When last I wrote about Federal Council, I was perhaps slightly unfair to my colleagues and their failure to adopt Standing Orders after three meetings. Having reflected on the matter somewhat, it seems reasonable to ponder upon the question of, when founding a new organisation, who should take responsibility for producing Standing Orders and ensuring compliance withy the constitutional niceties. The previous constitutional review, during the Presidency of Sal Brinton, established a requirement for each committee to provide its own secretariat, and I do wonder whether or not this was brought to the attention of the new Federal Council after ...
Embed from Getty ImagesNews from Dorset Live: Walkers and beachgoers are being warned of the dangers of straying too close to cliff faces after a vast overnight landslip on the coast of Dorset. Many thousands of tonnes of material has collapsed onto the beach at Seatown. The privately owned beach is a favourite with anglers, fossil hunters and walkers. The huge landslip occurred overnight and Dorset Fire and Rescue Service have urged visitors to the area to take extra care. Meanwhile, over the county boundary in Somerset, Sarah Dyke won back Somerton and Frome for the Liberal Democrats. Congratulations to ...
While attention may well have been on this week's three Parliamentary by-elections, there have also been Council by-elections across Britain with some great holds for the Lib Dems and some very tight and dramatic results. Firstly we would like to say a huge congratulations to Cllr Raymond 'Truck' Evans and Ceredigion Lib Dems for holding Llanfarian ward on the Ceredigion County Council. We know the local team worked extremely hard for the win, beating Plaid Cymru by 8 votes. Such a narrow victory shows that every single leaflet and every single door knocked on really does count! Congratulations once again ...
About six months ago, we passed the point at which bad news for the economy was good news for Labour. Thanks to Liz Truss, the Conservatives have lost their reputation for economic competence. High mortgage rates will be associated with this government, come what may. Labour are now around 90% likely to be in powerContinue reading "Ted Lasso versus the Triangle of Crapness"
Yesterday evening I watched Rosie Jones' programme on Channel 4 about ableist trolling and would strongly encourage you to watch it too. In case you haven't come across the term before I rather like this explanation: Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled people require 'fixing' and defines people by their disability. Like racism and sexism, ableism classifies entire groups of people as 'less than,' and includes harmful stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations of people with ...
I know readers would expect nothing less of me following the Somerton and Frome result.
From the Young Liberals: Happy Barbenheimer Day to all who are celebrating. Are they right? Apparently there are some robust debates going on in MPs' offices today. * Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
I find this entry interesting. Lord Bonkers, I know, was a leader of the campaign against Labour's ill-fated nationalisation of the Stilton industry after 1945, yet here he is criticising the privatisations of the Thatcher government. Thursday When the Conservatives sold off our public utilities we were assured the new private operators would live in fear of their regulators. The mere mention of them, we were told, would send non-executive directors home to live quietly with their mothers. The reality has been that the regulators - Ofwat, Ofgem, Ofthis, Ofthat - have been treated by the operators with contumely and ...
Life is an intricate tapestry, woven with threads of experiences and challenges. As we journey through the years, there comes a pivotal point when many individuals encounter a phenomenon known as the "midlife crisis." As I have blogged about many times before, I don't understand why this malaise isn't taken seriously enough. Instead, the midlife ... The post 7 Well Known Triggers of the Midlife Crisis appeared first on A Midlifer in London - a baby boomer trying to stay relevant .
Liberal Democrats teased us with this cryptic graphic earlier this morning. What did it mean? (Hint: We're going to need a bigger tractor) Well, now we know what the two queries stand for: A circus cannon and "Get these clowns out of No 10!"
The full results from the Uxbridge and South Ruislip Parliamentary by-election bring a warning about campaigning on Europe: Richard Hewison, Rejoin EU – 105 votes (0.3%) Nor was that poor showing an aberration as it's been the consistent story through other by-elections too: Chesham & Amersham – 101 votes (0.3%) Batley & Spen – 75 votes (0.2%) Old Bexley & Sidcup – 151 votes (0.7%) North Shropshire – 58 votes (0.2%) City of Chester – 277 votes (1%) Stretford and Urmston – 237 votes (1.3%) There's a consistent pattern of very poor results there which is a reminder of how ...
Last night's result in Somerton and Frome was astonishing, wasn't it? Ed Davey released a comment soon after the result was announced. This stunning victory shows the Liberal Democrats are firmly back in the West Country. Sarah Dyke will be an incredible local champion for the people of Somerset who have been neglected for far too long. She will fight for stronger local health services, better access to GPs and a fair deal for rural communities during this cost of living crisis. The people of Somerton and Frome have spoken for the rest of the country who are fed up ...
Some time ago, as a result of Storm Arwen, a large tree in West Marketgait unfortunately fell. The tree was removed but there has not yet been replanting. We recently, at the request of Palais Court residents, contacted the council's Senior Forestry/Arboriculture Officer, asking for an assurance about replanting and have received this helpful response : "We are still going to replace the tree discussed and at present we are collating a number of replanting projects required from the City Centre to the street trees and various areas around the town. This will be spread over a number of planting ...
"I think we're going to need a bigger tractor" The news from Somerton & Frome has surpassed even our most optimistic predictions. Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat: 21,187 (54.6%) Conservative: 10, 179 (26.2%) Green: 3,944 (10.2%) Labour: 1009 (2.6%) That's a 29% swing from Conservatives to Liberal Democrats. Huge congratulations to Sarah Dyke MP, and to everyone involved in the campaign.
