Recorded at the Liverpool Philharmonic in April 2016 when he had recently published his second volume of autobiography, Thatcher Stole My Trousers. The first was titled Stalin Ate My Homework. Blair's a Fucking Bastard has yet to appear.
Embed from Getty ImagesFiona Pitt-Keithley has written a new article about Brian Eley, the former British Chess Champion who skipped bail in 1991 while charged with sexual offences against boys. He died in Amsterdam in April, having kept one step ahead of the authorities for over 30 years, even if the life he led there doesn't sound much fun. Pitt-Keithley sets out what is known or suspected about Eley and concludes: This is a long story though I still cannot find out all the facts. But there are substantial rumours. His victims are said to include one extremely famous British ...
NationalHCAW has been running National Hate Crime Awareness Week in October every year since 2012. NationalHCAW aims to "encourage the authorities (Government, Police and Councils), key partners (the anti-hate crime sector and voluntary sector), and communities affected by hate crime to work together to tackle hate crime across the UK". For 2022/23, the theme is "We Stand Together Against Racism". The Candle of Hope and Remembrance was lit in St Paul Cathedral on Sunday 9th October with a special dedication to Chinese, East and Southeast Asian victims of hate crime. The speakers included myself and Claire Waxman OBE (Victims' Commissioner, ...
Nominations have closed for the Liberal Democrats' internal elections and there are three candidates for party president: Lucy NethsinghaMark PackLiz WebsterThere is just one nomination for vice-president: Amna Ahmad. You can find the list of people nominated for the various party committees on the Lib Dem website.
Ralph Vaughan Williams was born 150 years ago today. The Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, one of his undoubted masterpieces, was first performed in Gloucester Cathedral as part of the Three Choirs Festival of 1910. As far as I can recall, at BoxmoorPrimary School we had only two records to listen to: this and Morning by Grieg. Luckily, I fell in love with the Tallis Fantasia. It was also one of the pieces of music - this very recording - that my mother enjoyed listening to in her final days.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat this? Rough work at the mortuary in West Yorkshire? No, the story turns out to involve what was once the Halifax Building Society, which is now part of the Bank of Scotland, which is now wholly owned by the Lloyds Banking Group, and a couple from Stratford-on-Avon. And it wins the Birmingham Mail our Headline of the Day Award.
Daisy Cooper had a question about hospitals with dangerous roofs at Prime Minister's Questions today. Bizarrely Liz Truss seems to be answering a totally different question. It was shocking at #PMQs today to see the Prime Minister completely ignore my question about hospital roofs at risk of collapse. The Govt must provide emergency funding now to protect staff and patients from these dangerous roofs. pic.twitter.com/ev2CsAiWIC — Daisy Cooper MP [IMG: 🔶] (@libdemdaisy) October 12, 2022 * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active ...
The recent pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have caused a severe deepening of a mental health crisis that was already facing the nation. It is astonishing that mental health has not featured at all in the Conservative Party's conference. Contrast this with the commendable motion put forward by the Young Liberals on "Taking a stand on mental health!" Dr Adrian James, Head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, in reference to mental health, notes that we are faced with a "threat of pandemic proportions" due to the deepening cost of living crisis, whilst earlier Jo Bibby, Director of Health at ...
Today, contractors for Connexus housing association began to dig a trench across Sidney Road Green. The land now is a town green which means that it cannot be built on, developed or have any work which is incompatible with its status as being a public open space at all times. The refurbishment of Sandpits Avenue must go ahead but a different location needs to be found for the works compound. Tracey Huffer said: "I was very shocked. I was contacted by residents asking what is going on. Once I had finished work for the morning, I rushed to the site. ...
The Lloyd George Society will be holding a meeting on the evening of Tuesday 18 October in The Lounge at the National Liberal Club starting at 7.30pm. Our guest speaker will be the Labour MP for Torfaen and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, Nick Thomas-Symonds. Mr Thomas-Symonds, who is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, published a new biography of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson in September: Harold Wilson - The Winner. Mr Thomas- Symonds has already published biographies of Clement Attlee and Nye Bevan. His book on Wilson, which makes use of new and previously restricted ...
The official list of candidates for Lib Dem Federal Party President is now out, and huge thanks to the hundreds of members who nominated me.
Nominations for the party elections closed this week and the full list of candidates has now been published. There are three candidates for Party President: Lucy Nethsingha, Mark Pack and Liz Webster, but only one for Vice President: Amna Ahmad. Only three people have been nominated for the three places for Scottish representatives on the Federal Council, but all the other committee places are fully contested so we can expected lengthy ballot papers. The ballots, which for most of us will be online, will be sent out on 25th October. The makeup of each body is subject to diversity rules ...
In less than 26 minutes on Friday 23 September Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng took an axe to what remains of the British Economy and the hopes and prospects of so many ordinary people, and totally destroyed the last vestiges that the Conservatives are the party of Economic competence. By the end of the day the pound had crashed over 4% in value (and is still falling) and the FTSE a further 2%, undermining the savings, pensions, and prospects of workers, the retired and the unemployed, be they Teachers, Doctors, Farmers, workers in industry or workers in entertainment. It affects ...
As part of the revamp of the party's main federal website, www.libdems.org.uk, press releases are now appearing too. Adding press releases to the party website has been one of the most requested website features from party members in the last couple of years, and is just one of many improvements that are appearing on the new site. (Including also a new page setting out the party's values.) For Scottish and Welsh press releases, check out their respective websites. Enjoy! Sign up to get the latest news and analysis "*" indicates required fields Email* Enter Email Confirm Email Name* First Last ...
Tue, 16:05: RT @Gilesyb: Editor: "I'm tired of us looking anti-Truss" Writer: "but her performance thus far has been panned everywhere..." Editor: "don... Tue, 18:38: Daily #240 1️⃣5️⃣⬛0️⃣4️⃣ 1️⃣6️⃣⬛0️⃣5️⃣ 0️⃣6️⃣⬛0️⃣7️⃣ 1️⃣7️⃣⬛1️⃣8️⃣ 0️⃣8️⃣⬛0️⃣9️⃣ 1️⃣9️⃣⬛1️⃣0️⃣ 1️⃣1️⃣⬛1️⃣2️⃣ 1️⃣3️⃣⬛1️⃣4️⃣ https://t.co/1E46GFGhS3 #sedecordle Tue, 20:09: Ken Clarke is not alone in thinking this way. https://t.co/b8p7YIiyKX Tue, 20:17: RT @PJM2010: @nwbrux It's a pretty common view here in NI. Whatever Donaldson himself thinks, he'll probably need another election to get t... Wed, 08:03: RT @Tsihanouskaya: Two years ago, on this day, more than 100,000 protesters marched through Minsk. Protests took place across the country,... Wed, 10:45: RT ...
It has been announced that the Coronation of King Charles III will take place on Saturday 6th May 2023 (although that news on the BBC was quickly eclipsed by the information that he will be appearing in The Repair Shop). So how will that affect the local elections due to take place on Thursday 4th May? These will include elections to a number of metropolitan, unitary, district and parish Councils that elect by thirds, together with many where the whole council will be elected, plus some directly elected Mayors. There are several factors to take into account: Many Councils now ...
It appears that new ministers in Liz Truss's administration are just now beginning to realise that careless talk costs jobs. The chancellor, in particular, has caused chaos on the markets with his mini budget, his u-turns and now, his statement that support for pension funds has to end. As a result, the pound has dropped to record lows, with a consequential impact for exporters, the UK economy has shrunk by 0.3% on the back of a manufacturing slump, and mortgage rates have effectively doubled, adding to the hardship felt by many families. For the Brexiteers, whose justification for trashing our ...
From the City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of City Fibre duct installation works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in : + Lower Pleasance (between Brewery Lane and Lochee Road) + Lower Pleasance (between Brewery Lane and Brook Street) This notice comes into effect on Friday 14 October 2022 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Only one section will be closed at any time. Alternative routes for ...
