Another quartet of council by-elections this week, with two Labour seats and two independent seats up. Only two Liberal Democrat candidates – but that is one up on the last time these seats were contested. Westcourt, Gravesham The first result tonight is a bit of a surprise. No @libdems candidate but a Tory gain from Labour in Gravesham. Labour used to be miles ahead but Tories have been creeping up on them recently. CON: 50.1% (+21.0) LAB: 32.0% (-5.5) UKIP: 11.8% (-11.1) GRN: 6.1% (+6.1) — ALDC (@ALDC) October 17, 2019
Welsh Lib Dems: Brexit deal must be put to the people Record high knife crime offences shows Tories failure to act Lib Dems: Brexit deal must be put to the people Welsh Lib Dems: Brexit deal must be put to the people Commenting on reports that a deal has been agreed between the EU and the UK Government, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds, said: It is remarkably clear that Boris Johnson's deal would be bad for our economy, bad for our public services, and bad for our environment. His deal will create a hard border down ...
After delivering 160 tabloids in Birtley (and returning home for a shower and a quick change of clothes, I headed to Gateshead Civic Centre for a special full council meeting. It must have been the shortest meeting I have ever attended. I think it was less than a minute! Only one item on the agenda: the new senior management structure. To ensure it goes ahead, it had to be agreed by full council.
This morning I headed to Birtley to deliver 160 tabloids. A gloriously sunny morning, I was rather pleased I'd decided to wear a light jacket. Delivery was done in less than an hour.
If I spoke to some of those I know in the Labour Party who follow the Corbyn/Momentum creed I guess they would say that Louise Ellman, Luciana Burger and Jane Kennedy are bloody Tories who they are well rid of, or words to similar effect. But Liverpool has now had 2 of it's Labour MP's resign from the party plus the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and all in the last few months. Are we just seeing the further realignment of Labour into it becoming a pure socialist party and in the process shedding it's social democrats and other more ...
The Electoral Commission has just released the latest round of applications it has received from would-be new political parties.
It's déjà vu all over again. Theresa May got a deal. She and the EU announced it with great fanfare, and then, within hours, it became clear that she couldn't get it through Parliament as the DUP and others came out against it. In that one sense May did a better than Johnson: at least her fragile Parliamentary coalition fell apart after her deal was announced - Johnson's was holed below the water by the DUP even before. And they are right, of course, because not only from their point of view but from that of anyone concerned about holding ...
Second paragraph of third story ("Into the Nowhere"): This was a good sign. Definitely boded well. I risked cracking open an eyelid. Five stories by Jenny Colgan, three of which I had already read in other collections but two new to me. Nice to have them gathered together like this. They are all good. My favourite I think is the title story, which takes Ashildr to the time of the Black Death in 1348; I also very much liked "Picnic At Asgard" with River Song and Eleven. The other three all have Clara, one with Eleven and two with Twelve. ...
Thu 17th
17:01
Something unusual happened in the second online President hustings, featuring chocolate
The bonus second online hustings in the Liberal Democrat Party President race took place this week, and in a turn-up for the form book, Christine mentioned chocolate more often than I did.
South Glos Council has announced a major resurfacing project for the section of Badminton Road in the middle of Old Sodbury, and the length round the long bend and running up to the A46. The works will involve the planing off of the existing surface of the carriageway and the laying of a new surface. The work will start at 8.00 pm each night and remain in place until approximately 6.00 am. The road will be closed overnight except for access.
Well what a day it was in Liverpool yesterday for the Labour Party. All seemed normal (for Liverpool Labour that is!) when the Council meeting started at 5 p.m. The first thing that was instantly noticeable was that more than ... Continue reading →
Thu 17th
13:30
SNP spend more in Shetland by-election than across whole of Scotland for EU referendum
So the election spending returns from the Shetland by-election are out. We spent £64k and won. The SNP were right up against the limit, spending £99k. But they only spent £90k in 2016, across the whole of Scotland on the EU Referendum. As a Remain campaigner in West Lothian, I found it deeply frustrating that SNP activists kept saying that they were too tired from the Holyrood elections to fight the EU referendum. If something is important, it doesn't matter how tired you are. You get to sleep in a few weeks. I don't, to be honest, think that David ...
Yesterday a second online hustings took place between party Presidential candidates Christine Jardine and Mark Pack. You can watch the whole thing here. This weekend, there are in person hustings in Plymouth, London, Lancaster and Bedford. You can find details here. And if you can't get to a hustings, you can question both candidates in the official Lib Dem Internal Election Discussion Group on Facebook here. You can watch the first online hustings which took place last Monday here.
So Boris Johnson has struck an eleventh hour deal which he intends to put to Parliament as hundreds of thousands of marchers take to the street demanding a People's Vote. The Lib Dems will be meeting at the Duke of Wellington Arch in Hyde Park at 11 am. Jo's reaction was pretty clear. We continue to fight to stop Brexit: The fight to stop Brexit is far from over. Boris Johnson's deal would be bad for our economy, bad for our public services, and bad for our environment. The next few days will set the direction of our country for ...
Wed, 12:56: "if our quest for greater profits leaves our world worse off than before, all we will have taught our children is t... https://t.co/mElUb4N7ba Wed, 13:58: RT @davidallengreen: Large cow near, small cow far away https://t.co/EFNTsXKjED Wed, 14:22: RT @tconnellyRTE: BREAKING: two senior EU sources say the main stumbling block to a deal has been removed with the DUP accepting the latest... Wed, 15:26: Fascinating stuff from the @apcoworldwide boss, @MargeryKraus. https://t.co/HoFLwTTiMX Wed, 15:27: RT @SpainJoanne: I created and co-wrote a TV show in Ireland. It was commissioned by a woman & produced by a woman. All the lead ...
Last night, ITV cameras caught Extinction Rebellion protesters standing on top of tube trains on the Jubilee line at Canning Town. Judging by the footage, the protest was not a success. Prospective passengers on the platform got so angry with the protestors, one of the XR chaps got physically dragged off the top of the train. A lot of people I respect in the bubble tell me that Extinction Rebellion is "winning"; they fall back on the "any news is good news' axiom to support this theory most of the time. I think any news is good news if you're ...
A couple of weeks ago, Luciana Berger announced that she was leaving Liverpool to contest Finchley and Golders Green for the Liberal Democrats. A Survation poll has put her way ahead of the Conservatives. Finchley & Golders Green Westminster voting intention: LDEM: 41% (+34) CON: 29% (-18) LAB: 25% (-19) GRN: 3% (+1) BREX: 2% (+2) via @Survation, 02 Oct Chgs. w/ 2017 result. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 16, 2019 It's only one poll, but definitely promising.
As it's the North West Presidential hustings on Saturday, I won't be able to make the People's Vote march this time around. So here instead...
The Guardian reports that yet another female Jewish MP has left the Labour party, having apparently been bullied out of the movement she has worked in for decades. In a tweet posted last night, Louise Ellman, the MP for Liverpool Riverside, said that she said: "I have made the truly agonising decision to leave the Labour party after 55 years. I can no longer advocate voting Labour when it risks Corbyn becoming PM. I will continue to serve the people of Liverpool Riverside as I have had the honour to do since 1997.' The paper adds that in a longer ...
The Asset-Based Health Inquiry launched last week, investigating how best to develop social prescribing, which NHS England is finally now rolling out. It is designed mainly to shed light on the amazing work that is already happening. At the heart of supporting people to live good and healthy lives are the need for friends and family, creativity, learning, meaningful activity (hobbies, volunteering), getting out of poverty, navigating the system to get access to services (finances, care, education, health), eating well and being physically and mentally active. No GP appointment can meet this need. While there is a place for professionals, ...
Hate crime is inexcusable. It attacks an individual's identity and can have an appalling and devastating impact on victims. The issue is one that has always been close to my heart. My mother is from Poland and as a result I have in the past experienced racial discrimination due to my family's overseas heritage. Though my experiences of hate crime were rare and isolated I know for many other people this can be a very real and immediate concern, especially given the toxic post-Brexit atmosphere we now live in and an increase in Islamophobic incidents following the terrorist atrocities in ...
Lib Dems: Brexit will limit the horizons of college students The Association of Colleges has today published a survey revealing that 94% of colleges would be unable to fund student and staff mobility programmes outside of the EU's Erasmus+ programme. Responding to the figures, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Layla Moran MP said: Brexit shuts the door on students and staff studying, training and working across Europe. This survey shows that colleges simply can't afford their student exchange programmes without the funding that the EU provides through Erasmus+. Colleges are wary about replacing Erasmus+ with a British-led alternative because they ...
Dundee has an exceptional collection of over 500 sculptures, murals, mosaics and other forms of public art. Taking place tomorrow, Friday 18th October at 2.30pm, this free informal walking tour by university museum curator Matthew Jarron is part of the University's Festival of the Future, and will explore the role of public art in the cultural regeneration of Dundee, focusing on the pioneering Blackness Public Art Programme of the 1980s and the inclusion of artworks in the creation of play parks and other social amenities. Please meet in the Lamb Gallery at the University of Dundee. Participants take part in ...
