Mental health and education gap of homeschooling must be addressed All Hong Kongers must be given right to live in the UK £2.9 billion aid cut shows Government abandoning world stage Mental health and education gap of homeschooling must be addressed Responding to ONS statistics published today on the impact of homeschooling during the coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said: Coronavirus has clearly impacted every aspect of life, including the wellbeing of parents and children, and the quality of education the majority of children receive. We must ensure no one is left behind. If it wasn't for ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

Marty Feldman conquered radio comedy in the 1960s as one of the two writers of Round the Horne and then television comedy as a performer in his own shows. After that he went into films with diminishing returns. He died 1982 at the age of only 48. Made in 1969, this film expounds his view of comedy and features contributions from Peter Sellers, Eric Morecambe and Denis Norden among others. The jazz singer Annie Ross also appears. I watched this film at bedtime last night and when I looked at Twitter in the night I came across this news:Annie Ross ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Bloomberg reports:The U.K. could require foreign states to name their spies operating in the country on a government register, under a crackdown being considered by ministers.It's an interesting idea, but I wonder if those ministers have taken into account this penetrating observation by one of the Morton twins in the final chapter of Mystery at Witchend:"I say," Dickie broke in, "spies are awful liars aren't they?"

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Wed 22nd
20:33

The Lantern

George W Bush famously hoped to export Western-style democracy to Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, though many of us who had been covering the region as journalists or academics for years believed that notion to be unrealistic, even misguided. That was true after the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and just [...]

Posted by jonathanfryer on Jonathan Fryer

Following news that the Trade Bill has passed in the House of Commons, without any amendments which would ensure that Parliament can vote on future trade deals, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for International Trade Sarah Olney said:"By refusing to give Parliament a say over future trade deals - going against the wishes of many of their own MPs - it is clear that this Conservative Government's motto of "taking back control" was just empty words in their ideological pursuit of Brexit."As the Liberal Democrats warned, we now have less scrutiny over trade deals than when we were part of the EU. ...

Posted by Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

Responding to the Home Secretary's writen statement on the Government's BNO passport policy for Hong Kongers, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson and Chair of the APPG on Hong Kong Alistair Carmichael said:"The Government must put these measures in place as soon as possible to protect Hong Kongers. We have already seen how the Chinese Communist Party are using the new laws to crack down on people's rights and freedoms."Liberal Democrats have been calling for these protections since the time of Paddy Ashdown. We are pleased that the government is finally listening."Now, we are urging Boris Johnson to ensure no one ...

Posted by Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

Responding to reports the Government is to cut its global aid budget by £2.9 billion this year, Liberal Democrat International Development spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain said:"For so many vulnerable people in need around the world, UK international aid has made the difference between life and death. "Despite previous assurances that clearly weren't worth the paper they were written on, we now see the callous Tories for who they really are."This devastating cut to international aid is a clear sign that the UK is abandoning the world stage. Because of this government more children will have their life chances blighted by poverty. ...

Posted by Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats on Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats

Second paragraph of third chapter:The figure on the right was female; tall for a western Quuros, but average for most Doltari, or eastern Quuros. The figure on the left was tall—very tall. He or she towered above the others, at least a half-foot taller than the next tallest person (which was me). The center figure, the one who seemed hunched and old, hobbled forward toward my escort, a Kishna- Farrigan eunuch slave master named Dethic. The stooped figure held out its hand, gloved in black silk.Another novel by an Astounding Award finalist included in the Hugo packet, but I'm afraid ...

The next few months are going to be tough for our business people and they will need all the help that we can give them to stay afloat and hopefully thrive. Imagine our area if most of the shops on ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?

We're sailing breezily towards Friday when, suddenly, everybody is meant to be wearing face masks in shops. It's not going to happen. I see hardly any face masks being worn out at the moment. To expect a sudden pivot on Friday is just ridiculous. The police aren't going to enforce the rule to any significant extent. Shops will be very reluctant to challenge people not wearing masks. I hear reports that retailers have told staff not to issue such challenges. So I don't see what is going to happen to make the rule effective on Friday. Perhaps if the rule ...

Posted by Paul Walter on Liberal Democrat Voice
YouGov

A circular walk, taking in some of the countryside to the south of Colchester, including Layer-de-la-Haye and Rowhedge.

Posted by Nick Barlow on Stories by Nick Barlow on Medium

Interesting polling results from Redfield & Wilton, showing how wary the British public is of the US compared to other countries.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

There is one answer, in particular, I wanted to pull out due to its relevance to discussions all through the party this year: attitudes towards Paddy Ashdown's political strategy in the 1990s.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

British politicians have been talking about 'the environment' for longer as I have been politically aware, yet there has been a shocking degradation in the number and diversity of species over that period. So new and radical thinking is needed and here the rewilding movement offers hope. Today The Ecologist reports:At least 300,000 acres of land could be "rewilded" in the next three years with the help of a project being launched to tackle the nature and climate crisis, its backers said. Campaign group Rewilding Britain is launching a network later this year to support and connect people including landowners, ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Wed 22nd
12:00

An opinion piece

Both the Tories and Labour have a dominant elected represented presence across the UK on many different bodies. Because of their current dominance, people almost expect that they should be represented. Such prevalence has allowed some poor performance, by these parties, to be masked/accepted as the public find it difficult to see beyond, what has become, their own basic political norms. The Lib Dems message is not being heard. We live in a liberal country that has liberal values, a liberal outlook on life and politics, and there is one real party that represents those values - the Liberal Democrats. ...

Posted by Tahir Maher on Liberal Democrat Voice

As shocking as the Russia report is, there will not be many who will be surprised at its contents. It has been known for some time that Putin's Russia has sought to interfere in and influence the outcomes of elections. What is surprising is that there has been no attempt to discover whether that same interference influenced the European referendum. As the Guardian says, unlike the US - where a report into Russian interference in the 2016 election was produced within two months of the vote - Britons have been kept in the dark about Moscow's meddling. They continue: On ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
Wed 22nd
11:00

My tweets

Tue, 15:29: City of Lies, by Sam Hawke https://t.co/oHCkraHMZJ Wed, 04:48: RT @PRWeekUS: #PRWeekPowerList50 41. Michael McNally,@LEGO_Group https://t.co/T4fyfRtT6K 42. Margery Kraus,@apcoworldwide https://t.co/g3pD... Wed, 08:47: The Reformation Wall in Geneva. Much earlier than I thought - we guessed around the mid-20th century, actually it d... https://t.co/c73X41rWjg Wed, 09:30: Whoniversaries 22 July: Roy Herrick, Adrienne Hill, Bonnie Langford, Eric Chitty, Dead of Night https://t.co/ruaLEavPyw Wed, 10:45: RT @jonnymorris1973: I was recently flabbergasted to learn that this photo-op took place /before/ the Daleks made their first TV appearance...

This is media release from Sainsbury's announcing the company is to retail from Rocks Green on the edge of Ludlow. Leading UK retailer Sainsbury's has announced it plans to open the doors to a brand new 18,000 sq ft supermarket in Ludlow, Shropshire next year. The investment in the new supermarket will create up to 150 new local jobs and meet the shopping needs of the community from both in the town and wider region. The new store, to be built on land at the junction of the A49 and Rocks Green, will also include an Argos store inside the ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

The Southern Planning Committee will meet online next Tuesday afternoon to decide on whether or not it supports the development of eight homes at Linney House. The site is on the banks of the Corve within Ludlow's conservation area. The committee decision will only be advisory as the developer has already submitted an appeal to the planning inspectorate. But it is an important decision. Should we build schemes like this in Ludlow's conservation area? Should we build in an area that is not identified for development in the local development plan, SAMDev? Shropshire Council planners are recommending that the planning ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

Factory of Dreams – A history of Meccano Ltd – by Kenneth D. Brown is a book which was published in 2007 As a Trustee of the Maghull based Frank Hornby Trust (Hornby lived in Maghull for much of his adult life) I had been meaning to read this book for some time and lockdown gave me the perfect opportunity. The book runs to 230 pages of quite detailed information about the highs and lows of the company from start (1901) to finish (1979) and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about Hornby Railways, Dinky Toys, ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus
eUKhost

i) births and deaths 22 July 1936: birth of Roy Herrick, who was the counter-revolutionary Jean in the story we now call The Reign of Terror (First Doctor, 1964) and Parsons, a space medic in The Invisible Enemy (Fourth Doctor, 1977) 22 July 1937: birth of Adrienne Hill, who played the short-lived Katarina, a companion of the First Doctor, in the last episode of The Myth Makers and the first few episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan in 1965. 22 July 1964: birth of Bonnie Langford, who played Melanie Bush in 1986-87 alongside the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. They are ...

As residents will be aware, "Spaces for People" is the temporary infrastructure programme that offers funding from Scottish Government through Sustrans to make it safer for people who choose to walk, cycle or wheel for essential trips and exercise during the current health emergency. I have already updated residents about one of the Dundee projects as part of this programme - 20mph zones of which the one in the West End around the Perth Road shopping area and lanes has had a very positive feedback already as the signing and lining goes in. Another proposal was a proposed "modal filter" ...