It will soon be 10 years since a surviving length of Ludlow's medieval town walls collapsed, but there is still no sign that it will be repaired. Andy Boddington writes on his blog:I visited the site on Friday. I am shocked by the state of the collapsed area. There are sycamores and a buddleia growing out of the rubble of the collapsed wall. All vegetation needs removing as a matter of urgency to prevent further damage to the wall. Tomorrow Ludlow's town council will discuss the walls, but will do so without the press or public present. As Andy says:This ...
One of the characteristics of this awful government is that they manage to present even ideas with a modicum of sense in a way which ensures they will be unpopular. Yesterday we had a classic example in the news that the new Health Secretary, Thérèse Coffey as part of her 'Plan for Patients' is planning to allow pharmacies to prescribe antibiotics (and other drugs) in some cases. It has also come out that she has said that she has handed out her own antibiotics to friends who were feeling unwell in the past. Reaction to this news has been swift ...
Journalists tend to be snobbish about politicians who begin their careers in local government, but being a councillor provides a first-class political education. In particular, it forces you to test whatever values and favourite policies you have acquired against real-world problems that are not of your choosing. So far so good. I typed that a couple of days ago, intending to add the observation that Liz Truss would not be such a callow ideologue if she had served as a councillor and post it. Then I told myself that I was being silly. Truss had served as a minister and ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is now out. As it says: The data shows that the polls here are mostly likely better than the polls over there. Find out more by reading The Week in Polls in full here, and you can sign up below to receive future editions direct to your email inbox:
Tomorrow evening (17 March), Ludlow Town Council will meet to "consider confidential legal advice from a barrister relating to Ludlow Town Walls". Members of the public and unitary councillors will be allowed to speak at the beginning of the meeting, then the council will go into private session. I am not a member of the town council and have not seen any details of what is to be discussed about the town walls beyond the simple statement above. I visited the site on Friday. I am shocked by the state of the collapsed area. There are sycamores and a buddleia ...
Paul Hartshorn, District Councillor for Blaby South on Blaby District Council, has been selected for South Leicestershire.
In 2016 Leonard Cohen wrote a final letter to his friend and muse Marianne Ihlen, who was dying: Well Marianne it's come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. And you know that I've always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don't need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I ...
It's no secret that our party has a housing conundrum. On the one hand, the Liberal Democrats acknowledge that we're in a housing crisis and that we need to build new homes to have a chance of making things better. On the other hand, one of our foundational tenets – local control – commits us to listening to communities about their vision for the future. At times these have found themselves in tension, and the internal debate has been pretty heated. Everyone here is a liberal and fundamentally we all want the same thing: for people to have the best ...
For the May 2021 local elections in England, the government temporarily changed the law so that council candidates only had to get two, rather than ten, nomination signatures to stand. This was in line with what's already the norm in Scotland, but was only a temporary measure to reduce the need for signature gathering during a COVID-19 crunch. Why we must stand in more council electionsIt's deeply frustrating for many voters when they turn up to vote and see their preferred party isn't on the ballot paper. more The rules then reverted to normal, but now the government has consulted ...
Liberal Democrat members have selected Cllr Geoff Cooper as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Romsey and Southampton North.
Sat, 12:56: Read through for the punchline! https://t.co/MgHOhXLkNF Sat, 14:48: RT @NotRightRuth: 🧵Graham Norton went viral for asking that people listened not to him on trans issues, but to experts, to trans kids, and... Sat, 16:05: RT @TomMcTague: Britain was once a rich country, seemingly well governed. Today it is very clearly not. It is a poor country, badly governe... Sat, 17:32: How I decide which book to read�next https://t.co/Zu7UFfWz70 Sat, 18:39: RT @StephenFarryMP: @nwbrux @dmcbfs @robertmurtagh1 @KwasiKwarteng That was potentially a major turning point in history... Sat, 18:53: I don't actually care very much one at or the other ...
It seems to me that the people of Liverpool are now caught between two levels of hapless incompetence. On the one hand we have a hapless crash and burn Primer Minister who will clearly, if she survives, do what she ... Continue reading →
Putin's hold on power Vladimir Putin's hold on power must be slipping away. But which Kremlin insider might replace him? Well, according to the constitution, the Prime minister – who is Mikhail Mishustin – is meant to succeed the president if he has to suddenly resign or is incapacitated. Mishustin has been responsible for the dealing with the economy which is reeling from sanctions. He has done a reasonable job and is in the front rank of successors, but not regarded as a number one possibility. That could be Nikolai Patrushev, former head of Russian intelligence organisation the FSB. He ...
Housing association Connexus has agreed to abandon its plans to build a storage and welfare compound on Ludlow's new town green at the bottom of Sidney Road. Its contractors will begin dismantling the compound and reinstating the ground from Monday 17 October. This move comes after the green space was declared a town green. This protects it from any development including temporary works. The declaration of town green status was made after Connexus applied for the land to be protected under the Commons Act 2006, which modified earlier law. Town green status was granted by Shropshire Council on 27 September ...
With the UK economy already reeling as a result of Brexit, ensuring that things are not made worse by the neo-liberals and free-marketeer isolationists who run the government must be a priority for any right-minded politician. However, according to this article in the Independent, MPs are failing to properly scrutinise the lagislation that is dismantling the sensible checks and balances that allowed our country to prosper within the EU. The paper refers to a new report by constitutional experts at the Institute for Government, which details how scrutiny of EU matters has "dwindled" and become "a niche activity" on the ...
Many thanks to the residents who recently contacted us about a dog waste bin had fallen over in Peddie Street - its the post had rusted at the base. We reported this to environment management who promised to promptly uplift this. We also requested that a replacement bin is provided to ensure adequate dog waste bin facilities in Peddie Street.
