Monitors which are supposed to measure the amount of sewage being pumped into popular seaside spots found to be broken or not even installed. As many as one in eight southern sewage monitors installed for designated swimming areas are either faulty or not installed. Sewage monitors along popular Cornish and Sussex coastlines not even installed – Lib Dem MP slams the water companies: "This is a national scandal and these new figures stink of a cover-up." New analysis of Environment Agency data by the Liberal Democrats has revealed water companies are failing to monitor sewage discharges at popular British seaside ...
Lord Bonkers pointed out at dinner this evening that I am yet to publish an excerpt from his diary for August 1992. He also assured me that you are all bursting to read it. Whatever the truth of that, here is a glimpse of the then Liberal Democrat MP for Truro, whom Lord B. must have known even then was the great-grandson of his old friend Sir Percy Harris. (He was less sure in those days of Paddy Ashdown's correct name.) Wednesday Consider Master Taylor: once a sweet, biddable child, he now lolls upon our benches listening to some dreadful ...
Here's Andrew Adonis writing in October of last year: Brexit is causing the treatment of sewage to regress from its already poor level. The Environment Agency, which lays down the rules on sewage treatment, has just issued emergency guidance exempting water companies and other undertakings from requirements to treat waste water where they can't procure the necessary chemicals. Its new regulations on "water and sewerage company effluent discharges: supply side failures" begin: "You may not be able to comply with your permit if you cannot get the chemicals you use to treat the effluent you discharge because of the UK's ...
Since the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 it has been accepted in Britain that it is the duty of the government to ensure, if not a comfortable, at least a minimum quality of life for those citizens who would otherwise be destitute. The 17th century central government craftily passed the responsibility, and the onus of paying for it, on to what passed for local government at the time. Today it is seen as largely a central government responsibility. The coming winter will bring a genuinely unprecedented* situation in which many individuals and families will be forced towards destitution when the ...
Back in February of this year, I placed a short article on my Facebook page about John 'Foghorn' Jackson the legendary cricketer, who played many a time for Nottinghamshire, but who died in Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary. Here's the article:- 'The Nottinghamshire cricketer who died in a Liverpool workhouse – Daughter Jen was reading a book called 'Secret Liverpool An Unusual Guide' by Mike Keating when she spotted a reference to Nottingham cricketer John Jackson and how he died penniless in the Liverpool workhouse which once stood where the Catholic Cathedral now stands in the City. Unsurprisingly she brought her find ...
Sun 21st
12:30
We should not let Scotland's period dignity law be overshadowed by unnecessary controversy
Scotland led the world this week as the Period Products Act, which requires councils and educational establishments to make free period products available, came into force. Although the measure was passed by the Scottish Parliament, the bulk of the credit for this has to go to Labour MSP Monica Lennon. She set the ball rolling by introducing a Members' Bill and fought so hard to persuade the Scottish Government to back the measure. It took them longer than it should have done, but they got there in the end. From Holyrood Magazine: Labour's Monica Lennon, who campaigned for the provision, ...
So let's say that someone uses the argument that they want to give a transphobic organisation access to a space where are large number of LGBT+ members assembly biannually. Let us also assume that they believe this is a Freedom of Speech issue. Firstly I would ask them to look at the organisation they are seeking to give that freedom of speech to, especially in relation to trans people. Do they use their freedom of speech to dead name trans people? Do they use their freedom of speech to insult, insinuate, libel and slander anybody who defend trans rights? Do ...
Sat, 12:56: Mary the Tower https://t.co/AkkzF8PiWx Fascinating summary of research by @libbyschrader questioning whether Lazarus had a sister called Martha and linking that Mary with Mary Magdalen. Egeria is mentioned. Sat, 14:48: Meet the woman from the girl shouting at guy meme https://t.co/SWWetFQBxE Admit it. You *were* wondering. Sat, 18:06: Inception https://t.co/SqNJd7hOyj Sat, 20:33: Saturday reading https://t.co/89UK6o032O Sat, 22:17: RT @TheBishF1: Utterly merciless & therefore acutely accurate Liz Truss coruscation in today's #TheTimes by Matthew Parris - who, lest we f... Sun, 07:54: Daily #189 1️⃣0️⃣⬛1️⃣8️⃣ 1️⃣1️⃣⬛1️⃣6️⃣ 1️⃣7️⃣⬛1️⃣2️⃣ 1️⃣3️⃣⬛1️⃣9️⃣ 0️⃣4️⃣⬛1️⃣4️⃣ 0️⃣5️⃣⬛0️⃣6️⃣ 0️⃣7️⃣⬛0️⃣8️⃣ 1️⃣5️⃣⬛0️⃣9️⃣ https://t.co/1E46GFXTgD #sedecordle In 19! Sun, 10:45: RT ...
There's a smell of decay about the Conservative Party and, far from refreshing things, its leadership contest is making that smell worse. Which naturally leads to me to a song about political scandal and self-disgust. Elvis explains: A lot of songs are about the sort of disgust with your own self. There were a lot of things that I wasn't very happy with during that time. I wanted songs to blow up the world. I had mad ambitions. Not mad as in "ambition to be famous". I never wanted that. That just came as an accident of it all. But ...
The Mirror reports that MPs and Lords have binned 2.6 million subsidised dinners as ordinary people struggle to feed their families. The paper says that over a six year period the dumped food would fill 153 eight-ton skips and weighed 1.23million kilos, or 1,230 tons. They add that the food was binned while MPs were able to tuck in to cut-price nosh as they enjoy salaries of £82,000 - an 11% pay hike this year - and free heating on their second homes. In contrast, more than two million hard-up adults admit often going without food for an entire day ...
Sun 21st
10:16Are Lib Dem concerns different from the Tories and Labour? Tory yes, Labour not so much
Most of us have gotten fed up with the deluge of opinion polls of late. On top of the usual run of surveys, there are all those surveys for the leadership election. Many seem designed to fill newspaper columns rather than advance the debate or help the unrepresentative few chose the next prime minister. But two surveys caught my eye this week. A YouGov tracker illustrates what we know or perhaps guess about political priorities. Voters for all three parties believe that the economy is the most important issue, with the greatest concern among Lib Dems. But fewer than a ...
Harris Education and Recreation Association's next block of evening courses will start on the week commencing 12th September. Enrolment is next Wednesday - 24th August - in Harris Academy from 6pm to 7pm. Classes are mostly on Wednesdays from 6.30pm-8.30pm, but there are some on Mondays and Tuesdays at the moment too. Minimum age is 16. Full class details are available at www.heradundee.org/hera-classes
