Tories' new counter-terror plans undermine civil liberties Welsh Lib Dems: Every child has a right to RSE Govt must invest to demonstrate it values teachers Welsh Lib Dems: UK Government must rethink Withdrawal Bill Lib Dem peers win vote to protect child refugees Tories' new counter-terror plans undermine civil liberties Responding to the Government's announcement of new counter-terror legislation, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: If you could stop terrorism by passing illiberal new laws, the Conservatives would have ended it ages ago. It's less than a year since the Conservatives passed their last piece of unnecessary, reactionary ...
Apologies for the delay, press release fans! Unfortunately, the Parish Council I chair ran late, so I wasn't able to get these up last night... Young people deserve a clear, unambiguous commitment to Erasmus Ministers must explain to Parliament why HS2 costs have soared Lib Dems urge Govt to extend provision of free period products PM must put child refugees above politics Lib Dem peers defeat Govt on vote to protect EU citizens' rights PM negotiating deadline with EU woefully unrealistic Lib Dems inflict another defeat on Govt's Brexit Bill Young people deserve a clear, unambiguous commitment to Erasmus Responding ...
This month sees the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Oxhey Opinion, the regular Liberal Democrat newsletter published in the ward I represent on Watford Borough Council. In January 1970, Tony Poole the Liberal candidate for Oxhey, wrote the first edition and printed it himself on a Roneo machine, in two colour orange and black. This was an era when Liberals were increasingly developing 'community politics' techniques, including what we now call Focus-style newsletters. Yet Tony's reasons for launching the newsletter arose from local circumstances. Oxhey has its own distinct identity and he felt that a newsletter that went ...
The mixing of the visionary and the pragmatic to such great effect makes the speech one that shows the way for orators of much lesser ability, who may not have the words or style to match JFK but who do face similar challenges with the arguments they wish to present.
I felt the scented smoke of chestnuts burning among the clinging reek of old damp leaves, hazy, catching at my breath, falling to the bottom of my lungs; while I ripped up the tracks of my life behind meas I walked, a purpose in itself, half-lame, within approximate direction; cast out – or walked away – from our chosen home... Searching [...]
I found this passage in a book called "Old Newbury" in the Newburyport Library (which is quite magnificent). It says: "From the very beginning, Newbury was Reverend Parker's town, named for the community in England where he had last preached, and it was his family and neighbors who would form the core of the new ... Continue reading Photos of Newbury and Newburyport in Massachusetts, USA
Second paragraph of third chapter:When I was eight years old, Orma hired me a dragon tutor, a young female called Zeyd. My father had objected strenuously. He despised dragons, despite the fact that he was the Crown's expert on the treaty and had even defended saarantrai in court.I was moved to get this after hugely enjoying Hartman's Tess of the Road, a finalist for last year's Lodestar Award. Seraphina didn't blow me away quite as firmly, but I still thought it was very good - a YA novel about a girl growing up in a kingdom which has reached an ...
Following the 2019 general election, we are now second in 91 seats, of which 80 are held by the Conservatives and just 9 by Labour (the other 2 are held by the SNP). Of the 10 seats where we are closest (less than 3000 votes behind), 8 are currently held by The Conservatives. You can model some interesting seat projections based on various swing scenarios. As shown by Electoral Calculus: A 5% swing from the Conservatives to us means we win an additional 15 seats , end result hung parliament (Lab +23, Con -40) A 5% swing from Labour to ...
Liberal Democrat peers today helped to inflict another defeat on the Conservative Government in the House of Lords, this time on a vote to protect child refugees. By 300 to 220, the House of Lords passed an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill to maintain the rights of unaccompanied refugee children elsewhere in Europe to be reunited with their family members in the UK. This marks the fourth government defeat on the Bill, after the Lords passed three amendments yesterday: one moved by Liberal Democrat peer Jonny Oates to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, ...
THE Northern Care Alliance NHS Group (NCA) is inviting elderly local residents and trust members to a free talk at Rochdale Infirmary, which will give advice about how older people can prevent falls at home and keep fit and healthy in old age. The NCA's Integrated Neighbourhood Team based at Rochdale Infirmary, which specialises in falls prevention and community physio, will deliver the talk. This takes place on Monday 27 January, from 1pm to 2pm, in Room D3, Level C, Education Centre, at Rochdale Infirmary. Advice will be given about how falls can be avoided and how to stop frailty ...
This week (20 January 2020) is the Citizens Advice Bureau's Big Energy Saving Week – a national campaign to help people cut their energy bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to. Try the Citizens Advice energy price comparison tool which is free, uses a full market comparison, totally independent and gives a customer service rating for the major energy companies. The campaign also has advice and tips on what to consider when switching and how to check you are getting all the benefits and help you are entitled to.
Young people aged 14 to 16 are invited to apply to represent Bury in this year's International Youth Sports Festival in Portugal? If you play football, athletics, table tennis, tennis or swimming for a local club, you could be on your way! The event gives young people the chance to compete against others from Bury's twinned and friendship towns in Europe, and experience new cultures and make lifelong friends. Bury Sport and Physical Activity Service has supported the International Youth Sports Festival since 2002, and wants local clubs to identify a squad of players to take part, as well as ...
Greater Manchester Mental Health, the NHS trust based at Prestwich Hospital has received an overall rating of 'GOOD' from the Care Quality Commission. The Trust also received individual ratings for each of our core service lines; achieving 'Good' ratings for six core services, 'Requires Improvement' for two core services and an 'Outstanding' rating for our substance misuse services. During their inspection, the CQC noted that staff treat patients with compassion and kindness, and respect their privacy and dignity. They recognise that staff involve service users in care planning and risk assessment and that the Trust actively seek feedback on the ...
I downed tools and stopped almost all my usual work as a videographer for five weeks this winter. Here are some of my observations from the frontline... I'll say this first so that anyone with a short attention span understands the root cause of all our problems. It really is very simple and everything else I mention after this one cataclysmic issue, is a significant order of magnitude less important. The reason this country is utterly broken is First Past the Post. Sadly you can't change it until you take power and you will only take power if the system ...
Tue 21st
12:40
Dorothy Thornhill will chair panel to review into both the General election and the European electio...
This comes from a post by Party President and Co-leader Mark Pack, on the party's website, explaining some output from Saturday's Federal Board meeting: Election Review The (Federal) Board has commissioned a review into both the General election and the European elections. This review will be run independently of those who ran the elections, with a panel of experts who have a broad range of skills from knowing about grassroots election campaigns through to understanding what the very best decision-making processes in organisations look like. The Chair is Dorothy Thornhill, who was the elected Mayor of Watford for 16 years, ...
Mon, 12:56: France is not all French https://t.co/Na7pcXzE4Y Very enlightening linguistic maps. Mon, 16:05: What now for the humbled Liberal Democrats? https://t.co/ZTzlj9FvC2 Good question. Mon, 18:36: Exhalation, by Ted Chiang https://t.co/UlqDghXCKW Mon, 23:06: RT @davidallengreen: Priceless, from a Brexit party MEP
It is really difficult to be right-wing in America. And by that I do not mean it is tricky for right-wing people to get on in the US; what I mean is, there is such a high bar to being considered truly right-wing in the States that is difficult to be right-wing enough to clear it. Believe in any health care arrangement that is to the left of what the Americans currently have, i.e. any other health care set up in the entire western world? You're a leftie. Think perhaps arming primary school teachers isn't the best way to tackle ...
At conference you have all sorts of conversation and all sorts of unusual things happen. I could tell a tale or two but I am reserving them for my (never to be written) memoirs. In September 2018, excitement in the party was high. One almost needed a brown paper bag handy to breathe into, should things get overly hyperventilatory. The gist of the excitement was: We have to be more relevant! There are rich people going round with large truck loads of cash, looking for somewhere to dump it. We've got to be in on the conversations to set up ...
Work on the new River Berth taking place in August 2015 I've posted many times about access to the Port of Liverpool and the lovely Rimrose Valley Country Park being chosen to have a new road driven right through it to provide that additional access. But what was Sefton Council's Cabinet trying to achieve with the judicial review that they launched in October 2017? Cranes at Liverpool 2's deep water river berth for colossal sized contain ships, Seaforth. What an odd question you might say, but hear me out. I've been reading a report which went to Sefton Council's Cabinet ...
Do governments suppress a lot of reports? I am aware that they certainly ignore a great many, or at the very least just pick out the bits that they like, but how many do they commission and then shelve away without them seeing the light of day? I suspect it is more than we would like to think. Either way, the report into Russian interference in the British political system does not seem to want to go away. This was the tome that was suppressed before the election and which has still not been published. However, as the Guardian reports, ...
Last year, at my request, Hillcrest Enterprises as factors undertook a clean-up, graffiti removal, weeds removal and guttering works at lock-ups in Ancrum Drive. I have also asked Hillcrest if it will consider improving the road surface around the lock-ups as it is very potholed and muddy. Hillcrest's Housing Manager (Operations) has postively responded as follows : "I'm aware the surface at the lock ups is not ideal and this is clearly backed up by the photo you have supplied. ... The cost of tarmac would be prohibitive but we can of course look at some practical repairs and maintenance. ...
Responding to the Government's announcement of new counter-terror legislation, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: "If you could stop terrorism by passing illiberal new laws, the Conservatives would have ended it ages ago. "It's less than a year since the Conservatives passed their last piece of unnecessary, reactionary legislation in the name of combatting terrorism, and they're already proposing another one. "We need policies based on evidence, not cheap headlines. Judges already have the power to lock up terrorists for life; tying their hands with mandatory minimum sentences simply won't help. And polygraphs simply aren't accurate or reliable ...
