Let's pick up where I left off, and see if I can make a proper go of it this time, eh? ** 78 days to Brexit and the paradox that is its simultaneously mind-numbingly boring and risk-takingly thrilling denouement. Throughout the autumn, barely a day seemed to pass without a ministerial resignation. Into 2019, and its government defeats which are all the rage (literally). Frankly, it's all too much to process. And not just for the public, I suspect. MPs, too, seem to be caught in the traffic-light daze of the enormity and complexity confronting them. Brexiters and Remainers alike ...
Yes, believe it or not, I am still writing these and do still intend to finish the book on Nilsson. I had some major life stuff to deal with in 2018, but one way or another that's all done now, ... Continue reading →
Just after Christmas, Ros forwarded something on to me, an invitation to take up an short course of study, "Diplomacy in the 21st Century", offered by the Open University in co-operation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I pondered the matter for a week or so and then thought, "Why not?". The course is, I admit, intended for;... all UK government staff working on international issues, in the UK and overseas and colleagues from other Diplomatic Academies and Ministries of Foreign Affairs worldwide. It will also be suitable for people working in thinktanks, academics and professionals in any sector whose ...
Taken near Myddle a couple of months ago.
Last year saw a steady pattern of Liberal Democrat gains in council by-elections and a rather patchier pattern of where the party put up candidates. The rate at which the party fights local elections is on the up, but there is still a long way to go to get to where we need it to be – because offering people the chance to vote Liberal Democrat is crucial to get them into the habit of doing so. The first week of council contests in 2019, alas, saw the Liberal Democrats fight only one of the two seats up for election. ...
This blog's hero picks his strongest team from the cricketers he played with or against. I'm pleased to see a place for Abdul Qadir, the great Pakistani leg-spinner who had already done much to revive an apparently lost art before Shane Warne came along.
Paddy Ashdown's funeral was held this afternoon at St Mary's church in Norton Sub Hamdon. The service was a private one for family and friends - the latter including Sir John Major - but it was relayed to around 200 people in the village hall. It was conducted by his friend, the church's former rector Peter Thomas, who began proceedings thus: "We've come together to remember before God our brother Paddy - and I suspect God also knew him as Paddy rather than Jeremy and probably didn't call him Lord."An appropriately Liberal note was struck by the presence of a ...
Thu 10th
19:45
New law comes into force allowing local council candidates to withhold full address from ballot pape...
As previously trailed, new rules have now come into force to allow local election candidates to withhold their full address from publication on ballot papers. To quote the Electoral Commission's recent bulletin: Legislation removing the requirement for candidates to have their home address published on the ballot paper and statement of persons nominated at principal area elections and parish council elections has now been made and will apply for all principal area and parish council elections held in England on or after 2 May 2019. The amendment rules are available to download from the legislation.gov website, and can be accessed ...
Did you know about the Access Fund which supports members who want to go to Conference? I expect you think that it provides resources for people with disabilities – and that is indeed true, because, amongst other things, it funds the BSL signers. But it also offers grants to individual members who can't afford the full cost of Conference. It can cover childcare costs and also accommodation and travel. The deadline for applications to the Access Fund for Spring Conference was a couple of days ago, but not many applications had been received by that date so they are happy ...
[IMG: BBC TV Licencing Scam Email page heading] Be aware - there have been more than 5,000 reports about fake TV Licensing emails in the last 3 months. In December 2018 alone, 200 reports were made, with victims reporting a total loss of £233,455. The banks say they cannot reimburse customers who have mistakenly authorised payments to fraudsters. How It Works An email is received about TV licence payments/refunds. The payment/refund link is to a "genuine-looking" website. Personal and bank details are requested on a fake form. Within two weeks, the criminals call, claiming to be from the fraud department ...
According to The Independent, during the second instalment of the Brexit 'Meaningful vote' debate, Downing Street has agreed to let the Commons pick and choose around the crucial Backstop articles in the agreement Theresa May and Brussels reached. The agreement is legally binding, an official agreement or treaty between London and the EU. On the Institute of Government website last December, former IoG expert Simon Hogarth said such an option could mean Downing Street violating its international obligations it freely entered into. That's what the Hugo Swire Amendment is proposing. If the Brexiteers in Downing Street or the Commons think ...
The Leader of he Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn has made a speech calling for a general election, arguing that this is the most "practical and democratic" solution to the current Brexit impasse. Quite apart from the fact that almost all recent opinion polls suggest that Labour would not win such an election, however much Mr [...]
These bees are wearing tiny backpacks to track crucial environmental data Video is so adorable Old, meet new: Sony introduces a wireless turntable for vinyl records Why would you go to all the effort of preserving the fidelity of vinyl and then compress it and punt it through bluetooth speakers, though? It's like having your gourmet meal put through a food processor before eating it. CES 2019: 'Award-winning' sex toy for women withdrawn from show - BBC News This furore has been really great marketing for the toy, though. CES 2019: Alexa Lives in Toilets Now | Gizmodo UK "Manufacturer ...
Wed, 12:56: Why rumination is ruining your health (and how to stop it) https://t.co/DUQImQf12m Good points. Wed, 13:35: RT @pmdfoster: Where the DUP gives the Govt's new reassurance document both barrels. @NigelDoddsDUP "cosmetic and meaningless" #brexit... Wed, 15:29: RT @henrymance: BOOM. Government defeated over Grieve amendment by 308 to 297. If Theresa May loses the Brexit vote on Tuesday, she has un... Wed, 15:43: RT @KeohaneDan: Hard to disagree with this, unless the "convincing the DUP plan" is a smokescreen :-) https://t.co/yMC9iuJUKd Wed, 15:57: RT @MartinSelmayr: This is false. It may be a story that some want to hear, but ...
This evening's Question Time is the first in 2019 and the first chaired by Fiona Bruce. And Jo Swinson is one of the panellists. She shares the podium with James Cleverly MP, Emily Thornberry MP, Melanie Phillips and Nish Kumar, which should make for a lively debate. You will have spotted that the majority of people on the panel are women, as indeed was the case for David Dimbleby's final programme in December. QT has been addressing the diversity of its panels over the last year – at least in terms of gender and ethnicity – so let's hope that ...
Below is a letter which was emailed to prominent Sefton Councillors and the Sefton Central MP on 20th December regarding fire cover in parts of Sefton Borough. Clearly, this is a matter of local significance so it will be interesting to see what replies are received:- 'Dear Councillors, Are you aware that the fire station that covers Waterloo/Crosby/Litherland has two fire engines, both available with crews from 08-30hrs to 20-30hrs. At 20-30hrs the crews then go off shift and are then on a thirty minute recall to duty system. The station does give the impression that the staff are there ...
Please help look after this prize-winning park!
Apologies for the length of the headline, but I thought it was important to encapsulate the frustration felt by many at the way that the Speaker and his allies seem prepared to quite rightly stand up for MPs against the Government, but still ignores proposed reforms that would make the Commons a more women-friendly place. In the Guardian, Jessica Elgot describes how Speaker Bercow provoked fury from ministers and Brexit supporters on Wednesday, by accepting an amendment which radically curtails the timetable for Theresa May to prepare a "plan B" to present to parliament should she lose the vote next ...
At one of my family gatherings over Christmas, I found myself arguing a somewhat radical position about what is likely to happen to the shape of politics in the UK over the course of this new year. I was a little surprised at myself, having not previously been aware that this is what I thought. [...] The post Why the Lib Dems will benefit from rival centre parties – in the end... appeared first on Radix.
Sir Andrew Dilnot in his evidence to the HCLG select committee on funding of adult social care said: "there is no consensus on where the money should come from. That is what is always politically most toxic for Governments. The debate is much more now about where the money should come from than about what the money should be spent on. My advice for any institution trying to build consensus would be try to focus on that." Council tax in its present form and the supplementary social precept creates an inequitable distribution of the tax burden. A Land Value Tax ...
Greater Manchester's councils this week have launched the revised set of proposals in the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF). – Space for 202,000 new houses in Greater Manchester over the next 20 years. – 9,500 in Bury – 5,000 of which on Green Belt land. – Greater Manchester will lose 4% of its green belt land, but in Bury the figure is 12% and in Prestwich and Whitefield about 40% lost.- – In the Prestwich area, this is a 2,700 new houses on the eastern side of Prestwich, around Simister and Bowlee (2,000 in Bury (Prestwich), 700 in Rochdale (Middleton). ...
