Cole-Hamilton: SNP must start fixing A&E before winter Cole-Hamilton: SNP need to tackle alarming rise in deaths linked to synthetic opioids Cole-Hamilton: SNP must start fixing A&E before winter Responding to new figures showing only 63.7% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in week ending 21st July, while 3,345 people waited over 8 hours and 1,448 waited over 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said: People across Scotland sent a very clear message to this SNP Government last month. The NHS is teetering on the brink and it's time they got their ...

Posted by Mark Valladares on Liberal Democrat Voice

I'm reading A Terribly Serious Adventure: Philosophy at Oxford 1900-60 by Nihil Krishnan. This volume is part of a sudden glut on the thought and personalities of 20th-century British philosophers. There are two books on the group of women philosophers who studied at Oxford during the second world war - Elizabeth Anscombe, Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgeley - as well as a biography of J.L. Austin.I think this passage from Krishnan on the difference between the men who returned to Oxford from the two world wars is an interesting snippet of social history: In 1919, one observer remembered, the ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Yesterday, Gideon Amos made his maiden speech in a debate on Passenger Railway Services. Here is the full text: I rise to give my maiden speech. I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your position and the Transport Secretary and the Front-Bench team on their positions. It is a privilege and a pleasure to follow the maiden speeches that we have just heard, including by the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean), who, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde), significantly increases the Josh quotient in the House. If I contribute nothing else, I clearly ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

Forget big cats: BBC News has a story about the sighting of a wallaby in the Nottinghamshire village of Calverton. What is more, someone has taken a remarkably clear photo of the incongruous marsupial. He or she may well be a lone escapee, but wallabies can survive in England. A colony of them flourished in the Staffordshire Peak District for decades after the war, though the conventional wisdom is that the harsh winter of 2010 did for them. But, intriguingly, a story on The Manc suggests there have been more recent sightings in the area.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

Yesterday, Claire Young made her maiden speech in a debate on Passenger Railway Services. Here is the full text: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for this opportunity to make my maiden speech. May I congratulate you on your recent election? I also congratulate all those who have made maiden speeches today, particularly the hon. Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce), who spoke so passionately about the beauty of his constituency and the childhood experiences that he brings to this House. I am honoured to have been elected by the people of Thornbury and Yate to be their voice and champion ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice
Tue 30th
14:38

clear sky

Blue and gold then bluebeaten down to pale edges;we lie flat, subdued

Posted by AL Franklin on Maintain the Advance!

Ever since I was in short trousers, I have spent a few weeks after each general election, poring over the results. Normally, I have managed to get a copy of the Telegraph printed pamphlet of the seat-by-seat results. This time, I'm going to need a lot longer to digest the tumultuous results (so far, winning Epsom and Ewell is taking a while to get my head round!) and I couldn't find a Telegraph (or other newspaper) pamphlet. I just can't do it online – I need to highlight and mark the text. But never fear, the House of Commons library ...

Posted by Paul Walter on Liberal Democrat Voice

The negotiations are done and the numbers agreed for how select committee chairs will be divided up among the political parties.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Over on the Guardian website, there's an interview with Ed Davey in a buoyant mood: Confirming that he intends to lead the party into the next election, Davey said the party would again ruthlessly target so-called blue wall seats, traditionally Conservative areas where the Lib Dems have taken advantage of perceived Tory complacency and disaffection with the party's ideological direction. "We need to finish the job at the next election," he said. "We took down a lot of the blue wall, more than I expected. But there is still some left to take down. We have a real opportunity. I ...

Posted by The Voice on Liberal Democrat Voice

The Welsh Older Persons' Commissioner is quite right in urging the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reconsider her plans to change the eligibility rules for Winter Fuel Payments. As Nation Cymru reports, the payments of up to £300 have been made available to everyone above state pension age, but from this winter pensioners will only receive a payment if they are receiving pension credit: Thousands of older people in Wales will no longer be eligible to receive the payment following the introduction of the means test by Rachel Reeves. The move is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black
YouGov

Just a reminder that as it is the school holidays, Fraser's usual ward surgeries do not take place today. However, we can be contacted at any time on Dundee 459378 or by e-mail at westend@dundeelibdems.org.uk

Posted by Bailie Fraser Macpherson & Cllr Michael Crichton on Councillors Fraser Macpherson & Michael Crichton - working for the West End