Photo: Andreas Trepte Leading conservation organisations have come together to launch the Curlew Recovery Partnership. Urgent action is needed. Eurasian Curlew is one of the most pressing bird conservation priorities in the UK, where nearly half the breeding population has been lost over the last 25 years and where range contraction has seen curlews disappear from many traditional sites. This partnership is the outcome of two summits hosted by Prince Charles. It will provide coordination and support for those engaged in curlew conservation, while also providing benefits for other threatened species and habitats and helping people connect with nature. Its ...
Mon 1st
21:58
Conservatives lack an understanding of the Civil Service - which is why they're fated to make the sa...
I have to admit that "Centre Write", the inhouse magazine of "Bright Blue", which describes itself as; the independent think tank and pressure group for liberal conservatism is not my everyday read. Indeed, I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to read it if I hadn't been referred to it by an article in that pageturner "Civil Service World". It just goes to show how the internet works really, luring you down a darker and darker path until, lurking in the forest, you encounter a Conservative. I jest... a bit. What drew my gaze was an article by ...
Third photograph in the book: (The next picture in the book is of the walking stick he was holding in my 2014 picture below.) Brian Aldiss died in 2017, during the night after his 92nd birthday. He was of course a hugely important figure for science fiction in general and for me in particular; the high point of my 2014 Worldcon was simply spotting him sitting in the main concourse and grabbing the chance for a quick conversation with this man whose writing I have admired since I was a teenager. His walking stick is the subject of the fourth ...
Speculation about the contents of Wednesday's budget for once seem to concentrate on its macroeconomic effect (how to keep the whole economy going) rather then self absorbed introspection as to how the already comfortable will be even more comfortably off and the marginalised left much the same or even worse off so as to induce them to try harder There seems to be general agreement that, although government will have to pay off its debt sometime, "now is not the time." The Chancellor seems to agree but offers dark hints that that payback time is in the offing and he ...
Mon 1st
16:17
The Shamima Begum case - why liberals should be defending her rights, if not her freedom
I ought to start by expressing the view that, regardless of what Shamima Begum has, or has not, done, I have little sympathy for her. And, for all the suggestions that she was groomed, or that she was too young to understand what she was doing, Liberal Democrat policy is to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to fourteen from its current level of ten years of age. If she has committed an offence punishable under law, then she should be tried and, if found guilty, sentenced appropriately. But the Government are arguing something rather different. They suggest that ...
Rail fares are due to increase by 2.6%, which is above inflation.* The Liberal Democrats will vote at their conference in March to end Government control of rail fares. In response to another rise in fares, Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Transport, called for an end to Government setting rail fares and an immediate fare freeze: "It is appalling that yet again people are being hit by another grossly unfair Government approved hike in rail fares. "Enough is enough. The Chancellor's budget should announce taking ticket prices out the hands of Government and give power to an independent ...
Mon 1st
14:38Is the post-Brexit reality the end of the political representation of the EU nationals in Britain?
I am sure that most readers will be aware that there are now approximately 800,000 Poles living in the UK. Many, because of Brexit uncertainty and the health pandemic, have now left. However, Polish nationals are still one of the largest minority groups in the UK. Polish migration to the UK has a long standing history. But did you know that there are currently only 12 serving Polish Cllrs in the UK? In my view, although the current Parliament has never been more diverse, the lack of political representation is still evident. In May 2020, Poland and UK have signed ...
Happy St. David's Day! After a weekend of beautiful blue skies & warm temperatures the little daffodils in the garden have bloomed, a lovely sight after a dismal winter. I have spotted bumble bees, honey bees & a brimstone butterfly over the weekend, along with more garden birds making the most of the sunshine. Spring means it's time to reach for the seed tin, check what seed is still viable from last year & work out sowing times. I use a moon phase planting calendar to help plan timings. For germination, especially if sowing directly outside, it seems to help. ...
As Liberal Democrats know only all too well, democracy comes in many versions as does totalitarianism. One of the paradoxes of history is the way in which a country which caused so much harm in its first fifty-five years grew up into what John Kampfner describes as "a bulwark for decency, competence and stability." For two decades after 1945 West Germany struggled to come to terms with what happened in the Nazi period. Then over the next half century Germans engaged in a process of atonement which has affected every aspect of the nation's life. Kampfner sees overcoming the threat ...
Rhondda Liberal Democrats have selected Jackie Charlton as their candidate to contest the Rhondda seat at this year's Senedd Election. Jackie Charlton is a county councillor and community activist who has campaigned on disability rights, health and social care and on preventing a climate emergency. Jackie is registered deaf and easily recognised by Lucie, her Hearing Dog. Commenting on her selection, Jackie Charlton said: It is a real pleasure to have been selected to contest Rhondda on behalf of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. On so many issues Rhondda has been overlooked and this has never been more visible than following ...
Sun, 12:50: RT @alexstubb: Doing some work on democratic governance: local, national and supranational. Would appreciate your views on three points, wh... Sun, 12:50: RT @alexstubb: 1. Double representation. I have a hard time accepting that you can be a local and national representative at the same time,... Sun, 12:50: RT @alexstubb: 2. List elections. The party should naturally choose its candidates, but it is the electorate that determines the order. Par... Sun, 12:50: RT @alexstubb: 3. Dissolving the European Parliament. As far as I know the EP is pretty much the only democratically elected parliament tha... Sun, 12:56: RT ...
I have some exciting news to share: Ed Maxfield and I have been working on a big update to 101 Ways To Win An Election.
History has shown that political parties divided amongst themselves are punished at the polls, and when that particular party is perceived as being formed around a single issue, then voters will often walk away from previous support on that matter as well. According to the Independent, a Survation survey of 1,000 Scots for the Sunday Mail found that support for Scottish independence has fallen, losing a lead built in the past nine months that bolstered the confidence of supporters heading into May's Holyrood elections. They add that, when undecided voters are removed, support evens out at 50 per cent for ...
Mon 1st
09:15Lib Dems Overseas takes action to end seventy years of injustice for 500,000 pensioners
Imagine you took out a retirement plan in your twenties with a private insurance company in order to qualify for an inflation-protected pension. You then discover in horror on retirement, after paying your contributions in full, that if you have moved overseas the pension provider refuses to uprate your pension each year unless you have moved to a 'qualifying' country. Could that really happen? Very unlikely in the private sector, but this is the reality for over half a million UK state pensioners, including some 100,000 war veterans. A recent survey showed that 50% of 'frozen' pensioners are receiving £65 ...
i) births and deaths 1 March 1918: birth of Roger Delgado, the first Master (1971-73). 1 March 1926: birth of Barbara Clegg, author of Enlightenment (Fifth Doctor, 1983), the first woman with sole credit for writing a story. Happy 95th birthday!!! 1 March 1931: birth of Neville Barber, who played Dr Humphrey Cook in The Time Monster (Third Doctor, 1972) and Howard Baker in K9 and Company (1981). ii) broadcast anniversaries 1 March 1969: broadcast of sixth episode of The Seeds of Death. The Doctor uses the weather control system to destroy the seeds, and draws the Ice Warrior fleet ...
Welcome to Suffolk's Gipping Valley, where another week starts. You may wonder about the picture, which comes courtesy of the Gateway 14 Residents Campaign Group. I've been spending the last week or so drafting my Parish Council's seven page response to a planning application which is exercising local residents, which might reassure John Marriott that, despite my occasionally whimsical view of the world of parish councils, I take my responsibilities as Chair of my Parish Council very seriously. We've got a busy day ahead of us, with articles on British pensioners overseas, EU citizens in the United Kingdom and a ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 1 MARCH 2021 Blackness Road (at Rosefield Street) - off-peak temporary traffic lights on Tuesday 2 March for Scottish Water work. Forthcoming Road Works West Marketgait (at West Port roundabout) - off-peak northbound nearside lane closure from Wednesday 10 to Sunday 14 March for SSEN work.
