The Liberal Democrats have challenged Downing Street to hold Viktor Orban to account during his visit to Downing Street tomorrow. The Hungarian Prime Minister has been accused of antisemitism, islamophobia and making a sustained assault on democracy and the freedom of the press. In a joint letter to Boris Johnson, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP and Lib Dem Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Layla Moran MP wrote: "When you decide to invite leaders of other countries to Downing Street, your choice matters. It sends a signal to our allies; to our partners; to people in Britain and around the world, ...
Second paragraph of third story ("The Anatomist's Mnemonic"):Why don't we ask Sam to the party? I've invited Judith. We should introduce them.I was blown away by Sharma's novella, Ormeshadow, which I read at the end of last year; this is a collection of her short stories, almost all of them with some genre elements (though one of the best, "Small Town Stories", seemed to me to be a straightforward psychological tale). I thought they were tremendously good, combining fantasy, horror and human elements, each one of them a real jewel. Strongly recommended. You can get it here.
Thu 27th
12:59
LibLink: Tim Farron on the "historic betrayal" of British farmers by Australia trade deal
Tim Farron slates the proposed trade deal with Australia in an article in The House: So often we see Conservative MPs and ministers take to social media to tell us how much they love British farming and how they think it's the best in the world. But their plans for a free trade deal with Australia show that when push comes to shove they seem to have no problem whatsoever with throwing British farmers under a bus. As a liberal I am firm believer in free trade - but only as long as it's fair trade. Australian animal welfare standards ...
If Prime Minster Johnson's illegal prorogation of parliament in the autumn of 2019 marked the end of the "good chaps theory of government," then yesterday's intemperate revelations by Dominic Cummings mark the end of the era of common decency in public political discord. The uninhibited criticisms untempered by any vestige of politeness, and their reporting in today's media, must be the most bizarre episode in UK politics in a century. It is refreshing that the "revelations" contained few if any of the evasions and fudges so common from politicians of all stripes, but particularly government ministers and spokespersons, but the ...
Great news from Durham. Liberal Democrat Councillor Amanda Hopgood has taken over as Durham County Council leader after Labour lost their majority (and 21 seats) in May's local elections. From the BBC: The alliance, made up of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, independents and a Green councillor, officially took over at the council's annual meeting on Wednesday. Ms Hopgood, who leads the Liberal Democrat group, said she was "honoured and privileged" to have been elected leader. She said: "County Durham is a fantastic place, not just for those of us who live here, but also those who choose to work, visit and ...
Wed, 14:56: RT @POLITICOEurope: Claire Boussagol (@cboussClaire) appointed new CEO of POLITICO Europe. More here 👉 https://t.co/9JsStfyFR7 https://t.... Wed, 16:31: Dominic Cummings claims 'tens of thousands' died unnecessarily because of way Covid was handled - live https://t.co/SEsuvuUZUW https://t.co/mjUCEpju1E Wed, 16:41: RT @CovidJusticeUK: Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice response to Dominic Cummings select committee appearance. Today is a horrible,... Wed, 16:45: This is a brilliant blow-by-blow of Cummings' testimony today. https://t.co/c7y7GNiPez Wed, 18:49: Cloud on Silver, by John Christopher https://t.co/jVSEEJ1pk5 Thu, 00:39: RT @dmcbfs: Looked back through the some other leadership contests in NI history. I still cannot find one where ...
If you are standing in next year's local elections, which include every Council seat in Scotland and Wales and London's boroughs, you will want to give yourself the best chance of winning. Elections are not won in the 4 weeks of the short campaign. They take long and careful planning and hard work. One of the best ways to plan the best campaign for your ward is to listen to everything ALDC (the Association of Liberal Democrat Campaigners) tells you. They know everything there is to know about how to run a brilliant local election campaign and win. If you ...
i) births and deaths 27 May 1926: birth of Peter Ling, who wrote The Mind Robber (Second Doctor, 1968) 27 May 1981: death of Kit Pedler, who co-wrote The Tenth Planet (First Doctor, 1966), The Moonbase (Second Doctor, 1967) and The Tomb of the Cybermen (Fourth Doctor, 1967). 27 May 1983: death of George Cormack, who played King Dalios in The Time Monster (Third Doctor, 1972) and abbot K'anpo Rimpoche in Planet of the Spiders (Third Doctor, 1974). ii) broadcast anniversaries 27 May 1967: broadcast of second episode of Evil of the Daleks; first appearance of Deborah Watling as Victoria ...
The Friends of Dundee City Archives are doing an online talk via Zoom about the history of the Logie housing scheme on Thursday 3rd June at 1pm. Sarah Aitken, Assistant Archivist at Dundee City Archives, will speak about Dundee's pioneering Council Housing Scheme at Logie - the first of its kind in Scotland. Find out why the site at Logie was chosen, why Dundee was the first council to build homes and who were the first people to live in those homes. You can book your attendance here.
A few days ago I posited the question as to whether Dominc Cummings' evidence would be a smoking gun or a damp squib. I suggested that Boris Johnson's popularity appears to be immune to the sort of accusations Cummings was making. It will be a few more days before that theory can be tested, but by any normal political convention, the Prime Minister should be on the ropes taking an eight-count. The Guardian says Dominic Cummings laid bare the "surreal" chaos in Downing Street in March last year as the government grappled with the Covid pandemic, portraying the prime minister ...
