Sienna Rodgers takes us inside the power struggle at the top of Your Party: "There is talk that the leadership race could feature at least one other candidate; a non-MP perhaps with a 'plague on all your houses' campaign aimed at highlighting the chaos that has emerged under those running the show so far." "The whole estate shares the same creaking water, electric, sewage and gas systems, most of which are interconnected across the buildings - meaning shutdowns for repair affect the whole estate. According to the official Restoration and Renewal unit, there are 'also hundreds of miles of rusting ...
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!
A Guardian editorial hits the nail on the head over the Shabana Mahmood's asylum overhaul, which they say burdens an overstretched system and hands political advantage to her opponents. The paper says that the home secretary's flurry of proposals are designed to signal purpose, but constitute a wishlist of demands that her department can't deliver: Currently, those fleeing persecution are given a five-year right to stay in the country and can apply for settled status after that. Ms Mahmood wants refugees to stay in the country initially only for a 30-month period, and then review their status to see whether ...
There's a sad and fascinating story in today's Guardian about Mick Meaney, and Irish labourer who in 1968 was buried alive in a coffin under a Kilburn builder's yard. He hoped the stunt would bring him riches and fame, but he was swindled by his manager and returned to Ireland with nothing to show for it: No Guinness Book of Records representative recorded Meaney's feat and a rival burial artist named Tim Hayes, who spent less time underground in a regular-sized coffin, disputed his champion credentials. Later in 1968, a former nun named Emma Smith had herself buried beneath a ...
Mon 17th
20:56
One of the problems with our political system is that it produces such inexperienced leaders
In recent days I've come across three instances of people arguing that one of the problems with our political system today is that it produces such inexperienced leaders. You can hear Robert Saunders making this argument in the latest episode of Nick Cohen's podcast The Lowdown. (Click play on the video and you'll get the relevant extract.) Mark Garnett also touches on it in his new book Downing Street Downfalls: The Misadventures of Britain's Prime Ministers Since Thatcher, which I review in the next Liberator. In the book he writes: Even before Brexit there had been signs that individuals with ...
The following is lifted 100% from a post by Matthew Hulbert on Liberal Democrat Voice (17th November "Liberals should say this clearly: You don't fix the asylum system by making life harder for refugees. You fix it by creating safe, managed, humane routes to the UK; by processing claims efficiently; and by helping people (not forcing them) to integrate and contribute once they're here, as the overwhelming majority of people do. A genuinely fair system would do three things. First, expand safe and legal routes so people fleeing war and persecution don't have to gamble their lives on dangerous ...
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2025 Milnbank Road (Bankmill Road to Forest Park Road) - closed from Friday 14 November for 5 working days for Scottish and Southern Energy Network work. 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 for 5 weeks from 17 November 2025 for lighting works. Perth Road (Hawkhill to Taylor's Lane) - closed eastbound on Monday 17 November ...
I wrote a few days ago that Labour are poised to block amendments to their planning bill designed to protect English wildlife and its habitats from destruction. Their rationale apparently, is that protecting animals such as dormice, badgers, hedgehogs, otters and nightingales, and rare habitats such as wetlands and ancient woodlands from developers is harming growth. However, one House of Commons committee has carried out an inquiry that has come to a contrary conclusion. The Guardian reports that the inquiry has conccluded that nature is not a blocker to housing growth, a view in direct conflict with claims made by ...