This post first appeared on the Radix UK blog... When I was writing my Tickbox book, I found myself researching the great American technocrat Robert McNamara, Like many other people in deep thrall to Tickbox, McNamara was also pretty emotional. His career was characterised by extreme loyalty, not just to Kennedy, but for a time also to Lyndon Johnson, his successor. It was a passion that nearly sent him insane, but it also led to his egregious habit of quoting selective numbers in public to defend his president - even, as it turned out, as he turned against the Vietnam ...
Fraserburgh railway station closed to passengers in 1965, but the line to it up the Aberdeenshire coast remained open to freight in 1979. The good news is that Aberdeenshire Liberal Democrats' manifesto for next month's elections promises to improve local transport links. This includes reopening the railway lines from Dyce to Ellon and from Peterhead to Fraserburgh, and providing an additional station in Newtonhill. Peter Argyle, leader of the Lib Dem group on the council, told The Press and Journal: "Our manifesto focuses on a successful transition to living with Covid, on rebuilding the economy and our town centres, on ...
Responding to the news that Boris Johnson will face a vote by MPs on Thursday over lying to Parliament about partygate, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: "The British public have declared Boris Johnson a liar. Now it's time for Parliament to do the same. "The country cannot afford a Prime Minister who breaks the law and lies about it, especially when families are facing a cost-of-living crisis. "Johnson has taken the British people for fools for far too long, and it's time for Conservative MPs to show where they stand. They must do their patriotic duty and kick Boris ...
The cry of the curlew reminds me my early trips to the Stiperstones, when it served as confirmation that I was reaching high ground. In recent years the number of these wonderful birds breeding in the Shropshire Hills has fallen markedly. So on Thursday 21 April, which is World Curlew Day, the conservation group Curlew Country is organising a fundraising walk there. Starting from The Bog car park in the Stiperstones, the 13-mile circuit will take in beautiful scenery and curlew hotspots. You can learn more and book your place via the Curlew Country website.
At the end of last year, the United States of America was added to the International IDEA's annual list of "backsliding" democracies for the first time, pointing to a "visible deterioration" it said began in 2019. Remarkably, the number of backsliding democracies has doubled in the past decade with more than a quarter of people alive today now living in one of these democracies. What's more, in addition to "established democracies" such as the US, this list of backsliding democracies includes EU member states Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. And it gets worse. According to the International Institute for Democracy and ...
The local party reports on selection of the Lib Dem PPC in Jeremy Hunt's constituency: Paul Follows has spent the last two years winning elections in South West Surrey and delivering change locally, as Chair of Godalming Town Council and Deputy Leader of Waverley Borough Council. He is at the forefront of the Lib Dem surge in our area and is the obvious candidate to challenge and remove our disengaged and remote Conservative MP. Paul, 33, was born in Devon but brought up and raised here in Surrey in an army family. He attended state school in Guildford and went ...
Mon, 17:18: RT @DavidMuttering: Given it's Easter and that, I was reminded of one of my favourite ever signs - on the Church of All Nations in the Gard... Mon, 17:53: Woordle 303 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Mon, 19:33: Best Short Story Hugo, 2022 https://t.co/Zq8u4KRkXj https://t.co/xsKrOd94cv Mon, 20:48: RT @FinancialTimes: Opinion: A British government squanders its legitimacy https://t.co/27BykWPiAX Mon, 22:07: RT @jfmouthonlegs: #ChrisChibnall & #RussellT said the fans would go wild. 'Mmmn maybe,' I thought. I was trying to keep up & reply to peop... Tue, 10:45: RT @midnight_pals: Tolkien: so frodo hits the hand with his sword and then ...
Responding to Minister of State for Security Brandon Lewis' comments this morning comparing Boris Johnson breaking his own lockdown rules with previous ministers receiving parking tickets or speeding fines, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: "The excuses of Conservative ministers are getting more pathetic by the day. There is a massive difference between getting a parking fine and Boris Johnson breaking his own lockdown rules. "It is an insult to bereaved families and all those who made huge sacrifices while Johnson partied in Number 10. Conservative MPs need to discover their moral backbone and sack Johnson instead of defending the ...
In the Guardian, deputy political editor Rowena Mason, gave the lowdown on the Lib Dem local election campaign launch in Merton. "This set of local elections is about gaining and building on 'footholds' where the Lib Dems are strong in nearby areas, says one of the party's senior electoral strategists... The Lib Dems are feeling chipper after surprise byelection wins at Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire. They believe this test at the local elections in places like Wimbledon will show they have the potential to break new electoral ground in 2023-24. "The party is fairly entrenched in about 27 ...
Residents will recall that I previously reported that the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial - on its side facing the river - was starting to wear, making the writing difficult to read - see below - and removing parts of the mural - see first photo : I took this up with the council's Public Art Officer who kindly made arrangements for the wording to be refreshed. This has now been done and the result is excellent as the second photo shows :
