Fri 30th
22:08

Burning a straw man

The people who will benefit most from safe cycling infrastructure are those who, at present, do not feel safe cycling and, therefore, don't cycle. Perhaps, if we are concerned about misuse of resources and land we should build social housing on golf courses.

Posted by jfefleming on Whatever's Left

My Liberal Democrat Colleagues and I have branded Liverpool Council as being 'totally incompetent' over their decision to remove the West Derby Road Cycle Lane which has resulted in the Government halting funding for future cycling developments in the City. ... Continue reading →

Posted by richardkemp on But what does Richard Kemp think?
Fri 30th
17:53

500 days of plague

So, back when I started these ten-day updates in March last year, I had no idea I'd still be at it half a thousand days later. (I did skip the updates between 100 and 220 days in; that was the lull of summer last year.) I will keep at it for now; we're not exactly back to normal yet. We're a lot closer than we were. Today, for the first time in a month, the weekly average of new infections in BElgium was less than the previous reported day - and since that's a seven-day average of the period from ...

Fri 30th
17:10

Friday reading

Current Fish Tails, by Sheri S. Tepper Strange Bedfellows: An Anthology of Political Science Fiction, ed. Hayden Trenholm Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh The Life and Adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, Commonly Called Mother Ross on Campaign with the Duke of Marlborough by Daniel Defoe Last books finished Le dernier Atlas, tome 2, by Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen De Bonneval and Fred Blanchard The History of Mr Polly, by H.G. Wells The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang Next books The Place of the Lion, by Charles Williams The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

New jobs, new homes and the climate emergency are at the forefront of all our minds as we recover from the Covid pandemic. As Liberal Democrat leaders in local government, we need to address all these. I was proud to lead the media briefing in Cheltenham announcing our internationally significant development that covers all three of those topics. The Golden Valley development will bring up to 12,000 new jobs, 3,700 homes and two million square feet of commercial space, centred on the UK's first cyber security focused campus: Cyber Central. And we will achieve some of the highest levels of ...

Posted by Rowena Hay on Liberal Democrat Voice

The popular Prestwich Clough Day is back, this year in August. The event normally takes place in May to mark the anniversary of the parkland which was gifted to the people of Prestwich 115 years ago. Because of current restrictions some things will have to be slightly different, but the team are keen to tell everyone that there will still be plenty of things to see and do and you will all have a wonderful afternoon. The event is on Sunday 22 August 2021, St Mary's Flower Garden on Bury New Road (opposite the St Mary's Road junction.

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone
Fri 30th
13:50

Answers to Questions

Earlier this week was the regular meeting of Bury's Full Council and as ever your local Councillors were busy asking questions of the Council Leadership on issues from bins, traffic flow or the Prestwich Memorial Wall. Prestwich Memorial Wall Councillor Michael Powell asked about the Prestwich Memorial Wall, which lists honours by name the local people who gave their lives in both world wars. Because of the (now permanent) closure of the Longfield Suite the wall is not available for public viewing which we believe is wrong. Question: Can the leader guarantee that a Prestwich home will be found for ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

As more and more people are travelling again to work and study, we're all being urged to think about who we can undertake more journey with 'active travel' (walking and cycling). Cycle September is a global bike challenge. People can bike anywhere any time throughout September to take part – it's not about how fit you are or how far you ride. Even a 10-minute ride around the park counts! If you haven't been on a bike in years, it is the ideal opportunity to rediscover the joy of riding a bike. Already riding? Then together let's get your friends, ...

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

See below some of the most significant roadworks for August. All major roadworks this month seem to fall on Bury New Road............ The full list can be searched here. Bury New Road (junction with Kings Road) – multi-way signals 7-8 August 2021 (United Utilities) Bury New Road (near the junction with what was Warwick Street) – multi-way signals 6-10 August 2021 (Virgin Media) Bury New Road and Fairfax Road – multi-way signals 3-9 August 2021 (Virgin Media) Bury New Road (outside Stanhope Court opposite Tesco) – lane closure 4-6 August 2021 (Virgin Media)

Posted by timpickstone on Tim Pickstone

When I joined the Liberal Democrats in 2015, immediately following the General Election, I was working in military resettlement, supporting service leavers into employment. If you had told me that within 5 years, I would be a Member of Parliament for the party, I would have laughed very loudly. When I decided to enter the selection for North East Fife in 2018 (at that time the most marginal seat in the UK with only 2 votes separating the SNP from the Liberal Democrats) it was clear that I needed to take some of my own job-seeking advice on board. If ...

Posted by Wendy Chamberlain on Liberal Democrat Voice
YouGov

Another reminder that most people don't pay that much attention to politics and so what's obvious to those in politics can be baffling to those outside it.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Five principal authority council by-elections this week, with four Liberal Democrat candidates. That's one up on the last time these wards were contested. Pitsea North West (Basildon), council by-election result: CON: 56.5% (+14.8) LAB: 30.6% (-16.0) BCRP: 5.8% (-3.2) LDEM: 4.1% (+1.4) REFUK: 1.6% (+1.6) FBM: 1.4% (+1.4) Conservative GAIN from Labour. BCRP: Community Residents Party — Britain Elects (@BritainElects) July 29, 2021

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack
Fri 30th
11:00

My tweets

Thu, 12:56: The Lord of the Rings (film) Almost Killed Off One of the Hobbits https://t.co/70LK20ISeo But Peter Jackson stood up for the original plot. Thu, 16:02: RT @bbcdoctorwho: BREAKING: Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who in a trio of Specials, culminating in an epic blockbuste... Thu, 16:05: 'My brother died of ovarian cancer': Why Deputy Lords Speaker Ian Duncan is campaigning for trans health https://t.co/4488OjZxu9 Long but very moving. Thu, 18:14: June 2012 books https://t.co/pDoihOKof0 Fri, 10:45: RT @joewellscomic: I love the idea that migrants shouldn't be rescued because they've made bad decisions as if the ...

After some nightclubs in England began requiring an NHS Covid pass for entry, Alistair Carmichael, Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, yesterday accused the government of introducing vaccination passports by the back door. The government has just committed to vaccine passports by stealth. This deceitful move is deeply shameful. Carmichael also called for parliament to be recalled to discuss the matter. More than 20 nightclubs and venues in England have said they would be requiring customers to show their NHS app passport. Alistair Carmichael criticised the move: We now have a new ID card snuck onto our phones without even as ...

Posted by NewsHound on Liberal Democrat Voice

The City Council's Neighbourhood Services Committee recently approved welcome access improvements for Lochee Park. The Service Manager - Environment has updated me with details as follows : "I can confirm that the intention is to improve the access for wheelchairs from inside the park so they can more easily move between the park area and the Fruit Bowl facility. Where the current service/ vehicle access gates are located, we plan is to improve the surface around the gated area by levelling the area and installing grass Crete tyles, which are heavy duty non slip rubber mats which allow grass to ...

The Guardian reports that Dominic Cummings personally called a former colleague on the Vote Leave Brexit campaign and asked if his company would work for the government on its response to the Covid pandemic, leading to the award of a £580,000 Cabinet Office contract with no competitive process. They say inman email on 20 March 2020, Boris Johnson's former chief adviser asked the most senior civil servant responsible for contracts to sign off the budget immediately, and that if "anybody in CABOFF [the Cabinet Office] whines", to tell them Cummings had "ordered it" from the prime minister: The company, Hanbury ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black