In the 1960s the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were desperately unfashionable. A Canterbury Tale - on most days my favourite among them - was known only in a version cut and reshot for the American market and the same was true of the Shropshire-set Gone to Earth. This BBC Arena documentary was made as their reputation was undergoing a remarkable renaissance.
Liberal Democrats: London lockdown further evidence Govt have lost control Liberal Democrats vote against "dangerous" Government crimes Bill Liberal Democrats: London lockdown further evidence Govt have lost control Responding to reports that London will face Tier 2 Covid restrictions from Saturday, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: The Government have completely lost control of coronavirus across vast swathes of the country, and the situation in London is looking very difficult. In the north of England, and now in London, the sacrifices of millions of people have been squandered by this Government. Because of Boris Johnson's failure to ensure ...
The consultation process between Jaynic, the developers acting for Mid Suffolk District Council, and our Parish Council, began last night. And so, perhaps I ought to report back... The first thing to note is, slightly surprisingly, that there appears to be no hard and fast idea as to what will go on the site and where, contrary to the impression given by the material circulated by their communications consultants. Yes, enormous logistics sheds might well emerge, but until customers actually turn up, nobody really knows - the talk is of bespoke development, i.e. the customer will say what they want ...
A press release from the party brings the news: The Liberal Democrats today led cross-party opposition to the Government's Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill, calling a vote against the legislation in the House of Commons. The Bill, which would create a legal basis for certain government bodies to authorise undercover agents to commit crimes in the UK, has given rise to major concerns among MPs and human rights organisations for its breadth and the lack of sufficient limits, safeguards and oversight. The Liberal Democrats voted against Third Reading this afternoon, but most Conservative MPs backed it and Labour ...
This year's Black History Month has arrived at a time where the topics of identity, race, culture and equality rarely seem to be out of the national conversation.
He has done it again. Sir Vince Cable has seemingly effortlessly published yet another book. This is at least his 6th, following Globalisation and Global Governance (2000), The Storm (2009), Free Radical (2010), After the Storm (2015) and the novel Open Arms (2018). Despite its shorter length at around 99 pages, it is packed full with well researched facts and figures, insightful analysis, and is reflective of the mind of an ex economist and academic. The title China: Engage! Avoid the New Cold War, makes clear his dovish view where it concerns the cold (and possible hot) war involving China. ...
I'm going to admit it. When I am awake in the wee small hours of the night, or need to fill in five minutes of time between tasks, I often turn to the moral dilemmas presented on Reddit's "Am I The Asshole" subreddit, to deliver quick anonymous drive-by judgements of other people's deepest problems. I've always been darkly fascinated by advice columns; AITA offers you the opportunity to participate for yourself. The format constrains you to make one of four possible calls on a story of interpersonal conflict: YTA (you're the asshole), NTA (you're not the asshole and the other ...
One of the beneficiaries of money from the Culture Recovery Fund hereabouts was Nevill Holt Opera. It has its own little opera house in the former stables of Nevill Holt Hall, the stately home that many academics believe to be the model for Bonkers Hall. So I was interested to see this from Norman Lebrecht on his Slipped Disc blog: We're hearing cries of 'foul!' over a £100,000 Arts Council handout to Nevill Holt Opera in the Midlands. Nevill Holt was founded by Tory donor and Boris pal David Ross on his estate in Leicestershire. Ross, 55, is chairman of ...
Current Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake This Must be the Place, by Maggie O'Farrell Last books finished Survivants, Tome 4, by Leo Survivants, Tome 5, by Leo To Be Taught, if Fortunate, by Becky Chambers Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos, by M. Mitchell Waldrop Secret Army, by John Brason Helen Waddell, by Felicitas Corrigan Next books The Tropic of Serpents, by Marie Brennan Wild Life, by Molly Gloss
Cllr. Edie Pope outside her Southport Road farm shop. The notorious accident black spot is in the background. This week's Champion newspaper is highlighting the dangerous nature of Lydiate's Southport Road and they are to be congratulated on an excellent article by reporter Danielle Thompson. The vast majority of Southport Road has a 30mph limit – that's not a target but a maximum! Frankly, the reality is that the road is little more than a racetrack from the Maghull boundary with few vehicles keeping to the maximum speed. The part of it which is 40mph runs from Lydiate Abbey to ...
I'm so excited to announce the launch of my Share, Plan, Act programme. Through it, I plan to link community/faith/charity groups and key influencers with the Liberal Democrats to catalyse positive social change via the media, lobbying, education and micro action. It will co-ordinate with Ed's National Listening Programme to enable us, as a Party, to reach communities and individuals who might not have interacted much with us before. And - crucially – will help us to listen to what voters want, so we can better serve them. I've been working hard with my phenomenal team over the past few ...
Yesterday the press, both local and national was full of pictures and stories about the misbehaviour of young people in the City and how they had brought shame on us all. Even looking at the photographs provided which came from ... Continue reading →
Thu 15th
13:23
A warning to libertarians: Abolish local government and your town may be taken over by bears
Conservatives in Leicestershire, as in many other parts of the country, are hell-bent on abolishing district and borough councils. I believe local government should be local and that the idea that centralisation always leads to greater efficiency and lower costs is no more true today than it was in the 1970s when it was Labour's creed. Support for my view comes from an article in The New Republic by Patrick Blanchfield. It is a review of the book A libertarian walks into a bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, which recounts the experience of the New Hampshire town of Grafton. Grafton has ...
This week we are highlighting winners of the Party Awards at our recent Conference. The Bertha Bowness Fischer Award is presented to a new member who has made a big impact. It went to Simran Meji. See the video of the whole party awards session below and the submission made in support of Simran under the cut. Simran first got involved with our local party in summer 2019. She came to a policy event and actively participated and shared her frustrations about how the room was not representative of the country or our borough. We spoke to her and she ...
Larry Elliott on Britain's covid crisis, a good read but a flawed conclusion, particularly in his observation that in a crisis people change their behaviour. He's right they do, but in different ways, which is why his comparison with Sweden is wide of the mark. "Scientific models suggested that Sweden would suffer 96,000 Covid-19 deaths in the first wave, owing to its government's decision to have only mild restrictions, but they presupposed that Swedes would carry on as before. They didn't, with the result that the death toll is fewer than 6,000..." The implication - which Elliott does not follow ...
Wed, 12:56: RT @sheilaoflanagan: The best answer I've ever read @dollyalderton https://t.co/HeeQPLXcHh Wed, 15:52: Apart from the big one, I just want to give shout-outs to a few other 2 November races that I'm personally invested in. Wishing @RepLindaSanchez the best of luck in California 38th. We had a great chat at a conference in Oxford last December. She is fairly safe for re-election. Wed, 16:05: RT @SFischer_EU: Some of the „forgotten" (and lonely) pictures in the former UK delegation office at the EU Council building in #Luxembourg... Wed, 16:22: Congratulations to Melita! Though to describe this as the "most ...
broadcast anniversaries 15 October 1966: broadcast of second episode of The Tenth Planet. The Cybermen take over the base. "Our scientists and doctors devised spare parts for our bodies until we could be almost completely replaced." 15 October 1977: broadcast of third episode of The Invisible Enemy. Leela and K9 defend the laboratory while the cloned Doctor and Leela explore the real Doctor's brain. And what is that giant prawn thing at the end? 15 October 2007: broadcast of first episode of Warriors of Kudlak (SJA). Children who play Combat 3000 are going missing; Luke and Clyde investigate and get ...
Government must follow Wales and guarantee free schools meals over holidays Responding to the announcement that the Welsh Government has guaranteed free school meal provision for all school holidays up to and including Easter 2021, thanks to £11m confirmed today by Welsh Education Minister Kirsty Williams, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: This decision by Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams is wonderful news and will really ease the worries of thousands of parents in Wales as they look ahead to the uncertainty of the next six months. It is essential that Conservative Ministers in Westminster follow the Liberal Democrats lead ...
The next HERA - Harris Education & Recreation Association block of Zoom classes will run in November, with most classes on Wednesday evenings and a couple on Mondays. Online enrolment for the range of classes will be available on www.heradundee.org from 21st October to 28th October. Don't miss out - full detils here!
