Protecting our beautiful green spaces should be a priority for any Government. They are hugely important to the environment and help make our local communities so beautiful. And this year, where many of us have spent less time in the pub and more time outside absorbing nature, was a timely reminder of why our environment should always be at the top of the agenda. But for this Government, our natural spaces are only an afterthought, a distraction that can be brushed away under the carpet. If there was any doubt of that, look no further than the shoddy Environment Bill ...
Second paragraph of third chapter (a long one):Smells came over the still waters of the harbour, unidentifiable, disturbing in a way that she was not .sure if she liked or disliked. And distant cries, in a language she did not know. A large catamaran, with twin red sails, was cutting across the bows of a motor-launch which was chugging out on one revved-down engine. Across the harbour the town glittered white under blue skies lightly strewn with cirrus. She thought suddenly of London, and so of John. He would be leaving the office about this time, joining the crowd that ...
Sad news from Geoff Payne, chair of the Lib Dem Federal Conference Committee: after three years of doing brilliantly in the really tough role, he's standing down.
Wed 26th
17:25
Performative justice, 'tough on crime' rhetoric and intellectual dishonesty - Same Labour
The Tories pander to the 'hang 'em and flog 'em' brigade, they always will. Priti Patel's disdain for the rule of law exemplifies their general attitude. Labour seem to think that to win again they must 'out-tough' the Tories - it worked for Blair - only that if they talk about the right sort of criminals and victims then that sounds progressive too. But they're not being honest. On the whole, their proposals won't make women safer. They won't make offenders more accountable. And if they refuse to talk about properly funding the justice system, many of their policy pronouncements ...
[IMG: Geoff Payne] Earlier today Geoff Payne announced that he is standing down as Chair of the Federal Conference Committee – the party body, elected by members, which organises our Spring and Autumn Conferences. He writes on Facebook: Some personal news: I have decided to stand down as Chair of Federal Conference Committee. I have thought about this for a while and now seems the right time to do so because we have reached a natural pause between conferences. The reason is nothing to do with the party or the committee, or conference. It is simply that I am finding ...
Since I was elected in 2018, as one of 33 Lib Dems on Sutton Council, I've been working with our local LGBTQ Forum to advocate for and promote the LGBTQ Community across our borough. I'm extremely pleased of the close working we've been doing as local community champions on the Council to draw attention to and support minorities in our borough, from supporting our faith communities in the aftermath of the horrific attack in Christchurch and working with local Black Lives Matter groups to address racial inequality in Sutton to supporting organisations like the Sutton LGBTQ Forum. Parts of this ...
He now says: We welcome the news that the Prime Minister is promising tougher sentences for dog theft and neglect. However, this is a problem now. Dog thefts are soaring and it's all very well making promises if they're not followed through. It took years for the Conservatives to toughen up sentences for animal cruelty. Liberal Democrats are calling for legislation on dog thefts to be fast-tracked. Action on dog thefts will have cross party support, and the Tories must act now.
The Guardian says a long-awaited review into Islamophobia within the Conservatives has been condemned as a whitewash by Muslim Tories despite it including criticism of the language used by Boris Johnson and the mayoral campaign run by Zac Goldsmith for insensitivity. The paper quotes Lady Warsi, the party's former chair who first demanded an inquiry into anti-Muslim sentiment within its ranks, who disagrees with the review's conclusion that there was no evidence of institutional racism, saying there were issues "from the top ... to the bottom" of the party: The report found that anti-Muslim sentiment was still present at local ...
Liberal Democrat Newswire #149 came out last week, looking at the May election results, what Lib Dems have been up to in the media and what voters think of decriminalising cannabis.
The Government has been having to deal rapidly with the cock-up over the restrictions in areas where the Indian variant is spreading. Munira Wilson was in the Guardian today, after confusion reigned in Westminster: An appearance in the House of Commons on Tuesday by the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, failed to clarify the matter. "What we're asking people in those affected areas is to be cautious, is to be careful - so on visiting family, meet outdoors rather than inside where possible. Meet 2 metres apart from people you don't live with, unless you have formed a support bubble," said ...
Tue, 13:18: RT @APranckevicius: Yesterday's decision of the 🇪🇺 European Council in practice. Tue, 18:43: RT @MaxCRoser: Gallup asks people around the world whether they have someone to count on for help in times of trouble. - The map shows the... Tue, 18:54: July 2011 books https://t.co/UeKXbjCFHk Wed, 09:30: Whoniversaries 26 May https://t.co/bnhSGIuHSI Wed, 10:45: Belgium hacked, most likely by China https://t.co/uVLry8BeSM In 2019 as it turns out.
I've been trying to be helpful, pointing out a long-running leak to Thames Water. It's been going for weeks. To add some aggravation, it is right next to where Thames Water has been digging up a road for other work. I had assumed that the leak would be sorted as part of the work, but no – the work is now winding up, the holes filled back in, the barriers removed, Thames Water moving on, but the leak was left behind, still flowing away. Week after week, its contractors or staff have been turning up to that site, seeing the ...
i) births and deaths 26 May 1913: birth of Peter Cushing, who played Doctor Who in the 1965 and 1966 films. 26 May 1927: birth of Julia Smith, who directed The Smugglers (First Doctor, 1966) and The Underwater Menace (Second Doctor, 1967). 26 May 1990: death of Anthony Steven, who wrote The Twin Dilemma (Sixth Doctor, 1984). Earlier this year a friend in Spain Facebooked me to say "Thinking of you, as I search on youtube for what was voted the worst Dr. Who story ever in the company of the son of the author who happens to live in ...
I have recently had numerous concerns from residents about the state of the bins in Park Place, near to the junction with the West Port. These are not all council bins for residents' use but there are also commercial bins there for business use. The City Council's Enforcement Officer in Community Safety and Protection has been very proactive and helpful in response to my raising this and her latest update is as follows : "Having visited the location over the past few weeks to monitor the situation, I would advise that domestic waste was being left at the trade bins. ...
From the blurb on YouTube: This walk starts at East India Basin near Orchard Place, Trinity Buoy Wharf. The basin is now a nature reserve but was built as East India Dock between 1803-06 to handle the cargos on the East India company. We then progress along the edge the Isle of Dogs beside the River Thames and pay a visit to the Virginia Settlers Monument at New Providence Wharf, and then to the site of the former Blackwall Dock and Blackwall Tunnel and admire the fine ventilation shafts designed by Terry Farrell for the London County Council between 1961-2. ...
