This promotional film was made in 1980, shortly before the Metro opened.
Bryan Magee - philosopher, writer, broadcaster, politician - died on 26 July at the age of eighty-nine. After his death, the three main broadsheets swiftly printed the oven-ready obituaries they had on file. But the BBC, where Magee's reputation was cemented in the later decades of the twentieth century, failed even to mention his death, let alone look back at his life and work. What were Front Row and Last Word thinking of? Not the tiniest clip from the rich Magee broadcasting archive were we offered. Magee was (and still is) a household name among the chattering classes, rightly, and ...
Several aeons have passed since I began thinking about covid-19 bailouts (IFG pamphlet out shortly, watch this space), and still I struggle to get my thoughts straight. During that time, the blogosphere and in particular VoxEU have drenched us in high-speed, quality thought, even as the facts on the ground have shifted at speed. JustContinue reading "We didn't buy pandemic insurance and can't forever pretend that we did"
A win for the Coronavirus Compensation Scheme! Well done to the over 50MPs who backed this, petition signers and @Daily_Express! We now need to ensure it covers all key workers on front line who lose their lives and I urge the Gov to also look at pension element and funeral costs https://t.co/QdS87bl5q8 — Layla Moran [IMG: 🔶] (@LaylaMoran) April 27, 2020 Excellent news of a campaign success over coronavirus comes in this news release from the Liberal Democrats: Responding to the announcement from the Secretary of State for Health that bereaved families of NHS staff will receive compensation, Liberal Democrat ...
Mon 27th
18:27
Lib Dems lead cross-party call for urgent support for airlines in return for climate action
The Liberal Democrats are leading a cross-party effort to secure Government agreement for an economic package to support the UK's airlines in return to commitments to tackle the climate emergency. Writing to the Chancellor, the cross-party group of parliamentarians have warned that without government support future fares may raise while "tens of thousands more will lose their jobs through no fault of their own." MPs from across the political spectrum have signed the letter and agreed "if public money is used to save them, they must be required by law to do more to tackle climate change." Liberal Democrat Transport ...
Maghull & district folk may well have heard about this project already but as a Maghull High Old Boy and presently a member of it's Academy Trust I just had to blog about the great health initiative it's youngster are involved in. Here's a link to their fundraising page:- I understand that they have already made a large number of masks which have been donated to NHS hospitals such as Aintree and Whiston. Another example of people and in this case our younger generation doing their bit to help during our present health crisis. Note:- The photo above is ...
Sharing ideas.We thought we would share with you some of the things Heritage Centre staff and volunteers have found most useful and exciting during this time. There are lots of wonderful things to do online, outside during your daily exercise, or on the phone. If you are finding something new to do, let us know so we can share it for others to enjoy too. Here are some of our top recommendations:Skills Share - learn a new skill, everything from pom poms to car repair!https://www.skillshare.com/Google Arts and Culture - available online or via the app, visit some of the most ...
Second paragraph of third chapter:Around him, rockbuds smoldered. Moss—dried from the summer heat and long days between storms this time of year—flared up in waves, setting the rockbud shells alight. Flamespren danced among them. And, like a spren himself, Dalinar charged through the smoke, trusting in his padded armor and thick boots to protect him.I had quite enjoyed the first two massive huge books in this trilogy, The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, but ran out of steam 500 pages into this one; in the end, I didn't quite care enough about the characters and setting to read ...
The ring of Brodgar is a huge stone circle set in a most dramatic setting on Mainland Orkney. It lies on a narrow strip of land between two lakes - on one side is the saltwater Loch of Stenness that opens to the sea and on the other side is the freshwater Loch of Harray. They all sit in a vast bowl surrounded by green hills. No trees to be seen. Nearby is one of the most astonishing archeological sites in the British Isles, known as the Ness of Brodgar. It was discovered very close to a farmhouse in 2002. ...
Mon 27th
15:45Stepping up as a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Bradford as part of the response to the national eme...
Regular involvement in our local communities meant we could respond quickly to pull local partners together before lock-down was announced. Our Parish Church offered to provide a base for a 'Community Response Hub', the Church Secretary took on the role of co-ordinator and other volunteers from the congregation stepped up to run social media. This gave us a flying start in organising a grass-root team offer to local people into which representatives from the Police, a Council Officer and other representatives from local groups met and worked together. We met every day for the first 16 days to make sure ...
The Lib Dems Merseyside Spokesperson on Policing Cllr Kris Brown has written to the Police Commissioner and Chief Constable for Merseyside to suggest that former Police Officers, emergency contact centre staff and Special Constables who may be furloughed from the ... Continue reading →
The Liberal Democrats are leading a cross-party call for the Business Secretary to provide clearer guidance to lenders regarding Business Interruption Loans, following reports that lenders have been slow to approve loans to struggling businesses due to extensive due diligence processes. Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse has been joined by over 20 MPs from across the political spectrum in writing to the Business Secretary to call for the additional guidance. The letter asks that the Government sets out the "minimum level of due diligence required" to underwrite loans, criteria which would enable lenders to process applications at a faster pace. ...
As the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK continues, it's starting to look like our shared efforts are helping to mitigate the impact of the virus. But still the disease has taken, and will continue to take, its heavy toll. I'm ... Continue reading →
Our party is back on the right track. Covid seems to have brought us to our senses: the reaction of local parties, of MPs, and of peers to Covid has been impressive, and it does seem that there is a renewal of our central commitment to the idea of the empowered citizen as the most important element in a healthy politics. The next step is to make ourselves the party of deliberative democracy, and to do so right now, by calling for a Covid Citizens' Reference Panel to deliberate on and input into government policy as we transition over the ...
In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talk with the Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Munira Wilson, about what it's like being an MP, how over-centralisation may be hindering the struggle against coronavirus and how best to communicate with the public. Feedback as every very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Interview with Dr Ben Johnson from Nature. How Germany is approaching protecting civil liberties while tackling coronavirus. Help for (would-be) Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidates: the Campaign for Gender Balance, the Liberal Democrat Campaign ...
Sun, 12:56: RT @hayward_katy: I know you have loads to worry about right now but here's a #Brexit one to make a mental note of for future reference.... Sun, 13:09: @AfuaRichardson Happy birthday, almost-twin! (Actually I suspect you may be younger than me...) Sun, 14:48: What happened on board the last cruise ship still at sea https://t.co/Ln4Bb8Tzyf Fascinating. (Thanks to @carrarars.) Sun, 15:06: Forty days of lockdown https://t.co/xEPkeavTyY Sun, 23:49: Happy birthday, twin! We both turned 53 today... @GlennJacobsTN Sun, 23:50: RT @TimeForAFilm: Wishing the great Marianne Jean-Baptiste a very Happy 53rd Birthday. #MarianneJeanBaptiste https://t.co/KW05j7chxP Sun, 23:55: @MonteWarden1 Happy birthday, ...
One of the strange, perhaps dubious, pleasures of lockdown is straying into obscure Freeview channels while looking for something different to accompany the next cup of coffee. I suspect PBS America (Freeview 91) comes into that category. This is a site for curate's egg documentaries, rather like some aspects of Channel 5. Sometimes they are a waste of electricity, sometimes they can be rather good, indeed educational. PBS America has its share of US military history but it does not really compare with the Yesterday channel's obsession with World War 2. It is pretty good at looking at the wider ...
Responding to news that John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow's chief executive has written to Matt Hancock to call for coronavirus testing at UK airports, Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson Sarah Olney said: "Across the UK people are being asked to stay at home, avoid non-essential travel and work from home where possible. These are vital measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, protecting the NHS and saving lives. That's why the vast majority are taking these measures extremely seriously. "However, the Government has been far less robust in its approach to people arriving in the UK from overseas, potentially carrying the virus. It ...
The Liberal Democrats are leading a cross-party call for the Business Secretary to provide clearer guidance to lenders regarding Business Interruption Loans, following reports that lenders have been slow to approve loans to struggling businesses due to extensive due diligence processes. Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse has been joined by over 20 MPs from across the political spectrum in writing to the Business Secretary to call for the additional guidance. The letter asks that the Government sets out the "minimum level of due diligence required" to underwrite loans, criteria which would enable lenders to process applications at a faster pace. ...
Has the COVID-19 crisis managed to change the UK government's attitude to immigration? Well, according to the Independent, the Home Secretary has told the media that the immigration health surcharge fees paid by foreign healthcare workers - despite working in the NHS themselves - are being reviewed. She said that she had bowed to pressure to look again at the fees, in the light of the "extraordinary contribution" made by medical staff from overseas during the coronavirus pandemic.br /> Until now, ministers had held firm that the surcharge - due to soar from £400 a year to £624 this October ...
I have a strong interest in political history and in liberalism. Despite that, I am ashamed to say that I have only just read George Dangerfield's seminal The Strange Death of Liberal England for the first time. However, I am also glad that I waited so long, because the parallels between the situation in which the great Liberal Party found itself in 1914 and the situation into which liberals have got ourselves today are striking. Many of the tragic mistakes made by the Liberal leaders in the pre-war years have been repeated, with the lessons the Conservative Party taught the ...
I hope that you've all had a nice weekend, although I guess that, for some of you, each day is beginning to feel the same as the last. At Liberal Democrat Voice, our aim is to entertain, inform and engage, and so I'd better get on, hadn't I? 2 big stories Whilst the talk is of what happens next in the UK's battle against Covid-19, elsewhere, the first steps towards normalisation have started; In all four places officials caution that life is not going back to normal yet. For one thing, there can be no letting down their guard. The ...
Mon 27th
07:18
Virtual meetings to attend this week - Shropshire Council cabinet and Ludlow Representational Commit...
Shropshire Council's cabinet meets on Wednesday at 11am. Public questions must be submitted to the committee secretary no later than 11am this morning 27 April. Councillor will also be asking questions. Other items on the agenda are safeguarding arrangements and a pension deficit in West Mercia Energy. The questions look like being the most interesting part of the meeting. Ludlow Town Council's Representational Committee meets on Wednesday at 7pm. It will begin with representations from the public, followed by the unitary members question and answer session. Planning matters and an update on road closures will follow. Councils around the country ...
A great live workshop Q&A from Dundee tomorrow! This on-line workshop tomorrow has as the guest growing guru Kate Treharne who has been documenting ideas for lockdown gardening in her online channel, making do with things she's got at hand. Stand by for lots of tips on what's worked and what hasn't for her so far, followed by the usual Q&A powered by several growing gurus. Booking is required. More details at
Responding to new figures revealing that knife crime in England and Wales is at a record high, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:"Before coronavirus, hundreds of lives were already being taken by the epidemic of serious violence, many of them children. Too many people feel unsafe walking down their own streets. That has not changed."The Conservatives' approach has failed, with the Home Secretary too busy trying to seem tough on knife crime to do the hard work to actually prevent it. They cut police numbers and failed to properly provide the services that help people build lives free ...
