GDP Stats: Britain still at the back of the growth queue Profiteering supermarkets: It is absolute rubbish to oppose an investigation GDP Stats: Britain still at the back of the growth queue Responding to the latest GDP figures which show the economy shrank in March, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: The economy continues to be on its knees after years of Conservative chaos. This government has hit families with spiralling mortgages, rising food and energy bills and huge unjustified tax hikes. Complete mismanagement of the country's financial books has put Britain at the back of the queue ...
Embed from Getty ImagesTomorrow the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) is gathering in Bournemouth. This new party group was set up after the party's MPs decided they could no longer stomach supporting Boris Johnson as leader and prime minister. A report in the Guardian says its organisers deny it's a 'Johnson revivalist group', but that report also says almost every speaker at the event is a noted Johnson supporter. The CDO website gives the group's aim: Our mission is to strengthen party democracy by ensuring the Conservative Party is representative of the membership and fairly represents their views. And says its ...
The Yorkshire Post reports: North Yorkshire Liberal Democrats seeking to gain more ground after last week's local polls have unveiled their plan to unseat Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in what has traditionally been viewed a safe Tory seat at the next general election. The Liberal Democrats, who saw a potentially significant turnaround in the Fountains and Masham North Yorkshire Council by-election earlier this year when Felicity Cunliffe-Lister beat the Conservative candidate by more than 500 votes, said its prospective parliamentary candidate Daniel Callaghan possessed "local knowledge"... Mr Callaghan said: "Having grown up in the constituency and being personally connected with ...
On Twitter today, Brynley Heaven, who once wrote a guest post for this blog about three unlikely heroes from Grantham, mentioned the Blair government's long-forgotten proposal for eco-towns. This reminded me that I had written an article for the Guardian website opposing the idea that one of them should be built just to the east of Leicester. It began:These days, there are few prejudices people feel comfortable displaying in public, but you can always get away with being rude about the Midlands. This dismissive attitude goes back a long way. Hilaire Belloc described the Midlands as "sodden and unkind", and ...
Many of us are watching the progress of the appalling Illegal Immigration Bill as it makes its way through the Houses. On Wednesday it reached the Lords for a second reading, and there were some barnstorming speeches from Lib Dem peers. Here are some extracts. Brian Paddick moved an amendment that would have effectively killed the Bill immediately. My Lords, Trevor Phillips recently wrote in the Times that, in 2000, 175 million people lived outside the country of their birth and that, by 2020, it was 280 million. He likened the Prime Minister's pledge to "stop the boats" to King ...
Ceredigion Liberal Democrats have reselected Mark Williams as Liberal Democrats for Ceredigion following a vote of local party members. Mark Williams was formerly the MP for Ceredigion from 2005- 2017 and was the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. He and his wife Helen, who runs the local Community Hwb, live in Borth with their four children. Since 2017 Mark has resumed his teaching career and has remained active in a range of local voluntary organisations and charities. Commenting on his selection, Mark Williams said: I am delighted to once again be our candidate in my home constituency, the place ...
Fri 12th
14:07
Eurovision: Lib Dems call for a Ukraine cultural reconstruction fund to mark Grand Final
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to create a 'lasting legacy' for this week's Eurovision by setting up a Ukrainian cultural reconstruction fund with the UK's European allies. Eurovision 2023 is being hosted by the UK on behalf of Ukraine – after Ukraine was victorious in the 2022 edition of the contest, amidst the initial months of Russia's invasion. The BBC has emphasised that this Saturday's Grand Final will have "glorious Ukraine at its heart." To commemorate the occasion, the Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to commemorate the occasion by establishing a Ukrainian cultural reconstruction fund, which ...
TransPennine: Another broken Conservative promise EU law bill: Conservative Party "devouring itself" while families struggle Bank of England: If Hunt doesn't meet inflation target then he must go TransPennine: Another broken Conservative promise Responding to the news that TransPennine Express will be brought under Government control, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Transport in the Lords, Baroness Randerson said: The Government have been forced to take over another rail company. Passengers are angry that services are being cancelled and the Conservative's failure to stop industrial action is making things worse. Years ago the Conservatives promised to fix railway services, promising that the ...
So, the local elections in Gateshead are over and we've all had time to compare the size of our votes/majorities etc. So here are a few of the record breakers:Labour's biggest vote was in Ryton, Crookhill and Stella where Alex Geddes took 1545 votes.The Conservatives' biggest vote was in Winlaton and High Spen with Lewis Ormston on 642 votes. (In some wards that would have put them within
We had our group annual meeting on Tuesday. Attendance was modestly bigger than previously, following the election of Leanne Brand in Saltwell and Paul Elliott in Birtley (both gains from Labour). Ron Beadle was re-elected Leader and therefore Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council. Chris Ord was re-elected Deputy Leader. Sonya Hawkins was re-elected Secretary and Daniel Duggan was
The Independent reports on a damning study that claims government experts have based the UK's badger cull on a "confused and flawed" interpretation of the science. The paper says that the study has called for an immediate rethink of the policy, after officials adopted an "ineffective and misguided approach" to tackling tuberculosis in dairy cows, leading to a policy that is "a self-perpetuating failure": The authors of the new report, who include biologist and veteran campaigner Tom Langton and Paul Torgerson, a professor of veterinary epidemiology, as well as badger researchers, accuse the government of "consistently misrepresenting" some of the ...
With 12 May being both the Feast of St Pancras and Steve Winwood's birthday, it's a public holiday here on Liberal England. A couple of recent posts. In March I discovered that the story of the Hardy Tree in Old St Pancras churchyard - its beside the line just before the station - is a recent invention. And the most popular post here this week has been the one where I revealed that Steve Winwood's grandson was to be a page at the Coronation.
Ceredigion Liberal Democrats have reselected Mark Williams as Liberal Democrats for Ceredigion following a vote of local party members.
Recently one of the two paper/card recycling bins in Forest Park Place was damaged and thereafter removed, leaving only one paper bin, which was insufficient for the number of households in the street. We asked for this to be sorted and am pleased to advise that it was agreed to provide an additional 1280 litre paper/card bin which is now in place. We also asked for much needed road repairs in the street and were advised : "An order has been raised for repairs to be carried out."
