John Rogers is again our guide as we follow the Ching from its source at Connaught Water in Epping Forest to its confluence with the River Lea in the Walthamstow edgelands. It turns out that Chingford gave its name to the river and not the other way round.
This post first appeared on the Radix UK blog.... Heavens above, political campaigners can be obstuse and dull: I was never so aware of it as I am now. Of course, what now seems obvious to me - that people are motivated by something different to the rhetoric they are presented with - may be wrong. It is possible that I am the obtuse one after all. Yet, think back to last time around and you will perhaps see what I mean. After the 2017 election, I found myself writing about the shift - at least in my own psyche ...
Responding to the Conservative Party's plans for an immigration crackdown, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Christine Jardine said:"Boris Johnson is demonising the EU nationals who contribute so much to our NHS, social care and economy. This dog-whistle politics is straight out of Nigel Farage or Donald Trump's playbook."Conservative plans to end free movement would mean fewer EU nurses and care workers, and fewer opportunities for UK citizens to move abroad."Neither Johnson or Corbyn are standing up for free movement and for the millions of EU nationals who are our friends, colleagues and neighbours. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is ...
Following Boris Johnson's interview with Sky's Sophy Ridge, the Liberal Democrats have compiled ten things Boris Johnson has done that are naughtier than cycling on pavements:Lied to the QueenLied about BrexitLied about hospitalsLied about Northern IrelandUsed racist languageUsed sexist languageUsed homophobic languageConspired to have a journalist beaten upInsulted single mothersContributed to the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-RatcliffeResponding to Boris Johnson's comments, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey said: "From lying to the queen to insulting single mothers, Boris Johnson has done far naughtier things than cycling on the pavement. He has tried to laugh off his dismal track record ...
Jo Swinson was on Sophy Ridge this morning, setting out very clearly that every single Liberal Democrat MP elected on Thursday would be absolutely focused on stopping Brexit. She emphasised that Liberal Democrats could stop Boris Johnson getting a majority. She also defended our policy of revoking Article 50 if the Liberal Democrats won a majority, saying that it was the most popular option amongst remainers, including Labour remainers. She could have mentioned that 6 million people signed a petition to do just that just a few months ago so the idea clearly has support. Here are her highlights: "Jeremy ...
At lunchtime today a Branch Line Society charter train came through Maghull on the Liverpool – Ormskirk Merseyrail Line and I was there to see it at the new(ish) Maghull North Station. Unexpectedly it stopped at Maghull North for 15 minutes allowing photographers both on and off the train to take photos. Here are my shots of the unique event. It is very rare to see anything other than Merseyrail's own Class 507/508 EMU's on the line. Indeed, this could well be the first charter train to visit and stop at Maghull's new station. Please correct me if I am ...
We are now just a few days away from the end of this election campaign. This is the 3rd time that I've stood in Newark and this election has been like no other that I've ever been involved in. Even now, just days from the vote, lots of people are telling me that they are undecided. However, lots of other people have told me that they are either lifelong Conservative or lifelong Labour voters, but they are voting for me this time. There are two reasons why Conservative voters told me they are switching to me. The first is that ...
With a new year coming, it's a good time to think about how the year 2020 looked from the distant vantage point of science fiction from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (I'm therefore not going to mention the 2010 Doctor Who episodes, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. Oops, I just did.) So here's a survey of sf stories set next year, published before the year 2000, inclduing books, films and TV series (but not games, sorry). I have listed them in chronological roder - three from 1890-1907, then a big gap until two in the 1960s, three in the ...
Please come along at 7 pm this Tuesday to meet and hear from all three candidates for the Thornbury and Yate constituency. You can email your questions to YateHustings@gmail.com, or you can write your questions just before or during the Hustings. There will be some time for verbal questions at the end, but you have a better chance of it being answered through email or writing down at the event.
"The most successful military alliance in history" is one description. Another is "brain dead." And a third is "obsolete." The fact is that all the above descriptions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are correct in varying degrees along with "guarantor of peace in Europe" and the "military heart of the Western Alliance." It is also true to say that the alliance is in crisis. To paraphrase Dean Acheson's description of post-imperial Britain, NATO won the Cold War and has yet to find a new role in the world. If one starts from the assumption that NATO is a force ...
I am given to nominating Move It by Cliff Richard and the Shadows as the great British rock and roll record, but last time I did so someone suggested this one as a rival. You can see his point. Johnny Kid died young in a car crash, but The Pirates had a big come back in the late Seventies and sounded very much at home on the pub rock scene.
Sat, 12:56: RT @erikgahner: Here is why I still trust data from Eurobarometer. I am not saying it's perfect (no data is), but I would like to see evide... Sat, 14:48: Hyderabad encounter: Slippery slope of extrajudicial killings leads to infinite darkness and not justice... https://t.co/nU8ug6q0VD Sat, 15:27: My Fair Lady (1964), Pygmalion (1938) and the original script by Bernard Shaw https://t.co/3ny9toVfXJ Sat, 20:01: My week on Twitter 🎉: 40 Mentions, 122 Likes, 49 Retweets, 5.65M Retweet Reach, 9 Replies. See yours with... https://t.co/lhWntG2ynC Sun, 11:59: RT @ProfTimBale: Probably the most profound paragraph about British politics you'll read throughout this ...
The Sunday Times has a fairly sensational but nevertheless unsurprising story about the inability of Labour to cope with a rising tide of complaints regarding anti-Semitism in its own ranks. The paper refers to a massive leak of secret documents which reveal the party is still overwhelmed with complaints about anti-Jewish racism that have been left unresolved for months or years. They say most have resulted in lenient punishments or no sanctions, according to the documents, despite Jeremy Corbyn's election campaign claims of zero tolerance: In a leaked audio recording from the party's disciplinary committee in late October, a Labour ...
Sun 8th
09:30
Criminals are exploiting children and vulnerable adults in Shropshire and Ludlow - we have ten count...
County lines extend drug dealing from the cities into smaller towns, including to Shropshire. Ludlow is one of the seven towns police identify as vulnerable to county line activity. Two people have recently been jailed for taking over a Ludlow house for drug dealing - cuckooing. County lines controlled from Merseyside, Manchester and the Midlands are only part of the issue. Every year in Shropshire, police, medical practitioners and councils monitor around 150 young people vulnerable to child sexual exploitation - CSE. This part of a nationwide problem of exploitation of children and vulnerable adults by criminals. Shropshire and Ludlow ...
Television presenter Esther Rantzen is throwing her support behind the Lib Dem candidate in Finchley and Golders Green. She said: As a floating voter myself, I believe we need to support outstanding individuals to ensure we elect the best politicians with integrity and determination. Although I do not live in her constituency, I am greatly impressed by Luciana's courage and commitment in standing for election when she has in the past as an MP suffered appalling abuse and prejudice. She has put herself in the firing line for fearlessly exposing anti-Jewish racism. It might have been tempting to decide to ...
Sun 8th
05:55Work begins on Foldgate Lane housing but its not a great start - 100 trees to come down this week
Contractors moved onto the Foldgate Lane site last Monday. They are setting up a construction compound ahead of felling more than 100 trees from tomorrow (Monday 9 December). A couple of dozen heavy trucks have already driven along Foldgate Lane to deliver stone, machinery and cabins. This is in breach of planning permission, which states clearly that the lane cannot be used for construction access. This is not an impressive start to this development which has been controversial from the moment the application was submitted. There is no need to fell over 100 trees along the A49 because an alternative ...
