Having loved BlacKkKlansman and several earlier Spike Lee films, I awaited the release of his latest, Da 5 Hoods (now on Netflix), with eager anticipation. The fact that it is set in Vietnam, with frequent flashbacks to the Vietnam War, in which I was a cub reporter in 1969 and 1971, had further whetted my appetite. [...]
Wallace Lawler's victory in the Birmingham Ladywood by-election of 1969, as I blogged last month, is the Liberal victory no one talks about. That is because there seems to have been a racist element to his campaigning. He did give one of my maths teachers a good hoofing though. Anyway, this photograph shows him arriving at Westminster as a newly elected MP, along with his wife and one of his daughters.
Lib Dems condemn Govt decision to scrap GRA reform Responding to reports that the Government will ban conversion therapy, but has dropped plans to simplify the gender recognition process, Liberal Democrat Equalities spokesperson Christine Jardine said: We have fought long and hard to ban conversion therapy, but if the Conservatives think the fight for LGBT+ rights ends there, they are very wrong. The Liberal Democrats will always stand up for equality and human rights for all, and that includes reforming the Gender Recognition Act to make it easier for people to gain legal recognition of their gender identity. With trans ...
When Ian Kearns joined us from Labour in 2018, he gave a barnstormer of a speech at the Brighton conference that year explaining why. Here's a reminder: Now Ian has taken up the post of Director of the Social Liberal Forum. In a post on their website, he sets out his vision for the role of the SLF website: Over coming months and years we will set out and campaign for a vision of a Citizen's Britain where what matters is not a person's race, religion, gender or sexuality but the content of their character. A country where every human ...
Caroline Pidgeon was on Sunday Politics London today calling for action on cladding. Three years after the Grenfell tragedy, not enough has been done to remove the cladding that caused the fire to spread so quickly. She described how people were frightened to go to sleep in their own homes. 3 years on from #Grenfell why has cladding not been replaced on thousands of buildings? Money has been provided, but nowhere near enough and too slowly! The Gov't must act now to avoid another #GrenfellTower #GrenfellNeverAgain pic.twitter.com/oRALIbc3Dl — Caroline Pidgeon [IMG: 🔶] (@CarolinePidgeon) June 14, 2020 * Newshound: bringing you ...
I have written before about how well many stock market indices have performed, notwithstanding the pandemic. That good performance has continued, with the US S&P 500 reaching record levels last week. This is puzzling, and might be a sign of a crisis in the making. What is clear is that few, if any, of the ... Continue reading Are buoyant stock markets a sign of financial trouble ahead?
From the Leicester Mercury: There have been calls for Sir Peter Soulsby to resign as Leicester's mayor after he apparently breached coronavirus rules by making visits to his partner's house during lockdown. The Leicester Mayor has been photographed visiting his partner's house in the evenings by her neighbours. Sir Peter and his partner live separately - him in the city, and her in the village of Groby some five miles away. A neighbour told the Mercury: "He's been coming three or four nights a week throughout lockdown. "He wears a baseball cap pulled down and tries to keep a low ...
I expect many of you are looking forward to going shopping for something other than food this week. Sadly I won't be joining you because people who are shielding are not supposed to go into shops at all. We are limited to having a short walk for exercise, or attending a medical appointment, but I have been pondering on what I will do once those restrictions are lifted. My first priority will be to go back into the supermarkets. Online ordering has been essential, but nothing beats going round and being inspired by products on offer. Although we keep a ...
This morning (14th of June, 2020), a deliberate statement by Paddy O'Connell on BBC Broadcasting House (at 11:45), "Boris Johnson is unwell" went unchallenged by Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood. This caused a fair stir online in the Radio Four Facebook sites. Instead of joining with the usual sniper shots, I have decided to stand back and consider the trail. Boris Johnson is certainly a vote winner. Westminster and London mayor elections confirm this. On this basis, the Conservative Party membership chose him over Jeremy Hunt to replace Theresa May. Johnson delivered a thumping majority in reward of their faith. Since ...
Friday 12th June 2020 Opening day for shops in Northern Ireland, so a report from Belfast. I felt a strong feeling of familiarity about the street scene behind the reporter on BBC Breakfast; my subconscious was saying 'Botanic Avenue' to me. So when the reporter turned to the shop as a prelude to interviewing the [...]
Another lovely sunny weekend day of reading in the garden, another book that I've given up on. I did get as far as the third in this collection of short stories, but none of the first three really engaged me so I'm leaving the rest. The second paragraph of the third story, "Een evenwichtig bestaan" ("A balanced existence"), is: Een jaar geleden solliciteerde Ernst Greve, net afgestudeerd aan de universiteit van Leiden, naar de betrekking van docent Nederlands aan het Willem de Zwijger College te E. A year ago, Ernst Greve, just graduated from the University of Leiden, applied for ...
This is the last of a series of three posts about the right to die, end of life care and its legislation. The first post can be seen here and the second one can be seen here. Since we all are going to die and see loved ones die, everyone has a vested interest in the country's approach to death in the 21st century. Many believe that choosing the manner and timing of your own death is a fundamental human right. 80-90 per cent of the UK's population believes assisted dying should be legalised for those suffering from terminal illnesses, ...
The Sutton Tory group recently demonstrated a Party position of blind optimism in the face of the coronavirus crisis and impending recession. At a formal meeting to discuss Sutton Council's response to the Covid crisis, the Tory opposition leader Tim Crowley's main intervention was to refute the concerns of rising unemployment, increasing homelessness and the [...]
Every night, House of Commons business closes with an adjournment debate for half an hour. It's a half hour in which an MP raises an issue and a Government minister has to respond. It was worth staying up last Monday night to watch Wendy Chamberlain lead a debate calling for electoral reform. She made a brilliant case both for PR and votes at 16. She was supported by Wera Hobhouse, Christine Jardine and Layla Moran. You can watch the whole thing here – and it is worth doing so to see how well they make the case – and how ...
I have just written to my MP regarding the apparent proposal on the front page of today's Sunday Times – that "protections will be offered to safeguard female-only spaces, including refuges and public lavatories, to stop them being used by those with male anatomy." I also copied in Marsha de Cordova, Anne McLaughlin and Christine [...]
Sat, 12:56: How JK Rowling Betrayed the World She Created https://t.co/eWKaQ6kqyB Well put, by @gabbybellot. Sat, 13:47: Finished Cycle with #cyclemeter, on a new route, time 42:15, distance 12.16 km, see https://t.co/oMcOlOjpaG, average 17.26. Sat, 14:32: What strikes me is that only two of the last 10 Leaders of the Opposition became prime minister! https://t.co/YB9pXADyWk Sat, 14:48: RT @CBeebiesHQ: NOTE Blue Peter is on CBeebies at 5pm. This clip is a few minutes into the show. You may want to sit with your child.... Sat, 16:05: RT @Mikel_Jollett: Dear Republicans, You can't call yourselves "the party of Lincoln" AND wave ...
Neil Hannon told The Irish Times in 1996 that Becoming More Like Alfie is an "ironical attack" on the kind of sexism by another name laddishness evident in British working class culture: "I watched Alfie a long time ago and thought, 'what a horrible character', as in the way he was referring to women as 'it's a nice little thing', a complete dehumanising of the opposite sex. "But when I saw it again recently, I saw a lot of my own tendencies in it - which sparked the song. It is also a dig at the laddishness in Britpop at ...
Some caveats: Boris Johnson has always been trouble; trouble follows him like a bad smell; Boris Johnson creates trouble wherever he goes, like Donald Trump, he is a disruptor who creates chaos to promote his own self interest. But now he has achieved his ultimate goal of becoming Prime Minister, these attributes cannot help him. He does not have the skills needed to sustain his position, and this truth is starting to dawn on many of his supporters. As John Rentoul writes in the Guardian, Boris Johnson has been found out: The world is closing in on the prime minister. ...
From next Monday (15th June), Diamond Card concessionary travel will start at its usual time again of 9am. The start time was removed when the lockdowns started to allow older people to travel to use the special early slots at the supermarkets. However, the West of England Authority says that public transport now needs to be prioritised at peak times for those people who have no choice but to use it to travel to work then, because thanks to social distancing buses can only hold a quarter of the people they would normally. Diamond Travelcard holders will still be able ...
Sun 14th
08:53
The Football Lads Alliance doesn't represent football fans, so don't judge us by their thuggishness
I had a troubling experience yesterday. A thing I love came under attack for being racist, or at the very least, associated with racism. I'm talking about the football community. It's not a new attack, but it gave me pause for thought on how we communicate with one another - particularly those on the liberal side of politics. Before we begin, I need to state that were this an article about the racists responding to Black Lives Matter then they'd feel the full force of my keyboard. Their views are abhorrent and have no place in our society. But I'm ...
As I pointed out on Twitter, citing a Parliamentary debate from 1947, controversies and protests over statues aren't anything new: I wonder how many people opposing the removal of statues are going to be campaigning for the restoration of Lenin's statue in London? pic.twitter.com/CC8kxpvK4c — Mark Pack [IMG: 🔶] (@markpack) June 13, 2020 (Fair dos if they don't get to campaigning for this one as they're tied up first with campaigning for the restoration of the Jimmy Savile statues that have been removed.) The story of that Lenin statue is a curious one, as recounted by the BBC: This bust ...
The bus shelter on Corve Street, at the stop known as the Compasses, has proved a great success. On wet and windy days, people welcome some respite from the weather while they wait for the bus to Shrewsbury or the town service. The shelter was funded by the town council. Recently, it agreed to install a new bus shelter every year. But where should the next bus stop go? The town council is now consulting on the best location for the next bus shelter. Deadline 26 June. Email your thoughts to kate.adams@ludlow.gov.uk. The bus shelter on Corve Street does not ...
Many thanks to Sheena Wellington of Friends of Wighton a great update on some of the music that can be accessed on-line! "There is still a wheen of music happening online and here are your links to some of it! Apologies to any artist I have missed! Campbell's Ceilidh taking place regularly on a Sunday Evening as hosted by Mairi Campbell https://www.facebook.com/groups/1073287133041711/ or email Mairi direct mairi_campbell@hotmail.com Allan Taylor's See Ye Sunday live every Sunday afternoon at 3.30 pm https://www.facebook.com/afc1983 Josie Duncan (including a GYOMS supported song session) is online at: https://www.facebook.com/JosieDuncanMusic/videos/ Bruce MacGregor Besides presenting Travelling Folk on BBCScotland, ...
