Gateshead Lib Dems gathering at the Tynesider on Gateshead High Street is getting to be a regular event. Here are some pics I took last night of the most recent get-together.
This is the first part of a programme broadcast by the BBC in 2009 - YouTube will offer you the other five. There is some great music and lots of relevant talking heads, but I have two complaints: The programme accepts the stereotyped view of the 1950s and even adds to it. It wasn't just sexual intercourse that was invented in 1963, but colour vision too.There's not a mention of the Spencer Davis Group - see the opening of this documentary on Steve Winwood to see what they were doing in this era.
Fri 26th
19:29
Lord Chief Justice Goddard played a part in the abolition of national ID cards in 1951
With Labour returning to its ancestral love of national identity cards, the name of Harry Willcock has been heard again. He was the Liberal councillor and parliamentary candidate who, after being stopped for speeding in 1950, refused to show his identity card with the immortal words: "I am a Liberal, and I am against this sort of thing." Highgate magistrates found him guilty of refusing to show his card - Wilcox had argued that this police power had lapsed when the state of emergency that gave rise to the relevant act had expired - but gave him an absolute discharge. ...
"The speech made Labour and Starmer less popular, especially among Labour's own voters. It significantly boosted immigration as an issue in people's minds. There is no evidence it helped to reduce support for Reform, or convince Reform voters that they should vote Labour." Tarik Abou-Chadi and Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte have researched what happens when mainstream parties capitulate to the far right. Claire Wilmot examines how the far right has embraced deepfake technology: "A Londoner spreading deepfakes of white women saying they don't feel safe 'because of migrants' told me impatiently that everyone knows the videos aren't real, but I was missing ...
At Autumn Conference, our party endorsed two policy motions tied to transport. F22: Connecting Communities - Building a Transport Network for the 21st Century built upon our party's commitment to making rail a genuinely affordable, accessible and environmentally-friendly mode of transport, while F30: This Land is Your Land - Restoring Public Paths Through Nature sought to restore our nation's nature and improve the public's access to it. Both policy motions featured the proposal that 5,000 miles of railway lines left disused since 1965 following the Beeching Cuts be redeveloped as footpaths, cycle paths or bridleways. I had hoped to speak ...
Five principal authority council by-elections this week, four on Thursday but one on Wednesday. Starting with that one: Thetford Castle (Breckland) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: ➡] RFM: 47.3% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 26.7% (-22.7) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 15.1% (-18.6) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 10.9% (New)No Ind (-16.9) as previous.Reform GAIN from Labour.Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-09-24T23:54:48.156Z Thank you to Seb Bate for being the Liberal Democrat candidate here. For what all this means for the running total of council by-election results since the last May elections, see my council by-elections scorecard here. These by-election results round-ups cover ...
Gregor Grant-Suttie today announces the sad passing of his grandfather, Menzies "Ming" Campbell, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem and former Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Ming grew up in Glasgow, was educated at Hillhead High School and went on to the University of Glasgow, where he was a contemporary of both John Smith and Donald Dewar studying Law and debating in the Union. Ming ran the 200m for the GB team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and became captain of the UK Athletics Team 1965-66. He held the British 100m record from 1967 to 1974. In his professional legal life Ming ...
A grave crime has been committed across Britain; an act of egregious theft. The culprits? Fascist thugs who intimidate those who don't look or sound like them. The crime? Stealing the flag that unites four great nations and their people, the flag that belongs to everyone who calls Britain home. From using the British flag as a weapon of intimidation to protesting outside hotels, vandalising roundabouts, attacking police officers, and marching through London to voice their opposition to basic decency, Britain's far-right has become more emboldened by the rise of Reform UK and their normalisation of hatred. With extensive coverage ...
Doors Open Days is Scotland's largest free festival that celebrates places and stories, new and old. There's lots of great Doors Open Days events tomorrow and Sunday across Dundee. Access to venues is absolutely free of charge. In the West End, this includes the City Road Allotments, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee Central Mosque, Dundee Rep, Hawkhill House and some other University of Dundee venues, Masonic Lodge Ancient No 49 and St Peter's Free Church You can see all Dundee venues at https://tinyurl.com/DOD-Dundee-25
The Guardian reports that Labour's internal warfare broke into the open on Thursday as Keir Starmer and several cabinet ministers criticised Andy Burnham over his comments dismissing the bond markets. The paper says that senior Labour figures compared the Greater Manchester mayor's attitude to the cavalier approach taken by former Conservative prime minister Liz Truss in a sign of how low relations between No 10 and Burnham have plunged: Starmer is understood to be furious at Burnham's admission, in several interviews, that he would seek to challenge the prime minister for the leadership if there was a path to do ...
