Liberal Democrats welcome Citizens' Assembly Liberal Democrats: Sadiq Khan's mass surveillance roll-out unacceptable Ministers must explain soaring cost of HS2 to Parliament Government must review assisted dying laws Liberal Democrats welcome Citizens' Assembly Ahead of the first meeting of the Citizens' Assembly on climate change, set up by House of Commons Select Committees last year, Liberal Democrat Climate Action Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said: The climate crisis is doing irreversible damage to our planet. The UK must cut its emissions to net-zero, be it by improving how we heat our homes or cutting emissions from flying. This Citizens' Assembly could help ...
Time to catch up with the press releases... Tories' headline-grabbing gestures on knife crime have clearly failed Welsh Lib Dems – NHS Wales waiting times unacceptable Tories' headline-grabbing gestures on knife crime have clearly failed Responding to the new official crime statistics, released today, which show knife crime continuing to rise to a new record high, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said: These statistics are heart-breaking. Far too many young people are having their lives destroyed by knives and gangs. We urgently need to break the grip of this epidemic of serious violence. The Conservatives' approach has clearly ...
Montague Maurice Burton (1885-1952) opened his first store in Chesterfield in 1904, and entered the bespoke tailoring business in 1912. By 1914, there were 12 shops, mainly in the north of England; by 1939 there were 595. At first the stores occupied existing buildings, but from 1923, new stores were built on freehold sites, and prominent town-centre corner sites (such as this one) were favoured. In about 1932, the company established its own architectural department, which maintained the house style established by the architect Henry Wilson, who had been working for the company since 1923. In about 1937, Nathaniel Martin ...
Sun 26th
19:04
UPDATED: The 91 seats where the Liberal Democrats came second in the general election (or The Sunday...
Thank you all for your excellent comments to my earlier post, pointing out the errors in my spreadsheet! I see it as an experiment in community data creation! My main problem is that I did not screen out seats with a large Nationalist element, mainly in Scotland. So I have weeded all that out and I am now down to the generally accepted 91 seats. This time, as suggested by Geoffrey Payne, I have ranked them by the (majority/total votes)/2 % to give the "swing needed", with the smallest %age at the top. View this document on Scribd * Paul ...
There are two candidates for the Whitcliffe Ward. Both have kindly offered to provide a pitch to tell voters why they are the right candidate for the ward. This is Hillary's address. Philip's statement is here. I am married to Robert and have three children, one of whom also lives in Ludlow. I have lived in the Whitcliffe Ward since arriving in Ludlow 7 years ago when my husband retired from the Police Force in Hampshire. As a Ludlow businesswoman, working as a Consultant and Trainer in Health and Social Care. I joined Ludlow Rotary Club where I have met ...
There are two candidates for the Whitcliffe Ward. Both have kindly offered to provide a pitch to tell voters why they are the right candidate for the ward. This is Philip's address. Hillary's statement is here. With the media concentrating on national and international issues it is easy to forget the importance of local government. Climate emergency, austerity and health issues affect both individuals and businesses in Ludlow and some aspects of these issues can be dealt with at a local level. I have lived here for more than a decade, the decade of austerity which has coincided with the ...
Liverpool's Lib Dems have named the first of their three Citywide and Merseyside wide Candidates to take on Labour at the local elections in May. Woolton Cllr Kris Brown is set to challenge for the Elected Police Commissioner's position while ... Continue reading →
Miserable, dull weather but great people and invigorating training. That was ALDC's latest Kickstart residential training weekend from which I'm returning as I type this. The mix of the old faces and new talent, not to mention the number of people in power in local government, meant there was much to be hopeful about regarding the party's future. That future requires us to fix an awful lot with the party when it comes to general elections in particular. Some of those fixes will take some time to figure out, apply and start showing benefits. But that should be no excuse ...
Sun 26th
15:30Community data creation - A first (and wrong) attempt at listing the constituencies where the Libera...
UPDATE: This post has now been superseded. I have now issued a new post with the revised spreadsheet showing 91 seats. Thanks everyone for your input on my errors, I hope you enjoyed joining in! A friend asked me if I knew where, on Sir Tim Berners-Lee's ingenious interweb device, there is a list of the 90 seats where the LibDems were second in the general election in December. It turns out that I couldn't find such a list, so I have created it – displayed below through the magic of Scribd. 90 is the figure that has been bandied ...
Sun 26th
15:25
Proposed clampdown on parking in Ludlow town centre will batter its struggling economy
The proposed exclusion zone for vehicles in Ludlow's town centre will benefit no one except Shropshire Council's coffers from yet more parking fines. It is overkill. Heavy handed regulation of the type in currently vogue in Shirehall. We don't need this. There is a recognised problem with inconsiderate parking in the market area. There is also a problem with drivers not knowing where they can park or where they will get a penalty charge notice. But this doesn't need to be solved with the over the top scheme Shropshire Council is proposing. The council wants five foot high signs in ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:Londinium lies between six and eight metres below London. In Naples, you can take tours to 'Napoli Sotterranea', underground Naples. You can climb down steps under a church, and be in the Roman streets. Or wander through the Greek city, older still, which was once the new city, the 'nea polis'. You cannot 'be' in Londinium, though you can, if you are persistent, seek it out and glimpse it in the crypt of a church, in the cellar of a shop, in an underground car park, behind a locked door in an office basement. If Londinium ...
Sun 26th
13:00Siobhan Benita slams London Mayor's mass surveillance roll-out as a real risk to civil liberties
Responding to the Metropolitan Police's announcement on Thursday that it will begin to use automated facial recognition surveillance operationally, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London Siobhan Benita said: It is unacceptable for a new form of mass surveillance like this to be rolled out onto London's streets without proper consultation, regulation or oversight. Facial recognition technology is hopelessly inaccurate. It is biased against women and ethnic minorities. The evidence that it will make us safer is patchy at best, but there is a real risk that it will erode civil liberties and increase distrust and discrimination. To make London ...
Maria McKee is an American artist who has been around since the early 1980s, when she was a member of the band Lone Justice. This a track from her forthcoming album La Vita Nuova. Fire Records says: The lyrics in 'Page Of Cups' flirt with the "unexpected, surprising muse" figure in the minor Tarot arcana. The track recalls 'Forever Changes'-era Love.
Sat, 16:48: Demon in Leuven, by Guido Eekhaut https://t.co/pBGZY3D9jL Sat, 16:51: The languages of the future according to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): ENGLISH FRENCH D... https://t.co/gVq6DwTA5F Sat, 17:02: No Chinese, no German, no Arabic... but Dutch! https://t.co/K5fHBtGZ2i Sat, 20:48: RT @apcoworldwide: Purpose and #SocialRisk: Success in the New Age of #Leadership - @MargeryKraus shares insights on today's #GlobalLeaders... Sat, 20:53: RT @Novacon50: Novacon 50! The big five-oh. Join us back at the Nottingham Sherwood Hotel on 13th-15th November. Guests of Honor (you heard... Sun, 10:45: RT @Benwillz7: Absolutely love this clearance from the pup. The pink to ...
There is such a thing as a gracious loser, so Michael Heseltine is absolutely right when he accuses the UK Government of seeking to "rub the noses of Remainers in their defeat", after the prime minister announced events to commemorate the UK's departure from the EU this coming Friday at 11pm. Downing Street have commissioned three million special 50p coins bearing the words "Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations". These will enter shops, banks and restaurants from Friday with a further seven million coming into circulation by the end of the year. Union Jack flags will also line Parliament ...
On Thursday Christine Jardine MP led a Westminster Hall debate of MPs on the subject of the Assisted Dying Law. This was a debate which she brought about. You can read the debate in full on the Hansard website, and below are Christine's opening and closing contributions, replete with interventions from other MPs. Christine has written an article in The Times (£) on the subject and the Westminster Hall debate was covered on BBC Radio 4's Today in Parliament programme (starts at 15:22) – which included an interview on the subject with Christine. Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD) I beg ...
Sun 26th
09:04
Here are the major arguments against the Tories as stated by their opponents - and why they all suck
In the wake of the election result, there have been many takes on the Tory victory from the centre, the centre-left and the proper left, all of them very, very bad. I thought it was worth taking the time to go through them and talk about why they don't work the way they are intended. The Tories are creating a fascist dictatorship No, they aren't. Or at least, it's very unlikely. Brexit is a bad idea. The Tories have installed a very right-wing person to be Home Secretary. These two things do not add up to the Tories trying to ...
An inspector for Historic England has laid into the plans to redevelop Budgens with retail units on the ground floor and apartments above (19/05380/FUL). The conservation watchdog wants the developer, Morris Property, to "bring forward a more sympathetic scheme better suited to this prominent site." The intervention from Historic England is surprisingly strong. It usually does not more than remind councils of their legal responsibilities. There are some merits in its complaints. But it doesn't seem to understand the need for a prominent building on this important gateway into Ludlow town centre. Let's begin with the legal responsibilities. Decisions makers, ...
NHS Tayside is looking for volunteers : "Based at the front door of Ninewells Hospital, you will be a point of contact welcoming people into the Hospital. You will provide clear directional information to help people get to their appointment, signposting, or escorting patients or visitors. This role is suited for people with good listening and communication skills. You will have a reasonable level of fitness, able to walk with visitors to their destination if required. You must be reliable, have a helpful, friendly and courteous attitude, and be caring, sympathetic and sensitive. You will have a genuine interest in ...
Sun 26th
05:51Ludlow Town Council to discuss plans for prohibition of parking in the market area tomorrow night
Shropshire Council is planning to ban parking in the market and castle area at all times. It also wants to prohibit loading between 10am and 2pm. The restrictions will not apply Castle Street from outside cancer Research through to Ludlow Assembly Rooms. Council are suggesting creating a one way system from Spar to Betfred and Pizza Express. They also want to make Church Street and Harp Lane one way. These proposals will be discussed at the town council meeting on Monday, 29 January, 7pm at the Guildhall. Members of the public can address the chamber for a maximum of three ...
