I was saddened to learn of the passing of former Lib Dem Leader Menzies Campbell last week. He was a gentleman in politics. I first met him in 1991 when he came to Hexham (I was the Parliamentary Candidate) to support a Lib Dem social event. Around 1995 he visited Gateshead as part of our local election campaign and did the same again in 2006 (see photo above).He became Leader in 2006 but
As usual, I had my camera at last week's full council meeting in Gateshead. Here is a selection of photos of the Lib Dem group.
Another council meeting in Gateshead (Thursday 25th September) and another opportunity for Labour to blame everything bad on the Lib Dems in Coalition. The Coalition was formed 15 years ago and came to an end 10 years ago. Now it seems, according to Labour claims, the wrongs of the world are still the fault of the Lib Dems, not the current Labour government. The more Labour use their "blame the
This booklet showcases just some of the achievements of Liberal Democrat councillors, both when running councils and from opposition. There are also many more achievements we hope to share another time. say Bridget Smith and Joe Harris in their introduction to the latest edition of Liberal Democrat Achievements in Local Government, which is published by the Local Government Association. You can download it free of charge from the LGA website.
A steel sculpture will replace the phone mast in Market Harborough's new friendship park, reports BBC News: EE is now working to decommission and remove mobile phone infrastructure at the site before owner Harborough District Council can demolish the mast in the park. A steel sculpture to take its place will then be designed and sent to the council's planning department for consideration. EE confirmed it had installed a new mast nearby and was working to remove its equipment "at the landowner's request". Northampton Road will be closed on Tuesday 30 September while work takes place at the park, according ...
It is 13 years now since Theresa May warned the Conservative Party not to become "the nasty party." She then went on to ignore her ownadvice by, as Home Secretary, introducing her hostile environment, most vividly remembered by vans circulating in areas where immigrants had settled, bearing posters warning those who weren't convinced of their right to be here to "Go home - or else.! " Even Nigel Farage thought it was unpleasant. Although the vans were rapidly discontinued in the face of a public outcry the hostile environment continues to thrive, though we now have a government by a ...
[IMG: View of Moldovan town] This weekend voters go to the polls in Moldova – one of Europe's least known countries sandwiched between Romaniaand Ukraine – in a parliamentary election, that many observers are calling its most consequential ever, that will decide whether the country continues on a pro European track or veers back towards Moscow's sphere of influence. The War in Ukraine looms ever large over this tiny country. It's capital Chisinău, in more peaceful times, is only a two hour drive from Odesa and the Black Sea. During my visit this summer I was told that, at the ...
Bright flecked almond eyes; Fine bones, brown skin; darker hair. Smouldering allure ~
Gateshead Lib Dems were out campaigning in Kibblesworth recently. We had 10 members knocking on doors and doing a survey. Alas, I wasn't able to get to the action day as I was writing other Focus newsletters. My colleagues sent me photos instead!
The Guardian says: It's a distinctly Australian sound that had the Guardian's UK music critic Michael Hann reaching for new genre titles: "Oz thug rock"? "Yob-glam punk"? Others find it hard to place. And BBC News was on to them and their singer Amy Taylor as early as 2019: The band take their name from a mix of her own first name and the liquid chemical drug amyl nitrite, which won a late exclusion from the UK ban on legal highs back in 2016. The Government had planned to prohibit the substance - commonly known in the UK as "poppers" ...
Trump and Russia OMG! Trump has done another U-turn on Ukraine. This week he said that Ukraine should regain all the lands occupied by Russia and that any Russian plane encroaching on NATO airspace should be shot down. He also referred to Russia as a "paper tiger." You would have thought that such talks would have infuriated. No, they took it quite calmly on the chin. Russia is a bear, not a tiger, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, "and there is no such thing as a paper bear." He added: "Russia, in general, and President Putin in particular value highly ...
I've popped up on a movie podcast: A 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with homicidal ideas? That's right, it's Dr Strangelove... hang on, no, it's Fail Safe. Overshadowed on release because of a lawsuit from a rival film (you can guess which), this parable from Sidney Lumet has come to be regarded as a classic, with fans including George Clooney. The Ocean's 11 star couldn't be with us to make the case for it himself, so we're joined by a man known to many as the Clooney of British politics, ...
Nigel Farage is not the disease but a symptom of a sick system. Here's how we can fix it. Nature abhors a vacuum. Britain's party-political system has been hollowing out for years – declining membership, falling trust and a widening gap between politicians and the public. Into that gap stepped Nigel Farage. Yet if it hadn't been him, it would almost certainly have been someone like him. Cometh the hour, cometh the Farage. Much commentary has focused on the man himself. Ed Davey's attacks on Farage draw applause from our Lib Dem faithful, but there is a deeper point that ...
So, with nominations closed, Babarinde vs Bray and Collins vs Hussain are the two contests at the top of the "bill". Time, so think, to start the process of deciding how I might vote... I've already given some thought to the choice for President, a contest made infinitely more edifying by the absence of Natalie Bird who, despite making protestations of having a campaign, never seemed to get beyond insisting that Liberal Democrat Voice publish her thoughts. Perhaps her failure to obtain the required two hundred nominations suggests that her particular viewpoint is not a widely shared one... But now ...
With thanks to Ian Ally Moss and Dundonian History for All, the Underworld Café in the Perth Road back in the 1960s.
As I write this, Keir Starmer is poised to stand up in the Labour Conference and propose the introduction of compulsory digital ID cards by 2029, while the petition opposing that policy has shot past two million signatures in record time. The Guardian tells us that the petition argues that "no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system", which it describes as a "step towards mass surveillance and digital control". They add that civil liberties groups have raised concerns over the proposals, with Silkie Carlo, the director of Big Brother Watch, warning the system would "make ...
