"We need to have the courage and vision to support the Jewish community without destroying a fundamental and necessary right. It is Jews who will ultimately be harmed too, as members of the UK population, if the right to protest is further eroded."Jo Glanville argues that banning pro-Palestine protest in the UK is no solution to antisemitism. Glen O'Hara on the government's stealthy culling of Britain's universities: "This way, they get to make the whole sector smaller with little political pain on their part. They can dump responsibility on bad managers, risk-taking, too much borrowing. The dark side of Higher ...
Two former Liberal Democrat MPs - Norman Baker (Lewes, 1997-2015) and Duncan Hames (Chippenham, 2010-15) - talk about the growth of corruption in the British political system. Duncan Hames is now the director of policy at Transparency International UK and is married to the former Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson. Norman Baker writes of this conversation on YouTube: The UK has now slipped to 20th in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, a sharp fall from just outside the top ten as recently as 2021, and is sitting at its lowest ever score since the Index was revamped in 2012. Duncan ...
So with only about 10% of the results across the nation in, we are doing ok. We have gained control of Stockport, a success that had Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart dancing on live television. We also gained Portsmouth. The results in the London Boroughs of Richmond and Sutton were almost embarrassing. We took all 54 seats in Richmond and 51 out of 55 in Sutton, wiping out the Tories there completely. While it is a huge endorsement of the good work our Councillors are doing, it's also not healthy in any democracy for any party to have so much ...
The Guardian reports that candidates and political parties have described a climate of abuse in this year's local and devolved elections, including death threats and intimidation while campaigning. The paper says that politicians from a range of parties have reported abuse and harassment in the lead-up to the elections in England, Scotland and Wales, with the Green party describing this year's campaign as the worst in memory: Labour's Dan Jarvis, the security minister, condemned "the rising tide of vile abuse, harassment and intimidation aimed towards elected officials and candidates" online and in person. "Anyone engaging in this sort of behaviour ...
It has been a while since I last posted here, and I am no longer sure whether blogging is still the best medium. Even so, because my earlier articles and opinions are still here, I am going to post again for a while and see what response it receives. However, firstly who am I and why here. Back in 2005 I first stood for election for the Westminster seat of Linlithgow and Falkirk East for the Liberal Democrats. I had been either a member or keen supporter since my Polytechnic/University days at Kingston. Yes, I am of an age that ...
Millions of steps taken, thousands of doors knocked on and phone calls made. There will be a lot of very tired Lib Dems this evening. Many of us will have to wait till tomorrow to know the results. Only a few areas are counting tonight and we'll round up those results in the morning. Alex Cole-Hamilton has said a big thank you to the teams who have been out across Scotland today: As polls close I would like to thank all of the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidates and activists who have worked so hard to deliver a positive and energetic ...
Shelve Church, Shropshire Heather Kidd, the Liberal Democrat leader of Shropshire Council, has spoken to the Powys newspaper County Times about the destruction of natural habitat in her large rural ward. The Times says a field has been wholly cleared of gorse and scrub, to the dismay of people in Shelve and Pennerley. Heather Kidd told the newspaper: "No one seems to know who was responsible," said Councillor Kidd. "I spoke to the planning department of Shropshire Council and as the site is not an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) or covered by any other protection, normal enforcement procedures ...
Embed from Getty ImagesHere's something not a lot of people know: Hirta, the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, once had two unique species of mice and one of them is still thriving. Charles Foster explains in an essay for Aeon: Evolutionary innovation happens at the edge of genetic orthodoxy, at the edge of an established population, and typically at the edge of a landmass: hence the exuberant biological creativity seen on islands, where new challenges are faced and old inhibitions relaxed. Take the St Kilda archipelago, for instance, in the heaving green sea off the outer isles of ...
A few notes on the back of a fag packet and Reform call it a "plan for Gateshead". Nevertheless, in that jumble of meaningless slogans, there is one hard policy that will cost Gateshead dearly. Reform claim that by axing net zero, they can save a ton of cash. The reality is something different.Like many councils, Gateshead has taken advantage of the move to net zero. Solar panels on council
Last night I chaired the monthly meeting of the Sunniside History Society at Sunniside Club. The speaker was Gloria Dobbin who gave a presentation about statues in the Gateshead/Newcastle area. She explained why the statues were there and the background of the people from history who donated the funds to pay for them. A very interesting talk and it has inspired me to visit all the statues she
There was no let up yesterday with Lib Dem campaigning despite it being the eve of poll. I spent much of the day in Saltwell ward helping to deliver leaflets and a target letter. I saw no sign of the other parties except for a single, A5 leaflet for the Conservatives, of all people! Across Gateshead there are 66 seats but the Conservatives are standing in only 14. I don't hold out much hope for
Google AI overview of the meaning of "torment": "Torment refers to an extreme physical or mental suffering, agony, or severe harassment. As a verb, it means to inflict such suffering or to cause severe worry/trouble."The reason I have posted the meaning of the word "torment" is because the three Reform candidates for Whickham South and Sunniside have posted on the Reform Facebook page for
At first they did nothing. And then they had to act. What was once the cuddly Green Party has been wilting under the glare of media and political scrutiny. In Newcastle, concerns were swirling about anti-semitic comments made by a couple of Green candidates - Philip Brookes and Mohammed Suleman.The BBC reports:One post on Brookes' Facebook page included an image which branded Israel "a
Northumberland County Council is run by a minority Conservative administration. The official opposition are Reform. I'm not sure what the number of Reform councillors is as the Farage party has a habit of losing members. But I hear on the grapevine that Reform met recently in secret and voted against their own leadership. This is not something that can be kept secret for long. Everything was
So what are you doing reading this? Shouldn't you be out telling or knocking up on the doorsteps? OK, so I do know that not everyone has the opportunity, or the capacity, to do either of those tasks, and, of course, if that applies to you then your support is also precious. During the day the BBC follows some pretty strict guidelines about what they can report – which is why there is always a story about dogs in polling stations. Things only really swing into action at 10pm. So what should we be looking for after polls close? In ...
The Guardian reports on warnings by green campaigners that the defining issue of today's local elections will be the UK's soaring cost of living, and in particular the links between inflation and the effects of fossil fuels and the climate crisis. The paper quotes Ami McCarthy, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, who says: "With people's bills and prices soaring from yet another fossil fuel crisis, these local elections have a global context - driven by the Iran war. Getting the UK out of the fossil fuel doom loop and on to renewables would secure a stable and affordable ...