The decision is announced this evening in an article by party president and joint acting leader Mark Pack on the party website.
I've written the following for the party website, reporting on the Federal Board meeting held this evening: Not only are we going through what could become the country's biggest crisis since 1945, but we're also entering a very new world that will persist once the immediate crisis is over. I'm proud of what we have achieved so far by championing NHS workers and pressing the Government on issues such as offering a better deal to the self-employed. Throughout our history, we have always put the national interest first. Our Federal Board has decided that we will not have a leadership ...
One of the highlights of the canal holidays we had when I was a little boy was Midland Counties Ice Cream. In Hertfordshire it was all Walls or Lyons Maid, but further north they had a different company with different lollies.So I blogged back in 2010. Sadly, the Midland Counties television commercial in that post, with its canalside scenes, is gone from YouTube. But do not despair. If you click on the image above you will be taken to a selection of Midland Counties commercials on the British Film Institute site. The BFI says: Like a Neapolitan ice cream block, ...
Too often politicians, of any political type, come to an interview with their usual hype and the phrase "Let me be very clear," only to then confuse or speak vaguely! I am not a politician. But I am political. I have a tendency to reflect, rather than hector. I usually persuade, rather than command. To some, on any thread, in any context of debate, particularly online and in writing, what they seem to want to some real degree is one sided, strong opinion to agree with or disagree with. Even if that is then what is presented, the same types, ...
This is a very lovely moment for what's written most deeply on my hearts. My beloved and I have been together for twenty-five years and five months - today! So he's working from home and I'm out on the balcony. Don't worry - I'm only one metre outside our flat and there's no-one else about. The party boats have stopped running, and even if they did want to do The Masque of the Red Death on Thames, we were already distancing because the river charts have dangers marked on them like wrecks, whirlpools, Ben Aaronovitch's goddesses and steer away from ...
Current Excession, by Iain M. Banks An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith The Winged Man, by E. Mayne Hull Last books finished Ragged Alice, by Gareth A. Powell The Survival of Molly Southbourne, by Tade Thompson Red Notice, by Bill Browder Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire Next books Prophet of Bones, by Ted Kosmatka A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
Enjoying yesterday's sunshine To shop or not to shop? Should we be buying non-essential items at the moment? On the one hand, continuing our shopping habits (but online of course) helps to save jobs and keep our economy floating. On the other hand, should we be asking people to work outside the home to create, pick and deliver goods to the nation? What is the ethical position on this? The Government advice to consumers has not be clear, so I posed it as a question to my Facebook friends. And I learned that businesses have been told "Online retail is ...
Electric scooters get green light to go on Britain's public roads. The government is consulting on detailed rules. WECA (us and the Bristol area) are one of the pilot areas. For more information go to: https://f7td5.app.goo.gl/E1hQY7
At 5.30pm each weekday, Gareth Malone is leading rehearsals for his Great British Home Chorus, again livestreamed on YouTube but also there to watch at your leisure afterwards. You don't need to be an accomplished singer for this – it's great fun. We are currently putting together "You are my sunshine" – a nice gentle, simple song. And he does some great warm-ups. Every evening, Gareth always says that he will have to hurry up in order to finish "before the yoga starts". It turns out that there is a daily plethora of YouTube livestreaming classes leading you through yoga, ...
Thu 26th
12:53
Christine Jardine MP writes...Our party's priority needs to be supporting communities, not a leaders...
I think that it is fair to say that this Spring is not what any of us expected. By now we all planned to have come away from York conference in full campaign mode for the local elections and once that was finished there was the not insignificant matter of the leadership election. The first two have already been victims of the Coronavirus guidelines and social distancing. But what about the third element of that triumvirate? The leadership election. I am afraid that I think that should also be postponed. As the pandemic tightens its grip, and we are seeing ...
The homeless and the needy have been victims of the current crisis. Many rely on volunteers to feed them and provide warm clothing, tents etc. But volunteers are often over 70 years old or constrained by safety measures related to the Coronavirus. For about eight years, I have worked voluntarily at a local drop-in centre for the homeless and needy. Our normal service involves 20-45 people thronged into a small hall, cheek by jowl. So, we had to stop that. Fortunately we are continuing our service by giving out bags of ready-to-eat food. But we're having to get the clients ...
Wed, 12:56: A last great thread from @pmdfoster before he leaves the @Telegraph. https://t.co/IBVicXzHDj Wed, 14:34: RT @bbcdoctorwho: Incoming transmission. #MessageFromTheDoctor #DoctorWho https://t.co/WRTROxWRQy Wed, 16:05: Rose The Prequel coming to Doctor Who fans ahead of fan rewatch https://t.co/UaIm9yJLA8 Hooray! Wed, 16:41: RT @five_books: "As the Philip K Dick once put it: 'The sci fi writer sees not just possibilities but wild possibilities'" —@nwbrux. From s... Wed, 17:11: I had predicted (hoped) this was coming. I also wrote here https://t.co/t00LaJBY4x @Sluggerotoole about the knock-o... https://t.co/e45LamyCrN Wed, 19:01: Another video from our #LockdowninOudHeverlee - this time looking at the local ponds and ...
A press release from Liberal Democrat HQ brings the news: The Liberal Democrats last night secured assurances from the Government in the House of Lords that the wide-ranging emergency powers in the Coronavirus Act will be compliant with human rights law, and that Ministers will have to justify keeping the powers in force. An amendment tabled by Liberal Democrat peer Sarah Ludford pressed the Government on ensuring the legislation, which includes extra powers for police and immigration officers to detain people and the power to restrict or ban events and gatherings, would be used only as necessary and proportionate. The ...
Nobody has a crystal ball of course, but there is an excellent article by Martin Kettle on the Guardian website that is worth reading. He argues that we need to anticipate a change in public mood once the COVID-19 crisis is over. His concluding paragraphs are worth quoting in full: Everyone in these debates could use a bit of humility and a dose of open-mindedness. That's true on both sides. It's true for all of us. The right has been forced to relearn the prime importance of the state as guarantor in a period of emergency. It is having to ...
Not so long ago I had a good look around the Poppy Fields new housing site adjacent Maghull North Station. I was particularly looking to see what had happened to the pond/grotto that had long been within the grounds of the former Moss Side Hospital/Ashworth South Hospital. I found it and took this shot through a building contractor's fencing:- I recall my old former Maghull Town Councillor colleagues John Sharman and Bill Chambers talking about it, as at the time they both worked at Ashworth Hospital. I refer of course to before the Ashworth South Site closed. I then went ...
Thu 26th
08:31
Massively reduced bus service in Ludlow from today is necessary but must be temporary #coronavirus
On Monday, we had two buses serving Ludlow making around 30 trips a day. But the world we live has been changing by the hour. Yesterday, we had just eight bus trips. From today, there will be just six bus trips a day. Most shops in Ludlow are closed. Supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and health food stores are open. The new Ludlow timetable is very limited and will be reviewed before the end of April. The 435 Ludlow Shrewsbury service - via Craven Arms, Wistanstow, Dorrington and Condover - has been suspended. The 552/553 service Bishop's Castle Shrewsbury service has ...
Ludlow Community Hospital currently has two closed wards. In community discussions led by GPs, our community has agreed to call for the wards to be reopened to relieve pressure on acute services at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princes Royal Hospital. We are not suggesting these would be used for Covid-19 patients but for other patients that might otherwise increase the pressure on acute services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust's hospitals. Ludlow Health Declaration This declaration is from the Ludlow community, including Philip Dunne MP, the Shropshire Councillors for Ludlow and Clee, Ludlow Town Council, the League of ...
While we are all isolating ourselves, videos like this are close to unbearable. Next year at the Saracen's Head.
