CrisesI was born in 1937, when, for the next two years I presume (I could hardly be aware) our politicians and diplomats were desperately working to contain the expansionary foreign ambitions of Hitler in and Mussolini. They failed and on the day before my second birthday war was declared on Germany. This War expanded to involve most of the world, caused between 70 and 85 million deaths, mostly Soviet and Chinese civilians, and was only ended by the dropping of two nuclear bombs by "our side" on two Japanese cities, together causing between 150 000 to 246 000 deaths. I ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1458"Sounding like a mob boss when speaking at Trump's press conference at the weekend, secretary of state Marco Rubio told the world that the message of the Venezuelan intervention was that when this president says he is serious about wanting something, he gets it. The problem for Europe is that the one thing that this President covets above all is Greenland."Simon Nixon argues that Donald Trump's "Donroe Doctrine" poses an existential threat to NATO and Europe. Cliff Mitchell accuses Northamptonshire's two Reform-run councils of ignoring the reality of climate change across the county: "As predicted by climate scientists, Northamptonshire is ... (more) |
A Liberal case for fairness across generationsIn December I stood for Shinfield Parish Council. I came fourth, nine votes behind Reform UK, ten ahead of Labour. I am 38, work full-time, and have two children under seven. My Conservative opponents—both elected—had advantages I could not match; but above all, the time to knock on doors while I was at work or putting children to bed. This is not a complaint about my own result. It is a diagnosis of a system. British local democracy has become structurally inaccessible to working parents. Borough councillors in Wokingham receive £7,784 annually—less than £150 a week—for what amounts to a ... (more) |
Nudging up closer to the EUKeir Starmer's recent call for closer alignment with the EU was welcome. Naturally, he felt he had to add the qualification 'if it's in our national interest.' He couldn't bring himself to say that such an alignment might be 'in the interests of the UK and Europe as a whole.' Like John Major declaring 'Game, Set and Match' after securing an opt-out from the Maastricht Treaty, it still suggested an 'us and them' approach. But at least it was an acknowledgement that closer ties with Europe could be good for Britain, something that might seem obvious after a decade of ... (more) |
Labour turn the screw on higher educationNearly a year ago now, I blogged on the existential crisis facing universities in the UK. I was referring to a Guardian article that reported that nearly one in four leading UK universities are slashing staff numbers and cutting budgets, with up to 10,000 redundancies or job losses. The Guardian quotes the the Institute for Fiscal Studies who say that universities that relied on fees from international students have also been hit by the last government's visa changes, which set off a steep fall in the numbers coming to study in the UK. A freeze on tuition fees has not ... (more) |
Thinking about trains again...Professional training takes me to Croydon in a few weeks time which means navigating our official travel provider's website. And clearly, it's been a while since I've done so because I was surprised today to find that the new one works extremely well, which is not a phrase commonly associated with anything in the public sector and particularly anything contracted out by the public sector. But it rather led me to thinking about trains (aahhh, trains...). Firstly, what very good value a Senior Railcard is at £70 for three years if, like me, you don't drive. I paid mine off ... (more) |
7 January 2026 - today's press releasesLib Dems blast Reform Mayoral Launch for "talking down" London Govt must state if US military seizure of oil tanker was legal under international law ScotRail disruption payments top £3 million Greene responds to watchdog warning on waiting times Welsh Lib Dems raise ongoing red tape hitting Welsh lamb Greene: Pause business rates revaluation Lib Dems blast Reform Mayoral Launch for "talking down" London Responding to a Reform UK press conference, announcing Laila Cunningham as their mayoral candidate, Lib Dem London Spokesperson Luke Taylor MP said: From its history to its culture to its people, London is the greatest city ... (more) |
Following the River Westbourne from Kilburn to ChelseaIt's time for another walk with John Rogers, and it's one of the kind I enjoy the most: a walk that follows one of London's lost rivers. John describes it in his YouTube blurb as a: walking tour of London's lost river Westbourne from Kilburn to Chelsea via Maida Vale, Paddington, Bayswater, Knightsbridge, and Belgravia. The Westbourne is one of London's most celebrated lost rivers and wasn't fully buried until the mid-1800s. Consequently its course is very well documented and is famously carried over Sloane Square tube station in a pipe that can be seen from the platform. John has ... (more) |
It's the lack of taxes on land that's causing small farmers a problemI used to believe that the most damaging intellectual errors were essentialism and reification. These days I'm inclined to think that alliteration trumps them both. Over the holidays I saw two Liberal Democrat MPs calling for the total abolition of the "Family Farm Tax" or the "Unfair Family Farm Tax". And the Welsh Lib Dems have just called for that too. Here's David Chadwick, the Lib Dem MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, quoted in the Abergavenny Chronicle: "The Liberal Democrats were the first to call out and oppose the unfair family farm tax in last year's budget and ... (more) |
What is the point of the Daily Telegraph?The Daily Telegraph asked today, with an air of mockery and condescension, "What is the point of the Liberal Democrats?" It is a question that tells us far more about the Telegraph than about the party it seeks to dismiss. Once a serious conservative newspaper, the Telegraph has increasingly become a vehicle for grievance, culture-war sensationalism, and ideological nostalgia. Its critique of the Liberal Democrats is less an analysis than a reflex: liberalism bad, Europe worse, nuance intolerable. The Liberal Democrats, whatever one thinks of their electoral fortunes, are easy to caricature if one ignores history, policy, and principle. The ... (more) |