"As a liberal I believe that we should all have equal access to decent facilities which we can use if we choose to. You should be able to walk to the pub or the school of the mosque within easy reach providing roughly the same standards of service whether for need or pleasure. The whole point of neighbourhoods is about enabling and not enforcing." Richard Kemp says we must destroy the '15-minute city' myths. Josh Self decodes the Nigel Farage playbook: "He rails against 'the elite', ever-evoked but rarely defined by the privately-educated former stockbroker who spent 25 years working ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: Environmental policies have been in the news a lot following the surprise Conservative victory in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, widely put down to their opposition to the expansion of London's ultra-low (vehicle) emission zone, ULEZ.1 We've also had a burst of recent polling on green issues too, so let's see what that tells us about the public's views and how likely an anti-net zero / anti-green / anti-recycled paper2 push is likely to help the Conservatives. Find out more by ...
This week I noticed that the tin foil hat brigade has reached Liverpool. The city council was all set to have a planning meeting that some internet experts deemed was about bringing the all-powerful World Economic Forum's attack on their freedom – the 15 minute city – to their doorstep. Two dozen very angry scousers ... Continue reading 15 minute cities: filling out the neighbourhood
My name's Simon Perks and I live in Somerset, UK, with my wife, Natalie, and Molly and Ozzy, my Labrador dogs. Welcome to my home on the web. You're very welcome, so feel free to grab a cup of tea, make yourself at home and read on... I'm a political and social philosopher by training (to the extent to which anyone can actually train to be something like that) and worry a lot about the challenges that we face as a society. I'm also a management consultant and public finance specialist, which gives me a practical perspective on things, too. ...
I tweeted this week: The 1975 is an odd name to choose for your band. The charts were rubbish that year - full of novelty records. Glam was dead and punk was still slouching towards Soho to be born. There were those who defended some of the year's number ones, and others who rightly pointed out what a great year it was for LPs. But I was a poor boy from the back streets of Market Harborough and had to rely on Radio One and Radio Luxemburg for my music. Still, I thought I would look at the charts for ...
They could not hold their Pride march in Kyiv because of the dangers from the imperialist Russian war lord, Putin, so they came to their second home and were given pride of place at Liverpool Pride. In May Liverpool hosted ... Continue reading →
The Mirror reports that a family firm that donated more than £70,000 to UKIP is "profiteering from misery" by hosting the Government's controversial migrant barge. The paper adds that Langham Industries owns Portland Port, where the Bibby Stockholm is docked in a deal reported to be worth some £2.5million, while the Langham family owns luxurious properties and has links to high-profile politicians, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden. The paper reveals that their business made 19 donations to pro-Brexit party UKIP between 2003 and 2016: Late founder John Langham was described as an "avid supporter" ...
Residents will recall that we have long-campaigned for better insulation of the houses in the Logie estate. Given their historical nature - the oldest council housing scheme in Scotland - and Conservation Area status, they are not suitable for external wall insulation. However, an internal solution (IWI) is the answer. Back in March, we held a well-attended meeting of over 40 tenants at the Lime Street sheltered lounge at which two senior housing officers updated the audience that the council intended to undertake a trial at one void property with latest internal insulation techniques and, assuming success, move forward with ...
