It's been a somewhat reassuring day at Liberal Democrat Voice, at least for yours truly. I've had some interesting, and positive responses to my opening thoughts, and we've published the sort of articles which remind me why I do this. Better still, we have three articles ready for tomorrow which reflect my sense that LDV should inform, entertain and challenge its readers. And so, in the slot I usually use for Party press releases, and in the absence of any to publish, perhaps readers won't mind if I offer something slightly wistful, and quintessentially English (even as I acknowledge his ...
Lord Bonkers brings us the latest news from Ed Davey's listening tour. Monday I telephone Cupar to see how Davey is getting on at the zoo: he began work there this morning. "I'm afraid I've already had to let him go," replies the Head Keeper. "One of the bonobos has taken over for the time being." Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10. Previously in Lord Bonkers Diary... Thursday: Tinkering with a cafetiereFriday: Bottomley went to gaol and Stead went down with the TitanicSaturday: "I see you have woken up and smelt the coffee"Sunday: Buffy the Umpire ...
Harborough District Council has voted to become one of the first local authorities to provide a sign language feed for virtual meetings. A motion from the Liberal Democrat group leader Phil Knowles won support from across the parties at last week's full council meeting. Phil told the meeting: "We have an opportunity here to be groundbreaking. By doing this we can underline our inclusiveness to all members of our community." The Harborough Mail says the council will investigate other ways to improve access to its remote full council and committee meetings.
A report in Australia has just been released which indicts 25 SAS personnel in 39 acts of murder of civilians or prisoners of war in Afghanistan. The government has disbanded one of four SAS squadrons and revoked 3,000 medals. In a murderous "warrior" culture, junior soldiers were encouraged by officers to kill innocents to "blood" themselves, and the patrol commanders who organised the killings covered the whole thing up. The report has rightfully identified many structural problems but leaves the pervading military system that exists across the West (and most of the world) un-criticised. So who is responsible for these ...
Mon 23rd
17:45
Ludlow Covid Cast 1: Andy and Tracey talk about the spread of coronavirus in Shropshire and Ludlow
We can't duck the issue that Covid-19 is here in Ludlow, is everywhere in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. We have around 20 cases a week at present in Ludlow, most asymptomatic. Asymptomatic or not, this disease is a nasty spreader. In the next few weeks, months if necessary, Tracey Huffer and I are going to talk about Covid-19. About how it is affecting our community. How we are responding as a community. How health professionals are responding. And we'll be doing that with the help of professionals and our community. We have a long list of topics to cover ...
We saw in the New Year with Anne's brother and his wife, and a big chunk of slow-cooked venison; and then immediately zoomed off to Birmingham to watch John Barrowman in pantomime. While we were in the theatre, it was announced that Matt Smith would be David Tennant's successor on Doctor Who. Otherwise I didn't travel and it was cold. This was also the month that I set up reading lists using LibraryThing. Non-fiction 4 The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates, by Des Ekin Shakespeare's Wife, by Germaine Greer How To Read Shakespeare, by Nicholas Royle Geschiedenis van ...
25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and 10 December is International Human Rights Day. The ALDE Party is marking the two days with a campaign running between them, focusing their efforts on the fight for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. As Jacob Moroza-Rasmussen, the ALDE Party's Secretary General, puts it; Combatting violence against women is a priority for Europe's Liberals (as stated in our 2019 electoral manifesto) and we continue to call for the European Union and all EU Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention. As Liberals, ...
For many LDV readers, Ethiopia is associated with arid land, drought and terrible famine; made famous in the 1980s by Bob Geldorf and 'Live Aid'. The recent resurgence of civil conflict, mass fatalities and the exodus of 200,000 refugees into Sudan, seems inexplicable for the casual British observer. Is there a well-founded explanation? Some perceptions have to be undone. More than 90% of the 100m population live in the green, fertile west of the country. Most of Ethiopia's cities are modern and the capital, Addis, has a hi-tech urban rail system and glitzy shopping centres. Ethiopia has recently experienced high ...
John Roberts with Judith Trefor Thomas had the idea, and with the great support of Emlyn Hooson, founded the Welsh Liberal Summer School meeting first in Llangollen. It developed ultimately into the Lloyd George Society of which he was an executive member for many years. His purpose was to have a meeting place where we could discuss Liberal policies and exchange ideas, with a Welsh flavour. Having broken away from the central Liberal organisation, the LPO, in 1967, the new Welsh Liberal Party needed its own distinctive policies. John was foremost in engaging academics and journalists who threw us ideas. ...
This week's briefing that another public sector pay freeze is under consideration is going to prove to be a serious blow to morale. And yes, I get that, as a Government, you feel that you want to be setting an example for the rest of the economy. But, as I've noted in the past, the cost of bad governance far exceeds the price you pay to attract and retain quality staff. Yes, the economy is going to take a hit, but it is already evident that, especially in more technical areas of the Civil Service, we just aren't competitive in ...
Over 120 Welsh Lib Dem members joined our first ever virtual conference this weekend. We welcomed Ed Davey virtually to Wales for his first Welsh conference where he spoke to us about the challenges facing the party and his burning desire that we as a nation must come out of this pandemic stronger than ever before. This linked us nicely to our first policy motion: "Wales after COVID" which paid tribute to lives lost and calls for the dial on inequality in Wales to be reset with measures such as social care funding, universal free childcare, debt bonfires, green jobs ...
Sun, 12:56: RT @davidallengreen: From Pennsylvanian Republican Senator Significant https://t.co/4l2bXPFWxf Sun, 13:06: 250 days of plague: not much to say https://t.co/vPxaz52NBA Sun, 15:20: The Awful End of Prince William the Silent: The First Assassination of a Head of State with a Handgun, by Lisa Jardine Even back then, decapitating hostile regimes by physical attack on their leaders was controversial. #nwbooks https://t.co/m7A4K7lLxy https://t.co/rKIMxkrBRj https://t.co/GQFnE5256U Sun, 15:55: The Negotiator Trilogy, by C.E. Murphy Five old races - gargoyles, djinns, dragons, selkies and vampires - deal with the dangerous business of interacting with humanity. #nwbooks https://t.co/SRBlRIqaSy https://t.co/2h9rHwy1aO https://t.co/Dtf6TuiA97 https://t.co/Dtf6TuiA97 https://t.co/ecE9WTSQTA Sun, 16:30: Jurassic ...
Continuing the chumocracy theme, the Independent reports health secretary, Matt Hancock, is facing questions over the appointment of a close friend and lobbyist to a £15,000-a-year advisor role in his department. They say that Gina Coladangelo, who met Mr Hancock when both were attending Oxford University, is a director at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, which promises clients help to "navigate and influence complex legislation". She was handed a job just as the country went into lockdown in the spring as an unpaid adviser on a six-month contract at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). And in September, Ms ...
Mon 23rd
10:00
My thoughts on the Priti Patel bullying scandal - why I think the right should be careful with what ...
I don't think there should be much more to say on the Priti Patel bullying scandal. She broke the ministerial code - again - and therefore should have been sacked. That's it; I don't see that there is anything more to talk about on the issue. Yet I am seemingly alone on this one; I've never seen anything like this incident as far as bad takes go. Part of the response has broken along partisan lines. Figures from the right defending her; those from the left saying what she did should not just have been sacked but possibly had some ...
Well, I'm back after a week off. The sun is shining, although the valley floor is shrouded in mist after a frosty night, so it's not a day to linger unless you're properly wrapped up. In truth, I'd taken a week off because much of the joy of Liberal Democrat Voice has been rather lost of late. Attempts to disrupt the site by the use of fake e-mail addresses and, if I'm honest, the sheer grinding unpleasantness of some of our readers, made me wonder if the effort that I, and my fellow Editorial Team members, put in is really ...
Nothing very significant today, is there? Oh, hang on... i) broadcast and production anniversaries 23 November 1963: broadcast of "An Unearthly Child", first episode of the story we now cal An Unearthly Child, and the first ever episode of Doctor Who. Teachers Ian and Barbara follow their mysterious pupil home to a police box, which contains the time and space ship - the TARDIS - of the enigmatic Doctor. It transports them - but to where? 23 November 1968: broadcast of fourth episode of The Invasion. The Doctor and UNIT rescue Isobel and Zoe; and Jamie and the Dioctor witness ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2020 Hawkhill - lane closures for 4 weeks for street lighting column installation works. Lochee Road (at Rankine Street) - mini contraflow until mid-week for Scottish Water work. Seafield Road (Perth Road to Roseangle) - closed Monday 23 November for 4 days for carriageway resurfacing works. Lower Pleasance (Brewery Lane to Douglas Street) - closed from Wednesday 25 November for Scottish Water work. Forthcoming Roadworks Abbotsford Street (at Blackness Road) - closed from Monday 30 November for 3 days for BT work. ...
