This Lent, I have been off social media. Some of you may have noticed my absence, but, I suspect, many of you will not have. And that fact alone, speaks volumes to the problems of "social media".
Wed 7th
20:13
At this May's Senedd elections I am making Basic Income a key part of the Welsh Liberal Democrats ca...
I have been a proponent of Basic Income for many years and was delighted when it was adopted as party policy at last year's conference. That moment was the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people within our party who believe that Basic Income is a policy that combines the best of liberalism: faith in individual agency combined with the power of central government to be a force for equality and fairness. But we also knew back then that the hard work was only just beginning. We still had to go out to the country ...
Dear Ed, As you would expect, BLAC (Black Lives Action Committee) Liberal Democrats strongly rejects the findings of The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report published in March 2021, which has dismissed the concerns of ethnic minorities in relation to institutional racism in Britain. Wera Hobhouse, as the spokesperson for Justice, Women, and Equalities, has spoken on this issue and we welcome her statements. However, Wera responded on behalf of the Party without consulting with Black members, which is all too common in the Party. The marginalization of Black voices within our Party is a serious concern among our ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:Titus rose to his knees, the aftermath of a dream remaining like remorse, though he could remember nothing of it save that it was Gormenghast again. He picked up a stick and began to draw in the dust with the point of it, and the moonlight was so fierce that every line he drew was like a narrow trench filled up with ink.When I previously reread this in 2011, I wrote:I'm afraid I was simply not convinced by Titus Alone. In fact, I was bored and confused by it. Titus, having run away from his home, ...
In designing our version of Universal Basic Income (UBI), it goes without saying that we want to end up with a fair system. The current system is not fair in a lot of ways, some of them quite inexplicable. It follows that the changes in income for individuals and households will vary wildly and in ways we will have difficulty in explaining. The simplest I could manage was these three pledges. The numbers are for illustration only and are based on 2020-21 allowances. Nobody will take home less than £4,000 a year. Any version of UBI will produce a pledge ...
[IMG: Planning Permission - screenshot of Planning Permission page from gov.uk site] A number of Hythe residents asked me to review and comment on planning application 21/0553/FH (Land Opposite 24, Station Road, Hythe). I have done so today, and my comments were as follows: "I'm commenting in objection to application 21/0553/FH (Land Opposite 24, Station Road, Hythe). "Although the land has been included in the Local Plan for development, this application exceeds the number of properties specified for the site in the Local Plan. Although they attempt a justification based on plot size, given the recent passing of the plan, ...
Tue, 12:56: Confusion Report, by Farah Mendlesohn https://t.co/0snajf4rUi "Access is where I move from bad tempered to incandescent, and where I have a huge and personal stake in the whole shit show. I feel deeply betrayed." Tue, 13:50: RT @mduncan2001: It's hilarious seeing people trash Christopher Eccleston saying he's only doing Big Finish for money as if acting isn't ho... Tue, 16:05: Prepare for Pessi: What Companies Can Learn From a French-Speaking Gen Z Uprising https://t.co/hpWDj7WbbZ From my @apcoworldwide colleagues Cody Leblanc and @sylvain_lm. Tue, 17:11: Panic Rooms, Birth Certificates and the Birth of GOP Paranoia https://t.co/0xksM47Lvp Glorious from former ...
This book has challenged me to think more deeply about how to bring about positive change. Continue reading →
Marina Hyde is especially cutting in this morning's Guardian on David Cameron ghosting us over thge Greensill lobbying scandal. As she points out, the former Prime Minister is still receiving funding from the taxpayer: David Cameron is still allowed to claim up to £115,000 a year from the public purse, literally to run this office. Surely that's enough for someone in it to return a call? Seemingly not. Maybe the "office" is just a burner mobile ringing out in a shepherd's hut. Either way, the firm of which Cameron was a salaried employee - and on whose behalf he lobbied ...
Shropshire Council is in the top fifty councils in England for recycling rates. It recycled 54.6 per cent of its waste in 2019/20 but that rate has not improved over the last five years. Though it's good news we are among the high recyclers, there is never room for complacency when it comes to environmental matters. The council has become complacent. South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse districts, both rural areas, recycle 63 to 64 per cent of their waste. Why can't we do the same? Or better still, do better. The way recycling operates in Shropshire can ...
i) births and deaths 7 April 1934: birth of Arthur Cox, who played Cully in The Dominators (Second Doctor, 1968) and Mr Henderson in The Eleventh Hour (Eleventh Doctor, 2010), one of the longest gaps between first and second appearances on the show. 7 Apruil 2017: death of Tim Pigott-Smith, who played Captain Harker in The Claws of Axos (Third Doctor, 1971) and Marco in The Masque of Mandragora (Fourth Doctor, 1976). ii) broadcast anniversaries 7 April 1973: broadcast of first episode of Planet of the Daleks. Jo and the Doctor land on Spiridon and separately encounter a Thal expedition. ...
Hello! I'm Mark Pack, author of both 101 Ways To Win An Election and Bad News: what the headlines don't tell us, along with maintaining the largest database of national voting intention polls in the UK, stretching back to 1943. The next general election is most likely several years away, but political polling of voting intentions for a general election is in full swing. Half-a-dozen firms are polling regularly, with a handful of occasional surveys from others too. Below the table, you'll find the option to sign up to email updates about new polls and also a set of answers ...
It's been slightly complicated, but my future as a member of the Appeals Panel for England suddenly doesn't exist. As I noted a few days ago, the appointment is a matter for the Executive Committee of my Regional Party and, it seems, there was an apparent unwillingness in some quarters to simply reappoint the incumbent. I am, in fairness, pretty relaxed about such a principle - the appointment is in the gift of the Regional Party, represented by its Executive Committee. However, there didn't appear to be a settled view as to how to proceed and, rather than see the ...
I have recently received several complaints from residents about the extent of graffiti in the Lower Pleasance area, some of which has offensive content. I have raised this with the City Council's Rapid Response Team requesting that it is removed.
I'm standing to be Nottinghamshire's new Police and Crime Commissioner. This video explains why I am the best person for the job. View it here. The post Why Vote For Me? first appeared on David Watts.
I've created this short video to explain what a Police and Crime Commissioner is. View it here. The post What is a Police and Crime Commissioner first appeared on David Watts.
