Congratulations to Saltwell Lib Dem campaigner Jamie Rickelton. He ran the Great North Run on Sunday to raise money for the Leisure Centre. He was cheered on by Lib Dem members who took up strategic points along the route from Newcastle to South Shields. Note Jamie's choice of jogging top, showing that our nation's flag belongs to all of us.
Greene: SNP Government must finally come clean on Gupta deals Dwr Cymru redundancies - workers paying the price for systematic leadership failures Greene challenges First Minister on "reward for failure" with public execs Government cannot say whether Lochaber billet plant still on cards Greene: SNP Government must finally come clean on Gupta deals Ahead of SNP ministers making a statement to parliament later today, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP has urged them to "come clean" on their government's deals with Sanjeev Gupta's troubled business empire and taxpayer exposure. Scottish Liberal Democrats secured a parliamentary statement from the government on ...
This was the scene at the home of Jamie Rickelton on Saturday morning. Jamie is our candidate in Saltwell but he was running the action day in Bridges ward which aimed to deliver the latest Focus newsletter. Alas, I was unable to make it to Bridges as I was running the volunteers' fair at Sunniside. Sorry colleagues!The Focus itself is going out across 3 wards: Bridges, Saltwell and Lobley
On Saturday, the Mayor of Gateshead, Cllr Freda Geddes, officially opened the volunteers' fair at Sunniside Social Club. The fair was held because local organisations were having difficulties recruiting new members and volunteers. So Councillors Jonathan Mohammed, Marilynn Ord and myself set up the fair to give local groups the opportunity to reach out to people. 13 groups had stands at the
NHS waiting lists: Govt must tackle social care to end era of sky-high waiting lists Davey on Mandelson sacking: Starmer must come before Parliament NHS maternity payouts rise to £1.3bn as Ed Davey visits South West to discuss crisis Farage stamp duty: Reform leader has "serious questions to answer" Mandelson: PM must carry out full review of vetting procedures NHS waiting lists: Govt must tackle social care to end era of sky-high waiting lists Responding to the number of people on NHS waiting lists rising for the second month in a row to 7.4 million in July, Liberal Democrat Health ...
Yesterday's murder of the American political activist, Charlie Kirk, is yet another warning to American politicians that, if you keep defining your opponents as evil vermin, you shouldn't be terribly surprised if there are those out there who see it as a challenge to act. It isn't the first such incident by any means, as the murder of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the attempted murder of her colleague John Hoffman and his wife in June should have rung alarm bells at the highest levels. These heinous crimes were condemned by most right-minded politicians, who know ...
Helen Charman dissects the claims of the flag-bearing demonstrators. "One slogan used to promote the hotel protests on social media, often emblazoned over a Union Jack or St George's Cross, is 'Safety of Women and Children before Foreigners'. There is a clear distinction being made here between British women and children and 'foreign' women and children. The category of the vulnerable always already excludes the marginalised group being targeted." All good Liberals know the tale of Harry Willcock - "I am a Liberal, and I am against this sort of thing"- and his part in the abolition of national identity ...
Thu 11th
20:00
How a simple oversight in legislation is costing the economy over £10bn a year, crippling busi...
At least 1 in 10 of all people in the UK are unpaid carers - but over 10% of these (a growing trend, and estimated to be in the region of 1 million people by 2027) can never be fully recognised, or supported as such. This is because when unpaid carer legislation was passed, it was never assumed that an unpaid carer would separately also be self-employed or a small business owner. Because of this oversight, none of the carer or business support services recognise they exist, and so don't design or offer the specific types of assistance they need ...
Having chosen Love on a Farmboy's Wages, I thought I would go for another classic of Eighties agricultural pop. There was always something tremendously likeable about The Housemartins.
The BBC ever so carefully described Israel's bombing of (UK and US ally) Qatar on 9th September as simply a "strike on senior Hamas leaders" who just happened to be situated in Doha. They report that the government of Israel states for the record that "Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility". Two Qatari nationals were killed in the bombing in addition to members of Hamas. As Calum Miller, our Foreign Affairs spokesperson, rightly said in Parliament: "Prime Minister Netanyahu's willingness to strike Doha will undermine efforts to secure the release of the hostages still held ...
Liberator 431 is out and can be downloaded here: https://liberatormagazine.org.uk In addition to Commentary, Letters and Lord Bonkers' Diary find out in Radical Bulletin who at Westminster has put a shot across Ed Davey's bow, why the party is running out of peers and whether there's a link between Cyprus and vets bills. LABOUR IN PAIN The government's performance is the antithesis of a sound economy, says Sarah Olney A REVIEW TO DISAPPOINT HEDGEHOGS AND FOXES The Liberal Democrat policy review fails to provide the 'vision thing', says David Grace HOMES BROKEN BY SOCIAL HOUSING Poor and overcrowded homes are ...
This review appears in the latest Liberator (issue 431), which can be downloaded free of charge from the magazine's website. Liberalism Jonathan Parry Agenda Publishing (2025), £19.99 In this short book, written as part of a series that promises "incisive and provocative introductions to topics, ideas and events for students wanting to know more about how we got where we are today", Jonathan Parry provides a history of the Liberal Party and the Liberal Democrats and makes you think again about the relation between political philosophy and political practice. The first three chapters deal with the years 1830 to 1914 ...
We are holding a Thursday 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 Guardian reports that the Conservative party is facing questions over a possible breach of electoral law involving one of its largest benefactors, after leaked files cast doubt on official declarations of donations worth £2.6m. The paper say that more than 40 donations to the Tories over 23 years have been registered in the name of Rosemary Saïd, a British woman, but leaked documents marked "official - sensitive" renew long-running questions about whether it is her husband, the billionaire businessman Wafic Saïd, who is the real source of the money even though he is barred by electoral law from donating: ...
Thu 11th
00:05
Steffan Aquarone is the new chair of the Lib Dem parliamentary party - read what it means in Liberat...
The new Liberator (issue 431) has dropped: you can download it for free from the magazine's website. Don't tell Lord Bonkers, but I always turn first to Radical Bulletin, Liberator's well-informed gossip section. The first item begins:Steff Aquarone has won a resounding victory for parliamentary party chair in a shot across Ed Davey's bow. The North Norfolk MP beat Frome's Anna Sabine by 44 to 27. The latter had tried not to be portrayed as the establishment candidate but as Davey's parliamentary private secretary that was hard to sustain.The item goes on to suggest that:Aquarone's 44 votes is enough to ...
