There was much in Rachel Reeves' Budget last week for Liberal Democrats to criticise. The freezing of the income tax bands is a stealth tax. It will gradually push many people over time into higher tax bands, something that will especially hurt low income earners. The new tax on electric vehicles is a retrograde step when we are facing a climate crisis and we need more car owners to go green. In addition, Labour failed to implement a windfall tax on the big banks, something that we have been calling for. However, it was not all bad news for Liberal ...
"Companies that have collaborated with immigration enforcement agencies in various ways to aid Trump's mass deportation initiative - whether through allowing ICE to raid their parking lots, taking on contracts with DHS, or a variety of other actions - are starting to feel the rumblings of a consumer revolt." Adrian Carrasquillo says a backlash Is brewing against companies that help Trumps's ICE. Rowena Mason maps the depressing journey of Motability cuts from right-wing social media to Rachel Reeves' budget. Matt Simon finds that urban farms and gardens ease food insecurity, boost mental health and create communities. "Getting Franklin's story right ...
And so another week at Bonkers Hall draws to a close. It looks like Keir Starmer is in the clear for a while, but I still wouldn't accept any invitations to stay on mysterious islands off the Devon coast if I were in his shoes. Sunday These days every television celebrity thinks he's Dame Agatha Mousetrap, but there's more to the whodunnit-writing game than meets the eye. I once had a shot at it myself; all went well until I sat down to pen the final chapter, only to find I had not included a butler among the cast of ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 1 DECEMBER 2025 Old Hawkhill - road closed from approximately 50m south of Hunter Street (building defect) fom 9 October 2025 for approximately 3 - 6 months. Peddie Street - give and take traffic control from Monday 1 December 2025 for 3 weeks for lighting works. Forthcoming Roadworks Perth Road (near Ninewells Avenue) - temporary traffic lights on Tuesday 9 December (9.00am to 4.00pm) for Scottish Water work. Hawkhill (at Tait's Lane) - overnight (9.00pm to 6.00am) temporary traffic lights on Thursday 11 ...
The Mirror reports on research by their journalists that has found that Nigel Farage has made £140,000 from filming up to 2,000 personal Cameo videos, but has spoken in Parliament just 22 times and mentioned his Clacton constituents on only three occassions. The paper says that the Brexit MP has trousered more than £140,000 from selling personal messages on the US-based Cameo platform since December last year. They add that last year he even got up before the rest of his family on Christmas morning to log on and send a message: His speaking records show he stood up in ...
On Saturday I visited three local Christmas fairs. As already reported, I went to Whickham Library fair in the morning (see photo above), taking 2 of my goats with me to help raise funds. I popped into the building as well to say help to everyone and have a look at what was for sale. By midday the clock was ticking so we packed up the goats, took them back to the farm and then headed to the
When I was (much) younger, messages to my family were sent on something that looked like this, an aerogramme. They were designed to be lightweight (to keep the delivery cost down) and easy to use - you folded over the gummed, protruding edges to seal it closed. But, with telephone calls expensive, and even middle class Indian homes not always connected to the telephone, they were how you kept the family in touch with what you were doing. Of course, the advent of the internet meant that aerogrammes were increasingly irrelevant, and it appears that the Royal Mail gave them ...
As we have done for many years, we took two of our goats to Whickham Voluntary Library on Saturday for the Christmas fair. We had lots of questions about them from people going to the fair and from those visiting the local shops. A collecting tin was strategically placed next to the goats. The end result was £119 raised for the Library. Not a bad sum!
My hero J.W. Logan - nicknamed "Paddy Logan" for his strong support for Irish home rule - died in 1925. He had been Liberal MP for Harborough from 1891 to 1904 and from 1910 to 1916. He left, reported the London Daily Chronicle (Monday 21 September 1925), an estate of £167,159. According to an online inflation calculator, £100 in 1925 is worth £7,769.23 today. So, after consulting the University of Rutland's celebrated Department of Hard Sums, I can reveal that Logan left an estate worth almost £13m. No wonder he was able to provide Market Harborough with swimming baths and ...
Yesterday I went to two events which showed to me both the roots of our city and the way that it has been built and relied on successive waves of immigrants from all over the World. My first event was with the Polish community celebrating 20 years of their Saturday School where young Brits with a Polish heritage are taught the Polis Language, history, and culture. There are 29 other similar Saturday schools in Liverpool which shows youngsters how to integrate into our society but retain something of their roots. Believe me there were a lot of broad Scouse accents ...
In her Budget Statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated one of her aims was to cut waiting lists in the NHS. According to a survey by the Times newspaper earlier this year it was estimated that there were on average 13,600 older people in hospital every day who did not need to be there awaiting social care, costing the NHS £2.9m per year. Therefore, one cannot resolve the problems of the NHS in isolation of social care. The NHS and social care are in crisis and in need of radical reform, restructuring and cultural change to liberate the professionals ...
BBC News wins our Headline of the Day Award. The good doctor's response was a bit "I'm sorry if you feel you've been sworn at": Dr Delicate, who hitherto had a five-year unblemished record, apologised "if such behaviour occurred", and said some of her actions may have been misinterpreted.
On Friday it was Peter the Painter: today it's Gandalf the Grey. You meet all sorts in Rutland. It sounds as though Meadowcroft would have seen eye-to-eye with Hugo Dyson. Legend has it that he responded to Tolkien reading something from Lord of the Rings at a meeting of the Inklings in an Oxford pub by groaning "Oh fuck, not another elf." Saturday On Bonfire Night I was accosted at the village firework display by a white-bearded fellow who claimed to be a wizard. He said they were looking for a couple of chaps to trek into eastern Rutland and ...
This is beautiful. Sunny Goodge street is a cover of a Donovan song and appeared on Marianne Faithfull's album 1966 North Country Maid. The Marianne Faithfull site says of it: Marianne's two folk albums from the 60's were conceived as a pair. Where her first folk album Come My Way, had largely been compiled from music of the American folk revival, Marianne's second, released in April 1966 was built around songs from the British Isles. Rightly hailed as her finest LP of the 60s, North Country Maid conclusively established her as an artist with a unique stylistic approach, and many ...
Ever since 1941 the fundamental assumption of British foreign policy has been that the 'special relationship' with the USA is the foundation of our international security and status. Winston Churchill reimagined Britain as America's 'Ango-Saxon' partner, and as 'the bridge' between North America and continental Europe. Huge numbers of US forces were based in Britain during the war; 10,000 US personnel, in several USAF airbases and intelligence stations, still remain. Access to US intelligence, nuclear missiles and defence technology is crucial to our defence and security. The UK has of course become more and more the junior partner in the ...
With thanks to SJ Bogue and Dundee Memories, a group of sledgers at Lochee Park in December 1993.
The Guardian reports on a report from the Equality Trust that has found that structural corruption and the rise of "conduits for unelected power" are reshaping British politics. The report claims that unelected influence has increased over the past two decades, driven by the growing political clout of the ultra-rich and the institutions that enable it: Priya Sahni-Nicholas, the co-executive director of the trust, said: "Our new Concentration of Power Index shows that wealth concentration aligns with power. Our index rises almost exactly in step with increases in the top 1% share of wealth. This correlation is strong and statistically ...