Second paragraph of Third Doctor section (presented as the Brigadier's memoirs):Memory is odd (says he, writing his memoirs) but in some ways my recollections of my years with UNIT's infuriating scientific adviser are sharper than my time in Peru, or even my recent visit in the Black Archive with Sarah Jane Smith (of whom, more anon, I'll bet).One of the glossy volumes produced by the BBC in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who - and isn't it weird that we'll get to the 60th anniversary next year? This is really very nice indeed. For each Doctor, we ...
The agenda for the Spring Liberal Democrat federal conference is now out. The agenda includes Europe, political reform, the environment and the NHS among other items. Also featuring are a Q+A session with Ed Davey and the next round of party reforms (as explained here). Liberal-Democrat-federal-conference-Spring-2022-agenda You can register for conference here. Keep up with news about Lib Dem conference If you'd like to be notified by email when further posts about Liberal Democrat conference appear on this blog, just sign up here. (Note: if you're already signed up for a daily email alert with all my new blog posts, ...
Jago Hazzard looks at a short line with a complicated history. You can support his videos via his Patreon page.
Liberator 411 is out and can be downloaded here. This is the February 2022 online-only edition of Liberator and we hope you enjoy reading it. Remember Liberator is now free and you can sign up on our website to get notifications of each new issue: www.liberatormagazine.org.uk What's inside this issue? Alongside Radical Bulletin, Commentary and Reviews, Liberator 411 includes: UNABLE TO COUNT The Liberal Democrats will be finished if they further narrow their appeal to voters, says Nick Harvey TORIES PLUMB NEW DEPTHS Home secretary Priti Patel's use of cross-channel refugees as a populist weapon hasn't been widely welcomed on ...
Apart from housing sites, the Local Plan Update also proposes some sites for designation as "Local Green Space". If land is given that designation, it gets more protection from development. To get the designation, it needs to fit certain criteria, including that it has special significance for the community. Four areas in Winnersh and Sindlesham were proposed: Winnersh Meadows and Bearwood Rec, and then two pieces of land off the new North Wokingham Distributor Road by Old Forest Road. These are good choices – except that there are problems with the maps showing the extent of the land to be ...
Tue, 12:56: I missed this sad news from last month. Thank you @dfarrell_ucd for a lovely tribute. https://t.co/BVJQWQFBoF Tue, 13:39: RT @John_Cotter: I got up from my desk at 11:00 and had a tea. Could I have done this if the UK were still in the EU? Yes. But would I have... Tue, 15:02: RT @nwbrux: A Soldier in Time: The Nicholas Courtney Memoirs The life of an actor is sketched in sufficient detail that I would give this... Tue, 15:24: RT @nwbrux: Oxford Take Off In Russian An unexpected pitfall in Russian is that the spelling is not always ...
Responding to the Government's new levelling up plan, Liberal Democrat Communities and Local Government Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: "These promises will ring hollow in communities that have been neglected by the Conservatives for decades. "Families are facing a cost of living crisis and Tory tax hikes are just months away. They need support now, not rhetoric about far off targets in 2030. "The Government has failed to invest in some of the most deprived regions, in catch up funding for our children and in faster broadband for rural areas. "Levelling up has been exposed as yet another of Boris ...
Today the Government have a launched a set of proposals for levelling up the Country's economy. We were offered gruel when we needed a substantial meal! We are not looking for handouts but for help in creating a world class ... Continue reading →
In the run-up to the Council elections in Scotland in May, can I suggest that the Liberal Democrats offer voters a real solution to the shortfall in Council budgets which has had such a devastating effect on local services. We should be campaigning for a realignment of the council tax bands to bring them into line with the market value of houses and asking people in all bands, except the lowest, to pay more. This would be a relatively simple and fair way to raise the extra £250m the Councils say they need just to keep services as they are. ...
If it wasn't bad enough that Boris Johnson's government short-circuited the procurement process for PPE and other covid-related contracts, creating a VIP lane, which was taken advantage of by a number of Tory donors and friends, it seems that much of what was bought is now having to be written off. The Guardian reports that figures released on Monday reveal that Ministers spent almost £9bn on personal protective equipment, which was either substandard, defective, past its use-by date or dramatically overpriced. They say that annual accounts show the Department of Health and Social Care paid £12bn while emergency-buying PPE for ...
Over the last eight weeks, half of ambulances arriving at Shropshire's two A&Es have had to wait al least 30 minutes to hand over their patients to hospital staff. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has been the fifth worst performing acute NHS Hospital Trust in England during the winter so far. While ambulances are waiting to discharge their patients into the care of A&E staff, they are not available for other emergency calls. This increases the delays that injured or seriously ill people in Shropshire experience, especially in rural areas. We also know that delays in handover can lead ...
One of the assumptions of political campaigning is that voters are not interested in political machinery. Schools, hospitals, trains and buses, yes: Councils, regional authorities, elected mayors and voting systems, no. But have we now reached a point where this has changed, where it might even help us to include in this year's local election campaigning arguments for stronger local authorities and less dictation from Westminster? In the much-delayed Levelling-Up White Paper Michael Gove has promised 'devolution': by which he means imposing elected mayors, with limited local scrutiny, on most urban areas that haven't yet accepted them, and 'governors' on ...
A resident recently asked me : "Is there any possibility of putting in light controlled crossing facilities at the end of Perth Road and Riverside Avenue near the Technology Park entrance? It is really difficult trying to walk to the middle of the road in peak hour then across. You have many people leaving the Technology Park and crossing this busy road to get to Invergowrie. In the low sun recently, it was concerning trying to cross." I raised it with the City Council's Traffic and Road Safety Team Leader who has sent me this helpful response : "I am ...
