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Welsh Lib Dems welcome plans for phased school re-opening China is being wilfully ignorant with Hong Kong response Govt not clear on legal powers to implement local lockdowns Govt must not risk going backwards on containing COVID-19 MPs need to urgently restore the virtual Parliament Welsh Lib Dems welcome plans for phased school re-opening Commenting on Kirsty Williams's announcement of a phased return to school from the end of the month, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: Once again Kirsty Williams is setting the bar with regards to how a Government should be communicating at times like this. She ...
Inhuman and dangerous working conditions in textile factories were a major feature of what one learned as a schoolboy about the Industrial Revolution in Britain, including in my home county of Lancashire. But in several parts of the developing world they are an ongoing reality. Rahul Jain's hour-long documentary, Machines (available for four weeks via BBCiPlayer), [...]
This video explores the substantial remains of the Thames and Severn Canal. Fully opened in 1789, it ran from the Thames at Lechlade to the Stroudwater Navigation near Stroud, which linked it with the Severn. Water supply was always a problem on its summit level, and competition from the railways led to its closure throughout by 1933. The Cotswold Canals Trust is working towards its restoration but, as this video shows, has a long way to go.
As a single honours graduate in philosophy I share Lord Bonkers' scepticism about the philosophy, politics and economics degrees that so many of our rulers hold. I may have described it to him at dinner last night as "dabbler's degree". He did not demur. Wednesday Yet another discussion of PPE on the news. I turn off my wireless and dictate my editorial for the High Leicestershire Radical. I point out that there are far too many PPE graduates in politics nowadays and that the results of this are deleterious. For it is a dabbler's degree, giving the holder the ability ...
Thanks to lockdown I'm not getting the chance to meet Liberal Democrat members and supporters at events in the way I'd usually do.
In hindsight the most important trend in politics over the last decade has been the rise of nationalism – and the backlash against internationalist liberals, inevitably styled an "elite", as if all political movements were not led by elites. In Britain did the Coalition stood firmly against this trend. In this third article of three ... Continue reading The Coalition at 10: keeping nationalism at bay
So, we binged the NBC series The Good Place sedately over the last few weeks, at the rate of one or two episodes a night. I had already seen the episodes that ended up on the Hugo final ballot last year and the year before, two of which lost and two of which won. The two that lost, in my view, were rather difficult to understand if you saw them out of context - these were "Michael's Gambit", the first season finale, and "Jeremy Bearimy", from the third season. The two that won worked relatively well as standalones - the ...
Responding properly - and in a timely fashion - to queries from Lib Dem members, supporters and the public is important, both locally and nationally.
Wed 3rd
18:50
Ludlow Town Council sets out new plans for Ludlow Market hours before vital council decision meeting...
At 2pm this afternoon, Ludlow Town Council issued new plans for a social distanced market in Ludlow. This follows feedback from its initial plans and discussion among councillors. Unfortunately, these were not circulated to unitary councillors or published on the town council's website. This hurried post distils the essence of documents I first saw half an hour ago. There will be two layouts discussed tonight. Both are different from those in the published papers, which I summarised here. The new plans allow for up to 22 or 25 businesses to trade from the market from stalls, gazebos or vans. "All ...
So now it's official. Our caring Government sent more than 25,000 people home to residential care homes in just one month. They took no precautions about whether or not this frail group of people had the coronavirus by the simple ... Continue reading →
I have been writing about scams for many years. In fact, the blog I used to write was targeted for a massive Denial of Service attack years ago, which managed to bring down the websites of several MPs who were hosted on the same server. I had been exposing an outfit that kept on being shut down by the courts then re-opening under a new name. I was sent threatening letters before my website was attacked. This incident was investigated by the Serious Organised Crime Agency and we tracked the technical source of the attack to Romania. I have to ...
I was beaten there: black and blue; knocked down. It healed; harder to accept.
[IMG: Parking Zone Signs] In the last few days, a couple of parking based questions have been posed to me, and I've had to go away and ask an expert (in this case, Fred Miller of FHDC - thanks Fred) for a full answer. In both cases, the answers come from national legisation or guidelines, rather than local rules. I thought them worth sharing: 1. Can we have a different parking restrictions in our CPZ area between summer weekdays and summer weekends, and then different restrictions in the Winter? There is guidance on this in the Traffic Signs Manual section ...
With the leadership election coming up over the summer, I was glad to open my inbox to see an email from Mike Dixon, CEO, asking the membership what issues the candidates should talk about. This email has given members a chance to select six key policy areas that they want to be discussed with the leadership candidates. The six most popular issues will be used to frame the hustings. I would urge everyone to use their votes. I felt that in the last leadership election, the pitches ended up feeling very similar, irrespective of differences. I suspect that will not ...
Unusual news from Aberdeenshire as not merely a councillor but a council leader no less, Cllr Jim Gifford, has quit the Conservative Party: The leader of Aberdeenshire Council has stepped down from the Scottish Conservatives and joined the independent group. Jim Gifford will now be shadowed in the council leader role by Andy Kille for five months. Mr Kille, who is now the new Conservative group leader, will take over as council leader in November following the transition period. The change will be subject to the approval of a full council meeting. [BBC] Want to know more about what the ...
While many readers of Lib Dem's voice will believe that the fight for universal suffrage is something from a bygone age, it is very much a topic of concern for many British citizens. Although travel has been heavily curtailed during the current pandemic, it has long been a quintessential part of being British, exploring, assisting the development of new countries and forging an existence in any far-flung part of the world. Brits live on every continent and probably in every country. This has allowed our country to become truly multicultural, as Brits coming home to live or bring a part ...
Tue, 12:56: RT @smotus: I continue to be stunned by the restraint police showed when armed conservative mobs literally shut down a state legislature a... Tue, 13:35: Started Cycle with #cyclemeter at 13:35, on a new route, see https://t.co/1wheGw1lFd, Cyclemeter will speak your replies to me. Tue, 13:52: Finished Cycle with #cyclemeter, on a new route, time 16:38, distance 4.59 km, see https://t.co/1wheGw1lFd, average 16.54. Tue, 15:09: RT @pnh: Literally even Richard goddamn Nixon had more personal physical courage than this. https://t.co/VO0unXI2v0 Tue, 16:05: Someone says nice things about PERILOUS AND FAIR https://t.co/C8JZa6dSo4 Someone links to an old review of ...
First bus is rolling out changes to its app - so it will tell you if there is space on the bus. They are running more buses, but because of social distancing they get full quickly. So this app will tell you whether there is space on the next bus. The app update will show a bus icon on a map depicting the live location and available capacity of each vehicle nearby.
Wed 3rd
10:22
Extended Self-Employment Income Support Scheme The government has extended the Self-Employment Incom...
Extended Self-Employment Income Support Scheme The government has extended the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and confirmed next steps for furloughing.If you're eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, you will be able to claim a second and final grant in August worth 70 per cent of your average monthly trading profits. This will be paid out in a single instalment covering three months' worth of profits, and capped at £6,570 in total.From 1 July 2020, businesses will be given the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part time under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Rimrose Valley Country Park. The latest news from Rimrose Valley Friends is available via the link below:- Rimrose Valley Country Park
Wed 3rd
09:40
Jamie Stone MP: I have become a second-class MP due to the government's ending of the virtual parlia...
"I am being told I have to choose between the health and wellbeing of my disabled wife or represent my constituents." – @Jamie4North The Government must think again about shutting down virtual Parliament proceedings. pic.twitter.com/GZGKUjuF72 — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) June 2, 2020 – That is a video from Jamie Stone MP which was tweeted last night. In the Guardian, he has spoken to Rajeev Syal about the invidious choice he is facing because of the Government's move to end the House of Commons hybrid rules, which have allowed for remote voting and virtual debates during the Covid-19 crisis. Jamie reveals ...
Following up on this post regarding the now infamous target of 100,000 per day COVID-19 tests being delivered by the government, it appears that Ministers are still struggling to turn their promises into reality. The Guardian reports that Sir David Norgrove, the head of the UK Statistics Authority has accused the government of continuing to mislead the public over the numbers of these tests being carried out: The UKSA chair upbraids the government for mixing up tests carried out with testing kits sent out by post. "This distinction is too often elided during the presentation at the daily press conference, ...
2 big stories The slide towards banana republic status for the United Kingdom continues. Yesterday, whipped by their leadership, Conservative MPs voted to return to the old ways of operating, causing a queue of MPs to form in order to vote that ran through Westminster Hall, the gardens of the Palace of Westminster and as far as Portcullis House. Frankly, if I were the Opposition, I'd be calling divisions on anything and everything, up to and including what day of the week it is. Excluding MPs who are pregnant, shielding or in vulnerable groups is an attack on our democracy, ...
School pupils across Scotland can enter the Scottish Fair Trade competition for a chance to win Fair Trade prizes and have your posters/videos shared around the world - but you must enter by Friday of this week - 5th June 2020. Simply create a poster or video based on the Planet Fair Trade theme of this year's World Fair Trade Day. Full details at www.tinyurl.com/fairtrade-competition
I miss the Shropshire hills.
