It is almost exactly 17 years - though it seems longer - since tobacco advertising and marketing was banned in the UK. It is equally easy to forget that a reluctant Blair government was forced, finally, to act by a private members bill in the Lords by our then health spokesperson Tim Clement-Jones. It was not right to let the tobacco companies outspend any government health messaging about the dangers of smoking - leading so many young people to an earlier grave. So what are we to make of advertising now that undermines our expensive efforts to save the climate? ...
What happened yesterday was pretty awful. Angry mobs storming parliamentary buildings is a bit unusual, to put it mildly, in developed democracies. I've seen it happen in other countries that I follow, but it's generally reserved for elections that are, how can one put it, early in that country's democratic hostory. At the same time it should have been no surprise. Trump's campaign was built on lies from the very beginning, and the media failed to call him out on his lies early enough. But more importantly, the US political debate seems to have descended into a post-truth situation, where ...
Liberal Democrat Lords helped defeat the Government by backing a cross-party amendment to the Trade Bill ensuring that future trade agreements meet the UK's high standards of animal welfare and the environment. The Conservatives have consistently failed to support such a measure, risking that future trade deals could permit the import of food that fails to meet the UK's high standards. This puts significant pressure on British farmers. Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Farming said: "Farmers across the country are worried about their future - they're worried that the UK will be flooded with poor quality food that undercuts ...
Thu 7th
17:13
Lib Dems slam exaggerated Tory boasts on South Wales police funding as 'smoke and mirrors'
Local Liberal Democrats have attacked local Conservative boasts about police funding as "smoke and mirrors" that dress up a potential Council Tax rise as if it were extra funding from the Government.Local Conservatives have claimed that South Wales Police are set to receive an additional £18 million in their funding, thanks to the Conservative Government's increase to police budgets. However, detailed Home Office figures reveal that the Government is only giving South Wales Police an extra £9.4 million for the financial year 2021-22. The Conservative figures assume that the local Police and Crime Commissioner will raise the extra £8.4 million ...
Thu 7th
17:00
Suffolk Liberal Democrats select Justice campaigner as their Police & Crime Commissioner candida...
I don't normally reproduce press releases here but I'll make an exception for this one... Justice campaigner and former Parliamentary Candidate James Sandbach has been selected as the Liberal Democrats' candidate for the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner election in Suffolk. James has been involved in Suffolk politics for several years having been the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate in Suffolk Coastal (2015 and 2017) and Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (2019). He lives in Saxmundham where he is Town Councillor. Professionally, James has an active background in the voluntary sector, the justice system and the challenges it faces - over ...
As a fan of US Congressional language, I was pleased to hear Vice-President Pence going through the electoral college certification process this morning. Each state is taken in turn. Their envelope has been opened. Their certificate has been checked by the clerks to check that it is all in order – right date, right signature, right text – that sort of thing, I suppose. Over and over again, for each state, VP Pence repeats the same officialese: This certificate from State X, the Parliamentarians advise me, is the only certificated vote from the state, it purports to be a return ...
Post-Covid and after the delivery of Brexit, our country needs radical reforms of the kind Sir William Beveridge proposed for the end of the Second World War. He wanted a comprehensive programme of reforms, to cover the social injustice and unfairness he saw around him. The reforms should result in alleviating poverty, limiting disease, stopping homelessness, improving education and providing jobs for everyone who needed them. These are the areas in which radical reform is needed again today. The social contract that existed between government and people in the post-war world has broken down and requires renewing. The Liberal Democrats ...
[IMG: Edith Cavell event poster] The Friends of Folkestone Museum present another of their popular talks on Zoom. On Saturday 16 January at 2.00pm, Melanie Gibson-Barton will be talking about the Life and Times of Edith Cavell. If you would like to attend this talk please email friendsfolkmuseum@gmail.com to reserve your place. We will then send you the Zoom link a few days before the talk. The talk is free, but donations are welcome. Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
[IMG: Folkestone and Hythe Covid-19 Vaccination Centres] Folkestone Civic Centre has been confirmed as the Covid-19 Vaccination Centre for Folkestone and Sandgate's The New Surgery, Guildhall Street Surgery, Sandgate Road Surgery & Manor Clinic. Vaccinations will start week commencing 11 January. There is more information at Oaklands Health Centre has been the vaccination centre for Hythe since before Christmas, providing vaccinations for Sun Lane Surgery, White House Surgery, Oaklands Health Centre, Hawkinge and Elham Surgery, The Folkestone Surgery, Folkestone Health Centre, New Lyminge Surgery. These location does not offer a drop-in vaccination service. All vaccinations are arranged in advance ...
The scenes of riotous demonstrators occupying the Capitol building in Washington yesterday rightly sent shock waves round the world. And the fact that these extremist activists were incited by President Donald Trump, who continues to claim that November's presidential election was "stolen" from him (and them), is straight out of the fascist playbook. Twitter and [...]
I took my exercise yesterday, as I did in the first lockdown, walking around my Church Ward. I was surprised at how unlike the first lockdown it was. Allerton Road felt quieter than normal but much more business like than ... Continue reading →
Like so many others I watched on in horror last night as the violence escalated in Washington DC and armed insurrectionist pushed past ineffective police officers to occupy the capital building, and even at one point enter the Senate chamber. The last time I recall seeing an elected chamber taken over by armed rebels in a western democracy was in Spain in 1981, when 200 soldiers and members of the paramilitary Civil Guard stormed the lower house of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes, firing automatic weapons and shouting orders as part of an abortive right wing coup. There was no ...
Wed, 12:56: HG Wells fans spot numerous errors on Royal Mint's new �2 coin https://t.co/q89Mye189S Oops! Wed, 15:00: 1610: A Sundial in a Grave by Mary Gentle 1610 is a fascinating and kinky look at the year of the title and possibilities of changing history. But I recognised too many elements from Gentle's other work, & it is too long. #nwbooks https://t.co/6JuXUKrHKB https://t.co/Qz4ww312Vt https://t.co/eJ0peSDRtm Wed, 15:20: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey One of the more useful self-help books; goes far beyond the questions of running an effective office and concentrates on how to lead ...
Behind the future economic and political relationship between the UK and the EU, and the (mis)management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of how to revive the towns and cities of the north of England (and its other marginal communities) will loom in 2021 as one of the key issues in UK politics. Resentment of industrial decline, followed by cuts in funding for local government, education and transport, fuelled support first for leaving the EU and then for deserting Labour. Boris Johnson has pledged to invest in bringing prosperity back to former industrial communities. Keir Starmer is feeling his way ...
The deadline for sending in comments on the CPS consultation on its legal guidance on rape is coming up soon and, a few days in advance of that...
On page 276 of "A Promised Land" former US President Barack Obama writes: "As the US growth rate started to slow in the 1970s - as incomes then stagnated and good jobs declined for those without a college degree, as parents started worrying about their kids doing at least as well as they had done - the scope of people's concerns narrowed. We became more sensitive to the possibility that someone else was getting something we weren't and more receptive to the notion that the government couldn't be trusted to be fair. Promoting that story - a story that fed ...
Thu 7th
08:30
Whoniversaries 7 January: Francis De Wolff, Geoffrey Bayldon, Highlanders #4, Underworld #1
i) births and deaths 7 January 1913: birth of Francis De Wolff, who played Vasor in The Keys of Marinus (1964) and Agamemnon in The Myth Makers (1965). 7 January 1924: birth of Geoffrey Bayldon, who played Organon in The Creature from the Pit (1979) and the alternate timeline Doctor-who-never-left-Gallifrey in Big Finish audios Auld Mortality (2003) and A Storm of Angels (2005). Also Catweazle. ii) broadcast anniversaries 7 January 1967: broadcast of fourth episode of The Highlanders. The Doctor rescues everyone, Grey is led off to jail, and Jamie leaves with the Tardis crew. 7 January 1978: broadcast of ...
The ghastly scenes at the US Capitol yesterday are a reminder that our democracy is more fragile than many appreciate. Whilst the United States has a written constitution, it still needs to be defended by the people from those who would wish to deny it. The judiciary, a free Press, public servants who serve the Government and the people, all of these should theoretically be responsible for promoting and preserving the freedoms that we take for granted. It's funny, really, because it could be argued that the United States is a pretty poor model for a democracy, with judges appointed ...
From Harris Education and Recreation Association : "Why not make some time for yourself this January and fill the long days with one of our evening classes -all done from the comfort of your living room. We have various topics including Pilates, Crochet, songwriting, Climate Change, Spanish and American History. You can enrol online from 13th January, and classes start at the end of the month." Online registration from the 13th will take place here.
