For several years now, Tim Bale, Paul Webb and Monica Poletti have been the stand-out stars of research into British political party membership thanks to their detailed surveys not only of political party members but also of other supporters of parties. That comparison between members and non-member supporters has thrown up some of their most original insights. Their new book, Footsoldiers: political party membership in the 21st century presents this research in a highly accessible way, making it not only an important contribution to academic understanding but also a useful guide for those who are involved in the running of ...
Our meeting this week covered a number of areas. We had firstly a very useful chat with Neil Stockley, chair of the working group on utilities, which is still at an early stage and whose timetable has been heavily disrupted by the excitements of the autumn. We reviewed the use or, if you like I suppose the utility, of this exercise in the rather changed political circumstances since we decided to set it up last year. We agreed that it remains a helpful area for us to focus on, not least as it has a clear direct impact on people's ...
The death of Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said at the age of 79 brings to an end half a century of extraordinary one man rule that transformed the Gulf state from a conservative backwater into a modern country, which nonetheless retained much of its cultural individuality. Once the centre of a maritime empire, Oman had [...]
Responding to a report released on Friday by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services into 'county lines' gangs, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said:"When children as young as 12 are being exploited by drug gangs, the Government's approach clearly needs to change. We need to stop both the supply and demand of illegal hard drugs."Unnecessary Tory cuts to the police have made it easier for organised criminal networks to spread. Cuts to the Border Force have made it easier for gangs to traffic illegal drugs and guns into the UK, and cuts to youth services ...
The Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to end "pointless" short prison sentences, as new official figures show that nine prisons are overcapacity by more than 50%. The extent of overcrowding in prisons is revealed today in the Ministry of Justice's latest Prison Population bulletin. It shows that, as of the end of 2019, there are 68 prisons in England and Wales (58%) where the number of prisoners exceeds capacity. This includes nine prisons whose population exceeds capacity by more than on the figures, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: "Prisons are in crisis. With overcrowding at ...
Responding to data revealing that incidents of upskirting have been reported to the police at a rate of almost one a day since it became a specific sexual offence, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who originally proposed the Bill, said:"This horrifying statistic serves to show how necessary a change in the law was. Victims across the UK were failing to get justice and perpetrators of the crime were walking free."The change to make upskirting a specific sexual offence has not only given protection to victims and punishment to offenders, but it has shown how widespread the crime is."The Conservative government ...
Responding to an NGO report calling for child refugees to be given the right to sponsor close family members to join them, the Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to support their bill that would do just that. Without My Family, a report published today by Amnesty International, the Refugee Council and Save the Children, criticises the Conservative Government for "deliberately and destructively preventing child refugees from being reunited with their families". The Refugees (Family Reunion) Bill, tabled by Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Hamwee, would expand family reunion rights so that unaccompanied child refugees in the UK can sponsor close ...
Fri, 14:41: RT @MatthewOToole2: Not quite breaking news but I'm delighted be asked to serve the proudly diverse and shared community of South Belfast,... Fri, 16:48: RT @chimenesuleyman: LET ME TELL YOU about this Turkish breakfast show that shits all over Trisha—Ready? So, this woman comes on looking fo... Fri, 18:29: The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey https://t.co/yDyNYVdJaa Fri, 18:58: RT @skydavidblevins: BREAKING: The deal is done. Sinn Fein accepts a draft agreement to restore devolution in Northern Ireland. The DUP had... Fri, 20:03: RT @JudiciaryUK: The judgment in Samira Ahmed v BBC handed down by Judge Harjit ...
The defeat of an amendment tabled by Liberal Democrats, which would have enshrined in law a duty for ministers to try to keep Britain in the Erasmus programme, means that the future is bleak for one of the European Union's most successful programmes. The amendment would have forced the government to keep the scheme open to UK students after Brexit, providing exchange opportunities at universities around Europe. But the programme spreads its net much wider. For example, Erasmus helps fund work experience in Swansea for apprentices from Mannheim, helping to keep open the two cities twinning links. I have also ...
Southport Road, Lydiate This is a matter I have oft thought about and not necessarily in the way you might think. Yes, we all see the mad drivers blasting through our communities at a rate of knots neither aware or caring about the potential consequences of their actions. Indeed, in my own community of Lydiate there are growing concerns from Joe and Jane Public about irresponsible speeding along Southport Road and Moss Lane and I'm quite sure others can add to these two roads. To his credit local Labour Parish Councillor Neil Spencer is trying to get the powers that ...
In October 1805 Napoleon was in what is now the Czech Republic and desperate to engage the armies of Austria and Russia, which had converged, before they became too strong to overcome. The Russian commander-in-chief, Kutuzov, also realised that Napoleon needed to do battle, so he counselled retreat. But the Austrians and Tsar Alexander, buoyed by what they believed was reliable reconnaissance information, overruled Kutuzov, who was demoted. Napoleon, by various stratagems, lured the Austrians into a battle on terrain of his choosing, near Austerlitz. You can see where this is going. French reinforcements, of whom the Austrians were unaware, ...
Back at work, I continued lobbying for a Commission cabinet position until it became obvious that this was not my year. (I have not seriously tried again since.) I had another op-ed on Macedonia as the political situation there took another twist. I travelled to Moldova, Belfast and ended the month in Portugal, with a day trip to the Hague. A writer whose books I don't especially like rather sweetly got in touch and offered to send me some more so that I could make a more informed judgement; I accepted. And we celebrated little U's christening (Guy Van Haver, ...
The Governent's Withdrawal Bill, which both Mrs May and Mr Johnson in their turns found so difficult to get through the previous Commons, has now passed the present one and is in the hand of the Lords. There are at least two significant omissions in the present Bill, and one serious distortion in an official government statement. Before the election the government, including Johnson's government, had accepted a clause, known as the Dubbs Amendment, which would allow unaccompanied refugee children stranded in the remaining 27 to join their families in the UK. This has now been withdrawn. Given our reasonably ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : Our first exhibition of 2020 has just gone up in the Tower Foyer Gallery, featuring dramatic paintings by an award-winning Dundee artist. Ellis O'Connor studied Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, graduating in 2014. She completed an MFA in Arts & Humanities at the College in 2016. Since then she has won numerous awards for her work and undertaken several residency programmes, including in Iceland and Norway. In 2016 she was one of a group of artists who sailed around the Svalbard Archipelago ...
