Could the 2024 general election see a Tory collapse? Liberals, myself included, have been predicting the collapse of either the Tory or Labour parties at various times in the political cycle over the last quarter century. Expectations have always gone unmet, hopes dashed; maybe much of it was wishful thinking. But 2024 will be the [...]
A survey of what the doyen of Rutland Liberalism has been up to this year. February The old boy found himself grappling with the party leader's unwillingness to have the European Union mentioned in his presence: To the new Liberal Democrat HQ in Vincent Square (or that may be the name of the helpful chap on the desk - I got caught in the rain on the way back to St Pancras and my notes have run rather). I arrive to find the place in turmoil: our own dear leader, Ed Davey, has placed a bucket over his head and ...
SY8 Studios has been created in the former workhouse, latterly a maternity unit, in the grounds of the community hospital. Gather is a coworking, creative and multi-use space in SY8 Studios. It intends to offer "workshops, events, collaborations, contemporary culture" as part of a scheme to bring space for artists and small entrepreneurs to East Hamlet. This is welcome but its application for an alcohol and events licence has already created widespread concern, including from the Ludlow Hospital League of Friends who have said they will object to the application. The proposed licencing hours are until 11pm, far too late ...
I'm sure in years to come we'll look back at 2023 as a very difficult year for Britain, but the calm before the storm as many important events, a UK general election and a US presidential election, will take place next year. How have things worked out for the Lib Dems? We've continued to rebuild ... Continue reading Lib Dems review of the year – 2023
Here is Lib Dem leader Ed Davey's new year message, a more political one focused on the future of our country than last year.
This is a song written by Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick and sung by Sandy Denny. It appeared on Fairport Convention's 1969 album Liege and Lief. Thompson had first set his words to a traditional folk tune, but Dave Swarbrick wasn't convinced: "I thought that the words were great but that the tune weakened it ... He said that if I felt like that, why didn't I write a tune for it? So I did." It's usual to read Crazy Man Michael as an expression of grief and guilt at the death of Thompson's girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn when Fairport Convention's ...
Opinion polls are ephemeral, unreliable creatures. On one day they are telling us that the British public are opposed to sin, on another they are showing overwhelming support for the devil and all his works. I exaggerate, of course, but you get the idea. The latest is one of a long line of polls that shows the growing disillusionment amongst voters about the efficacy of Brexit. Of course, we know that this in no way guarantees a victory for rejoin in a fresh plebiscite, but it does at least provide some room for manoeuvre for over-cautious politicians. The Guardian tells ...
Many thanks to everyone who has been a reader in the last year, whether on this site, one of my other sites, on email with Liberal Democrat Newswire and my digests, on social media, or in book form.
