As part of the next stage of our programme of future policy development, firmly focussed on how we can attract voters to support us, FPC has now approved the creation of a new working group to develop our proposals for creating a much fairer society. We are therefore now looking for applications from party members to join the group, which you can do here, by the deadline of Wednesday 3 November. The prime role of the group will be to develop policies which communicate our core values such as fairness, and also liberty, equality and community, in ways which help ...
Second paragraph of third section:Excitement last night. The sirens went early and some of the chars who clean offices in the City sheltered in the crypt with us. One of them woke me out of a sound sleep, going like an air raid siren. Seems she'd seen a mouse. We had to go whacking at tombs and under the cots with a rubber boot to persuade her it was gone. Obviously what the history department had in mind: murdering mice.When I last read this in 2002, I wrote:"Fire Watch" by Connie Willis won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of dealing a hammer blow to Welsh sheep farmers after news broke that the UK and New Zealand have signed a trade deal. They are worried that lower standard and cheap meat from New Zealand could flood the UK markets and leave the British and Welsh farming industry unable to compete. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: I am extremely disappointed that the Conservative Government has decided to toss Welsh sheep farmers aside in this manner, completely ignoring their concerns and breaking previous commitments to the farming community made by the ...
An appreciation of Lord Puttnam's recent address - The Shirley William's Memorial Lecture: POWER AND FEAR - THE TWO TYRANNIES. Was anybody listening? If so, what did they hear? If they heard, then what, exactly, did they understand? Timing is everything. In the heat of intense political clamour, unleashed as one of their own was murdered, the calm authoritative voice may have been lost in that moment. Apart from a disquieting thought (the convenience of this remaining unheard) and the low probability of mainstream headlines, the Party in Power was spared the effort of refutation or the greater effort of ...
Makes Votes Matter report on promising news from the trade union movement: Unite the Union voted "to adopt a policy of opposing First Past the Post and instead supporting moves to explore, select and introduce a new voting system for the UK". Unite are the second-biggest trade union in the UK, and the number one largest Labour Party affiliate. Whoever you vote for, this is good news, and increases the chances that electoral reform will happen... Unite joins Labour-affiliated unions ASLEF, TSSA, the MU, and the FBU in expressing support for electoral reform. And there is support for PR among ...
Three principal authority council by-elections this week, One of those was without a Liberal Democrat candidate however. Rainworth South & Blidworth Ward (Newark & Sherwood) council by-election: IND: 66.2% (+66.2) CON: 17.1% (-12.9) LAB: 16.7% (-22.9) Independent GAIN from Labour. Changes w/ 2019. No other IND (-30.4) as previously. — British Electoral Politics (@electpoliticsuk) October 21, 2021
Today's i newspaper features Sir Ed Davey's call for the government to bring in a beefed up version of Plan B as a matter of urgency to avoid a winter lockdown. Daisy Cooper also criticises the new Minister for Vaccines and Public Health for keeping a low profile. In the Commons yesterday, Layla Moran challenged the government on whether it is operating a policy of herd immunity. The Plan B Plus would make face masks mandatory, people would be instructed to work from home and social distancing rules would be reimposed. It would not include Covid passports which the Lib ...
For those who don't know, (and I didn't until I looked it up on Google earlier this week) COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and the "Parties" are the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) way back in 1994. COP26 is Parties' 26th annual conference. Although I acknowledge that, along with, arguably ahead of, world poverty and the erosion of Liberal Democracy, the climate crisis is one of the biggest problems the world faces today, I don't claim any in-depth knowledge of the issues involved. I acknowledge that if we are to avert ...
At a recent event hosted by Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform, I was asked to speak about two topics that I feel very passionately about: democracy and diversity. In terms of democracy, I have been actively involved with the campaign for Proportional Representation for many years because I believe that our current system of First-Past-The-Post means that all votes are not equal: a vote in a marginal seat has a much bigger impact than a vote in a safe seat. In terms of diversity, I believe that we should welcome people from many different backgrounds to the campaign for PR ...
Thu, 12:56: Have we reached peak China? https://t.co/KOWl1QSIhb An interesting take. Thu, 16:02: RT @archivetvmus71: 'When Roobarb Made a Spike', the first episode of Roobarb, was originally broadcast on this day in 1974. Thirty episode... Thu, 16:05: Nicholas Whyte: Northern Ireland Boundary Commission's proposals: Minimal change as what's gained on the swings is lost on the roundabouts - https://t.co/hlFZImPDC5 https://t.co/R2cldfSjF3 Paywalled, I'm afraid (though most interested people will have a subscription). Thu, 18:08: Time Must Have a Stop, by Aldous Huxley https://t.co/4cWxMvKe0V Fri, 08:37: RT @patrickkmaguire: Interesting: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, the former leader of the SDLP, has made a ...
[IMG: Fireworks] I get (and reply to!) a lot of email each week, and some is easier to deal with than others. This morning I received an email about fireworks from a local resident generated from an RSPCA campaign. The email said: Dear Councillor, I am writing to you as I am an extremely concerned resident in your council area. My concern is about the misuse of fireworks and their impact on animals. According to a recent poll 52% of UK Adults will be having displays at home with friends and family, a 23% increase on 2019 polling results. An ...
With some of the highest rates of taxation in living memory, it makes you wonder, doesn't it? I'm sure I heard one Tory describe the present Conservative Government, a while back, as a benign Ted Heath type. Yes, I found that hard to accept too. Interestingly, I've also heard folks speculate on Johnson not actually being a Tory at all because of his spend, spend, spend approach to the economy and yes, some of that speculation has come from Tory supporters. Then of course you see the more traditional Tory approach in the recent taking of £20 per week back ...
Many of us had suspected that the so-called 'levelling up' agenda being mooted by Boris Johnson in an effort to retain red wall seats was nothing but flim-flam, and now evidence has emerged that gives some credence to that view. The Independent says the cross-party Public Accounts Committee has found that government changes to education funding in England have redistributed cash from poorer areas to richer areas, with the new national funding formula cutting funding in the most deprived parts of the country by 1.2 per cent but increasing it by 2.9 per cent in the least deprived. They add ...
Responding to the leaked documents revealing countries lobbying the UN to play down the impact of fossil fuels, Liberal Democrat Climate Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said: "These leaks show the Conservatives have their work cut out for them if we're to get a good outcome from COP. It is vital the world moves away from fossil fuels, but it is hardly a shock that countries still dependent on them are trying to play down their significance. "But the Tories are supporting fossil fuel expansion too, from a new coal mine in Cumbria to expanding oil drilling in Surrey. The UK ...
Current Discipline or Corruption, by Konstantin Stanislavsky Shadowboxer, by Tricia Sullivan Splinters and the Wolves of Winter, by William Whyte Those About to Die, by Daniel P. Mannix Last books finished Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh Free Speeches, by Denis Kitchen, Nadine Strossen, Dave Sim, Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller The Ryans of Inch and Their World: A Catholic Gentry Family from Dispossession to Integration, c.1650-1831, by Richard John Fitzpatrick (PhD thesis) The Space Between Worlds, by Micaiah Johnson Splinters and the Impolite President, by William Whyte Axiom's End, by Lindsay Ellis Next books Day of the Dead, ...
Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson has demanded that the government hold an emergency SAGE meeting to discuss soaring Covid cases. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has stopped meeting weekly and most recently met on 22 July, 9 September and 14 October. The call comes as it emerges that government scientists have not met to discuss Covid for weeks and cases are running at nearly 50,000 a day. Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation yesterday morning called on the government to implement tougher restrictions as UK Covid deaths hit their highest figure since March. On Tuesday ...
The Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden will be holding another plant sale this coming Sunday - 24th October It will take place from 12 noon to 3pm and will take place in the Botanic Garden car park. The Friends again advise : "We are grateful for any donations on the day, but please can you split clumps into smallish chunks for ease of sale. Also we'd be grateful if plants can be clearly labelled with the name. Colour is also helpful. As before, plants will be priced in units of £1, so come with your real money ...
From the London Historic Buildings Trust website: The Tin Tabernacle (Cambridge Hall) is a Grade II listed building within the South Kilburn Conservation Area and is currently on the Heritage at Risk Register. It was built in 1863 as the St James's Episcopalian church and though stylistically very different, it was constructed around the same time as its grand Italianate brick villa neighbours. The Hall is built of corrugated iron, which has been galvanised with tin to prevent rust, cladding a timber and iron frame. This type of prefabricated structure was developed in the 1820's and by the latter half ...
