The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race - in which the nine competitors sailed around the world single handed and non stop - took place in 1968-9. It thus belongs, like the Post Office Tower and hovercraft rides at village fetes, to an era when Britain felt positive about its future. If the race is remembered today, it's not for its winner and sole finisher Robin Knox-Johnston but because of Donald Crowhurst. The last time I mentioned Crowhurst, a reader told me he had been a Liberal councillor. And this cutting from the Western Daily Press (12 March 1969) shows she ...
That George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election is not, in my view, the most significant aspect of the results. He stood a good chance of winning even if the Labour Party had not withdrawn their support for their official candidate for some foolish and ill-considered remarks. Galloway very nearly did it here in the (now revised ) Batley and Spen Constituency in 2021. Given the make-up of the Rochdale population, his skills on the stump, and the heightened awareness of the Israel/Palestine situation, his victory was almost a foregone conclusion,. I doubt very much if his win will have ...
Today Welsh Liberal Democrats debated local government funding and set out their stall for the General Election. More funding for Councils According to estimates from the Welsh Local Government Association, councils in Wales are facing funding pressures of £720m in 2024-25, with real term funding for Local government's being 12% lower in 2023-24 than it was in 2009-10. The Welsh Lib Dems are now calling on the Welsh Government to to work towards restoring real terms local government funding to 2009-10 levels. Jane Dodds said: Our local authorities here in Wales have been left to deal on their own with ...
What was that speech yesterday all about? It contained little that was true and gave no suggestions to deal with the problems that he thinks exist! On Friday night I made the mistake of thinking that Sunak might be about ... Continue reading →
This poll result rather puts into context how much wider significance can be drawn from George Galloway's win in the Rochdale by-election.
Sat 2nd
13:54
When the Scottish Labour Party sent George Galloway to try to talk some sense into Alistair Darling
Time to wheel out one of this blog's favourite quotations. This is George Galloway writing in the Daily Record in March 2008:When I first met him 35 years ago Darling was pressing Trotskyite tracts on bewildered railwaymen at Waverley Station in Edinburgh. He was a supporter of the International Marxist Group, whose publication was entitled the Black Dwarf. Later, in preparation for his current role he became the treasurer of what was always termed the rebel Lothian Regional Council. Faced with swinging government spending cuts which would have decimated the council services or electorally ruinous increases in the rates, Alistair ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are holding their Spring Conference in Cardiff this weekend. They'll be debating what makes a fair deal for Wales, childcare, support for farmers, businesses and tourism, local government funding and attracting graduate to Wales. They'll also debate whether to remove the controversial 2o mph limit on restricted roads across Wales. Ahead of the Conference, Welsh Leader Jane Dodds said: "We currently find ourselves in difficult circumstances, surrounded by economic uncertainty and global instability that has clouded our future. Our economic woes and current deprivation of public services have been fuelled by an indifferent UK Conservative government ...
Finally, there appears to be a glimmer of progress on the Gaza front. In the unlikely venue of a New York ice cream parlour, President Joe Biden, revealed this week that he is hopeful for a ceasefire by Monday. And almost simultaneously, Muhammad Shtayyeh, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, resigned to make way for a reorganised government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip which could provide an outside chance of leading to recognition of a State of Palestine. The departure of Shtayyeh comes amidst a flurry of diplomatic meetings involving American, British, EU, and Arab state officials in ...
In his recent address the Prime Minister expressed concerns about internal forces threatening our nation's unity. This led me to ponder whether these forces include those that fuelled the divisive Brexit atmosphere, spearheaded by figures like Nigel Farage and the 21st-century version of Enoch Powell. Our country has grappled with division since the Conservative Party's risky move in Europe, fostering deep-seated animosity. It's crucial to recognize that this hatred isn't isolated to a particular group, Palestinian or Israeli; it has festered for over a decade. Austerity measures, police force cuts, and reductions in vital social services initiated this discord. The ...
A dedicated team of Scarf home energy advisors in Dundee is now available to provide free and impartial one-to-one support to residents who are looking for help with high energy bills and fuel debt. Advice will be delivered via home visits, over the phone, and face-to-face at community events, in an effort to combat continually soaring energy bills and fuel poverty in the region. Scarf is a charity/social enterprise delivering a range of services to householders, communities, and businesses in North East Scotland. For more information, and to access this support for yourself or on behalf of someone else, get ...
