Aerospace industry needs support to avoid mass redundancies in Wales Govt misled businesses over post-Brexit customs checks Lib Dems oppose Govt's Immigration Bill EU Commission launch legal action against UK government's failings over citizens' rights Govt must continue to help businesses and families Aerospace industry needs support to avoid mass redundancies in Wales A dire assessment of the aerospace industry's current situation by Aerospace Wales Chief Executive John Whalley has prompted the Welsh Liberal Democrats to call for the Welsh Government to give the industry a much-needed financial lifeline. Aerospace Wales is the umbrella organisation which represent aerospace companies in ...
Loitering in Little Bowden churchyard today (as you do), I came across this gravestone of a man killed in a railway accident. A little googling takes you to a report of the accident that killed Harry Pollard: As the 1.53 p.m. London and North-Western train from Nottingham to Northampton was approaching Melton north signal-cabin upon the up line at 2.46 pm, the engine left the rails, followed by the whole of the eight vehicles in the train. The driver, Robert Herron, who jumped from his engine just before it went over the embankment, was killed, probably being struck by one ...
Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat leadership candidate and education spokesperson, has called for the scientific advice underpinning the decision to start reopening England's schools from 1 June to be published. Her move follows a worrying appearance in front of the Commons science and technology committee by Osama Rahman, the Department for Education's chief scientific adviser. As BBC News reports: Osama Rahman said the decision to reopen schools was not made by the DfE. When asked what assessment he had made, as the chief scientific adviser for the department, of how effective guidance on safe reopening of schools was and how ...
Ten years ago, in May 2010, a new government was formed from a coalition of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. It lasted the full five year term, but it is usually regarded as a political failure, especially for its junior partner, who have been marginalised ever since. If coalitions don't work for all parties ... Continue reading How do the achievements of the Coalition look ten years on?
Current The Complete Secret Army: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Classic TV Drama Series by Andy Priestner The Accident, by Ismail Kadarë Roger of Hereford's Judicial Astrology: England's First Astrology Book?, by Chris Mitchell Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime 1: Breaking the Strain, by Paul Preuss Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens Last books finished A Sacred Cause: The Inter-Congolese Dialogue 2000-2003, by P. E. Winter The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman Black Wine, by Candas Jane Dorsey The Godfather, by Mario Puzo Next books The Nightmare Stacks, by Charles Stross The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht
Thu 14th
17:47
Northern Ireland businesses latest group to discover you can't believe a word Boris Johnson says
Remember this video clip? Today it emerged that there will be customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom because of Brexit. Sky News quotes Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Brexit: "Johnson's government has failed to give businesses much needed clarity on this issue. "It now seems Johnson was deeply dishonest with businesses when he previously asserted there would be no checks and businesses could put paperwork 'in the bin'."It was obvious to anyone who understood Johnson's Brexit agreement that these checks would have to be imposed. But, as we have twice seen in ...
My favourite Gertrude Jekyll rose has just come into bloom again in my garden Garden Centres opened again yesterday. I was pleased to spot my much-loved local one, Chessington Garden Centre, in news reports. Photos of the coronavirus testing centre next door to it at Chessington World of Adventures keep cropping up in the media, so I guess one or other is putting Chessington firmly on the Covid-19 map. As soon as lockdown was imposed Chessington Garden Centre started online sales for the first time. Last month the BBC noted that it was livestreaming gardening advice on Facebook. In fact, ...
A: No one has to pay. I can imagine the fog in an economist's head confronted with my question and answer. This new thinking appears as alchemy to orthodox economists. Conversely, what they trot out appears to me as an outdated theology, an irrelevant contorting of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Their hand wringing is hollow, "Things cannot go back to how they were. No More Austerity!" they cry, "The New Sense of Community will not stand for it!" Chests puffed out quickly deflate as that thread of managerialism runs deep, doesn't it? Someone ...
Since the end of the Second World War British economic policy has largely been an ideological battle between two schools of thought. One embraces the state interventionist ideas of John Maynard Keynes. The other the ideas of free market thinkers such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. But as the financial pressures of the coronavirus hit, and as countries around the world are faced with rising unemployment, a reduction in economic output and the failure of major industries the phrase "We're all Keynesians now" has never been more apt in our modern history. The economic and political fallout from the ...
How do we improve as a party and achieve greater success in future elections? That's the theme running through the bumper set of key decisions the Federal Board is looking at next week at our meeting. (Or rather meetings, as to avoid Zoom fatigue, we're splitting one long meeting into halves on consecutive nights.) Included in that will be the Board's first considerations of the independent election review, headed up by Dorothy Thornhill and coming out tomorrow. Thank you for all their hard work to her, her colleagues and everyone who contributed evidence to the review. Even without that review, ...
Responding to the Government's admission that there will be customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea after the Brexit transition period ends, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs and Brexit spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: "Johnson's Government has failed to give businesses much needed clarity on this issue. It now seems Johnson was deeply dishonest with businesses when he previously asserted there would be no checks and businesses could put paperwork "in the bin"."His Brexit deal will mean extra costs and bureaucracy for businesses in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, at a time when many are already struggling with ...
The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment in the House of Commons that would prevent the Government's Immigration Bill from progressing. The party is opposing the Conservatives' plans to end free movement at the end of the year, with Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine arguing that, during the coronavirus crisis, "we should be celebrating the enormous contributions that workers from all over the world make to our NHS, social care and across our society." The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, which would end EU free movement, will be debated in the House of Commons on Monday. The ...
I suspect most of us have seen this article by the Telegraph suggesting that there could be a two year public sector pay freeze to help pay for the £300bn coronavirus bill. This must not be the case and we must fight tooth and nail to oppose any measure that freezes the pay of the public sector again. Instead, we should push for a double lock on public sector pay. The pension triple lock was introduced under the Coalition, and was a Lib Dem policy, to help improve the living standards of those who had retired. The public sector double ...
For months now, UK ministers has insisted that the Brexit deal they agreed with the EU will not lead to separate custom checks on goods passing through Northern Ireland, despite European officials saying otherwise. In fact, Boris Johnson has gone so far as to promise these checks will not be put in place. Now, however, UK government officials have written to Northern Ireland's executive confirming that new physical "infrastructure" will be funded at a series of ports. The Independent reports that Declan Kearney, a junior minister at the executive office, told a Stormont committee that London officials had provided a ...
Wed, 12:31: RT @CriostoirMcCaba: Population of counties of Ireland in 1841 vs Now https://t.co/PLWVUCttrd Wed, 12:56: 'Finally, a virus got me.' Scientist who fought Ebola and HIV reflects on facing death from COVID-19... https://t.co/fmUlBn81Qc Wed, 16:05: Sad and somehow not surprising. https://t.co/Vbt3FYTHBR Wed, 16:21: RT @herszenhorn: Angela Merkel on #Russia cyberattack on #Germany parliament: "I can honestly say that it hurts me... I try to improve rela... Wed, 17:11: Caucasian Journal: Ambassador Per Eklund: "COVID is unpredictable. I had a lucky escape" https://t.co/wxSmNMX2al On... https://t.co/py1QpEAKAr Wed, 18:32: Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz, ed., Shannon Watters https://t.co/DX1Lu5IteA Wed, 20:48: ...
Following yesterday's news of a councillor joining the Liberal Democrats in Buckinghamshire, today I have news of one from Somerset too. This time it's a switch from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats: Just been informed that Dean Ruddle has also joined @SomersetLibDems – so the make-up of @SomersetCouncil now looks like this: @SCCconservative 33, Lib Dems 14, @SomersetLabour 3, @TheGreenParty 2, Independent 2, #Somerset Independent 1. Tory majority of 11. #LDReporter pic.twitter.com/9WxA4Vc8uO — Daniel Mumby (@DanielMumby) May 7, 2020 Welcome, Dean!
If you ask lots of people what social activity they're missing most during the lockdown, you'll hear a pretty resounding answer: "going to the pub". I'd give exactly the same answer (the gym is second on the list, natch). Having a few pints in one of Cheltenham's many welcoming inns is one of my favourite things to do. Whether it's admiring the many pineapples decorating The Swan, sitting in the garden of The Railway or watching football in the Frog and Fiddle, it wouldn't usually be long between visits for me - until the past few weeks. I was so ...
2 big stories There's little bigger news any time than an economic slump, and the acknowledgement from Rishi Sunak that Britain is facing a "significant recession" augurs ill for a country likely to mutilate its key trading tie in less than eight months. But with decidedly mixed messages on how Government finances might be reconciled going forward – no more austerity, apparently – and public services in need of investment, an inexperienced Treasury team need to come up with a plan fast. The tragic death of Transport for London employee, Belly Mujinga, has become the subject of an investigation into ...
Footpath and cycle path through the lovely Rimrose Valley County Park The Liverpool Echo has the article on its website – see link below Rimrose Valley Country Park. How utterly bizarre, I wonder what on earth whomever put these signs up was trying to achieve? I've tracked the proposed development of a new road right through this lovely County Park over the years and tried to do my bit via this blog site to oppose the road. There have been some odd twists and turns to date but this one is in the utterly bizarre category indeed. My thanks ...
Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action has now started a voluntary shopping and prescription service, thanks to the wonderful volunteers helping to provide this. If you would like a volunteer to do your shopping for you, you can arrange this either by completing the form online at: www.getlocalsupport.org or by calling the Dial-OP line, weekdays between 9am and 5pm on 305757. It has set up an invoicing system to allow you to pay for your shopping after it has been delivered in response to people telling them they were worried about running out of cash at home and having to go ...
