And, in part two... Lib Dems call for mental health support to be included in Ofsted Inspections Moran: SEND funding crisis a moral failure of Government Welsh Lib Dems: Embrace Green Tech to Tackle Climate Change Lib Dems lead Eating Disorder Campaign in Parliament Lib Dems call for mental health support to be included in Ofsted Inspections The Liberal Democrats have written to the Chief Inspector of Ofsted to urge her to include assessments of mental health support in schools in Ofsted Inspections. The Liberal Democrat lead on Mental Health, Claire Tyler, has written to the Chief Inspector as the ...
Whilst the drama was, unusually, at the Lords end of the Palace of Westminster today, there was plenty else going on. So much so, that we're breaking this piece in two today. The second half will be along shortly... Swinson: Shared Parental Leave must be a right from day one Vince Cable visits Yeovil to launch final push of Lib Dem local election campaign Cable: Corbyn must put any deal he agrees with PM back to the people Swinson: Shared Parental Leave must be a right from day one The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, has today ...
If you cultivate an interest in photograph and architecture then the backstreets of any town or city become fascinating. You never know what you will find. Here John Rogers walks the byways from Upper Leytonstone to Old Leyton. Sad to say, the story about a test match being played at Leyton is without foundation. It may have grown from a folk memory of Essex beating Australia here in 1899 and 1905. But Herbert Sutcliffe and Percy Holmes really did put on 555 for the Yorkshire first wicket in 1932.
On Saturday, Nick Seaborn, Lib Dem candidate in Lobley Hill and Bensham ward of Gateshead, organised a litter pick in Windmill Hill Park. A number of residents and Lib Dem members joined in. The result was 20 sacks of rubbish removed from the park. Well done Nick for your efforts.
Regular readers will know I'm regularly beating the drum for the Liberal Democrats to stand candidates more frequently in local elections. It's a key part of building up the party's core vote as well as being an important opportunity for even the smallest of teams to learn, grow and take a step forward. It's certainly not always easy to stand a full slate of candidates, so extra applause to Broxbourne Liberal Democrats. In a heavily Leave area with a former very, very small party membership, the party has grown sharply in the last trio of years. This May they will ...
Eli Zaretsky examines the mass psychology of Brexit: "The best description I know of this mentality, Fintan O'Toole's Heroic Failure, characterises it as 'the transformation of a screw-up into a demonstration of character'. Examples include the Charge of the Light Brigade, Sir John Franklin's doomed attempt to find the Northwest Passage in the 1840s, and Dunkirk. In each case, the British character is seen to rise above self-inflicted disaster through studied indifference, and thereby to manifest its inner superiority." Mark Bergen on how YouTube executives ignored warnings and allowed toxic videos to run rampant. The novels of J.G. Farrell seems ...
Crossens Saturday, 13th April, St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens, from 11am to 12 noon. Churchtown Thursday, 25th April, BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt cafe, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, from 10:30am to 11:30am. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in.
Following the news from Woking, comes the switch from Conservatives to Liberal Democrat of Caroline Neville in Chichester. Caroline Neville, councillor for Stedham since 2015, will be standing for the Liberal Democrats in this May's local elections. She explained her move, saying: This was an extremely difficult decision. The Liberal Democrats in the District Council are working together to improve the lives of local residents and campaigning on the things that really matter. I felt that by joining the Liberal Democrats I would be better able to make a difference in my ward. Kate O'Kelly, Liberal Democrat district councillor for ...
This video is a bit late but last Friday I had yet another printing session in the Lib Dem office in Consett, this time for my ward, Birtley, Low Fell and Lobley Hill and Bensham. Job done but there is more coming down the line to print as well!
On Twitter today my friend Herbert Eppel taught me a new German word: Dolchstoßlegende. Wikipedia explains: The stab-in-the-back myth (German: Dolchstoßlegende ... literally "dagger stab myth") was the notion, widely believed and promulgated in right-wing circles in Germany after 1918, that the German Army did not lose World War I on the battlefield but was instead betrayed by the civilians on the home front, especially the republicans who overthrew the Hohenzollern monarchy in the German Revolution of 1918-19. Advocates denounced the German government leaders who signed the Armistice on November 11, 1918, as the "November Criminals" (German: Novemberverbrecher). When the ...
[IMG: Oh No Joe Biden] A porn President in the White House and a rival with a good chance of toppling him has his credentials called into question over harassment allegations. This has all the makings of the sort of... The post Oh No Joe Biden appeared first on FeministMama.
The chamber of the House of Commons was evacuated today as water started pouring in from the ceiling. The Palace of Westminster is literally falling apart, which is a brutally apt metaphor for the current political chaos. Meanwhile, in the House of Lords, arch-Brexiteers repeatedly tried to filibuster the bill put forward in the Commons [...]
Thu 4th
16:20
Ruby Wax is appointed Chancellor of Southampton University - with a focus on mental health
This is very refreshing news. American actress, comedian, mental health campaigner, lecturer and author, Ruby Wax has been appointed Chancellor of Southampton University. Southampton University is a research-intensive establishment with around 25,000 students. It is a founding member of the leading Russell Group of British Universities. Its notable alumni have included Chris Packham, Jon Sopel, Justine Greening, Brian Eno and Dame Wendy Hall. Previous Chancellors have included the 4th and 7th Dukes of Wellington. Best known for her extensive comedy and documentary work on television, Ruby Wax is also well-known as a major advocate for mental health, bringing issues to ...
I have a close family member who has Epilepsy. She needs daily medication to keep her condition under control and to allow her to work and live her life. Last night Newsnight highlighted problems with the supply chain of some drugs, suggesting that some can't be stockpiled. Documents say that clinical outcomes "might be compromised" if treatment regimes have to be changed suddenly because of a lack of availability of particular drugs. These documents have been kept quiet. You can watch the report here: This is yet another example of the Government's irresponsible approach to Brexit. No Deal would not ...
Like a million others I marched for a People's Vote on 23 March. It was the second time in six months I'd taken to the streets of London and once again it was an uplifting moment I won't forget. My Queen-themed placard ("Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?") raised a few laughs and provided good photo fodder. But I'm a politician so I guess people expect me to be marching, campaigning and putting myself out there. At October's march I was joined by a friend from university days (a Labour supporter actually but disillusioned with Corbyn - ...
This year is the centenary of the formation of the mighty and much-missed (in bus enthusiast quarters particularly) Ribble Motor Services. Vintage Ribble bus photoed at the West Lancs Light Railway in 2018 I'm told that Arriva's Bootle Depot are to paint one of their buses in Ribble livery as a commemoration of the Centenary, which is fitting given Ribble's Bootle depots (both the old one – now demolished and the new one – now Arriva's depot) operated an intensive service on Ribble's routes. Here's a blast from the past a former Ribble Lydiate bound 321 bus in model form. ...
In the midst of all the Brexit chaos, I want to take a moment to reflect on a significant and unreported win for the Liberal Democrats against the Conservative Government. A few months ago, a Bill was introduced into Parliament which seemed fairly uncontroversial - it's aim was to replicate our reciprocal healthcare arrangements with other countries in the event of Brexit (either in a deal or no deal scenario). However, the Conservative Bill went much further than replicating healthcare with EU countries and was is in fact much more threatening. It opened up health deals with the whole world, ...
I've been too occupied with normal retired life for the past week (local walk on Monday; lunch in Harrogate on Tuesday with a couple of fellow choir members to help me put together 5000 words on the history of the last 25 years of our church; Wednesday hiking in the Dales with the local Ramblers group) to take in the details of the Brexit scenario as it has developed. Briefly, I gather that MPs have failed to coalesce around any single solution to the problem. This should surprise no one, since there is no solution. It cannot be said too ...
Wed, 12:56: RT @ilgarmammadov: Today govt's "one window" ASAN refused me a passprt & asked for a refernce from JusticeMinistry. TheMinstry will not iss... Wed, 16:05: The untruth about benefits DWP ministers keep repeating https://t.co/sCpDfaQX0Q Wed, 17:11: Awww. https://t.co/6R06En0uJW Wed, 18:32: RT @Peston: In some ways though this is the most symbolic vote of all so far - MPs not deciding on how not to decide on Brexit. 310 tie on... Wed, 18:48: RT @RobDotHutton: Today we have Cooper-Letwin. On Monday, We had indicative votes. And tomorrow morning, We shall have further cross-party... Wed, 18:48: RT @RobDotHutton: This is Malthouse ...
From Whitehall to Warsaw we see populists on the march - they decry the European idea which so many have fought for over the past century. The dilemma? They're right to. Tim Martin, the pro-Brexit Wetherspoons boss, told crowds in London that the European Union was undemocratic. The reality is (and bear with me) that he's not far wrong - the EU has long faced the idea of a democratic deficit. Our MEPs in the European Parliament deserve more power as the voice of 500 million people. We deserve the right to choose the President of the European Commission, an ...
[IMG: Princes Parade] For our next fundraising event we will be holding a quiz night at The Fountain pub on Monday 8th April from 7pm to 10pm. Please come along to a fun quiz night to help raise money to go towards the legal costs to fight the proposed development of Princes Parade. To book your table please call The Fountain on 01303 470495. Everyone welcome. Also we are seeking any kind donations of raffle prizes. Please let us know if you can donate anything. The council have now published some of the reports discussed at the 13th February cabinet ...
Over the weekend I was asked by residents of Cornmoor Road and by ward councillors Peter Maughan and Kevin McClurey to speak at Gateshead's planning committee against plans for a new house in the back garden on the street. Peter and Kevin were unable to get to the meeting because of work commitments so I agreed to attend the meeting, which took place yesterday. Unlike most of my previous
Today in the House of Commons, Ed Davey, as one of the proposers of a motion on backbench business day, will call on the Government to suspend enforcement of the 2019 Loan Charge. HMRC is currently pursuing people who, as contractors years ago, took part in perfectly legal schemes whereby they took their salary as loans from a company and therefore paid a lower rate of tax. They now face bills for arrears of tax out of the blue. In some cases, it could be hundreds of thousands of pounds. These aren't super rich people and what they were doing ...
Thu 4th
09:08Conservatives lose control of council as Councillor Graham Chrystie joins Lib Dems in Woking
Graham Chrystie, a Pyrford Councillor for 8 years, has left the Conservative party and joined the Liberal Democrats. The move comes on the eve of May's local elections. Cllr Chrystie is not up for election, but it now means that the Council is in No Overall Control, with 15 Conservatives facing 15 opposition councillors. The current state of the parties is: Conservative 15 Lib Dem 9 Lab 3 Ind 3 Cllr Chrystie said: The Conservative Party in Woking is failing on openness, proper consultation and financial disclosure, The Leader of the Council, who has his main residence in Scotland, has ...
'Take Back Control', the oft-quoted, and occasionally parodied, slogan of the Vote Leave campaign, is as compelling as it is simple. It doesn't just appeal to national self-interest, in the way arguments over funding to the NHS and Eastern European immigration do. It speaks to higher principles of sovereignty and self-determination. In voting to recover [...] The post OK, take back control – but then share it out! appeared first on Radix.
The Guardian reveals that a series of hugely influential Facebook advertising campaigns that appear to be separate grassroots movements for a no-deal Brexit are being secretly overseen by employees of Sir Lynton Crosby's lobbying company and a former adviser to Boris Johnson. The paper says that the mysterious groups, which have names such as Mainstream Network and Britain's Future, appear to be run independently by members of the public and give no hint that they are connected. But in reality they share an administrator who works for Crosby's CTF Partners and have spent as much as £1m promoting sophisticated targeted ...
