Here's something I hadn't heard until today. There is a little ferry in the west of the city that takes foot passengers across the Manchester Ship Canal. The Hulme's Ferry connects Flixton and Irlam. It was included in the 1885 Act that allowed the canal to be built to replace a low bridge across the River Irwell that had to be demolished. I hadn't realised until now that the canal is largely a canalisation of the Irwell. I can't find a page that gives this year's dates and hours of operation for the ferry, but it looks worth the effort ...
Today, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced more funding for the Metropolitan Police. Sadiq Khan on Wednesday announced almost £50m of additional funding for the Met police as he set out final details of his annual City Hall budget. The mayor said the financial support given by the Greater London Authority to the Met from April - much of it already announced last month – would be £151m higher than for the current year. However the amount is not enough to provide all of the £76m sought by Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to fund his "New Met for London" plan ...
Last week, Lorely Burt's private members bill aimed at outlawing conversion therapy practices passed its first stage in the House of Lords. This post highlights the speeches in support of the Bill made by Lib Dem peers, but there were many others made by people like Ruth Hunt, Michael Cashman and Helena Kennedy which are worth reading. This post is a long one, but it is worth reading to understand why this measure is necessary. Lorely explained in her opening remarks that conversion therapy s: any practice with the predetermined purpose of changing or suppressing a person's expression of their ...
From BBC News: Worcestershire may have no choice but to move home if water levels continue to rise at New Road, their County Championship base since 1899, chief executive Ashley Giles has warned. The promoted Pears' short-term mission is to have the pitch fit for the first home game on 19 April against Durham. But Giles says that, as Pears CEO, his first job is also to "consider the club's long-term sustainability". "The situation is worsening, and we need to keep an eye on it," he said. Speaking in the county's own new Three Pears Chat video, which was launched ...
Books for Keeps, the magazine about children's books, launched in 1980 and interviewed Malcolm Saville the same year. Saville had only a couple more years to live, and the impression I have is that he was by then uncomfortably aware that his work had rather gone out of fashion. Pat Triggs, who interviewed him for Books for Keeps, writes that he has been:accused of being 'middle-class' and 'old-fashioned' (the stories have been cut and modernised - he thinks badly - for paperback).Armada paperbacks had a standard format and many books were cut to fit it. I don't think any rewriting ...
Wed 14th
09:50
Lord Bonkers' Diary: The board of Thames Water, Mauricio Pochettino and Nigella Lawson
And so we start another week at Bonkers Hall. The old boy has always been fond of a list, but I think he's on to something here. All these calls for people to resign ignore the fact that many of Britain's problems are systemic and won't be solved just by appointing different people to head unreformed organisations. Monday These days I feel a little nervous opening my morning newspaper in case Ed Davey has called on me to resign. It's a particular hobby of his, you see. While leader of the Liberal Democrats, he has, with mixed effect, called for ...
Every Conference, the Liberal Democrats honour individuals who have served the party well with our party awards. In York, the following awards will be presented: The Leader's Award Eligibility: Any member of the party. Criteria: Awarded to someone who has shown exemplary dedication to canvassing voters. The Bertha Bowness Fischer Award Background: This award is named for the country's first woman to become a qualified election agent, a trailblazer who is a testament to our traditions of equality, inclusion and campaigning rigour. Eligibility: Any local party. Criteria: Awarded a local party for the excellence of its local delivery network. The ...
The Guardian reports that tThe government is facing a legal challenge over plans to permit housebuilders in England to allow sewage pollution "through the back door". The paper says that the campaign group Wild Justice, along with the law firm Leigh Day, have submitted plans for a judicial review over what they term an "unlawful attempt to use guidance to introduce a change that was defeated in the House of Lords last year". Currently, in sensitive areas such as the Lake District and Norfolk Broads, housebuilders have to prevent extra sewage going into waterways, either by updating infrastructure or by ...
Residents recently highlighted to us that the road surface in Park Place fairly near to the Hawkhill junction has a number of significant potholes. We therefore raised this with the Roads Maintenance Partnership and received this positive response : "An order has been raised for a number of potholes to be filled here."
