Of course, the big news in the Liberal Democrats since last time is the addition of an MP with another record-breaking by-election result.
A few weeks ago I took the decision to attend Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth. Last year I had my conference pass, transport and hotel booked when the passing of the Queen put an end to the annual gathering (it was meant to be in Brighton). Before that, covid had ensured conference didn't happen in 2020 and 2021. So I am now booked up for Bournemouth. Travelling there will be something of a
I spotted an article this morning on the Journal website about the deficit that councils are facing. The national figure was a shortfall of £5 billion by 2025/26. The figure for Gateshead was £45.9 million. This is not an unfamiliar figure on the council as the state of the finances of the authority are regularly discussed by councillors. The ruling Labour side blame the Lib Dems in coalition for
Observing politics in the UK is a pretty joyless existence at the moment, we have a malign, cynical and shambolic Government. We have a main opposition that is poor at holding the Government to account and is retreating on pretty much every progressive stance it once held. If you're looking for a more prosperous, more ... Continue reading Britain needs a Sovereign Wealth Fund
Robert Buckland, the Conservative MP and former justice minister, makes the case against withdrawing from the European Court of Human Rights: "This is a profoundly mistaken view, which misunderstands the true nature of our membership of the Convention and the wider political and legal context, not to mention the UK's international reputation. In a nutshell, this is not serious politics." Something must be done about the problem of convicted criminals refusing to attend court for their sentencing hearings, or so everyone suddenly seems agreed. The Secret Barrister sees problems with the idea. David Edgerton reviews a new global history of ...
Ed Davey's appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe is now available online. He talked to Iain Dale and Jacqui Smith for their For the Many podcast. Ed was in cracking form, very funny, bright and relaxed. He came on stage while Iain and Jacqui were having a bit of a barney about women's football. I had tweeted Jacqui after Iain told Harriet Harman that one thing that men could do better than women was play football. She got a lot of mileage out of that over the various shows. Anyway, Ed was full of support for the Lionesses. Jacqui then challenged ...
Embed from Getty ImagesThe journalism trade website Hold the Front Page has a story about the prime minister's visit to the East Midlands last week: Regional journalists were banned from photographing or filming Rishi Sunak - with one even being denied access to the toilet - when the Prime Minister visited their patch. Reporters in the East Midlands were subjected to the "genuinely troubling" restrictions during a visit by Mr Sunak to Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Nottingham Post agenda editor Oliver Pridmore was shut in a football club changing room, along with three other journalists, for more than an hour while ...
The Lionesses of the Women's Football team were not the only Lionesses out in the field yesterday. Liverpool's Katerina Johnson-Thompson regained her world heptathlon title as well. Okay no-one goes into a football match or an election wanting to come ... Continue reading →
Christine Jardine's tongue is stuck firmly in her cheek in her Scotsman column this week. You can tell she's enjoying making fun of the latest nonsense advanced by a former SNP MSP – that the reason the SNP is doing so badly is that it has been infiltrated by MI5 to discredit the independence cause. It seems that after 16 years in power, including one term with an outright majority, the failure of the SNP to persuade the Scottish people to jump ship from the UK was all because of unionist subterfuge. Not because of dissatisfaction with the state of ...
There is an interesting article in yesterday's Observer, which points out that a graduate earning £35,000 a year pays almost double the average tax of someone with the same income from rent on property. The paper says that the Intergenerational Foundation thinktank has found that the combined effect of income tax and national insurance payments forces people in employment to pay much higher rates of tax than those who benefit from lower capital gains tax (CGT) rates on property and shares income: Based on analysis of HMRC data, the foundation said increasing CGT rates to the same level as rates ...
For decades, I have been championing devolution; for communities to take back control over the decisions that affect their lives from the very local allocation of funding to improve an area, to wider service provision and structures. The beauty of our local government is that it looks different in different areas, to suit local communities' needs. However, no matter what the structure, funding has always been a problem for local services. Back in 2013, Boris Johnson, as Mayor of London, commissioned Professor Tony Travers to Chair an expert panel called the London Finance Commission, which produced Raising the capital | ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 21 AUGUST 2023 Brown Street (south of Douglas Street) - closed for 13 months until May 2024 for construction works. Greenmarket - closed for electricity works at its junction with West Marketgait (northbound exit lane only) from Monday 21 August for one week. Seafield Road, Dundee. Closed from its westmost end (in cul de sac) extending for a distance of no more than 20 metres in an easterly direction to facilitate a site access for a new housing development. Commencing Tuesday 22 August ...
