Trans healthcare should not be a cultural battlefield; it should be a public service. The job of the NHS is to treat patients with competence, dignity, and in a reasonable timeframe. On that test, the current system is failing too many trans people. Across the UK, long waits have become normalised. In some areas, patients face years of delay before even a first appointment. That is not "care"; it is rationing by backlog, and backlog becomes harm. It pushes people into distress, erodes trust in clinicians, and leaves families trying to navigate a maze of uncertainty with no map and ...
Wed 21st
11:30
Ed Davey: Donald Trump is behaving like an international gangster and Starmer's Mr Nice Guy diplomac...
It's easy for politicians in opposition to talk tough, but Mark Carney and Emmanuel Macron have proved that you can do it while leading a government too. Part of a prime minister's job is speaking to the nation and speaking for the nation, and I fear that, at this time of crisis, Britain is stuck with a PM who is unwilling or unable to do either. And his whole government is wearing Starmer's lack of personality like a shroud. Anyway, Ed Davey spoke about Donald Trump in the Commons yesterday and has an article in today's Guardian: Donald Trump is ...
The sad news that party legend Vera Head had died came via Candy Piercy on Facebook: Sad news. The redoubtable Vera Head died last week at the age of 97 after a long illness. Long time campaigners and members of Lib Dem Women will remember her dedication to Women's Rights and to getting women elected. Vera taught me so much as an agent. And I still quote her in training sessions today. When I was a Campaigns Officer in 1992 I asked Vera to agent Liz Lynne in Rochdale. I could not think of anyone else who would stand up ...
This is from Rhythm of the Saints, Paul Simon's 1990 follow up to Graceland. Just as the earlier album had drawn on South African music, so this one was inspired by South America. It's less well remembered today, but still full of good things.
The speech of the Canadian Prime Minister in Davos yesterday was electrifying. Instead of trying to ignore the disaster of the Trump Presidency, He confronted it head on. The truth is that there really is no going back, even though we would wish that the United States would maintain its commitment to freedom and justice, Trump is proof positive that this will not happen, and that therefore the rest of the world will need to adjust and rebuild mechanisms that, where necessary, will exclude America. The call to action that Mr. Carney sets out is one that all those committed ...
Ed Davey had a right go at Donald Trump's latest antics in the House of Commons this week. In an email to party members and supporters, he said that Keir Starmer must do more to stand up to Trump's antics: President Trump's threat to impose tariffs on the UK for supporting the territorial integrity of an ally is a grave threat to our economy, our livelihoods, and our national security. By demanding control of Greenland and threatening economic warfare on allies who support its sovereignty, Trump risks ending NATO which has kept us safe for 75 years. Vladimir Putin and ...
The Government is considering following Australia's lead with a blanket ban on social media for under-16s. It's a move that will appeal to anxious parents and play well in focus groups. It also represents a fundamental misunderstanding of both the problem and the solution. This isn't to dismiss legitimate concerns about children's online experiences. The evidence on mental health impacts is real and concerning, particularly for young people already vulnerable. Algorithmic amplification of harmful content, cyberbullying, and the manipulation of attention through addictive design features cause genuine harm. Parents are right to worry. But a ban throws the baby out ...
The Guardian reports that the former Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner has urged Keir Starmer to stick to his campaign pledge to cap ground rents for leaseholders in England and Wales, as cabinet divisions over the government's plans to rip up the leasehold system come to a head. The paper says that Rayner has intervened in a tense standoff between Steve Reed, the housing secretary, and Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, over whether to stand by Labour's promise to limit annual charges for existing leaseholders: The measure was part of a draft leasehold bill due to be published last year, which ...
The Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to the Westminster government's Railways Bill calling for the full devolution of rail powers to Wales, reports Nation Cymru. Both the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru argue that Wales is losing out on billions of pounds of railway investment because some projects based entirely in England, such as the Oxford to Cambridge reopening, are often classified as "England and Wales" schemes. Nation Cymru quotes David Chadwick, the Welsh Lib Dems' Westminster spokesperson and MP for said: "Wales has been treated as an afterthought when it comes to rail for far too long. While ...
If you were hooked by Chloe Hadjimatheou's reporting of the questionable veracity of The Salt Path, you may be interested to know that the Observer has now produced a series of podcasts telling the story of this exposé, The Walkers: The real Salt Path. I walked The Salt Path myself - we called it the South Coastal Path in those days - from Minehead to Weymouth, over four summer holidays, in the Eighties and Nineties. Don't tell Jennie, but I left out the stretch through Torbay (my guidebook said it was allowed) because it was so built up.
On Thursday, 15 January at 12:14 AM, my nan passed away. She was admitted to Morriston Hospital on Tuesday morning with stomach pains. She was immediately seen by medical professionals, who did everything they could to help her. But at 90 years old, with a weak heart further damaged by a cardiac arrest early on during her stay in hospital, they, along with us, her family, made the decision to stop all procedures, as continuing to do so would trigger another heart attack. From that moment until her passing, my nan had round-the-clock care by the wonderful nurses, who ensured ...
After Robert Jenrick joined Reform I made a comment on a Facebook post by a despairing former Tory MP, I suggested that he should look on the bright side, 'most of those responsible for crashing the economy under Liz Truss are now in Reform. You have an almost fresh start'. Readers of the Independent seem to agree. The paper says that they now see the party as little more than a refuge for self-serving ex-Tories. Commenters on the paper's site have argued that high-profile figures such as Robert Jenrick, Nadhim Zahawi, and Nadine Dorries switched allegiance to protect their political ...