Here's my column ('Sighcology') from the Summer issue of the Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy. The theme of the issue was 'David', and these are the thoughts I came up with. Davids Garnett, Lloyd George, Lawrence, Copperfield, Rook and Bronstein There's a law that whenever you submit a piece of academic writing you immediately come across something you wish you had known about and been able to include. I recently published a chapter on Dickens and antisemitism that drew parallels between Oliver Twist and the local cults of unofficial boy saints, supposedly the victims of ritual killings by ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is out. As it says: The annual British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey – which I briefly did a little bit of promotional work for a few years back – has the time, budget and expertise to be a gold standard annual piece of research. In particular, it has the time and money to persistently track down people to get a high quality, truly representative sample. It also has run comparable questions for forty years now and so provides not only high quality answers but also long time ...
There was a lively debate in the council chamber on Thursday about Shropshire Council's proposal for pyrolysis plant. This will be located either in Ludlow, Bridgnorth - or Battlefield in Shrewsbury. The proposal, which will cost around £2 million was approved. A handful of councillors wanted to delay approval because they said there had not been sufficient consultation with members in the southwest and Ludlow Town Council. I agree that councillors could have been better briefed. I was though disappointed by councillors complaining and not wanting to grasp the opportunity. We are in a competition against Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury to ...
Here, in full, is Alex Cole-Hamilton's speech to Conference. Conference, this is the first time I've addressed you in person since Willie passed the baton to me two years ago. Can I take this opportunity to thank you Willie for your leadership, your service to our party and your friendship over the years. Willie mentioned I am the first Liberal Democrat parliamentarian to be officially sanctioned by the Kremlin. My Ukrainian house guest calls that Santa's good list. And by the way, if you do nothing else at conference, do not miss Kira Rudik in this hall tomorrow, the leader ...
Sun 24th
11:30
Daisy Cooper: Lib Dems have "huge opportunity" to take seats off Conservatives in the Blue Wall
Liberal Democrat Leader Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper will today (Sunday 24 September) give her first in person speech at the party's Autumn Conference, issuing a rallying call to party activists to take on the Conservatives in the Blue Wall and deliver a brighter future. She will also set out bold new plans to give people access to regular mental health MOT checks at key points in their lives where they are most at risk, such as women after childbirth, men aged in their 40s or those in retirement. On taking the fight to the Conservatives in the ...
Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper) is a British painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. He co-founder the art movement Stuckism, a rebellion against the dominance of conceptual art and postmodernism, and was in a relationship with Tracey Emin for much of the Eighties. Presumably he made the bed. The Guy Hamper Trio is one of a long line of groups to feature Childish. It's an instrumental trio that features guest musicians, and on Cowboys are Square it is the Hammond organ player James Taylor (not that James Taylor). I love the Hammond sound here. You can ...
It's day 2 of Conference and I know many of you will be bleary eyed from the disco last night. Here is my pick of today's fringe. Sunday lunchtime 1300-1400 Your get there early warning is for Ukrainian Holos leader Kira Rudik's conversation with John Sweeney 1pm. It is bound to be PACKED Christine Jardine speaks at the Hunanist and Secularist Lib Dems' fringe on assisted dying Vince Cable is appearing at Compass's meeting on how progressives can work together. That might grab some headlines. Sunday early evening 1815-1915 Helen Morgan appears at Shelter's reception on the housing emergency LGBT+ ...
One of the many things that surprises me about Lord Bonkers is the friendship he once enjoyed with the notorious London gang boss Violent Bonham Carter. I suspect their relationship was rather like the wary respect he has today for the Elves of Rockingham Forest: "One doesn't want to be turned into a frog, what?" Friday A researcher arrives at the Hall to quiz me about Violent Bonham Carter and the days when criminal gangs ran London. We cover the familiar ground of the murder Jack 'The Hat' McVitie (heir to the biscuit fortune), the many jewel robberies 'up the ...
The amazing Mandy Jamieson who has shown her courage and concern for others since her son was killed at the age of 16 in 2018. One of the nice things about being part of the 'civic' life of the city ... Continue reading →
Ukraine Ukraine has approximately 30 days before the autumn/winter rains bring their counter-offensive to a muddy halt. To date they appear to have broken through the first line of a three-line Russian defense in an area around Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia. There is an outside possibility they can achieve a major breach, but that is highly unlikely. There is more depressing news for Ukrainian troops. For a start the bromance between Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will keep the Russian troops supplied with artillery shells to help keep the advancing Ukrainians at bay. Then there are problems with Poland. ...
How best to respond to a cost of living crisis? Well, if you are the Tory party then you introduce tax changes that will benefit your rich friends. The Observer reports that Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering an inheritance tax cut as he attempts to woo voters and create dividing lines with Labour, which is comfortably ahead in the polls. The paper says that the intention is to eventually scrap the levy altogether at a time when tax on earned income is significantly greater than that on unearned wealth: At present, inheritance tax is charged at 40% for estates worth ...
We're in the final hours before conference debates our Housing paper and it's been good to read the discussion taking place on Lib Dem Voice and elsewhere. I am looking forward to a similar debate in the conference hall on Monday. Liberal Democrat's really care about housing and we all agree that we need to build more homes, our discussions are about how we best achieve this. When we started our working group we wanted to achieve two things. To offer a credible housing policy for the Liberal Democrats to show we actually want to build homes, and to help ...
Fraser has been advised that handover of the Olympia swimming and leisure facilities from the contractor following multi-million pound repairs is imminent - in the first week of October - but that the public reopening will be some weeks away due to necessary actions after handover, including a deep clean, site-specific training and moving equipment, to allow full public re-opening. The City Council's Senior Manager for Design & Property Services has advised him : "Handover is programmed contract completion is 6th October. It will then be handed back to Operational Property who are already liaising with Leisure and Culture Dundee, ...
The main evidence of war in Kyiv in the last few days has been a series of loud bangs in the middle of the night - Russian rockets meeting Patriot Missiles apart from the one which got through and hit a power plant. Otherwise, Kyiv is a normal and beautiful, bustling European city of 3.5 million with busy pavement cafes and restaurants, flourishing shopping centres and street stalls, traffic jams and young people zooming round on e-scooters. After a while you notice the numbers of burly off-duty soldiers in uniform, the exhibitions in civic squares honouring war casualties and the ...
