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Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has usually avoided appearing at the daily Downing Street COVID-19 press conferences — understandable while he was himself ill with the virus, of course — but today he really had no choice but to appear to face allegations that his special advisor, Dominic Cummings, had undermined the government's message of [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash There is a worrying story in today's Observer, though I can't find anything online about the study it is reporting: People who spent time in care as children are almost twice as likely to die prematurely than those who did not, stark new research reveals. Researchers at University College London tracked more than 350,000 people using official government data between 1971 and 2013. They found that the likelihood of dying earlier among those who had been in care increased over time, contrary to the general population which, during the same period, experienced a decline ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Very early in the Covid crisis a wise journalist at the FT (I forget which one) said that scientists were going to learn to behave like economists. Slowly we are learning the truth of that. Almost everybody knows that economists deal with the unpredictable, and treat their advice accordingly, alongside other political arguments. So little ... Continue reading What if we treated the science of the pandemic like economics?

Posted by Matthew on thinking liberal

I know that many readers will be wondering how Jo Swinson is getting on. Her leadership, which offered so much promise, came to an abrupt end at the General Election. She has written an article for the Sunday Times today in which she describes how she learned to deal with a sudden mid-life career change. Given what she has been through in the past few months, it is really uplifting and optimistic. In looking for what to do next, it wasn't a surprise that she looked for guidance in books: I longed for simplicity in reinventing myself. But most big ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

Chances are, you've often had friends or relatives give you advice by telling you to follow your instincts. And then we had the Prime Minister today saying the behaviour of his closest aide is all okay, because he was following his instincts. But please, don't. Don't follow your instincts to want to meet up with a group of friends. Don't follow your instincts to want to hug family. Don't follow your instincts to meet up with another family so your children can play with their best friends. Don't follow your instincts to want to attend a funeral. If following our ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Sun 24th
18:19

Cummings and goings

I've not commented publicly so far on the actions of either the government or public bodies on the pandemic lockdown. We are after all living though a national emergency and the worst crisis since the Second World War. But two recent events have now made me feel that silence is no longer an option. Firstly, the decision to impose a 2 week quarantine on those coming from abroad at this stage of

Posted by Jonathan Wallace on Jonathan Wallace

Responding to the Prime Minister backing his scandal-hit aide, Dominic Cummings, at today's press conference, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: Millions of people who've made huge sacrifices to keep to the rules will be astonished and angry at how the Prime Minister is now bending the rules for his closest aide. By failing to act, the Prime Minister undermines his own authority to lead the country through this appalling crisis, bringing his own judgement into question. The Government's efforts to defeat coronavirus on testing, on PPE for frontline workers and on stopping the tragedy in our ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice

We can't be sure of the date they will start but any time after 18 May the bit of the A432 at Kendleshire will be closed for roadworks. The detour is pretty long (basically you have to use Church Rd Frampton Cotterell to get onto the Winterbourne Road) - see the attached plan. And coming the other way it would mean going all the way back to the M32 to be able to turn up onto the Winterbourne Rd from the bypass or coming through Westerleigh village. When you see the signs go up saying it is closed, it is ...

I haven't ordered a takeaway since going into isolation, hence the query in the headline. Should I? I am scrupulously careful with anything that comes into our home. Anything that can wait is left in the hall for a couple of days before I open it. That can't be done with any food deliveries that need to go into the fridge or freezer, so I wipe bags and packages with antiseptic wipes and wash my hands after handling them. In any case, I am pretty confident that the major supermarkets are taking protective measures, so am not too worried by ...

Posted by Mary Reid on Liberal Democrat Voice
YouGov

This week, the Commons debated a Statutory Instrument which introduces Police Restitution Orders in Scotland. This means that fines can be levied and the money from those will be used to finance extra support for Police officers who suffer from the effects of those assaults. Wendy used to be a Police Officer, as were her father and husband. All of them suffered violent assault. Wendy described the first time it happened to her: I, my father and my husband have all served, and I have other family members currently serving in Police Scotland. All of us were assaulted during our ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice
Sun 24th
15:10

July 2006 books

This is the latest post in a series I started last November, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and family developments as well as the books I read in that month. I've found it a pleasantly cathartic process, especially in current circumstances when we are all somewhat distracted. If you want to look back at previous entries, they are all tagged under bookblog nostalgia. I was hugely honoured to be present at the Presidential residence in Podgorica on 13 July ...

If the Government produces guidance it should stick to it, right? After this weekend, that idea seems old-fashioned. One of the 5 main steps of the UK Government's guidance on safe working is about helping people to work from home. 3. Help people to work from home You should take all reasonable steps to help people work from home by: discussing home working arrangements ensuring they have the right equipment, for example remote access to work systems including them in all necessary communications looking after their physical and mental wellbeing For people who are mainly office based, the guidance is ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice
Sun 24th
12:43

Millie Small: Mayfair

Millie Small, who died at the start of this month, was famous for My Boy Lollipop, the record that introduced Britain to ska. It was also the record that set Chris Blackwell's Island Records on the road to success and I posted a track Millie Small recorded with another of the label's early acts, the Spencer Davis Group, to mark her death. This is another fascinating track from her. It's a reggae version of a Nick Drake song and, I believe, is the first recording of one of his songs by another artist.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

The Liverpool Echo has the article on its website – see link below That a campfire would even be lit in the first place in these lovely pinewoods beggars belief. That it would be left to cause this damage is criminal damage to an important eco-system.

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus
Sun 24th
11:00

My tweets

Sat, 12:56: Partition policy deepened by Covid 19 https://t.co/9u4cHRKqX8 @esraaygin looks at how the covert policy of permanen... https://t.co/o67d8N1TIz Sat, 13:51: RT @TobyHadoke: There is, rightly, a chorus of voices singing the praises of @Emily_Rosina who - if you're a Doctor Who fan - has been bril... Sat, 14:48: RT @conbrunstrom: The book is always better? Not always. Normal People - reviewed. https://t.co/LEmaLgdDrI Sat, 15:01: I'm at Egenhovenbos in Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant https://t.co/qusnOECc8C https://t.co/PqLEC6PxO9 Sat, 15:19: RT @stevelapsl: Shot. Chaser. https://t.co/yQHZmcJEAf Sat, 16:05: RT @astroehlein: Is there any significant difference between ancient human sacrifice and today's death penalty? They're both state-sancti... ...

Lib Dem London Mayoral Candidate Siobhan Benita writes for Mental Health Awareness Week on her website. As we went into lockdown in March, the UN released its World Happiness Report. It ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. As in previous years, Nordic countries dominate the top slots, scoring strongly across all six measures: GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, autonomy, generosity and absence of corruption. Reflecting on the success of the Nordic countries, the report concludes that there is no "secret sauce" to their happiness. Instead, there is a "general recipe" that everyone ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice

That was one of the questions I was asked when taking part in a virtual book club meeting this weekend with Liberal Democrats in Hull and neighbouring areas. Here were my four picks, looking to include – as the questioner requested – titles that are a little off the beaten track for political campaigning choices: How to win friends and influence people – as, at heart, that's what politics is about. Talking to a brick wall – a more mainstream choice for this topic, as it's such a fabulous book. Who decides? – or how to make the most of ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Liverpool Cricket Club's grand pavilion I think I've mentioned before about my love of cricket and how much I am missing it because of our lockdown. But what I'm actually missing even more possibly than the cricket itself is the BBC's Test Match Special commentary. And then I came across this (it's an emotional ride but worth it) on BBC Sounds:- www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06j2f7j I remember this particular interview by Jonathan Agnew very well and thought at the time it portrayed cricket so well and in the way I recall it from my childhood onwards. You see most of my cricket experiences ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus
Sun 24th
09:04

Lockdown humour

I thought the Lockdown was to prevent Cummings and goings I'll get my coat .....

Posted by Alisdair Gibbs-Barton on Alisdair Gibbs-Barton
eUKhost

The beautiful Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye is in the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire. Jane Dodds, the Welsh Lib Dem leader lives there and every year they hold a book festival. This year the pandemic has inspired them to take the festival online and make it available to people for free. Most things are now fully booked, but I managed to register for about 9 events. So far I've seen one of the pioneers of the feminist movement, Gloria Steinem discuss gender inequality with Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates. Yesterday evening, the BBC's Jon Sopel described the surreality of Donald ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Sunday Times Insight Team has produced a detailed and scathing analysis of the UK government's response to the coronavirus, which sets out at length the key trigger points when ministerial failure to act decisively has led to many more deaths than were necessary. Here are some of the key passages: The government pursued its contain and delay strategy through the first two weeks of March despite the strong warnings from its two main modelling teams that it could lead to a catastrophic number of people being killed by the virus. The teams from Imperial College London and the London ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Many thanks to all residents who contacted me on Friday about the fallen tree at Magdalen Green. I reported to our local environment manager who has asked the Forestry Section to remove it :