Radix feels like a think tank that was set up to serve a new centre party that never happened, but it has published an important paper by the former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb. His recommendations in Rebooting Capitalism include: Using the upcoming decampment from the Palace of Westminster to move the national Parliament to the North of England, separating the UK's economic and political capitals and building a real Northern Powerhouse.Devolving power radically, including over setting taxes, to cities and regions, enabling them to determine their own destiny and empowering local innovation. Streamlining the creation of employee-owned businesses to ...
"Brexit has given nationalists the confidence to cast suspicions upon a wide array of independent public bodies, from universities to the Bank of England. One thing that neoliberals and nationalists can agree on is that anyone whose education and career has been spent in publicly funded liberal institutions, telling a story about 'the public interest' is a fraud." William Davies on the Conservative attack on the humanities. "The report that Johnson wants civil service briefings to be short and simple is not so remarkable - many politicians share that desire - but the suspicion must be that he also wants ...
I spent most of today at a pop-up conference put on in Bermondsey by the Liberal Democrat lawyers' group, Rights Liberties Justice. The key theme was how liberalism can combat populism in the world today, with interesting contributions from Professor David Howarth, former MEP Irina von Wiese and messaging strategist Rob Blackie. But little more [...]
Non-fiction: 6 (YTD 12) The Idea of Justice, by Amartya Sen The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn The Critique of Pure Reason, by Immanuel Kant - (did not finish) A Popular History of Ireland, by Thomas D'Arcy McGee - (did not finish) H.G. Wells: A Literary Life, by Adam Roberts J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration for Lúthien: the "gallant" Edith Bratt, by Nancy Bunting and Seamus Hamill-Keays (strictly a scholarly article rather than a book, but it's 195 pages so I am tallying it here.) [IMG: B004UJ260O.01._SX175_SY250_SCLZZZZZZZ_[1].jpg] Fiction (non-sf): 2 (YTD 5) A Killing Winter, by Tom Callaghan ...
Why do we forget about Syria so easily? The answer is probably that, most of the time, it does not matter to us. After all, Lloyd-George (a Liberal prime minister) shamefully agreed to the Anglo-French partition of the former Ottoman provinces into mandates in April 1920 and handed Syria over to France – even though this was not what most Syrians wanted. Since then, it hasn't been our problem, has it? After the Arab Spring reached Damascus in March 2011, the West assumed Bashar al Assad would soon be gone, and let Syrians think we would support them if they ...
So the Happy to Chat benches have started to spring up on Yate Town Council land all over Yate - but now the Town council are challenging other landowners in the town, pubs, cafes, surgeries etc to think about whether THEY could put in happy to chat signs on some of their seats. Loneliness is all around us, so why not label a table, or group of seats as a happy to chat area?
The long view of 2016 winter planting down Westway looking from the Leighton Ave junction towards the A59 Northway. The other day I got to thinking about how long floral displays have been going on in and around The Square/Westway. Well it must be around 20 years or more. It all started with a former Maghull Town & Sefton Borough Councillor by the name of Roy Connell. Forgive me if my memory is not fully correct but here goes. Summer 2009 there were both hanging baskets & barrier planters Roy realised that in some other parts of the Borough Sefton ...
While much has been made about the success the Liberal Democrats have had in getting more women and BAME activists approved and selected as Parliamentary Candidates in winnable seats, little, if any, progress has been made in the approval and selection of winnable Parliamentary Candidates with Disabilities who, because of the complex needs that many of them have, require a significant amount of support just to reach the same levels of attainment as their able-bodied counterparts. From my own experience, as an approved candidate with a physical disability, part of the problem, I suspect, concerns the lingering worries that persist ...
Fri, 12:56: The extraordinary story of how My Little Pony fandom has been infiltrated by far-right activists. Not mentioned he... https://t.co/IOaEPRV463 Fri, 13:03: RT @prospect_clark: Everyone, on the liberal left & the authoritarian right (including, ahem, @prospect_uk) debates the the powers of the c... Fri, 13:04: RT @davidallengreen: My two connected pieces today My @prospect_uk column on the false narrative of the Judicial Power Project https://t.c... Fri, 16:05: The problem with democracy: Kids and their phones https://t.co/OPhG64e0ab Worrying and thorough, from @PaulAyaTaylor Fri, 16:38: May 2005 books https://t.co/jXPYrhgw5U Fri, 17:11: Replaying My Shame by @EmilyGould https://t.co/DCecWweHYr Grim and compelling first-person ...
Sat 29th
10:11
The Carrie Lam report exposed how the 'Executive Dominant' political system failed Hong Kong
Throughout 2019, Hong Kong was in midst of a political crisis. The non-consulted Extradition Bill triggered protests against the government, then entrenched by police brutality. At the dawn of 2020, the city was hit with the Coronavirus crisis, and the government created a crisis of its own by mismanaging its economic, health and homeland security policies. Instead of concentrating on protecting the citizens, Chief Executive Carrie Lam seemingly put her effort in filing a complaint on the performance of her own government to the Beijing authorities. The report was leaked to Apple Daily (a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper) and ...
Sat 29th
08:53
Council tax in Ludlow set to rise in April by 4.3% but Ludford residents will still not pay towards ...
Shropshire Council on Thursday unanimously agreed a 3.99% increase in council tax. This is made up of a 2% dedicated increase for adult social care and a 1.99% increase for general spending such as highways. This will take the Band D charge for 2020/21 to £1,443.62. To this must be added £102.25 for fire, £225.20 for police and £174.27 for Ludlow Town Council. This will take the total council tax for a Band D property in Ludlow to £1,945.34, an increase of 4.3% over last year. Ludford residents will pay £149.60 less than Ludlow residents, even though they rely on ...
Place North West has the article on its website – see link below:- And the Liverpool Echo carried an article about the refurbishment of the Lock and Quay pub (mentioned as an integral part of the planned housing development in the Place North West link above) recently – see link below:- Below is a photo of the Pride of Sefton Trust barge near the site this posting is about. The photo dates back to 2010 as do the other photos.
So, taking back control, freeing ourselves from European red tape - how exactly is that going? Well, according to this article in the Guardian, a race to hire 50,000 people in the next six months to process Brexit paperwork is under way after the government confirmed they would be needed for border operations: But experts have warned it will be a challenge to train enough people in time to be competent in the complexity of customs declarations and the second layer of red tape involving entry and exit declaration forms that are mandatory for trading with the EU. The Road ...
Sat 29th
08:03
Why the 50,000 customs officers story is so symbolic of these ridiculous times we live in
The most amazing thing about the 50,000 customs officers story is the way that the government subsequently handled it. The Road Haulage Association put out a press release this week detailing that around fifty-thousand more customs officers will be needed to deal with the load of new paperwork post-Brexit. This is because they estimate that the number of tariff related forms will jump by 200 million a year from the current 50 million. All right, another business interest group putting out dire Brexit warnings, nothing new there. What then happened should have been shocking but wasn't because we live in ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SATURDAY 29 FEBRUARY AND SUNDAY 1 MARCH 2020 West Marketgait (Hawkhill to Lochee Road) - closed northbound Saturday 29 February - Monday 2 March for BT work. REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 2 MARCH 2020 Milnbank Road (Bankmill Road to Rosefield Street) - closed on Monday 2 March for BT works. Perth Road (at River Crescent) - temporary traffic lights from Monday 2 March for one week for Scottish Water work. Forthcoming Roadworks West Marketgait (Greenmarket to Nethergate) - northbound lane closure on ...
