Sign up here to get Scottish Liberal Democrats news via email[IMG: Alex Cole-Hamilton] Including stories from Liberal Democrats all across Scotland, my email digest service is available for free and you can sign up to it here: (more) |
The Climate Clock Is Ticking: Reflections from the International Seminar on Culture and Climate Change at Somerset House last FridayThanks to a Brazilian friend, I had the opportunity to attend the International Seminar on Culture and Climate Change, which took place on Friday afternoon at Somerset House in London. The event was organised by several institutions, including a department of my alma mater, UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and was attended by His Excellency Antonio Patriota, Ambassador of Brazil (pictured speaking above). Given last week's heatwave, the seminar took place in a particularly warm room, with a humid atmosphere that created an almost symbolic reminder of the Amazon rainforest, which was central to many of the discussions. ... (more) |
The state we're in - musings from a new young memberThe desire for a sense of control is a deeply futile effort, because despite being individuals, we find ourselves in a social paradigm, shaped by what is beyond our control - for example, where we are born. The person we grow into is also often a product of their environment, often not only inheriting their parents' genes, but also their ideas and mannerisms. We are all woven in a tapestry of human experience, for we were not born in the wilderness and raised by wolves, without any social contact. In our growingly atomised age, where our identities are now less ... (more) |
Can "Manchesterism" work for our rural communities?Here we are again, with the body politic latching on to another -ism that lacks definition yet carries allure for those of us desperate to see devolution and real localism really spring into life. I say this as a Mancunian now resident in the Scottish Borders, so perhaps you can forgive my instinctive pleasure at the notion of Manchesterism. When, as Andy Burnham pointed out in his gently jocular manner, even the Mayor of Liverpool was applauding when he said "This is Manchesterism" when setting out his first policy platform, you know that something is happening. Pleasure at the notion ... (more) |
ALDC's by-election report 25th JuneOur report on last week's by-elections is a little late again. This is because there were an unusually high number of by-elections last week. There were 24 principal authority by-elections or countermanded election, across 23 wards, with several again counting on the Friday. It was a mixed set of results for the Liberal Democrats. In many places we didn't get the result our local teams deserved for all their hard work, but we still registered some strong results in seats that are up for election again next year, and we also achieved one excellent hold which is where we start: ... (more) |
Tastes change ~What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger? I am very fond of a glass of wheat beer: German hefe weiß or Belgian wit, or a New England IPA. Had someone offered me a cloudy beer when I was young, I would have laughed at them. You live and learn... (more) |
What would Keynes do?I don't tend to be the type to give more qualified people lectures about what to do and think, however in this case I feel it is of the utmost importance. As a party it feels that we forget what our politics is really about, Liberalism. We chase headlines and create policy as a result of emotion and popularity rather than using our liberal roots to form it. Whether it's Ed complaining about a banknote or a hapless policy of moving departments to Birmingham, we seem to lack core liberal ideas. As a young person I can see what issues ... (more) |
Nine in ten paying more than necessary in Vehicle Excise DutyThe latest edition of my email newsletter about work in Parliament, A Lord's Eye View, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: One of the powers open to Parliamentarians is to submit written questions to the government. Although there are plenty of ways that questions can be dodged, when there is a request for a clear piece of statistical evidence, it is harder for the government to obscure matters. Here's an example of what can ... (more) |
A radical agenda but can Burnham deliver?It is an ambitious agenda, one that many Liberal Democrats would endorse. Yes, there are some omissions, in particular closer union with the EU by rejoining the common market to promote economic growth and introducing fair voting for general elections, but the idea of decentralising power to spread wealth is very much a welcome one. The Guardian reports that Andy Burnham plans to set up No 10 North as the "nerve centre of a rewired Britain" to oversee a devolution of power and resources across the UK that he said would deliver the change the country desperately needed. The paper ... (more) |
Reg Calvert and his boarding school of rockIn the Sixties there was more than one way of getting it together in the country. You could, like Traffic, have your own cottage out in the wilds, or you could get a place at Reg Calvert's boarding school of rock. Pete Clemons explains: Reg Calvert started to promote rock n roll shows, but then he quickly hit on a difficulty. The best acts were not to be found in and around Southampton. And it was at this point he decided he needed to up sticks again and find somewhere in the Midlands. He found Clifton Hall near Rugby and ... (more) |