Govt must not abandon Hong Kong youth Govt must stop overlooking green investment to create sustainable jobs Govt must not abandon Hong Kong youth Following Raab's statement that China has broken the Joint Declaration by imposing the new 'security law' on Hong Kong, and that the UK govt will now be offering a path to citizenship for BNO status holders, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson and Chair of the APPG on Hong Kong Alistair Carmichael said: It is right that the UK Government are taking swift action to help protect the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, ...
Time for the third of Jim Butler's Hidden Histories videos. This one explores the legacy of Saxon Leicestershire, through archaeological finds, place names and the lives of two remarkable ladies of Mercia.
This is an outline application, 201346, that is looking for layout and access to be determined. I have a very long list of objections to it. The application includes a great deal of detail about house types and designs, affordability and tenure, and housing mix, and even materials. All of those things, as far as I can see, are indicative, and are not to be determined at this stage - and could all look very different when the detailed plans come back if outline permission is granted. Looking at the documents, the applicant has worked very hard to produce what ...
My four top tweets from the first half of this year: 4) Bitter commentary on the UK media. Everyone, ignore the Mail on Sunday. I know it makes you angry. But channel your energy into something better. All you are doing is delivering them even more clicks that will further help their business model. — 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙮𝙩𝙚 🇪🇺 🇧🇪 (@nwbrux) March 29, 2020 3) Commentary on Northern Irish election stuff. Wow, the courts just quashed the recommended new constituency boundaries for Northern Ireland. Doesn't matter in practice; they were never going to be implemented. But fairly dramatic stuff in terms ...
Following the collapse on Tuesday of Signature Living with more than £120,000,000 of losses I've has written to Liverpool's Mayor, Joe Anderson, asking him to establish a Task Force of institutional investors to try and sort out the City's property ... Continue reading →
My photo, taken in 1980 or thereabouts, shows Little Bowden Junction signal box in Market Harborough. It stood on the Midland main line until the major resignalling project of 1987. That, however, was not the end of its story. The box was taken down and re-erected at the Coventry Steam Railway Centre, which later became the Electric Railway Museum. This closed in 2017 when the city council declined to renew its lease because the site was wanted for redevelopment. I have found reports that at least some of the locomotive and rolling stock found homes elsewhere, but nothing about Little ...
Wed 1st
18:12
Ludlow's broken park and ride site is an embarrassment to our town - it's time it was fixed
The parking surface is rubbish and unsafe. The bus shelter is a mess. Disabled parking bay signs have been knocked over. Almost every morning sees litter strewn everywhere. Nitrous Oxide canisters, condoms, booze tins. Young racers spin their cars around and perform handbrake turns. This is Ludlow's park and ride site. A major gateway to our town. The Eco Park site has been neglected by its owner, Shropshire Council, for more than a decade. Councillors have been complaining about the state of the facility for years but Shropshire Council's answer is always, "We'll sort it out when we can". We ...
Back in 2015, I wrote an article entitled 'We Need More Blue Collar Liberals' which generated a decent amount of comments and responses from some of the MPs I contacted notably Alistair Carmichael. However, nearly five years on my one-person campaign has seen no real progress. The party nationally appears to have stopped talking about people from lower socio-economic backgrounds when it talks about diversity. There is quite rightly plenty of talk about inclusion particularly in relation to the BAME community, the recent Thornhill report makes much of this but in an election review where Labour's famed Red Wall collapsed ...
As the lockdown eased, we sat down and watched the ten episodes of Picard, the latest in the Star Trek franchise, with 79-year-old Sir Patrick Stewart returning to his most iconic role. In case you don't know much about it, here's the official trailer: I have actually seen only a very few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it was enough to help me locate all of the returning characters in Picard. Our hero is moved to come out of retirement to right a historic wrong; Starfleet won't give him a ship, so he acquires one of his ...
Laura Shields and Dirk Singer, communications consultants, members of Democrats Abroad and authors of an excellent piece "Swimming with the sharks: What progressives can learn from Republicans Against Trump" join me for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. You may recall an earlier show had Rob Blackie on talking about what the party can learn from how Trump himself communicates. This time with Laura and Dirk, the show looks at what can be learnt from those campaigning against Trump. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes ...
Democracies can die. We're witnessing authoritarian governments elsewhere in Europe undermining judicial independence, manipulating media, limiting parliamentary scrutiny of government actions and hobbling opposition activities. It couldn't happen in Britain, could it? Are you sure? Commitment to open society, toleration of diverse opinions and opposition, and effective checks and balances on government, are core elements in political liberalism. Constitutional and limited government was also a core element in Edmund Burke's concept of Conservatism. Constitutional Clubs in English towns institutionalised the association between Conservative values and our unwritten conventions. But the government we have now has thrown much of that side ...
Wed 1st
15:30
Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel Statement on the proposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank
The Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel (LDFI) would like to express our deep concern about plans by the current Israeli Government to annex large swathes of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. We are strong supporters of the State of Israel and a negotiated two-state solution; however, we believe this action by the Government of Israel is neither in the best interests of the State nor the Israeli or Palestinian peoples. Significant parts of the UK's Jewish diaspora have voiced both concerns about and opposition to these proposals. The proposed annexation, reportedly scheduled for 1st July also has the ...
Another decision this week from the planners. New junior sports pitches have to be provided by the developers at Ladden Garden. But the Tory Councillors who run planning, none of whom live within 5 miles of here, have said they need not provide toilets or changing.So the new development will three junior pitches, on land land which is currently waterlogged every winter, with hardly any parking and no toilets or changing. And no electricity or water for them to go in later. Absolutely bonkers.Yate Town Council who have years of experience running local pitches explained the problems. But S Glos ...
Can you remember the 8th of February? Before COVID? No? Neither can I. There was an election in Ireland that day, but a government was only formed last Saturday. Yes, it took 140 days and on Saturday, Micheál Martin, leader of our ALDE sister-party, Fianna Fáil, took office as An Taoiseach. Negotiators from Fianna Fáil (FF), Fine Gael (FG) and the Green Party (GP) worked on a Programme for Government (PfG). At the same time, a pandemic sucked the life out of the economy, and public health officials strived to protect people. Each respective government party took the PfG back ...
[IMG: Shorncliffe Road Crossing plan] It has been confirmed that a proposed new crossing of Shorncliffe Road to make access from Sandgate and West Folkestone to Folkestone West Railway Station has got the go-ahead and will be built this summer. The plan went to consulation with residents earlier this year. Following consultation, the detailed plans have been slightly amended, moving the new crossing from one side of the Shorncliffe Road junction with Audley Road to the other, so that the crossing now is opposite St George's Church. The scheme is now in the hands of contrators, and should, all things ...
The true life story of Ashraf Marwan — son-in-law to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and advisor to Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat — seems more like fiction than reality, as he became an agent for the Israeli secret service, Mossad, under the code name "The Angel". He ended up being hailed a hero by both [...]
Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn, reacting to the new Israeli government's intention to annex 30% of the occupied West Bank, put it well. 'Thou shalt not steal', he said. Unfortunately, Binyamin Netanyahu has little time for this type of directive. Encouraged by the so-called US 'peace plan' for the middle east, he wants to introduce legislation to the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, to begin the process of annexation. He had originally planned to declare this today, and while there might be a delay to the announcement, by all accounts his intention has not changed. This must not go unchallenged. International law ...
My late father was at the opposite end of the Civil Service hierarchy to Sir Mark Sedwell. He never rose above the humble rank of Clerical Officer. However, one of his claims to fame was being (as a "Paper Keeper") one of a small team of a dozen or so in 1940s Newcastle, who in the early stages of the implementation of the Beveridge Report started the Central Office of what became the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance – always known on Tyneside simply as "the Ministry". This went through various mutations (DHSS, etc.). A phrase which my father ...
PlymouthLive wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Tue, 12:56: Five Lessons PR Pros Can Learn from Dungeons & Dragons https://t.co/w3hROc1CZe Great stuff from @APCOWorldwide coll... https://t.co/1SdKsUmFUn Tue, 18:29: June 2020 Books https://t.co/mBztEvyfIg Tue, 19:28: RT @EU2020HR: ...and that's a wrap! We conclude the six-month #EU2020HR with this video. It was a challenge and an honour. Thank you fo... Tue, 19:30: Congrats on your appointment - I remember well your visit to the @APCOBXLInsider @apcoworldwide office in Brussels... https://t.co/hf9EMlId2v Tue, 19:31: RT @EUCouncilPress: 🇪🇺🇲🇪 The 5th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro at Deputy level took place today in Brussels. NOW OPE... Tue, 20:48: RT @RKDasgupta: Literally ...
Boris Johnson's comparison of his rather sad recovery plan to the Rooseveltian New Deal must rank as one of his more over-the-top uses of hype and rhetoric, and that is saying something. As the Guardian points out, the promise of £5 billion to rebuild Britain is a far cry from the US recovery scheme of the 1930s. The paper explains that the New Deal was a package of government spending used to drag America out of the Great Depression, but there are significant differences between Roosevelt's plan and Johnson's: Spending scale Johnson's commitment to bring forward infrastructure spending of £5bn ...
Sign up to Polling UnPacked and get a carefully curated selection of the best British political polling stories via email.
In the wake of a stunning turnaround within the Labour Party, with the left having lost control of the party, something they looked certain to hold onto for a generation at least, the core myths that propel Corbynistas onward are widely circulating on social media. I have decided to sit down and debunk the five most prominent of them. Corbynite policies are "wildly popular" Corbynistas like to point to the fact that some of JC's policies were very popular with the public. Re-nationalisation of the trains is the classic amongst these that gets a mention. Yes, these policies poll well ...
Over the past four years, liberals and progressives across the UK and the USA seem to have been trapped in a cycle of perpetual outrage. The attacks on liberties and cherished values, which have been won over lifetimes, are in a seeming state of never-ending assault. Since Trump and Brexit, hardly a day goes by without something so outrageous that we simply cannot let it go unchallenged. There is always something to shout about. So much to be furious about. So little time to defend the onslaught on our core beliefs. It always seems to get worse, not better. The ...
In 2010-11, I did a series of daily posts on anniversaries in Doctor Who history, covering i) real-world anniversaries of the births and deaths of people important to the history of the programme; ii) anniversaries of the first broadcast of Who stories on TV and radio (which get a bit thin over the summer, so we are starting gently); and iii) dates which are specified in broadcast stories or spinoff literature (of which there are surprisingly few). Ten years on, there is more material to work with, so let's do it again. i) Births and Deaths NB: I include producers, ...
Govt must end debt crisis for renters to avoid homelessness trebling in 2020 Responding to a report by Generation Rent, which has found that 'homelessness is set to treble this year ... as a result of the economic shock of coronavirus', Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson Tim Farron said: The fact that homelessness is set to treble this year is yet more proof that the consequences of the pandemic are set to be devastating for those struggling to get by. The Government must take action now to stop these statistics becoming a reality. This Conservative Government seem content to ignore the ...
A really useful update from Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action : "We are working in partnership with HOPE and Grey Lodge to put together activity packs to encourage older people to continue to keep active during lockdown. We want them to know that they are not alone and to encourage them to keep active both mentally and physically. These packs will provide practical items to keep people active during the ongoing restrictions therefore helping with their overall health and wellbeing. These packs will be hand delivered by volunteers and allow people to feel connected to the community and give reassurance ...
