Could Hitler have won? - that's the title of my next talk to Sunniside History Society. I will be looking at various wartime events and explain how a different outcome to them may or may not have influenced the course of the Second World War. I will be keeping the shocker to the end of the talk when I explain how Hitler could have won control of Europe and then the world.
Well, after much haggling there is actually going to be a social media ban for under 16s, alongside social media curfews for those aged 16 and 17. Luckily for me, it won't be introduced until Spring next year—by which time I will be over 18. But this social media ban still affects all of us, and spells the end of a free internet. A social media ban seems good, and well meaning – protecting vulnerable children from the risks the being online can pose—but a well meaning policy does not necessarily mean good policy. For many, social media can help ...
Tue 16th
14:57
Say hello to the Act that successfully set rules 1,050 years into the future - Calendar (New Style) ...
[IMG: Calendar. CC0 1.0] The Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 deserves a double presence in contemporary knowledge. First, its authors deserve credit for what must be the most successful piece of future proofing legislation. Second, for the myth which illustrates how the powerful can ridicule the powerless. Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 was the legislation that moved Britain, and British dominions, over to the Gregorian calendar, which was several days different from the previously used Julian calendar. It includes a set of rules for which years should be leap years, complete with special provisions which come in every hundredth year ...
My husband and I are not typical empty nesters. True, we have a daughter of 27 and a son of 23, but Archie has a learning disability and autism so he will never live independently. He requires constant attention and all our energy to manage his behaviour. Evenings and weekends are full on for us as he needs his exercise (usually swimming or a hike) meals, medication and bathing- none of which he can manage himself without support. We liken it to having a 23-year-old toddler Tigger bouncing about the house. Now in our late fifties, with a wee bit ...
The term "away day" suggests a meeting well away from home. Gateshead Lib Dems had an away day on Sunday but for me it was not far away. Indeed, it was a three minute walk to get there from my house. Our thanks to Sunniside Club for being the venue. Good and thorough discussions held on the recent local elections and on campaigning over the year ahead.
You might remember that a few weeks ago we told you about the Charles Kennedy Memorial Lecture organised by the European Movement. Nick Clegg talked about the path to closer alignment with the European Movement. You can watch his speech courtesy of the European Movement's You Tube channel. The text is below: We are here in part to remember a much-missed friend and colleague, Charles Kennedy. It has been just over a decade since Charles passed, and we are all the poorer for it. He was one of the lights of liberalism in this country, and his absence in public ...
The latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Usually the starting point for these newsletters is something I have done in Parliament, but this time it's the work of a colleague, William Wallace, that is the trigger – and it's shown us a glimpse of what a different Keir Starmer premiership could have been like. The Cabinet Manual is getting an ...
The Times reports that delays and indecision over plans for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster are costing the taxpayer up to £420 million a year, while the historic estate faces an increasing risk of "catastrophic failure". The paper says that a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that parliament currently spends about £1.5 million a week on maintenance of the palace, including refurbishment projects and that this is forecast to increase to about £2 million a week between 2026 and 2030: The Palace, a Grade I listed building within a Unesco World Heritage site, requires extensive ...
It feels as though election campaigning is never going to end in Gateshead. We have a by-election in High Fell caused by the resignation of a Reform Councillor after only 11 days in the job. Polling day is on 9th July. Lots to do and my Saturday morning was taken up trudging the streets of High Fell delivering the next leaflet for the Lib Dems. We have 18 patches in the ward. Most were done
Jago Hazzard looks back to a short-lived transport experiment that took place in London in the summer of 1963. From 1 July to 31 October, a hovercraft service operated on the Thames in London between Festival Pier at Waterloo and Tower Bridge. The experiment was not a success and the Hoverbus's manufacturers, Denny, went out of business the following year. But Jago is right: hovercraft were once seen as the future. Later in the Sixties, I can recall, you often got mini-hovercraft rides at more ambitious fetes. But then, as Jonathan Meades once pointed out, the future happened briefly in ...
Reform's High Fell by-election leaflet fell into my hands over the weekend. Take a look. Anyone spot the error? The text ends abruptly. Always get someone else to proof read drafts of leaflets. Had Reform done so, they would have spotted half their leaflet is missing! (A bit like ex-Councillor Cavanagh.)
Reading Chris Bowers' recent Yorkist post, I thought it to be an excellently optimistic paper – the diagram grouping the Liberal Democrats in the Progressive Left, Anti-System group is very persuasive. The idea of promoting a Keynesian economic philosophy is brilliant and needs to challenge the current economic orthodoxy. The final paragraph on page 22 of The New Deal reads: The Lib Dems need to be unashamedly Keynesian in their approach to the 2029 election. This will not be an easy task, as it means challenging the orthodoxy that has taken root in both the Treasury and the Bank of ...
The newly announced ban on social media for under-16s may be politically popular, but popularity alone does not make good policy. As liberals, we should be deeply sceptical of blanket bans that restrict freedom while failing to tackle the root causes of a problem. There is no doubt that social media can be harmful. Young people are exposed to bullying, misinformation, unhealthy content and algorithms designed to maximise engagement rather than well-being. These are serious concerns and they demand action. But the question is whether an outright ban is the right response. I do not believe it is. First, the ...
We are at a crossroads. Trust in politics is low, and people are right to feel let down. The economy works beautifully for those at the top and barely at all for everyone else. Across the West, that frustration is being picked up by people who offer someone to blame rather than something to fix. Liberals can offer something better. It's in our DNA, but sometimes we get confused about what liberalism is and fail to make the case. So let's say it plainly. Liberalism has one founding fight, and we have fought it in every century - the fight ...
Mon 15th
10:34
We need a long term strategy with vocational education and apprenticeships at the heart
At a time when students face increasing academic pressure, uncertainty about future careers, spiralling debt and challenges related to mental health and wellbeing. Now is a good time to review our post 16 and further education system. In a recent article by Jon Henley, and Senay Boztas titled What can the Dutch teach the UK about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis? The article argues that the Netherlands has the lowest NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or training) rate in the EU, at around 5%. Researchers and policy experts attribute the low youth unemployment partly to the country's strong ...
The notorious gender-fluid London gang boss of the Sixties gets a mention in a post from last year on the Herstmonceux Castle website. BBC's Fake or Fortune here at the Castle On Monday, 21st July, viewers were treated to a fascinating episode of Fake or Fortune, much of which was filmed here at Herstmonceux Castle. We thought Dylan and Claire acquitted themselves brilliantly on camera in the garden and amongst the archives. The episode provided insights into a painting, seemingly by Winston Churchill, of his wife Clementine, as they were staying at Hertsmonceux Castle together with his mother and Violent ...
James Ball argues that Labour's social media ban for teenagers is an admission of total and utter failure to govern online spaces: "The UK government has lots of powers to govern the internet that it simply isn't using. Hosting images of child abuse is a strict liability offence, one that Elon Musk's X platform blatantly breached with its Grok chatbot. The government gave itself extensive powers to regulate social platforms under the Online Safety Act, which it has never even made an attempt to enforce." "This week contained two stories, which dominated the headlines. One took place on the streets ...
Please note that this article has been updated by the author to reflect one key aspect of the events of 6 August 2024. We need to discuss, as a Party, how we are going to put ourselves forward in defence of civil liberties. In March 2024, I, along with my girlfriend, helped a friend move from Wales to London, because we had access to a van and were looking for an excuse to meet up and hang out. On the long drive along the M4, we had several long discussions about my friend's unique experiences, notably in refugee volunteering and ...
So, I ought to declare an interest as a former member of the Party's Federal International Relations Committee, and a member of the Liberal Democrat European Group on and off over the years. You might therefore imagine that I'd be pleased that Ed Davey is finally talking about our future as a member of the European Union. I'd put it more as relieved, though, as it's been an open door that we've rather shied away from in recent years. Now I do get it, in that calling for us to renew our membership too soon was a risk – remember ...
The Independent reports that the government is taking another look at its defence investment plan after John Healey dramatically resigned earlier this week, accusing the prime minister of being "unwilling to commit the resources" needed to keep Britain safe. The paper says that indications of a rethink came after cabinet minister Lisa Nandy suggested that more money would be allocated for defence, saying she did not believe Mr Healey's replacement Dan Jarvis "would have taken the job were he not confident that we could meet the moment": No 10 sources suggested the defence investment plan has been reopened in the ...