Lib Dems: Time to end period poverty wherever it exists Free sanitary products will be offered to girls in all primary schools in England from early 2020. This follows Chancellor Philip Hammond's announcement last month of funding for free sanitary products in secondary schools and colleges. Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons last month calling on the Government to extend its policy on free sanitary products to primary schools, colleges, universities and NHS GP surgeries. Commenting on the announcement, Layla Moran said: It is brilliant news that children in ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

It's just possible that the Labour Party in South Normanton, Derbyshire does not have full confidence in the vote-winning abilities of Jeremy Corbyn.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Tonight I joined a canvass session in the Whickham East area of Dunston Hill and Whickham East ward. This is one of the most closely fought wards in Gateshead, indeed, probably in the North East. Labour are defending their last seat in the ward - they clung on four years ago by 23 votes on the day of the general election. Since then, Labour have been a more distant second place. Last year they

Posted by Jonathan Wallace on Jonathan Wallace

My apologies for the delay in getting these to you – a combination of jet lag caused by a five hour time difference and family stuff is complicating things... Tories must enact wholescale reform to fix rental market Responding to the news that landlords will lose the right to evict renters without a reason at the end of their fixed-term tenancy, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson Tim Farron said: The housing crisis has left many renters at the mercy of their landlords in an unfair and distorted rental market. Section 21 notices have allowed landlords to turf out tenants without reason, ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

There are just two foot crossings of London railways left, both on freight lines. One is on the one from Souithall down to Brentford and the other is on the line to Angerstein Wharf in Charlton. The latter is threatened with closure, though reports now say Network Rail will look at its plan again, In the mean time, you can sign a petition against the closure. And you can watch the video above.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Tue 16th
21:03

More letters delivered

Another morning of deliveries - I was back in the Whickham part of my ward to deliver more of the letters we are sending to postal voters. I'm pleased to report job done by 1pm. Postal votes hit the doormats tomorrow.

Posted by Jonathan Wallace on Jonathan Wallace

[IMG: Vince Cable ought to make the EU central to local electioneering] The local elections to be held on 2 May presents a great opportunity to take a causal approach between the Lib Dem pro-Remain position and the local elections. According to a report by the London... The post Vince Cable ought to make the EU central to local electioneering appeared first on A Feminist Mum making a difference.

Posted by ambitiousmamas on A Feminist Mum making a difference

Lord Bonkers' tact and diplomacy are legendary - in the sense that everyone has heard tales of them but no one has ever seen them. Thursday So my old friend Vince "High Voltage" Cable is to throw in the towel and make way for a younger man or, indeed, woman as Liberal Democrat leader. All of which means that I rather put my foot in it the other day. You see, I met Cable by chance in London and had a long chat with him. Our conversation ranged over his boyhood in York and experiences as a young economic adviser ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Tue 16th
17:18

Tuesday reading

Current The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik The Day She Saved the Doctor, by Jacqueline Rayner, Jenny T. Colgan, Susan Calman and Dorothy Koomson Last books finished (rather a good week - though some of these are pretty short) On A Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot Troll Bridge, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History, by Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson and Sam Witwer Phosphorus, by Liz Williams Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells On the ...

I came across this article on the BBC website recently and it immediately took me back to that wonderful film Local Hero which I have seen so many times:- Progress and nostalgia meeting head on, no wonder the local council is trying to tread carefully It also took me back to the early days of my time as a Sefton Councillor (early 2000's) when new mobile phone mast planning applications were matters of huge controversy everywhere. Now, like television aerials, telegraph poles and electricity pylons, they are just just a part of every local street scene.

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus
YouGov

In an article for Politics Home, Vince Cable sets out what should be the priorities for this year's local elections: The first is housing. The dearth of affordable housing for purchase or rent is an issue almost everywhere, and is felt by young people in particular. The depletion of the stock of council housing through 'right to buy' and the lack of social house building because of central government restrictions has contributed to extreme problems, including homelessness, at the bottom of the housing ladder. Yet good councils have used the planning system and their borrowing powers to get housing, especially ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice

I will begin this article with a disclaimer: I am not making a solid prediction here, nor am I telling you how you should bet your own money. What I am doing rather is making a point about the unpredictability of British politics at present and how if you were a betting person, you could do worse than bet on something no one seems to think has a possibility of happening. Which is that Theresa May will still be prime minister on April 1, 2020. You can get odds of between 4/1 and 6/1 on this taking place. I think ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com
Tue 16th
11:00

My tweets

Mon, 12:56: How to make a relationship last https://t.co/IkV5BgPr6B @aryngbeck on Brussels. Mon, 13:39: RT @DmitryOpines: How many of those pearl clutching over @DavidLammy have in the last twelve months compared the EU to a dictatorship or be... Mon, 14:10: RT @bbcdoctorwho: Happy birthday to @Maisie_Williams, the immortal at the end of the universe! 🎁 #DoctorWho https://t.co/E4ysEu8gWl Mon, 16:05: The Fertility Doctor's Secret https://t.co/Su9ylopin0 He did not look very far for sperm donors. Mon, 17:23: Molten Heart, by Una McCormack https://t.co/m5p2JZLQv9 Mon, 19:05: RT @apcoworldwide: More of the same? APCO's Tel Aviv team provided insights and analysis on last week's ...

Why not join hundreds of other Lib Dem Voice readers in getting our latest headlines by email? Some people like regularly visiting a site to see if there's new stories of interest. But if you prefer email, you can instead sign up to get a daily early morning email with a summary of the previous day's posts from Lib Dem Voice, complete with a note of how many comments each post has got and convenient links to click on if any take your fancy and you want to take a read. Just go to our email sign up page to ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice
Tue 16th
10:24

Mum Update

She came home from the hospital yesterday, and appears to be recovering as well as can be expected. Thanks for all your good wishes. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments

Tue 16th
10:12

Hellboy (2019)

Daughter and I went to see Hellboy yesterday. We liked it. ( spoilers under the cut ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments

"The faith is Europe," said the great Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc. "Europe is the faith." We might not use that kind of language these days – there are other faiths in European residence these days – but it does explain something about how the loss of Notre Dame de Paris is such a blow. Not [...] The post The Notre Dame tragedy may also be an opportunity appeared first on Radix.

Posted by David Boyle on Radix

I was in shock last night as I watched video of the magnificent spire of Notre Dame Cathedral plunge to the ground during the terrible fire that has devastated the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece. The spire reportedly took 200 years to build. From news reports, as well as the spire, a number of the wonderful stained glass windows have been destroyed, although early reports on Twitter suggest that the north rose window may have survived. The others (including the earliest one from 1225) are reportedly gone. These windows were created by skilled artisans who coloured the glass with minute amounts of ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

There seems to be some horror in the right wing press that a teenage girl is likely to get help to challenge the decision to take away her British citizenship. At the time Sajid Javid made his decision, Lib Dem Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said: Membership of a terrorist group is a serious crime, as is encouraging or supporting terrorism. But Shamima Begum should face justice for those crimes in the UK. It is not only hard to see Ms Begum and her baby as constituting a serious threat to national security, but it also seems a huge wasted ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

Last Wednesday (8 April 2019) was the regular 'Full Council' meeting of Bury Council. This is the meeting, six times a year, where all 51 councillors are in attendance. This meeting, as you may have seen reported online and in the press, was controversial before it started. At each full Council all political parties submit motions for discussion. However at this meeting, one motion (the Conservative Group one) was ruled out of order and both the Liberal Democrats and Labour motions were withdrawn upon advice from the Council Solicitor. The reason for this is a law around what is called ...

Posted by prestwichfocus on Tim Pickstone
eUKhost

Bury Council is looking for local businesses to sponsor hanging baskets in Prestwich village to bring a splash of colour and play a big part in brightening up the town. Last year the hanging baskets along Prestwich Village high street were funded by the Prestwich High Street Regeneration Scheme. This year the Council want to work in partnership with local businesses so that together we can sustain a summer floral display and keep Prestwich a vibrant and attractive place for both residents and visitors alike. To help achieve this we are offering local businesses the opportunity to sponsor one or ...

Posted by prestwichfocus on Tim Pickstone