After Tuesday's unusually timed council by-election, another four principal authority council by-elections took place on Thursday. Park Farm North, Ashford Samuel Strolz stood for the Liberal Demoocrats: Park Farm North (Ashford) result: ASHI: 60.2% (+60.2) CON: 28.0% (-33.4) LAB: 7.1% (-12.8) GRN: 2.7% (+2.7) LDEM: 2.0% (-16.7) Ashfield Independent GAIN from Conservative.https://t.co/OlkOrfIH3K — Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 12, 2020

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Click on the picture above to watch a fascinating documentary over on the Britain on Film site. It shows Islington in 1970: slum housing, gentrification and racial tensions. Mothers fight the council to run an adventure playground for the children, but traffic is making it dangerous to play in the street.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Thu 12th
21:19

Six of the Best 913

"Liberals around the world need to define our cause," says Rob Davidson. "In the absence of a clear vision of liberation politics, we are left in the vacuous, uninspiring 'middle'." A discussion on Democracy Now! looks at the obstacles being placed in the way of Black, Latino and student voters in the US. Simon Court on William Godwin's contribution to the radicalism of the Romantic movement. Parul Sehgal reviews The Mirror and the Light - the concluding volume of Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy. "The liquid that is so essential to life is also, in Roeg's film, a harbinger of ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Responding to new figures revealing that knife crime in England and Wales is at its highest level in a decade, Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: "Far too many lives - especially young lives - are being destroyed by the scourge of knife crime. It is heart-breaking. "The Conservatives' approach to knife crime has clearly failed. They have made reoffending worse by unnecessarily criminalising thousands of young people and locking them up on pointless short term sentences. And their surge in suspicion-less Stop and Search has undermined trust in the police. "The Conservatives must stop these counterproductive policies. Instead ...

Posted by Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

Bad News is a popular guide that helps you make sense of the news wherever it appears - print, broadcast or online. Peppered with examples from around the world, the book turns a serious subject into an enjoyable read.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

The Electoral Commission has recommended that the May local elections be postponed until the Autumn. The Government has not yet responded but we will bring you the news when we hear. Tomorrow ALDC will also be updating their advice to campaigners and canvassers in the light of today's announcements from the Government. Again we will share as soon as we know. * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames where she is still very active with the local party.

Posted by Mary Reid on Liberal Democrat Voice
Thu 12th
17:07

Thursday reading

Current 1493, by Charles C. Mann Babayaga, by Toby Barlow Fleet of Knives, by Gareth A. Powell Last books finished The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (did not finish) Midnight Cowboy, by James Leo Herlihy Doctor Who: The Macra Terror, by Ian Stuart Black The Green Man's Foe, by Juliet E. McKenna Next books Red Notice, by Bill Browder Strategic Europe, ed. Jan Techau

Thu 12th
16:04

Classic Winners

It was nearly twenty years ago that a very special lady got me interested in the sport of kings by asking me to place a bet on a horse called Legal Right tipped by the Guardian columnist Marcel Berlins. It was a success and from then on I was hooked. In the years that have followed I have improved my knowledge of the game immensely and It is around this time of year that my excitement really builds in anticipation of the start of a new flat season. The first of the four classics are run in early May and ...

Posted by David Warren on Liberal Democrat Voice

Can you avoid using cash? This NHS video gives advice on using cash machines to get money out - think how many people have touched those keys in the past few hours. Official agencies are asking people to think about using contactless cards rather than cash. Cash is a really good way of spreading germs. Contactless card's aren't perfect, but official advice is to think about using contactless rather than cash. You will see places like the Leisure Centre now have signs up saying - please use contactless rather than cash. Every little helps in containing the spread.

Ok, so I have not written in this blog for four years apparently! I guess I've moved away from politics by quite some way. What a time to reignite this blog eh? I've not really been paying attention to the news over the last few months. Those of you who know me personally will know that I've been going through things in my personal life which have taken up a lot of my attention and time. I'd heard snippets of a new illness coming over from China and of quarantine but frankly that was pretty low on my list of ...

Posted by Chris Sams on The Ginger Liberal from Medway
YouGov
Thu 12th
14:14

Conference Cancelled

The Liberal Democrats' Federal Board (on which I sit ex officio as Chair of the Federal International Relations Committee, FIRC) last night addressed the awkward question of whether to cancel this weekend's Spring Conference in York because of the growing fears of spreading coronavirus (COVID19) through large public events. After a lively and thoughtful discussion [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

Liberals around the world need to define our cause. In the absence of a clear vision of liberation politics, we are left in the vacuous, uninspiring 'middle.' Worse, liberalism is under open attack globally and without a clear message and strong network of messengers, it's losing. Liberals must move away from nebulous phrases like 'progressive' and finally make the case for freedom. The Conservatives are known as 'the party of business' and that holds up even as Johnson says "F*** business." Labour are known as the party of public services, of human rights and equality – even as Labour staggers ...

Posted by Rob Davidson on Liberal Democrat Voice

Following careful consideration of the latest health advice and risks, the Liberal Democrats have decided to cancel their Spring Conference this weekend.Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said:"In these highly unusual circumstances, we have come to the right conclusion to cancel conference. "Although it will be disappointing to many members, the party can come together again when the coronavirus threat is over and debate the issues our country faces. "Liberal Democrats will continue to put forward our case for a more liberal progressive Britain and hold this Conservative government to account." Frank Little, parliamentary spokesman for Aberavon, added:"The ...

Posted by Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats
Thu 12th
11:00

My tweets

Wed, 15:51: RT @Nate_Cohn: I've seen plenty of Berners upset at Warren for not endorsing Sanders, and I get it. But it's really a pretty damning indict... Wed, 17:32: RT @WHO: 🚨 BREAKING 🚨 "We have therefore made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic"-@DrTedros #coronavirus http... Wed, 18:41: J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration for Lúthien: the "gallant" Edith Bratt, by Nancy Bunting https://t.co/iKGE2xm3Vp Wed, 20:00: 60 hours left to nominate for the 2020 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards, and the 1945 Retro Hugos! Time to get... https://t.co/Em1zqqBTHd Thu, 06:00: 50 hours left to nominate for the 2020 Hugo, ...

If we believe in anything, it is the Harm Principle of John Stuart Mill. People should be at liberty, to make their own choices, unless they do harm, to others, or to themselves, if in ways that might harm others too. The bar for the deciding of what is a harm, is set higher or lower, according to whether you are a Liberal or a Libertarian. Mill was a Liberal. He believed the state, the government, needed to exercise authority, on, for example law and order. The balance, is what is to be considered. The preamble to the constitution of ...

Posted by Lorenzo Cherin on Liberal Democrat Voice

When I look at the current Coronavirus crisis through the lens of politics this is what I see: Trump failing and being seen to be failing. The Democratic Party starting to unite around Joe Biden in an effort to beat Trump, something the mishandling of the current crisis makes more likely. America will also see that some sort of national health care service is long overdue as a result of all this. In Britain, Boris Johnson's mishandling of the situation will lead to a surge in support for Keir Starmer once he is finally in situ. I see all of ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

Those of us who have been concerned by the increasing use of facial recognition technology by police forces will welcome the intervention of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in the debate on this issue, today. As the Guardian reports, the equalities watchdog has said that mass screening of the public at shopping centres or events like pop concerts, by police officers using facial recognition software, must be halted because it could amplify racial discrimination and stifle free expression. They want future use of the technology to be suspended until its impact has been independently scrutinised and laws governing its ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

The Liberal Democrats have always been a broad church. From the Ashdown-Kennedy revival to 2010, we had seats in traditional rural areas like Devon and Cornwall, as well as university towns and other more urban areas. We welcomed members too with a wide range of backgrounds and values. This followed the tradition of tolerance in the Liberal party from 1859, and with the principle of freedom of conscience championed by our constitution. But is our broad church weakening? In 2010, we lost many of these rural seats, and we've struggled to recover them following the 2016 Brexit Referendum. Some in ...

Posted by George Kendall on Liberal Democrat Voice

Appleteme, Tish Dockerty's apple centred business, has applied for planning permission to convert its current workshop on Lloyds Yard to flexible use as a restaurant, micropub and apple pressing. If the application is approved, it will add to the growing family of micropubs in Ludlow. But there concerns from neighbours and Ludlow Town Council about parking, noise, smoking, extraction fumes from cooking and emergency exits. I have asked for this application to be considered by the Southern Planning Committee. Proposed floor plan (click for full plan) There is no formal definition of a micropub. The Micropubs Association says: "A micropub ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

 

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