Earlier today, Ben Judah tweeted this intriguing nugget of cultural criticism: There's something of a trend at the moment to describe 'our' culture (whether that's just British or broader) as being stuck in a rut, retreading the same old concepts ... Continue reading →
Gateshead is part of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority. It is run by a joint committee consisting of councillors from the five constituent councils. Hardly renowned for gripping debates, the committee is unlikely to have a queue of people eagerly waiting to get into the meeting to listen intently to councillors discussing the great issues of the day. Until today, that is.For today, I am
"Increasingly people in work cannot afford to provide the necessities of life for themselves and their families. Increasingly, they are having to resort to one of the 2200 food banks in the country to keep going, at least to keep their kids fed to the end of the month." Richard Kemp says we need to share the wealth of the nation more fairly if we are to keep society going, Tanya Gold reported from Tiverton and Honiton on the eve of polling, saying the Conservatives deserved to lose: "This is not raging North Shropshire, where former Conservatives would denounce Johnson ...
Mon 27th
21:04
Harborough District Council bars members from seeing report on controversial property deal
There's a strange affair going on here in Market Harborough. As the Leicester Mercury explains: A council which spent three times as much as it should on a bungalow has been called 'undemocratic' for not allowing councillors to read a report explaining why. Harborough District Council came under fire last year over a decision to buy a bungalow, in Granville Street, Market Harborough, for £920,000 when property website Zoopla had it valued at an estimated £303,000. The council said at the time the purchase was to enable an affordable housing development in the area at nearby Naseby Square. An internal ...
Mon 27th
18:55Former Tory MP for Harborough calls on middle-ranking minsters to rebel against Boris Johnson
Embed from Getty ImagesLord Garnier, who as Edward Garnier was Conservative MP for Harborough from 1992 to 2017, has a remarkable letter in The Times today. It is tucked behind the newspaper's paywall, but someone has kindly tweeted the whole thing: William Hague has understandably called for cabinet ministers to resign in the aftermath of the two by-election defeats. ... Of course they will not do that as most of them cannot realistically expect to be in then next prime minister's cabinet. It therefore needs ministers of state and parliamentary under-secretaries to do what the cabinet cannot or will not ...
Welcome to a new Member of Parliament, flanked by party leader Ed Davey and Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain: Honoured to be sworn in as the new Member of Parliament for Tiverton & Honiton. Now to get to work! pic.twitter.com/EjIbOfqfTo — Richard Foord MP (@RichardFoordLD) June 27, 2022
It's official, Richard Foord has now formally taken his seat in Parliament, bringing the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons to fourteen strong. We'll cover his maiden speech in due course but, in the meantime, here is the moment we've all been waiting for... Honoured to be sworn in as the new Member of Parliament for Tiverton & Honiton. Now to get to work! pic.twitter.com/EjIbOfqfTo — Richard Foord MP (@RichardFoordLD) June 27, 2022 * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
"It's the same the whole world over, Ain't it all a blinking shame, It's the rich wot gets the biscuit, It's the poor wot gets the blame" ,This song was popular in 19th century music halls, and it just shows ... Continue reading →
Mon 27th
11:46
If you want a strong public sector, you're going to have to compete on pay and conditions eventually...
There is no way in which one can buck the market. – Margaret Thatcher, 10 March 1988 And yet, Governments, especially Conservative ones, keep doing just that when it comes to public sector pay. Even more ironically, there seems to be a belief that, contrary to the notion that there is no such thing as society, people will take an altruistic view when it comes to their own salary prospects in order to work in the public sector. There may have been a time when the public sector was grossly overpaid in comparison with the private sector. Personally, as a ...
Sun, 12:56: RT @SJohnsdottire: Pro-lifers don't like complexity. At 17 weeks my placenta detached and he was much too small. I thought I felt my baby's... Sun, 14:38: Just read Theodore Sturgeon's story "Chromium Helmet", from 1946, in which the villain's name is Wickersham. Did he get the name from my grandmother's first cousin Cornelius Wendell Wickersham, a prominent soldier at the time? https://t.co/T8Lbcjq6CA Sun, 16:36: Slumdog Millionaire; and Q&A, by Vikas�Swarup https://t.co/nXm1mQC8XY Sun, 20:48: RT @jburnmurdoch: NEW: unfortunately it's time for another international Covid update, as the BA.5 Omicron lineage (and BA.4 to a lesser ex... Sun, 20:59: Never ...
Dunston fair on Saturday was attended by local Lib Dem councillors. Cllr Peter Maughan decided to take his two Newfoundland dogs with him. The breed basically consists of enormous heaps of fur, gigantic tongues and an unfeasibly large quantity of slather. Nevertheless they were very popular with the other visitors to the fair in Dunston Park, indeed, more popular than the politicians (of both
As if the dubious friendships and alleged shenanigans with under-age girls by Prince Andrew was not bad enough, the latest headlines, in which the heir to the throne is accused of accepting €3m in cash from a billionaire Qatari sheikh, must surely add grist to the mill for those questioning the judgement of the Queen's sons, and consequently, the need for an unaccountable, hereditary monarchy. The Guardian reports on claims that Charles accepted three donations between 2011 and 2015 from former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani - known as "HBJ". One donation, totalling €1m, was ...
It's been another good week to be a Liberal Democrat, I'd suggest. An astonishing victory in Tiverton & Honiton, and polling numbers in the low teens indicates that, whilst the Party is not at the levels we saw prior to 2010, we're certainly relevant again. It certainly helps that the Conservative government looks to be in an utter shambles, led by a man they don't really believe in any more, and apparently without any policies designed to address the critical issue of the day – the cost of living crisis. The inability of ministers to take any medium or long ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 27 JUNE 2022 South Tay Street - temporary traffic lights from Monday 27 June for 4 weeks for footway works. Miller's Wynd - closed at its junction with Hawkhill for major construction works. Start date Monday 27 June for 6 months. Dudhope Roundabout - lane closures from 9.00am on Friday 1 July to 6.00am on Saturday 2 July for Scottish Water work. City Road at Logie Street - southbound lane closure from Wednesday 29 June for 2 days for CityFibre Works. Forthcoming Roadworks City ...
For the first time in 30 years I went to the Newcastle Hoppings last night. We got to Exhibition Park and a sudden and very heavy downpour nearly made the evening into a washout. Fortunately it lasted only 5 minutes. So, one burger, one packet of very overpriced pick and mix sweets and one ride later and we headed back home. You need to watch to the end of the video to find out which thrill ride
