Wed 25th
23:20

Six of the Best 978

"It's not clear where the Lib Dems go following Davey's listening tour. While the credibilist, managerialist approach has won internally for now, it remains to be seen whether this approach will buck the trend and unlock good election results for the party in 2021 and beyond. It seems the divide between credibilists and those who want a values-led approach will remain." William Barter identifies a fault line within the Liberal Democrats. "A genuine attempt at reforming the 'wiring' of the British state would require taking the kind of systems-approach that Cummings waxes lyrical about and applying it to the entire ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

I can confirm that Lord Bonkers really did write this entry just before the first results in the US Presidential election were declared. People make cynical remarks about his Marconi share and the number of orphans in Rutland, but there is no denying it: he's a wise old bird. So, on this note of triumph, let's end our week at Bonkers Hall. Wednesday I write these words in front of the Library fire as the first results are about to come in from America. When I spoke to the Governor of New Rutland - the State founded by settlers who ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

For the second time in three days, Christine Jardine pressed the Government to do more to help those who have thus far been excluded from Government support. Three million self-employed people have had nothing since March and some have had no income at all because they work in areas that aren't yet open. In March they were stressed. Eight months on, they are desperate. I'm outraged that the Chancellor still refuses to accept that the Conservative Govt have #excluded over 3 million people for 10 months. These people have endured so much during this #COVID crisis & now face enormous ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

The third series of Secret Army is a real masterpiece of story-telling. The first series and second series had a fairly static situation, with a sort of resistance-romp-of-the-week plot, though with the extra tension that regular and semi-regular characters got killed off at fairly frequent intervals. But the last thirteen episodes are driven by the approaching Allied armies, who landed in Normandy at the end of the second series; the end of the German occupation is coming, and everyone will have a reckoning, like it or not. Even with victory in sight, the resistance is torn ideologically, with Lifeline under ...

It is unbelievable that in the third decade of the 21st century, people have to miss out on education because they can't afford tampons or sanitary towels during their period. In a 2018 survey, a quarter of respondents said they had struggled to access period products. Yesterday, Scotland became the first country in the world to pass a law putting an obligation on local authorities to provide period products free of charge to anyone who needs them. From the BBC: The scheme will need to be operational within two years of the legislation becoming law. The bill says ministers can ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

PRESS RELEASE Aid cut makes a mockery of 'Global Britain' promise Responding to the Chancellor's announcement that the foreign aid budget will be cut, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran said: "Today the promise of 'Global Britain' became hollow. Shirking away from our global responsibilities by cutting development spending during a worldwide pandemic is short-sighted and wrong. "The Liberal Democrats enshrined the 0.7% in law precisely so it was flexible with the economic reality. By changing the law the Government is breaking its promise to the British people and to the world's poorest. "The Liberal Democrats will always stand ...

Posted by Tahir Maher on Liberal Democrat Voice

Having fought two general elections in quick succession on a pledge to maintain the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on development assistance for poorer, it is unconscionable that the government is considering dropping this commitment. That's the argument made by the Liberal Democrat peer and former MP Malcolm Bruce in an article for The Press and Journal today. He says this policy is not charity: it is both a moral commitment and enlightened self-interest. 'Enlightened self-interest' is a concept I have been fond of since I first came across it in philosophy. Malcolm concludes: The ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England
Wed 25th
11:00

My tweets

Tue, 12:56: RT @TGehrke_: European strategic autonomy before it was cool *Poster produced by Jean Monnet's Action Committee for a United States of Eur... Tue, 15:21: The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith I hope Botswana is as friendly and laid-back as portrayed here. Not really a novel, more a loosely linked series of cheerful vignettes. But all very nice. #nwbooks https://t.co/See0QYNgFz https://t.co/HTrBdMzOoS https://t.co/T9u85FK2fC Tue, 16:05: The Swoop, or How Clarence Saved England, by P.G. Wodehouse It's 1909. England is invaded by nine different armies. The occupied English grumble about the disruption to cricket. Boy Scouts save ...

This time I'm taking a look at the long-term forces which are driving our politics, including the paradox at the heart of culture wars.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

It is no great surprise that a critical report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has concluded the Home Office broke equalities law when it introduced its hostile environment immigration measure. In fact, the only shock is that this conclusion was not made public much earlier. The Guardian reports that in the latest damning report on the Home Office's record in relation to its hostile environment policies and the Windrush scandal, the EHRC study detected "a lack of commitment" within the Home Office to the importance of equality. The department now has a legal duty to review these ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
YouGov

My good friend Robbie Fenton has loaned me her copy of the brochure produced for the opening ceremony of what was called at the time (June 1955) Maghull County Secondary School. She was 12 years old and participated in the ceremony as part of the school choir. Robbie has lived in Maghull and Lydiate all of her life and has been a local councillor I might add. I've scanned the brochure and here it is, a document very much of its time:- The school looks very different now as the building that was the subject of this 1955 opening ceremony ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence in the home has increased during Covid 19; contact during the lockdown period to Wales' national helpline for women rose by 49% and call time trebled. During the national lockdown period, data from Counting Dead Women – a project that recalls the killing of women by men identified thirty-five murders with another twelve strongly suspected cases between March 23rd and the start of July. Statistics in 2019 show that one in three women aged 16-59 will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime and that two women ...

Posted by Jane Dodds on Liberal Democrat Voice

i) births and deaths 25 November 1990: birth of Sophie Hopkins, who played April MacLean in Class (2016). ii) broadcast and webcast anniversaries 25 November 1967: broadcast of third episode of The Ice Warriors. The Ice Warriors injure Jamie and capture Victoria. 25 November 1978: broadcast of first episode of The Androids of Tara. Romana finds the fourth segment of the Key to Time, but she and the Doctor get enmeshed in the local dynastic struggle. 25 November 1983: UK first broadcast of The Five Doctors. 25 November 2009: webcast of fifth episode of Dreamland. Deep beneath the Dreamland base, ...

Wed 25th
07:00

Love Dundee Local!

Businesses in Dundee are being invited to join the new 'Love Dundee Local' service, which helps local companies to serve local people. The service, website and mobile app have been developed by the Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, Dundee City Council and key private sector providers to support businesses across sectors. Local businesses, including shops, pubs, restaurants, bars, and independent drinks merchants have played a key role in their communities throughout the pandemic by safely providing food and drink, gifts, household goods, and other products to families, people on the shielding list and others. These businesses are now being ...

Shropshire Council is now running two grant schemes for businesses affected by Covid-19. The Local Restrictions Support Grant allocates money based on rateable value to non-essential retail, hospitality and personal care businesses that have been forced to close. The grant also is also available to leisure and community venues, along with sports facilities. A second grant scheme was launched yesterday. Businesses that have not been forced to close but have been severely impacted by COVID-19 can apply for a Discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant. Local Restrictions Support Grant (LSRG). The grant levels are based on rateable value: £15k or under: £1,334 ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

On 4 June 1967 a Canadair C-4 Argonaut passenger aircraft owned by British Midland Airways crashed near the centre of Stockport. Of the 84 people on board, 72 were killed. According to Wikipedia, this was the fourth-worst accident in British aviation history. This film was made by BBC North the following year. It interviews survivors and witnesses and looks at the subsequent investigation.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England