What's that in the BBC's The UK year in pictures? Why, it's a Liberal Democrat by-election victory photo stunt. And what's not in the BBC's list? Keir Starmer's photo op on the same day in a car park in the Wakefield constituency. It was the same story too with Matt Chorley's recent end-of-year quiz on Times Radio. The blue door, not the car park, got to be a question. A reminder that though many party members love to bemoan the cheesiness of such photo stunts, when they're done well they hugely extend the publicity for the story that beget them. ...
I can remember lying in bed at the age of eight or nine, hearing the theme music for Softly Softly playing downstairs and wishing I could watch it. But it started at ten past eight, which was late for a well brought up Sixties child. By the time I could watch it, it had metamorphosed into Softly Softly: Task Force, and its those shows that I have been watching on YouTube over Christmas. One of the things that has struck me is how little help the police could expect from forensic science in those days. There were fingerprints, but beyond ...
London has always felt like a Liberal city. We are welcoming, diverse, creative and tolerant. We are an internationalist world-class city open for learning and innovative business in or out of the EU. Recent research by the political scientist, Sir John Curtice*, concluded "London looks very different from the rest of the country". A third of Londoners (34%) are socially liberal, compared with just 19% of those in urban areas outside the capital. So now is the time for a Liberal surge in the city. We had one after the referendum when London voted 59.9% to remain and the LibDems ...
Letter from Brussels is a 15-minute podcast that will help Lib Dem local councillors, activists, and supporters stay in touch with what is happening in the European Union from the perspective of local authorities. It is produced by the liberal "Renew Europe Group" in the European Committee of the Regions, the EU's assembly of municipalities and regions, and is written and narrated by Sean O'Curneen, Secretary General of the Group, and a former BBC journalist. Every episode starts with a fascinating story about the city of Brussels, the capital of the Union, and is followed by the latest news, opinions, ...
Thu 29th
10:31
A nonpartisan campaign to seek apology for the forced repatriation of Chinese Sailors after Second W...
Many thousand Chinese men served in the Chinese Labour Corps in France during the First World War and on the British Merchant ships that supplied Britain in both World Wars. They were renowned to be knowledgeable in their duties, hardworking but were paid less than their British counterparts. Many of them died alongside their British colleagues on land and at sea. At the end of the Second World War over 2000 Chinese seamen who had helped in the war effort lived in Merseyside. The then Labour Government were concerned that they would stay permanently, also the Seamen's Union were worried ...
Since this site started in 2009, I've been keeping an eye on which is the most popular blog post with readers. It's a little trip down memory lane, showing how my own interests and my audience has evolved over time. Here's the latest round-up: 2022: Latest general election voting intention opinion polls – see 2021, 2020 and 2019. What the All Blacks are to rugby, my polling round-up is to this blog, thanks in particular to Google's continued love of putting it high up in search results. The second most popular post has a similar wide reach to non-regular readers. ...
2022 was not a brilliant year for Liverpool because of both Tory incompetence nationally and Labour incompetence locally. But the spirit of Liverpool... A look back at 2022 in Liverpool
Following the recent latest flooding closures at Riverside recycling centre, including again yesterday, we sought assurances that steps were being taken to tackle the issue. The Waste Service Manager at the City Council has now advised : "We have been in discussion with council colleagues and we will look to consider further mitigations, for significant flooding being experienced during extreme flood events. This will include: + The existing drainage runs+ The flood alleviation pumps+ The Flood Emergency Plan We will look to undertake this work as quickly as possible."
