Bagworth Incline and the remains of one of the world's oldest railway buildingsSteve from the What Once Was channel (like and subscribe, my pretties) writes on YouTube: Join me as I explore what's left of the Bagworth Incline House - a forgotten but historically significant structure from one of Britain's earliest public railways. Built in the early 1830s as part of the Leicester & Swannington Railway, this incline control house once helped transport coal across Leicestershire using rope-worked, self-acting incline technology - long before modern locomotives took over. In the course of this video reveals that he lives in Hugglescote, where I once went to photograph its Edward VIII postbox. (more) |
Mathew on Monday: time to end the triple lock and finally give younger generations a fair dealOn Wednesday the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her long awaited (long feared?) Budget at a critical time for Britain's economy and society. As liberals committed to inter-generational fairness, we must seize this moment to call for a major reform: scrapping the state pension "triple lock." The triple lock – the guarantee that the state pension increases each year by whichever is highest of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5% – was introduced with good intentions. Yet today it is deeply unfair to the many younger people facing stagnant wages, rising housing costs and insecure careers. The Institute for Fiscal ... (more) |
Christmas gift ideas for your political friends[IMG: ALDC MP cards gift photo] Five Christmas, birthday, wedding, graduation, driving test pass, citizenship acquisition or candidate selection victory gift ideas for that special person you know. (And more tasteful than some festive options.) Flaunt your knowledge of Lib Dem MPs No need to be bored with Monopoly this Christmas. Get a set of 72 playing cards, one for each and every Liberal Democrat MP and boasting key statistics about each. You can buy them from ALDC. Give the gift of knowledge Polling knowledge, that is, with a gift subscription to The Week in Polls. Read by pollsters, journalists, ... (more) |
what, the fiscal rules, again?The conventional wisdom, at least of the sort of crowd I hang out with, is that there is nothing wrong with the fiscal rules, nor with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that measures policy against them. You can't blame them for the state we're in: not low growth, nor strained public services, and not even the high public debt that they were in theory set up to help control. The Centre for Policy Studies has written a piece all about this, that I think disagrees. I think. Parts of it are excellent. They are right to point out that ... (more) |
What happened to wealth tax?There are few issues which animate both the super-rich and the political Left more than the notion of a wealth tax. The idea has been championed by the French Left: a 2% levy would be levied on the roughly 0.01% of household assets worth over 100 mn. Euros. Britain's Green Party has also adopted it as a signature policy. There is a global version of the same idea promoted by Brazil's President Lula. For populist politicians, a wealth tax has a double appeal: it can, in theory, promote greater equality and 'fairness', and, also in theory, raise a lot of ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1440"The 'peace deal' that America is now attempting to force on Ukraine, is not like Neville Chamberlain's betrayal of Czechoslovakia at Munich; it is far, far worse," says Jonty Bloom. Sam Bright on the right-wingers who claim to love Britain, but want to destroy all its institutions: "The whole of Britain has become one big Oxford restaurant after a Bullingdon Club dinner: the tables upturned, the glass smashed, the staff left to sweep up the mess while the lads stumble out laughing, having dumped a bag of cash on the table by way of compensation." "This feels partly like a ... (more) |
The battle for local government transparency starts hereOur local news media is at the heart of community and the first line of defence against corruption in public life. Across the country, thousands of local journalists work tirelessly to hold power to account on behalf of local residents, uncovering truths which powerful decision-makers might prefer to keep hidden. As more power is devolved to local decision makers, the transparency and scrutiny provided by local journalists will become even more important. Citizens must have full oversight of any plans to change how their local authority governs, and how their money is being spent. The underlying aim of the English ... (more) |
Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestendDUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2025 Old Hawkhill - road closed from approximately 50m south of Hunter Street (building defect) from 9 October 2025 for approximately 3 - 6 months. Peddie Street - give and take traffic control 24 November 2025 for 4 weeks for lighting works. Perth Road opposite Invergowrie Drive - 3-way temporary traffic lights from Monday 24 November for one week for formation of new vehicular access for new development. Nethergate - left turn lane between Nethergate and South Marketgait closed on Monday 24 November from 9.30am to ... (more) |
Is the proscription of Palestine Action undermining government anti-terrorism programmes?The Guardian reports on warnings by a member of the Home Office's homeland security group that the anti-terrorism Prevent programme risks being overwhelmed because of the government's ban on Palestine Action and could lead to people being wrongly criminalised. The paper reports the official as saying that there is already confusion among counter-terrorism police, officials and in schools and hospitals as a result of the proscription of the direct action group, which makes being a member of, or showing support for it, a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act: They expressed concern about people involved in Palestine advocacy but not ... (more) |