Tomorrow's Guardian will report: Thomas Cook was heading into insolvency on Sunday night as the world's oldest holiday company faced a collapse that will strand 150,000 UK holidaymakers overseas and put 9,000 British jobs at risk.The company is the victim of technology - who needs a travel agent when you can do it all online yourself? - and of the uncertainty and weak pound caused by the expectation of Brexit. Meanwhile, the company's founder appears to be taking things philosophically.
This is another of those records that I heard once on the radio years ago and could only identify when they invented the internet - Sympathy and Say It Ain't So Joe are other examples. I only recently tracked this one down because I was convinced the opening lines (which are really all I remember from it) mentioned "something in the air" and searching for that fills your screen with Phil Collins and Thunderclap Newman. The mystery is how I came to hear it at all. The Little River Band were big in the US but enjoyed much less success ...
I ended the first installment with the close of nominations and the announcement of the finalists. One point that should be flagged up to future administrators is the issue of finalists with a large number of nominees, each of whom could therefore be entitled to a place in the (very full) pre-ceremony reception and the Hugo losers party, as well as to a Hugo finalist pin each and potentially even to a trophy each if they win. One finalist presented us with a list of sixteen different people whose names they wanted to see listed as part of their team. ...
Sun 22nd
15:15
Willie Rennie's speech to Federal Conference: Lib Dems stand for the majority of Scots
Willie Rennie made a keynote speech to Liberal Democrat Conference on Tuesday. It was the best speech I have ever heard him make. A very clear statement of why the Lib Dems stand up for the majority of Scotland's people – along with some literary advice for David Cameron. Jenni Lang's introduction is worth watching too for a wee secret. It's becoming a tradition to spill some beans about Willie when introducing him for a speech. Borders candidate Jenny Marr told Scottish Conference how he'd turned up to a Wintry canvassing session in Aberdeenshire wearing pyjamas underneath his clothes to ...
Welcome to my list of podcasts mainly from or about the Liberal Democrats. Do let me know of any additions or corrections; thank you! Lib Dem Podcast With John Potter from Preston and Richard Kemp from Liverpool, this podcast does what it says: covers the Liberal Democrats, especially with chat about how members can get involved and how to win elections. Never Mind The Bar Charts Hosted by myself and Stephen Tall, Never Mind The Bar Charts features talk about the Liberal Democrats, British politics and a few stray digressions. Occasionally features Brexit and increasingly features guests. On The House ...
If you put time and energy into writing a Conference speech, went through the agonies of sitting through the debate and didn't get called, don't let your effort go to waste. Send it to us at voice@libdemvoice.org and we will put it up here. Also, let us know which speeches made at Conference were your favourites and we'll clip them on here. If you did get called to speak, watch yourself on the Livestream on the party's YouTube channel.
I've taken some stick lately for cooperating on a number of issues with the Mayor of Liverpool. The criticism has come because at the last two standard council meetings there has only been one motion moved at each. On both ... Continue reading →
South Shropshire could benefit from extra funding under the umbrella of a new National Landscapes Service if recommendations of a report to the government published yesterday are accepted. There will be new national parks but not in Shropshire. My proposal last year to create a Shropshire Hills National Park failed to gain widespread support. A government commissioned review is calling for a new national park in the Chilterns and says that the government should also consider creating national parks in the Cotswolds and Dorset. I would not be surprised if other areas of outstanding natural beauty unilaterally declare themselves to ...
An HS1 train stands at St. Pancras Station in April 2009. My good friend Phil Holden has recently been commenting at length (Phil is rarely short of words) on the pickle that HS2 finds itself in. Here's a link to Phil's blog posting on the matter:- phlhldn.blogspot.com/2019/09/take-h-out-of-hs2-now.html And here's my comment on what Phil has said:- Well Phil you've blown a whistle on HS2 with your full head of steam aimed at the chief promoter. Anyone would think you are trying to shunt him into a siding or even send him to Barry scrap yard where steam engines went to ...
Sun 22nd
12:20Party awards for Lizzie Jewkes, Roderick Lynch, Alice Bridges-Westcott and Bernard Greaves
One of the best bits of Federal Conference is that bit just before the Leader's Speech (before the bit where they pass round buckets and demand all your money like you have any left at the end of Conference) where the Party President announces the winners of the Party Awards. It was great to see some fantastic people honoured this year: First up was the Patsy Calton Award, awarded by Liberal Democrat Women in honour of Patsy Calton, our much loved MP for Cheadle who died in 2005. Delighted to see my friend Lizzie Jewkes win the Patsy Calton award ...
Sat, 12:56: Glorious thread, especially the last one. https://t.co/mHBMkGypwJ Sat, 14:10: Local choir doing valiant battle with a French tongue-twister: "Un chasseur sachant chasser chasse sans son chien."... https://t.co/vHc6cNe6w7 Sat, 14:28: RT @apcoworldwide: Follow @feps_europe to keep up on important conversations around #climatechange during #unga74 #client Sat, 14:48: Brexit: The perils of progress on the backstop https://t.co/vE7nOBAssY @tconnellyrte is not convinced that we are much closer to a solution. Sat, 15:27: Great piece. https://t.co/mBYjdG8koA Sat, 16:05: Demolition of Richard Dawkins by someone who knows what he is talking about. https://t.co/m1c0SVxmZD Sat, 18:46: RT @lowflyingrocks: 2019 SX, 3m-7m in diameter, just ...
Sun 22nd
10:30Edinburgh march for Europe: Worrying news about EU negotiations and Alex Cole-Hamilton speaks
People took to Edinburgh's streets today to protest about Brexit and climate change. The European Movement in Scotland organised the event which was very vibrant and well attended. We're at the Edinburgh #March4Europe demanding a #PeoplesVote to #RevokeA50 & proper climate action – led by Cllr. @HalOsler, Al Beal for Edinburgh South & Tom Inglis for Edinburgh South West! pic.twitter.com/xtbiqZPTbA — Edinburgh Liberal Democrats [IMG: 🔶] (@EdinburghLibDem) September 21, 2019 If a rebadged version of this deal does come back to Parliament, that should make it more difficult for Labour MPs to vote for it, but you never know these ...
There's a whole set of advice, support and training available for any Liberal Democrat member who wants to become a Parliamentary candidate. Once you are selected as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC – a piece of jargon explained here), however, it all rather drops away unless you are in a target seat. So here are my nine tips (updated from an earlier list of eight) on what to do immediately after you've been selected. Congratulate yourself: being a PPC can be difficult, tiring and arduous. It's also a brilliant service to the party and to liberalism, with a good chance ...
While Labour were tearing themselves apart in Brighton, Lib Dems in Gateshead yesterday were taking to the streets in a number of communities in central Gateshead. Focuses were delivered and a survey was carried out. We got a positive response. A few thousand focuses were also taken by others to deliver later this week.
I've been watching the Labour conference news coverage and have noted a number of key statements that are consistently repeated by those attending. Since they are all in Labour speak, I have helpfully translated them into English. Below are the top 10 statements, along with their translations: Key aid quits to spend more time with his family - key aid quits over lack of competence and
.Hello! I'm Mark Pack, author of 101 Ways To Win An Election, and the maintainer of the largest database of national voting intention polls in the UK, stretching back to 1943. Welcome to a round-up of the latest general election voting intention figures from each of the polling firms currently active in the UK. Below the table, you'll find the option to sign up to email updates about new polls and also a set of answers to frequently asked questions about political polling. General election voting intention polls Pollster Con Lab LD Grn BXP Con/Lab gap Fieldwork YouGov 30% (-2) ...
When was the last time a major Party conference degenerated into such disarray from the very start? It has been quite some time, but Labour are clearly on a mission to set a new record. They started off by declaring war on their student movement on the eve of nationwide freshers' weeks, moved on to try and abolish their Deputy Leader, potentially sparking a civil war within the party, and now a key aide has quit, quoting a lack of competence and decency in Jeremy Corbyn's team. As the Guardian reports, Andrew Fisher, who masterminded the party's 2017 manifesto, has ...
Sir Issac Newton was one smart cookie. And in my book his cleverest discovery-cum-pronouncement was Newton's Third Law which is quite simply "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Sir Issac was writing from the viewpoint of a physicist. But the metaphysical philosophers were quick to apply the rules of the natural world to the philosophical and political realm, especially Newton's contemporary John Locke who coined the phrase "unintended consequences." The ethics of consequentialism go back to 5th Century BC Chinese philosopher Mo Di. In the West, they were later picked up 100 years later by the ...
