Only two principal authority council by-elections this week, but both, hooray, with Liberal Democrat candidates. First up, a Lib Dem defence: Congratulations to Eileen Wilson and her brilliant campaign team! Was a pleasure to be Eileen's colleague on @SouthCambs DC and good news she's back following the very sad death of John Loveluck. Well done to everyone that helped! [IMG: 🔸] [IMG: 🔶] [IMG: 🔸] [IMG: 🔶] [IMG: 🔸] https://t.co/JYRi4bq41H — Ian Sollom [IMG: 🔶] (@IanSollom) March 16, 2023
It's time to add a few more notes about children and bombsites in post-war British films. ****** I watched The Blue Lamp from 1950 again the other week, this time with an eye to any bombsites that might appear. And there were bombsites: early on we saw a car chase across one. Later on, a small girl is shown playing with a gun there, though it turns out she found it in or by a nearby canal. The film also makes the bombsite, which is half flooded, look unappealing, and the children we see on it are grubbier than in ...
First published on LibDem Voice. I have about twenty years or so left on this planet. I very much hope that before I shuffle off, the UK will have rejoined the EU. I think it will be touch and go whether we manage it. Apologies to our more enthusiastic Europhiles if that disappoints you, but I think it is realistic. The EU needs to see a steady majority in favour of joining over a period of time. We don't have that stable majority yet, though I expect we will. It will then need to remain stable for a number of ...
"We have obtained an excoriating letter sent to the BBC chairman, Richard Sharp, by the co-directors of the BBC Singers. The letter mentions aggressive acts and inaccurate statements by senior BBC officials, all of whom are named within. It appears that only one member of the BBC executive ever heard the BBC Singers perform before a decision was taken to abolish the ensemble." Norman Lebrecht uncovers fear and loathing at the BBC.Advocacy groups and human rights organisations have written to Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and to Stephen Watson, its chief constable, to ask them to investigate discriminatory ...
As part of his pre-conference media round, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has been talking with The Guardian: Our country thrives most when it is open and outward-looking. I'm proud of our party's internationalism and our commitment to restore overseas aid to 0.7% of GDP. I'm looking forward to saying more about this in my conference speech on Sunday.https://t.co/7Bes8sV47T — Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) March 16, 2023
The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, finished his speech on an upbeat note: "Inflation down, debt falling, growth up." Well, that's certainly world-beating perception management. It's all true, but fails to mention that inflation at the end of the year will still be at 2.9%, nearly half as much again as the 2% target level, [government] debt is predicted to fall, but will still be 30% above the acceptable level, and growth, at a predicted 0.2%, is the lowest in the G7 and a tiny fraction of the 3% the politicians would like to see. It is hard to see how the ...
By the time you read this, I will, fingers crossed and LNER permitting, be cosied up in my hotel in York. After 3 and a half years, I am ridiculously excited to see my friends. I may talk to a lot of them every day thanks to the wonders of social media, but it's not the same thing as being in the room with them. This Conference is going to be very different for me. Long Covid means that the usual whirlwind from breakfast fringes to late night drinking is just not possible for me this time. I'm treating it ...
Yesterday was International Long Covid Day, a day to raise awareness of the impact of Long Covid and to campaign for more action to support the tens of millions who suffer from it worldwide and more research into treatments to alleviate its symptoms. As one of the 1.8 million British people who have this horrible condition, I know only too well the debilitating impact it can have on your life. Back in October I summated Alex Cole-Hamilton's motion calling for a cross government package of support. Five months on, I am gradually getting stronger, but recovery is far from linear. ...
We needed a Robin Hood budget yesterday for the poorest paid but got a Sheriff of Nottingham budget. But what would you expect from a Tory Government? Our childhood stories tell us of a hero, Robin Hood who took from ... Continue reading →
Thu 16th
12:00
Liberalism: the delicate balances between democracy and market capitalism, between freedom and solid...
When I first joined the Liberal Party many decades ago, it thought of itself as the party of ideas. It wasn't much good at campaigning, but groups of Young Liberals and old liberals, in universities and London clubs, held study sessions and published papers and books; and the Liberal Summer School devoted several days to serious discussions of policies and principles. We took pride in the occasions when other parties pinched our ideas: we saw ourselves as the intellectual drivers of British politics. Since then we have learn how to campaign, above all at the local level. But that's come ...
Watch Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney reacting in Parliament to the 2023 Budget from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Wed, 18:25: Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris�Strugatsky https://t.co/H7BYzCnfAr Thu, 09:32: #ThursdayArt By Colin Davidson. I failed to note the title, but if you know Belfast, it's obvious what it is. A bit of Ireland for St Patrick's Day tomorrow. https://t.co/1WcYDf00Wj Thu, 09:40: RT @301N: @nwbrux "Towards Cave Hill From Botanic, Belfast" (2022) https://t.co/9csyZI3lpn typically powerful painting Thu, 10:45: Doctor Who bosses 'planning UNIT spin-off with Jemma Redgrave' https://t.co/cahVEznY79 Hooray! </ul
The Labour MP, Jess Phillips makes a very powerful and accurate point while speaking in the House of Commons about the Tory government's illegal immigration bill. As the Mirror reports, Phillips asked the PM what she should say to the next trafficked woman who is being repeatedly raped and who comes to her for help. Her remarks follow the government's announcement that its illegal Immigration Bill will withdraw protection under modern slavery laws to those who don't enter the UK via legal routes: When the policy was unveiled last week, Mr Sunak posted his support for the legislation and said ...
On Saturday conference will discuss an important paper about tackling the many sources of unfairness in our society. I wrote about this for Liberal Democrat Voice in September when we were expecting to discuss them, and, given the importance of the issues, thought it worth republishing the substance of that article now. The paper on fairness includes essential short term measures to deal with the cost of living crisis but its main focus is more strategic - covering lifelong employment support, more power to local communities and better workforce protections. The conference motion also offers a choice - and conference ...
An extraordinary case was concluded in the election court in Birmingham last month in which a former Labour Lord Mayor of Birmingham was given leave by the Election Court to withdraw an election petition seeking to overturn his loss at the May 2022 elections to two Lib Dem Councillors. The background is that in the election Labour's Muhammed Afzal and a colleague were defeated by Lib Dem Cllrs – Ayoub Khan and Mumtaz Hussain – the relevant bit of the result was: Ayoub Khan (Liberal Democrat) 3012 votes Mumtaz Hussain (Liberal Democrat) 2542 votes Muhammad Afzal (Labour) 2463 votes Nagina ...
The next Dundee Art Society talk is this Friday evening - 17th March - 7pm to 9pm at the Roseangle Gallery. All welcome and as usual the talk is free to attend. Allan Henderson Neo Impressionistic technique of Pointillism Allan is a highly regarded contemporary artist. He is inspired by Seurat, Signac, Cross and others. He will demonstrate using pastels, the principles of Pointillism, exploring the technique of divided colour, in order to create a work in the gallery.
