So is anyone old enough to remember a life before social media? It seems as though it has been around forever!! For me it all started with a free profile on Friends Reunited if you remember that one, from there it seems as though I have had a profile on virtually every social media platform [...]
Here's why I was on the march against Brexit at the weekend, and why I'm continuing to campaign against Brexit.
This documentary from 1971 finds Jake Thackray exploring Swaledale from Keld and Muker down to Richmond. Its slight awkwardness, broken leg and all, is surely part of its charm and a reminder of the days when not everyone could provide a soundbite on demand. The schoolchildren, says a comment on YouTube, are from Muker primary school, which closed a few years later.
MoneyWeek has an article about the betting market on the forthcoming Liberal Democrat leadership election. Ladbrokes are offering the following odds: Jo Swinson Evens Layla Moran 11/8 Ed Davey 8/1 Tom Brake 20/1 Norman Lamb 33/1 Alistair Carmichael 50/1 Jamie Stone 50/1 Tim Farron 100/1 The author, Dr Matthew Partridge, suggests that Layla Moran represents the value bet - particularly at the slightly more generous odds being offered by Betfair
£450,000 cuts could see Shropshire bus services slashedsays a headline in the Shropshire Star. Reading the small print, the Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle bus may be cut from five round trips a day to two. This will come as no surprise to anyone who read a post on this blog two years ago. And to those who see demand-led services as the future, it is worth noting that: The Clun Valley Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride will withdraw its Saturday service.All very depressing. But it happens that today I also came across a report from the Foundation for Integrated Transport on Shropshire's rural ...
I've covered the issue of cars for sale on the public highway many times before on this blog site – Green Lane in Maghull comes to mind and here's a link back to one my postings about it:- But today I was contacted by a local resident who had noticed a reaction to a parked car for sale in the entrance to Seafore Close, a regular site from which car sales take place. I went to have a look and this is what I found:- As a consequence I've raised the matter with Sefton Highways again to see what ...
This is Gateshead Lib Dems' first local election video, 30 seconds about Labour leaving urban brownfield sites derelict while building executive homes in the countryside.
So the Government was defeated twice last night, which paves the way for MPs to set the agenda on Wednesday. However, it managed to see off a perfectly reasonable amendment from Margaret Beckett which would have made sure that the House would have had control of what would have happened if we got to 7 days from the deadline with no deal in place. This amendment was defeated by 3 votes. 8 Labour MPs voted with the Government against it. The fact that so many votes are so finely balanced is really worrying. Theresa May would see getting her Brexit ...
Last week, our friend Paul Gregory wrote about the failings of proportional representation systems. Here, in the spirit of opening up discussion, I would like to take issue with that overall sentiment. First, the reality. There is no perfect form of democracy. The idea behind the concept of 'democracy' is liberty. Democracy emerged to liberate [...] The post And on the other hand, what is right with PR appeared first on Radix.
[IMG: The cat from 'Mums Make Porn' breaks her silence] Wow, you are THE cat who, apparently, stole the show. My talent for looking bored at the right moment and sitting like a human being has finally been recognised. How hard does a cat have... The post The cat from 'Mums Make Porn' breaks her silence appeared first on FeministMama.
Tue 26th
11:55
2012: Under an EU deadline & government collapse, the Dutch parliament grabs the reins Part 1
I never in my wildest dreams thought it possible that, after the English Civil War, any English or British parliament would intervene while a government was collapsing (and straining under an EU deadline), grab the reins and impose its preference. But that's what I've just been watching live on the March 25th late BBC News and Newsnight. It reminded me of the only instance in Dutch politics when, with an EU/EMU deadline looming, the government lost its majority; with the party giving confidence and supply stalking out and staying out, and opposition MP's saved the day. In this two-piece article, ...
Nothing word is more stretched to people's convenience that "democracy". Everybody claims to be democratic, and yet few are interested in understanding what people actually want and then implementing it. They just want to convince themselves that their own points of view are "democratic". But democracy matters all the same – and it is at ... Continue reading Brexit stretches Britain's democracy to breaking point
Mon, 12:47: RT @bexin2d: Two thing I keep hearing presented as though in conflict with each other but I think are actually not: - The country is becomi... Mon, 12:56: RT @MitchellSt: Thread on what has changed between the "Hold 2nd Referendum" petition Jun-16 and the "Revoke Article 50" one that is curren... Mon, 13:15: RT @Mij_Europe: An iconic photo. Funnily, senior EU officials in Bxl tell me today that the text these Sherpas were working on didn't at al... Mon, 14:23: RT @bbcdoctorwho: Remembering Patrick Troughton, born #OTD in 1920 💙💙#DoctorWho https://t.co/oXaOy1tn45 Mon, 16:05: RT @MichaelGalanin: Pluto Flyover by ...
What a weekend! It really does feel different now - claims of "the will of the people" have never sounded more hollow, the 2016 referendum result never more stale. The online petition to Revoke Article 50 has topped 5 million signatures, dwarfing all the pro-Brexit petitions combined by a massive margin. Over a million travelled from all over the country to march for a People's Vote while Nigel-No-Mates struggles to muster 50 for his "Brexit Betrayal" march. And just look who's marching. On Saturday there were young people everywhere – twenties, teens and younger. All demanding a say, all demanding ...
Following the vote in the House of Commons to, gasp, allow MPs rather than ministers, determine how some of the time in the chamber is going to be spent, it's been striking how many Brexiters don't really like MPs have power. Or rather: Brexiters three years ago: Parliament must be sovereign! Brexiters two years ago: Parliament must be sovereign! Brexiters one year ago: Parliament must be sovereign! Brexiters this year: it's outrageous that Parliament is sovereign! — Mark Pack (@markpack) March 26, 2019 As John Curtice writes: The longer the Brexit process has gone on, the more critical and pessimistic ...
Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, the first MP of Palestinian descent, has written for Politics Home about why the UK should recognise the state of Palestine: As things stand now the peace process is nowhere to be found. It is a fallacy to think that there is still an ongoing peace process and the international community are ignorant if they think anything else. The political agenda has been hijacked by extremists on both sides and I am very clear that as a part of that, Hamas must go: their presence is setting the dialogue back considerably. With this breakdown of ...
There are times in the middle of a crisis when something happens that is beyond parody. Brexit appears to have had more than its fair share of such moments, mostly centred on the key players of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith and Jacob Rees Mogg. Yesterday, however, we hit peak-parody. The Mirror reports that the hardcore group of powerful Tories which includes the three non-Ministers amongst that list, are understood to have called themselves Grand Wizards. They appear to have done so without realising that the term was what the leaders of the racist Ku Klux Klan were ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : Join the exhibition's creators today at 1pm for a special guided tour in the Lamb Gallery. Curated by Archive Services, the show brings together some of the beautiful rare books in the University's collections and work by artists and writers who have been inspired by the stories, annotations, typefaces, bindings, and materials which make up the books. Taking inspiration from the remarkable collections which date from the 15th century onwards the artists have created jewellery, etchings, drawings, ceramics, tattoo designs and creative writing. The tour will explain the ...
A day late but the new episode of A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs is now up. It's on "Earth Angel", and features cameo appearances from Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys' dad, and the best music teacher ... Continue reading →
