Mon 3rd
23:50

Delivering in Lamesley

Yesterday (Sunday 2nd February) we had an action day in Lamesley ward in Gateshead. The ward is sandwiched between my ward (Whickham South and Sunniside) and Lib Dem held Birtley. the aim of the action day was to deliver our latest Focus newsletter. Most of the ward was done but a mopping up operation over the next few days will deliver what is left.

Posted by Jonathan Wallace on Jonathan Wallace

The blurb on the Liberal Democrats' YouTube account runs: Ed Davey claps back at Elon Musk over insults made, calling for the UK to lead with its' international allies in Europe to hold Musk and other billionaires such as Mark Zuckerberg to account. "If Donald Trump won't, then Britain, with our relationship with Europe, needs to call out these over-powerful billionaires. "We can't allow them to get away with what they're trying to get away with. It is too damaging." Apparently "claps back" is something the young people say.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Here, from 1992, is one of the great lost television commercials. Lost because it had to be withdrawn after children started Tangoing each other in the school playground and ear drums got perforated as a result. The excitable commentator is Hugh Dennis, who was already famous from The Mary Whitehouse Experience. The laconic analyst is the late great Ray Wilkins, who will always be Butch Wilkins to a Chelsea fan of my vintage. And the deep voice at the end belongs, unexpectedly, to Gil Scott-Heron.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Yesterday morning, I woke up to the stark reality that Donald Trump has once again shot himself in the foot, imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and potentially the European Union. This move is a clear sign that Britain, despite the naïve optimism of some on the far-right or within the Reform Party, will not be spared. In the long run, we too will face tariffs, and we risk becoming a client nation under Trump's empire-like vision of America. Unfortunately for Trump, he seems to idolize the likes of Caligula, the Roman emperor who waged war against the sea. I'm surprised ...

Posted by Mo Waqas on Liberal Democrat Voice

The debate on proportional representation in the Commons last Thursday was all fairly predictable, with few Conservatives bothering to turn up, and Labour MPs as likely to defend first past the post as not, but it was interesting that while several speakers mentioned the experience of other countries, usually in apocalyptic tones like Israel, none mentioned New Zealand. In an article for the politics.co.uk website in 2023, Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, once a New Zealand voter himself, advised advocates of proportional representation in the UK to manage their expectations of it; namely that ...

Posted by Ken Westmoreland on Liberal Democrat Voice

Another busy week awaits in the Lords and so, without further ado... There's a bucketful of Liberal Democrat activity this week, and we'll start with Oral Questions. On Tuesday, Mike Storey will be asking the Government what steps they are taking to deal with mental health problems in primary schools, whilst on Wednesday, William Wallace seeks clarity on Government plans for changes they are considering for citizenship education in schools to accompany proposals to reduce the voting age to 16. Alison Suttie quizzes the Minister on UK assessment of Russian interference in Moldovan politics on Thursday. There are two Liberal ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 3rd
11:03

The Joy of Six 1320

Brian Klaas examines a paradox that is killing democracy: "More information is readily available than was previously imaginable in human history, and yet vast numbers of people now understand the world exclusively through what they see on the internet, a funhouse mirror that distorts all it reflects." "Having bewailed its enormous energy deficit for decades, America now produces far more oil than it consumes, making it a net petroleum exporter. Yet it continues to suck in vast quantities of Canadian crude. Indeed, that reliance on Canadian oil has only grown in recent years."Ed Conway explains why the US still needs ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

I hate to admit it; but I am becoming increasingly obsessed and weirdly fascinated, at the same time, with the happenings in the USA. At my time of life it can't be good for my health! I know I ought to be more concerned about what is happening over here; but knowing how much we in the West depend, for better or for worse, on an outward looking magnanimous USA and knowing also how vulnerable the U.K. is as a minnow in a pool dominated by a few powerful sharks, I fear for our democratic system's future as the drip ...

Posted by John Marriott on Liberal Democrat Voice

Our Foreign Affairs Editor, Tom Arms, must be wondering whether or not he should be writing more than just a weekly column at the moment, as the American experiment with destroying its own government and the international world order at the same time unwinds. Levying 25% tariffs on your closest neighbours on the premise that they are failing to prevent fentanyl from crossing their borders into the United States, when just 43 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the northern border in 2024, merely makes it clear that this is intended to be a "punishment beating" for the "uppity Canadians" ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Guardian features the existential crisis facing UK universities from huge funding pressures made worse by government policies. The paper says that nearly one in four leading UK universities are slashing staff numbers and cutting budgets, with up to 10,000 redundancies or job losses, bringing calls for action to avoid damaging the sector's international standing. They add that in the past week four universities, including two members of the research-intensive Russell Group of universities, have announced a combined 1,000 job losses in response to budget shortfalls, while about 90 universities are currently restructuring alongside compulsory and voluntary redundancy schemes to ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
YouGov

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2025 Seafield Road, Dundee - closed from its westmost end (in cul-de-sac) extending for a distance of no more than 20 metres in an easterly direction to facilitate a site access for a new housing development until November 2025. Blinshall Street (Douglas Street to 50 metres south) - closed until August 2025 for construction works. Douglas Street (Blinshall Street to Brown Street) - temporary traffic lights until August 2025 for construction works. Brown Street (south of Douglas Street) - closed until ...

Posted by Bailie Fraser Macpherson & Cllr Michael Crichton on Councillors Fraser Macpherson & Michael Crichton - working for the West End