When in the Shropshire Hills be sure to visit the visitor centre at The Bog. It's housed in what was the school for this lost mining village and serves tea and wonderful cakes, as well as selling local crafts and books on the area. I got there using the Shropshire Hills shuttle bus, which will run on every Saturday for the rest of September. I remember the days when these buses would take you to far off places like Much Wenlock and Knighton. They have gone along with reasonable funding for local authorities, but they still take you round the ...
Tue 3rd
20:26
Voters are beginning to think the Conservatives are weird - and they look like getting weirder
Embed from Getty ImagesHere's some heartening news from the Guardian: Conservative politicians have started to be seen as "weird", and few members of the public - even including the party's own voters - are able to identify the Tory leadership candidates, research suggests. ... Multiple focus groups of former Tory voters suggested that those who switched their vote at the last election were not inclined to back to the Conservatives any time soon. The research by More in Common said the party struggled with relatability, particularly in Liberal Democrat areas, by focusing on topics "which excite the base, or the ...
I won't forget the 2024 election in a hurry. Not only were there the expected wins of PPCs I had been excitedly anticipating sitting in the House of Commons for years, but there were a steady stream of wins in places where most people, or at least me, thought our chances of victory were somewhere between pretty low and non-existent. It was the day we finally didn't have a Tory government anymore. Also, at a deeper level, it was the day when what Lib Dems say or do started to matter again. How much it matters is up for debate, ...
Well, Steve Darling did the talking.
Lib Dem Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper has been talking about the Lib Dems' efforts to halt the Government's plans to cut Winter Fuel Allowance for all but the very poorest pensioners. While the party has no objection to some restrictions being made for wealthier pensioners who don't need it, we feel that the cut-off, at Pension Credit level, is too harsh and will lead to vulnerable pensioners suffering this Winter. Daisy told LBC: "What people have been saying to me is that they're very scared because it's a very sudden change. "If it's a cold winter, we'll have older people ...
Yesterday foreign secretary David Lammy announced a partial suspension of arms sales to Israel. Our foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran welcomed the move but said it was overdue: This action should have been taken long ago by the previous government, who failed to take any leadership on the matter. Liberal Democrats welcome this announcement as a step forward from the government. Liberal Democrat MPs will now carefully scrutinise the details of the Foreign Secretary's announcement, including those export licences which the Government has not suspended. We are concerned that the decision is made solely on risk of use in Gaza ...
Photo shows off duty guide dog Jennie having a cuddle with our editor at last year's Social Liberal Forum dinner. Parliament is back and we will be bringing you news of what our 72 Lib Dem MPs are getting up to. Seventeen of our new intake made their maiden speeches in the few days the House of Commons was sitting before recess started at the end of July so that means we have forty to go. We will also be covering the activities of the most lovable member of our Parliamentary team, Jennie. The golden retriever is the guide dog ...
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.
As if it were not bad enough that this government is effectively condemning thousands of pensioners to struggle with their fuel bills this winte, they are insulting our intelligence by claiming that not means testing the winter fuel allowance would lead to cataclysmic outcome, The BBC report on remarks by the leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, who is adamant that the government will not reverse its decision to scrap winter fuel payments: About 10 million pensioners not receiving pension credit will lose the payment of up to £300 from mid-September, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves blaming a £22bn ...
