Government ruling out customs scheme with EU is an "act of economic negligence" NHS stats: government must convene COBRA amid surge in norovirus cases Lib Dems reveal private company overseeing hundreds of sewage dumps Scot Lib Dems push for prison suicide and fatal accident inquiry reform Cole-Hamilton comments on scrapping of doomed social care centralisation Government ruling out customs scheme with EU is an "act of economic negligence" Responding to the Government appearing to rule out the EU's proposal of the UK joining a European customs area this morning, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: It is alarming that the ...
Ed Davey has written an article for The Guardian under the headline "Elon Musk has shown his hand. If politicians like me won't curb his malign powers, who will?" He writes: Much of the coverage of Musk centres on his bizarre actions and declarations, and the controversies that have followed. It's easy to tune it all out as the dronings of a bore. But he's so much worse than that. He's already one of the most powerful people on the planet. He's the world's wealthiest man, with a fortune of more than $400bn. And despite turning millions of people away ...
Embed from Getty ImagesIt may be unintentional, but as it stands the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill allows the creation of a new generation of church schools that are not bound by the existing 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions. So I'm pleased that the Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson is to move an amendment that would make new schools subject to this cap too. Pleased? Back in 2017, I blogged about a Sunday Times report that Muslim pupils outnumber Christian children in more than 30 church schools. I said I regarded this as good news and ...
Elon Musk has declared himself an absolutist on free speech. It's a declaration which defines the enemy as 'the woke virus', which is condemned as shutting off criticism of minority opinions and groups and shouting down those who express views outside their permitted consensus. It's also a demonstration of how far the concept of 'free speech' has been weaponised by the right and twisted in in its meaning. If we want to defend free speech from those who twist the principle to fit their prejudices, we need to be clear about it meaning and its limits. Liz Truss has just ...
Congratulations to BBC News for winning our Headline of the Day Award, but their headline could have been, nay, was, much better. The judges have furnished me with this proof - the reference to Cleethorpes could have made this our Headline of the Year.
Rachel Reeves' proposed merger of Local Government Pension Schemes and consolidation with defined contribution pension schemes to create a mega-fund to unlock investment and boost growth is high risk and needs safeguards and guarantees. This is not Government or taxpayers' money but belongs to the members of each particular pension scheme and is in effect their retirement savings. When Gordon Brown altered the tax position of pension funds he sent many into deficit which brought about the demise of defined benefit final salary schemes – with even the Local Government Schemes moving from "final salary" to "average salary". The index ...
The second day of Christmas at Bonkers Hall is quite as much fun as the first. Danny Chambers' phone call was inspired by a news story that broke at Christmas: Russian scientists have unveiled the remains of a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth found in thawing permafrost in the remote Yakutia region of Siberia during the summer. They say "Yana" - who has been named after the river basin where she was discovered - is the world's best-preserved mammoth carcass.More fun with Cook and her malapropisms another day, no doubt. Boxing Day When I thank Cook for her sterling work yesterday, she ...
Michael's surgeries take place today and are as follows : Thursdays at 5.45pm prompt - West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC and Victoria Park Primary Schools) Thursdays at 6.30pm prompt - Harris Academy reception area All welcome - no appointment necessary!
The Independent reports that Rachel Reeves's plans for a "family farm tax" have suffered a major blow after the supermarket giant Tesco called on her to halt the policy. The paper says that the retailer has backed farmers in their fight against the inheritance tax raid, with its chief commercial officer warning the "UK's future food security is at stake": In a triple blow to the chancellor as she seeks to woo business investment to the UK at the World Economic Forum in Davos two more huge supermarkets, Lidl and the Co-Op, also called on her to pause the policy. ...
