Government borrowing figures: "warning lights must be flashing in the Treasury" – Lib Dems Government back Lib Dem campaigns protecting victims of domestic abuse and sexual offence Teachers' pay award: Government "building castles in the sky" if they think schools can fund rise First Minister misses two-year NHS waiting times target Government borrowing figures: "warning lights must be flashing in the Treasury" – Lib Dems Responding to the latest figures showing that Government borrowing in April was at its fourth-highest since records began, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: The warning lights must be flashing in the Treasury this ...
I think I've gained a new understanding of my favourite film. Most commentators take their mark from Mr Colpeper's answering to a question at his lecture: "These ancient pilgrims came to Canterbury to ask for a blessing or to do penance." They observe that, while Alison, Peter and Bob travel to the city to receive their blessings, Colpeper goes their to do penance. As it turns out, Colpeper doesn't have to do penance because Peter, having rediscovered his vocation as a musician, loses interest in his plan of reporting him to the authorities. I now believe that Colpeper receives a ...
For this tale of everyday life in Thurnby, BBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Migration is not a threat - it is the very foundation of London life. From the Romans and Anglo-Saxons to the Windrush generation and Ukrainians fleeing war today, migrants have always shaped this city into a dynamic, diverse capital. That should be a source of collective pride, not a target for political attack. Yet when the Prime Minister dismisses immigration as a "squalid chapter" or warns of an "island of strangers" and "incalculable damage," more than disappointing, it is downright dangerous. Such rhetoric dehumanises communities and deepens division. In a climate of rising hate crime and attacks on asylum seekers ...
This is not a treatise on economics, but a minor rant about the use of capital letters. American media often like to capitalise every word in their headlines. For example: Trump Lectures South African President in Televised Oval Office Confrontation (New York Times) and Trump Claimed This Photo Proved 'Genocide' Of White South Africans, But There's 1 Big Problem (HuffPost) There are some exceptions to this practice in the US: see Trump confronts South African president, pushing claims of genocide (Washington Post). However in the UK none of our media capitalise headlines. For example: Trump ambushes South African president with ...
Karl Popper's account of human knowledge, which Bryan Magee sets out at the beginning of this clip, seems to me so obviously right that I still find it hard to believe that no philosopher had put it forward before him. Years ago I wrote the entry on Popper in Duncan Brack's Dictionary of Liberal Biography. What I didn't know then was that Bryan Magee, the great populariser of Popper's thought in Britain, had been evacuated to Market Harborough as a boy during the war and had lived literally round the corner from where I lived as a teenager.
As human beings, we have a tendency to think that we can't start anything new until we're absolutely, completely 100% ready. Until the stars are aligned, until all our ducks are in a row or until we receive some other cosmic sign that we're good to go. But if we wait for the perfect time to do something, we're likely to be disappointed. Because there's never a perfect time to start something new. And even when things are looking good, we'll always be able to convince ourselves that, if we just hang on just a little longer, they'll look even ...
This week, as Israel intensifies its ground operation in Gaza and aid agencies warn of impending famine, the UK government seems to be finally taking a stand. On Tuesday, the UK joined France and Canada in issuing a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing aid blockade and military escalation and warning of "concrete actions" if the Israeli government fails to change course. The following day, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced a series of new measures, including a formal pause on UK-Israel trade negotiations, targeted sanctions on illegal settlers, and the summoning of the Israeli Ambassador to the UK - a rare ...
Accounts Commission report shows councils face "titanic gulf" Welsh Lib Dems Respond to Bevan Foundation Report on Impact of Disability Benefit Reforms on Wales Accounts Commission report shows councils face "titanic gulf" Responding to the embargoed Accounts Commission report into Scotland's council finances, which warns that despite the average council tax rising by 9.6%, local government continues to face recurring pressures in excess of funding uplifts, with councils identifying a difference of £647 million between anticipated expenditure and the funding and income they receive, Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Jamie Greene said: Local authorities have had a raw deal from ...
We are holding a street surgery tonight to speak with residents on any local issues or concerns they may have. Should you have an issue you wish to discuss with us, e-mail us at westend@dundeelibdems.org.uk or call Dundee 459378 and we will be pleased to meet you - many thanks.
The one thing Labour promised us in last July's election campaign was "change." But most people, whose major obsession is not politics, can be forgiven for thinking that what we've been getting is the mixture very much as before. This is particularity true of of the political debate itself, which continues to be conducted in intemperate, inappropriate and exaggerated language. Last week was immigration week. Sir Keri Starmer, not in the heat of the moment but at his podium flanked by two Union Jacks, solemnly intoned that a "squalid" chapter of our politics (allegedly open immigration) had damaged our country ...
The Guardian reports that the Prime Minister has confirmed that he wants more pensioners to be eligible for winter fuel payments after a backlash against one of the most unpopular policies of the Labour government. The paper says that Starmer indicated in the Commons that he would look again at the £11,500 threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the allowance, in an attempt to win back public support and quell a growing Labour backbench rebellion over benefit cuts. The problem is that No 10 has been unable to confirm whether the winter fuel U-turn will come into ...
