There is much of interest in this 1926 aerial photograph of Leicester. The two vanished chapels - one Nonconformist, one Church of England - are still standing in Welford Road Cemetery. Across the road are the buildings of what had been the Leicestershire and Rutland lunatic asylum and was then in the process of turning itself into the campus of the University of Leicester. The main range remains today as the Fielding Johnson Building, but this photo shows that the asylum buildings were once much more extensive.
A few years ago I floated a theory about Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat leadership elections: the are all reruns of the 1976 contest between David Steel and John Pardoe: One candidate (Steel) was orthodox, sensible and just a little dull. The other (Pardoe) was more charismatic, more open to new ideas and just a little unreliable in his judgement. So in later contests Paddy Ashdown was a Pardoe and Alan Beith was a Steel. And Chris Huhne was a Pardoe and Ming Campbell and then Nick Clegg were Steels.I even tried to apply this rule to Liberal history, with ...
Thursday saw three by-elections take place across the country with two Labour seats and an Independent seat up for grabs. Southampton UA, Coxford Ward Lab 668 [26.3%; -1.9%] Con 529 [20.8%; +4.4%] LD Sam Chapman 450 [17.7%; +14.7%] SA 368 [14.5%; +14.5%] IS 178 [7.0%; +7.0%] Ind 174 [6.8%; +4.4%] UKIP 123 [4.8%; +4.8%] Green 53 [2.1%; -0.9%] Lab gain from Ind Percentage change from 2018 With the resignation of the Independent councillor, Coxford Ward was up for grabs with eight candidates battling it out. Sam Chapman and Southampton Lib Dems put on a great campaign opposing more tax rises ...
Liberal Democrats members in York today voted heavily in favour of creating a new registered supporters scheme for the party.
Very good, if unexpected, news from Leonard Barden in the Guardian: England's silver medals on Thursday at the World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, were the team's first of any colour in major competition since 1997. European gold in that year seemed the last hurrah of a generation which had proved itself No 2 to the former Soviet Union. Before that England won bronze at the 1989 world teams and the 1990 Olympiad but then the Berlin Wall came down and new strong chess nations appeared from Eastern Europe and Asia. England proved themselves more consistent than their major rivals, ...
An interesting pronouncement by Gateshead Labour Leader Martin Gannon popped up on my facebook feed this morning. Hot off the plane from Cannes (the playground of the idle rich), Martin shared his prediction that the Lib Dems are going to be wiped out - "Total oblivion" he called it. Alas, Martin Sun Tan Gannon has made similar predictions before such as when he predicted we would lose in my ward
It seems Lib Dem Image have improved some of their merchandise and introduced some new must-have (for Lib Dems) items which can be bought at their shop here in Spring Conference in York. New improved mugs can be added to my already extensive collection of assorted mugs collected over the years from SDP, Democrats and early Lib Dem days. Supersized key rings (big pockets required) are also
Sat 16th
13:48
Voting intention opinion polls scorecard: Conservatives drop, highest YouGov Lib Dem share this Parl...
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. The two polls out today (Saturday, YouGov and Survation) both show a sharp drop in the Conservative position. YouGov's 12 per cent is also the highest for the Lib Dems from that pollster in this Parliament. Pollster Con Lab LibDem Ukip Green TIG Con lead Fieldwork Method BMG 39% 34% 12% 5% 4% ...
[IMG: The TIG's view of national security is alarming] "Ours is a great country of which people are rightly proud, where the first duty of government must be to defend its people and do whatever it takes to safeguard Britain's national security." It goes... The post The TIG's view of national security is alarming appeared first on FeministMama.
Nearly three years ago, in the EU referendum, 37% of those entitled to do so voted one way, 34% voted the other and 27% didn't bother to vote. Lots of the people most seriously affected by the outcome weren't allowed to vote, the campaign was fuelled by lies and false promises, there was some illegal activity, and possibly foreign interference. A "meaningful vote" on the the deal to implement the result of the referendum was scheduled to take place in parliament last December, but it was postponed because the government felt that they wouldn't get the result they wanted. It ...
The first keynote speech of Comference came from Christine Jardine. She covered the pink tax, called for an end to the benefits freeze and condemned the government for marginalised asylum seekers and not letting them work. Here is her speech in full. Its fantastic to be back here in York. And a bit eerie for me. You see making a speech on this stage to all of you was the very last thing I did before my selection process in Edinburgh West. A lot of things have changed since then... and there is a lot more we want to change. ...
A fellow blogger, Paul Bigland, has an interesting slant on HS2 and those who oppose it – see the link below to access it:- Brexiteers, it seems, can convince themselves of pretty much anything that has absolutely no foundation in fact and those opposing HS2 seem to have a similar viewpoint. HS2 is about capacity or the looming lack of it on the rail network as much as it is about speed. Although only similar in an abstract way HS2 is akin to reopening the Great Central Line; a line that should never have been closed, certainly with the ...
Fri, 12:19: RT @Dublin2019: In case you haven't heard... Today is the deadline for nominating @TheHugoAwards. So if you haven't done so yet it's time t... Fri, 12:23: RT @DmitryOpines: 1/ - Dmitry's Guide To Writing A No-Deal Is Project Fear Article - Are you a Tory Lord who once had to share a cab with... Fri, 12:28: Public Prosecution Service spells out in detail Bloody Sunday decisions via @irish_news https://t.co/FJbJVBE7nh Useful detail. Fri, 12:29: RT @drewharwell: The New Zealand massacre was livestreamed on Facebook, announced on 8chan, reposted on YouTube, commentated about on Reddi... Fri, 12:56: An Irish pub ...
York is, yet again, the venue for the Lib Dem Spring Conference this weekend. I arrived yesterday, armed as usual with cameras. My photography jobs last night included taking the photos at the Parliamentary Candidates Association AGM and reception with Vince Cable. Vince has been through the Jonathan Wallace photography mill many times before so is used to my shouting at get people to stand in
Lib Dems call on retailers to scrap the gender price gap To mark World Consumers Rights Day, Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine has written to major cosmetic manufacturers and retailers across the UK as part of her campaign to scrap the gender price gap. Commenting on her campaign, Ms Jardine said: We are a quarter of the way through 2019 and still men and women pay different prices for the same basic products. This is entirely unacceptable. For World Consumer Rights Day I am writing to the most prominent cosmetic manufacturers and retailers across the UK to ask them to ...
Residents are being invited by Dundee City Council to have their say on proposed new rules for open spaces across Dundee. You can see details of the draft rules and how to submit comments by clicking here. Submissions should be made by 25th March.
Well, the most important thing, of course, is the Lib Dem Voice fringe meeting on the impact of homelessness and Universal Credit which is taking place in the Walmgate Room and the Hilton. Join us for a spot of lunch and discussion. I'll be speaking alongside Dan Dumoulin of Saint Vincent de Paul, our Housing Spokesperson Lord Shipley and there will be plenty of opportunity for questions. Kirsten Johnson is chairing. This week SAMH published a report highlighting the detrimental impact of Universal Credit on mental health In the main hall, Vince's party reforms will be the most controversial item ...
New plans have been published for two homes behind the Bridge Inn on St Mary's Lane. The designs of the houses remain unchanged but they have been repositioned on the site and parking has been moved to the rear of the properties. This design is a considerable improvement but there is a need to use porous paving materials not concrete slabs. I no longer think this development needs to be considered by the South Planning Committee. In January, plans were published for two semidetached houses at the Bridge Inn. Earlier this week, new plans were submitted based on discussions with ...
