Lib Dems: Govt reforms failing to reduce reoffending Today the National Audit Office have released a report stating that reforms to probation services have failed to meet the Ministry of Justice's targets to reduce reoffending. Responding to the report, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said: The rehabilitation of offenders and their re-integration into the community is central to who we are as a society and vital for cutting crime. It must be done with a sense of responsibility. Good public services cannot be expected to be run on a shoe string. The Tory party's obsession with saving money has ...
Where does my thing about the Welsh border come from? In part, of course, it is the children's books of Malcolm Saville. But I also had a holiday in Llanfoist near Abergavenny with one of my mother's many cousins when I was 14. That and a radio adaptation of Alexander Cordell's Rape of the Fair Country the following year had me hooked. A combination of natural beauty and industrial archaeology is my ideal landscape, and in this video we explore the the hills around Llanfoist and the tunnels that run beneath them.
Because I started reading Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine stories at a tender age, I identified most with the twins Dickie and Mary. They are nine years old in the first story Mystery at Witchend and have aged a couple of years by the time final one was published 35 years later. There role in the stories haddiminished by then, in part a reflection of the shrinking of the world of younger children across the years from 1943 to 1978. Many children's adventure stories of that era have twins among their cast, no doubt because it made it easier to present ...
As I warned might be the case, The Independent Group is looking to replace the Liberal Democrats rather than do a deal with us. Which means there may not be much of a market for memories of the early days of the Alliance. Still, here are my recollections of the first time I met the SDP. The first parliamentary by-election I worked in was Birmingham Northfield in October 1982. Until a few months before I had been working in the city, but by then I was back in Market Harborough between jobs so I had time on my hands I ...
Lib Dems in Pelaw and Heworth ward have just published their latest eFocus, edition no. 5. Issues covered include: Council sets budget - and rejects calls for cleaner streets Potholes on Bolburn fixed Support Heworth Grange Tolls on Tyne Bridge. You can read eFocus on this link.
A day late - have been under the weather this week. Non-fiction: 5 (YTD 7) ε1 ζ1 Script Doctor: the Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-1989, by Andrew Cartmel Tweaking The Tail, by John Leeson The Life of Sir Denis Henry, by A.D. McDonnell Fiction (non-sf): 4 (YTD 7) Fanny Hill, by John Cleland Candide, by Voltaire Expo 58, by Jonathan Coe The Capital, by Robert Menasse sf (non-Who): 4 (YTD 12) The Fire Sermon (sample), by Francesca Haig η1 Bitter Angels, by C. L. Anderson θ1 Doctor Who, etc: 1 (YTD 3) Molten Heart, by Una McCormack 4,400 pages ...
Today the National Audit Office have released a report stating that reforms to probation services have failed to meet the Ministry of Justice's targets to reduce re-offending.Responding to the report, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said:"The rehabilitation of offenders and their re-integration into the community is central to who we are as a society and vital for cutting crime. It must be done with a sense of responsibility. "Good public services cannot be expected to be run on a shoe string. The Tory party's obsession with saving money has actually cost millions and increased crime. "Liberal Democrats demand better. ...
Today, the High Court has ruled that the Conservative Government's 'right to rent' scheme breaches human rights laws. These rules, aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from renting properties, were blocked by the Liberal Democrats back in 2013.Responding to the ruling, Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said:"The Windrush Scandal should've been the end of Theresa May's hostile environment, and today's judgement must be the final nail in the coffin. "The Liberal Democrats blocked the Theresa May's 'right to rent' checks in Coalition precisely because we were concerned about racial discrimination, but the Tories didn't listen and rolled them out after 2015. ...
ITV has produced a list of ten LGBT icons in the East of England. There are some familiar faces in there. Zoe O'Connell Championing transgender and LGBT issues across Cambridgeshire is Zoe O'Connell's passion. The transgender Liberal Democrat councillor, has spoken out about her own experience of homophobia and transphobia while on the campaign trail in Trumpington. Zoe has co-authored Liberal Democrat policy papers on equality and security. She has also written for prominent titles like The Guardian and The Huffington Post. and Sarah Brown For several years Sarah Brown, a Cambridge city councillor between 2010 and 2014, was the ...
I was pleased to support Marie Curie by giving a couple of hours of my time to help raise funds through their Great Daffodil Appeal. At the end of my session giving out daffodil pins in the Sutton Morrisons store my bucket was nicely heavy. Marie Curie is a charitable organisation that provides care and [...]
Yesterday, the Lords debated the Brexit shambles. Here is our Dick Newby's contribution. This is the 11th debate or statement on the Government's withdrawal bill and political declaration. During the three months which these debates have spanned not a single ting has changed. ML, the purgatory continues. For a number of months, when my colleagues have become exasperated that Jeremy Corbyn appeared to set his face against supporting a referendum on the Brexit deal, I have sought to reassure them by using the analogy of the 5-year-old schoolboy, who doesn't want to go to school. As he is being dragged ...
Last night, the Hackney North CLP passed an amendment 45 to 35 that essentially ratified the point that got Chris Williamson suspended from the party, just with more detail and words like "fact" put in quotations. That was at the end of a day which saw Lisa Nandy and Wes Stressing arguing on live television about the Labour Party's handling of anti-semitism within the organisation with shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Nandy, like Tom Watson, is from what used to be called, not all that long ago either, the left of the party, the old Brownite wing. The fact that these ...
I left school nearly forty years ago in 1980 aged 16 since then I have come across countless numbers of people who express surprise that I didn't go into further education and obtain a degree. My response is usually that I have been to the 'University of Life.' I am of course far from alone, sent to a poor quality comprehensive in an area where my contemporaries with parents who had the necessary means went to the private school nearby. I was put through a 'sausage machine' designed to push me out at the end fit only for low paid ...
Sunniside History Society's next meeting will be on Tuesday 5th March, starting at 7pm for 7.30pm, at Sunniside Social Club. The speaker is Richard Pears who will be talking about the recent history of Whickham, from the 1970s to the 1990s, and will be using the photos of John Medcalf, a local resident and keen photographer. Members and non-members alike are welcome. £1 entry fee at the door.
[IMG: Mindful March] The post Mindful March appeared first on FeministMama.
Public opinion is moving against Brexit and towards supporting a referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal, once we know what they actually are. But plenty of campaigning and lobbying is still required to turn that trend into a victory. One way of helping make that happen is to sign up to add your voice to the campaigns looking to win over the public. There are lots of anti-Brexit petitions floating around, so here's a selection of most important ones to help you find where to add your name: Give People a Final Say on Brexit Deal – the ...
Thu, 12:56: Trump's Bone Spurs Finally Heal In Time For Vietnam Trip https://t.co/nV4vSgXaTi LOL! Thu, 13:09: Robust and clear rebuttal by the European Commission of Hungarian government's scandalous claims about migration po... https://t.co/AN09J25VfK Thu, 13:10: RT @dannyctkemp: @damonwake 'The scenic but flat region bordering Belgium and Germany, but claimed by neither...' Thu, 15:51: RT @Usherwood: Right then. Having talked about 'accidental' no-deal outcomes, I realise that I've never tried to map out exactly how this... Thu, 16:05: Eight observations on a delay to Brexit https://t.co/4EH0MhgVvR By @davidallengreen. Thu, 17:11: RT @yourthiccfriend: I recently saw a tweet claiming Ireland has yet ...
The US President Donald Trump doesn't do complicated. That's one of his biggest weaknesses, as well as a major strength. Most real problems are complicated; but simple is easy to communicate. And the idea that "elites" use the excuse of complexity to mask incompetence or worse has a powerful resonance with many people. Take Mr ... Continue reading Why Donald Trump is right about Syria
In between all the furor around Brexit, there is continuing cross-party work on other issues of import in Parliament. In a press release this week, Vince Cable noted: "...the major effect of Help to Buy is to drive up demand while having no effect on supply. Prices go up and buyers are forced off the housing ladder. The result is not help for those who need it, but a boost to the profits of big developers. Liberal Democrats have set out how government could be delivering 300,000 homes a year over the next decade, by creating a British Housing Company ...
Currently going through the doors of homes in Gateshead is the Gateshead Lib Dems' tabloid. As it is now being circulated, it's time for it to be featured on my blog. So here it is.
Fri 1st
10:03
Shropshire Council paves the streets of Shrewsbury and Oswestry with gold and throws crumbs to rural...
Yesterday, the Conservative group on Shropshire Council blocked a bid to create a fund to boost the health of market towns. While Shrewsbury and Oswestry are being put forward for up for £25 million each of government money, market towns look likely to only get money from a levy on developers. Shropshire Council bought three Shrewsbury centres at a cost of £51 million. Income from the centres is 11% below target just one year after purchase. Millions have been spent on roads in the north of the county and the council is committed to another £20 million plus for the ...
ou can just make it out. It is still dim and indistinct in the swirling political mists. But there appears to be a light at the end of the long Brexit tunnel. Hopefully, it is not the oncoming No-deal train, but rather a Remain engine pulling a long line of carriages waiting to be boarded. If it is the latter than a great deal more work still needs to be done before a People's Vote is agreed. Then more work to secure a Remain result and then, finally, an ongoing effort—to win continued support in Britain—and other countries—for the European ...
The Guardian carries a follow-up to my long history of Chris Grayling gaffes from two weeks ago, reporting on the findings of the National Audit Office that failings by the Ministry of Justice on his watch in the part-privatisation of probation services have been "extremely costly" for taxpayers. They say that a review of Chris Grayling's Transforming Rehabilitation programme found that the number of people on short sentences recalled to jail had soared and the termination of contracts with private probation companies would cost at least £171m. There has been a 2.5% reduction in the proportion of offenders proven to ...
The Liverpool Echo has the article on its website – see link below:- HS2 was always going to lead to some cities feeling left out of the high-speed rail network and Liverpool fell into that category when routing it from Manchester to Leeds became the sadly unsurprising favoured direction. Since then much lobbying has been taking place to try to get Liverpool connected to HS2 and this latest plan by TfN looks to be a credible offer to Government. Will it get the go-ahead? Goodness knows in the strange political times in which we presently live, must be the ...
Fri 1st
07:11
133 Bus Route – Something odd has happened – Reduced service becomes no reduced service
I seem to have been posting quite a lot about bus issues recently. A few days ago I blogged about potential service reductions to the 133 bus route. My posting can be found via this link:- Not surprisingly reactions to this news have been ones of concern from users of the bus route. However, things have taken a surprising twist in that a fellow local councillor posted on the Official Maghull Community Page of Facebook yesterday that Merseytravel has told him that the 133 bus, although getting a new operator, the times & days will remain as they were. ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : "Bodies, Botanicals & Bindings: Reimagining Rare Books" is a new exhibition featuring the work of artists and creative writers inspired by the University Archives' rare book collections. This exhibition by Archive Services uses some of the University's extensive special collections to explore the history and materiality of rare books as well as the creativity they can inspire. From bindings to bookplates and endpieces to annotations, books tell stories, reminding us of the lives of their owners as much as changes in communication and technology. Taking inspiration from these ...
Only one council by-election to report on this week, a Conservative defence in Gloucestershire following the death of Penny Wride. Berkeley Vale, Stroud Mike Stayte, who has stood here for the Liberal Democrats before, was the candidate this time: I am standing as a Liberal Democrat because I share the political views of the Party and will support the Party's policies ... However, I believe a local Councillor's prime responsibility is to the people in their ward. Making sure that new housing is in the right place, is sustainable and is affordable for local people is going to be a ...
