Today, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has called on Boris Johnson to extend benefits for bereaved families to the children of a cohabiting couple when a parent dies, after the High Court ruled that the current law breaches those children's human rights. Ed Davey congratulated campaigners on their victory, in which Mr Justice Holman ruled that it was a breach of the Human Rights Act that the higher rate of Bereavement Support Payment is paid to families with children when a spouse or civil partner dies, but not to the children of a surviving cohabiting parent. It ...
The new Liberator is out so, for better or worse, it's time to spend another week at Bonkers Hall. Our first entry finds the old boy less than enthused by the Liberal Democrats' general election performance. Monday Well that was a bit of a damp squib, wasn't it? One minute Jo "Gloria" Swinson was telling us she was going to be prime minster and the next she was handed her cards by the electors of East Dunbartonshire. The Well-Behaved Orphans were particularly miffed at the way the campaign was run, having worn out their shoe leather (well, it was December) ...
Hello! I'm Mark Pack, author of 101 Ways To Win An Election, and the maintainer of the largest database of national voting intention polls in the UK, stretching back to 1943. The Parliament may not have been in place long, but the polling companies are already gearing up with their regular voting intention polls. Here's what they've found so far. Below the table, you'll find the option to sign up to email updates about new polls and also a set of answers to frequently asked questions about political polling. General election voting intention polls Pollster Con Lab LD Grn BXP ...
You will find me in this strange world of photos, hashtags and emojis @jonathancaldermh. These are the four photos I have posted so far.
I don't recall seeing any of The Sontaran Experiment first time around in 1975, but it was one of the earlier bits of Old Who that I got back to, in March 2006. I wrote then:It comes between two excellent stories of Tom Baker's first season, The Ark In Space and Genesis Of The Daleks. Alas, the two episodes in between are not much cop, with the Doctor, Harry and Sarah running around a quarry and falling down holes, in the company of some dishevelled stranded astronauts, a Sontaran and a robot reminiscent of Graeme Garden's computer from the Goodies. ...
Well done and thank you to Andrew Matthews, who stood for the party in the Royal Wooton Bassett Town Council (North ward) by-election yesterday. This ward was last contested at the main elections in 2017 when the Tories took four of the seats and we took three. A vacancy occured in one ofthe Conservative-held seats, causing the by-election. The result was: Thank you and well done also to Martin Jones who stood for us in the by-election for Spennymoor Town Council. The result was an extraordinary win for the Conservatives, who didn't stand for this council in the last main ...
Focus Team members campaigning for better bus services If you're reading this sitting on a bus, or use buses/ would like to use them, please could you check out the new plans for buses across the whole area around Bristol (called the West of England Bus Strategy). There is a survey form and a set of proposals. If you want to get better services here in Yate it would be really helpful if EVERYONE filled it in. The more people fill it in, the more likely they are to notice that we want better and cheaper services. Most of the ...
Issue 399 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers and it's a bumper 40 page issue, mainly given over to analysing the December general election and its consequences, and how the party handled both 'revoke' and 'Jo Swinson could be your next prime minister'. The free sample articles for this issue are by Simon Hughes on seeing the campaign unravel, and from Nick Harvey on what he thinks were the eight major errors made by the party. Also in this issue new party president Mark Pack answers our questions and Peter Dunphy explains how Unite to Remain was put ...
Surely it is time that the House of Lords was abolished and replaced with a wholly-elected second chamber of the nations and regions? I raise this issue once more because we are due shortly to have the dissolution honours list in front of us, and already there are allegations of cronyism. The Independent reports that Boris Johnson is poised to hand a peerage to a billionaire Conservative party donor and Brexit backer. They say that Peter Cruddas, one of the City's richest men, is on a list of nominees for the controversial dissolution honours to be handed out this month: ...
It has become a political fact of life that democracy on both sides of the Atlantic is under severe threat. The latest proof of this danger is the Senate acquittal of Donald Trump in a judicial exercise that makes Stalin's Moscow show trials look like paragons of legal transparency and justice. The Conservative British government is going in the same direction, albeit by a different route. The root of the problem is respect —or lack of respect— for the rule of law. For democracy to work it needs clear legal parameters and elected political leaders who accept that their responsibility ...
Yesterday I re-watched the BBC 2 programme about the 300+ Polish refugee children brought to the UK in 1945 for "rehabilitation" after their incarceration in concentration camps. For details see this previous post: and if you missed it I urge you to watch it on One of the most striking features is the emphasis the children place on their identities, names and families. The first boy asked to introduce himself automatically uncovers his forearm to reveal his number tattooed concentration camp number. We get the message of dehumanisation. One boy was included in the group at the last ...
Thu, 12:56: DWP fit-to-work assessments cost more money than they save, report reveals https://t.co/XqWEWooV8A The British gove... https://t.co/k3KL8GiJIH Thu, 13:17: RT @amcunningham: Expect a change of policy based on this evidence soon? Let's hope so. Thu, 13:48: This is rather good. https://t.co/zB7OKx6i3e Thu, 14:30: RT @HannahAlOthman: Please enjoy the final line of the answer to this written PQ https://t.co/6Zo46LnHhQ Thu, 15:43: RT @JohnHyphen: wow all the bank machines in Brussels have been updated to this brits out, I guess? https://t.co/REKvDU02TX Thu, 16:05: Gas is not the solution - Cyprus Mail https://t.co/OBXzg7aOzo A sober warning to Greek Cypriots from a friend. ...
If you have any experience of the way children with special needs are supported in schools here - or worry about funding please contribute your views. Claire Young and your Focus Team have been supporting parents arguing for better funding for schools and children with special needs.Now current and future children with special needs, need your support, by feeding into the review. To find out more about groups working to get improvements to special needs support here look for 'SEND Emergency' on facebook The Ofsted re-visit will take place from Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 February 2020. The Ofsted/CQC team ...
Fri 7th
10:20
Professor John Curtice: Revoke policy did not hurt Lib Dem popularity in election campaign
The latest excellent edition of the Journal of Liberal History deserves this extra plug. Professor John Curtice's nine page study of the Liberal Democrat performance in the 2019 general election is a must-read. You can subscribe to the Journal of Liberal History here. As one might expect, it is thoroughly based on comprehensive psephological data and the article has a long list of bibliographical references. Prof Curtice's basic conclusions, with my blunt paraphrasing, are: Backing an early election "backfired spectacularly" on the Lib Dems The party's increase in support in 2019 (climaxing with the Euro elections in June) consisted of ...
Nibley Lane, Yate will be closed on Thursday 13 February from 9.30am - 3.30pm for cleansing work. This involves litter clearance, gully emptying and road sweeping. South Glos say they cannot do this work safely without closing the road. The alternative route is via Badminton Road, Station Road, Westerleigh Road and vice versa. They've apologised for the inconvenience caused. It will also mean Station Road is a lot busier that day.
Last night, I published notice of the cancellation of Ludlow to Kidderminster bus services from 9.30am to mid-afternoon today. I have been trying to get an emergency timetable in place for much of the week to prevent Cleobury Mortimer and Clee being cut off. At 9:23am this morning, Shropshire Council emailed me a schedule for a shuttle bus from Ludlow to Cleobury Mortimer. This is such short notice, I don't know whether it will get any passengers. For example, the morning buses from Cleobury Mortimer to Ludlow are at 8:56am and 10:56am. But the replacement bus is 10:04am. Make of ...
Bootle Town Hall The Liverpool Echo has the article on its website – see link below:- How ever you look at it this situation is one where it's an every which way but lose scenario for cash strapped Sefton Council and it's Labour rulers. Joe and Jane public will be horrified, especially as their ever increasing council tax bills will be landing on Sefton doorsteps very soon. Cllr Leo Evans (Lib Dem) says that only his group of councillors voted against this at the last full council meeting.
Many congratulations to Luigi Gregori and Robin Hughes on being elected to Andover Town Council to represent the Harroway ward. Up until today the town councillors have represented the Andover Independents Party and the Andover Alliance, with two independent members. So, Luigi and Robin are the first Lib Dems since the last main set of elections in 2019 at least. The by-election vote yesterday was held because two previous councillors left the council in November having failed to attend a single meeting in the six months since the last election. Here is the result: And here, for comparison, is the ...
Fri 7th
08:35
Consultations on changes to car park residents permits and season tickets, also holiday let permits
Last September, Shropshire Council consulted on changes to the parking regime introduced in Ludlow in November 2018 and at various dates around the county. Now, it wants to introduce changes to permits for season tickets and residents permits. The changes are technical. They will increase flexibility and better suit local needs. The council is also consulting on providing on-street permits for holiday lets within Ludlow's Blue and Red Zones. Car park permits Each car park across the county has a quota for residents permits and a separate quota for season ticket holders. However, demand has been higher for season tickets ...
I have recently received complaints about the poor road condition of parts of Clayhills Drive. I took this matter up with the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and have received the following potentially positive response : "Structural inlays at various location in Clayhills Drive are provisionally scheduled to be carried out in March/ April of this year, subject to budget availability." I have asked to be kept updated by the Roads Maintenance Partnership on this given the poor state of parts of the road here.
[This post first appeared on the CaCHE blog on 28/01/20] This blog by Professor Alex Marsh is based upon an extract from the presentation 'Spotlight on the private rented sector', given to the Wales Housing Research Conference, 9 January 2020. This post follows the recent CaCHE blog series on 'housing-tech'. [IMG: 25575758184_ce41009c3a_c] The arrival of platform capitalism is already having a discernible impact on the private rented sector. The rise of short-term letting via Airbnb and similar sites are disrupting neighbourhoods in tourist-friendly cities and triggering processes of neighbourhood change. The task of analysing these transformations is well underway - ...
