Although there are some cautious signs of hope in the recent coronavirus statistics (continuing the trend I previously wrote about), it's a crisis that isn't going to be over any time soon. As the government's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty put it today: This disease is not going to be eradicated, it is not going to disappear. We have to accept that we are working with a disease that we are going to be with globally for the foreseeable future... If people are hoping it's going to suddenly move from where we are now in lockdown suddenly into everything's gone, ...
Nick Barlow asks if there is a future for the Liberal Democrats. "For all of Momentum's talk of 'holding Keir Starmer to account', the left cannot win from a position of antagonism, whether to voters externally or its leaders or members internally." Tom Wilson explains why the new left of Sanders and Corbyn loses. Stephen Parsons looks at the failure of the Church of England to tackle abuse by the clergy: "Hitherto independent individuals have joined the safeguarding establishment of the Church of England. They then become 'hoovered up' ... by the committee system at work in this process. After ...
Chances are, you're very familiar with the idea that correlation does not mean causation, as nicely illustrated by this cat: Gentle reminder: Correlation does NOT mean Causality#Science pic.twitter.com/WxKDr4a1BC — Luis Lopez-Sangil (@bioluisinho) February 3, 2020 It's a point I've made a good few times on this blog too, such as in relation to web browsers and murder rates, not to mention mountain ranges and murder rates. But as I point out in my new book, Bad News: what the headlines don't tell us: This wise advice quickly ossifies into misplaced repetition, too often deployed in situations where it is not ...
My latest report from the village, looking at the geographical shifts of power over the centuries. And a tree.
From speaking to many Lib Dem activists since the election of Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour party, one would have assumed this was the end of the Liberal Democrats. Starmer is expected to shift Labour closer to the centre, thus closer to the Lib Dems, rendering us sitting ducks, our voters to automatically assimilate into their ranks. However, I would argue this is not the case. Firstly, it is wrong to assume that the Labour party under Starmer will drastically swing closer to the centre of the British political spectrum. Starmer himself is named after ardent socialist Keir ...
What we do know is that COVID-19 is killing a lot of people. Some of whom, incidentally, are neither elderly nor vulnerable. Continue reading →
Social distancing in the House of Commons Yesterday the House of Commons reconvened after the Easter recess. It agreed an unprecedented motion (Hybrid scrutiny proceedings) so it could carry on meeting through the pandemic, offering MPs the option of joining the debates remotely. Today they have been discussing options for remote voting. In fact, select committees have been holding virtual meetings all month, without any security problems reported. During the debate yesterday Jacob Rees Mogg said: In 1349, when the black death affected this country, Parliament could not and did not sit; the Session was cancelled. Thanks to modern technology, ...
[IMG: Corona, Covid-19, London, Locked, Cancellation] A good few years ago when reading "Terror and Consent" the notion of preclusive action struck me as a key concept Philip Bobbitt's together with the interpretation of security in what he referred to a the Market State. An aspect of the book that is especially relevant today is the treatment it gave of pandemics although its main concern was clearly terror. Except for fringe conspirationalists nobody thinks the current pandemic was terror instigated but Bobbitt also discusses naturally occurring pandemics in the wider context of the role of the state in protecting civilians. ...
[IMG: Isabelle Parasram interviewing someone affected by knife crime] Isabelle Parasram interviewing someone affected by knife crime On 22nd April 2020, we commemorate the life of Stephen Lawrence - a black British teenager who, in 1993, was killed in an unprovoked racist attack by a gang of white men. Stephen had been waiting for a bus with his friend, Duwayne Brooks (who later went on to become a Lib Dem Councillor). Duwayne escaped unhurt, but Stephen died of his injuries. Five suspects were initially arrested, but the charges were dropped, and a private prosecution by The Lawrence family of three ...
Wed 22nd
14:24
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy release figures on local authority grant p...
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy have released figures on local authority Covid 19 grant payments as of 20 April 2020. The data for the local authorities in East Kent is as follows: Local Authority Initial Allocation Identified grant recipients Number of grant payments made Value of payments (£) Payments made/Identified recipients (%) UK rank/315 Value/Allocation (%) UK rank/315 Ashford Borough Council £30,262,000 2,646 1,546 £18,505,000 58.43% 134 61.15% 96 Canterbury City Council £48,240,000 2,728 1,628 £21,380,000 59.68% 124 44.32% 217 Dover District Council £27,634,000 2,040 1,205 £14,330,000 59.07% 129 51.86% 161 Folkestone and Hythe District Council £28,808,000 ...
[IMG: HMRC Furlough Scheme Site] More than 285,000 businesses have already applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme since it went live on Monday 20 April. To be sure payment comes through to you before the end of the month, you will need to apply today (Wednesday 22 April). Accessing the system HMRC have noticed that some people have had difficulty accessing the system because they do not have an active PAYE enrolment. In order to make claim you will need to: have a Government Gateway (GG) ID and password - if you don't already have a GG account, you ...
Many Maghull and Lydiate folk will probably know about this closure already but in case you don't here's the official notification:- The alternative Post Offices are at Moss Lane Maghull & Dover Road Maghull. Click on the letter to enlarge for reading
The most treasured possessions inherited from my grandfather are undoubtedly two blue volumes that have been with me for most of my life, The War Memoirs of David Lloyd George. Lloyd George was my grandfather's political hero, and so he became mine too. As a teenager, I read the Memoirs avidly, and they were probably the reason that I became a historian. They were, of course, very much a personal view and not necessarily to be relied upon as an accurate account of all events. But they were the words of Lloyd George. One of the remarkable things about the ...
Responding to the Health Secretary's rebuttal of the suggestion that the Government's decision not to be involved in an EU ventilator scheme was a "political decision", Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:"This Government's evident unwillingness to work with the European Union through the current crisis is unforgivable. "Time and again, the Government seem to have missed opportunities to join the EU's procurement efforts. Continued shortages of PPE over the last few days coupled with the Government's failure to scale up testing for NHS and social care workers demonstrate that the current approach hasn't delivered. Lives are at ...
ARE YOU A SMALL BUSINESS / SELF EMPLOYED?WANT SOME CASH as a GRANT no strong. Have you applied for a grant, not a loan, a grant from South Glos Council? The government has given South Glos £39 Million to give to local small business and the self employed. This is in addition to the loans schemes and furlough.But so far they have only managed to give out under half. They are working through applications as quickly as they can - but the real issue is that people are not asking for the cash. This is a grant you can get. ...
Tue, 12:56: Interesting that ratio of reported COVID mortality to excess mortality is around 62% in Belgium, France and Spain;... https://t.co/tMTeNiesQF Tue, 12:56: Detailed graph of excess mortality beyond normal for the time of year in a number of countries. Some grim peaks (BE... https://t.co/fAh5Ix0RuX Tue, 16:05: A different perspective. https://t.co/nv9B3QWhpH Tue, 17:11: RT @annafifield: In my book "The Great Successor," I wrote that Kim Jong Un's biggest risk factor was his obvious poor health -- and in par... Tue, 17:31: Very sad news. COVID-19 continues to take its toll. https://t.co/oysWO2dc0G Tue, 18:34: The European Parliament (8th edition), by Richard ...
The Liberal Democrats are leading a cross-party call seeking a rebate for motorists from insurance companies, who are set to make significant profits as the number of vehicles on the road - and subsequent number of insurance claims - falls dramatically due to the Covid-19 crisis. Citing the "direct correlation between the drop in claims, driving activity during lockdown and insurance company profits", Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone and other MPs are seeking the Chancellor's support in ensuring that insurance companies refund part of customers' premiums, rather than dishing out dividends to shareholders. Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone said:"Meeting the ...
As the UK heads towards a place near the the top of the big league in terms of deaths from coronavirus our anxieties naturally focus on our own situation and those of our friends and families. A look at the international list of coronavirus cases and deaths shows that these are so far heavily concentrated in the world's richest and most highly developed countries - ie those where the majority of people live who can afford to fly. (See previous post) The key phrase in the above is "so far." If this virus catches on in the world's poorer countries, ...
Over to the Llanelli Star, which seems to be the only Welsh paper whose on-line edition is up-to-date, where the Plaid Cymru leader is calling for 'an immediate no stone unturned Judge-led Welsh inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic response in Wales.' Adam Price envisages this judicial inquiry running in parallel with a UK judge-led inquiry, with its initial findings being ready by the end of summer. He says that learning lessons to better inform future responses and improve decision-making is more important than apportioning blame. He is absolutely right of course, such an inquiry is essential, but really, starting it ...
There are three main reasons for the lockdown. Firstly, to control and eventually reduce the spread of COVID-19, secondly, to build up stocks of PPE and thirdly, to get testing in place so the lockdown could be eased in a controlled manner. The government has partial succeed on the first objective but have failed miserably on the other two. The economic cost of this will be measured against: a £300 billion+ rescue plan, a likely (but hopefully short) world recession and later in the year whatever the outcome of Brexit trade negotiations. As they say in politics we are living ...
Liberal Democrat Vice President Isabelle Parasram writes to mark Stephen Lawrence Day... Today is the day that we commemorate the life of Stephen Lawrence - a black British teenager who, in 1993, was killed in an unprovoked racist attack by a gang of white men. Following an initial investigation, in which five suspects were charged, the public prosecution was dropped. A private prosecution by the Lawrence family followed later, but this led to the acquittal of all three of those prosecuted. At Stephen's inquest, a verdict of unlawful killing "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five youths" was delivered ...
That is possible, and there are or have been elements of that in other countries. However, it would first require some kind of split between right- and left-liberalism — though Britain's quite rare in having one party that combines both types. On a more general level, though, I think trying to work through two parties would be bad because two-partism and the zero-sum political competition it creates is bad for the country.
2 big stories Was it a political choice by the Government not to take part in the EU joint procurement scheme, as Sir Simon McDonald originally suggested, or not, as his subsequent "clarification" indicated? To be honest, it probably doesn't matter, as you can get different answers from different members of the Cabinet anyway. And, even if you got a consistent answer, can you believe very much that comes out of this Government in any event? Matt Hancock's further clarification, that they did join the EU scheme, was almost immediately, and inevitably, denied by a European Union spokesperson, as reported ...
The Community Health Team in Dundee has a very good resource that gives residents excellent advice as to how to access vital services during the current COVID-19 emergency. You can access it here.
When Michael Cimino's film The Deer Hunter was released over 40 years ago I felt I could not face it, even though at that stage in my life I was reviewing films for an English-language magazine in Belgium. Partly this reluctance was because I was (and remain) avidly anti-blood sports; indeed I was at that stage vegetarian [...]
