I saw a butterfly this morning. It was only a cabbage white but, as it's the first I've seen this year, still worthy of celebration. Many people have noticed the lack of butterflies and bees this summer. This video from Professor David Goulson tells us that one poor summer for insects after a long run of wet weather is nothing to worry about. Then he looks at the long term, and it's frightening. It's not just insects that are disappearing: the birds that depend on them for food are getting rarer too. As I wrote a couple of years ago: ...
The first principal council by elections since our amazing General Election result too place this week. Four elections were held. We stood a Lib Dem candidate in all 4 and moved forwards in a number of places. We had a tough defence in Argyll and Bute Council, in Kintyre and the Islands ward. We had finished 3rd and picked up a councillor in the ward the 2022 local elections. This time, despite increasing our share of first preference votes, we were unable to hold the seat. Thank you so much to Douglas MacDonald for standing for us here. The SNP ...
As I am now officially old, I get offered lots of tests by the NHS. When I arrived at the GP surgery this morning clutching my poo sample in a plastic container, I was told by the receptionist that no samples could be received because of the computer outage. No tests can be carried out. So my sample was deposited into the clinical waste bin and I was given a new kit. Bring a fresh sample next
Alistair Carmichael argues that 'popular Conservatives' are killing their party: "It takes a special sort of intelligence to see an election in which you have lost hundreds of seats to liberal and centre-left parties, including 61 in Tory heartlands to the Liberal Democrats, and interpret that as a mandate to run screaming to the Reform-lite fringe." "If we sit by and shrug at what happened to Andrew Malkinson we accept that the CCRC is part of the disease and not part of the cure." Maximilian Hardy lays bare the failings of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. "New Civil Engineer recently ...
Fri 19th
09:06
Everything is out worldwide: No cash machines, no card payments, GPs struggling to provide services
As I type this, I am eating chilli coin carne for breakfast. Unusual but I am out of breakfast stuff. I went to the Co-op just after 6am. They were cash only and the cash machine was down. With only pence in my pocket, I came away empty handed. What seemed at first to be a local problem, proves to be worldwide. Airlines are grounded. Supermarkets can't take card payments, neither can many trains and buses. Banks are affected which why I have received a text from Lloyds saying they can't process a change on a parish council account. This ...
Ed Davey was not the only politician to throw himself off a crane, held only by elastic bands around his ankles. From thrill seeker to MP.@JoshBabarinde shares his bungee jumping story and how the Liberal Democrats are already delivering for their local areas. pic.twitter.com/huHde1s9fb — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) July 14, 2024 * Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
Four principal authority council by-elections this week, and a full slate of Lib Dem candidates, which is one up on the last time these wards were contested. First in were the two results from Newham: Beckton (Newham) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 38.7% (-9.7) [IMG: 🏘] NI: 30.9% (New) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 14.8% (-15.7) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 9.3% (-5.4) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 6.2% (New) No CPA (-6.4) as previous. NI = Newham Independents. Labour HOLD. Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) July 18, 2024
The BBC reports that the Welsh government has been strongly criticised over its preparations for the Covid pandemic. They say that the public inquiry looking into the UK's preparedness for a pandemic said the system in Wales was "labyrinthine" and "hampered by undue complexity": In a damning report, UK Covid-19 Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett said the UK government and devolved nations had "failed their citizens" as they planned for the wrong pandemic. First Minister Vaughan Gething said he welcomed the first report from the inquiry and that its publication was an "important moment" for the bereaved families and frontline NHS ...
