Kindred Wood is on the edge of Sunniside, the village in which I live and which I represent on Gateshead Council. It covers 5 hectares and is a recognised nature reserve, it's in the greenbelt and there are preservation orders on the trees. Recently, someone brought a digger onto the woodland, destroying trees and vegetation and dumping spoil on the ground next to one of the ponds. No
This is the first of a series of four videos from the Trekking Exploration account - like, share and follow now! That series follows the former Woodhead route from the eastern portal of Woodhead tunnel to Deepcar, which good trains from Sheffield reached until recently I don't intend posting all four here , but you can find them on YouTube. When I posted a Trekking Exploration video of the line on the other side of Woodhead tunnel last year, I wrote: At Penistone you could watch a constant stream of goods trains taking coal from the South Yorkshire coalfield to ...
Gateshead Lib Dems are continuing to develop our website. Three of us who are leading on this project met up last week at Sapori Restaurant on Gateshead High Street. I'm not sure whether this was an excuse to try out a restaurant none of us had visited before, a genuine attempt to get some website work done or both! Anyway, I was joined by Yoni Aibi and Matthew Jordison. The end result
I thought Vance's spech was good - a provocative but thought-provoking prod for us in Europe - 'what are you trying to defend'? https://t.co/fGAXgDR3DE — Neil O'Brien (@NeilDotObrien) February 15, 2025Neil O'Brien is my MP - the Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston. On Saturday he shared his thoughts on J.D. Vance's speech in Munich. I could construct an argument that he has to talk like this to hang on to his shadow ministerial (not shadow cabinet) post. He was at one time close to Kemi Badenoch, but backed Robert Jenrick in last years's Tory leadership contest, and she ...
Donald Trump has launched a full-frontal assault on liberal democracy. So, argues, William Wallace (rightly, I think), we have no choice but to increase taxation. Dani Garavelli writes on the suicide of a 16-year-old in state custody: "At some point on Saturday or early Sunday, he wrote three long letters to his family. 'It's night-time now,' he wrote. 'I've only been in here for two sleeps.''Been crying a lot'; 'Everyone's terrorising me'; 'Please help me.' Then he hanged himself from the top bunk." "Now we appear to have a secret request by the home secretary to Apple by the British ...
On Valentine's Day, I went with my Valentine, to see Adam Kay:Undoctored at Newbury's Corn Exchange. I have a soft spot for Dr Adam. His book "This is going to hurt" was a great read – hilarious but in a dark way, and in a way that made a very strong point about the NHS. As far as experiencing the NHS at the pointy end, Dr Adam Kay has been there and got the T-shirt logo engraved on his chest. He trained as a doctor for seven years and practised as one in the NHS for a further six years. ...
The news from the Charities Aid Foundation that the wealthy give relatively less to good causes than those with less income should give some people a reason to feel guilty! There is an old saying that the rich get and remain rich because they are mean with every penny and awake to every dodge to keep cash in their hands and those of their family. The UK's richest people give a smaller proportion of their wealth to charity than the average person, according to new figures. It comes as research found British millionaires donating just 1 per cent could boost ...
Ed Davey has demanded a recall of parliament so it can debate the possible deployment of British troops in a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. The Politico website quotes him as saying: "Keir Starmer should bring back Parliament to debate his plans to support Ukraine. "We have just days for the U.K. to lead in Europe and save Ukraine from a shoddy deal cooked up by Trump and Putin." Politico says this comes from an interview of theirs with Davey, but I can't find it on the website. Later in this report we read: Davey ... offered flexibility about the timing ...
So now we have no alternative. We have to raise taxes. Trump's appeasement of Russia threatens European security. But it also poses the full extent to which the Conservative government ran down Britain's public capabilities - and, let's be honest, the Coalition also underfunded our public services and infrastructure, and so did the Labour government (and the Thatcher government) before that. Since the election we have been learning about the appalling state of our hospital and prison estates. We already knew about the desperate shortage of social housing, the poor condition of many of our roads and the backlog of ...
After a week in in which both Conservatives and Labour have competed to outbid each other in inhumanity and sheer nastiness towards immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, the Liberal Democrat policy makes heartening reading. Here are a few extracts from our 2024 Manifesto: The UK has a proud history of welcoming newcomers - whether people seeking to build their lives here, or refugees fleeing war and persecution. People from all over the world have greatly enriched our economy, our culture and our communities. Liberal Democrats are fighting for a fair, effective immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect. ...
I wear many hats in our party. From being a councillor in Barnsley through to former Westminster candidate in both Yorkshire and the North West, and now, Regional Chair in Yorkshire and the Humber and the new Vice Chair of the English Party. In every role I have taken up, I have done so to highlight problems and find solutions. As a Regional Chair, it is clear to me we are long-overdue change. It is time our English regions were better supported to deliver their vital responsibilities. This is exactly why I am supporting the motion to implement the General ...
The Guardian reports that a group of more than 900 Labour members and trade unionists, including MPs and peers, have accused the government of copying the "performative cruelty" of the Conservatives in its migration and asylum policy. The paper says that the group, in a joint statement, singled out the Home Office's decision, revealed last week, to refuse citizenship to anyone who arrives in the UK via "a dangerous journey" such as a small boat over the Channel: The statement also criticised ministers for highlighting the number of people being deported from the UK, with a Home Office publicity blitz ...
As the schools are closed today to pupils and the public as it is an in-service day, we have no ward surgeries. However, we can be contacted at anytime at westend@dundeelibdems.org.uk - many thanks!
