Is there no end to this government's determination to make life in Britain worse? As the Guardian reports: Wifi for train passengers in England may be axed as the government seeks to cut costs. The move is being pushed by the Department for Transport in order to cut costs as it looks to "reform all aspects of the railway" and provide "value for money". This story comes from the latest edition of Christian Wolmar's Calling All Stations podcast. Behind this penny pinching lies the fact that privatisation left Britain's railways working under a horribly complex system that leaks public money ...
Looks like someone has been scared off by Monica Harding: Exclusive Dominic Raab, the former deputy PM, will stand down as an MP at the next general election. Decision comes just a month after quitting Cabinet over bullying claims. Was facing a tough fight for his seat. https://t.co/mImMaPcePH — Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) May 22, 2023
Braverman: Sunak's silence speaks volumes Natasha Asghar – Conservatives clearly see Wales as a secondary thought Braverman: Sunak's silence speaks volumes Responding to reports that Rishi Sunak has met with Sir Laurie Magnus, but not yet decided whether he will order an investigation into concerns that Suella Braverman has broken the Ministerial Code, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said: For a Prime Minister who promised integrity, Sunak's silence speaks volumes. He has had ample time to contact his ethics advisor and announce an investigation. His inability to act is a clear failure of leadership. Sunak and his entire ...
Good news from the Shropshire hills: the coming weekend sees the return of the shuttle bus that takes visitors to the Stiperstones and the Long Mynd. It will run every weekend through the summer: the last day of operation is Sunday 8 October. There's more good news: the buses will stop near the lead mine at Snailbeach after missing them out last summer and, by serving Hamperley, they will take you to the heart of Malcolm Saville country. There are also better links with service buses on the Ludlow and Bishop's Castle roads. The bad news is that all this ...
It's been a very long time since a new Liberal Democrat peerage was created, in fact, my perhaps sketchy research suggests that the last Liberal Democrat life peer to take their seat was Andrew Stunell on 26 October 2015, whilst the last by-election for a Liberal Democrat hereditary peer was in April 2016, when John Thurso was elected to replace Eric Avebury. But, following the retirement of crossbench peer Viscount Falkland in March, a vacancy has arisen. As he was one of the hereditary peers elected to be a Deputy Chairman of the House in 1999, the vacancy is to ...
Welcome if not surprising selection news from the Liberal Democrats in south west London: I am delighted to announce I have been reselected as the @LibDems candidate for Richmond Park at the next General Election. It has been such an honour to serve as the MP for this fantastic constituency over the last few years, and I look forward to campaigning to do so again. pic.twitter.com/rbNZLkXZxQ — Sarah Olney (@sarahjolney1) May 22, 2023
The Guardian reports that the Labour Party faces accusations of overcentralised meddling after the party's national executive vetoed planned coalitions with the Liberal Democrats or Greens in a series of formerly Conservative-held local authorities. They say that while it is longstanding Labour policy that local parties need a green light from the national executive committee (NEC) before forming coalitions, some activists say attempts to block deals risk allowing Conservatives to regain control instead: In one council, Hertsmere, just north of London, where the Tories lost power for the first time since 1999 in this month's elections, Labour councillors are threatening ...
There are many ways I could support the Liberal Democrats and liberal values. As a Londoner, I could support our GLA team: one of the reasons I joined the Party was to oppose the Silvertown Tunnel. As a Young Liberal, I could join a group that gained councillors in 25 councils (and counting) - with 2 of those wins defeating incumbent Conservative Council leaders - in the local elections (which as Liberal Democrats, we should be mentioning at every possible opportunity...) and that created the app at Spring Conference in York. As an economist (or at least, an economist in-training), ...
It is very sad to report that David Patterson passed away peacefully in hospital on 24 April 2023 at the age of 83. David was the backbone of Tooting Liberals and the Battersea and Tooting Liberal Democrats for more years than I can think of. David's sister reports that David was a Liberal as a teenager. He shot to (relative) fame by winning a Wandsworth Council by-election in the Earlsfield ward in October 1983, joining his colleague Paul Bowdage who had been elected at the 1982 all-up elections. Both subsequently lost their seats in a vicious three-party fight in 1986, ...
I ought to start by apologising for the sense of editorial absence in recent weeks. In truth, I've struggled a bit for motivation but let's see if we can get back on the horse and push on... We won... and wasn't it great? So, the world of local government in England is a rather different place, as Liberal Democrat groups across the country have found themselves, expectedly or otherwise, in a position where they may, or may not, be part of administrations. Here in Suffolk, for example, the Conservatives lost control of Mid Suffolk, West Suffolk and East Suffolk, and ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 22 MAY 2023 Brown Street (south of Douglas Street) - closed for 13 months until May 2024 for construction works. Forthcoming Roadworks Hawkhill (Peddie Street to Annfield Road) - closed eastbound from 9.00am on Wednesday 7 June to 6.00am on Thursday 8 June for Scottish Water work. City Road (at Tullideph Road) - temporary traffic lights from Monday 12 June to Thursday 15 June for O2 work. West Port - lane closure for one week from Monday 26 June for street lighting work. ...
