Continuing to improve how our party is run is crucial to helping more Liberal Democrats win elections, run successful campaigns and turn our ideals into success. Crucial to that are our grassroots, and that's why I'm running this survey – to get a better idea of what would most help local party officers. Are you a local party officer? If so, you can do the survey here. For more on how we can improve the way we run the party, see my piece on building an effective grassroots movement. If you sign up for my blog posts digest you'll get ...
Reigate Liberal Democrats have selected John Vincent, an aviation safety expert, as their candidate in the next general election. Mr Vincent beat four other candidates in a vote of local party members at a hustings held on Friday evening at Reigate College. Speaking after his success, John Vincent said: I'm thrilled to be selected for Reigate. People here deserve so much better than the current set-up. We need to move from despair to hope. We need to build a better future for everyone in our community. On the national political situation Mr Vincent said: We are in a fight for ...
I had been to Southwell several times without discovering its Methodist church. To find it you have to dive down an alley, Prebend Passage, in the centre of town. I can't find anything about the building's history on its own website, but you can read its Listing on the Historic England site. It dates from 1839.
Following all the heavy rain of recent days it's sadly no surprise that the River Alt is struggling to to deal with all the water flowing into it from the land and other drainage brooks, streams and ditches. In turn this means flood alerts for parts of Maghull as the river water rises. The first shot below was taken yesterday from the aqueduct which takes the Leeds Liverpool Canal over the Alt near to Aintree Village:- Just back towards Melling there's a runoff for the canal to keep it's levels down and I could see it was in use. I'm ...
The Great Train Robbery is back in the news, reports the Observer: A book published this week, written by a former British Transport police detective with the help of one of the robbers, will claim that the mastermind of the heist was the late gangster Billy Hill, and that one of the team who got away with it was a relative of an Arsenal and England football player.I thought Lord Bonkers had written the last word on this back in 2012: Fanny Craddock was believed by Scotland Yard to be the brains behind the Great Train Robbery but, despite years ...
After our advice surgery yesterday I headed to the Whinnies Community Garden in Sunniside where a harvest festival was being held. Sadly the rain had kept many people away but it was still a great event with a cookery demonstration by Gwen Young of Riverford Organics, a keen advocate of eating more vegetables. The recipes she demonstrated used fresh veg and fruit picked that morning in the
If a vote of confidence in Boris Johnson is to be held, there needs to be a credible candidate for PM who can unite the bulk of the opposition. Since Jeremy Corbyn can't even unite his own party, he should be ruled out as a serious proposition. Previous names proposed include Hilary Benn and Harriet Harman from Labour and Ken Clarke from the Conservatives. It seems Harriet Harman is now ruled out
In a full-to-bursting room about a pub in Brighton during the week I gave a talk to fellow Liberal Democrats about how to win elections.
At the end of June I listed my top tweets of the year so far, mainly out of general interest but partly to see how I could maintain my position in the list of Top 40 EUInfluencers, which I scraped into in 2017 and 2018 (in 37th and 39th place). In fact I didn't make it this year, but I think some reflection one what's been successful and what hasn't in the last three months' tweeting. This time I've taken the Twitter analytics and looked at the top tweet in each category, ranked here by aggregate rank in all categories. ...
Earlier this Summer, Dr David Nicholl tackled Jacob Rees-Mogg on LBC on preparations for a no deal Brexit, particularly on shortages of medicines. He asked Rees-Mogg what mortality rate he would be ok with in the event of no deal. Rees-Mogg later compared him to the disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield whose flawed claims about the MMR are still causing problems with vaccine uptake today. At the time the BMA described this comparison as "utterly disgraceful and totally irresponsible." Over the weekend it has been announced that Dr Nicholl will stand for the Liberal Democrats in Bromsgrove, against Chancellor Sajid Javid. ...
Second paragraph of third chapter (it's a long one, brace yourself):Ireland's first cycling club, the Amateur Velocipede Club, was organised in Dublin by Dr Austin Meldon in 1869. Its first two meeting places were Meldon's house at 10 Weston Row and the house of a pawnbroker, Edward A. Hayden, at 43 Clarendon Street, before a permanent club premises were found at the Exhibition Palace Annexe at Earlsfort Terrace on 26 November 1869. The club met on Wednesday evenings, when as many as seventy members often assembled for practice and also to learn various cycling tricks. Meldon's club — one of ...
The BBC's reruns of Top of the Pops continue and have now reached 1988. Maybe it is a sign that I was already getting a bit old for the show by then, but the music seems to me to have been in decline for a couple of years now. This still sounds good though.
Here is Jo Swinson's message for the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah, emphasising that the Liberal Democrats stand with those facing hatred and discrimination. Wishing everybody celebrating Rosh Hashanah a happy, peaceful and joyous celebration. Shana Tova! pic.twitter.com/a8JIblV391 — Jo Swinson (@joswinson) September 29, 2019 Shana Tova to all our readers.
Wishing everybody celebrating Rosh Hashanah a happy, peaceful and joyous celebration. Shana Tova! – Jo Swinson Wishing everybody celebrating Rosh Hashanah a happy, peaceful and joyous celebration. Shana Tova! pic.twitter.com/a8JIblV391 — Jo Swinson (@joswinson) September 29, 2019 If you sign up for my blog posts digest you'll get a handy one-a-day email with links to all the latest posts. You can also sign up for a range of other lists, including Liberal Democrat Newswire – a monthly newsletter about the party. Just pick the options you'd like on the sign-up form.
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 33% (nc) ...
Sat, 12:56: Why Boris Johnson has learned the wrong lessons about leadership from his predecessors https://t.co/NuNhAvzzjE "Not... https://t.co/VS4ghH6JSR Sat, 14:48: Asterix on the New Two-Euro Coin https://t.co/3Ch74SuoXK Hooray! Sat, 15:00: Finally updating my website with election results from May - I have come across an anomaly in the official declarat... https://t.co/AtXRGQ9vxW Sat, 15:46: The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard https://t.co/UnhT6Fvzk8 Sat, 16:05: The Confederate General Who Was Erased https://t.co/Xb4jvL6p3J The fascinating postwar career of William Mahone. Sat, 17:59: I remember PageMaker! https://t.co/nD4LzW2mE2 Sat, 18:03: RT @joshwoolcott: @faisalislam Amazing. So you CANT carry out an effective negotiation without the threat of ...
A few years back, my post "Why did I not get that email from the Liberal Democrats?" proved rather popular, helping untangle various issues with party members missing out on information about what is going on in the party. So here's the latest version, lightly updated for what 2019 is bringing... Whether it's you wondering why you've not received that email others are talking about, or whether it's someone you're in conversation with, I hope this guide is useful - and as ever suggestions and additions welcome. Check your spam and other folders It is an occupational hazard of running ...
Whickham Lib Dem councillors' surgery took place in Whickham Library yesterday morning. Two local police officers attended as well. This was especially useful to me as I had some casework with which I needed police assistance. Sometimes surgeries can be quiet, sometimes busy. Yesterday was towards the latter end. A steady flow of people came in. Plenty to do.
It is very rare for Philip Hammond and Rachel Johnson to speak for a majority of the country, but this week they managed it in spades, when they questioned the motives of the Prime Minister in pushing for a no-deal Brexit, arguing that he is pursuing the interests of financial backers who have the most to gain from such a scenario. As the Guardian reports, this has led to pressure on the UK's most senior civil servant to investigate Boris Johnson's financial backers and the cross-party claims that unnamed individuals stand to benefit from his willingness to pursue the UK's ...
Boris Johnson has boxed himself into a corner - but he may not be the only one. The prime minister has got himself into a situation where, it appears, he either has to break his promise to take us out of the EU on 31 October or break the law in terms of ignoring - or circumventing - the Benn Act that stops a no-deal Brexit. But circumventing may be an option for him; certainly the political commentators are far from confident that the Benn Act is watertight, and that at least one loophole exists. Hence all the discussion about ...
The conference debated F34 'Policy Motion: Deprivation of Citizenship' Background Home Secretaries have had the power to revoke citizenship from individuals for some considerable time, but until recently this power was hardly much used. Increasing recent use by Tory Home Secretaries is alarming. The most well-known case is that of Shamima Begum who was groomed [...]
From Sheena Wellington: The Wighton Lunchtime Recital - Wighton Heritage Centre, Central LibraryWednesday 2nd October - 1.15pm -1.45pmThe Okapi Duo - Katie Kim, flute, Brian King, guitar The Okapi Duo - Katie Kim, flute, and Brian King, guitar - is committed to making excellent chamber music accessible to all audiences while expanding the boundaries of the traditional ensemble. Their synchronous and dynamic style has lead them to receive a number of awards including 2nd prize in the 2018 Southern Guitar Festival Ensemble Competition and 1st prize in the 2016 Great Composers Competition Series. They have performed throughout the United States ...
Labour have promised a £10 minimum wage for everyone, including under 18s. If you believe the ranting comments of the righteous right readership of the Express, this would signal the end of life as we know it, replaced by a totalitarian regime akin to North Korea. But this is a policy that should be universally advocated, across party lines. For Labour it's a bread and butter matter of social justice for the proletariat. The Lib Dems have a century or more of campaigning for social justice too and when in power last were responsible for the substantial increases in income ...
