I did mention that I'd intended to get a bit more engaged with things this year and, whilst that has been more of an aspiration than actual activity, I have made a few steps towards achieving that. It seemed that, having mentioned the Liberal Democrat European Group (LDEG), someone noticed, and I was invited to become the Executive Committee member representing the East of England (the position had been vacant for a little while). And now, I have my first meeting on Thursday. The agenda doesn't look to be anything other than gentle, which allows me to hopefully ease my ...
"AI skeptics - who are legion, and not necessarily part of the fringe tin foil hat crowd - are begging Silicon Valley to take a beat before unleashing AI to the world. But tech companies, faced with the most powerful computing innovation in a generation, are running around like kids who just found their dad's gun." Allison Morrow reveals Silicon Valley's determination to produce an AI dystopia that no one has asked for. Matthew Pennell reviews the Liberal Democrat performance in the London mayoral election: "A few activists have asked the Lib Dem leadership to be bolder in the context ...
Bathing water: Govt needs to go further and stop sewage being pumped into bathing water sites Maternity Care: Time Govt end postcode lottery PM speech: Sunak should listen to the public and call a General Election McArthur comments as legal action launched over deposit return scheme losses Bathing water: Govt needs to go further and stop sewage being pumped into bathing water sites Responding to the government announcing new designated bathing water sites, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: The government needs to go much further and stop sewage being pumped into bathing water sites. Conservative Ministers allowed ...
Embed from Getty ImagesIn his speech today, Rishi Sunak said the next five years will be some of the most difficult and dangerous in the UK's history. If Sergeant Wilson were here to advise him, I feel sure he would have said: "Do you think that's wise, sir?" Because the British people seem to have decided that, not only do they not much like Sunak, but that he's not much good at his job either. I base this, not just on his individual poll ratings, but on the fact that you never here anyone expressing enthusiasm for him. His own ...
It was predictable - indeed, I remember retweeting someone who predicted it - that the Mail's pursuit of Angela Rayner over her supposed failure to pay capital gains tax would rebound on the Conservatives. That's because Conservative MPs own more houses than Labour MPs and may be fonder of baroque ways of avoiding tax. And, sure enough, here is a report from today's Mirror: Tories making a lot of noise about Angela Rayner and capital gains tax are less vocal when it comes to the profits their own MPs have made from selling second homes. Four who have raked in ...
I was sitting outside a polling station on telling duty during the Bristol 2024 local elections when a concerned lady approached me who wore a badge with a Palestinian flag on it. She earnestly asked me what the Liberal Democrats' position on Palestine was. Since I was the candidate for the concerned ward, I thought about cheekily informing her that if elected, my remit would not extend beyond South Bristol, never mind the lands of the former Mandate of Palestine. Instead, I carefully explained to her how I legally could not influence her vote this close to a polling station, ...
The Independent reports on the astonishing response of Labour's Wes Streeting to calls by the rightwing former home secretary, Suella Braverman to scrap the cap on child benefit for just two children in each household. Braverman rightly points out that over 400,000 families are affected by this restriction and all the evidence suggests that it is not having the effect of increasing employment or alleviating poverty. Instead, it's aggravating child poverty: She said: "The truth is that Conservatives should do more to support families and children on lower incomes... A crucial reform that Frank advocated was to scrap the two-child ...
Natalie Elphicke? Really? Well, you have to admire whoever it is in Labour who is handling Tory defectors – they've managed to smuggle out one of the more unlikely "converts" to their cause. And, if you really wanted to engender a sense of paranoia amongst the Conservative leadership, what better than to recruit someone like Natalie? Is anyone with a blue rosette above suspicion now? But, beyond the Westminster bubble, how does this look? What message does it send in terms of principles? How big does a "big tent" get to be and still retain any sense of exclusivity? Now, ...
There's a student garden club at Ninewells Community Garden every Wednesday from 1pm to 3pm. If you are a student and you want to learn more about growing plants, fruit and veg whilst helping your local community then this is the place for you! Tea, Coffee and Snacks provided - all welcome!
