Inflation: High time the Government put in place a proper plan to boost our economy Thames Water bonuses: Hardly a cause for celebration for customers Winter Fuel Payments: the "world's longest u-turn continues" Winter Fuel Payments: Serious proposal from the Prime Minister Needed Lib Dems Respond to Welsh Gov Business Rates Consultation Carmichael challenges Prime Minister to pause family farm tax Inflation: High time the Government put in place a proper plan to boost our economy Responding to inflation rising to 3.5%, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said: Today's grim figures reveal a triple whammy ...
Reform UK pledged to remove all low-traffic neighbourhoods from the council areas it took control of on 1 May. It turns out that none of these areas has any. What with this and Reform councillors'refusal to attend non-existent training courses, I'm reminded of Sir Mortimer Chris and his campaign against the evil pixies that were the cause of unemployment in Britain.
"The thing is, I work for The Guardian, right? So I've got this sort of somewhat misplaced belief that the public sector is great, and will always sort you out. And that's true, you know, if you break your leg. We had some idea that they would sort us out with whatever autism entails; but that just wasn't the case. The paediatrician said 'Come back in a few years and we'll really know what we're dealing with'. Terrible." Dave Haslam interviews John Harris about his book Maybe I'm Amazed. Over a decade ago, the Coalition government placed many of England ...
Welcome to the second of what may turn out to be, in decreasing order of likelihood, an occasional set of blog posts, the start of a regular series of blog posts, the birth of a new email list or the emerging first draft of my next book: some first impressions from the House of Lords, which I joined in February 2025. We have an abundance of governments unveiling drives to get the most out of public expenditure. Efficiency, austerity, modernisation: there is a bundle of labels for a frequent aspiration for governments of all political hues. More colourfully at times, ...
A few months ago, a rare event took place in Gateshead. A Labour Councillor, Jane McCoid left Labour to go independent. Changes of allegiances are few and far between in Gateshead so the local newspaper, The Chronicle, carried the story and included quotes direct from Jane herself.Angry about the direction of Labour in government, she told The Chronicle, "Enough is enough", "all hope is
The Shropshire Star wins our Headline of the Day Award. In their ruling, the judges point out that a) it's a free country and b) you can see a video of the massive quirky cupcake on the Shropshire Star website.
Retirement offers many opportunities the most important of which is time to enjoy some pursuits which employment rarely allows. Reading more books is one of these. And, in parallel with reading goes the opportunity to write. As you may know, I have written previously about my time working in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Recently, I have tackled a much bigger writing task - that of an autobiography. This has been a laborious but a hugely enjoyable exercise - digging out diaries, documents, photographs, press cuttings and perusing and choosing which to use. Core to the book In Service of the Common Good is ...
It isn't very far from Basle to Mainz - there's a direct train that will get you there in just over three hours. But that's hardly entering into the spirit of the thing, is it? And I still hadn't had my schnitzel and so, obviously, it was necessary to go to Austria to get some. And beer, of course... I had a reservation at a restaurant I'd eaten in three years ago, and a route planned, and so there I was, at the station to catch the 9.33 train to Sargans, on the edge of Switzerland, where I had a ...
Ed Davey has written a book about his own varied and lifelong caring experience and it's coming out on 22 May, just in time for me to take my copy with me on my Highland holiday. He sent an email to party members telling us about the book and letting us know that we can get 30% if we pre-order by today. He said: As you know, caring is, and has been, much of my life. And yet, it is only since becoming Leader that I have felt comfortable and compelled to speak about it. In my first speech, I ...
Water sector investigations: Doesn't even begin to address sewage scandal Reaching net zero is ambitious but achievable if SNP ditch familiar excuses Water sector investigations: Doesn't even begin to address sewage scandal Commenting to the Government's announcement into the number of criminal investigations into environmental breaches by water companies, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: 81 investigations does not even begin to address the sewage scandal that has plagued British rivers and seas for far too long. This is a national scandal which got far worse under the Conservatives' watch. Their record is one of rising sewage levels ...
The Independent reports that the Government suffered a resounding defeat in the House of Lords for the third time over copyright protection for creative industries against artificial intelligence. The paper says that peers voted 287 to 118, a majority of 169, to amend the Data (Use and Access) Bill, echoing concerns raised by prominent artists like Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney about AI companies using copyrighted material without consent: The amendment mandates transparency requirements, ensuring copyright holders can identify when and by whom their work is utilised. Peers backed independent crossbencher Baroness Beeban Kidron's transparency amendments at report ...
