Alan Bennett is happily still with us, but his diaries no longer appear in the Guardian and the London Review of Books. I believe I read somewhere that he has said his life is too uneventful these days to be of interest, but if anything exciting happens he will be in touch. Here he is in 2003, writing just after the death of his Beyond the Fringe colleague Dudley Moore:30 March. Obituary of Dudley M. in yesterday's Independent by Harry Thompson, the biographer of Peter Cook, whose side one might therefore expect him to take. Instead Thompson very much takes ...
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Guardian wins our Headline of the Day Award. And our illustration is a tribute to the Mascots Minute Silence Instagram page.
Tue 18th
18:02
Why Liberal values require us to vote against the Federal party's conference power grab
The F10 function key on my keyboard serves as a Mute button. And that, unfortunately, is what the F10 motion up for a vote this Saturday in Harrogate would also do: mute the voices of all those that want to be able to choose their candidate for Parliament in their hometown. You know when the Federal Party is worried because it takes a sudden interest in what ordinary members think, and uses the same skills it directs at the electorate in an effort to win votes. And so we have been treated to a series of pieces from our science ...
The People's Republic of China (PRC) has sidelined Taiwan from participating in the United Nations and the related NGOs since UN resolution 2758 was adopted in 1971. China claims the legitimacy of its actions based on the resolution and its distortion of the actual meaning of the UN resolution. In recent years, parliaments in the free world took a tougher stance in calling out Beijing's distortions in the Resolution's actual wording. This included The Canadian House of Commons, where the Liberals hold a majority, passing a motion on November 2024 stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not establish the People's ...
The Labour Party has officially abandoned disabled people. Worse still, they are trying to spin it as a success story, framing cuts to vital support as an increase in employment. But we see through it. This is not a genuine attempt to support disabled people into work. It is a cold, calculated attempt to cut costs at the expense of those who rely on support to live independently and contribute to society. For years, the Conservative Party earned the title of the "nasty party" when it came to welfare reform. Their cuts to benefits, their cruel and arbitrary assessments, and ...
This weekend, the party will be debating the F14 motion "The UK's Response to Trump" at conference. Recent statements by our party and the motion itself pretty much encapsulate the UK public's feeling about the Trumpist revolution in the United States. The Lib Dems, as an opposition party, can more easily be the voice of reality, saying what the UK government dares not to say as it seeks in vain to seek some shred of common ground with Washington, especially over the future of Ukraine. The reason for Trump's partiality towards Putin is simply that the business opportunities are too ...
An immaculate live performance on American TV.
The Liberal Democrat Campaign for Race Equality are taking active steps to ensure greater diversity within the party, both in its membership and among its candidates. This is about engaging with communities we haven't spoken to before and breaking down barriers that have historically limited representation. Why is this important? A more diverse party ensures that our candidates truly reflect modern Britain To effectively contest key seats—particularly those facing Labour—we need candidates from a broad range of backgrounds. Following a comprehensive review, the time for action is now. The party has committed to making diversity a priority, ensuring that underrepresented ...
Lib Dems force crunch vote on free school meals as 200,000 children miss out Pharmacies: Government has left a "question mark" over support and now consequences "painfully apparent" 51,100 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019 New Social Attitudes Survey shows overwhelming support for assisted dying Lib Dems force crunch vote on free school meals as 200,000 children miss out New Liberal Democrat analysis estimates that over 230,000 children eligible for free school meals are not receiving the food they're entitled to, though the true figure could be much higher - as the party prepares to push a key ...
Our West End surgeries take place later today. This week, they are as follows : Blackness Library (Tuesdays 5pm - every week during school term time) West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC PS and Victoria Park PS) - (3rd Tuesday of each month at 5.45pm during school term time) All welcome - no appointment needed!
The Independent reports that a leading think tank has warned that the shocking scale of the benefits cuts needed by Rachel Reeves to balance the books could see the disabled and long-term sick lose as much as £1,200 a year. The paper says that the analysis by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies comes as work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will unveil plans to slash benefits by around £5bn: The government has already indicated that it will focus on working-age welfare claimants, particularly those claiming disability and incapacity welfare payments, with fears that the annual bill for these benefits ...
