Lib Dems: Covid-19 mental health implications a ticking time bomb Lib Dems call for permanent remote voting option for MPs Govt must be transparent if they want public support for reopening schools Davey: Govt approach to tracing 'totally inadequate' Lib Dems: Govt putting ideology above people's lives in refusing to extend Brexit talks Govt must not pursue isolationist approach to vaccine Lib Dems: Covid-19 mental health implications a ticking time bomb Responding to the Royal College of Psychiatrists' findings that psychiatrists fear a 'tsunami' of mental illness after the pandemic, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said: The mental health ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

One of the oddities of belonging to my generation is that you have memories of television programmes that no longer exist. There is the episode of All Gas and Gaiters where the authorities discover a parish hidden in the fold of a map and work out that it has never received an episcopal visit. So they go there - and discover that its inhabitants are still living in the Middle Ages. That sounds like The Bishop Pays a Visit, first broadcast in January 1969 and since wiped. I also have strong memories of a children's serial that featured a secret ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

In the middle of a pandemic, Sir Kier Starmer's start as leader of the British Labour Party has been inevitably muted. The news is dominated by the epidemic and the government's response. There isn't much time for any opposition party. But in these early days the portents look very good for Labour. Its members have ... Continue reading Boris Johnson should be very worried by Kier Starmer

Posted by Matthew on thinking liberal

A-Boards can be a hazard to the partially sighted. Boards can be a problem for families with child buggies. They can be unsightly. But they are also essential for local businesses, many of which are on side alleys. Most people I have spoken to do not want to get rid of A-Boards. They want more care in where they are positioned. My proposed guidelines on resolving this have been ignored. Having rejected charges for A-Boards in December 2018, Shropshire Council is now about to reverse its position. It aiming to charge £213 an A-Board for the first year and £111 ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

I enjoyed doing this for 18 April - whether my readers enjoyed it as much is another question - so here is a survey of what has concerned this blog down the years on 17 May. 2019 Hard times in the Shropshire hills. Stiperstones primary school was to close and Bishop's Castle residents were planning to block the road in a protest against bus cuts. 2018 I previewed A Very British Scandal as the first episode was about to be shown. 2017 "Boris Johnson moos 'like a cow' and devours cakes on bakery visit" ran my Headline of the Day. ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Today is the annual International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. During lockdown, many LGBT people will be stuck at home with families that don't accept who they are. Imagine what that does to your mental health. If you know a young person in these circumstances, reach out to them today, and every day. And if you leave home because of it, it can be very difficult to get help. Rejection on this basis is not classed as domestic abuse. I was moved by these stories on the BBC website. Lucy talks about her family not accepting her transgender identity ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

[IMG: Pretending to be an estate agent in my own home]

Posted by ambitiousmamas on Ambitiousmamas

There have been a number of reports of coronavirus spreading rapidly through choirs and other musical groups before lockdown. On March 10th – during that period when no-one was quite sure how serious the threat was – one choir met for a rehearsal in Washington state. They used hand sanitizer when they arrived and avoided handshakes and hugs. In spite of the precautions 45 of the 60 people who attended developed the virus and two died. The choir I sing with, Kingston Choral Society, was rehearsing as late as 12th March and, at that time, was still planning to go ...

Posted by Mary Reid on Liberal Democrat Voice

Former leader Jo Swinson (Photo: Andrew Page) An internal report into the Liberal Democrats' General Election strategy has concluded that the campaign was a "high speed car crash". It's a poor mataphor in many ways - I utterly dislike "car crash" terminology as I've been involved in a few road traffic accidents and know people whose lives have been radically altered by them, so naturally find such comparisons glib and insensitive. It's also not entirely clear how the Liberal Democrats's campaigning, in which we were significantly outspent by other parties, could ever be likened to a high-speed vehicle. Still, I ...

Posted by Andrew on A Scottish Liberal

In an article on Politics Home, Lib Dem Culture spokesperson Daisy Cooper sets out the flaws in the Government's plans for a contact tracing app to slow the spread of Covid-19 and highlighted LIb Dem plans for a law which would underpin safety and privacy. The public won't use an app if they don't trust it, she said as she highlighted criticisms of the government's plans. These problems stem from the Government's decision to reject plans for a "decentralised" app - as recommended by the Information Commissioner and many technology experts, and being implemented in many other countries - and ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice
YouGov

The Lake, Conservation Pond, Fishing and Brinsham Fields Under the latest rules, fishing is allowed - PROVIDING you stick to social distancing rules. Unfortunately there are reports that people at Brinsham are not sticking to the rules. In any event stands for fishing along part of the lake are so close to the path that people walking past mean the anglers cannot stick to the social distancing rules. So the Town Council has been asked by users to close those stands that are too close to the footpath for social distancing. Anglers will still be able to use the other ...

We are getting bombarded with advice. Don't forget the happy to chat fb page run by Yate Town Council and of course the local COVID support group fb page. But here are some other resources:South Glos have lots of advice and tips on how to maintain your mental wellbeing here. https://oneyou.southglos.gov.uk/stress-less/ They also have a dedicated website for supporting children and young people who may also be struggling with the uncertainty and impact of Covid-19. If you would prefer to speak to someone to find out what support is available, call 0333 577 4666 or email communitysupport@southernbrooks.org.uk - between ...

The Godfather won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1972, and picked up another two - Best Actor, which was declined by Marlon Brando in protest at the treatment of Native Americans at Wounded Knee (and elsewhere); and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. James Caan, Robert Duvall and Al Pacino were all nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Joel Grey as the MC in Cabaret. There were three other categories where The Godfather lost to Cabaret, which still holds the record for the most Oscars for any film that did not also win Best Picture. ...

A Liberal Democrat press release reads... Responding to reports that civil servants dealing with coronavirus have been redeployed to Brexit no-deal planning, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: The Government's continuing rejection of calls for an extension to Brexit talks is reckless and flies in the face of the current efforts by everyone to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The reports that civil servants are being diverted from dealing with the virus to no-deal planning, as well as Michael Gove's stubborn response this morning, shows the Government is determined to see the British public go from one crisis ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Lie is not a word anyone in politics uses lightly. But Lib Dems Lords Health and Social Care spokesperson Sal Brinton used it today in response to Michael Gove's interview on the Andrew Marr Show . But this lie that the Gvt has already put a protective ring round care homes is a lie direct. Gvt says testing will be offered to all care homes by June 6. Note word "offered". There is no protective ring without sufficient PPE & test, trace, isolate to keep people safe 2/2 — SalBrinton (@SalBrinton) May 17, 2020 On Friday, Ed Davey said that ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

Lib Dem Education spokesperson Layla Moran was on LBC this morning talking about getting children back to school. Listen here: Growing inequality for school children during lockdown highlights the need to get children back to learning, but parents and teachers face a lack of reassurance and we all still need clarity on the science. See what I had to say on LBC this morning [IMG: 👇] pic.twitter.com/jxEVgv3Pdq — Layla Moran [IMG: 🔶] (@LaylaMoran) May 17, 2020

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

All hail the power of brevity, deployed in this abstract for an academic paper: Academic papers a bit TLDR? This one has you covered! http://t.co/QPekDp89Mo pic.twitter.com/NpUJaLO97o — UsVsTh3m (@UsVsTh3m) August 12, 2014

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Sun 17th
11:00

My tweets

Sat, 12:56: RT @QUBelfast: Conflict & Change: A Conversation with Rory Montgomery & Jonathan Powell Join Prof Richard English as he leads the conversa... Sat, 14:32: Sixty days of lockdown, and thirty years without my father https://t.co/zkNiIN90M5 Sat, 18:32: #LockdowninOudHeverlee 8: The Pad Thai caper #BaronsBrasserie #Neerijse https://t.co/d0Tm0cGrCp Sat, 20:48: RT @Molocus2: @Ciaraioch One of the cartoonists/illustrators was Thomas Fitzpatrick, grandfather of artist @jimfitzpatrick patrick https://... Sun, 10:45: RT @anandMenon1: Utterly heartbreaking stuff from ⁦@christinalamb⁩ In 33 years, I had never seen such brutality https://t.co/RYLXSttEde

A key message of the party's general election review was listen and act for the average voter, not ourselves. This has long been a basic tenet of local community politics that somehow does not seem to always translate to national campaigns. A Yougov survey last month found strong public support for three economic policies – paying people a universal basic income (UBI) to ensure their financial security, introducing a jobs guarantee to keep employment stable, and bringing in rent controls to limit housing costs. The survey also found that 81% of the public felt the government was not prepared for ...

Posted by Joe Bourke on Liberal Democrat Voice

While Boris Johnson joins a national "newspaper's" campaign to Hail our Frontline worker heroes, his Home Secretary has been busy shafting a significant proportion of them. The Independent reports that Priti Patel has sparked anger by refusing to cut or axe the huge fees paid by foreign healthcare workers to help fund the NHS - just three weeks after promising to "review" the controversial charges: The home secretary raised expectations when she hinted at concessions for migrants working in the NHS themselves, as she praised their "extraordinary contribution" during the Covid-19 crisis. But The Independent has now learnt there will ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
eUKhost

With so many people cycling during our present health lockdown even I as a regular/daily cyclist for a few years now have been checking what cyclists legally can and can't do on our roads. Whilst Googling around on the subject I came across this very recent Chronicle newspaper article which I thought was both well written and informative:- One thing some cyclists can easily forget or even deliberately disregard is that pedestrians are the most import thing on our roads, not cyclists or indeed vehicles. The other thing about some cyclists is that they don't have bells on their ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

It was wonderful to catch up with Bill Powell on Friday. Bill, the former Welsh Assembly member for Mid and West Wales, recently spent 6 weeks in hospital, 3 of them in Intensive Care, after contracting Covid-19. Our chat was his Zoom debut. Thanks to his friend Ann for making it possible. Bill talked about his time in hospital, how he was admitted to ICU within half an hour of arriving and was put in an induced coma. More than two weeks later, he had the disorientating experience of waking up, not knowing what had happened to him. Over the ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice
Sun 17th
08:50

The Sound: Hot House

The Sound were an Eighties band who, says Wikipedia, were never commercially successful but have long been championed by critics. Hot House failed to trouble the charts in 1982. Informed opinion holds that this live version from a John Peel session is better than the one that was issued as a single.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Along with council leader, Councillor John Alexander, I took part in a video interview with the Evening Telegraph towards the end of last week. We discussed a number of local issues during these challenging times including the massive financial challenge facing Dundee City Council - and indeed other local authorities - as a result of the COVID-19 health emergency, a situation I have said must be met by sufficient financial support from government. That part of the interview can be seen at www.tinyurl.com/eveningtele-interview.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have proposed an amendment to the latest coronavirus emergency legislation to help pave the way for more cafes, restaurants and bars to use closed roads to enable social distancing between customers, once they are permitted to re-open. Alex Cole-Hamilton will lead on this when the vote takes place on Tuesday. The amendment confirms that it shall not be an offence to place tables and chairs in the road outside a premises, provided it is done with the local authority's consent and doesn't cause an obstruction to disabled people. Scottish Liberal Democrats will also ask the Scottish Government ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice