coe η1 Tweaking The Tail, by John Leeson Last books finished The Fire Sermon (sample), by Francesca Haig ε1 ζ1 Script Doctor: the Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-1989, by Andrew Cartmel Next books The Life of Sir Denis Henry, by A.D. McDonnell A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
For Valentine's day, Lib Dem Immigrants is showcasing some canine (and feline) couples, with a serious message. Many people who've not had cause to find out the hard way don't realise that mixed-nationality couples can be forbidden from living together in the UK if they don't earn enough. We want to raise awareness of this, and we're proud that Lib Dem policy is to oppose it. If you're married to a British person, you should be allowed to live with them. No means-testing. For richer, for poorer. [IMG: 🐾] Lina is a Dachshund from Munich, Germany; Jamie is an English ...
[IMG: HG Wells] Founded by the world-renowned BBC Aeronautics Correspondent Reg Turnill and his wife, Margaret, to celebrate the life and works of HG Wells and encourage creative writing, especially among the young. The annual HG Wells Short Story Competition offers a £250 Senior and £1,000 Junior prize (* see footnote) and free publication of all shortlisted entries in a quality, professionally published paperback anthology (and Kindle version). Entry to the Junior competition is FREE and entry to the Senior competition is £10 (£5 for those with student ID). Previous years' publications can be seen at http://www.trencavel.co.uk/St%20Ursin.html The theme for ...
Liberal Democrat members in South Gloucestershire have selected their Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) for the Filton & Bradley Stoke and Kingswood constituencies.
Tue 12th
16:31
When silence isn't silence: what is really on the 18.5 minute gap in the Watergate tapes
One of the signature moments of the Watergate scandal was the discovery of an 18.5-minute gap on a White House recording of a meeting with Richard Nixon.
Last week I was approached by Chris Doidge from BBC Radio Derby. He asked me if I wanted to be interviewed about my no-deal Brexit stockpiling plans. I agreed and we talked last Thursday. Unsurprisingly,...Continue Reading The post Brexit stockpiling: I've got carrots and olives and I swear there's no guns appeared first on ten pence piece.
Tue 12th
14:15
LibLink: Vince Cable: Ministers must properly address the Special Educational Needs and Disability f...
Vince Cable is holding a Westminster Hall debate on funding for special educational needs and disability this afternoon. In an article for Politics Home, he outlines the impact on families when they don't have the support that they need... A single mum in a small flat with a child who needs constant attention while she tries to look after other children, and hold down a job to make ends meet; a couple who have sacrificed careers, holidays and a social life to care for a child with severe, complex needs, seeing the child growing up to an adulthood of continued ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats launched their campaign to retake the Assembly seat they lost in 2016 to UKIP, with the selection of Sheila Kingston-Jones as the party's lead candidate for the South Wales West region for the next National Assembly for Wales elections. Sheila was selected by Welsh Liberal Democrats living in Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Maesteg and Bridgend and will be carrying the hopes of the party locally in the Assembly elections in 2021. Swansea University Student Education Officer, Chloe Hutchinson was chosen as the second-placed candidate on the list, whilst Porthcawl-based businessman, Jonathan Pratt secured third place. Lead ...
Yesterday I went by local coach from Ruwi to Sur, a town I last visited about 20 years ago. It only took two-and-a-half hours this time, thanks to the four-lane highway that now cuts through the barren black hills before joining the coast. There has been quite a bit of new construction in Sur itself [...]
Well, it's not normal. This is not how things are supposed to happen here. And this is not how we are supposed to behave. It's not big, it's not funny and it's definitely not British. Continue reading →
There are some good articles floating around out there in the bubble about May's thinking on no deal – the press in Westminster are starting to focus at long last on the fact that the country could be irreparably changing in a few weeks' time. The logic goes that May always saw no deal as catastrophe to be avoided at all costs but that now, due to a combination of having boxed herself in with the latest move to try and re-open the deal and the fact that polling and focus groups suggest the Tories would come out okay from ...
Mon, 12:34: RT @EUTweetup: Next #EUTweetUp will take place on 20 February at the Ginette Bar on Place Lux. See you there from 18.30 and follow us (& th... Mon, 12:56: RT @csgmoore: Dear Conservatives, remember when you used to be the pragmatic party? And the party of business? Now people swap stockpiling... Mon, 16:05: RT @alexwilcock: Transphobic bigots who claim they support the interests of trans people but hate 'activists' are very familiar in LGBT his... Mon, 16:52: Baxendale's books are nice to have; but I like Guerrier's more, especially The Time Travellers. He gets my vote.... https://t.co/YY18gn2zVO Mon, ...
Fiona Onasanya, elected as a Labour MP but expelled and found guilty of lying over a speeding offence, has been given a three-month jail sentence.
FPC met on Wednesday 6 February. We started with a good discussion with Ed Davey, home affairs spokesperson, and Vicki Cardwell, chair of the working group developing new policy on crime and policing. Ed talked through the issues he is focussing on, including responses to the increase in violent crime and the Immigration Bill. It is clear that crime is an important and increasingly important issue to voters. We then discussed in more detail the consultation paper written by the crime and policing group (which will be available shortly here). This included a review of the current picture of crime, ...
It was a beautiful day for a bike ride yesterday so I set off from my Lydiate home through Maghull, Melling, Simmonswood, Aughton and Downholland back into Lydiate. It was a ride of just over 12 miles but quite a bit happened along the way. Firstly, a van overtook me whilst I was negotiating the roundabout by the new Maghull North Station and the Poppy Fields housing development. To say the van was too close is putting it mildly; less than half a meter from me I would guess when the recommended amount of space to leave around a cyclist ...
Just to let residents know about four recent planning applications in our area . Please just let us know if you have any queries. Single storey extension at rear 11 Lynton Drive, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2QS Ref. No: 63709 | Received: Mon 28 Jan 2019 | Validated: Tue 05 Feb 2019 | Status: Registered Two/single storey rear extension with raised decking 88 Heys Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1LA Ref. No: 63703 | Received: Thu 24 Jan 2019 | Validated: Mon 28 Jan 2019 | Status: Registered External veranda with glazed roof at rear with feature stairs/handrail and access ramp; 3 ...
How and what to fund in healthcare has been a recalcitrant issue. And there is no solution in sight. In Davos this year, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock raised the issue of the lack of research by pharmaceutical companies focused on developing new antibiotics for the ever-growing problem of multi-resistant hospital infections - an issue [...] The post It is now vital that we rethink how we fund drugs and drug research appeared first on Radix.
Bury New Road, right through Prestwich from Higher Broughton to the M60 junction, has been confirmed as the most congested road in the North West by in a world-wide study of congestion by INRIX. Bury New Road was the worst in the region, with the worst roads in Stockport and Salford not far behind. Prestwich was 10th in the entire country for congestion. The study estimates that each year a Bury New Road driver will lose 34 hours of their life to the additional congestion – that's nearly a week at work. Standing traffic, particularly large diesels like buses and ...
For those who claimed that Brexit would bring unparalleled prosperity and freedom, while all the claims of an economic turndown were just 'project fear', today's news that official figures have confirmed the UK suffered its worst year for GDP growth since 2012 must come as a bit of a shock. It may certainly be a surprise to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has stated that Britain can reap an economic dividend from Theresa May's Brexit deal. He may well still be poring over the highly critical report by the Treasury select committee which warns that his claims of a ...
Greater Manchester Mental Health, the Trust that runs Prestwich Hospital, has opened it's 2019 Council of Governor Elections. They say: "Governors have an important role in making GMMH publicly accountable for the services we provide. They are elected by GMMH Foundation Trust members and form the Council of Governors. They are responsible for representing the views and interests of members to the Trust's Board of Directors as well as having formal roles in appointing the Trust's chair and supporting the appointment of the chief executive. "We have vacancies in all of our public constituencies (Bolton, Salford, Trafford, City of Manchester ...
Young people across Bury have voted to elect new members of the Youth Parliament. All schools and colleges in Bury set up polling stations and encouraged their students to vote in the elections. 5,655 young people aged 11-18 went to the ballot box to cast their vote for one of 8 candidates, who had spent weeks canvassing support from young people whether face to face or via social media. Emma Greenwood of Woodhey High School was elected as Bury's MYP with 1,238 votes, and her two deputies will be Elle-Sue Calderbank from Tottington High School (860 votes) and Josh Harcup ...
Anyone who knows me will know that I am no great fan of the Green Party, indeed, I have written for these pages before about why the Liberal Democrats have been right to continue to reject the idea of a 'progressive alliance' between the two parties. However, pluralist that I am, I admit that it would be naive to refuse to ever accept lessons from our political rivals. As Spring Conference in York approaches, there is one particular lesson from the Greens that Liberal Democrats should bear in mind. Buried within the amendment to the party constitution set to be ...
I have been in correspondence with Home Scotland about getting the graffiti painted on some ground floor windows in Pleasance Court removed. I have received assurances from Home Scotland about this, which is reassuring as the most recent graffiti appeared before the festive season.
