Well, it's one way out...Whatever your political position, you probably believe that the whole process of Britain leaving the European Union has been messed up in some way, whether you're someone who thinks we should have just quit everything with no notice on 24th June 2016, or if you're someone who thinks it all went wrong when we didn't sign up for the Euro and Schengen. We'd all probably pick different points of where things went wrong, but we'd agree on the general point that things went wrong. To try and work out where things get wrong, let's consider the ...
The General Election of 1951 occurred only eighteen months into a parliament. It was called by a Labour government with a small parliamentary majority led by Clement Attle then at the head of what was a tired and ageing administration. For the Liberals led by another Clement it proved to be a very difficult campaign for a party wracked by decades of division and desperately short of money. Liberalism was split with the breakaway National Liberals propped up by the Tories still enjoying parliamentary representation. A situation that would exist until 1968. Clement Davies, himself a former National Liberal, led ...
Tue 19th
13:18
Vince Cable: how did he do and who will succeed him? Never Mind The Bar Charts podcast
Listen and enjoy as Stephen Tall and I discuss Vince Cable's record as party leader now he's announced his departure date (nearly), who might succeed him, what happened at Liberal Democrat conference in York, the brilliance of Geoff Payne...
Tue 19th
12:28
Ending Section 21 'no fault' evictions is the right thing to do for private renters - it can also be...
I'm a private renter. Nothing unusual about that I'm sure you'll say, lots of people are. And that's true, but it wasn't always that way, and the current situation, of growing numbers of private renters, is a recent phenomenon. The most recent figures from the English Housing Survey show that a fifth of people across England now live in privately rented accommodation. A third of councils have more than 20% of residents renting privately, and research from the campaign group Shelter shows that at the next (currently scheduled) general election there will be 253 constituencies where more than 20% of ...
Cinema verité has always been one of my favourite genres — so realistic and true to life that one is totally drawn into the heart of the action, whether the film is a documentary or, as in the case of Nadine Labaki's Capernaum, a fiction feature. From the opening shots of Capernaum, one is absorbed into the [...]
Dangerous moments are like buses. You have decades free of them and then loads come along all at once. And every day our country's future is in the hands of a gruesome coalition of extreme right and left – the ERG, DUP and the Corbynistas – it gets more and more dangerous as Brexit day just a week on Friday looms. We've kind of running out of road as far as Brexit is concerned. As things currently stand, we crash out without a deal in 10 days' time. That's right. The biggest economic catastrophe ever will be underway next week ...
Mon, 12:56: Flawed analysis, failed oversight: How Boeing, FAA certified the suspect 737 MAX flight control system... https://t.co/70hVUVo2MH Mon, 13:53: RT @IanWishart: You'd struggle to find anyone among the dozens of officials and diplomats working on Brexit on the EU side in Brussels and... Mon, 16:05: The reason that I am convinced that the Russians are not behind the climate change protests is very simple: climate... https://t.co/UMTVTo9U3U Mon, 16:59: BBC News - Speaker rules out Brexit vote on same motion https://t.co/mXbmIIka5S OMG! Mon, 19:16: Probably @WeatherCee. At least, of those in my year. https://t.co/726qP3VCTs Mon, 21:34: RT @timjudah1: Tarrant listened ...
Those of you who attended Lib Dem Conference in York over the weekend should have had a feedback survey link emailed to you; if you haven't, let me know and I'll make sure that it is sorted for you. If there is anything that you feel particularly exercised about that you want me to highlight at the FCC washup meeting next month, please put it in a comment below. So far I have had:The feedback survey is dire, and parts of it make no sense. If I say I didn't use the Conference app, why are the detailed questions about ...
Looking back to last May, there was much to celebrate in London's election results. Winning back control of Kingston and Richmond was very welcome , as was retaining our control of Sutton. And then there were excellent results in Haringey – our group grew from 9 to 15 – and Merton leapt up from just a single Lib Dem councillor to 6! Looking closely at the areas that make such great progress, we can see how beneficial it is to have full time staff – and volunteers – working on our campaigns over a long period. Their hard work and ...
Last Wednesday was the regular meeting of Bury Council's Cabinet. This is the meeting made up of the eight Labour cabinet members. Opposition Group Leaders are invited to attend but not vote – Councillor Tim Pickstone reports: Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan We have previously reported on the Greater Manchester proposals for a Clean Air Zone charging proposals where lorries, vans, taxis and buses which had polluting Diesel engines would need to pay a daily fee to drive in Greater Manchester. (£100 per day for a lorry or bus, £7.50 per day for a taxi or van). The main thing ...
Throughout the Brexit process there has been a tendency by those seeking to leave the EU to blame the messenger when things do not go their way. Thus, the reaction to John Bercow's reassertion of basic Parliamentary procedure is entirely predictable. As the Guardian reports, the Speaker's ruling has allegedly sparked a constitutional crisis. Why that is so is difficult to ascertain, as this whole scenario was entirely predictable. The paper says that with 11 days to go until Britain is due to leave the EU, May has been forced to pull her plans for another meaningful vote because John ...
I sat in a cafe in west London last week, next to – as it turned out – two games designers of obvious American extract. They were talking rather loudly and I found it hard not to dislike them heartily. This was few two reasons. First, I am in the process of bringing up two [...] The post 5G and the stench of doublethink appeared first on Radix.
The Greater Manchester Health and Care Champion Awards are the only region-wide awards to recognise members of our paid and unpaid workforce who regularly go above and beyond to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Greater Manchester. The awards recognise the contribution of our health and care champions; from doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and pharmacists, to care workers, unpaid carers, apprentices and volunteers, for really making a difference in our communities. Nominations for 2019 are currently open and close on 15th March. Click here to nominate. View the full list of last year's winners here.
Tue 19th
08:06
Have your say on reducing prescribing of over the counter medicines for minor, short term conditions
NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS Bury CCG) has launched a four week engagement phase to gather views on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed. New Greater Manchester guidance, following a national consultation, has been issued to CCGs in relation to reducing prescribing of over the counter medicines for a range of minor, short term health conditions. They say: "Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed include: Those considered to be a self-limiting illness such as a sore throat, cough or cold. These conditions will clear up of their ...
Vince Cable has made the difficult but correct decision to stand down as the leader of the Lib Dems. And now, for the third time in four years, we're left looking for a new leader. It's certainly frustrating for us Liberals to see arguably the worst government and worst opposition in living memory still absolutely trouncing us in the polls. What is clear in a relentlessly unpredictable political climate is that opposition to Brexit is not an automatic ticket back to the top, and the shadow of the coalition years looms larger than many of us realised. With a leadership ...
Bury Archaeological Group was founded in 1953 and has been working every year since then, digging and processing sites and finds around the borough. Now the group is in dire straits. Faced with the challenge posed by the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework which plans to give up Green Belt for development that contains important archaeological sites. They need urgent funding to pay for a major project and to continue with insurance for digs after March 2019.
Swinson: Tories posturing over UK aid is shameless Following the Taxpayers' Alliance launch of their report attacking elements of UK aid, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Jo Swinson MP said: The UK should be incredibly proud of what our aid budget has achieved across the world. Between April 2015 and March 2018 alone, UK aid provided humanitarian assistance to a staggering 26.8 million people, including at least 8.2 million women and girls. Through the Department for International Development and its work with multilateral organisations, UK aid not only changes lives but does so in a transparent and effective way: DFID ...
Several constituents have recently contacted me regarding the condition of Logie Cemetery on Lochee Road north of Balgay Parish Church. As residents know, the cemetery is very old and long closed to new interments. At my request, an inspection of the cemetery was undertaken last Friday and the environment manager for the west of the city advised me after this ... "all memorials are in a safe condition either dug in or lying flat. The ones that remain upright have been found to be stable." The Service Manager - Environment - at the City Council has also advised me : ...
Mon 18th
23:55Voting intention opinion polls scorecard: Conservatives drop, highest YouGov Lib Dem share this Parl...
Here are the latest general election voting intention figures from each of the main pollsters currently polling in the UK, now including ones featuring The Independent Group (TIG). Where pollsters both ask a voting intention question with TIG and one without, both of those results feature below. The last three polls all show a slipping back in the Conservative position. The latest poll, from ComRes, also shows TIG slipping back behind the Lib Dems. Pollster Con Lab LibDem Ukip Green TIG Con lead Fieldwork Method BMG 39% 34% 12% 5% 4% – 5% 4-8/3 Online ComRes 38% 37% 10% 6% ...
Is there a Temple of Diana buried under St Paul's Cathedral? William Stukeley thought so and Christopher Wren looked for it.
Richard Kemp says the Liberal Democrat conference was right to reject the more fanciful elements on Vince Cable's supporters scheme - in fact they should never have been put forward. "If you are upwardly mobile from a poor background, you have to learn how to fit in. If you are posh, you don't. You glide from school to Oxbridge to the city or bar all the time surrounded by like-minded people so you know the rules. The upshot is that in the unusual contingency of ever being outside of that environment - as Cox was in Brussels - you put ...
I heard some pleasing news today. It seems the school students who protested in town on Friday over the lack of action against climate change were invited into the council offices. There they met the leader of the council and the leader of the opposition to discuss their concerns. Classily done. The leader of the opposition, of course, is my old friend Phil Knowles, a Liberal Democrat. Before the meeting he addressed the protesters. I am told that because he has the same bug as me, he hardly had a voice. So he borrowed a megaphone from the protesters. In ...
[IMG: Interview with Executive Producer of 'Mums Make Porn' on Channel 4] How did you come up with the idea of 'Mums Make Porn'? Emma Morgan: We were looking at porn statistics and its impact on the sex education of teenagers. We did a lot of research... The post Interview with Executive Producer of 'Mums Make Porn' on Channel 4 appeared first on FeministMama.
Mon 18th
16:32UPDATED: Bercow rules out a third attempt by Theresa May to get her Brexit deal passed - how should ...
In dramatic scenes in the House of Commons, The Speaker, John Bercow, has ruled that Theresa May can't hold a third vote on her Brexit deal without major changes to it. This appears to leave only five options; No deal; No Brexit; Seek a long extension to allow time to negotiate a new deal; Prorogue Parliament to allow a new session in which the deal can be brought back, and; A General Election Here's some early reaction from the Party... Speaker rules that a third meaningful vote must be different to first two. He is clearly as bored with Theresa ...
Lib Dems: Revoke Article 50 if a deal isn't agreed The Liberal Democrats have today called for the Government to revoke Article 50 if no Brexit deal can be agreed a week before departure date. The proposal, debated and passed by delegates at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in York today, comes after a week of key Brexit votes in the House of Commons in which MPs again rejected Theresa May's deal, ruled out no-deal and voted to extend Article 50. Speaking after the debate, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake MP said: It is absolutely clear that Brexit will ...
Now that the UK taking part in this year's European Parliament elections in late May is looking rather more likely, it raises an interesting challenge for The Independent Group.
It is a sobering thought that just under 2,000 years ago there were people gathered on this spot no doubt complaining about a treaty from Rome. ...with tiresome regulations about daily baths and straight roads; muttering under their breath that these legionnaires should go back to Gaul or Carthage. And you would have heard lots of people saying Interum sumo inferium. For those amongst you who don't converse in classical languages, that means: take back control! It then took them over 300 years to get their 'Rexit, when the Romans went home. That's the kind of timescale Theresa May seems ...
Mon 18th
12:05Is it time for Theresa May to admit that Brexit is impossible and retract the Article 50 notice?
If Brexit goes ahead in any form, it would need exceptionally-good government to address all the resulting challenges. The parliamentary chaos of recent weeks has shown a government a long way from this. Is it time to admit that Brexit can't be delivered? Theresa May has given it her best shot. It is hard to see anything else she could have done to make Brexit work. The game-changer of the last few weeks has been the sheer level of parliamentary dysfunction. It's now clear that Brexit can't happen on 29 March because of the sheer volume of legislation to be ...
On the first day of their Spring Federal Conference, the Liberal Democrats demanded the Conservative Government bring forward a Clean Air Act enshrining the legal right to unpolluted air.The proposals, set out at the Liberal Democrat conference in York, are based on World Health Organisation guidelines and would be enforced by a new Air Quality Agency. If successful, the Clean Air Act would also demand air pollution testing took place more widely and frequently, with warning signs displayed in pollution hotspots and sensitive areas, such as near schools. Speaking after the debate, Liberal Democrat Climate Change Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said: ...
Yesterday Liberal Democrat Spring Conference voted for the restoration of Legal Aid and a new legal right to access to justice for everyone.In a motion on Sunday morning, Conference asserted that access to justice is a crucial right and that cuts to Legal Aid have undermined it.Liberal Democrats voted for the restoration of Legal Aid for early legal advice, assistance and representation in benefit, debt, employment, immigration, housing and family law cases.Conference also voted to establish a new right to affordable, reasonable legal assistance with a new, independent Justice Commission to monitor and enforce it.Liberal Democrat Justice spokesperson Wera Hobhouse, ...
Theresa May might bring her Meaningful Vote back to the House of Commons for a third time on Tuesday. She will only do so if she thinks it's going to pass – one barometer of this will be what the DUP intends to do. To that end, May met with them this weekend to discuss how they might be persuaded that voting for the "deal" at the third time of asking is a good idea. Turns out they have two, tiny demands: A seat at all negotiations with the EU from now on.A promise that Northern Ireland can never, in ...
The Liberal Democrat federal conference approved a comprehensive plan to end the crisis on Britain's high streets The party's plans are set out in a motion - Town Centres fit for the future - passed on Sunday at Liberal Democrat conference. The motion calls for bold action to ensure town centres thrive in an increasingly digital economy, including: boosting support for local entrepreneurs; reforming local planning laws; developing local asset registers; and creating a new industry-led body to help brick-and-mortar retailers adapt to the digital economy. The motion also reaffirms the Liberal Democrats' commitment to replacing business rates with a ...
Following the Tax Payers' Alliance launch of their report attacking elements of UK aid, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Jo Swinson MP said: "The UK should be incredibly proud of what our aid budget has achieved across the world. Between April 2015 and March 2018 alone, UK aid provided humanitarian assistance to a staggering 26.8 million people, including at least 8.2 million women and girls. "Through the Department for International Development and its work with multilateral organisations, UK aid not only changes lives but does so in a transparent and effective way: DFID is consistently ranked amongst world leaders in ...
So, we had the big debate about a supporters' scheme on Saturday. I personally found it rather sad that the biggest attendance for a debate on the eve of the biggest round of local elections in England should be for an internal matter with no resonance with the public. So why am I sad that the vote went, with one tiny exception of the minor vote on membership of policy groups, my way? Because I believe it showed just how badly our Leader is supported and the bungling incompetence of the Federal Board and HQ. So, for the benefit of ...
I survived. Chaired a Q&A and a debate, co-hosted Glee, ran a training session which seemed to go over well, and voted in a couple of debates. The Supporters' Scheme has gone pretty much as I expected although not quite as I might have hoped: conference basically voted in favour of setting up a glorified email list and not giving supporters many of the huge swathe of rights the leadership wanted to give them. FPC has the option to let them sit on policy working groups if it wants to (they already had the option to put anybody they wanted ...
There is only one meeting scheduled at Blyth Town Council in April Tuesday 16th April, Governance Committee The meeting is due to start at 6:30 pm, at Arms Evertyne House
The Liverpool Echo has a story about it on its website – see link below:- I've had a good rant about this on many previous occasions and the problem is rampant across the country of course, so Sefton is sadly not in any way unique. But what really gets me is that between Councils and the Environment Agency there's far too little mobile covert CCTV coverage of sites where regular fly-tipping problems are the greatest. And I admit that in my time as a Sefton Councillor I failed to push the powers that be into more intelligent reactions to ...
Liberal Democrats demand a Clean Air Act The Liberal Democrats have today demanded the Conservative Government bring forward a Clean Air Act enshrining the legal right to unpolluted air. The proposals, set out at the Liberal Democrat conference in York, are based on World Health Organisation guidelines and would be enforced by a new Air Quality Agency. If successful, the Clean Air Act would also demand air pollution testing took place more widely and frequently, with warning signs displayed in pollution hotspots and sensitive areas, such as near schools. Speaking after the debate, Liberal Democrat Climate Change Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse ...
Mon 18th
08:28
We live in an growing biodiversity desert - Rocks Green developers are making it worse with hedge ne...
Over the last couple of weeks, green netting has been put over hedgerows at Rocks Green. The aim is to prevent birds nesting. It will not work. Hedge nesting birds will get through the gaps in the netting with ease. When I visited yesterday morning, I could hear birds within the netted hedgerow. I could not see any nests but I would be surprised if there were none. This is in breach of planning documents submitted by the developer that says hedges will not be removed during the nesting season. But that is exactly what they are planning. We live ...
In the land of pantomime, this government has led – maybe even forced – parliament to turn itself into a tragic farce. Last week's events in parliament were full of skits that would have made the Monty Python team proud – though even they might not have been able to imagine them. The government ended [...] The post Do we face Monty Python or Humpty Dumpty? We need to know appeared first on Radix.
Abertay University is holding a Cyber for Seniors Workshop on Thursday 28th March between 10am and 4pm at the Events Space, Abertay University, Kydd Building, Bell Street. Its purpose is to find out the challenges are that the elderly face with respect to cyber crime. There will be talks about cyber challenges such as security and passwords. The aim is to come up with solutions together to address some of these problems. Lunch will be provided. To book a space, please contact Karen Renaud, Professor of Cyber Security - k.renaud@abertay.ac.uk- or 308236 but please do so by close of play ...
If there was any doubt where the Labour leader's sympathies lie on Brexit, he dispelled them this morning in an interview on Sky News when he told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that he could vote to leave the EU if there is another Brexit referendum. The Independent reports that Corbyn told the interviewer that how he voted in any future referendum giving the British public a Final Say on Brexit would depend on the withdrawal deal which is on offer at the time. The paper adds that the Labour leader gave a heavily caveated answer when asked if he was ...
What do Rosemary Clooney's sister, Rita Marley, Andy Griffith, Louis Armstrong, and Perry Como all have in common? They all recorded songs by Gene and Eunice, who had the biggest hit of the fifties you never heard of. Find out ... Continue reading →
Another week, another massacre. Geography was one of the factors that made the Christchurch murder different. New Zealand a peaceful group of islands with no terrorist history. The terrorist came from the outside: a white supremacist from Australia who seems to have been radicalised overseas, possible in the UK. From the reaction of now-disgraced senator Fraser Anning, who wrote "The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allows Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place." it seems that Australia have their own share of bigots and supremacists. Fair play ...