The Oscars have just been held. I wonder whether Labour in Gateshead will be entering one of their videos in the category of "Worst Election Video". The likely winner would be Calvin Lawson's cringe-making 7 second video in which he lip syncs to "If you're feeling like you need a little bit of company" by Dua Lipa. If you are feeling up to the task of viewing it (warning: strong constitution
Thank you all for your kind wishes for my birthday yesterday. One of the great things about the interconnected age is that we can easily reach out and let someone know that we are grateful for their continued existence. It did and does cheer me up, hearing from old and dear friends, and also from people where I was not terribly sure if they liked me or even remembered me Before I go into how exactly I celebrated, I need to thank my brother William for arranging this very special birthday greeting: Though somehow he didn't spot this picture when ...
The BBC reports: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced to a further year in prison and a one-year travel ban after being found guilty of propaganda against the regime in Iran. Her lawyer said she was accused of taking part in a protest in London 12 years ago and speaking to the BBC Persian service. The prime minister said the UK would "redouble" efforts to free her. The British-Iranian charity worker was first jailed in Tehran in 2016. She has always denied the spying charges levelled against her. Confirming the latest sentence, her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said the court's decision was ...
In his chapter on "High Finance" C Northcote Parkinson of "Parkinson's Law (1957) explains his "Law of Triviality," namely: "[T]he time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved. " (page 63, Readers' Union edition.) Parkinson illustrates this by imagining a Board of Directors which is asked to approve, among other things, the building of an Atomic Reactor at a cost of £10m, and a bicycle shed for the clerical staff costing £350. (It was 1957.) The Atomic Reactor goes through "on the nod", partly because only one member of the board ...
Both Ed Davey and Tim Farron have been quick to show their anger about the reported "Let the bodies pile high" remark by PM Johnson: If true – this is the most callous statement a PM has made in my lifetime. Proud the @LibDems are the only national party campaigning for an immediate independent inquiry. https://t.co/2DlRnyTsO7 — Ed Davey MP [IMG: 🔶] [IMG: 🇪🇺] (@EdwardJDavey) April 26, 2021 * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary published in print or online.
Mon, 12:56: Peelian Principles and American Policing https://t.co/LuY5lCl5XZ ...and why it would be nice to introduce them to each other. (by @czedwards.) Mon, 15:27: SF Magazines of April 1967 https://t.co/7fu1T5FGWU Mon, 21:41: Thank you!!!! https://t.co/F09MXXe24d Tue, 09:30: Whoniversaries 27 April https://t.co/UWraa5S2FQ Tue, 10:45: Hooray! https://t.co/pLvh7OLCvn
Liberal Democrat Newswire #148 covers the road to electoral reform, universal basic income (UBI), the decriminalisation of cannabis and more.
This blog post first appeared on the Radix blog... There is no doubt that - rightly or wrongly - we are feeling let down by our leaders these days, whether it is for their vacillation or greed or, listening to Keir Starmer, maybe for their steadfast failure to talk about what's most important. Personally, I think the emails between Boris Johnson and James Dyson are neither here nor there. And the NHS blogger Roy Lilley feels the same way: see his latest blog post about accessible leadership to see why. Neither, actually, is what was or wasn't said in the ...
On a recent visit to Watford, Ed Davey unveiled the Liberal Democrats' proposals for a £20billion Community Clean Air fund – part of the party's £150 billion Green Economic Recovery Plan. With air pollution causing 40,000 early deaths a year and transport now the country's biggest source of carbon emissions, the Fund would enable Councils and communities to tackle this and spearhead a local transport revolution New light rail and tram projects, conversion of bus fleets to hydrogen energy and new council-led clean air zones are three key parts of the plan. Ed writes about the proposals on the party ...
The Mirror has an interesting adnission fron the Foreign Secretary which should give us all cause to pause and think what sort of country we are living in and, more inportantly, why Government Ministers who know there is a problem, have not been doing more to prevent it happening over and over again - until now. Dominic Raab told the House of Commons that the UK is a "honey pot" for "corrupt actors" who "seek to launder their dirty money". Anybody who has read 'Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How To Take It Back' by ...
Did Boris Johnson say this? Did he say something like it? The jury is out but there is mounting evidence from within the Tory Party that he did indeed say it. The problem that Johnson has in denying it is ... Continue reading →
i) births and deaths 27 April 1928: birth of Hubert Rees who played the Chief Engineer in Fury from the Deep (Second Doctor, 1968), Captain Ransom in The War Games (Second Doctor, 1969), and Stevenson in The Seeds of Doom (Fourth Doctor, 1976). 27 April 1931: birth of Glyn Jones, one of the few people who not only wrote a TV Who story - the story we now call The Space Museum (First Doctor, 1965) - but also appeared on the show as an actor, playing stranded astronaut Krans in The Sontaran Experiment (Fourth Doctor, 1975). See his autobiography. 27 ...
Roger Roberts – Lord Roberts of Llandudno – has written a letter to his MP, Robin Millar, as follows: Dear Robin, Like many other constituents, especially Christian church members I am deeply disappointed in this government and this prime minister. Whether this attitude is reflected in the coming elections is of little importance, so much of the moral lead necessary in a prime minister cannot be found in Mr Johnson. Your own character is tarnished by association with him. I would welcome a meeting and discussion with you. Yours faithfully, ROGER – Lord Roberts of Llandudno Roger's letter is quite ...
Sheltered tenants in the Corso and Abbotsford areas have asked me for an update on grass maintenance in the area. I have been in touch with with our local environment manager about this and he advises that where the grass is done by hand machine, this work is now well underway. The ride-on mowers' work should be starting this week.
