When it was nicely under way last year we were told that the "world beating" national Test Trace and Isolate (TTI) scheme to track and contain coronavirus was costing £12bn ( to be clear, billions, not millions). By the end of the year we were told it was costing £22bn. We now hear that it is to continue and over a two year period is budgeted to cost £37bn In an Email sent out by The Good Law Project, Diane Coyle, the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at Cambridge University, criticising the (by comparison mere) £4.8b expenditure on upgrading largely ...
Wed 10th
18:57
Yet another truck stuck on Squirrel Lane due to satnav error - it is time for the damage and disrupt...
Ludlow and Clee councillors are calling for restrictions to prevent HGVs and diverted traffic using Squirrel Lane. The lane is a narrow country road that runs south from the A4117 Ludlow to Kidderminster road to Sheet Village. It runs parallel to the A49 Ludlow bypass and is often used for formal and informal diversions when there are problems or roadworks on the bypass. Councillors and residents are now saying enough is enough. The fabric of the road and its once wildflower verges are being destroyed by excessive traffic. The road has been blocked by HGVs and the historic Ledwyche Bridge ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:Also, they made me do mental arithmetic to a metronome; I once wetted myself with nervousness under this torture
MP calls on Govt to address maternal mental health Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, has today held a Westminster Hall debate on the mental health of mothers during the perinatal period, with a specific focus on the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated systemic problems for vulnerable women. Sarah Olney MP commented: "The sheer volume of responses we've had in just a matter of days signals just how significant an issue this is, and how critical it is we act quickly. "Even before the pandemic took hold of public resources, this was a service that ...
Responding to the British Business Bank's report which shows gross bank lending (excluding overdrafts) to smaller businesses rose to £104bn, up 82% year-on-year, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Treasury, Christine Jardine MP, said: "These latest figures illustrate just how desperately our small businesses need a lifeline, which the Chancellor failed to throw them in his budget. "They need help not more ways of taking on debt to survive. "Firms in sectors like travel, retail and tourism are finding that their owners who have already invested decades of their time are now spending their life savings and taking on debt. "These are ...
Responding to reports the Government plans to cut air passenger duty on UK domestic flights, Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Business, Trade, and Transport, said: "Britain will be laughed at on the world stage if we decide to hike rail fares then cut the cost of UK air travel in the same month. At a time when other countries are encouraging more people to take trains, Britain's strategy will be the complete opposite. We will be the odd one out at our very own COP26 summit. "It speaks volumes about this Government's green credentials, that it's determined to ...
Today, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran, has challenged the Government to set out a clear plan to protect Hong Kong's democracy & Basic Law*. Layla has called on new Magnitsky sanctions and bringing the case to the International Court of Justice. Layla Moran secured an Urgent Question in Parliament about the proposed reforms to Hong Kong's electoral system by the Chinese Government. Under the plans, people wishing to stand for election in Hong Kong will have to be approved as 'patriots' by a panel of Communist Party officials. Layla said the Government had a "legal obligation" to act ...
On a site of action-packed history and a stunning, scenic landscape wildlife, Greenham Control Tower in Newbury is a local landmark that's quickly built a good reputation. It is well-used by families and walkers on Greenham Common, and is also a small but important visitor centre of international historic significance. Following lockdown restrictions, the Tower will provisionally be open again from mid-May 2021. What can I do there? Visitors come from all around the UK, and even abroad, especially the United States. Here are some of the things to do there: Explore the fascinating past of Greenham Common as a ...
We've been blown away by the response to our forthcoming webinar: 'What's it like to be dsabled in Britain in 2021?' with speakers Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Michelle Daley and Dan White.
[IMG: Tim Prater] I'm honoured to have been selected to stand for my home divison of Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East in the Kent County Council elections in May this year for the Liberal Democrats. In 2017 I came second in the same area, a clear second behind the Conservatives. In the 2019 District Elections, I then took the formerly safe Conservative seat of Sandgate & West Folkestone (which is a large part of the Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East county division) with 55% of the vote. I'm delighted that this year, the Shepway Green Party are backing me to ...
I was delighted to see that Melling resident Carol Fitzgerald has written a comprehensive book on the history of Melling so purchased a copy direct from her. I was not to be disappointed, this book is an excellent read. My connections with Melling are that I have lived in neighbouring Maghull and now Lydiate for 52 years, I represented Melling Civil Parish as a Sefton Borough Councillor from 1999 to 2011, my Dad was once given a cabbage (I kid you not) for playing the organ at the church of St. Thomas' on Melling Rock by local farmer Mrs Roby ...
Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform have a new President – Wendy Chamberlain, our MP for North East Fife. Since entering Parliament in 2019, Wendy has made her mark as an articulate, vivid advocate of electoral reform. Through most of 2020, as our Political and Constitutional Reform front bench spokesperson, she led the campaign both inside and outside Parliament. Last June, she initiated an adjournment debate on the need for reform. In August, she urged party members to join a Make Votes Matter (MVM) nationwide 'virtual' Action Day, which saw hundreds of Liberal Democrats get involved. A strong believer in linking ...
In rural Sweden between the Wars a skinny simpleton, Sven (Stellan Skarsgard), faces daily abuse and humiliation because of his "idiot" condition until he is befriended by a kindly family whose daughter (Maria Johansson) cannot walk. She sees the kindness locked inside the tortured soul. Sven's main tormentor is the arrogant bully of a factory [...]
Scott Corfe of the Social Market Foundation* has with his team produced an eye-catching report about gambling regulation**. The major headline: while gambling supports thousands of jobs in the economy, clamping down on it is nothing to worry about, because the spending currently diverted to gambling would go elsewhere. In fact, it would probably goContinue reading "Is all GDP created equal?"
Tue, 12:40: RT @pmdfoster: As EU mulls legal sanctions v U.K. over handling of Northern Ireland Protocol today, biz groups that hav... Tue, 12:56: RT @michaelsheen: I've spent the last few weeks laid low by COVID. It's been very difficult & quite scary. On #InternationalWomensDay I wan... Tue, 14:04: RT @apcoworldwide: #ChooseToChallenge: APCO colleagues from around the world are committed to challenging the systemic issues that prevent... Tue, 15:07: RT @IrishTimes: Our most-read right now: Meghan and Harry's critics accuse them of being money-hungry careerists, but that's hilarious comi... Tue, 16:05: Demolition of a wanker. https://t.co/4WnSev5OUZ Tue, 18:21: Three ...
Wed 10th
10:30
Liberal Democrats join 100 MPs in backing the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a great revealer. It has exposed the sections of our society that work well – the kindness in our communities, the brave and vital roles of our key workers, and the life-saving potential of scientific technologies – while also revealing the elements that need fixing. As the world begins a process of renewal and reform, climate change and ecological renewal must be at the centre of that positive change. The climate and nature crisis is the most pressing problem facing the world. The question of how we can continue to sustain life on earth is ...
The BBC reports on the views of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee which has concluded the impact of England's NHS Test and Trace system is still unclear, despite the UK government setting aside £37bn for it over two years. The Committee said the system was set up on the basis it would help prevent future lockdowns, but since its creation there had been two more, describing the spending as "unimaginable" and warning the taxpayer could not be treated like an "ATM machine": The MPs' report questioned: An over-reliance on consultants, with some paid more than £6,600 a day ...
English nationalists made us vote blind on Brexit. Our eyes are now well and truly open. The SNP ask us to vote blind on independence in May. They offer no plan. They can't. For the foreseeable future, leaving the Union would be a disaster for the Scottish people. Scottish Government figures for 2019/20 expenditure and revenue show a deficit of 8.6%, about average for the last five years. Our expenditure per head at £1,633 was about 12% more than the UK, and we paid £380 or 2.5% less tax, including oil and gas. The rest of the UK envy our ...
Wed 10th
08:56Councils need to flexibility to continue to meet online as well as in person after the May local ele...
Local elections will be held across much of the country on 6 May 2021, including here in Shropshire though not in Telford & Wrekin. Also on 6 May, the legislation which allows town and parish councils to meet online expires. That is causing some concern among councils across the country. On Monday night, the south area od the Shropshire Association of Local Councils agreed to a motion that I had drafted calling for councils to be able to have the choice of meeting online or face to face in a council chamber or other setting. Last night, Bromfield Parish Council ...
i) births and deaths 10 March 1956: birth of Lesley Dunlop, who played Norna (with her very '80s haircut) in Frontios (1984) and Susan Q in The Happiness Patrol (1988). [IMG: 616F6DF8-85FB-422A-9D71-B1D622800832.png] [IMG: 931D0EE6-1790-4218-9187-DEBC8A80727C.png] 10 March 1975: birth of Yee Jee Tso, who played Chang Lee in Doctor Who: The TV Movie (1996) ii) broadcast anniversary 10 March 1973: broadcast of third episode of Frontier in Space. The Master appears in the guise of a Commissioner from Sirius IV; meanwhile the Doctor is imprisoned on the Moon. iii) date specified in canon 10 March 1942: setting of Sub-species, Eleventh Doctor/Amy/Rory ...
The Liberal Democrates Overseas have now appointed a Peer to act as a representative for long term British expats abroad. People overseas who cease to be on the electoral register have no MP to act for them when it comes to the many issues that concern them such as problems with state pensions. Lord Stoneham [...]
Residents recently highlighted to me that there's been a load of water pouring across Riverside Avenue on and off from some form of blue pipe - about 50m east of the Wright Avenue junction. This was causing a large puddle at times and making cycling past there really difficult. I contacted the City Council about this and have been updated as follows : "Dundee City Council and Network Rail are currently working together to prevent flooding of the railway as a result of a collapsed culverted watercourse in close proximity to the track. The water is currently being temporarily pumped ...
