Last month we saw John Rogers walking the coast from Folkestone to Dover. This time he's in Kent again: This walk takes us along the River Medway in Kent following the Saxon Shore Way with Professor Kate Spencer from Gillingham to Rainham. Starting at Strand Leisure Park we pass Horrid Hill, Bloors Wharf, Eastcourt Woods and Otterham Creek. Kate is an expert of estuarine environments and we learn about the specific ecosystem of the Medway estuary and its industrial past. John has a Patreon account to support his videos and blogs at The Lost Byway.
Our obsolete political system and a lack of knowledge and experience in the civil service have made Britain an also-ran in infrastructure investment, argues James Oates. On the face of it, we are in something of a golden era for investment British infrastructure. The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) in London, was just opened on 21 May 2023, and at the same time the full-scale construction of the HS2 high speed rail line between London and Birmingham is now underway, with a projected completion date of between 2029 and 2033. The Thames Tideway super sewer is also now on course to be ...
A little while back I was on Matt Chorley's Times Radio show talking about five political polling disasters, what we can learn from them and why we should still pay attention to the polls: Find out more about these five disasters, and other triumphs for political polls in my book, Polling Unpacked: the history, uses and abuses of political opinion polls. According to the Sunday Times, it is "Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand modern politics ... comprehensive yet surprisingly fun".
An unexpected closure of roads around Dovedale School earlier this year brought a blessed relief to residents of nearby roads who really suffer at school drop off and pick up times. We need to find permanent solutions to problems caused ... Continue reading →
For most young people, the prospect of ever owning a home seems perpetually out of reach. With the average house costing over 75% more (in real terms) than 10 years ago, is it any surprise that young people are not optimistic about their chance to own a home? Ultimately, this leaves young people stuck in exploitative rent contracts , being charged ever-increasing rent and holding back Britain. And this is getting worse. Conservative, Labour and Coalition governments failed to build enough homes for decades, and we live with the consequences. Skyrocketing rents, ever more unaffordable house prices, and an unprecedented ...
Labour's vote at Uxbridge went down (by-election compared to last general election). Our vote at Frome went up in the same comparison. Within that context, it is not fanciful to suggest that if Labour had bussed in an extra 10 helpers the day before the Uxbridge by-election, they could well have won it. So, it is therefore incredibly frustrating to see Rishi Sunak's behaviour since July 20th. We have seen "global boiling", in the words of the UN Secretary General, becoming normal in July. Rhodes burning, Europe melting. The UK, so far, getting off luckily with fresh weather. Yet, it ...
Who could have predicted that the UK Government's response to climate change disasters, currently engulfing large sections of the world, would be to make matters worse? Well, okay this government is all about short term political initiatives, so it wasnt that big a stretch. Nevertheless, Rishi Sunak's decision to authorise more than 100 new North Sea licences on a visit to Scotland does seem an extreeme response even by his standards. It's almost as if he is flailing about looking for an electoral holy grail, while slowly sinking into a swamp of his own making. According to the Guardian, Sunak ...
Just a reminder that, as its the school summer holidays, Fraser's ward surgeries at Ancrum Road Primary School and Blackness Library do not take place today, nor do Michael's this Thursday at the West End Campus and Harris Academy. Surgeries return after the holidays, but we can be contacted at any time at westend@dundeelibdems.org.uk
