Something a little different from the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts: a board game review with Jim Williams. A political board game, of course.
Here are the new films from the Liberal Democrats, broadcast on TV today as party political broadcasts (PPBs).
It's a new era in Scotland, so a brand new Party Political Broadcast is going out as you read this. It is a thing of beauty. Enjoy. If the words "new hope" mean nothing to you, you haven't been watching closely enough. A lot of this was filmed at his leadership launch speech on 20th August. We love the ending: "If you want a party that is dedicated to fighting the climate emergency with ferocity without the baggage of nationalism, come with us." "If you want a party that is focused on human rights at home and abroad, come with ...
Four councillors are objecting to the vote that approved the huge development of 1,075 homes on the former power station site at Ironbridge. Councillors Andy Boddington, Tony Parson, Caroline Bagnall and Richard Huffer have written to Shropshire Council's legal team saying that one councillor should not have been allowed to vote. Precedent and probity dictate that planning committee councillors cannot vote if they had not listened to the entirety of the presentation by officers, along with representations by objectors, supporters and the developer. Councillors on the committee must also be present during the subsequent debate leading up to the vote. ...
Second paragraph of third story ("La carte" / "Tickets on Time"): 12 février. — Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu. Déjeuné aujourd'hui avec mon vieil ami Maleffroi, conseiller à la préfecture de la Seine. Je l'ai cuisiné adroitement, après lui avoir délié la langue avec une bouteille d'arbois. Naturellement, il n'est pas question de mettre à mort les inutiles. On rognera simplement sur leur temps de vie. Maleffroi m'a expliqué qu'ils auraient droit à tant de jours d'existence par mois, selon leur degré d'inutilité. Il paraît que les cartes de temps sont déjà imprimées. 12th February There's no ...
As with so much else in politics, our conference this year was by turns very different and strikingly similar to the first I attended some 60 years ago. This year's conference was beamed into my living room; my first Liberal Assembly took place in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. This year's conference took place in the shadow of Western humiliation in Afghanistan. My first took place when Britain was still reeling from the Suez scandal. Either way, this year's was my last as a Parliamentarian. The House of Lords is a place of many anachronisms, and I wouldn't like to ...
Ed Davy makes a storming attack on the Conservative administration into today's Guardian. The mounting cost of heating bills and food price-hikes due to increasing transport costs and the energy crisis means the poorest people will be hit the hardest. Davey says no one should be surprised that Boris Johnson has dismissed these problems. He wants us to believe it's a global problem, with nothing unique to the UK. And he wants us to think it will all be over quickly. He is wrong. This is just the latest example of the Conservative party taking people for granted. Johnson's botched ...
Tue, 18:53: Hurricane Fever, by Tobias S. Buckell https://t.co/SztPAYnpAh Tue, 20:24: RT @aTunkel: Excited and proud to have @apcoworldwide join @TentOrg and the Coalition for Afghan Refugees it assembled, to create economic... Wed, 10:45: Visit Lud-in-the-Mist for Halloween https://t.co/VtVMCESWF7 Great news: Doctor Who writer Joy Wilkinson has adapted the groundbreaking fantasy novel Lud-in-the-Mist into a play for BBC Radio Drama, which airs in October. The novel by Hope Mirrlees was published in 1926 and is c...
As somebody who has just submitted a freedom of information request, albeit to the Welsh Government, it is concerning to see how the greater transparency offered by the FOI Act is now being challenged by Ministers and civil servants. The Independent reports that government departments have spent at least half a million pounds since 2016 trying to block the release of information under transparency laws, with lawyers working for six government ministries challenging rulings by the Information Commissioner and leaving taxpayers to foot the legal bill: The biggest spender on lawyers was the Department of Health and Social Care which ...
Edinburgh South Chair Fraser Graham delivered this cracker of a speech in the debate on What Liberal Democrats believe on Sunday morning. Where are the limits of free speech and how should our party deal with the boundaries? Conference, I joined this party in 2016 because of one issue – Brexit. The reason I am still here is because of the values and principles our party upholds. This speech is somewhat of a paradox. It should be completely unnecessary, because I'd take it entirely for granted that any true liberal would have no objection to the values put before you, ...
As residents know, I have consistently opposed the imposition of car parking charges at seven West End car parks - Roseangle, Pennycook Lane, Miller's Wynd, Ryehill Lane, Mid Wynd, Union Street North and Bellfield Street North. In advance of bringing in a residents' priority parking scheme, these are simply an unfair tax on local residents, having to pay for the 'privilege' of parking near their homes. The charges have been suspended during the COVID-10 health emergency but, with the start of the University of Dundee's first semester, are being reintroduced from Monday 27th September. I view this as not acceptable, ...
Over here to promote An American Werewolf in London in London, says the blurb on YouTuhe, Jenny Agutter spoke to David Childs about her film career.
