There's an enjoyable news story that has appeared and reappeared in recent summers. A groups of boys at a secondary school want to wear shorts in hot weather but are told by the powers that be that they can't. They then read the school's uniform policy carefully and find there's nothing to stop them wearing skirts. So they turn up at school in skirts one day as a protest, secure in the knowledge that the authorities can't do anything about it. But Wymondham High Academy in Norfolk has spoilt the fun. It's gender-neutral uniform policy states that pupils can wear ...
So today we heard the results of the Industrial Tribunal appeal from Nick Kavanagh against his summary dismissal by the Council. The council has been clearly and completely been vindicated by the proceedings. This is a very significant moment for ... Continue reading →
A confidential briefing sent to Conservative members of Wokingham Borough Council sets out plans to disrupt the authority's meetings. As reported by Wokingham Today, which has obtained a copy of the briefing, it lays out a number of tactics including interfering [with] speeches, accusations of bias and taking credit for the policies of other parties. When contacted by the paper, the Tories doubled down on their accusation that the Liberal Democrat mayor of the borough is biased. It's tempting to see this as a sign that Boris Johnson's personal moral shortcomings are infecting his party. But this is not the ...
A regular complaint about politics is the lack of plain speaking. Even when truths are unavoidably uncomfortable, a lack of ambiguity (removing any excuse for convenient misunderstanding) will annoy some people. No matter how gently explained, the tone of the varnish can be criticised as, of course, are expletives deployed for emphasis. Just recently there was much media anguish over whether to describe Russian atrocities in Ukraine as genocide. Now we are all becoming familiar with those invaders being described as terrorists - a term previously reserved for extremists, revolutionaries or liberators depending on your attitude towards incumbent authorities, or ...
On Monday, Richard Foord was sworn in as MP for Tiverton and Honiton. The political repercussions of the stunning Lib Dem victory are still rattling around with some suggesting that the Tories are in danger of losing their rural votes. Foord's intervention yesterday evening was described by Deputy Speaker as "his maiden intervention—if such terminology exists; it does now." Intervening in an adjournment debate on ambulance waiting times at Royal Cornwall Hospital, Richard Foord said: During the by-election campaign in Tiverton and Honiton, almost everybody I spoke to on the doorstep had their own personal story about having to wait ...
The UK has a reputation as the world centre of money-laundering due to our lax regulations and the influence bought by 'dirty money', and that does not appear to be changing anytime soon, despite Ministers' so-called crackdown on Russian oligarchs. The Independent says that MPs believe Boris Johnson's pledge to crack down on Russian dirty money in London will fail because of a lack of funding and expert staff. They say that a Foreign Affairs Committee report has found that the prime minister's "rhetoric" in quickly pushing through the Economic Crime Act - following the Ukraine invasion - is not ...
New polling shows the proportion of Britons who think the UK's exit from the EU has made their daily life worse has risen to 45%.
A new law has enabled Met. Police to seize the equipment of protester Steve Bray, who we are proud to acknowledge as a member of this party. Whether you agree with Brexit or not, you should be aware that this repressive legislation militates against any protest which makes a noise. - Frank Little
Responding to the news that the Home Office is planning to reopen Campsfield House in Kidlington as part of their Rwanda Plan, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon Layla Moran said: "This disgraceful decision reflects at best a failure of policy and at worst complete heartlessness from the Home Office. Our community fought for years to close this facility, and will be incredibly dismayed by this announcement. "Locking people up for months on end - without giving them any idea how long they'll be detained - is inhumane and unnecessary. "These measures are also an enormous waste of ...
Government neglect shown as quarter of GP posts could be vacant in ten years Responding to analysis published today by the Health Foundation that says a quarter of GP posts could be vacant in a decade, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP, said: The Conservatives have been running our NHS and our health services into the ground for years. They have taken our health service for granted and that needs to change. People are struggling to get appointments and GPs are under more pressure than ever, no one wins from this Conservative Government's neglect. GP surgeries are at breaking ...
We recently received complaints about the deteriorating condition of parts of the roadway of Middlebank Crescent. We raised this with the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership and have received this helpful reply : "Pothole repairs will be carried out."
