Christmas tree lights in Whickham were switched on this afternoon. It was quite a fun event with the cast of Peter Pan (Little Theatre in Gateshead) leading the ceremonies. Well done to everyone who took part. I was cornered before I left after the event - I was asked to be on the Light Up Whickham committee. I used to be on it some years ago. So I'm now back.
It was Birtley's turn to host an action day on Sunday 24th November. So I headed down there in the morning and picked up 2 patches, one with 200 houses, the other with 250. I delivered the smaller patch and will go back soon to deliver the 2nd patch. Fortunately the snow has gone from the ground by the time I arrived in Birtley on Sunday.
You may have seen the story in the Times about Boris Johnson for the obesity crisis. ApparentlyBoris Johnson has blamed the Church of England for Britain's obesity crisis because its failure to provide the "spiritual sustenance" that people need is leading them to gorge themselves. And later in the story we're told:He recounted a recent visit to church with his family, "It was all about how rich men can't go through the eye of a needle all that sort of pot," he said, adding that instead of the Archbishop of Canterbury going on about slavery reparations "he should ask himself ...
Over on the party website, there's an advert for the vacant role volunteer vice-chair of the Liberal Democrat Racial Diversity Campaign. There are two casual vacancies to be filled by the Federal Board by election. This is your opportunity to play a pivotal role in the Party's work on diversity in a volunteer position. You will play an important role in ensuring the Party is an effective, supporting and inclusive organisation. The Racial Diversity Campaign (RDC) is the vehicle within the party which finds, trains and supports ethnic minority candidates through to their selection and beyond to successful election. It ...
Ultimately liberalism is about the individual and helping the individual empower themselves. To deny someone that empowerment strikes me as fundamentally wrong. When it comes to formulating our own views on the thorny issue of assisted dying, all of us will have stories we can share of those who suffered, and each story will come with a distinct and unique perspective that the person writing or speaking about, knows on an all too personal level. Equally, as human beings many of us will look at the same set of facts, apply our own moral codes and come to different conclusions. ...
I am, it's fair to say, not the sort of person who photographs their meals, poses in front of hot venues or influences very much, if anything. I understand that there are (mostly) young people who do these things, and I wouldn't stand in their way for one moment, but such behaviour mostly engenders a wry smile and attempts to make sure that I'm out of shot. I hadn't expected to encounter such a phenomenon in Tirana though. Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised - Albania has a relatively youthful population, despite significant levels of outward migration. And, in truth ...
The new issue of Liberator (no. 426) has been published. You can download it free-of-charge from the magazine's website. And that means it's time to spend another week with Lord Bonkers. We begin with a visit to his famous charitable enterprise, the Home for Well-Behaved Orphans. An orchard doughty, incidentally, is rugged club whose name was inspired by Sue Doughty (or Orchard-Doughty), the Liberal Democrat MP for Guildford from 2001 to 2005. Monday A Well-Behaved if breathless Orphan arrives at the Hall. "Matron says it's that Generic man off the television and he wants to paint over our murals and ...
Kim Leadbeater explains why she tabled her bill on assisted dying: ""It's been an extremely busy process, and it has been very emotional, because I'm spending probably 90 per cent of my time talking about death. That can be very emotionally draining. I'm hearing really harrowing stories from families who have lost loved ones under really traumatic circumstances, and that's been really hard." Young people need liberal listening, not authoritarian threats, argues Jack Nicholls: "Our approach, the approach we should push unrelentingly whenever we get a chance in any local legislature, should be about helping young people into the work ...
If we were to recreate the Audit Commission by expanding the powers of the Office for Local Government we might begin to get a service which properly provides a check on council's expenditure and effectiveness Sorry that this blog sounds boring but proper accounting and financial trails are absolutely vital if local government is to have a firm footing and citizens can be sure that their money is being spent correctly. As I have travelled around local government, I became increasingly aware that local councils were shelling out vast sums of money for service from the private sector that was ...
New issue of Liberator is out Liberator 426 is out and you can download it for free here: https://liberatormagazine.org.uk/recent-issues/ You can also sign up to be notified when each new Liberator comes out: https://liberatormagazine.org.uk In addition to Commentary, Radical Bulletin and Lord Bonkers' Diary, we have in this issue: ERMINE CONTROL Ed Davey should look for new peers who can scrutinise bills and help update the party, not policy experts, says Liz Barker DIARY OF A BLACK MAN AT PARTY CONFERENCE.. Six years on the Lib Dems have still ignored proposals to improve their standing among ethnic minorities. That will ...
Whilst Albania isn't exactly a big place - just over two hundred miles from north to south and less than one hundred from east to west - it isn't entirely easy to get around. There are, theoretically, at least, trains, but once you leave the major highways, the road system is sub-optimal and the mountainous terrain means that straight lines are few and far between. But Tirana is pretty central and there is a shiny new highway linking it to Durres, the country's main port and access point for ferries from Italy. It's also a city with a history dating ...
There are around 3.8million homes available for social rent in England - around 60% are owned by Housing Associations and the rest by Local Authorities. There is plenty of talk among Lib Dems about the need for more social housing - access to safe, warm and affordable homes is a key part of happy and healthy lives but the reality for many social housing tenants is very far from those ideals. Damp, mould, huge bills to heat draughty homes and bodged repairs are frequent complaints. Our Councillors and MPs often receive large numbers of complaints from social housing tenants and ...
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – new research from Caitlin Milazzo and colleagues about what candidates and parties put in their general election leaflets. I have previously highlighted how their work shows that the Lib Dems were keenest on putting bar charts in leaflets, and did so at a record rate in 2024. Now they have an academic article out – Alan Duggan, Caitlin Milazzo and Siim Trumm, Local Leaflets: Constituency Issue Messaging at the 2024 General Election, The Political Quarterly, 2024. Here are two of their key graphs, the ...
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.
Just over five years ago, Parliament considered a 6,103,056 signature petition that called on the government to revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU. The petition said that the government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is 'the will of the people'. We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now, for remaining in the EU. A People's Vote may not happen - so vote now. This movement attracted much derision from the Tories, those fly-by-night charlatans who now form the bulk of Reform and the right-wing media, all of whom argued ...
