It wouldn't be Jo if she wasn't giving us a job to do. My pledge will be to comfort and encourage others and give them sustenance on their journeys to their dreams. What will you do to help achieve gender equality? Happy #IWD2019! What will you do to make our world a more equal place? I will ask more women to stand for election. Share this & reply with your pledge. Some ideas to get you started [IMG: 👇] #BalanceforBetter #EqualPower #DeedsNotWords #AskHerToStand (1/n) pic.twitter.com/WHEsQrVzT7 — Jo Swinson (@joswinson) March 8, 2019 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat ...
Phil, Tom, Ted, Jim, Frank, Walter, Bill, 'Charl', Val, Bob, Cecil, Sam, Fred, George, Harry, Michael, Jack, Andrew, Luke and half a dozen more were talking all together, shouting across each other, occasionally fighting, wrestling, and rolling over on the sward under an oak. There were two up in the tree, bellowing their views from above, and little Charlie ('Charl') was astride of a bough which he had got hold of, swinging up and down, and yelling like the rest. Some stood by the edge of the water, for the oak was within a few yards of the New Sea, ...
Seth Thevoz reviews a new publication from the Social Liberal Forum: Am I a Liberal? "A former British ambassador to an EU country, and ardent Remainer, cites a piece featuring a testing interview with a Remainer about the security risks that could follow from no longer accepting ECJ jurisdiction. A Conservative spokesman was quoted in a subsequent news report saying that was twaddle - but there was no scrutiny about why it would be twaddle." Mark Damazer on the BBC's travails over Brexit. The tragedy of the commons? It's nonsense, says Cory Doctorow: "But this isn't what actually happened to ...
"I will post the whole thing here one day," I blogged last summer as I linked to my Liberator review of A Very English Scandal. You remember: it was the BBC drama about the life and crimes of Jeremy Thorpe. Well, you lucky people, that day has come. Stranger than fiction My blog Liberal England ("An eclectic mix of musical choices, random news items from Shropshire (where he doesn't live), and political news and views" - New Statesman) has been going since 2004. By far the most popular post I have written in all that time is one from May ...
Grim news in the Leicester Mercury: Bus routes at risk after the county council approved plans to cut £400,000 from the passenger transport budget have been identified. Leicestershire County Council will look at services that it currently provides over the next five months before making a decision on which routes it will continue to provide and which will be scrapped.A series of consultations on threatened services has been announced - there are 36 in total. The consultation on three routes serving Market Harborough - the 58 to Lutterworth, the 44 to Fleckney and Foxton and the 33 town service - ...
Following the news from East Devon, Beverley, Lincolnshire and Somerset in the last fortnight, now Councillor Alan Britten in Horsham, West Sussex has switched to the Liberal Democrats. Although a Leave voter in the 2016 referendum, Cllr Alan Britten has since been won over by the Liberal Democrat position on Europe as he explained to the local paper when announcing his switch of party: Alan Britten, who is chairman of North Horsham Parish Council and was first elected to [Horsham District Council] in 2015 in Roffey North, described being impressed by the "cogent, sensible and well-thought out" contributions from opposition ...
And now, as promised, the rest of the press releases... Figures highlight extremely difficult time for high streets Swinson: Employers must be held to account over gender pay gap Chancellor must end the freeze on benefits and tax credits Davey: Strip Home Office of immigration powers Figures highlight extremely difficult time for high streets Responding as the BDO High Streets Tracker reveals that sales declined by 3.7%, the worst February for lifestyle in-store sales since November 2008, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said: Our high streets are clearly going through an extremely difficult time, thanks to a combination ...
[IMG: Akaash Maharaj - Practical Idealism] [IMG: Akaash Maharaj - iTunes] The courts have ruled that the Ontario SPCA's police powers are unconstitutional. What is the future for animal welfare enforcement in Canada's largest province? Who can or will protect creatures who can not cry out for mercy?
Twenty-five years ago, in 1994, the Sunday Trading Act permitted shops to open on a Sunday. Until then Sunday had been a "quiet day", set aside primarily for families, relaxation and, for those so inclined, religious observances.* There was predictable opposition from the churches, who were mollified by assurances that no-one in the retail trade would be "forced" to work on a Sunday, and no-ones' career progression would would be hampered if they asked to be exempted from working on Sundays on religious or any other grounds. As far as I know these safeguards were written into the Act.** If ...
No-one in their right mind (so that excludes the President of the USA) should be in doubt whatever of the importance of tackling Climate Change and the increasingly poor quality of the air we breathe. In the medium to long ... Continue reading →
Fri 8th
16:30
Caroline Pidgeon calls for blue plaque for Ealing's Olympic tennis player Charlotte Cooper
Ealing had a women's Olympic tennis champion, but I'd never heard of her until earlier this week. Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member has linked up with Southfield Councillor Gary Malcolm to support a Blue Plaque being installed to remember Charlotte Cooper. The tennis player, who was born in Ealing was the first ever woman to win an Olympic title, when women were admitted into the Games in Paris in 1900. She became the first woman in history to win a First Place Prize in tennis (medals were not given out until 1904). Charlotte Cooper was five times Wimbledon ...
Questions via [IMG: [community profile] ] thefridayfive here 1. Are we losing the art of listening? I don't know what you mean, I'm listening to music right now [/sarcastic answer] I think this all depends in who "we" is. I certainly seem to spend a large amount of time talking over things with other people. This, I believe, is known in human terms as "friendship". I sometimes get confused as to why people feel I am the right person to come to with emotional stuff, because I tend to be quite robust in my advice... but maybe people like robust? ...
In yesterday's Lords International Women's Day debate, our Meral Hussein Ece looked at the barriers facing Muslim women, particularly in a climate when senior politicians make ignorant comments. My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing this important debate and pay tribute to the Government's work in advancing women's equality and rights globally, building on the work of successive Governments and the incredible work that has taken place around the world. It is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, and I pay tribute to all the work she has done as well. I come to this as ...
Here are the latest general election voting intention figures from each of the main pollsters currently polling in the UK, now including ones featuring The Independent Group (TIG). Where pollsters both ask a voting intention question with TIG and one without, both of those results feature below. What's notable about the latest polls is the frequency now of clear Conservative leads. Pollster Con Lab LibDem Ukip Green TIG Con lead Fieldwork Method BMG 38% 35% 13% 5% 5% – 3% 4-8/2 Online ComRes 38% 37% 10% 6% 3% – 1% 16-17/1 Online Delta Poll 39% 31% 5% 4% – 11% ...
This #IWD I'm on childcare duty. I do compressed hours in my paid role so I can cover have Friday 'off' to cover my childcare. So today will be made up of scrubbing the hoose, doing the messages and keeping four kids fed, happy and alive. #MakingWorkVisible #IWD2019 — Joanna Barrett (@Joanna_Barrett) March 8, 2019 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
This week Channel4 TV broadcast Dan Reed's lengthy two-part documentary Leaving Neverland, focusing on the experiences of two men who were at different times the pop singer Michael Jackson's little favourites. Only many years later were they able to face up to the fact that Jackson had abused them sexually from the age of seven. Indeed, [...]
Wera Hobhouse was the Lib Dem speaker in the Commons International Women Day debate yesterday. She concentrated on the discrimination women face in the workplace and the harm it does them and the organisations they work for: It is an honour to be the penultimate Back-Bench speaker in this debate. We have heard many powerful contributions, including those dealing with discrimination leading to violence against women. I have experienced great solidarity on the issue of fighting discrimination in the past year and a half since I became a Member of Parliament, and if that solidarity continues, I really believe that ...
A busy day yesterday and overnight, so today's press releases will come in two sections... Home Secretary 'open-minded' on right to work Permanent Secretary exit only 'managed departure' from DExEU Liberal Democrats demand better for women on International Women's Day Revealed: Home Office report rubbishes Boris Johnson's Stop and Search claim Home Secretary 'open-minded' on right to work Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine has secured assurances from the Home Secretary that he is 'open-minded' about her Bill which would loosen rules around asylum seekers' right to work. The Edinburgh West MP raised her campaign with Sajid Javid in a joint ...
Thu, 12:41: RT @nick_gutteridge: Loiseau again makes the very important point that's it's absurd to think EU would actively want to trap UK in the back... Thu, 12:45: RT @GuitarMoog: A serious contender among many thousands of candidates for the title Peak Brexit. The Consultancy firm hired by DFDM Liam... Thu, 12:56: Karen Bradley is speaking to the wrong audience on Northern Ireland https://t.co/yuGhgGbkwX @patrickkmaguire is kin... https://t.co/KLvBuCXtud Thu, 14:36: RT @SJAMcBride: The remarkable thing is that when she came back to the Commons to clarify her remarks, Karen Bradley did not have the polit... Thu, 14:40: "My position and ...
Many readers will have noticed the story in the media about "LGBT lessons" in a Birmingham school and how lots of people who have somehow been entrusted with the care of small children want them protected from being told about how two men can marry nowadays, because if the teacher doesn't mention it no-one will ever find out that Suzie has three mums cos it'll never come up in the playground, and if it does there won't be any bullying because groups of children never stigmatise something they don't understand. You can't help think these are people who have not ...
We love this, from Chelmssford Lib Dems, celebrating their women candidates. Over half of their target seat candidates are women and just under half of those have joined since the 2015 election. People can help get them elected by offering help here. Who are your local Lib Dem women heroes?
The Heartland Theory and its corollary discipline of geopolitics was all the rage in the twentieth century. It emerged from the morass of nationalism to dominate diplomatic thinking right through the Cold War. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union it sunk slowly over the political horizon as nationalism was gradually replaced by globalism governed by an internationally agreed set of laws enforced by a largely - but not completely– altruistic United States. A Victorian geographer called Halford Mackinder was responsible for the Heartland Theory. He unveiled it in 1904 at a packed meeting of the Royal Geographical Society. He ...
One of the side effects of austerity is that it does concentrate the mind as to alternative sources of income. Thus, since the 2010, there has been a lot of noise about the extra revenue that could be raised from clamping down on tax avoidance, non-Doms and multi-national companies who base their business in low tax countries. The reason why so little has been done to pursue this agenda since that election is open to speculation. It may be that it is just too difficult, it may need international agreements to be negotiated and agreed or it could just be ...
Prominent* Exmouth Conservative Councillor Brian Bailey has left the Conservative Party and switched to the Liberal Democrats.** Councillor Bailey, who represents Exmouth's Withycombe Raleigh ward on both Exmouth Town and East Devon District Council, has issued a statement making public his resignation from the Conservative Party nationally and from the Conservative groups on both councils. His decision follows that of five councillors from both Labour and the Conservatives who switched to the Liberal Democrats last month (see 1, 2, 3 and 4). That contrasts with the minimal reports so far of local government switches to The Independent Group. Brian Bailey ...
Responding to an Institute for Government's report highlighting "flaws in the immigration system", published today, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said: "The Institute for Government is right. The Windrush scandal and countless other failings show that the immigration system is not fit for purpose. "Now Brexit risks another scandal on an even bigger scale, as millions of EU citizens are exposed to the poisonous combination of Home Office incompetence and Theresa May's hostile environment. "The Liberal Democrats demand better. We will scrap the hostile environment and strip the Home Office of responsibility for immigration. "Policy-making on work visas, ...
Jim Brown stood for the Liberal Democrats in what may be the last ever election for a seat on Aylesbury Vale Council.
Today, it's International Women's Day when everyone remembers that women exist and face daily discrimination. And just to pre-empt the first half dozen comments, yes, there is an International Men's Day. It's on November 19th. This is the day to follow Richard Herring's very funny responses to those who ask that question on Twitter. And if you like what he does, consider making a donation to his Crowdfunder to raise money for Refuge. If you don't already follow @Herring1967, today is the day to start... he has the patience of a saint turning #iwd whataboutery into LOLs while fundraising for ...
Liberal Democrat DWP Spokesperson Christine Jardine has called for the Chancellor to use his Spring Statement to end the freeze on working-age benefits, including Universal Credit and tax credits. It comes as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation publishes new statistics revealing that, should the final year of the freeze go ahead, the benefits freeze will end up pushing 400,000 more people into poverty since 2015. Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said: "The Conservative freeze on working-age benefits is causing real pain and misery that must be stopped. Liberal Democrats demand better than the Tories' cruel policy of balancing the books on ...
