One of my less onerous responsibilities is being Chair of the Mid Suffolk South branch of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils. Let's rephrase that. The chairing is easy, although the rest of the role is quite responsible, intellectually challenging and engages my intellect in a way that I might not have expected at the outset. My primary function as Chair is to manage/lead two out of the four branch forums which take place each year - the Chair of the Mid Suffolk North branch, Julie Bell, deals with the others - and tonight was my turn. We had a ...
Almost 20,000 older people waited over four hours for an ambulance after falls last year Half of places on secondary postgrad teaching courses unfilled Almost a third of pupils missing school and decline in support for teachers and pupils Almost 20,000 older people waited over four hours for an ambulance after falls last year The Liberal Democrats launch their local election campaign unveiling shocking new figures of elderly patients waiting too long for an ambulance Ed Davey to visit Hertfordshire where he will declare this May "the chance to send this out of touch Conservative government a message" Number of ...
London Lib Dem Launch – Blackie slams Khan record on crime Cole-Hamilton: Patients deserve better than the SNP's new normal "Our Welsh workers are not collateral damage"-Welsh Lib Dems call for clarification on jobs following Tata Steel oven closure Cole-Hamilton attacks SNP ministers as opioids continue to blight Scotland London Lib Dem Launch – Blackie slams Khan record on crime Mayoral Candidate, Rob Blackie, has launched the London Liberal Democrat today with a pledge to 'fix the Met'. The party launched its campaign at Pop Brixton, located in the neighbourhood Rob has spent much of the past 20 years raising ...
The conventional wisdom is that house prices are so high in Britain because we do not build enough new houses. It also holds that this is because of restrictive planning laws and self-centred Nimby campaigners. Several things puzzle me about this view. The first is that every town I know is ringed with street after street of new housing. Take Desborough, whose vanished high street so occupied me last month. There is almost a second town Desborough, built in recent years up the hill from the original town, that has its own Sainsbury's and M&S food store. The second is ...
At Spring Conference, I was pleased to be called to speak for just one minute in the debate "Liberal Values in a Dangerous World". The topic of China and the threat it represents was naturally only one part of Policy Paper 157, and so with the excellent speech by David Chalmers there was not going to be room for an additional three minutes from someone such as myself. I hastily submitted my card halfway through the debate, hoping to make a brief point about Section 2.4 "China and the Far East" of the paper. I possibly didn't make my point ...
When the members consultation for the big question over Autumn Conference came out and I then heard from those already asked to make decisions on behalf of Federal Board on the matter, I was confused that one of the core arguments from HQ was around the effect that holding Conference could have on the party's election expenses if it is too close to a General Election. A very quick google search led me to what the law has to say on the subject, which is that in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Schedule 8 (Campaign expenditure: qualifying ...
We did warn them. Over and over again those of us opposed to Brexit warned that severing links with the continent would make it more difficult to police international crime. Here is just one of the many blogs I wrote on the subject. But government didn't listen. Now, the Mirror reports on the conclusion of Dr Mohammed Rahman, senior lecturer in Criminology at Birmingham City University, that Brexit's policy to tighten our borders hasn't - and won't - reduce serious crime in the UK: Organised crime groups (OCGs) have continued to exploit people - including through human trafficking - desperately ...
Tue 19th
08:21
Temeside to be closed from end of April to mid-July for sewage work: town bus will not serve Old Str...
We have been expecting this news for more than a year. Seven Trent Water will close Temeside from Old Street to Weeping Cross for roadworks from 25 April to 19 July. The sewage system on Old Street and Temeside does not have enough capacity to cope with storm events. When it is overloaded, sewage is discharged into the Teme, a site of special scientific interest and a river that is expected to receive bathing quality status shortly. This is essential work and we will have to put up with the disruption. Roadworks in Sheet Road and Station Drive should be ...
Fraser's weekly ward surgeries take place later today and every Tuesday during school term time. They are as follows : Tuesdays at 5pm prompt - Blackness Library Tuesdays at 5.45pm prompt - Ancrum Road Primary School All residents welcome - no appointment necessary.
