A testing week on the by-election front for the Liberal Democrats after a flurry of successful weeks to begin 2022. With eight vacancies to fight (one of which was on Wednesday) we stood in four, one of which we saw the chequered flag. The high of a fantastic gain on Maldon TC was certainly marred by only standing a candidate on 50% of available ballots this week. Let's delve into the detail. We kick off proceedings over at Maldon where both the Town and District council were holding by-elections. We can take great pride from both elections but with a ...
The first episode of Yes, Minister was broadcast on 25 February 1980, which makes it a good day to mention that Talking Pictures Encore has an interview with Derek Fowlds about his acting career. You can watch A Part Well Played online for free. Derek Fowlds, who died in 2020, is remembered for appearing with Basil Brush and in Yes, Minister and Heartbeat, but he enjoyed success on the stage and in films too.
Fri 25th
18:54
Read the Intelligence and Security Committee's report on Russian interference in British politics
Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee completed its report into Russian interference in British politics in March 2019. Normally such reports are published within days, but Boris Johnson managed to prevent its publication until July the following year. You can read the report on the committee's website and the press notice below gives a summary of its contents. Intelligence and Security Committee questions whether Government took its eye off the ball on Russia, finds that they underestimated the response required to the Russian threat and are still playing catch up: Russian influence in the UK is the new normal. Successive Governments ...
So, I am in the USA, for the first time since the pandemic started, having been to Gallifrey One last weekend and now staying in Seattle with one of my oldest friends after a couple of extra days in DTLA (downtown Los Angeles, as the locals abbreviate it). Getting into the USA was surprisingly smooth. You need a vaccination certificate, of course, and unless you had a COVID diagnosis in the last 90 days, you need a negative test from the day before or day of travel. (Annoyingly, my COVID diagnosis in November was 91 days before I left, so ...
I am certain that many of you have been following the terribly upsetting news in Ukraine, following Russia's invasion. The Federal Conference Committee has agreed that due to the ongoing and evolving situation in Ukraine that we would allow a later deadline for an emergency motion on the topic of Ukraine. The deadline for this will be Thursday, 10 March at 13:00. The motion will then be announced on Friday morning before the commencement of Conference. Any motions submitted already on Ukraine can either be carried forward to the new deadline, alternatively those who have already submitted emergency motions on ...
The news in today's Liverpool Echo that administrators have been ordered by a court to sell a stalled site in Liverpool city centre to a consortium of investors could be very good news indeed for people whose investments in Liverpool ... Continue reading →
Speaking in the House of Lords this morning, Lib Dem peer Lord Newby said the invasion is a failure of the West to recognise that Putin was pursuing an aggressive forward foreign policy which was aimed not just at those territories which he wishes to control but also at the values of democracy and rule of law which the territories embodied. He said we must recognise we are not a global military power. That our most important security and economic relationships are with Europe and that we need to strengthen global structures and programmes which promote our values. We should ...
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. Also available is the reports to conference booklet. Lib-Dem-Spring-2022-Federal-Conference-Reports-Booklet UPDATE 25 FEBRUARY: News from Nick da Costa, chair of the Federal Conference Committee (FCC), on the plans for emergency motions: I am certain that many of you have been following the terribly upsetting news in Ukraine, following Russia's ...
Having cycled Eagar Lane/Greens Lane for some years now I'm finding the surface of the single track Greens Lane to be in very poor condition presently. Eagar Lane is in Lydiate Civil Parish (Sefton/Merseyside) whilst when it becomes Greens Lane it's in Downholland Civil Parish (West Lancs/Lancs County). Greens lane canal swing bridge (known as Rimmer's Bridge locally) – Photo from 2018. I've been on the Lancashire County Council website a couple of times in recent months reporting huge potholes at 3 points along Greens Lane and at first, I assumed it was the often massive agricultural vehicles of our ...
UEFA have moved the Champions League final from Russia to Paris. It was due to be played in St Petersburg on 28th May. Jamie Stone said: Moving the Champions League final out of St Petersburg is the right thing to do. Putin and his cronies cannot strongarm their neighbours, invade a sovereign nation, and expect to sportswash their actions. Where football has led, other sports must follow. Formula One must cancel the Russian Grand Prix with immediate effect. He has written to Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of F1, calling on him to do just that. The text of his letter ...
Boris Johnson may have a lot on his mind at the moment, not least a possible caution from the police, a potential party coup to remove him as leader, the poor economic consequences of Brexit and the war in Ukraine, but that should not excuse his continued lapses of memory during Prime Minister's questions in the House of Commons. The Guardian reports that the Prime Minister has been formally reprimanded by the official statistics watchdog for the second time in a month after he misleadingly claimed that there are now more people in work in the UK than before the ...
Thu, 16:51: RT @scalzi: Today is a very good day to critically evaluate and reliably source the information that comes to you online and which is almos... Thu, 18:24: Breasts and Eggs, by Mieko Kawakami https://t.co/pXZ5w1zjHx Thu, 20:54: RT @ObsoleteDogma: Putin has said the country he's invading doesn't have the right to exist, and people think the problem is we just didn't... Thu, 22:31: RT @jonlis1: Your occasional reminder that in 1994 Ukraine willingly surrendered its nuclear weapons in return for Russian, American and Br... Fri, 03:24: A Close-run Thing? Voters choose in the Republic of Korea https://t.co/zUl4LOSk7E My analysis ...
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the UK to lead a coordinated humanitarian response to Putin's war in Ukraine, with safe passage and support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing violence and persecution at the hands of Russian forces. The party's MPs have written to the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary, urging them to work with humanitarian agencies and Ukraine's neighbours to provide accommodation and support to the people now fleeing Russian troops, who are now advancing on the capital of Kyiv. It comes in the wake of the news that visa applications from those Ukrainian nationals without close British relatives ...
[IMG: Stagecoach bus] Kent County Council (KCC) are "consulting" on a proposed reduction to their Supported Bus Services. KCC's budget for the 2022/23 financial year was agreed on Thursday 10th February and included a reduction to the Supported Bus budget to £4.3m representing a decrease of £2.2 million. KCC currently spends about £6 million a year to contract services which are not profitable for bus companies but which the council thinks are important to the communities they serve. The proposed changes mean 48 contracts have been selected for possible withdrawal from the budget. Locally, the cuts within this that seem ...
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the UK to lead a coordinated humanitarian response to Putin's war in Ukraine, with safe passage and support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing violence and persecution at the hands of Russian forces. The party's MPs have written to the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary, urging them to work with humanitarian agencies and Ukraine's neighbours to provide accommodation and support to the people now fleeing Russian troops, who are now advancing on the capital of Kyiv. It comes in the wake of the news that visa applications from those Ukrainian nationals without close British relatives ...
A rare Wednesday by-election and a rare Labour gain from the Conservatives, only the sixth since last May.
Many thanks to the residents who contacted me recently about just how badly worn the road surface is, especially near to the Benvie Road junction. I have asked the City Council to undertake repairs here - ideally it needs fully resurfaced.
