Another trip with Paul Whitewick to the remains of the badly engineered and never completed Leominster Canal. Last time we looked at the remains of the canal's aqueducts: this time the emphasis on tunnels. The most important tunnel of all - the one that would have taken the canal to the Severn at Stourport - was never built.There's more about this waterway on the Friends of the Leominster Canal site. There's more from Paul and Rebecca Whitewick about their railway and canal explorations on their website.
Wera Hobhouse explains the need for her private member's bill on sexual harassment at work, which has just become law: "Sexual harassment in the workplace is an epidemic across the UK. Half of all British women and a fifth of men have been sexually harassed at work or place of study. That is over 7 million women who have faced some form of sexual harassment while at work. The Government's own data indicates that 1.5 million people experience sexual harassment at work from a third party, such as a customer, each year." Never mind hard-working families, these days we're all ...
This has been a busy week for council by-elections - and a very successful one too for the Lib Dems! There were 8 principal by-elections and also some significant town / parish council by-elections. We made gains on councils in every tier! There is a lot to celebrate and lets start on Buckinghamshire County Council where newly elected Cllr Anja Schaefer gained Buckingham East ward from the Conservatives with a sensational 28% increase in vote share - and jumping from 4th to 1st! Anja had contested the ward in 2017 and 2021. Congratulations on an amazing win and for showing ...
We're not doing enough to prevent catastrophic climate change. We need, therefore, not just to continue to reduce our carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, but also to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and to enhance our resilience to climate-related shocks. Climate change will affect different parts of the world in different ways. Here in Somerset, we're probably more fortunate than most. It's likely to get warmer in the summer and wetter in the winter, and we'll probably have more adverse weather events, but fundamentally the place will still be habitable. Unfortunately, though, sea level rises mean ...
From the Shropshire Star:*Repairing a damaged wall that saw Bridgnorth Cliff Railway close last year is to cost the town council more than £750,000, a public meeting has been told. In an update ... on Thursday night, residents were told the cost to repair the damaged wall is set to leave Bridgnorth Town Council with a shortfall in its finances of £500,000. On the plus side however, residents were also told that the Cliff Railway could be "free to open" later this month.This has been a long saga, but it's not yet over. The report suggests the council may seek ...
Long journeys by rail far from instant growth online; Hope lies close, spellbound
Cancer medics are the best. Since Mrs Gauge first got diagnosed with cancer over 10 years ago, we've come across a large number of medical professionals. They have been, without exception, impeccably brilliant, kind, thoughtful professionals at the top of their game. They have all made sure that there was enough time to explain everything thoroughly, enough time for questions and enough time for answers. And then there was always a bit more time for nothing-in-particular, just in case. The NHS is, of course, all lovely. Everyone who works for it does an amazing job. It just feels like they ...
New research from Ipsos for The Policy Institute shows that an increased proportion of the public think politicians invent or exaggerate culture wars as a political tactic.
Last night, Layla Moran briefed over 1000 Lib Dem members on the party's response to the war between Israel and Hamas which started when Hamas murdered, tortured and kidnapped Israeli citizens living near the border with Gaza on 7th October. I understand it was one of, if not the most, well-attended party webinar ever, showing the extent of the concern and interest amongst Liberal Democrats. Layla set out the party's thinking and took questions for over an hour. For Layla, this has a very personal dimension. Members of her extended family are taking refuge in a church after their home ...
While Rishi Sunak spends his time hobnobbing with Elon Musk and worrying about the possible repercussions of Artificial Intelligence, his real problem appears to be the state of the government's ICT estate. The Independent reports that the Prime Minister has been warned that the government's ageing computer systems are an "accident waiting to happen" - as ministers admitted they do not know the cost of patching up old IT. There is concern that systems from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s could be increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attack: The Cabinet Office could not say exactly how many of the "legacy" systems in ...
Eight principal authority council by-elections this week. Five out of six have Liberal Democrat candidates, with the remaining two being contests for the City of London Corporation which the party doesn't contest. Molesey East (Elmbridge) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 36.1% (-6.5) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 32.6% (+11.4) [IMG: 🏘] MRA: 27.2% (-4.5) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 4.0% (New) No LAB (-4.4) as previous. Lib Dem GAIN from Molesey Residents Association. Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) November 3, 2023
Many thanks to all the residents who contacted us last week following what can be described only as the complete flattening of the phone box at the south end of Blackness Avenue, next to the library. We contacted BT Payphones immediately to report this and BT replied promptly as follows : "Thank you for sending in the photo; it is much appreciated. I can confirm that our engineer has now been on-site and the area has been made safe. Our contractors will be recovering the kiosk as soon as possible. We won't be replacing the kiosk."
Here's the latest tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held since the last May round of local elections.
