Has the Chancellor set the tone for a Burnham administration?The Independent reports that Rachel Reeves has said that the UK holds "no alliance" more important than its relationship with the EU in what is anticipated to be her final major speech as Chancellor. The paper adds that reflecting on her two years in the Treasury, Chancellor Reeves urged Britain to be "much bolder" and go "much further" in pursuing closer ties with the bloc: Ms Reeves also defended her record, stating the economy had "beaten the odds" under her stewardship and she had proven her credibility in "every decision" since Labour was elected. She concluded by urging incoming prime ... (more) |
"His glamour tarnished, his boorishness came to notice": On being the monarch's second sonEmbed from Getty ImagesBeing the second son of a monarch is a difficult career, because you cease to be of use to the family firm - assuming your older brother has healthy children - when you are still young. Here's Jonathan Parry writing about Victoria's second son in the London Review of Books in 2020: The monarch's younger sons in each generation are fated to follow the same trajectory. Few now remember Prince Alfred - except tourists visiting the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town who assume that its name is a misprint for 'Albert'. In the 1860s Alfred, ... (more) |
A piece of Liberal history destroyed in Edinburgh fireLast week, a fire destroyed the former Debenhams building in the heart of Edinburgh. The Princes Street building was once the home of the Scottish Liberal Club. The premises were sold in 1970 and many of the artefacts, including a bust of Gladstone, were removed by the Scottish Liberal Club. However, the beautiful wood panelled library was destroyed in the fire. This was covered by the Edinburgh Evening News in which Convener of the Scottish Liberal Club Faith Sutherland and President (and LDV contributor) Lin Macmillan were quoted: The Scottish Liberal Club, which once owned the property, has urged Historic ... (more) |
William Wallace writes: The case for higher taxesLiberal Democrats believe in a limited state and a market economy. We are naturally cautious about how much of the economy should be taken by the state. Our party started out strictly opposed to high taxes: 'peace, retrenchment and reform'. But the largest share of 19th century central taxation went on the army and navy, and Liberals opposed imperial expansion and geopolitical strategy. At the local level Liberals taxed and spent, on the 'municipal socialism' of water, public health, gas, electricity and transport, against Tory opposition. From W. E. Forster's Education Act onwards, Liberals committed government to spend on improving ... (more) |
"I've worked with Andy Burnham. There is much to look forward to"An interesting perspective on working with Andy Burnham comes from former Special Adviser to Nick Clegg Shabnum Mustapha. Shabnum advised Nick on Scotland media matters during the coalition years. In 2019, she moved to Manchester to take up a job with the Greater Manchester Authority as Assistant Director of news and media. She writes about how then Mayor Andy Burnham, before he was King of the North and Future PM, operated: My experience of working with him is that he gets things done. He has a strong work ethic, he's very driven and he's ambitious about what he wants to ... (more) |
Val Doonican: Elusive ButterflyI chose this as a Sunday music video when Val Doonican died in 2015. I wrote then: Val Doonican is worth noticing for two reasons. First, because younger generations will have no idea how popular a figure he was in his heyday. The Val Doonican Music Show ran on BBC1 for more than 20 years. And it was the characteristically named LP Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently that knocked Sergeant Pepper off the top of the album charts. Second, because this is one of the first singles I remember - a cover of the American version by the song's writer ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1548Sam Bright explains what is missing from the Covid Inquiry PPE report: "Long before the pandemic struck, the governing party had established a fundraising system that handed influence to those with the fattest chequebooks. The Conservatives, and Westminster as a whole, created the conditions for the PPE scandal long before even the first whiff of Covid in Wuhan." Andrew Page shares his thoughts on the reaction to the death of Ann Widdecombe: "It has been deeply depressing to see some people going much further than this and celebrating her death online. Quite apart from the cruelty shown towards her family ... (more) |
ALDC's By-Election Report 09.07.26[IMG: 4 parallel white vertical lines on orange background ALDC logo] Sixteen principal authority by-elections took place across England, Wales and Scotland last week, with two taking place on Tuesday and 14 on Thursday. The Liberal Democrats were the main defenders this week, attempting to hold onto five seats. The Green Party and Plaid Cymru were defending three each, with Labour and the Independents defending two apiece, and Reform UK on just one this week. Triple race in Haslemere Both of Tuesday's principal authority by-elections were triggered by the sad passing of Liberal Democrat Cllr John Robini, who as well ... (more) |
Reform adopt the Trump agenda on electionsDonald Trump has famously made it his business to interfere in the electoral process in the USA, seeking ro stop mail-in ballots, restricting voting rights for certain minorities and encouraging the gerrymandering of boundaries to favour his republican party. Reform haven't gone that far yet, though they are not in a position to implement those sort of changes, but an amendment to the elections bill by their MPs certainly seems to be of the same ilk. Byline Times portrays this amendement as seeking to prevent candidates from using the Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish on election leaflets, but of ... (more) |