6) Harrow The Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir Second paragraph of third chapter:Her birth had been expensive. Eighteen years ago, in order to wrench a final bud from this terminal axil, her mother and father had slaughtered all the children of their House in order to secure a necromantic heir. Harrow had been created in that hour of pallor mortis, while the souls of her peers were fumbling to escape their bodies, her genesis their ignition of thanergy as they died with a simultaneity her parents had agonised to calculate. None of this had been kept from her. It had been ...

The other day I spotted that The Atkinson in Southport was advertising an online talk all about the history of our local airfield and thought it would be interesting to know more about it. The talk was at 1 pm today. My connection with it came during my time as Leader of Sefton Council (2004 – 2011) when I attended the yearly Battle of Britain event held there by the Station Commander. In fact, the great thrill of going to this event it was taking along my very good friend Charles (Uncle Albert) Walker who had served with the RAF ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Federal Conference Committee met via Zoom call on Saturday, 10 July for the agenda selection for our Autumn Conference 2021. The meeting was a lengthy one, which was in part due to the large selection of motions received. A few announcements before the report; as you may be aware Geoff Payne, departed the FCC in early May, and I am delighted to have been elected the new Chair of FCC. All of us wish Geoff the very best for the future. A recount was held for the vacant place on the Committee, and I am delighted that Keith Melton has ...

Posted by Nick Da Costa on Liberal Democrat Voice

With the a new edition of 101 Ways To Win An Election out, I chatted with co-author Ed Maxfield for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Roaming across Black Lives Matter, William Wilberforce, Matt Hancock, how the music industry is changing and one of the worst answers given in a political debate, we talked about political campaigning, our favourite chapters from our own book and other books we'd recommend. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Get the new edition of 101 Ways To Win An ...

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Last night, Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the Government's Statutory Instrument which made vaccinations compulsory for care home staff. Munira Wilson, our health spokesperson, had a right go at the Government for its approach, pointing out that the care sector had long been undervalued and the Government's approach had let down so many staff and residents during the pandemic. She said that, while Liberal Democrats were absolutely in favour of vaccination, we would not support making it mandatory. She said: Coercion is not an effective way to overcome hesitancy. Compulsory vaccination is a blunt tool for a complex issue, and ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice
Wed 14th
11:00

My tweets

Tue, 20:48: RT @mckinneytweets: @davidallengreen People throw the term "virtue signalling" around a lot, but legislation setting a target that cannot b... Tue, 21:05: RT @PippaCrerar: Ex-PM Sir John Major furious about foreign aid cuts - suggesting Govt's plan is "the stamp of Little England, not Great Br... Wed, 10:45: RT @TNeenan: I, a white man should be allowed to choose the anti-racism symbol I am most comfortable with. Maybe a tiny car we call the 'be... Wed, 11:05: RT @clanwilliam: *waves at @nwbrux* - I know about this because you wrote about! https://t.co/6C5HRtJFz3

Registrations are now open for the next Liberal Democrat federal party conference, with discounts for early registration and first timers.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

The culture wars have been good for the Conservative party. They were undoubtedly one of the things that helped the Tories win the 2019 general election so decisively. The party was able to paint itself as the guardians of old school British common sense, protecting the country at large from the army of the woke. Yet this week has exposed the problem with using the culture wars as the main plank of your political strategy. Times change, sometimes very quickly. And that means your positions can look old hat all of a sudden. This week felt like just such a ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

In her Scotsman column this week, Christine Jardine described something worrying that took place while she took part in a protest for Hong Kong democracy in Edinburgh: A drone. Hovering a couple of feet above the heads of the group was a small grey machine, the single eye of its mounted camera recording the event and everyone there. This was, it is important to stress, a Covid-compliant, socially distanced, perfectly legal outdoor gathering of a small number of people in Edinburgh's High Street. Unremarkable even in these times, save for one thing. It was about the threat to democracy in ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice
Wed 14th
09:15

A broken promise

I have already written on this blog about the consequences of cutting overseas aid from the legally required 0.7% of GDP. The cuts will of course hit the world's poorest children, with humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen being slashed by 60 per cent from £197m to £87m; funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative down from £100m to just £5m; girls' education funding reduced by 40 per cent compared with the previous four years; 85% of UK funding for the UN agency supplying contraceptives and medicines lost; and funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects expected to fall by more ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
YouGov

Good news from Wells: Not often that this happens, but we had a by-election TODAY for a City Councillor to St. Thomas' Ward, City of Wells! Lib Dems - 482 Ind - 348 Con - 174 [IMG: 🔸] LIB DEM GAIN [IMG: 🔸] Congratulations to Tony Robbins! pic.twitter.com/iXLTkhq9Zl — ALDC (@ALDC) July 13, 2021

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

Alistair Carmichael knows more about fishing than most, as you would expect for someone representing an island constituency. He knows how our fishermen have been completely sold down the river by the Brexit deal. Yesterday, he stood up for fishermen and those in related industries in a Parliamentary debate which you can watch here. He outlined some of the eye-watering losses suffered by the industry as a result of the Government failing to deliver on its promises. Here is his speech in the debate: Before turning to the business of today's debate I want to say a few words about ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

It was a real pleasure yesterday to meet with Deirdre Robertson, Chief Executive of Dundee Heritage Trust, at Verdant Works and see the first part of the superb Scottish Diaspora Tapestry exhibition. The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry has come to Dundee for the very first time after a worldwide tour. Bringing together artists and communities from 34 countries across the globe, the tapestry explores the vast connections Scots have with the rest of the world. The first part on Europe, The Baltics and The Americas runs until 20th July with the second part (UK, South Asia, Australia, New Zealand) then runs ...

Shropshire Council is lagging other councils on highways fault reporting. The online reporting system is clunky. It can be difficult to describe where the fault is especially in rural areas where postcodes can cover such wide areas, they are next to useless. But now the council is adopting Fix My Street as its main portal for reporting highways problems. Fix My Street also covers a lot more than potholes. I would recommend this for reporting problems because it allows residents and councillors to see whether problems have been reported before, whether they have been fixed and whether there are more ...

Posted by andybodders on Andy Boddington

Jeremy Thorpe had an ambivalent relationship with rock and roll, as we saw last week. But he did have a close family relationship with it. Because when Marion Harewood became his second wife she already had three sons with George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood. Lascelles was a grandson of George V and had been sixth in line to the throne when he was born. The eldest son, David, duly became the 8th Earl, but it is the two younger brothers who interest us here. Because James and Jeremy were both members of the Global Village Trucking Company and are ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England