Congratulations to Chesterfield's Cooper Wallace and also to the Guardian, which wins my Headline of the Day Award. Thanks to both for giving me an excuse to post a photo of one of the large and healthy gulls I met in Hastings last week. Clearly, scavenging is the way to go.
There's news of a further hold up in the attempt to find a Liberal Democrat candidate for the eminently winnable seat of Sutton and Cheam. Early yesterday Michael Crick tweeted:🟠SUTTON & CHEAM: one source says the hustings have been postponed because two comp laints were received, and the source suggests John Sweeney and Trish Fivey may now have been added to the shortlist. Can anyone confirm or deny any or all of this? https://t.co/CVJdQbVwZK — @Tomorrow'sMPs (@tomorrowsmps) April 21, 2024 According to Inside Croydon, the original shortlist for the meeting had only two names on it: former London mayoral ...
The Green Party in Gateshead have added Bridges ward to their list of hopefuls in the local elections on 2nd May. The hopeful list is rather short however - the only other seat they are targeting is Crawcrook and Greenside. (But it is better than the Tories who have no target seats here) I was sent the Greens' Bridges ward leaflet recently. Presentationally, it is an improvement on other
The Peter Tatchell Foundation, a registered charity, is running a campaign called "#ApologiseNow" which has this petition statement: Demand all UK police services apologise for their past persecution of the LGBT+ community: raiding bars, clubs, saunas and even private birthday parties. Plus, officers arrested same-sex couples for mere kissing, cuddling and holding hands, and they abused LGBTs as 'poofs' & 'queers'. Police forces in the US, Australia and Europe have apologised. UK Police should do the same. Northumbria's Chief Constable, Vanessa Jardine, has recently made a formal apology to the LGBT+ community and is urging all Chief Constables to do ...
Thanks to the energies of Anabelle de Gersigny and the generosity of Robin Farmer, Brighter Ludlow has installed its first shop window display. Everyone was sad when Farmers, a long standing business that sold fruit and vegetables on the market and from its Mill Street shop closed after Robin retired. The shop didn't look too good with brown paper screening its windows. Farmers before Brighter Ludlow stepped in. Yesterday the windows were brightened with screen prints, many of which were created at the Brighter Ludlow event on Events Square on Easter Saturday. Easter Saturday workshop The result is a brighter ...
Depressing news this morning as the House of Lords finally capitulated and allowed the Government's Rwanda Bill to pass into law. The Council of Europe's human rights watchdog has stepped in immediately to condemn Rishi Sunak's Rwanda scheme, saying it raises "major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law". The Guardian reports that the body's human rights commissioner, Michael O'Flaherty, said the bill was a grave concern and should not be used to remove asylum seekers or infringe on judges' independence: "I am concerned that the Rwanda bill enables the implementation of a policy ...
If you have been reading reviews of Liz Truss's self-justifying new book, you'll know that she was defeated as Prime Minister by the sinister forces of the bureaucratic deep state. Michael Gove has for years called the same phenomenon 'the blob'. Others on the populist and irrational right call this 'the liberal conspiracy.' In the House of Lords some weeks ago, Peter Lilley began to attack the 'liberal conspiracy' that was preventing honest Conservatives from following 'the will of the people', and became almost incoherent when our benches began to laugh. He clearly believes that these conspiratorial forces are real, ...
I enjoy publishing guest posts on Liberal England. So drop me a line if you've got an idea for something you could write for this blog. As you can see from the list below, I accept posts on subjects far beyond the Liberal Democrats and British politics. I'm happy to entertain a wide variety of views, but I'd hate you to spend your time writing something I wouldn't want to publish. So do please get in touch first. These are the last ten guest posts on Liberal England:Councillor defections: emergency update - Augustus CarpLook out for lobbying in the Listed ...
Rishi Sunak (Photo: Yahoo News) The Safety of Rwanda bill was finally passed last night when the House of Lords meekly surrendered, meaning that summary deportation will shortly become law. It is difficult to see any advantages to this scheme, other than perhaps saving Rishi Sunak's political skin. Even that seems temporary. The inefficient, immoral and frankly eye-wateringly expensive plan is not designed to "stop the boats" - it is too impractical to address the actual problem. Instead it is just another gimmick aimed at appeasing right-wingers. In short, this is one of the most shameful episodes in British political ...
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.
