Davey: Brexit would mortgage our children's future Jane Dodds Calls for Pledge to Maintain Last-in-Town Banks Blame for the Brexit mess sits with the Tory Govt Davey: Brexit would mortgage our children's future Following reports from the IFS that a no-deal Brexit will push UK debt to the highest levels since the 1960s, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Ed Davey said: This new analysis is a body blow to Boris Johnson's election spending plans – as it shows the cost of Brexit is much higher than thought. Brexit would mortgage our children's future, plunging Britain into the red and threatening years ...
Welcome to everyone who has joined the Liberal Democrats in the last few weeks, and a special mention to our newest MP, Heid Allen. I am delighted to welcome @heidiallen75 to @LibDems. She has long been an ally in the fight to stop Brexit, and having worked with her I know the energy and passion she will bring to our party. https://t.co/eNxquI0WQO — Jo Swinson (@joswinson) October 7, 2019 We haven't actually re-done this post since Chuka joined, so we should formally welcome Sarah, Angela, Philip, Sam and Luciana, as well as our by-election winner Jane Dodds. Every so often ...
The current issue of Liberator carries my review of the Social Liberal Forum's new publication The Wolves in the Forest: Tackling Inequality in the 21st Century, which is edited by Paul Hindley and Gordon Lishman. I won't post the whole review here, just enough of it to explain the splendid title: David Howarth contributes the introduction here too. He begins by pointing out that it is 110 years since Lloyd George delivered his 'People's Budget': 'He described a time when "poverty and the wretchedness and human degradation that allows follows in its camp, will be as remote to the people ...
London LIb Dem MEP Luisa Porritt has made a film about the reality of Brexit and how it affects the NHS. It'll be out later this week. Here's a preview: Boris Johnson is not serious about getting a deal with the EU. He is determined to take us out at any cost. To find out what the costs will really be, I've been talking to ordinary Londoners & experts. Here's a preview of my #BrexitReality short film on health, out next week... pic.twitter.com/BqGL5nkW3d — Cllr Luisa Porritt MEP [IMG: 🇪🇺] [IMG: 🔶] (@LuisaPorritt) October 4, 2019 Like the man said, ...
I have blogged previously about the odd coincidence which led me to discover the exquisite musical mayhem created by the late Professor Longhair. To listen to his version of "Rum and Cola" is to properly live life IMHO. But I made a remarkable discovery yesterday. I was listening to my "BIG" playlist on Spotify (where ... Continue reading Professor Longhair meets Lilly Allen
Welsh Liberal Democrat members have selected Chris Twells as their candidate for Clwyd South ahead of the next general election.
Current The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence Last books finished Sheelagh Murnaghan, 1924-1993: Stormont's Only Liberal MP, by Ruth Illingworth Cloud and Ashes, by Greer Gilman Next books Be My Enemy, by Ian McDonald The Bastard of Istanbul, by Eilif Shafak
In September I attended a great event in Wavertree High Street when the road was closed (perfectly legally!) and the community took over the space for 6 hours. Everyone who was there seemed to enjoy it. Some local traders including ... Continue reading →
No.10 has let it be known today that a Brexit deal is "essentially impossible" after a call between Johnson and Merkel. We did know that Johnson's strategy is to make a feeble attempt to look like he is trying to get a deal whilst sabotaging it at the same time. It looks like that game peaked a little early. Frankly, giving the DUP a veto over arrangements every 4 years was never going to fly. This disgrace of a Government and clown of a Prime Minister must stop pretending, stop lying to the electorate. Merkel and the EU know very ...
The wheeze the Johnson government has come up with to salvage the "complete UK exit from the EU Customs Union", having customs controls on companies' premises, may look clever. But in a Northern Ireland with every so often bomb and mortar attacks by dissident, extremist Republican outfits like the "Continuity IRA {CIRA}" and/or "Real IRA {RIRA}"on policemen doing their job (or standing at a petrol station in a street), it carries obvious and serious risks, dangers. And trying to reconvene the Northern Ireland Assembly, where DUP and Sinn Féin deeply distrust each other about things like green energy projects and ...
Welcome to the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, in which Stephen Tall and I Pack discuss the growing number of recruits to the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party, the unusual set of seats the party is targeting for the general election, why Will Hutton is wrong about Jeremy Corbyn and why everyone should go read Gaby Hinsliff.
Admittedly honesty is far from Johnson's forte. Accordingly, I should not be so surprised that Johnson can simultaneously cry out for an imminent election and prorogue parliament for a Queen's speech and new legislative session. Quite simply, it is not the function of the Queen to present an electioneering address on behalf of the Conservative Party. Having already abused the function of the Queen by illegally advising her on an overlong prorogation, Johnson is merely running true to form in forcing the Head of State to front an election pitch. We have to make it clear that this is wholly ...
My only council meeting today is this afternoon when we will be having a seminar about how Gateshead Council is preparing for Brexit. I was the one who insisted earlier this year that we have this seminar so obviously I will be there. The news coming out nationally however is looking like an agreement on Johnson's latest proposals is virtually impossible. I suspect the Conservatives always knew
Mon, 12:56: RT @MatthewOToole2: Something I wrote about borders, language and misunderstanding. With thanks to Friel. https://t.co/2ER8rtW09B Mon, 15:27: RT @davidallengreen: But apart from these seven substantial objections, what is wrong with the Johnson proposal? https://t.co/zyKF3xGuFP Mon, 15:34: One more failure https://t.co/1jLdBludbR @DanielSerwer is alaramed. "If you wanted to make common cause with Europe... https://t.co/qyrubeUYZM Mon, 16:05: A simple checklist before you run a campaign https://t.co/puMf66BtRO Brutal truths about campaigning in the EU inst... https://t.co/fRy471HFbP Mon, 17:11: RT @bennelmes: Remember the Brexit 50p coins that Sajid Javid wanted in circulation in time for 31st? (https://t.co/21pciMzbOO) None have b... Mon, 18:39: ...
Tue 8th
10:45
The reason why the Brexit project continues to fail is because it is completely empty and cannot be ...
After the EU referendum result landed in June 2016, I was deeply distraught. I had been pro-European and argued the pro-EU cause well before it was in any way fashionable. Yet once May became prime minister and laid out her Brexit stall, it became obvious to me that leaving the EU was inevitable. We had a PM who had built her premiership straight from the start on negotiating a deal and then leaving the bloc, coupled with a leader of the opposition who was clearly pro-Brexit. All of the parties who were anti-Brexit were either on the floor (the Lib ...
It's not only MPs and councillors joining the Lib Dems. Conservatives in both Southend and Bedford have joined the Liberal Democrats in recent days. First, the news from Bedford: One of Bedford Borough's most senior Conservatives has switched to the Liberal Democrats. Jas Parmar is a former deputy leader of the party at Bedford Borough Council. He has also been the party's candidate for Mayor of Bedford, stood to become the county's first Police and Crime Commissioner, and was a parliamentary candidate in Warley in the 2010 general election. [Bedford Today] And news from Southend Liberal Democrats: Mother and daughter ...
Thank you to everyone who watched and asked questions in last night's online hustings for Lib Dem President. Especially thanks too to the staff who worked late to sort the technology.
The Guardian reports on a warning from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that emergency tax cuts and higher public spending to offset the impact of a no-deal Brexit would send government debt to its highest level in more than half a century: In a warning to Boris Johnson as his Brexit plan risked unravelling in the face of stiff opposition at home and abroad, the thinktank said government borrowing was already set to more than double next year regardless of the outcome of negotiations with Brussels. It also said the national debt - the sum total of all borrowing ...
You can watch the whole of the online presidential hustings below. The event was chaired by Lorely Burt last night. Questions were submitted by members on a range of issues. You can see the two candidates, Christine Jardine MP and Mark Pack, outlining their vision for the role of the President and the future of the party. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. He is one of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
The Scottish National Party has finally abandoned its 'Named Person' scheme, which would have appointed an official to track the treatment of each child independently of parents or a parent. The shame is on the unrepentant John Swinney, who dreamt up this totalitarian project in the first place. This said, there is everywhere a need for better protection of vulnerable children. And indeed recognition of the desirability that even children who are not vulnerable should ideally have close access to more adults than their biological or assigned parents. Such adults might provide knowledge of - and access to - different ...
Only two planning applications in the last month. Please note the application for a replacement mobile phone mast at Polefield. Please just let us know if you have any queries. Single storey side and rear extension 32 Mount Pleasant, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2SDRef. No: 64743 | Received: Thu 03 Oct 2019 | Validated: Thu 03 Oct 2019 | Status: RegisteredInstallation of replacement a 20m monopole, accommodating 12 no. antenna in an open headframe tog... Junction of Polefield Approach/Bury Old Road, Prestwich, M25 1WJRef. No: 64722 | Received: Fri 27 Sep 2019 | Validated: Fri 27 Sep 2019 | Status: Registered ...
Keen photographers are being invited to submit their favourite shots of Bury for inclusion in the Tourist Information Centre 2020 calendar. The full colour calendars are extremely popular as Christmas presents and are often sent far and wide across the world. This year Bury's Tourist Information team are looking for recognisable scenes which show off the changing seasons in our borough. Snow scenes, a summer haze, a crispy spring morning or autumn splendour, we want it all. (No personal family snaps, thank you!). Email your pictures – which should be landscape (i.e. horizontal) in dimension – to touristinformation@bury.gov.uk The calendar ...
A very big welcome to Heidi Allen, our 19th MP. Over on the Lib Dem website, she has written about why she took the decision to join, saying that Jo Swinson's party was the only one in Britain offering to stop Brexit, heal the rifts in society and stop Brexit. When I became an MP in 2015, I could never have imagined we would find ourselves in this position. Through the prudent and practical decisions taken during the coalition years, the economy was recovering and our country was on the up. Coming from business, joining the Conservative Party seemed the ...
Apple Day, an annual event organised by Incredibly Edible Prestwich and District, is taking place this Sunday in Phillips Park. It's free entry and there's lots of Apple-y things to do. Sunday 13 October 2019, 12noon – 4pm, Phillips Park.
POLICE are appealing for information after two men died in a crash in the early hours of Sunday 6 October 2019. The pair were travelling down Bury Old Road, in Whitefield, at 1.30am on Sunday, October when the silver Vauxhall Astra they were in hit a street sign. The car then span out and rammed into a nearby wall. One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene after paramedic arrived and the second man was rushed to hospital. However, despite the best efforts of emergency staff, he later died in hospital. The road remained closed between Thatch Leach ...
The Community Council meets this evening at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm - all residents welcome! Here's the agenda : WEST END COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETINGTUESDAY 8th OCTOBER 2019 AT 7.00PMLOGIE AND ST JOHN`S (CROSS) PARISH CHURCH HALL(ENTER FROM SHAFTESBURY TERRACE - OFF BLACKNESS AVENUE) 1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES2. MINUTE OF MEETING SEPTEMBER 10TH AND MATTERS ARISING3. CORRESPONDENCE4. POLICE SCOTLAND UPDATE5. PERTH ROAD PLACEMAKING PROJECT UPDATE6. PLANNING UPDATE 7. COMMUNITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS 20198. OTHER MEETINGS ATTENDED ON BEHALF OF WECC9. AOCB - MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC INPUT10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING - Tuesday 12th November 2019 Light refreshments ...
Tue 8th
06:20
Shropshire Council allows felling of three trees on Chandlers Close - it wants replacement trees - b...
Housing association Connexus had applied to fell five trees on Chandlers Close, off Lower Galdeford. Its view, and that of residents, was that the trees threatened properties, paths and a wall bordering the Ludlow Mascall Centre. Shropshire Council says that the two trees reported as threatening the wall are not a threat. It is the maintenance of the wall that is the issue. It accepts, it seems to me reluctantly, that the three trees near properties must be felled as they have grown to a size where they are difficult to manage on this site. It is urging Connexus to ...
