Responding to research by the British Chambers of Commerce which shows that firms are unhappy with the EU trade deal and the difficulties it has imposed upon trade, Liberal Democrat Business Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: "Businesses are saying loud and clear that Boris Johnson's trade deal with the EU is simply not good enough, but the Government isn't even listening. "Claims from the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg about Brexit opportunities ring hollow for businesses being drowned in paperwork and delays at our borders. "This failed trade deal is even making the cost of living crisis worse, as many businesses ...
The Humber Stone pub in the Leicester suburb of Humberstone closed early in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic and has never reopened. Nor has there been any news about its future. Now it has been put up for auction, with the billing referring to it as "a former public house and restaurant" and noting the site's "potential for residential development". In response, some residents have opened a petition on change.org calling on Leicester City Council not to grant any planning permission that would allow the demolition of The Humber Stone The accompanying notes say: This is an absolute disgrace ...
This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and family developments as well as the books I read in that month. I've found it a pleasantly cathartic process, especially in recent circumstances. If you want to look back at previous entries, they are all tagged under bookblog nostalgia. I started the month by giving my inaugural lecture as a Visiting Professor at Ulster University. (The cycle of time being ...
One of Labour's biggest criticism of the Government is a failure to provide cash to meet the city's pressing social needs. So, it seems strange that when they are given money by the Government, they have to send it back ... Continue reading →
The Guardian reports that the high court has ruled that the former UK health secretary Matt Hancock did not comply with a public sector equality duty when he appointed the Conservative peer Dido Harding as head of a new public health quango. The paper says that the race and equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust successfully won its claim against the government over the appointment in August 2020 of Harding as interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, as well as the appointment in September 2020 of Mike Coupe as director of testing at NHS test and trace: ...
Folk Radio reports a forthcoming album from the Brighton folk group Bird in the Billy: In 1885 the nature writer Richard Jefferies published one of the strangest and most visionary novels in the whole of English literature. After London or Wild England was an early experiment in science fiction and perhaps the first example of what we might call an ecological apocalypse ever committed to the page, a lyrical depiction of a mysteriously depopulated country in which the monolithic edifices of the industrial revolution quickly return to nature and London is covered by stagnant water. Brighton-based folk group Bird In ...
Yesterday, LBC reported that the Government would scrap free PCR and lateral flow tests for Covid from as early as next week. Lib Dem Health spokesperson Daisy Cooper highlighted the dangers in this approach, saying it would also make it impossible for those at highest risk of severe disease to properly assess what was safe for them to do. She also highighted the impact of making people pay or tests when they are already struggling with rising living costs. Scrapping free tests when case rates are still sky high will leave the public and scientists flying blind. If there's one ...
Tue, 12:56: RT @drgurner: Some patterns I've seen in people who are Outliers, incredibly high performers in their areas, specifically in tech or financ... Tue, 16:05: Why Liz Truss is unfit to be prime minister https://t.co/95eZe8tSPC I wish @mfletchertimes would tell us what he really thinks. Tue, 20:02: 700 days of plague https://t.co/Fnqt5flj0n Wed, 10:45: RT @David_K_Clark: This tweet is so densely packed with Kremlin disinformation that no light can escape it. https://t.co/agChyOaLND
Today inflation reached a 30 year high of 5.5%. Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson called for the Government to take action to help those facing being cold and hungry as a result: Families are facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis, with a triple whammy of spiralling energy bills, Conservative tax rises and 30-year high inflation. People are worried about heating their homes and putting food on the table, yet all we've seen from this Government is half measures and a raft of tax hikes in April. That's not the leadership people need in this crisis. Ministers need to stop wringing ...
Yesterday, David Chidgey, victor of the Eastleigh by-election in 1994 died at the age of 79. He remained MP until 2005 and became a life peer when he left the Commons. During his time as MP he served as spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, Transport and Employment. We are so sad that our own David Chidgey died peacefully earlier today following a period of illness. A good man, and a formidable campaigner, he won a stunning by-election in Eastleigh in 1994 and spoke passionately on a range of issues in both the Commons &Lords. RIP, kind sir. pic.twitter.com/QRl4H33EEn ...
Many thanks to the residents who recently contacted me about the extent of graffiti in the pedestrian tunnel from near Clovis Duveau Drive towards Invergowrie. I contacted both environment management at the council to get it cleaned up and am grateful for the prompt response promising action which has now been carried out. I am also grateful to the community safety wardens who, at my request, are including the area into their patrolling schedule.
