I have long been a huge Aardman fan; I must have seen all the Wallace & Gromit films a dozen times. And Shaun the Sheep (2015) was a work of genius. In that, young Shaun and his motley little flock of helpers set out on an adventure into the city to rescue their farmer. But [...]
Britain's worst railway disaster took place at Quintinshill, just over the Scottish border, in 1915. A double collision followed by a fire killed some 215 people. The precise death toll was hard to decide exactly. Most of the casualties were members of the Royal Scots regiment, and the roll of soldiers aboard the train was lost in the fire. In recent days I have come across two intriguing stories connected with Quintinshill. The first, told on the new Fortean Times message board, talks of a persistent rumour/legend that a handful of the survivors of the rail crash deserted in its ...
I first met Daisy Cooper when we both had tea with Tim Farron in Portcullis House as newbie Federal Executive members at the end of 2012. She is someone who has no problem with speaking truth to power and she quickly became a very trusted colleague. I hope very much that we'll have her as the MP for St Albans after the next election. She has put in so much work. She reminds me of Jo Swinson when she was campaigning to win East Dunbartonshire in 2005. Today, she put a brilliant analysis of why Boris Johnson's Brexit deal is ...
Embed from Getty ImagesTwelve years is a long time in politics and I don't want to be hard on Iain. In the days when blogging was a thing I always found him friendly and helpful. He was even, along with Tim Worstall, one of the people I copied when starting to blog. Between them they taught me to write lots of short posts rather than pretend I was writing a comment piece for a broadsheet newspaper - we had them in those days. But all this does lead me to the idea that the Conservative Party is little more than ...
Following publication of his RADIX paper "Protecting Children and Young People from Harm: the public health case for a legal, regulated cannabis market", Sir Norman Lamb was interviewed on Talk Radio. Below is the opinion article to accompany the interview. Liberal Democrat MP Sir Norman Lamb has told talkRADIO that legalising cannabis in the UK could help reduce the levels of violent crime on the country's streets. These are his opinions and not talkRADIO's. The approach that I take is based on public health, that fighting a war on drugs as we do in this country and across most of ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:Peggotty had a basket of refreshments on her knee, which would have lasted us out handsomely, if we had been going to London by the same conveyance. We ate a good deal, and slept a good deal. Peggotty always went to sleep with her chin upon the handle of the basket, her hold of which never relaxed; and I could not have believed unless I had heard her do it, that one defenceless woman could have snored so much.I thought that this was one of the Dickens books that I had read many years ago, but ...
Whether it's Brexit, EU-China, US-EU relations, the business of political prediction has become a mug's game leading to market volatility and potential financial instability Will the WTO ruling on illegal EU subsidies to Airbus trigger EU-US tensions or will that wait until the expected ruling on Boeing defense contracts? Anyone who watched the latest debate among Democrat presidential hopefuls could be forgiven for thinking that, should a Democrat enter the White House in 2021, the Trump era may be looked upon fondly as a period of relative reasonableness in trade relations We explain why the Brexit Irish border issue is ...
This is quite awesome from the farm of Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for The Cotswolds, Liz Webster: At our farm with @ByDonkeys Please RT and share with your MP! https://t.co/IvMWvpzmRG — Liz Webster [IMG: 🔶] [IMG: 🌿] [IMG: 🕷] [IMG: 🏴] [IMG: 🇬🇧] [IMG: 🇪🇺] (@abcpoppins) October 18, 2019 Liz Webster says: Through setting up Farmers for a People's Vote, I got to know the Led By Donkeys team. We decided to work together on messaging to counter the Vote Leave boards on farms which resonated so deeply. This evolved from stop Brexit to the positive message that ...
I doubt that one in a hundred readers of LDV have ever heard of a tendered ballot paper, let alone seen one. Electoral law makes provision at EVERY election for the issue of tendered ballot papers, sometimes known as pink ballot papers. If you go down to the polling station to vote and the presiding officer says to you, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you a ballot paper because you've already voted", what do you do? The answer is that you can insist that you haven't voted, and the presiding officer must then offer you a 'tendered' ballot paper. ...
The Independent has taken a look at the deal which will be put before MPs tomorrow and have concluded that Boris Johnson has managed to negotiate a package that will lead to a harder Brexit than under the terms of Theresa May's rejected agreement, with less alignment between the UK and the EU and more barriers to trade. They say that the agreement struck by the EU and UK on Thursday risks weakening workers' rights and environmental protections, while IPPR think-tank researchers have also warned that the deal could lead to a "decade of deregulation" and would leave the NHS ...
Here's my official campaign email for the Party President campaign, sent out by HQ to party members this week. (If you didn't receive it, it's worth checking my troubleshooting guide here as it also means you might miss out on the voting email later this month.) One of my worst moments in the Liberal Democrats happened just before polling day in the 2005 general election. Things had been going great. With a wonderful team and great candidate in Lynne Featherstone, we'd pulled off one of the best results in the country in 2001, taking a Labour-held seat from no-hoper into ...
When I first met Mark Pack almost three decades ago he made quite an impression. I was campaigning to become Chair of what was then the Young Liberal Democrats and attempting to secure his support. Unlike most others at the conference, Mark did not seem particularly interested in the hackery of student politics, but wanted to know what I was going to do, rather than simply what I thought, or what faction I was in. I've no idea if Mark voted for me, but I'd like to think he did. And 28 years later, with the roles reversed, I'm delighted ...
As argued in previous posts Prime Minister Johnson appears to be gaming the Brexit situation and its constitutional implications in order to enhance his chances of wining an election and remaining prime minister. Many of us believed that he wasn't really interested in negotiating a new deal with the EU, and, to our surprise, he has succeeded. But then, so did Mrs May. And the "new deal" bears a strong resemblance to the one she achieved though some of the changes appear to make things worse. For example there is to be an effective border in the Irish Sea to ...
Thu, 12:03: RT @JenniferMerode: The last compromise: *EU law on VAT will apply in Northern Ireland. *UK shall be responsible for collecting VAT and... Thu, 12:05: To cheer us all up, I found this useful guide to words that are deceptively similar in Slovene and Slovak somewhere... https://t.co/qq1Tc0xqGZ Thu, 12:13: RT @pmdfoster: The new #brexit documents are out WA2.0 https://t.co/eZEnTfDQQ3 PD2.0 https://t.co/MGNZStlHoK Thu, 12:18: RT @UKPoliticalNews: Here we have it - the revised #Brexit withdrawal agreement. DUP say their concerns still stand, so big question will... Thu, 12:56: RT @ottocrat: In my day job I'm negotiating an agreement between the ...
Fri 18th
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Here's why Labour MPs in Leave seats should not vote for the Withdrawal Agreement on Saturday
I would like to address this article directly to those Labour MPs who are in seats that voted heavily to leave the EU in the 2016 EU referendum, and as a result are seriously considering voting for Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement on Saturday. I will use this space to try and talk you out of doing so. I understand your concerns and why you are tempted to vote for the "deal". You are getting Brexit in the neck on the doorstep constantly. You fear being seen to be standing in the way of something a lot of the country seems ...
[IMG: London Underground tells it as it is about menopause] It's World Menopause Day today and I think this whiteboard message is spot on. I have crashing fatigue, dizziness, vertigo, hot and cold flushes and that's just this week. If you are expecting me to... The post London Underground tells it as it is about menopause appeared first on @ambitiousmamas.
The Federal Policy Committee is now on the final straight in to completing our manifesto for the expected General Election, and we cleared the agenda for our planned meeting on 16 October to focus on some key aspects of the document. Our close collaboration with the Campaigns and Communications teams continues, and we started with a review of current research information about how messages are going down with voters, which was very helpful for our discussions which followed. Because of the way that we as a party make policy through conference, our policy on almost every area is already very ...
Politicians hate being asked hypothetical questions. Or so they say. Journalists don't. They love speculating, flying kites and pontificating about the consequences of the actions of their political masters. I am a journalist and Trump's decision to pull US troops out of Syria offers a near limitless range of hypothetical consequences. So I will indulge myself with a few of them. American military promises: Gone, kaput, up in smoke. It is now confirmed that carefully negotiated alliances bound with the blood of allies can be wiped out with a single Trumptonian tweet. Bringing the boys home is more important than ...
A guest post from long-running Lib Dem activist, digital campaigner and shortlisted Lib Dem Mayor of London candidate, Rob Blackie: Brexit is the biggest moral and political issue of our time. This weekend's march is also a huge opportunity for us to win new supporters, just as we have at previous marches. There are two distinct groups we can reach. Strong supporters of staying in the EU Around one in four people strongly support staying in the EU. These people are willing to join the party, volunteer and donate money. The good news is that 70% of Remain voters now ...
The UK Government must not risk a return to 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland. That's what's inspired Sheila Ritchie, our Lib Dem MEP for Scotland to launch a UK Parliamentary petition calling on the Government not to impose any additional border restrictions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Ms Ritchie's petition comes as the Good Friday Agreement approaches the 20th anniversary of it taking effect and is sponsored by fellow Liberal Democrat MEPs. Sheila Ritchie said: For almost 20 years now, the Good Friday Agreement has kept the peace between communities. Freedom to move across the Irish border ...
From Sheena Wellington : Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library - Saturday 19th October, 11am - noon.Bob Knight, singer songwriter Bob Knight makes a very welcome return to the Wighton. Aberdonian Bob is a fine and versatile singer, a powerful yet sensitive songwriter, an accomplished instrumentalist and the possessor of a dry sense of humour. A proud member of the traveller community, the traditional songs and lore of his people inform his work bringing a modern perspective to an ancient culture and a timeless richness to modern themes. Doors open 10.30am - £5 admission, tea/coffee for small donation.
