Wed 20th
21:59
Santa's new sleigh delayed by snow and won't feature in tonight's Shrewsbury Christmas lights switch...
Embed from Getty ImagesSad news from Shrewsbury, but at least the Shropshire Star wins our Headline of the Day Award.
The Liberal Democrats have marked Transgender Day of Remembrance, saying on social media: Today on Trans Day of Remembrance we remember those who have lost their lives to transphobic violence, and reflect on how we as a society can end this loss of life. Liberal Democrats will always stand up for the rights of everyone in the LGBT+ community. Sadly, there has been another rise in the number of trans people who have been killed because of who they are. We're getting on for 1 person a day – 350, mostly trans women of colour. From Pink News: The number ...
"OBR figures suggest that the increase in NICs will cost more to social care providers than the money that the government has announced for that sector in the budget."@libdemdaisy has implored the government to protect health and care providers from the NIC hike. pic.twitter.com/ywt7qWuZK1 — Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) November 20, 2024 Last week I was contacted by a constituent whose husband has stage 4 bowel cancer. He had a routine scan in June but did not receive the results until early November, and unfortunately during that period he received unsuitable chemotherapy and his cancer has progressed. Given that Shropshire has ...
The importance of next May A blessing and a curse of a democracy is that elections keep on coming around. So while this year has been an exhausting one of election campaigns already, we also need to be turning our eyes to the local elections coming up in May. Most of the seats up in May were last contested when the Conservatives were still on an electoral high back in 2021. Therefore they provide us with an important opportunity to follow up on our major gains from the Conservatives at both local and Westminster level since 2021. They also provide ...
Liberal Democrat Newswire #190 came out a few days ago and you can now read it in full below. But if you'd like the convenience of getting it direct by email in future just sign up now: Welcome to Lib Dem Newswire #190, and as it's nearly the season of gift giving a reminder that you can get the full paid-for version of my weekly polling newsletter, The Week in Polls, free for 60 days with this special offer for LDN readers: Get 60 days free for The Week in Polls There has been a big migration of Liberal Democrats ...
With the 'Tractor Tax' protests filling the news for several days, yesterday delivered an email from Lib Dem HQ informing me that our MPs are demanding that the tax be axed. I was both surprised and disappointed to see our MPs siding with some very wealthy vested interests on this issue. It is clear that investment in farmland is being used by some as a deliberate ploy to dodge inheritance tax, and beyond romanticising the "family farm" and way of life, I've yet to hear a convincing moral or economic argument as to why farmers uniquely deserve a better deal ...
Grappling with farmers over inheritance tax is one thing, but the real downside of Labour's budget is its impact on pensioners and parents. The latter because of the failure to abolish the two-child benefit cap, the former because of the abolition of the winter fuel paymemnt as a universal benefit. The Guardian reports on analysis which shows that 50,000 more people will be in relative fuel poverty next year - and another 50,000 by 2030 as a result of this cut. The paper says that the government's own analysis has found that cuts to the winter fuel allowance could force ...
Scottish Conference took place in Perth on Saturday. The 300 year old Salutation Inn near the river has been putting up weary travellers for over 300 years and has been holding Lib Dem events for just about as long. I don't think the decor has changed in all the time I've been going there since we moved back to Scotland in 2000 so it's a wee bit dated but it serves decent pub food and the staff can't do enough to help you. And the big win for me is that they make the toast for you at breakfast. You ...
Many thanks to the residents who contacted us recently about a missing utility cover on the pavement of Blackness Road just west of the junction with Blackness Avenue We asked the Roads Maintenance Partnership to contact the appropriate utility company to fit a new cover to remove the trip-hazard and are pleased to advise it was promptly resolved thereafter.
The Nottingham Suburban Railway opened in 1889 and had largely lost its passenger trains by 1916. These ceased altogether in 1931. Goods workings continued until 1951 - the line's southern connection with the rest of the system at Trent Lane had been lost to enemy bombing in 1941. Though it was only three and a half miles long, the Nottingham Suburban railway involved some substantial engineering. In this video, Trekking Exploration goes to look for what remains. The drone footage is good, and a word too for some excellent period photographs of the line.
After a short delay, here are the photos of the Whickham Remembrance Day parade. Cllr Peter Maughan (to my right in the photo above), myself and Cllr Susan Craig laid the wreaths on behalf of residents across the three Whickham wards. In total, 52 wreaths were laid at the Whickham war memorial. You can view the full set of photos of the parade and service on this link.
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – research using both analysis of election results and experiments to look at the impact of the number of candidates on a ballot paper on levels of voter participation. The data is from Brazil and the academics find that: We use election results and experimental data to show that more candidates results in less participation. Effects are apparent even when comparing ballots with two or three candidates and are not assuaged by party labels. Our results suggest that too much choice on election day can ...
Because I am politically neutral whilst I am Lord Mayor I have refrained from commenting until now about the election of Trump as USA President. However, I now believe that we now need to have a wider debate about our relationships with the USA but much, much more importantly with Europe. I believe that Trump is a danger to world peace. He is misogynist, criminal, and pathological liar. His instincts and beliefs go contrary to any concept of civilised democracy, and he is surrounding himself with crazy people who say and believe crazy things. I have no doubt that what ...
Linsey McGoey listened to Trump voters and suggests the Democrats will have to do the same if they are to win power again. "The language of social justice - 'wokeness' if you will - is not about social justice at all but acts rather as an ideological glue binding together a section of the elite that want to keep climbing the ladder of privilege but don't want to see themselves as part of the elite."Kenan Malik reads We Have Never Been Woke by Musa al-Gharbi. Pam Jarvis fears many multi-academy trusts are putting copious amounts of public money into the ...
The Scottish Liberal Democrats conference this past weekend was quite something. It was fantastic to be in a room full of likeminded people and to play a part in some truly compelling debates. We stayed true to that time honoured Lib Dem principle of disagreeing well, as shown by the thoughtful discussions on gender balance in selections and the policy motion, which I brought to conference, on further restrictions around smoking. Both motions were passed after fantastic input from both sides of the argument. However, I wanted to reflect on something particularly close to my heart: the mini-motion I proposed, ...
[IMG: Mike Ross candidate selection photo op] The Yorkshire Post brings the news: The Liberal Democrats have said they are in "pole position" to win the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election, as they announced their candidate Coun Mike Ross. The Hull City Council leader was unveiled yesterday at a go karting circuit next to the Humber, where he claimed the election is a two-horse race between the Lib Dems and Labour. He told The Yorkshire Post: "I'm very excited to have been selected, it's a tremendous opportunity for the party and for the region. "It's very much about what ...
This BBC film came out in March to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first UK equal marriage. So I am catching up a bit. I started watching it because it was re-shown on BBC1 on Sunday. If you haven't seen it, it is very much worth watching. It's partly a reflection back on the history of the campaign for equal marriage in the UK, and partly an entertaining look at the planning and realisation of the wedding of Adam and Dan of Brighton. Tom Allen is an amusing and articulate host. He traces the history of equal marriage with ...
Today is World Toilet Day, which comes up each year on the 19th November, when the United Nations reminds us of the 3.5bn people (about one in three of the world's population) who still do not have the facilities to urinate and defecate with dignity, in privacy and safety, with their waste hygienically disposed of. This year's Theme is "Sanitation for Peace" and you can find more details of it, and previous years' themes, here: https://www.unwater.org/our-work/world-toilet-day The connection is that the toilet cabinet is a "peaceful place." (eg children who are being bullied at school go there for peace and ...
Fraser's weekly ward surgeries take place later today and are as follows : Tuesdays at 5pm prompt - Blackness Library Tuesdays at 5.45pm prompt - Ancrum Road Primary School All residents welcome - no appointment necessary.
The Guardian writes about two separate reports which have concluded that tax rises in the budget have sapped consumer confidence and will lead to sharp reductions in private sector pay growth next year. The paper says that a survey by S and P Global Market Intelligence showed that consumer confidence dropped this month after households said the outlook for the economy had deteriorated and the prospects for their own finances had worsened: The consultancy said the government had failed to build on the underlying improvement in consumer sentiment seen in the months before and after the general election. Goldman Sachs ...