On Monday 17th February 2025 the Gateshead Lib Dem council group meeting was held online to discuss the council budget. We went through Ron Beadle's report on the budget and then each of us said our bit and announced whether we should support, oppose or abstain on the budget. The budget meeting is tomorrow (20th Feb). Our group decision will be announced then.There was a second item on the
Embed from Getty ImagesI don't want to alarm anyone, but here's an extract from an article looking back on the coming of the first world war that Charles Masterman wrote for the Daily Chronicle in 1915: It was a company of tired men who for twelve hot summer nights, without rest or relaxation, had devoted their energies to avert this thing which had now come inevitably to pass. No one who has been through the experience of those twelve days will ever be quite the same again. It is difficult to find a right simile for that experience. It was ...
On Sunday, Gateshead Lib Dem core strategy group met online. And what is the "core strategy group"? Effectively it is the campaign managers from across Gateshead. We meet regularly to coordinate campaigning and draw up timetables for activities. On Sunday we also discussed various council issues to consider how they fit in with our current campaigning. So, a busy time for us in Gateshead.
In 1966 if you were involved in the music industry you couldn't avoid mixing with some shady company, live music venues, much like casinos were often run by the mob. If you got on the wrong side of the mob they let you know. One tour stop for The Yardbirds in Rhode Island they turned up late – you don't keep the mob waiting – and a gangster stormed onto their tourbus toting a pistol shooting his mouth off. The Yardbirds' manager was Peter Grant, he stood up right in front of the pistol and said, 'You're going to shoot ...
Alistair Carmichael is the latest guest on Iain Dale's All Talk podcast, talking about his own career and about the former Liberal Party leader Jo Grimond. The Liberals and then Liberal Democrats have held the Orkney and Shetlands seat ever since Grimond won it at the 1950 election. Thanks to Caron Lindsay for flagging this up on Lib Dem Voice - follow that link to see a photograph of a very young Alistair. He is his usual engaging self in the podcast. I never met Jo Grimond. The nearest I came to it was in the 1983 general election, when ...
Wed 19th
15:13
Alistair Carmichael on Iain Dale's All Talk on 75th anniversary of Jo Grimond's election
Every week I read Iain Dale's weekly newsletter. Before you rush to judgement, there is always a picture of some very cute dogs at the end even if I often disagree with the political stuff. I often read people whose views are not the same as mine, especially if they are interesting as Iain usually is. When I was growing up, I used to read my Dad's Telegraph every day. It horrified me so much that it made me a social liberal with a healthy respect for a strong public sector that knocks down the barriers of poverty and inequality ...
Harold Wilson once famously said that "a week is a long time in politics". Well, the last week feels like an eternity in international politics. Last week, NATO member states received a scolding from the new US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who warned them not to treat Uncle Sam like "Uncle Sucker" on defence spending. While at the weekend's Munich Security Conference, US Vice President, JD Vance spouted the ridiculous claim that immigration and tackling hate speech, such as through having safe zones around abortion clinics, were a bigger threat to European democracies than Russia or China. The wavering of ...
In one of those rare-ish Tuesday by-elections, the Lib Dems confortably held on to a Council seat in Brent yesterday. Cllr Charlie Clinton and team absolutely smashed it. Here's the result: Charlie Clinton 1743 Lab – 827 Con – 740 Reform – 286 Well done to the Brent Lib Dems. The by-election was caused by the resignation of Cllr Anton Georgiou. He set out his reasons in a post for the Wembley Matters blog: Being the Liberal Democrat Councillor for Alperton has truly been the honour of my life. I became a campaigner locally in 2013 when I was 18 ...
These are challenging times for public administration, nowhere more so than in the United States, where Messrs Musk and Trump (but mostly Musk) are cutting a swathe through government department after government department. And, because Musk has very little experience of government, as opposed to selling ideas - his track record in selling actual things doesn't seem to be that good if Tesla and X are any indicator - he does seem to be operating on a 'break things in haste, repair at leisure (if at all)'. Now, because I live in the United Kingdom, rather than the United States, ...
Another Tuesday by-election this week following last week and it was one with a fabulous Liberal Democrat result: Alperton (Brent) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 48.5% (+2.0) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 23.0% (-18.3) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 20.6% (+8.4) [IMG: âž¡] RFM: 8.0% (New)Liberal Democrat HOLD.Changes w/ 2022. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2025-02-19T00:30:45.153Z
From Friends of Wighton : Saturday Morning Cappuccino Concert Saturday at 11am - Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library, Wellgate Admission £5 February 22nd Katherine Liley, fiddle, plus workshop. Katherine Liley is an excellent fiddle-player and also a researcher and teacher. She is no stranger to the Wighton Centre and we know we can look forward to a great mix of tunes and stories. All welcome!
The Independent reports that Ed Miliband has urged energy watchdog Ofgem to crack down on soaring costs as forecasts show the typical energy bill could soon rise by over £100 a year. The paper says that Whitehall sources have indicated that they expect bills in most UK regions to increase by around £9 a month over next three months, hitting Labour's pledge to curb the cost of living: Forecasts of exactly how much rates will rise again in April vary, but most key analysts agree they will be increasing. Large energy firms such as British Gas, E.On and EDF predict ...
