To quote Granny Weatherwax, I aten't dead, merely returned from some family time. And so, to pick up where I left off... Uber ambulance: 2.7 million did not take an ambulance to A&E last year – up 340,000 on 2019 Jardine welcomes children's evacuation Uber ambulance: 2.7 million did not take an ambulance to A&E last year – up 340,000 on 2019 There were at least 2.7 million attendances at A&E where someone did not use an ambulance to get there, with over a quarter-of-a-million in need of very urgent medical attention opting not to use one, Liberal Democrat Freedom ...
Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, is the guest on the Spectator's latest Coffee House Shots podcast. He talks to James Heale about his campaign to improve working-class representation in politics. Tom, newly elected in 2024, explains how getting his mum involved in local politics in West Yorkshire led him to think about the structural issues that exist preventing more people from getting involved in politics. It sounds as though Tom would welcome contact from Liberal Democrats who share his interest in this important issue.
Two sites owned by the Middle Marches Community Land Trust are included in the new Stiperstones Landscape NNR. Now the trust is appealing for funds to help it buy a third: Help us acquire five acres of botanically rich meadow at the foot of Corndon Hill, where plants such as Heath Spotted Orchid, Dyers Greenweed and Devil's Bit Scabious abound. The area we wish to buy consists of 4 small fields totalling 5 acres, bounded by tall, thick hedgerows, with some small stands of Alder and Goat Willow trees. The site is situated at the foot of Corndon Hill just ...
[IMG: Leicestershire County Council offices at Glenfield] A local political story broke on social media over the weekend and now Leicester Gazette has written it up: Joseph Boam, who was appointed deputy leader of Leicestershire County Council after his election win in May, has been removed from his role by council leader Dan Harrison. It goes on to discuss some rumoured reasons for Boam's dismissal, without coming to any definite conclusions. Reform itself has said nothing about why the decision was taken - the party runs Leicestershire with a minority administration. As well as losing the deputy leadership of the ...
The Labour government is proposing a controversial amendment to the UK's extradition law concerning Hong Kong. This development, in my view, poses a significant threat to human rights and democratic values for those who have sought sanctuary here. To truly grasp the gravity of what is being proposed, allow me to briefly explain how the UK has historically categorised territories for extradition. We had three main classifications: * Territory 1: This category encompassed European Union (EU) countries. The UK implicitly trusted these nations to uphold similar judicial standards and human rights, meaning extradition requests typically bypassed significant UK judicial scrutiny. ...
We hear lots of talk about rights. Human rights. Consumer rights. Free speech. The right to bear arms. To remain silent. The right to be forgotten. But what are rights? How do we get them? And how do we know what rights we have? Well, it's complicated. And, to be honest, I don't think anyone's really figured it out (yet). Rights are essentially principles of freedom or entitlement. By freedom, we mean the right to do something, to not do something or to not have something done to us. By entitlement, we mean the right to access something or to ...
The time has come for the liberal world to say "no" to President Trump. Europe's leaders are heading for Washington today to support President Zelensky and Ukraine's sovereign integrity in the face of Trump's impatience that he cannot bring about a peace that will pave the way for him securing a big business deal with Putin – and his much coveted Nobel Peace Prize. Until now, at every turn, UK and European leaders have (sometimes embarrassingly) been acting, as if Trump and his acolytes can be both flattered and persuaded to act rationally according to our liberal worldview. However, Trump ...
"I asked the Appellant why, in the light of this citation of non-existent authorities, the Court should not of its own motion strike out the grounds of appeal in this case, as being an abuse of the process of the Court. His answer was as follows. He claimed that the substance of the points which were being put forward in the grounds of appeal were sound, even if the authority which was being cited for those points did not exist."Matthew Lee looks at the problems the increasing use of AI are causing the judicial system. Paul Kirkley fears British stories ...
Last week, some 474 people were arrested at a London protest for expressing support for the newly-proscribed Palestine Action; per the Terrorism Act 2000, this can carry a sentence of up to fourteen years in jail. Footage circulating online makes for galling viewing: among those arrested on suspicion of terror offences were retired nurses, a blind gentleman in a wheelchair, and former Guantanamo Bay inmate Moazzam Begg. What is happening? How did we get here? And most importantly, what is to be done? The erosion of protest rights The erosion of the right to protest has not come overnight. The ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 18 AUGUST 2025 Strawberrybank - closed from Thursday 14 August for one week for Scottish Water work. [We have had exchanges with a council roads engineer about this and the closure may not be required or only for part of the period]. Scottish and Southern Energy Networks Elmwood Cable Renewal Scheme - temporary traffic lights and road closure from Tuesday 4 March for 19 weeks : Ancrum Road (at Peel Street) - temporary traffic lights until Wednesday 20 August[We have been advised by ...
The Independent reports that a think tank that championed the controversial Labour policy of levying an inheritance tax on family farms, has argued that the measure should be watered down. The paper says that the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax), which has been broadly supportive of the idea of a so called 'tractor tax', warned that landowners were "less likely to be impacted by the reform than working farmers". The changes mean that farms valued at £1m or more will be liable for 20 per cent inheritance tax: CenTax found just 20 per cent of landowner estates would ...
