Runes of wisdom, rings of power fused in silicon's pale mirror; reflected through a changing line whose alchemy brings nemesis.
Thu 18th
14:53
The government's £1bn school sports revamp talks a good game on SEND inclusion. So why are dis...
The government's headline-grabbing £1 billion overhaul of school sport is wrapped in the shiny vocabulary of modern progressive policy: equity, accessibility, and an explicit promise to end the "fitness postcode lottery." On paper, it looks like a long-overdue victory for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The policy promises a needs-led system where "one-size-fits-all" gym classes are scrapped, replaced by specialist coaches from Paralympics GB, adapted sports like boccia, and a massive facility fund to tear down physical barriers. But talk to any headteacher or parent of a disabled child this week, and the mood is not one ...
Reports that the Government is considering watering down the 2030 Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate should concern anyone who cares about Britain's economic future, energy security, and the cost of living. At a time when other countries are racing to adopt the industries of the future, weakening the UK's commitment to electric vehicles would be a step backwards. It risks leaving Britain tied to the economy of the past rather than embracing the technologies that will drive growth, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. What is particularly disappointing is that ministers appear not to have learned ...
Gateshead Planning Committee met yesterday. Reform, reflecting their overall control of Gateshead Council, have a majority on Planning. Or do they...? Of the 13 Reform members of the committee, 8 were missing yesterday. The combined opposition of 8 could out vote the 5 Reform members who managed to get to the meeting. Reform aren't exactly off to a flying start.
Picture the scene. Ed Davey is on Question Time. He has just made the case for fixing social care, rescuing our crumbling roads, or matching our European allies on defence. And then it comes, the question every politician dreads: "That all sounds lovely. But how are you going to pay for it?" Here is the reply I would love to hear. "I'm glad you asked, because it's the wrong question, and I think most people at home suspect as much. You're asking how we'd fund twenty-first-century public services with a tax system built for a different century. Council tax based ...
Thu 18th
10:10
The Major Oak is dead and Phil Harding has discovered another ancient site near Stonehenge
Forget Sycamore Gap: this is real tragedy. The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is dead. The Guardian reports: The Major oak, one of Europe's oldest, largest and most celebrated ancient trees, has died. The huge tree, which has grown in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, for at least 1,000 years, failed to produce any leaves this year, after becoming stressed by a series of hot, dry summers. Thousands of visitors admire the oak each year, with its great age, enormous 11-metre girth and 28-metre canopy inspiring a forest of folklore. Although the oak would not have been hollow in Robin ...
I feel it is necessary to quote two items from Will Hayward's twice-weekly newsletter to illustrate the chaos that is the Reform Senedd group at the moment. Please click on the link and subscribe, it is well worthwhile. The newsletter tells us that Reform have been on quite a journey when it comes to childcare: During the election campaign, their manifesto didn't even mention it. Then last week 11 of their 34 MSs - a third of their members - bizarrely voted in favour of an amendment that criticised its absence from their proposals for Wales. We asked Reform why ...
Our History Underfoot - like and subscribe, my children, like and subscribe - follows the course of the River Leen through Nottingham. Just as in John Rogers' London river walks, we are taken to parts of the city we wouldn't normally see. Except that I have been to some of these places. To prove it, here are my photographs of the railway bridge - I was surprised at how low it was, but didn't guess the reason - and the start of the Tinker's Leen beside the Nottingham Canal.
Wed 17th
15:35The Lib Dems created the triple lock - we should be the ones to set the terms for its end
When Sir Steve Webb introduced the triple lock as Lib Dem pensions minister in the coalition government, the aim was to close the gap between the state pension and average earnings and reverse years of real-terms decline during which the state pension had not kept up with living costs. In 2010, the basic state pension was just £97.65 per week, or just over £5,000 per year, for a single person - a truly pitiful amount for someone who had worked for at least 39 or 44 years (depending if you were a man or a woman), even when you consider ...
Recorded live in 1979 for BBC2's Rock Goes to College.
One of the things that makes me happy when I see the declining state of our political life is that 'at least we're not as bad as America!' That thought kept going through my mind when I read accounts of the UFC fight which took place at the White House at the weekend. Four things struck me when I read them: Firstly, this is supposed to be the home of the Head of Government of the Country and to that extent it belongs to all the people of the Country. Could you imagine Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle being opened ...
How many people reading this article have been sat at a house party in the north - and when the conversation gets onto politics (which it usually does), no other attendees know a single thing about the Liberal Democrats. Attendees aged eighteen, nineteen, twenty who have not got a clue about what we stand for, a single policy, except, maybe Davey's stunts. I tell them I support the Liberal Democrats, and a true response I once got was, "is that the orange one?". This is where we are standing with the youth, and hey, a lot of the older generations ...
Keir Starmer should set a timetable for his departure from Number 10 and give his successor the opportunity to prepare for becoming prime minister, argue Hannah White and Alex Thomas. "Digital spaces should be safe for people of all ages. But I don't believe bans are the answer. Technology companies need to be held to account and required to block harmful content and build safety into their designs."Lisa M. Given on what Britain can learn from Australia's attempt to ban under-16s from social media. Ben Mayfield has seen a new film on the countryside access debate in England and Wales: ...
Wed 17th
10:25Dear United Kingdom: Anti-white racism and the attack of diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI)
On the day of the 10th anniversary of the tragic passing of Labour MP, Jo Cox, who will poignantly be remembered for her maiden speech in which she said "We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us." We contrast that with the juxtaposition of what emerged on Sunday when Nigel Farage had taken to social media and laid claim to Anti-white racism after he said that Britain was now a "two tier state against white people". Tragic events over the last fortnight have triggered memories for me long since ...
The Guardian reports on the view of Kim Leadbeater MP, the sister of Jo Cox, who was brutally murdered ten years ago yesterday, that political hatred and division in the UK is probably worse now than during the Brexit referendum. Speaking to the Guardian's Today in Focus podcast Leadbeater, who was elected to the same Yorkshire seat held by Cox in a 2021 byelection, said everyone in public life had a responsibility to try and ease tensions. Referencing the response of some politicians to the murder of Henry Nowak, which was followed by disorder in Southampton, Leadbeater said people should ...