I was on my farm milking one of our goats when I was called by the local media about the community asset transfer of the football field at Marley Hill to Fellside Football Club a few days ago. They wanted my views on the planned transfer. I support it and pointed out we have already got 2 successful asset transfers in the village - the Bowling Green to the Marley Hill Bowling Club and the
Neil Schofield Hughes thinks Sue Gray's appointment as Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff is a problem: "I have no idea what induced Gray to accept this post - although it's obvious that she was disgracefully used by Boris Johnson, forced to provide a human shield for Johnson's wrongdoing and then sidelined - but surely she can see how dangerous it is for the Service, and even for Constitutional government." And so is Isabel Oakeshott's decision to hand Matt Hancock's WhatsApp messages to the Daily Telegraph, says Steven Barnett. Oliver Balch reviews Urban Jungle: Wilding the City by Ben Wilson: "Wilding ...
Fri, 08:45: Worrying moment when the @Eurostar announcement in English, French and German that the train will leave 40 minutes late is accompanied by an announcement in Dutch that it will leave *50* minutes late. What do they know that the rest of us don't? Fri, 18:46: Juggle and Hide, by Sharon van�Ivan https://t.co/4iGx2Kb7d9 </ul
Today, many countries around the world are nation-states: sovereign political entities in which one "nation" (a particular ethnic, cultural, or linguistic group) comprises a large majority of a country's population. In a way, it does make sense; after all, it is easier to communicate with people who speak the same language as you. But some issues do arise: what about people groups who fall outside of the "nation"? What if members of your "nation" live outside of your country's borders? Despots of all creeds have answered these questions with the same response: genocide and irridentism. Irridentism is defined in the ...
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Commons Privileges Committee has published the report of its investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled the House of Commons over his office's compliance with Covid laws while he was prime minister. You can download the whole report yourself. It concludes: There is evidence that the House of Commons may have been misled in the following ways which the Committee will explore: a) It may have been misled when Mr Johnson said on 8 December 2021 that no rules or guidance had been broken in No. 10. The second permanent secretary and the Metropolitan police have already ...
In today's least surprising news, the Guardian reports on the view of a former police chief that UK government ministers did not understand their own Covid lockdown rules, causing confusion and resentment among the police officers tasked with enforcing them. The paper says that Peter Fahy, the former chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said that recent revelations in the Telegraph have underlined how difficult it was for officers to enforce the lockdowns: The Telegraph reported on Thursday that a cache of WhatsApp messages show Matt Hancock, the health secretary at the time, telling Simon Case, the Downing Street permanent ...
Getting elected locally, becoming a citizen and living in freedom or security should be tackled in the right order. I just did the opposite. Arriving from Australia as an immigrant in 2016 (pre Brexit), getting elected a Councillor last May and becoming an UK citizen last month was a journey that made me think: how do I as a LibDem contribute to the safety, security and sustainability of our country? There are no easy answers but some clear pointers to what we might need: progressive, practical and patriotic steps to make Britain its liberal best. I wrote back in March ...
Welcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention poll from each pollster currently operating in Britain. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email: Understanding different polling firms You may find these posts useful: 'Waiting for Survation': a reminder of the value of checking the evidence. YouGov: is it biased to the Conservatives? Frequently Asked Questions Why isn't polling company X in ...
Six principal authority council by-elections this week, with four Liberal Democrat candidates. That's one up on the last time these seats were up. On which note: Special Webinar on finding candidates! [IMG: 😎] Monday 6th March [IMG: ⭐] https://t.co/DUDUktAegw — ALDC (@ALDC) March 2, 2023
The current emergency in our A&E departments is directly linked to a failure to reform social care. Reforming social care was a key promise of the Labour and Plaid Cymru Co-operation Agreement, yet things appear to be worse than ever.We need action now.
