The aerial view shown is of the outline of the proposed Gateway 14 development, all of which is on land that, not so long ago, fell wholly with the parish boundaries of Creeting St Peter. Alright, it isn't obviously scenic, although it's rich farmland, with excellent arable yields in a normal year. The village itself is out of shot, although not as far as I would frankly prefer, off to the top left hand edge of the picture. What the site is though, is well-connected. That's the A14 running diagonally across the bottom right hand quadrant, and paralleling it in ...
Liberal Democrats call out PM's "brazen hypocrisy" on rule of law Liberal Democrats call on Govt to extend furlough to boost economic recovery Government must make Covid test available to all that need one Liberal Democrats call out PM's "brazen hypocrisy" on rule of law The Liberal Democrats have demanded the Prime Minister explain his "brazen hypocrisy" given his Government's readiness to break international law with the Internal Market Bill, while expecting "everybody in this country to obey the law." The accusation follows an exchange at Prime Minister's Questions today where Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson asked "If Ministers think ...
The Generous Society is a new vision for a more liberal UK. It reframes the timeless values that brought us many of our most cherished freedoms for a time in our national life that is defined by division, anger, and deceit. This is not an exhaustive list of policies. It is about defining the country liberals want to live in - the 'good life' and what it might look like for each individual. It is time to give everyone the best possible chance to live that life, taking away barriers to freedom, and providing support where it is most needed. ...
Generosity is a beautiful quality. It is one we all wish to experience from others, especially those with power over us.
Anti-Chinese rhetoric is growing, and it is amazing how seamlessly our enemy number one has shifted from Islamic extremism to an expansionist China with barely the blink of an eye. No longer do we have a War on Terror but the spectre of a new Cold War. Accusations against Chinese President Xi Jinping are beginning to mirror those against Middle Eastern dictators when complexities of cultures and societies were concertinaed into cartoon-style characters of evil such as with Iraq's Saddam Hussein. We all know what happened there and, unless we are vigilant, we may be walking into another disastrous trap. ...
Liberalism has offered a lot to the UK over the decades. Liberal thinker John Stewart Mill was an early champion of female suffrage and the abolition of the slave trade. The last Liberal Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, started the modern welfare state; the Liberal William Beveridge's totemic report led to the creation of the National Health Service, and the great Liberal economist John Maynard Keynes set out how economic tools operate and could be used to benefit citizens. Liberalism is still a crucial philosophy now - possibly the only antidote to the authoritarian, centralising tendencies coming from some on ...
Apparently the phrase "perfidious Albion" in its current usage goes back at least to the French Revolution, so in reneging on an international treaty which he signed less than a year ago Prime Minister is doing nothing new. Nevertheless our government seems to do, not do, say or lie about something or other at least twice a week which, until two years ago, would have been regarded as outrages oud and totally beyond the pale, We are bound to wonder what their real motive is. Are they stuck in the No 10 bunker chortling furiously and having competitions to see ...
That's your bloody GDP. It is not ours'. Thus a Brexit supporter expressed their detachment from the national economy in 2016. This proposal addresses both the perception and reality behind this comment. It provides poorer households with a bigger share of GDP, achieving a more deliverable redistribution of income than a Universal Basic Income. It makes more people feel that this is 'our GDP'. It also steers the national conversation about growth towards 'net zero'. UBI and its problems A conference motion calls for the party to campaign for UBI. But the practicalities mean we are doomed to deliver a ...
Party Notice – For Information: Saturday sees the first full meeting of our new Steering Group, created by the Federal Board in a pilot to find ways of improving how we run the party. As the Thornhill Election Review found in frank detail, failing to run the party well hinders our election prospects. Elections will be very much on our mind as one of our major items of business is next May's elections. The combination of general elections in Scotland and Wales plus two rounds of local elections in one will make this much more than a usual May. How ...
The blockbuster action movie Mulan has just been released on Disney's streaming platform and will roll out to cinemas across Asia and round the world over the coming months. It's a remake of the rather cutesy 1998 animated version of the story of a young female warrior who fights in defence of the Khan of [...]
China's changing foreign policy, tackling populism, the role for the Liberal Democrats: my guest David Howarth and I ranged widely over the political landscape in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The core vote strategy pamphlet David Howarth and I wrote in 2015. My take on the role for liberalism in a post-coronavirus world. The positive pay-offs from Angela Merkel's decision to welcome many more immigrants to Germany. How Paddy Ashdown's strategy worked in the 1990s. The risks of ...
Do you have a problem for Lib Dem Mum? Email LibDemMum@gmail.com or DM @lib_mum on twitter in complete confidentiality – only Lib Dem Mum sees messages to these accounts. No one in the team at LDV has access (and for the avoidance of doubt Lib Dem Mum's views are her own and not those of the LDV team). All correspondents will be acknowledged, and if you are published you will be given a pseudonym. I am very excited this week, dears, because I received an actual letter, rather than an email or a DM! I have typed this out myself, ...
"I personally think that's a great disappointment councillors. I think we've missed an opportunity. Never mind. That is democracy." Those were the words of Ludlow's mayor Tim Gill at the end of a short debate on Monday night on increasing the number of market stalls from 30 to 35. The market manager had made a clear case for five extra stalls to bring new traders in, to increase the variety of traders and provide flexibility in allocating stalls. Mayor Gill spoke in favour but was countered by the hawkish Glen Ginger who proposed no change. The debate was short. There ...
Tue, 12:08: RT @pmdfoster: HUGE news from @GeorgeWParker @SebastianEPayne that Jonathan Jones, Head of UK government legal department quits over Brexit... Tue, 12:56: Trump's Kosovo show: No big deal - POLITICO https://t.co/853Sloojrl Good analysis. Tue, 14:59: RT @SimonFRCox: Not a spoof. Minister, surely briefed on his language by civil servants, says today "yes this does break international law"... Tue, 15:09: RT @ALMEF77: @pmdfoster @GeorgePeretzQC The UK Government just destroyed the rule of law. As long as we break laws in a specific and limit... Tue, 15:37: RT @patrickkmaguire: Richard Burgon hosting Jennifer Robinson, Julian Assange's lawyer, on a Zoom call ...
As a local Councillor in one of the most diverse wards in London, I am acutely aware of the entrenched inequality that exists within certain sections of the country. This has been further tragically exposed by the current coronavirus crisis. My ward, Alperton, is amongst the hardest hit in Brent, with one of the highest death rates in the borough. Government studies which show the disproportionate way that this virus is impacting certain ethnic groups and also a Brent commissioned poverty report published in August, seek to shed a light on why my borough was so gravely impacted. In some ...
Given our current low poll rating, a number of fellow Liberals have expressed concern that we might soon be overtaken in popularity by the Green Party, some have even taken an interest in joining them. We certainly face competition from the Greens for the votes of those looking for an alternative to the old Conservative/Labour duopoly so they cannot be ignored but how much of a threat are they really? Well, internationally Greens have been making progress in a number of countries in the wake of the accelerating climate crisis, in places like Germany, Australia and New Zealand they are ...
Here's my latest preview written for the party website, this time for the September Steering Group meeting: Saturday sees the first full meeting of our new Steering Group, created by the Federal Board in a pilot to find ways of improving how we run the party. As the Thornhill Election Review found in frank detail, failing to run the party well hinders our election prospects. Elections will be very much on our mind as one of our major items of business is next May's elections. The combination of general elections in Scotland and Wales plus two rounds of local elections ...
Nobody can deny we are in unprecedented times. Not only do we have a global pandemic tearing through our communities, restricting our freedoms, threatening our health, and undermining our social cohesion, but we are facing a major economic crisis from Brexit and are being ruled by a government who have no respect for international law, and who are clearing out anybody in the civil service who might stand up to them. The latest civil servant to lead is Sir Jonathan Jones, the head of the government's legal department who could not stand by and watch ministers take actions in breach ...
Wed 9th
08:30
Whoniversaries 9 September: Janet Fielding, Tomb of the Cybermen #2, The Ribos Operation #2
i) births and deaths 9 September 1953: birth of Janet Fielding, who played Tegan Jovanka, companion to the Fourth and Fifth Doctors. 9 September 1960: birth of Hugh Grant who played the Twelfth Doctor in The Curse of Fatal Death (1999). (What do you mean, it's not canon?) 9 September 1968: birth of Julia Sawalha, who played Emma in The Curse of Fatal Death (1999). (Exactly.) 9 September 1987: death of John Flint, who played William des Preaux, a knight loyal to King Richard, in the story we now call The Crusade (First Doctor, 1965) and also Urquhart, the Concorde ...
Residents recently drew to my attention two blocked road drains in Rosefield Street. I took up this matter with the council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and have now received the following positive response : "An order has been raised for the gullies to be cleared."
