Simon McGrath writes on Liberal Democrat Voice: Following a reference in the Journal of Lib Dem History I recently came across the most extraordinary labour of love, a biographical directory of people who have been Liberal, SDP and Lib Dem parliamentary candidates from 1945-2019. This is a 20 year piece of work by Lionel King who I find from the directory is 87, fought Kidderminster in 1964, Sutton Coldfield in 1970, and Walsall South 1987, is former chair of Birmingham University Liberal Society, worked as a teacher and then TV/Media lecturer in FE and held many roles in the Birmingham ...
There were 3 principal council by-elections this week. Two on Thursday and a rare election on Tuesday. Just like last week our Lib Dem candidates secured an excellent win and an extremely close second place in the elections we contested on Thursday. Our win came on East Cambridgeshire DC in Ely West ward. The was a Lib Dem defence. Congratulations to Councillor Ross Trent and the East Cambridgeshire team for not only holding the ward but doing so by increasing our vote share by over 10%! East Cambridgeshire DC, Ely West Liberal Democrats (Ross Trent): 1125 (47.9%, +10.6%) Conservative: 760 ...
Anselm Anon argues that the Liberal Democrats are wrong to treat the tobacco debate as one simply about consumer choice. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would "make it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009". It passed its first reading on 16 April, supported by the five Liberal Democrat MPs who voted, including Ed Davey. Yet Lib Dems online have not been unanimous. They have presented some nuanced liberal responses, taking into account concerns for personal liberty, public health, differential laws for different age cohorts and the dangers of the black market in tobacco ...
2024 is a massive year for elections in the UK, not least because on May 2 London – the most important city in Europe – goes to the polls. Our capital city has been electing a City Mayor and an assembly since 2000. In the past the political agenda for London hasn't changed greatly between ... Continue reading Success City – London elections preview 2024
The Labour Party appears now to be following a Tory-light policy. Keir Starmer has ditched the £28 bn pledge to follow Green policies, regardless of the needs of young people to be able to consider their many years to come of living with climate change with some hope. And of their immediate extreme needs, for decent and affordable housing, it is the Young Liberals who strengthened the Lib Dem housing policy passed at Bournemouth last September (F31, 'Tackling the housing crisis') with a demand for thousands more social dwellings to be built. On taxation, the two main parties seem to ...
Only two principal authority council by-elections on Thursday. Both had Liberal Democrat candidates, which is one up on last time around. The result in that ward which the party fought this time after a no show last time shows the value of expanding the number of wards the party fights: Farnham Castle (Waverley) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🏘] FR: 32.5% (-17.6) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 29.6% (New) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 23.0% (-11.7) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 14.9% (-0.2) Farnham Residents HOLD. Changes w/ 2023. — Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) April 18, 2024
Many thanks to the residents who recently highlighted to us that a drainage cover in Perth Road opposite Sainsbury's had become loose from its fixing, creating a trip-hazard - see photo. We reported this to the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership to ensure this was repaired, which was done earlier this week.
The BBC reports that residents in a north Wales town are calling for more signage after a small herd of goats were killed after being hit by a vehicle. They say that four goats died earlier this month when they were hit on the A470 at Wormhout Way, Llandudno, Conwy county. These are of course, the famous Great Orme goats that have roamed Llandudno and Craig y Don since the pandemic lockdowns, when they moved into the area's empty streets: The council said it used highways-approved wild animals signs on its roads, but would not fence in the animals due ...
I've just got back from three days in Hastings. While I was there I made the pilgrimage to Winchelsea and Malcolm Saville's house there. I went to look for the blue ceramic plaque that the Malcolm Saville Society installed there. I think I was at the ceremony back in the Nineties, but it still took me a while to find the right house. And the house next door now has a plaque too. It's in honour of the historian Asa Briggs, who lived there. Were Saville and Briggs neighbours for a time? It seems they were. This was where Malcolm ...
Police taking up to 17 and a half hours to respond to anti-social behaviour calls Thames Water: This corporate clown show must end "Flushed away"- Welsh Lib Dems urge Welsh Government to support maintenance of public toilets Scot Lib Dems respond to SNP and Greens ditching climate change targets Khan manifesto launch Cole-Hamilton speaks after more days of turmoil for Humza Yousaf Police taking up to 17 and a half hours to respond to anti-social behaviour calls Average police response times to anti-social behaviour incidents have increased by 37% since 2021, with some forces taking an average of 17 and ...
"What they got was a journalist with access to the upper reaches of the Government, with a determination to get on air and tell everyone the whispers that she had heard from ministers, advisors and officials - before Sky or ITN. What the BBC needed was someone who could take a step back, away from the scrum, and tell audiences when they were being lied to." Laura Kuenssberg has been a catastrophic failure as the BBC's political editor, argues Patrick Howse. Jonn Elledge asks if the Tories are deliberately posting terrible social media: "It's worth noting, though, that the most ...
I was a real privilege to chair a conference today which brought together almost 100 people with a passion for working with care leavers and assist them in creating good lives for themselves. When the LAMIT Board, which I have ... Continue reading →
Today, we have eight rough sleepers in Ludlow. That's the highest its been over the last decade. They are mostly in tents scattered around the town. Ludlow currently has nearly one quarter of the rough sleepers in the county. The others are in Shrewsbury and Oswestry, also a couple in Church Stretton and Bridgnorth. The reason that people become rough sleepers are complex and varied. Every rough sleeper has to be understood as an individual. Broken homes. Domestic Abuse. Behaviour. Drug, alcohol and substance abuse. Criminality. Running out of options on where to live. The one common factor is that ...
Following a reference in the Journal of Lib Dem History I recently came across the most extraordinary labour of love, a biographical directory of people who have been Liberal, SDP and Lib Dem parliamentary candidates from 1945 – 2019. This is a 20 year piece of work by Lionel King who I find from the directory is 87 , fought Kidderminster in 1964, Sutton Coldfield in 1970, and Walsall South 1987, is former chair of Birmingham University Liberal Society, worked as a teacher and then TV/Media lecturer in FE and held many roles in the Birmingham and West Midlands Party. ...
Low Fell Lib Dems have just published edition 133 of their email newsletter - eFocus. Issues covered include:Sewage on Durham Road;Daniel and the Focus Team need your support;Clean up on Kells Lane/Home Avenue cut;Call to scrap "snails pace" Gateshead High Street plans.You can read Low Fell eFocus on this link.
By boxing themselves in with the adoption of "fiscal rules" contrived to enable them, they believe, to win the election, Labour seem to have locked themselves out of most of the policies desperately needed to repair our public realm. However, in an article in last Sunday's "Observer" (14th April) Andrew Rawnsley has helpfully listed a number of progressive measures that would make very little, if any, demands on the public purse. In summary they are: 1. Eject the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords. 2. Modernise the school curriculum. (See note *) 3. Reform the planning laws to ...
There is no surer sign of a government party in its desth throes than a succession of scandals amongst its MPs leading to suspensions, resignations and bad newspaper headlines like these. The Guardian says that a Conservative MP has lost the party whip over allegations he misused campaign funds and demanded thousands of pounds from an aide to pay off "bad people" in the middle of the night: Mark Menzies, 52, was suspended from the Tory parliamentary party on Wednesday night while an investigation is carried out. The Conservatives took action after the allegations were made public in a report ...
The recent Tobacco and Vapes Bill, that passed its first reading in the Commons with an overwhelming majority, is decidedly anti-liberal and anti-freedom; and I'm extremely upset that the party leadership decided not to take a stand on this. When I first joined the Liberal Democrats, one of the primary reasons was that I believed us to be the last remaining party in this country to be fundamentally pro-Freedom, and to hold that as a core and imperative value. It seems that this is slipping through our fingertips. The bill aims to do a number of things – my particular ...
Michael's ward surgeries return today following the school Easter holidays and take place every Thursday during school term time. They are as follows : Thursdays at 5.45pm prompt - West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC and Victoria Park Primary Schools) Thursdays at 6.30pm prompt - Harris Academy reception area All welcome - no appointment necessary!