One small step back from the precipiceThis is an article I wrote for Liberator about the Senedd elections: It all started to go wrong for the smaller parties at the Caerphilly by-election, a first-past-the-post contest that saw Plaid Cymru hold off Reform to take the Welsh Senedd seat from Labour. In that election, Plaid was seen as the best choice to stop the Welsh branch of Farage's limited company from taking the seat, and from that moment all the opinion polls had the subsequent Senedd election as a two-horse race. The only problem was that the elections on 7th May were not being conducted on the ... (more) |
How David Lean's Oliver Twist broke the lawEmbed from Getty ImagesHere's a remarkable thing. Between 1933 and 1963, it was illegal in Britain for a child under 12 to appear in an entertainment production on stage or on screen. And that explains the following press cuttings. Here's the Weekly Dispatch, 9 November 1947: One of the best-kept secrets of the British film industry is revealed at last by producer Ronald Neame's announcement that John Howard Davies, cast as Oliver Twist Cineguild's screen version of Charles Dickens's famous novel, has been playing the part at Pinewood Studios for the last four months. [John Howard Davies was nine.] the ... (more) |
Reform's resignation letterI've lost count of how many Reform councillors have resigned in the few days since the local elections were held. One of them however was elected in Gateshead. Danielle Cavanagh was one of three Reform candidates elected for High Fell ward. It was clear before polling day however that Cavanagh had withdrawn from the campaign (but remained on the ballot paper) when her picture disappeared (more) |
Macron combines industrial ambition with strategic state actionPresident Macron delivered a landmark speech at France's Atomic Energy Centre, CEA, in Bruyères-le-Châtel last Friday, building on the technological and commercial objectives France is seeking to achieve, as discussed in my article published last Wednesday, "Time for the UK to Engage with Europe on AI Sovereignty." In his speech, Mr Macron set out France's determination to secure sovereignty in computing power, quantum technologies and semiconductors, while also building the capacity to lead the market in these strategic sectors. France, he announced, is committing 1 billion euros immediately to quantum, 550 million euros to advanced semiconductors, and nearly 3 billion ... (more) |
What to do about housing.One on the most serious problems facing our society is the difficulty young people have in buying or renting at a reasonable price somewhere to live independently. Instead thousands are being ripped off by "buy to let" landlords in often substandard premises. The simplistic view is that the problem is essentially one of supply and demand: build more houses and it will go away. It won't. Hettie O'Brien, in her fascinating account of "The Asset Class" published earlier this year (W&N), vividly compares the problem with the Bengal famine; "[L]ack of food was a minor factor compared with people's inability ... (more) |
Do Black Lives Matter to the Liberal Democrats?May 25th marked the sixth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. His death sparked a global conversation on race that I, like many, hoped would result in serious, systemic change. After the platitudes around black squares, the meaning of taking the knee and the rather depressing debate that followed, it is time for a different debate. What change has actually occurred and how do we as Liberal Democrats play an effective part in delivering systemic and lasting progress? Rob Blackie and Roderick Lynch powerfully outlined how poor our performance was in inner London in the recent elections and, if ... (more) |
Cllr, Alderman Flick Rea - inspiration, leader, mentor and a very good friendFrom the outset of my role in Camden Liberal Democrats Flick Rea has always been there. She (and Roger Billens) led the arrival of the Liberal Democrats as a political force in this crucial flagship London Council. Always having her own way, or recipe, or theory, or system, it was no Focus newsletter for Flick. Oh no, for Fortune Green and for the team that worked with Flick it was Spotlight. The Spotlight header was even still the original hand drawn cartoon if helpful gophers and the word Spotlight designed by Flick's late husband Charles. To know and to spend ... (more) |
Tanvir Ahmad and Mel Sullivan selected Scottish by-electionsThe forthcoming Parliamentary by-elections in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry and in Aberdeen South, both caused by the previous SNP MP being elected to the Scottish Parliament earlier this month, now have Liberal Democrat candidates. Arbroath and Broughty Ferry: Tanvir Ahmad Tanvir Ahmad commented after his selection for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry: Westminster politics often felt dominated by constitutional arguments and political ambition rather than long-term local economic recovery. People voted for representation for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. Not a temporary stop on the way to somewhere else... Arbroath and Broughty Ferry deserves long-term commitment and practical leadership focused on improving ... (more) |
Does it really take a Commission and Alan Milburn to tell us the blindingly obvious truths about those in care?As a very young councillor almost 50 years ago I remember being appalled when we held a disciplinary committee at a school where I was a governor. When challenged about why her 14-year-old daughter had been found with the keys to a brothel the mother's response was, literally, "why the effing hell should I care?" Of course, there was no response from a father who had done the insemination and disappeared. That meeting has stayed with me throughout the 43 years I have been a councillor. It gave me an early insight into the problems faced by you people. I ... (more) |
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Bouncing through custard on a SpacehopperAnother of those forgotten passages of Liberal Party history that the old boy so enjoys recalling. I am beholden to regular guest poster Stuart Whomsley for including Ed Davey, a Spacehopper and custard in a message to me, though they appear here in a slightly different arrangement. Thursday The other day I told Ed Davey the story of Norman Wisdom's brief leadership of the Liberal Party in the 1950s. At our lowest point, we hit upon the idea of inviting a star of stage and screen to take the reins and, though there was strong support for Anna Neagle from ... (more) |